Rockin' Mushroom Pizzas

Edit: Readers, your opinion is requested and appreciated in the comment section of this post. We are conducting something of a school pizza poll. See the last paragraph of the article for the full poll request.

Pizza Time... Again

Cooking with minimal ingredients and materials has become something of a ritual around here. Small kitchens, semi-temporary Irish status, and inability unwillingness to spend money have forced allowed us to create workarounds, especially when cooking for more than just two.

We were inspired to make pizzas after finding a pack of mushrooms on sale at the supermarket. Mozzarella cheese is always cheap, so we were well on our way to pizza freedom. Interestingly, pepperoni isn't as easily found on supermarket shelves here. It can be purchased, but usually it is, well, pepperoni, sliced fresh from a big moldy (in a good way) and expensive tube of meat. Americans (like us) are used to cheap little plastic vacuum packs of bright red discs, shiny with grease and spiced just enough so that we can taste them on pizza.

We did find (as we always do...) a workaround in chorizo. Interestingly, this Spanish cured meat is available in cheap, pre-sliced vacuum packs. Pepperoni just isn't as popular as an aperitif as chorizo, salami, and French-style cured meats. We reached for the mild variety of chorizo and hoped for the best.

I made dough with my standard bread recipe:

Dump some flour in a bowl
Pour in some salt
Sprinkle on some yeast
Squirt in a little oil (or don't)
Pour in some warm water
Knead until stretchy
Rise until big
Bake until done

The recipe turned out perfect(ish) dough just like it does every time. In pizza, definitely add the oil for easier kneading, darker crust browning, and to prevent pan sticking on cheap aluminum cookware.

We used another standard, bean-enriched tomato sauce with our chorizo, cheese, and mushrooms. Pizzas shaped and ready to bake!

Topping Mushroom Pizza

Making it Work

We were cooking for three, but we lacked tools that many would say are necessary for pizza cookery. Namely, a pizza stone or pizza pan. Back in Iowa, we had both, and I have to say, I loved cooking with the pizza stone. Breads, pizzas, cookies, biscuits, and any other non-drippy baked good just came off the stone better.

Sadly, no stone out here. Just pans. And pans we have, but size we're missing. We have our heavy-duty (but very small) baking sheet, we have our sturdy (but also small) non-stick, oven-safe skillet, a thin aluminum cake pan, and a cheap glass casserole dish. All four were pressed into oven service on our big pizza night.

Four Different Pies

Not All Pizzas (or Slices) are Created Equal

When baking like this, some, ahem, variety can be expected. Pizzas of different shapes, sizes, and baking materials have no business in the same oven with the same temperatures and baking times. If one (like I) forces the issue, each pizza will be baked slightly differently. The pizzas on the most dense materials will have a darker crust, the larger pizzas will be slightly softer in the middle, and the corners on the rectangular 'zas will be a little brown. Remember the large high school pizzas, Americans? 

For our non-Yankee readers, one standard school lunch food in America is pizza. Throughout the country, school nutritional specialists (lunch ladies) stretch out frozen and thawed pizza dough over huge rectangular sheets. The dough is topped with canned sauce and pre-shredded cheese and baked. Food-heads among us can predict the (deceptively delicious) results- a pizza that is dark and crispy in the corners and gooey and doughy in the middle. Every, and I mean every American school kid knows her preference in pizza slice location. Corner, middle, or in-between.

...Anyway, the easiest way to deal with the variety of pizza textures is... to just deal with it. I suppose different baking times, resetting of oven temperatures, and other measures could be taken to make the pizzas more consistent, but who needs all that trouble? We were hungry and there was beer!

Finished Pizzas

X-Treme Pizza Closeup

Comment Section Pizza Poll

With a large (and growing!) readership of Americans and Europeans, I'd like to conduct a school pizza poll.

American readers: Tell us your high school pizza preference! Were you a gooey middle slice fan? Did you like yours crispy and brown? Did you abstain from pizza altogether? Share your pizza (or school lunch) stories.

European readers: Describe your school lunches for we Americans. I have no idea what the school lunch structure is in different countries. Did you have pizza? Was it a big, unevenly-baked rectangle? What were your favorite foods for lunch as a student?

Pat Liddy Tour Continued

More Walking and Talking with Liddy

After the Kilmainham story from Pat Liddy, we continued his walking tour across the street and through a very strange and seemingly out-of-place castle gate into a delightful courtyard leading to the Dublin Museum of Modern Art and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The walking tour didn't include the hospital, the museum, or the grounds, but we paused for a short description of the historical importance of the neighborhood.

