I have a bad habit of getting ahead of myself. Last Wednesday my family was going to complete building my dad’s clay brick oven in their backyard. I was so excited that: 1. I was going to work on something as cool as a clay brick oven and stomp in clay for the night, and 2. a completed oven equates to future crispy-crust pizzas. My weeknight free time is slim, so I thought this would be the perfect project to piggyback with a mini wine tasting (I was given two bottles of wine to taste test; blog writing has a few compensation perks). I started to talk about the project—a lot . Everyone in my close circle was very aware of the construction as well as all of my “friends” and “followers” on the Internet. I may have put the cart before the horse.
It was Wednesday at 4:00pm, I was about to trek out to my parents and I got the call that there was going to be no oven assembly that night. “What…are you kidding…why not?” I said. Apparently once we started the work, there was no stopping the stomping. Wednesday night was not our night. Wine and pizza are a good match, whereas wine and oven building… maybe not the best. I was bummed, but got over it shortly. I was most sheepish about the fact that I had publicized such a non-event.
So, wine night it was. My parents are predominantly white wine drinkers while Brian and I usually go for red. The brand was Chocolate Box; we tried the Dark Chocolate (Shiraz ~$16) and the White Chocolate (Sauvignon Blanc~$15). I am not going to bore you with superfluous wine talk concerning the legs, aromas, and finish. I am going to tell you that these Australian wines were excellent. Interestingly enough, the white wine crew liked the Dark Chocolate best and the red wine group went for the White Chocolate. I loved that both wines were silky smooth-as anything with the name chocolate should imply.
In my family, projects don’t always have the end date that was originally set. Start dates don’t always have the date that was originally set, for that matter. But I tell you what, it’s nothing a little wine can’t help solve and certainly doesn’t take away from any night being perfect.
If you are looking to purchase these wines and live in Chicago: check out Famous Liquors in Lombard (105 East Roosevelt Road), ask for JM Select’s wine selection.
No clay brick oven? No problem. Grill your pizzas on your Weber.
-Prepare grill
-Make three smaller pizzas out of one recipe of dough
-Roll out dough and dust with flour
-Place pizza dough directly on grill grate, cook over medium to high heat
-Grill for 4-5 minutes or until the crust begins to crisp (if air pockets begin to form, press dough down with a spatula)
-Turn the dough over and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes
-Remove dough and add the toppings to the pizza
-Place pizza back on the grill, cook for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts and desired crust forms
