Go-To Pizza Dough

Go-To Pizza Dough coming out of a brick oven Pizza Pizza
Tonight is make your own pizza night, a family favorite. There’s a twist, though. Normally I will heat up a pizza stone in my oven or sometimes on my grill to cook the pizzas. Tonight, we are doing it at my sister’s house because she’s the one with a pizza oven.

All of the dudes in our lives are either on business trips or off at school. So, my daughter, sister, and I are having a girls’ night. We are making our own pizza because I want to see if I need a backyard pizza oven like my sister has.

For years my husband and I have dreamed that it would be great if we had a wood-fired oven in our backyard. We could make bread, roast meats, and, yes, make fantastic pizzas. My husband would love to build it, as he is always up for a project.

But, here’s the thing. Making pizza, or anything else in a wood-fired oven is a process. As awesome and beautiful as a brick oven would be, you have to be the kind of person who will really use it. You must have an hours-long plan not only for getting it hot but also for when the pizza making is over and you let the oven cool.

It would be a waste of time, energy, and resources not to throw other things in there like some gorgeous sourdough bread or some succulent roasted chicken and potatoes. It’s potentially a two-day process at least. Which, if you have the time, is a great way to spend your days. But, it’s just not practical for most of us. And now that my household is rapidly shrinking, I don’t have the mouths required to consume all the oven-roasted bounty.

My sister has a gas-fired tabletop pizza oven that I am thinking is the better solution. So, tonight I’m going to test drive it. Below is the recipe for my Go-To Pizza Dough. (Can’t go wrong with Bobby Flay!) I am curious to see how the pizzas turn out and what the flavor is like without the smoke of the wood. Though, you can get ovens that will use both.

Go-To Pizza Dough Recipe
Adapted from Bobby Flay and the Food Network
Yields 2 14-inch pizza crusts Read more…

Cheese Bread

Kneady and Cheesy
With the weather getting somewhat cooler recently, I have been more inclined to turn on my oven. I made some granola over the weekend. It disappeared rapidly—mainly because I sent most of it to my kids who are living in dorms. The rest was inhaled by my husband who has no self-control. That activity, plus the scent of pumpkin spice floating in the afternoon breeze, has me wanting to do a little more baking.

Since the number of people in my household has decreased by two, I have to be more discerning when it comes to the recipes I choose to make. I no longer have teenage boys to finish off 3 dozen cookies overnight. Add to that the fact, that my husband is trying to lose a few pounds (the granola incident notwithstanding). If I want to bake, I have figured it’s better to go savory than sweet to give him a fighting chance.

My daughter has a cheddar biscuit recipe that she likes to use to make tasty ham and cheddar biscuit sandwiches. They are really good but I can’t eat biscuits for lunch every day. Not to mention biscuits go stale pretty quickly. This cheese bread is a great alternative and will be my plan for baking this weekend. Though, I might whip up a secret batch of chocolate chip cookies too because it’s always nice to have a cookie with your sandwich at lunch…

Cheese Bread Recipe
Adapted from King Arthur Baking Company
Yields 1 loaf

We incorporate three different types of cheese (cheddar, cottage, and Parmasean) to make this loaf that is great for toasting and sandwiches. If you wish, you can also divide it into 12 pieces and make dinner rolls. Read more…

Grilled Corn Salad

Corn on the Side
Summer dinners tend to be a lot easier to produce. There is very little in your fridge that can’t go on the grill. Chicken, fish, beef, and veggies can all take a turn over the flames. The same is true when it comes to your side dishes.

Since you are going through the trouble of heating up the grill, might as well get the most out of it. If you’re like me, you have garden zucchini coming out of your ears. It’s easy to toss some with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and throw it on the grill next to your steaks. Corn is another great vegetable to put on the grill. You can leave it in the husk and grill it as is for on-the-cob greatness. Or, you can grill it husk-free for the Grilled Corn Salad recipe below.

Just prep the ingredients before you start grilling and while your meat is resting, throw it all together for a tasty smokey side. Bonus points if you grill the peaches too…

Grilled Corn Salad Recipe
Adapted from Love and Lemons
Yields 4 servings Read more…

Homemade Naan

Second to Naan
The other night we ordered Indian food from our favorite takeout spot. We order the same things every time because we’re boring. And, we eat there often enough to know what our favorites are. Tikka masala, lamb biryani, tandoori, multiple orders of samosas (I like them for breakfast.), and absolutely without fail, way too much naan to go with it all.

Just like the basket of bread on the table at your favorite restaurant, it is impossible to just eat a little bit of naan. When it’s still piping hot I’ll eat it plain by the handful. When it cools off a bit, there is no better way to soak up every last drop of saucy goodness than by swiping your plate with the naan.

I had never made my own naan—mainly because I never thought I would be able to get it right without using a tandoor. And, frankly, it was just easier to order it. However, on those nights when I throw together a quick chicken curry at home, it would be nice to have some fresh naan that didn’t come from a package at the store.

So it will come as no surprise that I was very happy to find this recipe for making naan in a cast-iron skillet. It’s simple and the bulk of my everyday pans are cast iron. Yay me. The good news? Naan can also make a great flatbread sandwich which is good because I plan to make these again this weekend…curry or no curry.

Homemade Naan Recipe
Adapted from Rasa Malaysia
Yields 8 pieces

This recipe for homemade naan turns out delicious, soft, puffy, airy, bread with beautiful golden brown spots on the surface. They taste just like the best Indian buffet restaurants! Read more…