Richmond Tower

That tower isn't as old as it looks, and it wasn't always standing on this spot in west Dublin. It used to stand in City Centre on the busy quays. It served no real defensive purpose, but was just a garish landmark. Unfortunately, the passage through the gate can only accommodate one vehicle at a time, and the gate became a cause of major traffic jams as City Centre roads became busier. It was finally dismantled and rebuilt brick-by-brick here as the pedestrian entrance to the grounds of the museum and the hospital in 1844. The designer of the gate cleverly carved his own coat-of-arms into the stone above the gate and covered it with a piece of wood painted to match the stone. His plan was to have the wood rot away to reveal his symbol years after his death as a sort of joke from beyond the grave. Maybe it would be less morbid to say it was a personal time capsule...

Not Your Grandmother's Hospital (Unless she was a 19th-Century British Army Vet)

The Royal Hospital Kilmainham isn't a hospital in the modern sense, it served as sort of a retirement home for injured and elderly British soldiers. It was loosely modeled after Napoleon's Hotel Invalides in Paris. After its service for the British ended, it served a variety of purposes until it was finally commissioned as the Dublin Museum of Modern Art.

The grounds around the hospital were used as cemeteries during its years as a care facility. Many important historical British and Irish figures are buried in the these yards. Interestingly, this same site was used by early Irish tribes and Viking settlers as a burial ground centuries before the hospital was built. Sadly, when these remains were discovered as the hospital was being constructed, archaeology wasn't the careful science it is today, and much of the excavation was sloppy and destructive. The 19th-century builders were more interested in getting their buildings finished than cataloguing or preserving thousand-year-old bones.

Much more to be written about the hospital, museum, and grounds, but that will be another post.

Movin' On

After the quick visit inside the hospital grounds, we made our way toward Goldenbridge. On the way, we stopped to have Mr. Liddy point out one of Dublin's many identical Art-Deco libraries in Inchicore. Dublin's literary explosion happened just in that magic sweet spot when Art-Deco buildings were all the rage. Consequently, a number of public libraries were commissioned and designed in this famous and classic style. To save money on building design, city planners built several identical libraries in different outer suburbs.

Art-Deco Public Library Inchicore, Dublin

After the library, we continued to the last leg of this wonderful tour, the Goldenbridge neighborhood... 

Brú na Bóinne Day

Off-Season

In March, we finally made the short day trip to the famous Brú na Bóinne Valley in County Meath, just northwest of Dublin. The valley, a World Heritage Site, is home to Newgrange, the most famous passage tomb in the world. Newgrange itself deserves (and will receive) its own post. Here we'll tell the adventurous tale of our travels to, around, and from the Brú na Bóinne area.

The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, the only way to access the passage tombs, is about an hour's travel from Dublin City Centre. Again, those stone age builders were so inconsiderate in their planning, building their impressive civilization so far away from easy tourist access... Oh well. A number of guided bus tours leave from Dublin to Brú na Bóinne throughout the year, but they back off on the schedule during the off-season. March is just at the edge of the busy season, so we were a bit of a tight spot getting to the site, car-less as we are.

We didn't have any scheduling flexibility, we only had a Thursday to made the trip, and the tour operators (who I don't fault at all...) all asked if we could go on Friday, when they had enough tours to make the trip profitable. No dice on that, so we had to make it with Bus Eireann, the national bus system. This would be the first time we had taken a B.E. trip that required switching buses and a tight connection. We bought our tickets and hoped for the best.

So Far, So Good

We caught the first bus from Dublin City Centre on the cold, rainy, and windy morning. It was running late, and we had a very tight connecting bus to catch at Drogheda, the main commuter bus station north of Dublin. Luckily, the bus leaving for Brú na Bóinne waited for the Dublin bus to arrive. The driver of the bus told us (and the few others traveling to the site) that the road has been under some construction, and he would do his best to get us as close to the site as he could. 

We traveled through Donore Village and were enjoying the view of the rural countryside when we arrived at the construction site. Our driver talked to the construction workers, presumably asking about the construction schedule for the day. We were able to make it through the construction to the Visitor Centre, and the sightseeing could finally begin.

Entrance Stone

Visitor Centre

Valley Diorama

Bru Na Boinne and Surrounds

The Visitor Centre at Brú na Bóinne is a fantastic interpretive exhibit about the ancient past of the site. I was surprised to learn that the passage tombs had been discovered several hundred years ago, but sat abandoned and overgrown for centuries. During that time, they were looted, vandalized, and otherwise mistreated until the mid twentieth century. I shouldn't have been surprised to learn this, as so many other sites of historical and archaeological importance here have been similarly dismissed. I guess when the land is literally spewing ancient artifacts out of the ground, it's easy to get spoiled...

The River Boyne (the same river that flows through Trim) makes a wide bend here, and a partly natural, partly constructed hill overlooks the whole bend. This would have been the perfect location for an ancient settlement; it was easily defensible and had easy access to water and rich farmland in the floodplain. Today, the views of the river and the incredibly green land surrounding are unforgettable. 

