3mph is about slowing down and embracing the art of living. Food is an important part of that. We enjoy imagining and creating beautiful, artistic, fresh food. Pizza is high art at 3mph. Whether it’s a big thick, sourdough pie, slathered in garden fresh tomato sauce or a thin, sparsely decorated, tavern cut; we love to create pizza and eat it too.
It has become a weekend tradition. Sometimes we wash it down with wine and other times beer but it’s always created and consumed with passion and love; crafted by hand. So we thought we’d share a few of our creations with you. Maybe you’ll start your own tradition.
“I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.” ― Oscar Wilde
This week, we created a pair of free-form, Tavern Cut Pies. Vickie really likes the thin, crispy crust; she’s not as into wild yeasty bread as I am. Or maybe she just appreciates that it cuts the carbohydrate load significantly. Originally we were trying to clone the pizzas from “BJ’s Brewhouse” but we have now mastered the art of crispy, thin crust Pub Pizza. IMHO our little pies are as good or better than the pizza we were attempting to emulate.
The key is keeping the pizza fairly dry. We used a faux pesto sauce for these pies, substituting baby spinach for fresh basil. In garden season we have plenty but that’s a few months away. Olive oil, garlic, dried basil and baby spinach, sautéed together created the base layer. The toppings were air fried chicken breast, olives, onions and about a quarter of a bell pepper that was looking lonely, in the veggie drawer of the fridge.
Back in the day, I thought all pizza should have a double dose of cheese. I’m sure glad I let go of that belief. Too much cheese hides all of the other wonderful flavors, not to mention being a burn hazard to the soft fleshy roof of your mouth. These pies only had a sprinkling of parmesan, allowing the Italian marinade on the chicken to shine through. The parmesan also pairs nicely with the olives to provide that pleasant, savory umami taste, that I crave.
The beer of choice for these pies was Left Hand Brewing’s 6x medal winner, Sawtooth Amber Ale. A perfectly balanced beer that goes wonderfully with just about anything. Left Hand brews beer in Longmont, Co. and is one of my favorite Colorado Craft Brewers, (it’s a long list). Being a southpaw, I not only love their beer, I love their name.
Sawtooth Amber Ale The perfect balance between chewy malt and herbal hops. Our original flagship, Sawtooth Amber Ale, continues to stand the test of time. Enjoying a pint is like playing your favorite classic album. Nostalgic, influential and a journey to be enjoyed from beginning to end. Malty chewiness slowly transitions over to herbal, earthy hops that make way for the crisp, dry finish of this multi-award-winning ale. Proving beer can be both complex and balanced since 1993. STYLE Amber Ale ABV 5.3% IBU 27 COLOR Amber GLASS Pub Glass MALT 2-Row, Crystal, Munich, Wheat, Black Malt HOPS CTZ, US Goldings, Willamette, Cascade TEMP 50°F
This is the inaugural edition of Foodie Friday. We’re thinking about making it a weekly post like “Happy Humpday” Quotes and “Monday Morning Music.” Life is Art and Art is Life. Explore, Play, Create – Life is Short. What are you focused on?