Homemade Pizza Dough

We recently discovered the awesomeness that is homemade pizza dough. The older I get, the more I seem to be able to taste all of the preservatives and other seven-syllable-ingredients rampant in processed food. We've used Boboli crusts with bottled tomato sauce for years, but after tasting this dough? Never again. It's so easy to make, and it's infinitely more delicious than either the pre-prepared crusts or the stale cardboard put out by your local delivery joint.

There are a bunch of recipes for homemade pizza dough out there, and I've heard great things about the Pioneer Woman's recipe, but we used the following. It made enough for two pizza crusts, each of which serve 3-4 adults. We froze our second one, and it was a nice little treat a few weeks after we made the initial recipe.

Thin Crust Pizza Dough
adapted from Pizza and Other Savory Pies by Brigit Binns

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) quick-rise yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water (approximately 110 degrees), plus extra as needed
2 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra as needed

In a food processor, combine both flours, the yeast, the sugar, and the salt. Pulse to mix ingredients. With the motor running, add the water and olive oil in a steady stream, and then pulse until the dough comes together in a rough mass, approximately 12-15 seconds. If the dough does not form into a ball, sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of water and pulse again until a mass forms. Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes, and then process again for 25-30 seconds. The dough should be tacky to the touch, but not sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and form it into a smooth ball. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place (e.g., on the kitchen counter) until doubled in bulk and spongy, about 1 1/2 hours.

Afterward, put the dough on a lightly floured work surface, punch it down, and shape it into a smooth cylinder. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, dusting with flour only if the dough becomes sticky. Cover both balls with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes before proceeding with your chosen pizza recipe. If you are using only one ball of dough, place the second ball in a gallon size Ziploc bag and freeze it for up to 2 months. When ready to use, thaw the frozen dough for 3-4 hours at room temperature. (I let our frozen dough thaw in the fridge all day while I was at work, and that worked fine too.)

We topped our pie with some homemade sauce (also infinitely better than the store bought variety and super easy to make in a big batch and then freeze for future use), shredded mozzarella, a few slices of fresh mozzarella, and a large sliced tomato. The original recipe calls for baking the pizza at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes, but we found that with the sliced tomato topping it takes more like 10-14 minutes to get the crust cooked all the way through and slightly crispy on the bottom.

After we pulled it out of the oven, we added some shredded prosciutto and fresh basil and then uncorked a nice bottle of red.

Buon Appetito!

Weekend in Review

A few highlights from the weekend:

• I spent Friday night cleaning. Jason spent Friday night going to the gym. We were both happy about it. How times have changed...
• Saturday we went to a fun Cinco de Derby party. You know... horse racing and pinatas... bourbon and taquitos. What could be a more natural fit? We brought blackberry mint juleps from this month's Southern Living and dressed Mr. Nicholas in his best seersucker. Sadly, I failed to take any pictures. But he looked cute... and those juleps were tasty.
• On Sunday evening (OK, it actually took most of Sunday day and part of Saturday), Jason made Emeril's chicken and waffles recipe. Holy moly. The chicken is marinated in buttermilk, paprika, and hot sauce overnight, which gives it an awesome spicy kick. Then there are the buttermilk waffles. I don't want to know exactly how much butter is in them, but I know I had a full pound of butter in my fridge on Saturday and now there is just half a stick left. Then there is the hot pepper maple syrup and vanilla butter (yes, more butter.) Unbelievable. This recipe is killer. Our kitchen looked like a crime scene afterward, but it was worth it. And while I failed to take pictures of my baby in his adorable seersucker, I totally took pictures of this dinner. Served with mimosas. Naturally.

• And a few gratuitous pics of my child enjoying one of his favorite pastimes:

All clean and ready for bed!

Comfort Food

Since the temperatures have finally cooled off a little bit here in Texas, I have been feeling a serious urge to cook and I think I am recapturing a little bit of the kitchen mojo I lost during a queasy first trimester that segued nicely into the hottest summer on record and our month of no air conditioning-- essentially the perfect storm for a summer of no cooking. But, over the past few weeks, I've been revisiting a bunch of old favorites, as well as trying out some new recipes, and have some good ones to share.

First up: ooey gooey grilled cheese with bacon (cooked in bacon fat, no less) and homemade spicy tomato soup. This pregnancy has me craving comfort food in a major way, so this recipe isn't necessarily for anyone counting calories, but it's definitely tasty! Comfort food at it's best.

Bacon Grilled Cheese & Spicy Tomato Soup
Serves 2
(Adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine, March 2011.)

