Farm fresh tomatoes, fresh-picked basil, a modest pinot noir, and Diana Krall, all elements of a relaxing evening in the kitchen.

Some of the best things in life are often composed of the simplest of ingredients and the same often goes for good food. Take this evening, for example. All Summer long I have wanted to make a pizza margherita from scratch, with fresh tomatoes, basil, a ball of mozzarella, and a crust to die for...and tonight was that night.

I started with the tried and true Giada DeLaurentiis pizza crust, as mentioned in a previous post, only this time I substituted half of the unbleached all-purpose flour for whole wheat. Other than that, I just went with the original recipe. I had originally hoped to use tomatoes from my home garden, but my vines just don't want to give me ripe fruit this year, so I instead went to the Ogden Farmer's Market and bought a bag of beauties, along with some other items (a baguette, some beets, and coffee). The basil, however, was from my garden.

I didn't use any recipe for the pizza, really, just sliced up the mozzarella and tomatoes and scattered then about the pizza dough, then topped it off with my basil, a twist or two of black pepper, a sprinkling of kosher salt and a drizzle of olive oil. No need for sauces or blends of cheese or stuffed crusts, just a pizza in its purest form. Throw it in the oven at 450°F for 15 minutes, uncork a bottle of modest pinot noir (2005 Harlow Ridge) and put on some Diana Krall and you have the recipe for a relaxing evening in the kitchen.

À votre santé.