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So Many Pizzas In So Little Time

Making pizza was always fun, but now it’s fast and easy too. Yes, we can now make so many pizzas in so little time…

We Bought An Inn!

I’ve been really busy lately. For those of you who don’t know already, Steve and I bought an inn. Yup, we pulled the trigger and we bought The Harvest Inn on the North Fork of Long Island. We own a bed & breakfast! It has been a whirlwind of activity. We renovated everything from head to toe and we haven’t stopped moving. We’ve been here about 3 months and we officially opened our doors to guests about six weeks ago.

Being such a city person, this is a huge change for me. Huge. I mean ginormous. Everything about this new life is the polar opposite of my old Manhattan life. I’m someone who embraces change and I’ve embraced this new country life. I love planning and cooking breakfast for everyone. I love meeting our amazing guests. I love living in the middle of beautiful vineyards and farms. But, there are some things I do miss about the city. And some of my new life is challenging.

I miss many of NYC’s conveniences. And a lot of the food. And, of course, my friends — although having them here at the inn is really something special.

And, I miss pizza. I mean, I’m used to New York City pizza. And there’s really nothing like than anywhere else. Yes, we’ve found a few good pizza spots here, but it’s not quite the same.

So, what’s a pizza lover to do…?

 

We Got A Pizza Oven

Enter… my new favorite toy. My Ooni pizza oven. Ooni was kind enough to gift me a pizza oven when we opened the inn. This thing is amazing. I mean it’s magical. Really. I have the multi-fuel version of their oven, so we’ve been making pizzas using wood and charcoal as fuel. The taste is incredible. You know that wood burning, coal-fired taste? We have that. And, I can cook a pizza in under two minutes. I feel like Jeannie on I dream of Jeannie. I blink and it’s done.

We’ve made lots of experimental pizzas. We started with simple pizza Margarita. Oh, and by the way, yes, I am still dairy-free, so I make mine with vegan cheeses. And sometimes with gluten-free crust. And they are just as awesome as the traditional pies we are making.

I know I sound like a commercial for Ooni, but this pizza oven really does live up to all of the hype.

Keep scrolling for some of my favorite pizza ideas and for some insight on how we learned to make these incredible pies…

so many pizzas in so little timeThe first thing we did was ready ourselves to hook up the gas extension for this oven. Honestly, I love the ease of a gas grill so I assumed I’d want to use the gas extension hookup here as well. We’ve made many pizzas and we have yet to hook up the gas, so I was wrong. We’ve been using a combination of wood and charcoal. I thought this would be difficult, but it’s not, and there’s something about using this kind of fuel that makes Steve  happy, so that’s what we use. I think the crust probably tastes better this way too, although, I can’t speak from experience having not tried the gas yet.

so many pizzas in so little time

Here’s Steve feeding the fire. It makes him happy. And it makes for great pizza.

so many pizzas in so little time

This is Corey. He is our pizza guru. He has his own pizza oven and has been dying to try out the Ooni. He gave me his special pizza dough recipe — which really is incredible and he taught me how to stretch the dough. I can’t even tell you how bad I was at this. But now, I can do it! Sometimes Corey makes 30 pizzas when he is entertaining — that’s how fast this type of pizza oven is!

My goal is to be able to make 10 breakfast pizzas for our inn guests. I would need to do this pretty quickly to serve everyone close to the same time, so I am trying to get up to speed. Because really, what’s better than a pizza with eggs and prosciutto on top?

so many pizzas in so little time

So now it’s time to talk about my favorite things to do with pizza.

I mean now that we can make so many pizzas in so little time, we’ve got to make lots of different kinds… it only makes sense!

I love making my crusts out of unique ingredients. I especially love making grain-free pizza. Yes, I am a cauliflower pizza crust fan…

broccoli pizza crust

And this Broccoli Pizza Crust is one of my favorites.

 

Pizza Crust Can Be Made Out Of Anything

I have made pizza crusts out of vegetables and flours. Nothing is off the table.

These are the things I have either used for the base of my crusts, or things I am planning to try…

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Eggplant
  • Sweet potatoes
  • White potatoes
  • Beets
  • Gluten-free flour
  • Rice Flour
  • Quinoa Flour
  • Almond Flour
  • Polenta

Oftentimes, all you have to do is shred or puree the veggie, mix in some eggs and/or flour of some type and heavily season it up. Flatten it out and you are done.

 

It’s All About The Toppings

I top my pizzas with whatever makes me happy in the moment and whatever is in my fridge or pantry. Some of my favorite toppings are:

  • Potatoes and rosemary
  • Basil, tomato, and garlic
  • Anchovies
  • Olives
  • Mixed peppers
  • Kimchi
  • Eggplant
  • Vegan cheeses
  • Pesto and asparagus
  • Arugula and prosciutto
  • Eggs and bacon
  • Sausage. Any sausage.
  • Zucchini blossoms

paleo pizza margherita

Pizza is such a happy food for me and I think this is true for a lot of people. Because you can make a crust out of anything and add toppings to suit your mood and dietary restrictions, there’s no reason anyone has to live without pizza.

Please reach out and tell me your pizza experiences, your favorite crusts, and what toppings make you happy.