River Boyne

Obligatory Cory-Looking-At-The-Water Shot

Rolling Green, Sheepy Hills

Robin (Not an American Robin)

The site itself is only accessibly by a special shuttle from the Visitor Centre, and photos and captions from the site will be in another post. We saw some amazing things at the site, so don't miss it!

After the peek inside Newgrange, we made our way back to the Visitor Centre, turning in our admission stickers on the way...

Admission Sticker Swirls

 Back at the Centre, we were ready for something warm after being on the high hillside in a blustery wind and spitty rain. Let's make it a hot cup of tea and a smuggled-in bran muffin from home!

Tea and Smuggled Bran Muffin

"Don't Wanna Be Your Monkey Wrench..."

Finally, it was time to catch the bus back home. Bus Eireann only serves the Visitor Centre twice a day, one drop off in the late morning, one pickup on the mid-afternoon. The timing is just perfect for a visit, so the bus scheduling was well planned. Unfortunately, road construction would throw the proverbial monkey wrench into all of those well-laid plans.

As the pickup time at the Visitor Centre came and went, the small group of us who had all been dropped off earlier began to wonder. As time went on and on, we decided something was wrong and we needed to check with the bus station. Luckily, I had the number of the Drogheda station and gave the operator a call. The news wasn't good.

The morning driver, trying to do us a favor, drove through the construction and told us the pickup would be at the Visitor Centre. Our guess was that the construction team told the driver the road would be passable in the afternoon. In the end, it wasn't. According to the bus operator, we were supposed to have been dropped off and picked up in Donore Village, but none of us knew that. The operator, feeling bad that we were stuck, tried to send a bus to us, but the bus arrived at a torn-up road, unable to pass. We got a call back letting us know we were on our own...

So we walked. We weren't sure what to do, Donore Village was only a mile or so from the Centre, but the Drogheda Bus Station was close to five miles away, and we were hoping to get home early. Missing the last bus to Dublin wasn't a concern, as they run hourly from Drogheda to Dublin until late in the evening, but we had a trip to Germany to make the next day, and still had to pack!

The group of us walked to Donore Village and decided to take a taxi the last stretch to Drogheda. We stepped into the village pub and asked the bartender to call a cab for us. It was a nice opportunity to see a bit more of the country than we had planned. The group of us must have been quite a sight in the small, quiet pub.

The cab got us to the bus station just in time for the next bus, and all was well. Looking back on the adventure, I am just thankful I am one of those glass-half-full guys. I wasn't feeling so half-fully while walking with a pre-paid bus ticket in my hand, but, as fortune would have it, the weather turned nice just in time for our little country stroll. There must be a lesson about minor setbacks and staying positive in there somewhere, but I just can't seem to find it...

Always Look on the Bright Side of...

Bottling Turbo Yeast "Rum"

"Rum" Revisited

A while back I set out to test the fermentation limits of the cider yeast from Homebrew West. I mixed up a mysterious beverage of unrefined sugar, yeast nutrient, and water. My Turbo Yeast wasn't up to the challenge- possibly due to age, possibly to not making a starter. I use quotes around the word, "rum" because this is not distilled. Home distilling is illegal in Ireland (and in many other countries), so it's important to note that here.

Either way, the cider yeast kicked in and fermented like mad. A full month later, I approached it with the hydrometer for a test. To my delight, the hydrometer sank low, WAY low. This means that the cider yeast did a killer job of fermenting down this wash. Either that or the turbo yeast finally kicked in and finished it off with the cider yeast. Impossible to be scientifically sure, but hey, this is homebrewing, not science! Time to bottle!

Pretty Standard Bottling

Bottling this was a cinch. I only had a liter of volume, and I needed (of course) to have a small... ahem... sample while I was working. My total yield would be small, but powerful. I readied two 500mL bottles, knowing I would only need about one and half.

Ready to Bottle

I poured out one glass, one clear bottle, and one half cloudy bottle. No worries on the cloudy bottle, I stuck it in the fridge to settle out and I'll drink that one when it clears out. The glass, by the way, is a whiskey glass I found on the street.

Finished Bottling

How'd it Taste?

Well, in a word, strong. It fermented down surprisingly well. It had a strong smell and quite a sharp taste. A lot of the reported "cidery" taste was up front. These flavors are usually attributed to using too much table sugar. Welp, guess that's what happens when the drink is all sugar. 

This won't be something to drink by the pint, let's just say. I think my original plan of mixing it with cola will best suit this particular experiment.

Munich City Walk

After getting our bearings and checking in to our rooms in Munich, we took on the Rick Steves Munich Walking Tour. Mr. Steves is our go-to guide for trips around Europe. His no-nonsense guides offer honest advice for American travelers, and I feel like he has a good sense of what non-backpacking-partiers want to see in European cities. His self-guided walks (often accompanied by a free downloadable audio guide!) are always top notch.

