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…

Fresh Ricotta Cheese

Easy Cheesy
Many moons ago I took a cheese-making class. It was great fun and much easier than you would think. Granted, I am not currently aging my handmade cheese in my own mountain caves, nor do I plan to be. But, that would be very cool…no pun intended.

I will, however, make some of the easier cheeses from time to time to add to recipes where freshness matters. By far, the easiest to make is fresh ricotta. The first time I ever made the cheese outside of class, I used it in a lasagna that I made totally from scratch—noodles and everything. The results were ridiculously good. But, I was exhausted.

You don’t need to get quite as nerdy as I did to try making fresh ricotta. For one thing, who really has that time? And second, you will get great results using good quality pre-made pasta and sauce.

Or, forget the pasta altogether and slather this fresh ricotta cheese on some crostini. Yum!

Fresh Ricotta Cheese Recipe
Yields about 1-1/2 cups of cheese Read more…

Apple and Honey Board

Board of Celebration
Yesterday I woke up and realized that we are basically halfway through September. And, I am not entirely sure how that happened. I do know that I have weather whiplash. Last week the pavement was melting and this week I need a sweater. I guess that means it’s fall now?

This weather has also got me craving fall foods. I consumed some pumpkin spice baked goods the other day without guilt since the temp outside was in the 70s. (My rule is no pumpkin spice when it’s 80 or above—no matter how much I love the flavor. Just on principle.) I also found myself eyeing the crockpot for something slow-cooked and hearty like a pot roast. That line of thought took me on a roasted meat journey that got me to a lovely brisket with plenty of “melted” onions. Then the brisket reminded me that Rosh Hashanah is coming up at the end of the month.

Full disclosure, I am not Jewish. But, I have a deep and consuming love for what most people consider to be Jewish food. My mother-in-law IS Jewish AND from New York. So, after 20-plus years in the family, I believe I know my way around a good bagel among other favorites. Even though we may not celebrate the Jewish holidays in our family, I do like to at least acknowledge the history and culture if only so my kids have some connection to their past. (I mean fair is fair. They must endure all things Viking from my Scandinavian family.)

Rosh Hashanah begins on Sunday the 25th which is perfect as I tend to do what I call a “big dinner” on Sundays. This generally means that whatever we are having takes more than an hour to make. It’s an homage to the Sunday dinners we had at my grandmother’s growing up. Not sure what the main dish will be this year but I do know I will start things off with an Apples and Honey board.

The reasons are two-fold. One, the fall apples are starting to show up in the market and they are all crunchy goodness. (I’m looking at you Honeycrisp.) Second, I’ve kind of become a cheese board-obsessed maniac…so any excuse is a good excuse. And, since apples and honey are part of the tradition it’s a no-brainer…

There is no actual recipe for making an Apple and Honey Board. Just use your imagination. However, if you are doing one for Rosh Hashana remember no meats. And, since circles and rounds have significance for the holiday, try to incorporate them as much as possible. You can use cheese rounds like brie and round crackers. Or consider making this recipe for a classic cheeseball. Read more…