Homemade Pizza

I have been wanting to try a new pizza dough recipe for some time and recently I had enough free time to make it happen without feeling overwhelmed.

There is something mistakenly daunting about dough. We hear "kneading" and "rising" and suddenly we act like we have to slay a dragon to get to the good part. That's not true! Yes, the dough takes time to rise (in this recipe, it takes an hour all in one go). Yes you will have to do a little kneading (in this recipe, twice, quickly). But it's not difficult or complicated to do, so get over it and just make the darn dough. Alright?!

I used this recipe from Food Republic because of the simplicity of the recipe, and also because after many Google searches and Pinterest scouring, this seemed match most generally agreed-upon basic pizza dough recipes. The only thing I tweaked was the baking temperature, which I increased to 500 F. 

For the toppings I kept it simple: roasted garlic and olive oil topped with a variety of sliced meats and melty cheeses from a local delicatessen, Choux Choux Charcuterie (for all the Victoria folks out there, I highly recommend trying at least one thing here -- it's all good), but really anything can go on your pizza: arugula, feta, sauteed mushrooms, chicken, roasted veggies, tomatoes and basil... dang it. Now I'm hungry for pizza all over again.

Makes two 12" pizzas
Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for greasing the dough and rising bowl  (Note: I used an infused Tuscan Herb olive oil for extra flavor)
• 3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface

Directions:

1. Pour the warm water into a large bowl, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until creamy and lightly foamy.
2. Mix in the the sugar, salt, and olive oil. Lightly dust a separate work surface with flour. You will want to do this now before your hands are covered in dough. Trust me, you'll be so glad you don't have to think about the logistics in about 5 minutes.
3. Gradually mix in the flour. If you have a stand mixer, you can use a dough hook and mix on low until a dough ball forms. Otherwise, get in there with clean hands and mix the dough until a ball forms. Turn the dough out onto your flour-dusted work surface and knead until the dough is smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Lightly grease a large bowl then place the dough inside. Brush a little oil on top, cover the bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm, breeze-free place for one hour or until doubled in size. Basically don't put it by an open window, leave it somewhere it won't be disturbed while it rises.
5. When there is about 15 minutes of rising left preheat your oven to 500 F. 
6. Once the dough is ready turn it out onto your work surface again (top up on flour if you need to). Use a dough-cutter or a large knife to cut the dough in half. Gently knead one half, form into a ball again, then roll it out into a 12-inch round. Transfer the dough gently to a pizza stone or non-stick (or lightly greased) baking sheet. Repeat for the second ball of dough. 

1. Top with whatever toppings you choose, then bake for 12-15 minutes. Try not to open the oven while it's baking as you don't want to loose any heat while it's crisping up.
2. Remove from the oven when the crust is golden, let it sit for 3-5 minutes so the cheese can set up a bit before slicing and serving. 

If you want to make calzones you can use this dough recipe as well. Rather than cutting the dough into two portions you can quarter it and roll out 4 rounds for easy homemade calzones. Baking time would remain about the same, although depending on how much you stuff your calzones you may need a few extra minutes. Golden crust = cooked crust.

Double Chocolate Cookies

I always make room in my life for chocolate, and since it's Superbowl Sunday I decided to whip up a batch of cookies to bring along.   Baking is not like cooking, you can't "fake it 'til you make it", so after a bit of searching in my cookbooks and online, I decided to try Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Imagine the best chocolate chip cookie and the best brownie you've ever had, combine the two, and that's what these cookies are like. What more can a girl ask for?

These cookies are super rich and indulgent, so prepare to share with others unless you want to go into a chocolate coma.Which, I mean, is totally your choice.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces semi-sweet bakers chocolate
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet, milk, or even white chocolate if you prefer)
• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper, set aside. 
2. Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. 
3. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double-boiler until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into a large bowl, then mix in the sugar and eggs until combined. Mix in the dry ingredients you prepared earlier. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
4. Use a tablespoon to scoop golf ball-sized amounts of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the dough about 2 inches apart. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. The cookies will look very soft, just slightly beginning to crack when you remove them from the oven. You'll probably even think, no these aren't done! Ignore your reaction, transfer the parchment to a wire rack and let the cookies cool at least 10 minutes before handling. 

Cocoa Brownies (recipe from Bon Appetit)

I love trying out new recipes, and while I usually play around with new recipes when I'm cooking, baking is an entirely different story. My rule is that the recipe should be followed precisely the first time when baking, and then after that you can fiddle and fix all you want.

