Niskayuna blogger pens pizza cookbook
It’s hard to think of a more universally beloved food than pizza.
There for us in moments of celebration or sadness, endlessly versatile and the go-to call when a crowd needs to be fed, pizza, in all its many forms and iterations, always seems like a good idea.
“Pizza is just delicious. It’s inherently delicious,” Alexandra Stafford said. “It’s how I love to eat: bread, a little bit of cheese and sauce, vegetables, and the most delicious cured meats like bacon and sausage. And a salad by the side.”
Stafford brings plenty of expertise to that opinion as the author of the new cookbook “Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad,” published this week by Penguin Random House. Stafford is a familiar and lauded presence in the food world. Her long running blog, “Alexandra’s Kitchen,” won a Saveur Blog Award for Most Inspired Weeknight Dinners, and her first cookbook, “Bread Toast Crumbs,” was nominated for the IACP Julia Child First Book Award.
Stafford lives in Niskayuna with her husband and four children, but her passion for food started in childhood.
“I’ve always loved to eat and loved food, and I come from a family of people who love to cook,” she said.
In her mother’s kitchen, there was an ever-present loaf of rising bread dough in a bowl, covered by a tea towel, or dough proofing in a warm oven. This daily familiarity with the art of making homemade bread helped set both Stafford’s palate and her can-do attitude when it came to making bread — something that intimidates some home bakers, but never fails to impress a guest or elevate a meal.
“I think I saw from a very early point how you could make
people happy with food,” she said.
Her affinity for cooking and baking took her to culinary school, then work in restaurants and catering, before starting the “Alexandra’s Kitchen” blog in 2006. That medium, which Stafford says encourages discussion between the recipe writer and reader, helped hone her ability to troubleshoot issues that lessexperienced cooks might face, including questions about how equipment, ingredient quality and climate can affect the end result.
All of that thoughtfulness was on display in “Bread Toast Crumbs,” where easy to follow instructions paired with beautiful photographs empowered readers to try their hands at all kinds of homemade breads and baked goods.
That same tone follows in “Pizza Night,” which contains 52 recipes for pizza, accompanying salads and a handful of desserts. The end result is a pizza and salad pairing suggestion for every week of the year.
The inspiration for “Pizza Night” was born out of necessity, and a little bit of boredom.
“During the pandemic, I found myself making pizza more often,” Stafford said. “We were home all the time, and my kids love pizza. And then I found myself getting bored with the same three or four pizzas that I was making over and over again, and the same salad over and over again.”
She took to her sizable social media following (with 1 million Instagram followers) to ask her audience if they were also bored with making the same homemade pizzas all the time, looking for commiseration and inspiration. The response was big, and she knew she had her next cookbook idea in hand.
In the colorful and well-organized pages of “Pizza Night,” readers will find simple dough recipes — thin-crust, pan, Neapolitan-style and gluten-free (plus sourdough variations) — as well as uncomplicated recipes for sauces and salad dressings. Stafford also shares tips for equipment and ingredients to help home cooks make their best pizza.
The book is organized by season, a recurring theme and grounding ethos in Stafford’s published recipes and her family’s way of eating.
“In eating and cooking seasonally, you learn what’s best when, and what keeps well. And it teaches you how delicious things are before you need to do anything to them,” Stafford said.
“Organizing (the book) by season really helped. What are the star vegetables you need to showcase? And then it becomes a process of trying to balance the right meat with those vegetables.”
That balance is key, and reflected in the pizza and salad pairings throughout the book.
“If the pizza is going to be heavier, I want the salad to be lighter. I’m always balancing the amount of meat and cheese with what’s going to be in the salad, and asking what flavors go together.”
In the spring section, for example, the recipe for Asparagus Pizza with Creme Fraiche and
Whipped Ricotta is paired with a Fennel Salad with Citrus, Olives and Parmesan. In summer, a recipe for Grilled Pizza with Oven Dried Tomatoes, Mascarpone and Basil Pesto marries with a Summer Caesar Salad with Grilled Romaine, Crispy Capers and Parmesan.
Stafford also offers suggestions for what kinds of pizza work best in assorted entertaining situations. While a fresh, stretched Neapolitan-style dough that goes right into the oven might work best on a weeknight, a pan pizza is a great idea for a crowd.
“I love making pan pizza when I’m entertaining. We always have people over on Halloween, and I make a couple Detroit- or Sicilianstyle pizzas because you can assemble them ahead of time. So we’ll get them topped before we leave, go trick-or-treating and throw them in the oven for 12 minutes when we get back.”
The versatility of the “Pizza Night” recipes speaks to Stafford’s warm, accessible, unfussy approach to food, but she is a purist about one or two things.
“I always make my own dough. I understand that everyone is very busy, and there are lots of good storebought options. But I find it’s harder to stretch out, and I can never get it to be as light and airy as when you make it at home.
“I think it’s so easy to make your own, because I do it all the time,” she said. “The more you do it, the easier it becomes. It becomes a practice.”
And while Stafford confesses to having a jar or two of Rao’s tomato sauce in her pantry for when she’s in a pinch, she much prefers a homemade version. Her recipes, including a no-cook option, make it hard to argue against trying a from-scratch version.
Stafford hopes the cookbook will make pizza nights easier and more exciting for families.
“(The best part of writing a cookbook is) after the fact, when I hear from people who tried a recipe and loved it.
“Whether it’s making pizza or bread, it’s such a rewarding thing to know how to do. Homemade is so much better,” she said.
“Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad” is available in bookstores. Tour dates, social media channels and other information are available at Alexandracooks.com.
Join Alexandra at the Vischer Ferry General Store Friday, May 17, for a ticketed pizza dinner event. Information at vischerferrygeneralstore.com.