Jim Lahey's Pizza Recipe

This was our first attempt to try making pizza from scratch!

Jim Lahey's Recipe for the pizza dough is:
+3.5 cups Bread Flour
+2.5 teaspoons of instant or other active dry yeast
+3/4 teaspoon table salt
+3/4 teaspoon plus a pinch of sugar
+1.5 cups room-temperature (about 72 degrees F) water
+olive oil for the pans
These ingredients are enough for two medium sized pizzas.

The key is to put the dough in a bowl and cover with saran wrap,
then let it rise for about 2 hours,
and then split the dough into half and cover it with a moist paper towel
and let it sit for another 30 minutes.
We were SUPER hungry so we cut down the initial 2 hours to about 1.5,
and for the first pizza we skipped the extra 30 minutes.

Bake it in the oven at 500 degrees for about 20-30 minutes,
depending on the thickness of the crust and what you put on top...

Sauteed Kale with Garlic, Mozzarella & Burrata Pizza.

Organic Tomato Sauce, Artichoke Hearts, Red Peppers,
Mozzarella & Burrata Pizza with Organic Italian Flat Parsley

Savoy (Azabu Jyuban, Tokyo)

One day, my sister and her friend and I went for lunch
at Savoy in Azabu Jyuban.
It is a very small cozy restaurant with maybe 10 counter seats
and a few small tables.

For lunch, they have a 1,000 yen deal (about $12)
where you get a salad and either a Margherita or Marinara Pizza
and a beverage. Great deal!!

Pizzas are made to order, right in front of you.
They only have a certain amount of dough for the day
so when they run out, they're done.

Start with a simple salad while your pizza is getting prepared.

Our pizzas getting baked.
You can see it in the right corner.

I ordered the standard: Margherita Pizza.
It literally takes about 5 minutes in the oven.
I thought it was a really good lunch!
Although my sister has been there quite a few times
and supposedly it's usually better when another guy makes the pizzas.
Would like to try the better version one day...

A Mascara D 'O Pulecenella (Yokohama, Kanagawa)

I had dinner one night with a friend at a small boutique style
Italian Restaurant called A Mascara D 'O Pulecenella.

Antipasto: Tartara di Manzo
(国産牛のタルタル）
Raw beef marinated with
three different types of ingredients:
Basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Mushrooms.
You can taste the freshness of the beef
and it goes so well with the toast points.
I would definitely order this one again.

Carpaccio Di Pesce (北海道産 水蛸のカルパッチョ)
The white piece of meat you see in dbetween the two cubes
is the fresh Octopus Carpaccio from Hokkaido, Japan.
I really liked the cubed fresh vegetables mixed in
within the salad, and also the basil pesto dressing
which was perfect and not overpowering the taste of the fresh greens.

Pizze Mozzarella Ottima,
ottima meaning excellent quality.
Only 5 are made daily due to the small quantity
of the 100% handmade mozzarella cheese.
(完全手作り水牛100％のモッツァレラ、プチトマト、パルミジャーノ、バジル)
So simple but so good.
I love the thin crispy crust of their pizzas.

Everything was so good that we just had to order another pizza.
Funghi (旬のキノコ)
Mozzarella, Seasonal Mushrooms, Mushroom Paste, Parmigiano Reggiano.

Their menu changes seasonally which is great too.
Highly recommended when in Yokohama.