Cooking with Nonna (Part Two): Nonna's Rustic Pizza

I had good results with my first attempt at using Cooking With Nonna (see my post here). I made Nonna's Four-Cheese Lasagna, and the lasagna was...well, good. 

But I'm looking for spectacular.

So I had to give Nonna another chance.

Spectacular was what I got with Nonna's Pizza Rustica. Oh my goodness. Spectacular deep-dish pizza. Spectacular appearance. Spectacular flavor. 

Here's my (somewhat less spectacular) photo:

Results:  I've made a lot of homemade pizzas in the past, but this pizza was like no homemade pizza I've ever made before. It was a true pizza pie, thick and rich, with lots of cheese flavor. Instead of the suggested meats, I used ham for two pizzas and substituted peppers and onions for a veggie version in the other two pizzas. We loved these pizzas. I will make them again.

Here's the recipe I used:

Nonna's Pizza Rustica

For the Dough:

• 1 pound all purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
•  pinch of salt
• 1/2 pound butter, cold
•  milk, as much as needed

For the Filling:

• 1 pound basket cheese or ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 pound provolone - sharp
• 1/4 pound mozzarella
• 4 tablespoons grated pecorino cheese
• 1/4 pound prosciutto
• 1/4 pound sopressata
• 1/4 pound mortadella
•  fresh black pepper, as desired
• 1 large egg for the egg wash

Directions

1. Prepare the Dough:
1. In a stand mixer, add the flour, salt and the butter cut in cubes.
2. Let the flour absorb all the butter. Add the eggs and let them mix well.
3. Add enough milk (about 1/4 + Cups) until you have a firm ball of dough.
4. Let it rest.
2. Prepare the Filling:
1. Cut all the meats and cheeses in small cubes and put in a large bowl.
2. Add the grated Pecorino and mix.
3. Add the eggs and mix.
4. Add the basket cheese and mix well.  Add fresh black pepper as desired. Set aside.
3. Assemble the Pizza Rustica:
1. Preheat the oven at 350F
2.  Butter and flour a 9" springform pan.
3. Cut a little less than 1/3 of the dough and set aside.
4. With a rolling pin, roll the large piece of dough in a thin circle.
5. Place the dough over the springform pan so that it overflows the borders of the pan.
6. Add the filing and spread it evenly.
7. With a sharp knife, cut the excess dough from around the border of the pan.
8. With the remaining dough, roll it thin and with a ravioli cutter, cut strips to make the criss-cross strips and arrange them on top of the filling.
9. Wet the strips with egg wash and bake for about 1 hr and 15 mins.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Favorite Quotes

"Quality—you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is. But that’s self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There’s nothing to talk about. But if you can’t say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist at all. But for all practical purposes it really does exist."

"Care and Quality are internal and external aspects of the same thing. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares. A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who’s bound to have some characteristic of quality."

'When one isn't dominated by feelings of separateness from what he's working on, then one can be said to "care" about what he's doing.  That is what caring really is, a feeling of identification with what one's doing.  When one has this feeling then he also sees the inverse side of caring, Quality itself.'

'I would like not to cut any new channels of consciousness but simply dig deeper into old ones that have become silted in with the debris of thoughts grown stale and platitudes too often repeated. "What's new?" is an interesting and broadening eternal question, but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question "What is best?," a question which cuts deeply rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt downstream. There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible, and nothing new ever happened, and "best" was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose, flooding the lowlands, disconnecting and isolating the highlands and to no particular purpose other than the wasteful fulfillment of its own internal momentum. Some channel deepening seems called for.'

"The Good was not a form of reality. It was reality itself, ever changing, ultimately unknowable in any kind of fixed, rigid way."

'A single thought begins to grow in his mind, extracted from something he read in the dialogue Phædrus. "And what is written well and what is written badly—need we ask Lysias, or any other poet or orator, who ever wrote or will write either a political or any other work, in metre or out of metre, poet or prose writer, to teach us this?"'

"What is good, Phædrus, and what is not good—need we ask anyone to tell us these things?"

"Traditional scientific method has always been at the very best, 20 - 20 hindsight. It's good for seeing where you've been. It's good for testing the truth of what you think you know, but it can't tell you where you ought to go."

"The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed."

