Homemade Pizza Margherita

Due partly to the fact that I am not a multi-millionaire and partly that I actually enjoy cooking, I more often than not do my best to make good home-cooked meals rather than going out.  Jessica and I each have our specialties (she is the baker plus makes great stuffed squash, quesadillas, and chicken pastry while I go more for Italian options as well as chicken dishes) but one thing we both love is pizza. 

Most all grocery stores (Food Lion near us, but also Lowe's, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe's, etc.) sell frozen pre-made balls of pizza dough.  While using one skips the "dough-making" process, I still count it as a raw ingredient and feel I'm in control from the start!  It is simple as defrosting the dough the night before and I'm ready to go.

My typical pizza is a standard cheese with tomato sauce (either store-bought pasta sauce or, more often, my own sauce that I make using crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, onion flakes, oregano, and basil). but I tried a Margherita style last night with great success.  I begin by forming the dough into a thin, roughly circular shape (each frozen ball actually makes two pizza crusts for me).  While I get the ingredients ready to top, I pre-heat my oven to 475 degrees with our pizza stone inside so that it is hot when I put the dough on.

With the stone ready, I place the dough atop and begin adding my flavors.  I start by brushing the whole pie with a thin layer of olive oil, followed by freshly microplaned garlic, salt, and pepper.  While I'd normally add the tomato sauce for my standard pizza, I instead threw on quartered cherry tomatoes (purchased on the vine and amazingly fresh) for the Margherita style.  Fresh mozzarella (key for this type of pie) was then sliced, broken into smaller pieces, and scattered across the top of the pizza.  While I normally would cover the entire pizza with cheese, I instead left some areas open and others with just the tomatoes, which worked quite well for the finished product.

The pizza was ready for the oven so I placed it in and got started with the final topping... fresh basil.  I sliced the basil into thin strips, and after ten or so minutes of cooking the pie, added the basil before putting the whole thing back in until the cheese and crust started browning. 

The end result was a delicious, fresh-tasting pizza!  The white, green, and red colors set the pizza off even before the first bite, but the flavor combinations of the basil, tomatoes, and cheese really paired perfectly.  While the standard pizzas I typically make are good, this pizza was definitely a step above (without really spending much more... the tomatoes weren't any more expensive (maybe $1-2) than crushed tomatoes in a can and the basil $3 at most).  I can't wait to experiment more with different quality meats and other toppings, but I think the Margherita may always be my favorite!

Mia Francesca in North Hills

Last night, Jessica and I met another couple at Mia Francesca (http://www.miafrancesca.com/) in North Hills for dinner.  From what I can tell, this is a chain that is located almost exclusively in Illinois but that has come to Raleigh in the past six months.  The restaurant offers a fast-changing menu (every two weeks they switch their pasta and entree courses) and features fresh-made pasta and an assortment of typical Italian fare.

The decor and atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice; the bar area is extremely open and the hardwood floors and tables create a very rustic feel.  If I were to nitpick, I'd say that the tables are a bit close together and somewhat small (our table of four barely had room for all of the appetizers, bread, and glasses on it) but those were minor issues that didn't really cause any problems.

For starters, our table ordered an assortment of meats and cheese (Genoa salami with tre crema and pecorino Romano cheeses) as well as their featured bruschetta, which last night was diced tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella topped with coppa ham.  The meat and cheese tray was excellent; all of the offerings were very sharp and stood well on their own or when coupled with the small baguette slices and fig jam.  I enjoyed the bruschetta even more, as the creaminess and freshness of the mozzarella was a perfect compliment to the saltiness of the rich ham.  Both appetizers were sizable and great for sharing with the whole table.

Jessica and Joe both had the roasted chicken for dinner.  They were served a half-chicken roasted with garlic, rosemary, lemon, and olive oil and paired with roasted potatoes.  The chicken was extremely moist and flavorful, with the "sauce" producing a great punch of garlic, rosemary, and especially lemon.  Jessica loved the sauce and probably would have been willing to drink it with a straw!  I thought it was a tad too lemony for my taste, but it definitely came as advertised.  This is actually the one dish that remains on their menu all the time, and it is clear they've worked to perfect it.

Erin had the salmon, which was as good a piece of that fish as I've ever tried.  Without knowing the dish was salmon, I would have never guessed as the flavor was mild and not fishy at all (which I normally find in salmon).  She seemed to really enjoy the dish!

I ordered the ravioli stuffed with veal and served in a creamy Parmesan sauce with crispy pancetta.  The pasta itself was fantastic; it's rare for me to have homemade pasta (as opposed to the dry version in grocery stores) and it makes a world of difference in flavor and texture.  These ravioli were light and flavorful on their own, rather than simply a vehicle to hold filling or carry sauce.  The best part of the dish, though, was the sauce.  The crispy pancetta in the Parmesan cream with herbs could be poured over top shoe leather and I'd pay whatever they asked!  The sauce was salty, fatty, and beyond flavorful, yet remained somewhat light which was a true pleasure.  I enjoyed the veal stuffing in the ravioli, although it could have certainly used more spice (or something) to kick the flavor up a notch.  I loved the entire dish, but I would have been just as happy having a homemade fettuccine with the sauce and pancetta without the ravioli stuffing!

Mia Francesca has a dessert sampler that our table ordered, which had a chocolate-covered tiramasu, a lemon creme fruit parfait, and sorbet.  I was too full to try these, but the rest of the table raved about each.

A block away from Vivace (another favorite of Jessica's and mine as written here Link), Mia Francesca took a real chance in opening another upscale Italian restaurant.  Heading into dinner last night, I had doubts they could match what Vivace turns out, but I was pleasantly surprised.  While Vivace is more modern and trendy, Mia Francesca holds its own with a traditional, rustic approach.  Both offer amazing Italian flavors in slightly different ways, and both are worth a trip to North Hills.