So It's Pizza Night

Well it's  been a great week cooking, checking out the La Marcha area and meeting some great locals. Taking in so much food information my head is about to explode. Sandy is taking it all in her stride, she has a knack for cooking and understands more of the behind the scene bits and I have a knack for the eating, so all in all a good team.

But tonight its pizza night and my hidden skills are coming out, perhaps as my mums parents Pheiffers came from Germany which is only 700 km over the boarder so it is breed into me !!!! ( Perhaps a bit of a stretch but let's go with it OK ) So I'm the pizza king got the pizza dough down pat have had severial lessons on dough and with the rolling and stretching it into a round shape and all but throwing it in the air. Jason was good at that and made it look easy but for me a bit more on the safe side as we were feeding the masses so dirt and grit was not considered a taste combination worthy of the menu.

We had prepared the dough this morning and set aside to mature for the day, so now it time to fire up the wood pizza oven in a stone out building 20 m away from the main villa and just off the side of the huge pool. It's still a bit cool so this bod won't be braving the water just yet. The days have been between 16 & 22 and over night still around 12 ish so the water is still a bit to chilly normally they can start swimming around next month so mid June which is the official start to summer in Italy. The pool would be a great back drop to the pizza nights but tonight we will be making and serving in front of the other guests in the courtyard that is kept warm by the pizza oven. 

 So the ingrediance are put out on trays so a very thin tomato paste made and the other guest pick what they want and we do the laying out and cooking and boy is that fire hot.The fire is started in the middle of the oven and just before service we move the hot coals to the far side so we have a clear open space to fit a couple of pizza at a time. With a large paddle and the pizza slide into place the smell of cooking pizza set the mood and with in about 2 mins with it being turned 3 time they are ready and the crowds love them. Shame we aren't been paid by the slice as these guys sure can eat. After the pizza night is done we have pre-prepare a dish that will use up the left over heat and slow cook over night, it is a simple meal like a hot pot stew. In a large lidded pot that can be covered with the hot coals place some meat we have gone for pork shoulder with red wine, garlic, onions and rosemary. Bona nottie  

So by morning it ready and just falls off the bone and will be used later tonight as a dish with veggies or a salad or a ragout with pasta. Yumooo.