"Stuckness shouldn't be avoided. It's the psychic predecessor of all real understanding."

'I like the word "gumption" because it's so homely and so forlorn and so out of style it looks as if it needs a friend and isn't likely to reject anyone who comes along. I like it also because it describes exactly what happens to someone who connects with Quality. He gets filled with gumption.'

"A person filled with gumption doesn't sit around dissipating and stewing about things. He's at the front of the train of his own awareness, watching to see what's up the track and meeting it when it comes. That's gumption."

"If you're going to repair a motorcycle, an adequate supply of gumption is the first and most important tool. If you haven't got that you might as well gather up all the other tools and put them away, because they won't do you any good."

"Peace of mind produces right values, right values produce right thoughts. Right thoughts produce right actions and right actions produce work which will be a material reflection for others to see of the serenity at the centre of it all."

"What's wrong with technology is that it's not connected in any real way with matters of the spirit and of the heart. And so it does blind, ugly things quite by accident and gets hated for that."

"The way to solve the conflict between human values and technology needs is not to run away from technology. That's impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is--not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both."

"We're in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it's all gone."

"When you want to hurry something, that means you no longer care about it and want to get on to other things."

"When the world is seen not as a duality of mind and matter but as a trinity of quality, mind, and matter, then the art of motorcycle maintenance and other arts take on a dimension of meaning they never had."

"Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as the objective idealists and materialists would say. The Quality which creates the world emerges as a relationship between man and his experience. He is a participant in the creation of all things. The measure of all things—it fits."

"The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself."

"I think that if we are going to reform the world, and make it a better place to live in, the way to do it is not with talk about relationships of a political nature, which are inevitably dualistic, full of subjects and objects and their relationship to one another; or with programs full of things for other people to do. I think that kind of approach starts it at the end and presumes the end is the beginning. Programs of a political nature are important end products of social quality that can be effective only if the underlying structure of social values is right. The social values are right only if the individual values are right. The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands, and then work outward from there. Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle."







Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Prosciutto e uova verdi: Green Eggs and Ham in Italian

DR. SEUSS' BIRTHDAY

March 2 is also Texas Independence Day (as I discovered when I attempted to return books to the closed public library) but nothing in schools, not Valentine's Day nor Christmas nor the last day of school, nothing beats out the week of Dr. Seuss' Birthday for pulling out all the stops in schools. At our school, teachers read a Dr. Seuss book each day to their classes. There were dress-up days each day ("Wear a Hat Day" for The Cat in the Hat and "Wear Green" for Green Eggs and Ham, and more). Green eggs and ham was served in the cafeteria on Friday. Celebrity readers came to the school (think: city officials, school district staff, firefighters, high school cheerleaders and football players, and more) for Friday's Read Across America Day.

I spent the week reading some Lesser-Known Seusses. I read Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now as well as Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo (this one, along with The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Green Eggs and Ham, made the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read). I paid particular attention this week to the expressions on children's faces as I read. They could not help themselves; they were rapt, they were smiling, All-Eyes-on-the-Speaker without a single reminder. That's the magic of Seuss. It was a fabulous week of reading.

Of course I'm all up for All Things Italian right now, with our May 24th departure to Italy date edging closer and closer:

I love Huevos verdes con jamón (Spanish) so I was pretty sure (I was right) I'd love this jewel in Italian, too. The reader seems to be my Italian counterpart.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS WEEK

I'm still reading Italian Folktales and Italian Days. They are both wonderful books. They are both huge books. I love wonderful books. Huge books? If they are wonderful and huge, yes. I'm in the last two hundred pages of both, so maybe I'll make a big push and finish them both this weekend.

WHAT ARRIVED THIS WEEK

It's not every week that I get in books that are perfectly suited to my quirky tastes as a reader, but this week I did. 

Board book Up, Down & Other Opposites with its typical board-book-bland-ish cover will be a book you will overlook if you miss the line underneath the title: With Ellsworth Kelly. This is another in the series of board books from Phaidon called First Concepts with Fine Artists. It's a simple intro to opposites using art from one of the world's most respected abstract artists, and it's perfect for young children as both an introduction to opposites and an introduction to art. I love this book, and I will seek out more of this series.