In the December 2012 Bon Appetit issue they had a recipe for Cocoa Brownies that looked divine, and it boasted being easy peasy so of course I had to give it a whirl. Also, I don't know about you but I'm more likely to have cocoa powder in my cupboard than squares of baker's chocolate, so this recipe was enticing because it didn't force me to put on pants on my day off. It's the little things in life that make me happy.

The Verdict: These are chocolate squares of heaven.


This recipe is essentially the same as the original, except I added in my notes about what I did and what I would do next time.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 8x8x2 glass baking dish with foil and grease it (next time I will use parchment paper because that's just my preference for lining dishes for bars). 
2. Melt the butter in a small bowl and set aside (I put the full block in a bowl in the microwave for 60 seconds). Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then slowly whisk in the butter. Add the vanilla (I usually triple the amount suggested), then one egg at a time, whisking as you go. Add the flour and fold into batter (I switched from whisk to large spoon at this stage to keep the fuss minimal) -- be careful not to over mix. 
3. Pour the batter and spread evenly into the prepared dish, then bake for 25-30 minutes -- test by inserting a knife - should come out clean or with a few crumbs (I baked mine in the middle of the oven for almost 35 minutes, so keep an eye on your brownies!). Cool on a wire rack before cutting (at this point you could even dust them with cocoa powder or powdered sugar).

Here is the original recipe. Trust me, this is worth the click.

Key Lime Pie

For Easter I decided to make a key lime pie, committed to bringing it to the BF's family dinner, and instantly realized that I've never made it before. I usually like to play around with new recipes, but this time I decided to pick a recipe and stick to it to avoid a disaster.
I chose Martha Stewart's Key Lime Pie, and it is beautiful! Tomorrow we will eat it, so I'll get feedback that I can add in later. I was really happy with how easy this recipe is, and I think it will be a perfect Easter dessert!

The recipe was pretty straight forward and I didn't have a hard time finding any of the ingredients which was nice. I knew that I could use regular limes if I didn't come across any Key limes, but I got lucky and stumbled upon a bag of Key limes in a nearby grocery store. For a "first time" recipe, I am so glad I chose to follow this one!

Tips and Suggestions:
I baked the pie crust then reduced the oven temperature before prepping the filling to ensure enough time for the crust to cool. 
Get yourself organized before you start! Locate the zester, the juicer, the whisk, the wire rack! Melt your butter! Make sure you have graham cracker crumbs on hand! 
Make this well ahead of serving time! I baked my pie a full day ahead.

Ingredients

•  1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup key lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lime zest

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the butter, crumbs, and sugar with a fork in a medium sized bowl. Press the mixture into a 9" pie plate (I use glass pie plates!) and bake for 12 minutes. Cool the crust on a wire rack -- cool it completely before filling it!
2. Decrease the heat of the oven to 325 F. Whisk the milk, yolks, lime juice, and zest in a medium bowl, then pour into the crust. Bake for 15-17 minutes (I baked it for the full 17 minutes) and then cool completely on a wire rack. 
3. Let the pie sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours before serving for optimal flavor, and serve with whipped cream! 

Basil and Peach Pizza

The universe wanted me to have this pizza for dinner. My sister emailed me a recipe from two peas & their pod that looked so delicious and summer-perfect that I knew I would have to make it soon. Check out the pictures of their Peach, Basil, Mozzarella, & Balsamic Pizza that had my mouth watering and my tummy grumbling! Ooooh weee!

Oddly enough, when I went to the grocery store a few hours after drooling over their blog, all of the piza ingredients were on sale! Okay, Universe, I hear ya! I'll do it! ...

I tweaked the recipe and cheated on the crust... yes, I buy pre-made pizza shells and they are amazing! One time I tried to use store-bought dough, and my BF had to intervene before I had a meltdown because I couldn't roll it out properly. Never again! Well... never again for now :) My version is not nearly as beautiful, but it sure is tasty!

I really hope you try this pizza because it is so yummy!

Ingredients:

• Mini pizza shell
• 1 tsp. minced jalepeno
• 5 large basil leaves, finelychopped
• 1/2 peach, thinly sliced (unless you can resist eating the other half, in which case you can use the whole peach)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Mozzarella

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 525 F, and heat a small skillet over high heat. Once the pan is hot, add a tiny bit of olive oil and the peach. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly to make sure everything gets cooked and soft!
2. In a separate small pan, reduce the balsamic vinegar to about half the quantity over medium-low heat. 
3. Combine the peaches, balsamic, and basil in a bowl, and mash!
4. Spread the peach mash on the pizza shell, top with mozzarella, then sprinkle on the jalepenos. Cook in the center of the oven on a baking sheet (or hot pizza stone) for 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and brown. 

