Pizza Vesuvio

Perhaps you know, probably you don't, but I have had a little bit of a "beautiful cookbook" obsession going on.  My most recent purchase has gotten a considerable workout this week.  I got the book Buonissimo! by the Italian Gino D'Acampo.  Lots of pretty food pics and full of simple ingredient meals I would (and did) find loads of pleasure making.

So, Saturday I set out the ingredient list - squid ("cleaned and ringed"), red chili peppers, leeks, turbot fillets, Parmesan, sea bass filets, lemons, cherry tomatoes, rocket (arugula), dry yeast ...   My four recipes for dinner this week were going to be sea bass carpaccio, roasted leeks with turbot fillets, squid/chorizo/chick pea salad, and a pizza vesuvio - all four from the book.

All are deemed successes.  How fun!!  Had a couple friends pop by last Saturday, and fortunately for them they got the sea bass carpaccio - whoa, delicious.  Raw fillets, sliced thin, covered in lemon juice, and then topped with slivers of red chili, fresh thyme leaves (didn't need to buy herbs because the herb garden is growing strong!), served with crackers.

Then I made the roasted turbot fillets Sunday night, quite pleasing.  Turbot is one of those really thin fish that swim horizontally, like a flounder, so if was cool to see my local fish monger actually cleaning this thing.  This was my first encounter working with leeks, though I know I have eaten them many time pureed in soups.  I actually had to google how to cut and wash them.  Slap all this on a tin pan, squeezed with lemon juice, joined with cherry tomatoes, and broiled it up.  Yum.

Monday's chorizo and squid salad was easy and healthy (well, as healthy as chorizo can be), a full meal because of the white beans.  The closer tonight - the pizza vesuvio - was exceptional.

Made my own homemade crust from scratch (though it didn't really rise like I expected - must be a latitude thing), and topped with kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, fresh grated Parmesan, basil leaves, and of course a bit of the chorizo.  Bingo!  Man, I had been thinking about eating this entire pizza in one sitting all day!  Done, and since I ate fish and veg all week, well deserved.

Accompany these by the Riesling out of my wine 'o the quarter club and one needs no more.  I have to say, these Saturday meal and shopping sessions have made me question seriously what travel is truly worth missing it for.