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
red pepper flakes to taste
salt & pepper
1/4 c. half & half
3-4 slices bacon
4 slices sandwich bread (I like good sourdough bread)
2/3 c. cheddar grated
pesto

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes (I just shake in about a teaspoon or two), as well as salt and pepper, and cook until fragrant-- about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender and puree until smooth. Stir in half & half.

In a skillet, cook bacon over medium-high until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Remove pan with fat from heat and drain all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat. Add bread slices, and layer with half the cheese, the bacon, and the rest of the cheese, and then the second bread slice. Return to medium heat and cook until the bread is browned on one side (2-3 minutes.) Flip and brown on the other side.

Serve the sandwich with a bowl of the soup. Add a dollop of pest to the soup if desired. (You will probably have leftover soup, and it makes a great lunch the next day.) Enjoy!

Labor of Love

J and I don't have a great track record with Valentine's Day outings. The first year we were dating, I was disappointed to find out that I had to travel to Colorado for work on Valentine's Day, so we ended up celebrating a day early with dinner at a casual Mexican joint. (It actually turned out to be a very fun, romantic date, so no complaints here.) The next year, we tried to get our Valentine's Day on in the form of dinner at a very well reviewed and swanky French-Korean fusion restaurant (don't ask...) and found out the hard way that a Valentine's Day dinner out equals two hour waits-- even with a reservation-- and then, when you finally do get to eat, nothing but high-priced, bad food (read: well done filet mignon and cold sides). To be fair, they gave us a complimentary dessert, but at that point we were just so annoyed and tired that it didn't do a whole lot to restore the romance to our evening. After that, we vowed never again to eat out on Valentine's Day, and in the years since we've concocted several very memorable and delicious meals.

This year, I was quite proud of my our endeavor. J has been requesting seared scallops for several months now, but due to an unfortunate and scarring incident involving over-cooked-to-the-point-of-tire-rubber bay scallops many years ago, I've always shied away from this particular dish-- which is silly because I am a far better cook now than I was at 23, and I have mastered many other much more difficult dishes. Searing scallops should be a snap! So, I finally decided to conquer this little phobia, and we selected a surf and turf menu of petit filet mignon and diver scallops with a sweet vermouth reduction sauce, accompanied by yukon gold mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. De-li-cious. The sweet vermouth sauce was the star, and I will definitely be using it on steaks in the future. The whole meal was super easy to prepare-- the only slightly challenging part was managing the timing of everything because the filets and the scallops cook so quickly and we wanted everything to arrive at the table still warm. The asparagus was a little room temperature, but other than that... success!

(my attempt at food photography)

Sweet Vermouth Reduction Sauce

Serves 4 (although I made about 75% of this quantity for two of us and I thought there was just barely enough)

Adapted from Rachel Ray

1 large shallot, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp butter

1/3 cup sweet vermouth

chives

Heat pan over medium and add olive oil. Add shallots and garlic and sautee for about two minutes. Add sweet vermouth and reduce by half, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in butter to finish sauce. Pour over steaks immediately and garnish with chives.

Bon Appetit!

Holiday Fondue Dinner

When I was very young, my dad's job took us over to Geneva, Switzerland for two years. I remember a few things from that time period-- some of our travels and random things a toddler would think were cool (like the playground behind our apartment and the trikes at my pre-school), but my parents soaked up quite a bit of the Swiss culture and fell in love with a few traditions that they brought back to the U.S. with us. One of those traditions is Swiss cheese fondue, which we feast on every year for Christmas Eve dinner. This year, I'm celebrating Christmas with J's family, but didn't want to miss out on one of my favorite holiday meals. So we decided, why not share the cheese-y, carb-y love? The result was a delicious pre-Christmas fondue dinner with 3 of our favorite couples from business school.

Fondue, although incredibly rich, is super easy to make. Paired with a big, green salad, copious wine, and some homemade Christmas cookies for dessert, it was an easy dinner party to pull together.

Traditional Swiss Fondue
(Serves 6-8)

2/3 bottle dry white wine

2-3 garlic cloves, sliced

2.5 lbs. good Gruyere cheese, grated

3-4 Tbsp. flour

3 baguettes, sliced

2-3 Tbsp. Kirsch (optional)

Toss the grated cheese with the flour. Pour the wine into a large pot and add the sliced garlic. Simmer the wine with the garlic for 5-10 minutes, but do not let the wine boil. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon. Add the cheese and flour mixture by handfuls, stirring until each handful is melted before adding another handful. When all the cheese has been melted, you can add 2-3 Tbsp. (approximately 1 shot) of Kirsch if you like. (Kirsch is a cherry brandy from Switzerland or France... it just gives it a little extra kick.)