Enjoy!!!

Pea Soup with Ham

I went on a little trip at the beginning of the month to Vancouver Island, and while I was there I was given a big bowl of pea soup. Now, unless my memory fails me, before then I had never tried pea soup. What a mistake that was! I know, I know, I keep telling you I'm not a "soup" person, and here I am telling you, "Eat this soup." Trust me, there is a reason for my inconsistencies. It's called deliciousness.

Anywho, I gobbled the bowl of soup and I couldn't stop thinking about the pea soup all day. The recipe is courtesy of my bf's mom--her food is always delicious, and she was kind enough to share her recipe. I made half a batch which is going to be enough for at least a week's worth of lunches/dinners for meeeee. And no one else.

The only differences in our recipes is that I used plain old ham, whereas she was able to find a ham bone and strip the meat off of it for the soup and cook it with the bone for flavor. I also threw everything in the slow cooker for about 5 hours before hitting the stove since I wasn't around long enough to keep an eye on the pot. In the end it was a similar outcome, but hers was better (probably because it was made with motherly love and a ham bone.. that's just my opinion). So, because my recipe was a little on the weird side, I'm giving you her recipe, just how she emailed it to me:

Pea Soup with Ham (created by a mommy, tested by GG)

I put about 3 cups of peas in water - to just cover them - boil that quickly and then put aside for about an hour to soften the peas.

then add to the peas:  

- the ham bone (if you have one - if you have a ham with a bone then cut off as much of the ham as possible and reserve it to put in almost at the end

- a finely diced onion, 

- thyme, 

- garlic powder (or garlic), 

- a bit of salt and pepper 

-  8 cups of water 

and bring all of the above to a boil, then turn down to simmer for about 90 mins to 2 hours - stirring occasionally and may have to add more water.

then when peas really mushy almost dissolved add 1 cup shredded carrots and 1 cup diced celery and cook another 30 mins or so until all really mushed together 

add ham and cook a bit more (at any time you may need to add a bit more water)

taste add seasoning to taste more thyme, salt and pepper etc.  

and voila!

It doesn't get much better than this! Of course, if you want you can do all of this in a slow cooker for about 10 hours, but the stove-top method brings more flavor.

Thank the universe for shared recipes! Enjoy!

Chewy, Soft, Yummy Brownies.

If I didn't like vegetables and cheese so much, I think I could survive on brownies, cupcakes and coffee for the rest of my life. Such satisfying treats that I am always in the mood for, but unfortunately not always in the mood to create.

I have a go-to recipe for brownies (Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownies), which call for more cocoa than flour so basically they are amazing. I love that they are more cake-like in their texture than a fudge-style brownie, and they don't get tough after a few days or anything. They are little squares of perfection.

Of course, I'm telling you all of this and my point is that I tried a new recipe, and I really like it. It won't replace my favorite brownies (didn't you hear me? I love Alton's brownies!) but they are the perfect substitute when I only have 2 eggs and need to bake something yummy for my generous hosts (I'm going away for the weekend!). Plus, not everyone prefers cakey brownies like I do.

I found this recipe on All Recipes, and since it had over 100 positive reviews I decided to give it a go. My roommate declared that our place smells like a chocolate factory now and that I need to take all of the brownies with me on my trip otherwise she'd eat all of them, and I can't blame her. Their smell matches the flavor: pure chocolate-y delight.

Chewy Cocoa Brownies (modified from this recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup melted butter (I used Olive Oil "butter")
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla (homemade with vanilla beans and rum, and that's what it tastes like)
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa (heaping)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 13x9 baking pan, and flour it. I used cocoa powder to flour it - it prevents the finished product from having that weird looking layer of whiteness (flour) on it. 
2. I don't believe in separating dry/wet ingredients for cookies or brownies, so just throw all the ingredients except butterscotch chips in a bowl and mix as you add each thing in. Fold in the chips at the last minute so you don't pulverize them with your overeager mixing. 
3. Pour into the prepared pan, and bake for about 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick (Insert, check: Clean? good to go. Dirty? put 'em back in the oven) to make sure the brownies are done before letting them cool completely. And I mean completely. Like, an hour. Then tip the brownies onto a cutting board and slice into squares. Store them in an airtight container for who knows how long. They shouldn't last more than two days if anyone else smells your yummy kitchen.

Verdict: I like them enough to save the recipe on my computer and give them as a hostess gift, but I am still a die-hard cakey brownie fan.
EXTRA: I left for 4 days and when I returned, the brownies were still as fresh as ever in a sealed container in the fridge. They get a few bonus points for that. 

Enjoy!