Homemade Pizza Pies, Oh My!

We, the Double P’s, believe every occasion should involve a gathering of close friends, full-bodied wine and an abundance of good food, be it birthdays, anniversaries or break-ups! With award-show season currently kicked into high gear, from the Golden Globes to the Grammy’s and Oscars, the main question of the night is not who’ll win Best Picture, but “What are we eating?”

My good friend Naomi (pictured right), recently played host during one of these auspicious nights. We all crammed into her pint-sized West Village apartment where we were greeted with the intoxicating aromas of freshly baked homemade pizzas.

Working for a popular food show, Naomi knows her NYC chefs and their one-of-a-kind recipes, which is why she decided to cook the infamous foolproof No-Knead Pizzas by the equally infamous Jim Lahey. The thing you need to understand about living in NYC is space is precious. There’s no room for rolling pins, mixers or extras, so this easy-to-make dough is the perfect solution since it requires minimal prep time and four simple ingredients: all-purpose or bread flour, instant yeast, salt and water (click here for the full recipe).

Her first pizza was the called the Popeye which is obvious for its intense green appearance. This pie is loaded with spinach, garlic, gruyère, pecorino, buffalo mozzarella and extra-virgin olive oil for that luscious post-cooked dousing.

The second one was a simple, fresh Margherita (sauce and mozzarella). Naomi even made a homemade tomato sauce! Sounds tricky, but was quite the opposite. She simply blanched a whole tomato, peeling the skin, and crushing the interior minus the hard core into a light chunky sauce. Delicious!

And no meal would be complete without a few tasty desserts. A big shout-out goes to Natalie for purchasing these raspberry and chocolate micro-sweets from Le Pain Quotidien.

I guess the next big gala to look forward to is the Oscars. Screw what the celebs are wearing, my main concern will be “What’s on the menu?”