Creative in the Kitchen

Back yard pizza and friends

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What a better way to kick off the warm weather season then with a back yard party!  Thank you to Danna and Bill and their hand-crafted mud oven for a day of fun and friendship.

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They made the mud oven a couple years ago over a pile of rocks from their property and a brick floor, scavenging local mud that was mixed with straw then puttied into formation.  Same technique as the antique adobe structures that I grew up with in California.As guests we were charged with bringing toppings…

Some of the favorite topping combinations were…

  • red sauce, mozzarella cheese, greek olives, roasted red peppers
  • white sauce, parmesan cheese, caramelized onions, sundried tomato pesto
  • red sauce, feta cheese, yellow tomatoes, basil pesto, fresh basil
  • red sauce, mozzarella cheese, pecorino cheese, plus another exotic one ???
  • classic combination with red sauce, mozzarella cheese and hand chunked salami
  • plus countless other combinations…
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pizza dough recipe
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The most unusual combination was the smoked salmon pizza which required grilling the pizza with a drizzle of olive oil first then, when cooked, spread with a mixture of sour cream and dill that was scattered with the smoked salmon and capers.  This was a hit!Here is Danna’s pizza dough recipe: Thank you Danna and Bill!

Disclaimer: [to Bill who is a mega-professional photographer!] all photos within were shot with my humble IPhone.

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