October 2008 – Competition
was piping hot in the Third Annual CAVIT
GOURMET PIZZA CLASSIC, which came
to a finale on Sunday, September 21,
2008 at John’s
Pizzeria, Times Square in New York
City. Hosted by Cavit Collection wines,
this year’s Classic attracted thousands
of entries from Cavit fans and home pizza
cooks around the country, who submitted
their favorite gourmet pizza recipes
to vie for a chance to win the title “America’s
Best Gourmet Pizza” and an all-expense-paid
trip for two to Italy.
Home pizza chef Carolanne Flagg of Tucson, AZ won the judges over with her Fontina,
Roasted Fennel & Spinach Pizza! Try out the winning pie for yourself – the recipe follows below.
Chef
Billy of Cooking Light magazine had the difficult task of paring down an abundance of mouth-watering recipes to just three finalists, who prepared their recipes live on camera before a panel of three expert judges. Joining Chef Billy on the judging panel was Bravo’s Top
Chef culinary producer and executive chef of event operations at the French Culinary Institute Lee
Anne Wong, together with renowned restaurateur and wine expert Anthony
Mazzola, managing partner/proprietor of Accademia di Vino and partner at ‘Cesca in New York City. Popular pizza blogger Jeff
Varasano served as MC during the cook-off.
Congratulations to Carolanne and her fellow finalists: Brian Pizor of Cuyahoga Falls, OH (Wild Mushroom White Pizza), and Myra Lupo of Brooklyn, NY (Prosciutto, Arugula & Cheese Stuffed Pizza).
The Cavit Gourmet Pizza Classic is a nationally advertised
annual event sponsored by Cavit, the northern Italian winemaker that is the
source of America’s #1 Pinot
Grigio and Pinot Noir wines.* For more information and complete official rules,
and to view last year’s winning recipe, visit http://www.cavitcollection.com/html/winning_recipes.asp.
The Cavit Collection is imported by Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL.
*Nielsen 52 weeks ending 8/23/08 Food Drug Liquor
Fontina, Roasted Fennel and Spinach Pizza
Recipe
courtesy of Carolanne Flagg, Tucson, AZ
Ingredients:
Topping:
(1) small onion, sliced
(1) fennel bulb, sliced thinly
(1) small bag of baby spinach
(2) cloves of chopped garlic
(1) pinch of red pepper flakes olive oil, salt and pepper
(1) cup fontina cheese, grated
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:
(2) Tbsp. yeast
(1) Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
(2) cup warm water
(1) Tbsp. honey
(1) tsp. salt
(4) cups of bread flour
(1) cups whole wheat pastry flour
Instructions:
Topping: Preheat oven to 425°F. In a roasting pan, put 1 sliced small onion,
and 1 fennel bulb sliced thinly; drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
When this is browned/caramelized, add 1 small bag of baby spinach (pre-washed)
and 2 cloves of chopped garlic and pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook until spinach
is wilted. Let cool.
Pizza Dough: Mix dough ingredients in a bowl. Knead and form dough into two balls. Let dough rise once (enough dough for two large pizzas). Form dough on floured or cornmeal dusted pizza peel. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil lightly then add roasted vegetables. Top with grated Italian fontina cheese and bake until golden. Bake on a pizza stone which has been preheated in a 550oF oven for at least 30 minutes.
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