When I first moved to NYC, the company I worked at employed quite a few mid-twenty-something girls, and we all became fast friends. We used to hang out together at lunch, and every week we would go out for a special, sit-down lunch together. One of our favorite locations was
CPK. (I know- there are hundreds of restaurants in NYC and we loved a chain... go figure!) My one co-worker turned me onto CPK's BLT pizza... it sounded so gross in the beginning, but it turned out to be a delicious pizza.
So the other day I was reminiscing about our old lunches downtown, since I'm bored with the restaurants near my current job... when I realized I could probably make CPK's classic pie. So I did a little research over the weekend, and whipped up my very own
BLT Pizza!
I started by making a whole wheat/honey pizza dough. (Here are the ingredients:)
I started with the yeast...
Which I sprinkled over the warm water...
And dissolved before setting it aside for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile I mixed the whole wheat flower...
Bread flour...
And honey into my mixing bowl.
I then added the yeast mixture...
And after a bit of mixing (with the dough hook) a bit of salt.
While the mixer did all the kneading, I poured a bit of olive oil into a bowl...
And poured in to the dough. After covering the bowl with plastic wrap I placed it in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours.
When the dough was just about finished, I placed a pizza stone in my oven, which I set at 500 degrees.
I don't have a pizza spatula, so I tried prepared the pizza on the back of a cookie sheet. I used corn meal to spread the dough...
And I used a bit of light olive oil to spread on top of the dough.
When the dough was stretched to my liking, I sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese...
And then I attempted to slide it onto the hot pizza stone in my oven. It wasn't a smooth move, exactly, but it worked and I was able to re-form the pizza into a vaguely circular shape!
While it baked, I turned my attention to the BLT portion of the pizza. I added the 3 items into a bowl and added a spoonful of Miracle Whip (although most people would probably use mayo).
After a thorough mix, I was ready to assemble my pizza.
When the crust was sufficiently bubbly, I removed it from the oven...
Before spooning the BLT mixture on top.
Now tell me- doesn't that look yummy? The chewy, somewhat sweet crust tastes so good with the crispy veggies and bacon piled on top!
If you'd like to make this for yourself, here's the recipe:
BLT Pizza
Dough:
Ingredients:
2 tsp yeast
1 cup, plus 2 Tbsp warm water
2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
10 tsp honey
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside for 5-10 min. Combine all ingredients together in mixer (Avoid adding the yeast mixture straight onto the salt since salt will kill some of the yeast.) Mix on lowest 2 speeds for 2-3 minutes. Lightly oil dough ball and set inside a lightly oiled bowl; seal bowl with clear wrap and set at room temperature to rise until doubled (1½-2 hours).
Toppings:
Mozzarella cheese
Bacon, cut into pieces and fried
Tomatoes, chopped
Lettuce, shredded
Mayo or Miracle Whip
To make the pizza:
Sprinkle dough with cheese, bake on pre-heated pizza stone at 500 degrees until cheese is bubbly. Meanwhile chop veggies, and add bacon and mayo/Miracle Whip to taste. Remove pizza from oven and top by mixed BLT mixture.
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great weekend!
And we spent a wonderful afternoon at Lombardi's.
As their website explains: In 1897 an Italian immigrant reinvented a Napoletana staple food into one of the worlds most eaten foods. New York City was the birth place of New York style pizza. During the year of 1905, Lombardi's was licensed by the City of New York, becoming America's First Pizzeria.
The restaurant is quite large, and we were seated in the wine cellar...
Kinda cool, right?
We started our meal with a Ceasar salad- complete with homemade dressing and croutons.
And then our pizza came! For our toppings we decided upon wild mushrooms and sauteed garlic spinach.
It looked delish, so we were pretty excited to dig in!
And I must tell you- the pizza was heavenly! The sauce was sweet, the toppings were flavorful, and the crust was perfect!
If you ever want to check out these pies for yourself, you can find this lovely restaurant on the corner of Mott Street and Spring Street.
I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day- thanks for stopping by!
Trust me, the pizza was amazing! And here are all the yummy spices that you get to add on... I stick to basil and Parmesan, while SFS lays on the hot pepper flakes... yikes!
As we waited for the check, I was trying to go for a nice, smiling shot... but my model had something else in mind...
And now he's just messing with me!
Alba's has fountain soda... hence my big, goofy grin!
Here are the leftovers... cold pizza for breakfast is one of the greatest inventions EVER!
After that, it was time to go home and do some packing. I am headed to the land of my birth (Michigan) for the week, to hang out with the rowdiest, loudest, and craziest group of people I know...
Yep, that's the whole gang (in our matching family apparel, of course). While I'm away, there's a chance I won't be able to blog with my normal frequency, but I'm sure going to try! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
