Ingredients

• 1 onion – diced and sauteed in EVOO
• Garlic – minced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1.5 C water or chicken broth
• Lasagna noodles – cooked
• 1 LB Ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs
• handful of minced scallions
• Grated Parmesan and Swiss cheese
• salt, pepper, parsley (chopped)
• dash of grated nutmeg
• Spinach – cooked or sauteed

Step by Step

1. Prepare Ricotta Mixture
   – ricotta, 3 eggs, salt, pepper, scallion, parsley, nutmeg – mix well
2. Prepare Sauce
   – Mix onion, garlic tomatoes, water or broth – simmer 8 minutes
3. In a baking dish put 1/2 C sauce in the bottom
4. Add a layer of pasta sheets to cover the sauce
5. 1/2 of ricotta mixture
6. pasta sheets to cover
7. 1/2 C sauce
8. layer of spinach
9. pasta sheets to cover
10. remaining ricotta mixture
11. pasta sheets to cover
12. remaining red sauce
13. grated Parmesan and Swiss cheese
14. Cover baking dish with foil
15. Bake 400º for 45 minutes
16. Remove foil
17. Bake an additional 15 minutes
18. rest 5-10 minutes before cutting

This recipe was adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.

Ingredients

• Dough, mozzarella cheese, sauce, Pecorino/Romano, and EVOO
  DOUGH
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 2  C high gluten flour or bread flour
• 2 C semolina flour
• 3 TBL EVOO
• 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 C ice water
• 2 tsp salt – at the very end
  CHEESES
• 12 oz whole milk Mozzarella.  Don’t use skim or it will turn out rubbery.
• Pecorino/Romano cheese or grated Parmesan/Regiano – Use ACTUAL block of cheese, not pre-grated
  SAUCE
• 28 oz San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground oregano
• 1 pkg crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 TBL granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 TBL EVOO
• 6 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 TBL tomato paste

Step by Step

1. Mix yeast, sugar and 1/4 C very warm water (102-105º) and set aside.
2. Prepare ice water ( 1 C cold water and 3 ice cubes)
3. Mix together salt, flour and semolina in a food processor or mixing bowl
4. Mix EVOO into the flour mixture
5. While mixer is on low, pour in yeast mixture
6. Immediately pour in the ice water – drizzle it in until the dough starts to come together – discard any extra water
7. Let continue to mix for about 3 more minutes
8. Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes
9. Add salt and then run on medium for 8-10 more minutes
10. Finish kneading by hand on a floured surface, creating a tight ball
11. Place in oiled bowl, turning to cover all sides, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours.  This will allow the flavors to fully develop.  It makes a big difference… really.
    SAUCE
12. The sauce can be made the same day as the dough, or the next day.  I usually do it on the same day.
13. Open canned tomatoes and crush into mixing bowl
14. Add oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar and salt and mix well – set aside
15. Heat EVOO in a skillet and add your minced garlic
16. Heat for 2 minutes, then add tomato paste
17. Heat for 3 minutes, then add your crushed tomato mixture
18. Simmer for 20-30 minutes or until it thickens
19. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate until it is time to create your pizza
    CREATING YOUR PIZZA
20. Pour 1/4 C EVOO onto a 1/2 sheet baking sheet and spread around
21. Flour your cleaned kitchen counter
22. Spread by hand to about 9×12 rectangle
23. Finish with a rolling pin, and roll it out to 13×18 inches
24. Fold into thirds and transfer to the baking sheet
25. Work into the corners then spray with cooking oil and cover with plastic
26. Place a second baking sheet on top of the dough to keep the bubbles to a minimum
27. Let relax and rise for about 60 minutes
28. While it rises, preheat the oven to 500º with a baking stone 2 levels above where the pizza will cook
29. Remove the top pan and plastic, then reshape the pizza into the corners.  The dough should be more relaxed now and should reshape easily.
30. Put a layer of sauce on top of the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border
31. Sprinkle shredded Parm/Reg cheese on top of the sauce
32. Sprinkle mozzarella on top of the Parm/Reg
33. Add one or two optional toppings, but no more than that
34. Put into the hot oven and cook for two minutes
35. Turn oven down to 450º and cook for 10 more minutes
36. Rotate pizza pan and cook for 10 more minutes
37. Turn oven off and cook for five more minutes
38. Remove from oven and let cool for 2-5 minutes
39. Remove from baking sheet and place onto a cutting board
40. Cut into 12 square pieces

Ingredients

• 2 medium green tomatoes, pulse briefly in food processor
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1⁄4 tsp pepper
• 1 C Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 C of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 TBL butter, softened

