Veggie Taco Deep Dish Pizza/Hallo-movie Extravaganza

Edit: I started writing this post in October but am just now getting around to posting it. Sorry (not really). I should probably make something more thanksgiving-themed, but we're going to relive the Halloween days. Who says you can't eat pizza and watch scary movies in November or December? 

It's October (it was October at one point). You're probably going to be watching some scary movies (it's always a good time to watch scary movies). What goes well with scary movies? A big, gooey, PIZZA. Good idea. Wait...where are you going....no, don't pick up the phone (or the Foodler). Stop. Back away. Grab your cast iron skillet. Let's get to work.

Don't eat that.

Not only is this pizza cheaper, more delicious, and healthier than delivery pizza...it's also taco. And vegetarian. You could make it with meat, but my CSA came the day I made it so I couldn't resist putting a bunch of awesome local produce all over it. The recipe is really pretty flexible - have fun with it.

Recipe: Veggie Taco Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients

1 tomato (they're still in season!!)

1 onion

1 jalapeno

cilantro

1 cup lettuce

1 avocado

lime juice

1 cup shredded cheese

1 bell pepper, diced

1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
Taco seasonings (chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, etc. be inventive)

1 cup pinto beans, drained and rinsed

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for brushing

salt

Start by prepping the pizza dough. Combine the flour, yeast, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly until there is no more dry flour. Form the dough into a ball by tucking the dough under itself. Grease a 10 inch cast iron skillet and put the ball in the skillet, turning it over to coat it in oil (a cake pan will do just fine). Starting in the center,  press the dough to the edges of the skillet, turning the pan to do it evenly. This part's kinda fun. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise for 2 hours. After 1 hour of rising, put the oven rack smack in the middle, and set the temperature to 550. 

While the dough is rising, prep the vegetables. Get the pico de gallo marinating. Chop the tomato, onion, half the jalapeno and mix together with a handful of cilantro, dash of salt, and splash of lime juice (I'm awesome at measuring). Cover and let sit in the fridge until ready to use. 

Next, get the beans going. Add the other half of the jalapeno and chopped garlic to the saucepan with a small dab of oil. After a couple of minutes, add the beans and about 3 tbsp water (if not using canned beans, some salt would be good here). Cook for another 10 minutes on low. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Start prepping the vegetables now. Slice the pepper and mushrooms like you would for a fajita. In about a tablespoon of oil, cook about 2 tablespoons of your taco seasoning over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes. Add the peppers and mushrooms and stir-fry until the veggies get all fajita-y.

Once the dough is done rising, take off the plastic wrap and start layering! Spread the beans around as the sauce base. Sprinkle the cheese. Throw on the fajita vegetables. Throw the whole pan into the oven for 12-15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melty and bubbly. When it's done baking, put the pico and fresh veggies on top. Eat it! It's great with hot sauce.

Now give yourself a pat on the back and thank yourself for not calling in a pie.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Combine the flour, yeast, oil, salt, and water. Mix until there is no dry flour and form into a ball.

Grease a cast-iron skillet and turn the ball around in the skillet to coat. Press the dough around to the edges of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Make some pico de gallo! Not sure how authentic this is, but has jalapenos, tomatoes, onion lime juice and salt.

Cook half a jalapeno and a couple cloves of garlic in a dab of oil. After 2-3 minutes, add the beans and 3 tbsp water. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.  Mash with a fork, potato masher, or a whisk (which I have found works quite well).

Stir fry the peppers and mushrooms in a pan with some oil and taco seasoning. You want to cook these guys to a fajita-like consistency.

Once the rise is done, it's time to start topping the pizza! Start with those beautiful beans

Shredded cheeze.

Fajita-style. Bake in the oven at 550 for 12-15 minutes, or until it looks like a done pizza. I assume you know what it looks like.

Get ready to finish with some lettuce, cilantro, and avocado. Also you should probably drink wine.

This is what a done pizza looks like.

This is what a done and topped pizza looks like. Don't tell me you don't want to shove your face in that.

Review: All of the Halloween movies I watched

Hey November Kim here, reporting to you in the future! I'm going to try and go back and remember all of the movies I watched in October to celebrate the best of holidays - no offense Thanksgiving - Halloween.

First up: Nosferatu (1922)

I will say I appreciated this movie for what it was. Being shot in 1921, it still holds up pretty well these days. In case you don't know, it's a black and white silent vampire film inspired by Bram Stoker's Dracula. The filmmakers couldn't get the rights to use the story so they changed around some things, including the character names, only to be sued later by Stoker's fiance who had the film destroyed. The film was retained by a cult following, but the original score composition has since been lost and recreated by many composers. I would recommend watching the film if you're a big movie buff, but I wouldn't recommend the drinking game my roommate and I decided to play (drink every time you have to read!).

This is a clock from the movie. I will pay you so much money if you find me one.

Second up: Tremors (1990)

I rented this one as a half joke and watched it the night before my half marathon with the idea that I could watch it for a half hour or so before going to bed super early. I'm glad it was a short movie because we ended up not being able to turn it off. I mean, it's a Kevin Bacon movie about giant underground worms. There were thousands of runners at the race the next day, and all I could think of was the vibrations our feet made on the pavement and how we would be so toast if the worms decided to invade southern New Hampshire.

The scariest one was VHS (2012)

I don't know if it was the situation in which I watched this movie or the movie itself, but this one terrified me. I decided a Saturday night with nobody home at around midnight was the perfect setting to watch a scary movie. I should have just watched Tremors 2 or something. 

The movie is a series of found-footage style stories, all done by different directors. Spoiler alert: pretty much everyone dies at the end of each story, and whether or not it is actually a terrifying movie I'm not sure, but I slept on the couch that night with all of the lights on.

I read that the sequel is even better so now I feel like I have to watch it. I think I'll wait until my boyfriend is around before tackling that one though.

Some classics: Halloween (1978) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I haven't seen either of these in a very long time, and they both held up really well for different reasons. I wouldn't really consider Nightmare a horror film, but my roommate had never seen it before, and I think that's about as scary of a movie I can get her to see. It's always good to go back and watch old scary movies that you haven't touched in a while. Perhaps next year we'll hang out with Mr. Krueger? I guess we'll see.

What did you watch this year?