Sunday, August 24, 2008
Food, Recipes

Piece of the pie

Four-cheese pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express

Courtesy of Wolfgang Puck Express

By Dominic Colossale

One of my favorite foods (to eat and prepare) is a simple pizza. I’ll take it almost with any topping. Although this staple is often enjoyed with a cold beer, I like to take the meal to a more savory level by adding a perfect, hand-selected wine to the meal. Pairing wine with pizza is fun and easy. I have a few tips on creating the perfect blend of flavors. First, if you’re enjoying a simple cheese pizza, go with a full white wine, such as a chardonnay. This wine unites the rich tomato flavor and the saltiness of the cheese. If you prefer red wine, try a light Beaujolais or a Chianti.  

Perhaps your pizza topping of choice happens to be pepperoni; choose a crisp white wine, such as a pinot grigio or sweet white zinfandel to moderate the spiciness of the pepperoni, while cleansing the palate. My favorite pizza topping combination is sausage, mushroom and onion. This fusion of flavor is a delightful blend of heat from the sausage, earthiness from the mushrooms and sweetness from the onion. For this pizza, I recommend a full-bodied white wine, which pairs nicely and evokes the sweetness of the onion. If you prefer red, I recommend a bold syrah (or shiraz). This red wine’s fullness complements the spicy sausage.

At Wolfgang Puck Express, we offer an array of pizzas and wines. Our staff is happy to assist you in making a wine-and-pizza pairing decision. From our menu, I personally recommend our four-cheese pizza with a glass or bottle of our Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay or the Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. If red is your preference, go with the Ruffino Aziano Chianti Classico. For our smoked salmon pizza, try it with a bottle of a crisp riesling, like the Louis Roederer Brut Premier, which pairs nicely with the meatiness of the salmon. No matter your taste, we’ll make sure your pairing experience is a delicious success. SP
Dominic Colossale is the chef de cuisine and the general manager at Wolfgang Puck Express, which is located at 1745 Peachtree St. NE. For more information, call 404-815-1500 or visit www.wolfgangpuckexpress.com.

FOUR-CHEESE PIZZA

(Makes one 10-inch or two 8-inch pizzas. Serves 3 to 4.)

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces (1/2 recipe) pizza dough
• 2 tablespoons prepared pesto (can be purchased at most grocery stores)
• 2 tablespoons oven-dried tomatoes (can be purchased from most grocery stores), cut into thin slices
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup grated fontina cheese (3 ounces)
• 2 Roma tomatoes, ends trimmed and cut into 12 slices
• 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 6 to 8 large fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade (long, thin strips)

 

Instructions:

Place a pizza stone on the middle rack of the oven, and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll out the dough into one 10-inch round or two 8-inch rounds. Transfer dough to wooden pizza paddle or lightly floured cookie sheet. Brush lightly with pesto and scatter the oven-dried tomatoes evenly around the inner circle of the pizza. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and fontina cheeses, arrange the slices of the Roma tomatoes, and then sprinkle with the goat cheese, oregano, thyme and finally the Parmesan cheese. Slide pizza off paddle or cookie sheet onto hot pizza stone. Bake until the pizza crust is nicely browned, 10 to 12 minutes. When the pizza is removed from the oven, transfer to a cutting board and garnish with the chiffonade of basil leaves, cut into slices, and serve immediately.