Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Ok, so it took me a little while to get this blog up about my experience at the Divas Food and Wine Festival...but here it is:

The first annual Divas Uncorked Food and Wine Festival on Martha’s Vineyard was held on August 11 and 12 (Wow—over a month ago. I still need to get the hang of this blog thing).  I was reminded of how much fun I had when I ran into four of the Divas this weekend at The Foxwoods Food and Wine Festival—a very different place than the Vineyard, but that would be another story…

The Divas’ event took place at the Outerlands in Martha’s Vineyard under a big tent with a stage and picnic tables. Divas Uncorked is a wine organization begun in 1999  by ten women  interested in meeting monthly to learn, in a fun and friendly way, all about wine. The organization now runs conferences on wine issues with a unique focus on women and wine.

"Diva” Karen Ward had asked me back in the winter if I would participate in their Martha’s Vineyard event. I said yes without even thinking and only later learned that they wanted me to talk about pairing wine with pizzas.  At first I was taken aback—“Pizza?” I thought, “What about braised lamb or homemade agnolotti?”   But as I considered it and thought about the Divas’ commitment to making wine appreciation fun and accessible, I realized that pizza paired with wine would be the perfect way to take the stuffiness out of food and wine pairing.  

The Martha’s Vineyard event was a blast. It felt like a family reunion, with a strong sense of welcome and celebration.  Everyone was in high spirits, talking and sharing stories with friends and strangers alike. People were meandering, sipping, chatting and nibbling under a big white tent.  Each Diva was dressed in her own interpretation of the uniform—summer eyeleted white cotton or linen with bold turquoise jewelry.  They all looked fabulous!

I had the great fortune to spend several hours with pizza experts Mike and Joe of Boston Original Pizza, learning the perfect pizza dough stretching technique.  I’ve made many pizzas over the years, but I had never been shown their method (see below for technique).  It’s humbling and exciting for an old cook like me to learn a new trick. 

I demonstrated a prosciutto, mozzarella and fig pizza.  I felt a bit like Vanna White, holding up the pie after each topping was added. The audience was amazing—cheering me on at every step.  “Go Jody, go Jody, go Jody…”  They made me feel like a star and it made the demonstration one of the best I have ever participated in.   

The Divas plan is to have this festival be an annual event.  Be sure to put it in your calendar for next summer. 

Pizza Dough Rolling Technique

To make the pizza, preheat a pizza stone on the top rack of your oven to 500°F.

Roll a ball of pizza dough in flour until there is a light dusting all over.  (Mike says Wondra flour is best because it doesn’t cake.)  Start by making an impression with your finger tips 1 inch from the edge of the dough, all the way around in a circle.  This will define the edge of the crust.  Use your finger prints to “toughen the dough” in the center within the boarder you have just made with your fingertips.  This essentially means docking the dough, or reducing the size of the air pockets so the pizza doesn’t puff up in the center.  It also starts the stretching of the dough.  Next, pick up the dough and, keeping both hands together, grasp it lightly at the top of the edge.  Letting gravity do the work, start rotating the dough as though you are turning the steering wheel of a car and don’t stop until you’ve gone all the way around.  This will stretch the dough without the risk of thinning out the center too much.   When it is the size you want, lay the dough down on a peel or on a sheet pan dusted with cornmeal.  At this point, I like to brush the dough all over with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil, taking care not to add too much or the pizza will be greasy. 

Diva Pizza – Prosciutto, Mozzarella and Fig Pie

For the “Diva” pizza, I distributed sliced buffalo mozzarella over the dough, topped it with thin slices of San Daniele Prosciutto and sprinkled it with juicy fresh Mission fig quarters that had been tossed with a little balsamic vinegar.  The trick is to not put too much stuff on the dough—there should be visible dough—or it will be soggy.  Finally, I put a light coating of grated Parmigiano Reggiano over the whole thing and slid it into the oven.  It took about 10 minutes to bake.  The prosciutto got a little crispy, the cheeses melted, the figs softened up and the edge of the crust got a beautiful golden brown.  It was perfect with Mathew Glynn’s Acacia Pinot Noir!

A tip from Mike the pizza guy:  If you build and bake your pizza on a mesh rack it will reheat really well.  In fact, he prefers a twice baked pizza because it gets crispier that way.

I love to write recipes in a free form style without instructions that are too rigid   When I wrote my cookbook, In the Hands of a Chef, our publisher required incredibly precise directions. I appreciate my co-author’s (aka my husband’s)  attention to this detail and understand that when you publish a cookbook, the recipes better work. I can also, however, enjoy reading a recipe written in a looser style—a style that allows the cook to interpret as she wishes. I have lately been reading Anna Gosetti della Salda’s Le Ricette Regionali Italiane. This is a classic, Italian cookbook. Anna surveyed the peninsula, collecting traditional recipes from home cooks and chefs in every region. Her recipes, like many recipes written in Italian, are short and provide general instructions rather than precise directions. They do require some previous knowledge of basic Italian cooking and are therefore not recipes for everyone. I enjoy reading the recipes as general guidelines, inspiration, a roadmap through the kitchen that is not meant to be read too carefully.  My hope for my new blog is that you will take my recipes as a base to work from and feel free to experiment by leaving an ingredient out or adding another one in. You don’t have to be a chef to navigate your way through your own kitchen. Tell me what you think?  Is this fun or frustrating? Email with your comments.  

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