Step by Step

1. Arrange one layer of tomatoes in the bottom of lightly greased medium baking ramikin.
2. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper 1/2 of bread crumbs and half of the cheese.
3. Repeat layers omitting the cheese from the top.
4. Dot butter over the bread crumbs on top.
5. Cover lightly with foil and bake at 400 degrees for one hour.
6. Uncover and add remaining cheese
7. Bake uncovered 5-10 more minutes

It is actually quite time consuming to make your own phylo dough, so don’t hesitate to buy it frozen in the store.  Make sure the phylo is NOT crumbly.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 box phylo dough
  SPINACH MIXTURE
• feta cheese – made with sheep or goat milk NOT cow milk
  buy a block and crumble it
• Mix in a sweet onion sliced just as thinly as possible
• Mix with EVOO, mushrooms, chives, zucchini, basil, parm cheese
• Fresh spinach – NOT frozen

STEP BY STEP

1. De stem FRESH spinach and give it a rough chop
2. Mix in with everything else
3. In a heavily greased cake pan lay down about ten sheets of phylo dough
4. Divide your spinach mixture into fourths
5. Spread 1/4 of your mixture onto the phylo
6. Add 3-5 sheets of dough and another 1/4 spinach
7. Repeat two more times until your spinach is all used up
8. Finish with about 8 sheets of phylo dough on the top
9. Butter the top heavily and tuck in the edges
10. Bake it at 350º for an hour
11. Let it cool a bit (or it will fall apart) and then loosen up the edges and the bottom
12. Invert it onto a baking sheet and remove the cake pan
    – The bottom will become the top
13. Cut it into half, and then into triangles

Serve with a village salad of tomato, zucchini, black olives, cucumber slices, oregano and lemon all tossed in a bit of EVOO

This is my own recipe that was created based on a video showing a Pizza Pot Pie as created by Chicago Pizza and Grinder Company at 2121 N Clark Street.  Allowances have been made for my own tastes.

INGREDIENTS

• Use a ceramic bowl with little (or no) lip
• 1/2 C clarified butter

SECRET SAUCE

• You can make whatever sauce tickles your fancy. Chicago Pizza uses a sauce with onions, peppers, garlic, sausage, tomatoes and more that simmers for eight hours.  Truly a sauce worth tasting.
• Here are several of my own sauces.
• Grandpa’s Bolognese
• Basic Marinara

Here is another recipe that I found when I was researching this recipe.  It looked really good too.

STEP BY STEP

1. Brush the bowl and the rim heavily with melted clarified butter
2. Lay down layered slices of Provalone, Mozzarella and Manchego cheese
3. Put in three of your favorite toppings:
   – mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, black olives, etc.
   – Just three though, because otherwise it will become too soupy
4. Top with your favorite sauce
5. Cover with flattened pizza dough
6. Brush clarified butter across the top
7. Bake at 450º for 12-15 minutes
8. Run a spoon around the rim to loosen the crust
9. Invert and flip out on your serving plate

Here is a fairly complete step by step video made by Courtney Budyzn

INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced and heavily sauteed
• 1 onion, sliced thinly and sauteed after mushrooms are done
• 1 pounds 80/20 hamburger
• 1 pound ground pork.
• 1/4 C butter and 1 TBL EVOO
• 1 (12 OZ) package egg noodles, cooked and drained
• –
• 4 TBL all-purpose flour
• 2 C beef broth
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 TBL Dijon mustard
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBL Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tsp Sambal Olek
• Optional:  Scallion – white and greens
• Optional:  Basil leaves
• Optional:  Crushed red pepper

STEP BY STEP

1. Heavily saute mushrooms in skillet and then set aside.
2. Put onion into skillet with 1 TBL olive oil.  Saute, then set aside with mushrooms.
3. Brown your meat and set it aside in a SEPARATE bowl from the mushrooms.
4. In a large skillet mix in flour and butter, and stir until the flour starts to brown.
5. Stir in beef broth, and cook until slightly thickened.
6. Meanwhile, use a spoon to remove much of the congealed grease from the ground meat.  Discard the grease.
7. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook egg noodles in boiling salted water until done, about 8 minutes. Drain and return to the large pot.
   
8. Add the meat, mushroom and onion mixture to the noodles
   
9. Stir Sambal Olek, Worcestershire and half your sour cream.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
11. Toss sauce with egg noodles.
12. Add more beef stock if you feel it is getting too thick.
13. Add remainder of sour cream
14. Continue cooking until sauce is hot, but not boiling.
15. Use white wine to thin the sauce if it is too thick