This walk starts us off at Marienplatz, under the looming shadow of its New Town Hall. I know, the building depicted below hardly seems like anything we could call, "New," but it used to be younger than its sister hall, just across the square.

New Town Hall

The Hall is so long, it's difficult to capture in a single photo frame from the square, so we have to admire its charm and beauty piece by piece. It is one of the few buildings that survived World War II, as Munich was largely bombed flat by the allies.

The stars of the New Town Hall dance around her famous glockenspiel, a marvel of cute 19th-century automation. Twice daily, the coopers dance below as the Lord and Lady watch the mounted knights joust above. We were lucky enough to catch the show the morning after this walking tour.

New Town Hall Glockenspiel

And... Here's a shaky cell-phone camera video of the climax of the show from YouTube.

The New Town Hall was built as an improvement to the Old Town Hall nearby in the same square. The Old Town Hall was completely destroyed in The War and rebuilt later.

Old Town Hall

Still in Marienplatz, we took a look at the statue from which the square gets its name, Maria, the Virgin Mary stands tall in the middle of the square. Munich was a longtime Catholic stronghold as much of Germany was converting to Protestantism in the wake of Martin Luther. The New Town Hall and the other buildings in the square all face inward to the central pillar with Mary.

Mary in Marienplatz

Inside the New Town Hall complex, we noticed the seals of Munich's sister cities. Look at the venerable company attached to Munich: The Great Kiev, Shakespeare's Verona, Stony Edinburgh, Imperial Sapporo, and...Cincinnati! Nasty 'Nati. Hmmmm.

And.. Cincinnati!

In the next corner of the square is St. Peter's Church. Another Catholic stronghold in Munich, the church was badly damaged in the war and rebuilt, like much of this great city.

St. Peter's Church Sanctuary

St. Peter's Church Exterior

We will be back to this church, particularly the belltower... but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Next stop is the Viktualienmarkt, the busy food-and-goods open air market just off Marienplatz. The market was booming and buzzing with locals and tourists. Pictured below is the famous Maypole in the square. Maypoles like this used to serve as information posts for illiterate villagers, advertising what was on sale in the market on a given day. 

Viktualienmarkt Maypole

Near the market is the Jewish Synagogue and History Museum. Note the not-so-subtle fortress-like atmosphere surrounding the rebuilt synagogue and Jewish center. A set of huge iron double doors with the Ten Commandments inscribed on their faces is the only entrance to the complex. Much more on the tragedy of the twentieth century later.

Synagogue in Munich

Around the corner from the Synagogue is another church, this one a hilarious advertisement to a pair of wonderfully-named 18th-century church architects. This church is just 30 feet wide, and is built between two homes. It was designed and constructed by the Asam (pronounced awesome) Brothers in 1740 as a demonstration to potential church building customers. Without much space, the brothers had to squeeze in all the potential features of their churches, regardless of taste, space, or restraint.

The front facade is overly decorated with concrete and stone gargoyles, statues, and a variety of pillar and scrollwork. Potential buyers could admire all of these features before stepping into the delightfully tacky...

Asam Church Facade

Oh yeah, the interior. Many of the crowning achievements of these two brothers were in their trickery. The ceiling is flat, but painted to give the illusion of an expensive dome. They used cheap glass to look like thin-sliced alabaster, and painted wooden pillars to perfectly match precious marble. All the plaster, gold, and paint tricks here would be selected a la carte by potential church builders and ordered from the brothers.

Apparently, they did quite well for themselves, and why not! Today, the church is a legitimate functioning Catholic church.

Asam "Awesome" Interior

Asam "Awesome" Altar

...Just another 500 year old church, St. Michael's lies between Karlsplatz and Marienplatz. The statue of St. Michael stabbing a protestant in the face serves as a very not-so-subtle reminder that the Catholics were (and are) in charge of southern Germany.

St. Michael's Exterior

St. Michael Rockin' the Spear

St. Michael's Interior

On the way to Frauenkirche, I was ambushed by a large bronze catfish.

Cory Attacked!

Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) is the most famous Catholic church in Munich, at its twin domed towers are visible from just about anywhere in the city. It is of particular modern note because Josef Ratzinger served as Archbishop from this church until he moved to the Vatican. Later, he would become Pope Benedict XVI.

Frauenkirche Towers

 By this time, we were ready for angels of a different sort to give us respite from our long travels. Luckily, there was just such a place on our way, Hofbrauhaus.

Hofbrauhaus Exterior

Not sure what kind of thing happens at the Hofbrauhaus? Here's a hint. Tune in next week!

Wink Wink