Homemade Pizza

One of the things that I absolutely love to make is homemade pizza! There is just nothing like it. While, I really enjoy a good restaurant pizza, it is a completely different experience than eating a homemade pizza. Plus, a homemade pizza gives you so many options! You can top it with whatever kind of sauce, cheese, and toppings you desire. The most important part of a pizza recipe (in my opinion) is the dough. It can make or break the pizza. I have tried several different recipes, but the following is my favorite:

Pizza Dough
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas
1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)
3 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Olive oil
Cornmeal (optional)

Directions:

In the large bowl of an electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (or several hours longer, a longer rise will improve the flavor). If you don't have a warm spot in the house you can heat the oven to 150 degrees, and then turn off the oven. Let the oven cool till it is just a little warm, then place the bowl of dough in this warmed oven to rise.

If you don't want to use the dough right away you can let it rise in the refrigerator overnight or freeze it in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

When you are ready to bake the pizza. Preheat the oven to 450°F for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic cover from the dough and punch the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half. Form two round balls of dough. Place in bowls or on the pizza pans or stones you are going to bake on.

Prepare your desired toppings. If you want a very crispy crust, do not put too many toppings on the pizza.

Sprinkle your pizza pan with cornmeal. Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on the pizza pan. Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further. Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches. Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. You can pinch the very edges if you want to form a lip.

Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings) and shake on a little salt. Use your finger tips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Let rest another 5 minutes. Repeat with the second ball of dough.

Bake the pizza until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes.

Note: The particular pizza pictured above is a Mushroom Prosciutto pizza. The recipe is from my friend Sarah's blog (http://biscuitsandhoney.blogspot.com/)

The recipe for the toppings is as follows:

Pizza dough for one pizza
8oz sliced baby portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup finely minced shallots
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 ounces prosciutto, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese blend (I added some cheddar because I had it on hand)

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and spray with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and shallots
and sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and Italian seasoning, sauté 1 minute. Add vinegar and remove from heat. Set aside.
Spread mushroom mixture onto crust. Top with prosciutto and cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Artichoke-Squash Turkey Potpie

It is quickly nearing November, and the weather is becoming increasingly cool and dreary. I am not excited about the cloudy days, nor the dark mornings, but I AM excited to whip out my fall recipes and begin cooking my best comfort foods! I think fall food are my favorite. Smooth and creamy butternut squash soup, decadent pumpkin, chocolate chip muffins, sweet cranberry-pear crisp, thick savory stews....ahhh, all of these and more are coming soon! But last night I made my very favorite pot pie. It is scrumptious, but the best part about it is that it is super easy!! I don't have a picture, but here is the recipe and directions. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Note: There is some prep work for this recipe. It calls for cooked turkey (or chicken if you prefer). The night before, I made a turkey breast in my slow cooker. You can cook your meat however you wish, but I will post my recipe soon because it worked very well and produced turkey for us to eat off of for awhile!

Artichoke-Squash Turkey Potpie
Adapted from Stay for Supper

Dough:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter
3-4 TBS water

Filling:
1 small onion, chopped
3 TBS butter
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. instant chicken bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon (or 1 tsp fresh tarragon if available)
2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken if preferred)
2 small squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced (I used one zucchini and one yellow squash)
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl stir together the 2/3 cup flour, cornmeal, and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter till pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push to side of bowl. Repeat with remaining water till all is moistened. Form dough into a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12x6-inch rectagle; cut into eight 12x3/4-inch strips. Cover and set aside.

In a large saucepan cook onion in the 3 tablespoons butter till tender but not brown. Stir in the 1/3 cup flour, bouillon granules, tarragon, and pepper. Add 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Stir in turkey or chicken, zucchini, yellow squash, and artichoke hearts. Return to boiling, stirring frequently.

Transfer turkey mixture to a 9x9-inch baking dish. Immediately place 4 of the pastry strips, evenly spaced, across the turkey mixture. Place the remaining 4 strips the opposite way to form a lattice pattern. Trim off edges of pastry. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or till pastry is golden brown.

Serves: 4-5

What's with the name?

So, I have been meaning to start a food blog for over a year now and have finally gathered the courage to do it! I named this blog after a poem I wrote about my husband and I several years ago not too long after we had begun dating. I think it is an appropriate introduction for this blog that will be full of my cooking and writing!

Like Sour Apples with Spicy Apricot Soup

We are such a strangeness

You and I, fitting together to make a piece of art

The kind that makes them stop and stare

Not saying “how perfect,” “how beautiful”

No, they say, “look at the ducks, swimming behind”

“See the one with the twisted bill”

And we peak our eyes out of the frame

And giggle a bit, and hold hands fast

So as not to get stuck

We are as much a part of the wall as the picture

Blending into the background with dull grays and pinks

And shining in bright greens of life and newness.

We will make the world see a new kind of love

The kind that doesn’t have to be perfect, but has to be unique

We fit together like a sieve

Like sand in the mountain snows

And like tulips on the table in the fall.

You make me think of Danish pies

And yellow suburban houses

And fine grains of pepper that make the elderly sneeze in their wheelchairs

And we will visit them, and bring them roses, every one

And we will stand together on the shore and you will whistle to the gulls

And I will lay out the checkered blanket for us to jump on and make our blue footprints

And then we will hang it on the wall and show our grandchildren in years to come

You make me think of green plaid

And yellow cottages in the woods

You are nothing like me

With shining eyes, and thin face, and a gray sports coat with your jeans

And me the quiet one, with round cheeks, and studies, and too many thoughts and nothing to show for it

But together we are a picture, that’s for sure

And our minds are just alike

We sit and talk for hours

About nothing in particular, but everything at once

And soybeans, and turtles, and Iowa

And where we want to go, and the life we could have…together

We are everything that isn’t perfect

And we like it that way

And there are no expectations…nothing to make this last…and everything to make it fail

But we believe anyways

And dream of Forever.

That’s why we make a picture on the wall

Abstract with no ducks

And it makes them say

“look at their feathers…look at that one’s bill that is all twisted out of shape….look at the ducks! They’re all swimming backwards!”

But we swim for a purpose

Backwards in the water

To make art

Art that makes us think of sour apples and spicy apricot soup

But no ducks