Homemade Birthday Pizza

Last week was my younger brother's birthday. He wanted pizza, but we ended up making reservations at a local restaurant that doesn't serve it. To try to compromise a little we made homemade pizza that afternoon. We ate small squares of the pizza as appetizers and then walked to the restaurant for dinner.

Now, I haven't made homemade pizza in years, however I didn't worry because my older brother was around to help and we cheated a little by buying pre-made dough, bottled sauce, and pre-grated cheese, so it was really a matter of assembly. We used dough from Bertucci's Market, Ragu Pizza Sauce, and Sargento Mozzarella. We didn't really fool around with toppings. I thought a simple cheese pizza would make everyone happy, though I did add a little bit of minced garlic. The pizza turned out really well. I think having the appropriate proportions of sauce and cheese are important. When I would make homemade pizza as a child I would dump a TON of sauce and cheese on the dough and it would just not be good. I think in order to have a really saucy or cheesy pizza you need a proper pizza oven, which we just don't have. Anyway, the pizza turned out well and it was quickly consumed as we sipped our cocktails. Nom! Can't wait to make pizza again!

Fran and Diane's

Fran and Diane's pizza was also recommended to me by a patient. I was so excited to try it. The Hubs almost tried some a few weeks ago but I wouldn't let him go without me. We finally got some last night. It looked awesome. My first bite reminded me of Papa Gino's pizza, but after a few more bites..... sigh. I realized it was boring pizza. Bland. No real zing of flavor. Everything about it was decent and well done, except that it was clearly lacking in the flavor department. It was as if they forgot to add some essential spice to the pizza. The Hubs added a bunch of red pepper flakes to his and was very happy, but I was sorrowful as I ate my pizza. I still managed almost three slices, so it really wasn't that bad. Just disappointingly boring.

Last minute pizza

Last night I was heading over to a friend's house. I had just finished dinner, but was very interested in her suggestion of sharing a pizza. I offered to pick one up on my way over. I wanted to go somewhere on the way, so decided to try Harry's Pizza in Beverly Farms. They have changed owners several times and I wondered if the new ones were any good at making pizza. I ordered a large cheese. It was $10, not bad. It was ready promptly, which I appreciated. I picked it up and drove over to my fellow pizza lover's home. It smelled good, but not overly tempting, which may have been for the best or it might not have survived the drive! My friend and I admired the pizza. It looked pretty good. Cheese evenly spread and the crust nicely puffed. It tasted pretty good too. It was a good, solid cheese pizza. It was what we were looking for at the time and we downed a couple slices each. I can recommend Harry's Pizza to people looking for a quick pizza fix. My only reservation is that it's not very... special. While I feel that it's a reliable, good pizza, I might not be tempted to dash back there anytime soon.

A review of January

January was a busy month! I did manage to try a few new pizza places here and there. Some of the pizza was quite memorable, other pizza... not so much.

In early January I headed to the Dominican Republic for a relaxing week at the beach. We stayed at the Occidental Grand in Punta Cana. The food was all inclusive, so we could eat at any of the 9 restaurants as much as we wanted, any time we wanted. They had a couple buffets and a couple late night eateries, so every night we had two dinners because we could. We often ate at 6:30 and then had sort of a light supper around 9 or 9:30. La Fontana was a relaxed pizza place that didn't take reservations. Their pizza was really good. I don't remember many details since it was a month ago, but really, an open air pizza place in the Dominican... pizza in one hand and a daiquari in the other, how can you go wrong? That said - the pizza at the buffets were not as good, despite similar surroundings.

More recently I went to the Riverview Restaurant in Ipswich, MA. I had actually been given a hot tip about this place by a patient in the hospital! She told me about two other places which will be reviewed at a later date. Anyway, the Riverview Restaurant only serves pizza and they only accept cash. This might put some people off, but not me. The pizzas are super reasonably priced. A 12 inch pizza is around $6, a cheese pizza even cheaper. The most expensive pizza on the menu was $10 and it had like 12 toppings, so no wonder. Their drinks are also reasonably priced. Sodas are .50/small and $1/large. Wine was $4/glass, I think and beer was around $2.50. We spent $14 on two pizzas and they were filling enough to feed 3 of us. A very good investment. Also, the pizza was awesome! We got a cheese pizza and a broccoli and garlic pizza. The crust was thin, but not too crispy. The cheese had a slight tang, which we think came from some cheddar in the mix, but were not sure. I really enjoyed the broccoli and garlic pizza, despite the fact that the broccoli had clearly been frozen. The cheese one was also good, but the broccoli garlic was amazing. There was just enough garlic for a good flavor, but it was not overpowering. After a bad garlic experience at Bertuccis a couple years ago I have been hesitant to order garlic on my pizza, but Riverview did not disappoint. I will definitely go there and order garlic on my pizza again. Yum!

January was a good month for pizza. Looking forward to more pizza in February!