Zen Camera is a book I want to linger over, so I will not say too much about it (as is only right with a book that includes the powerful and amazing word "Zen" in its title). I will tell you that the subtitle is Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography. Isn't that lovely? The title and subtitle alone make me want to turn off my computer and head out in the world with this book and my camera today, and that's not something I easily do. I think I will, though. See you on down the road. Look for a New Person here soon, a Person Who Has Been Creatively Awakened. 

What are you reading today?

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.

Cooking with Nonna (Part One): Nonna’s Four-Cheese Lasagna

I brought this book home from BookExpo. With our trip to Italy coming closer and closer (May will soon be here), it seems like the perfect time to bring it out and try a few recipes. 

What about lasagna? I felt like I have a pretty strong lasagna recipe, but let's see if Nonna can improve it.

Mama Rosa's Lasagna

     For the Sauce:

1. Empty container of tomatoes & sauce into a food mill or blender and puree... set aside
2. In a pot, add 3-4 tablespoons of EVOO heat and then add the chopped onions until translucent then add the puree sauce.
3. Add 1 teapoon of sugar and season with salt & peper. Cook for about 15 mins.
   
   
   For the Meat:
4. In a frying pan cook the chop meat. Break up the chop meat & cook until brown and drain.
5. Add the cooked chop meat to the sauce and cook for another 10 mins.
6. When done, set aside.
   
   
   For the Pasta:
7. Put water in a 5 Qt pot and add 1 tbsp salt to it and bring water to a rapid boil.
8. Add the pasta 2 pieces at a time and stir gently until all the pasta is in the pot.
9. Return to a rapid boil.
10. Cook uncovered and stirring gently occasionally for about 10 minutes. Drain well.
11. Separated cooked lasagna and lay each one on wax paper to keep from sticking together.
12. In the 13 X 9 inch baking pan spread some meat sauce on bottom of pan.
13. Place about 4-5 pcs of the cooked pasta lenghtwise over the sauce, overlapping edges.
14. Place a little bit of sauce on top of the pasta, then spoon some ricotta all over the pasta and then sprinkle the mozzarella over it.
15. Cover with some meat sauce and then sprinke the grated cheese.
16. Keep on repeating the pasta, sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, meat sauce and grated cheese until you reach the top of the baking pan. Cover pan with foil.
17. Place tray of Lasagna into the oven that has been pre heated at 375.
18. Cook for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
19. After pan is taken out of the oven, put foil back on the pan and let it stand for about 5-10 mins before serving.

My thoughts? Honestly, this recipe for lasagna is almost exactly like the recipe for lasagna I have always made. There really were no significant taste differences or differences in appearance. 

Nonna, I'll give you one more chance. Next week I'll try pizza.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Books I've Read..and Re-read...and Re-read

I don't reread a lot of books. There are so many wonderful books I haven't read yet.

But there are a few books I have read...and reread...

Gone With the Wind

The Good Earth

Gilead

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The Great Gatsby

To Kill a Mockingbird

My Name is Asher Lev

Lonesome Dove

Traveling Mercies

And there are a few books I have read...and reread...and reread...and reread, many many times....I am a school librarian, you know....Each of these books I have read approximately 448 times. 

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes

Elephant and Piggie: There is a Bird on Your Head

No, David

Green Eggs and Ham

And the prize for the book I've read and reread in the most languages?

The Little Prince (English, Spanish, French, and now Italian)

What books have you read and reread?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

Chúng tôi thăm Việt Nam (We Visit Vietnam)

WE VISIT VIETNAM

Last week we traveled in my school library to Vietnam. One of our first grade teachers, Ms. Diep, shared some Vietnamese clothing, Vietnamese decorative wooden plates, and Vietnamese red envelopes (for celebrating the Chinese New Year in Vietnam) with us. She also brought in some mums which are given, she told us, to people for good luck in Vietnam. I read my new favorite story, A Different Pond written by Bao Phi and illustrated by Thi Bui, to my classes; from PreK to second grade, they were mesmerized by the beautiful words and illustrations.

Next week will be Dr. Seuss' birthday in our school. Lots of Oh, The Places You Will Go and Cat in the Hat and (my favorite) Green Eggs and Ham. It's always a delightful week.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS WEEK

I've been reading steadily along in both Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino and Italian Days by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. I'll probably continue to read them next week. They are both over 500 pages.

What are you reading today?

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.