Serve the fondue on top of a heated fondue stand to keep the cheese warm and gooey, and start dipping those sliced baguettes!

J waiting patiently for the guests to arrive

Getting festive...

And getting ready to chow down... Bon Appetit!

Weekend update x 2

As promised, we did hit up the Texas State Fair last weekend. And it did not disappoint. The sheer volume and variety of fried food was staggering. Apparently there is some sort of contest to judge all the fried food in a number of different categories. The winning "most tasty" food was the fried frito pie, and it actually looked really good. It took us about an hour to find the stall that was selling the fried frito pies, but the line was insane. We stood there for about ten minutes, but it didn't move at all. So I wound up with a fresh squeezed lemonade and an ice cream bar instead. This was very possibly the first time in my life where the ice cream bar was a healthier choice! J and his parents did manage to sample the fried beer, however. (Fried beer won as the most creative fried food.) It was essentially a little dough pouch with beer in the middle. The whole thing was fried, and the beer was still liquid in the middle. I didn't try it, but they said it was kind of weird and not that tasty. And the beer was hot. Hmmm... still, they get points for trying it.

Aside from tracking down obscure fried foods, we saw a bunch of livestock, wandered through the Midway, saw a blue ribbon winning butter sculpture, and visited the car show. All in all, a good introduction to the state fair.

Butter sculpture of UT vs. OU

J and his parents

Us in front of Big Tex... "Howdy Folks!"

This past weekend was pretty mellow. It was one of our first weekends in what feels like months where we had very few plans. Or at least I did. J had his good friend, Aaron, from growing up come into town. They went to see Jackass 3D on Friday night, while I went to my friend's pumpkin carving party. Let's just say the guys kind of wish they had gone to the pumpkin carving party too. ; )

Saturday, I enjoyed a leisurely morning, took a two hour nap (I know, impressive), and worked out. The guys went to the UT game. (Let's not discuss it. Such a sad season for the Longhorns. Instead, I am focusing all my football attention on the Oregon Ducks.) Then we took Aaron out for BBQ at the Salt Lick. The wait was seriously two hours-- the worst it's ever been for us. Needless to say, when our food arrived, we stuffed ourselves silly. Then we were all so spent that we had no choice but to come home and lie on the couch and watch Missou take down Oklahoma. And what does that mean, my friends?? Oh, yes it does... The Oregon Ducks are now ranked #1 in the BCS for the first time ever. Let's hope they do not continue the streak of number 1 teams losing on the road when they play USC next weekend. Gulp.

Yesterday, I finished up the weekend on an uber productive note-- seven loads of laundry (that should give you an idea of how busy we've been the past few weekends), meal planning for the week, grocery shopping, working out, and making the Barefoot Contessa's Italian Wedding Soup (click the link for the recipe) with chicken sausage meatballs from scratch. It was delicious. It was slightly time consuming due to all the vegetable chopping, but it turned out really well. And it was one of those great dinners that tastes really good, but is good for you too. Definitely a good Sunday evening project. And now I've got leftovers in my freezer! Can't beat that.

Monday Night... whew!

For some reason, I really like Monday nights. Monday night always seems more relaxing than I'd expect... most of my weeknight plans tend to be mid-week, and I'm not yet totally worn out or exhausted by the work week. So I usually have the time and motivation to cook a nice a dinner, and then I have the time to just veg out and relax or watch TV. Plus, there's just kind of this sigh of relief that the day you spent all Sunday dreading is over and the week is moving forward.

Tonight I made a quick chicken saltimbocca-- basically boneless, skinless chicken breasts wrapped in proscuitto and sage, and then pan fried on the stove. Typically it's made with veal, which I'm not a fan of, but this recipe from Everyday Food (one of my best quick and easy cookbooks) called for chicken and looked relatively painless. Usually I'm a little leery of pan frying or sauteeing boneless, skinless chicken breasts, because mine always turn out tough and flavorless. But this recipe worked like a charm. I chalk it up to the delicious proscuitto giving it all that extra flavor and the quick white wine sauce that went with it. Mmmmm. Only 15 minutes to prepare and it's super tasty? This will definitely be going into my regular weeknight recipe rotation.

Now I'm settled in front of The Bachelor. This is totally my guilty pleasure-- so ridiculous, yet so entertaining. Best moment of the night so far: Michelle asking him to kick her off, and then her being surprised when he actually did. I'm also glad he got rid of Elizabeth. She definitely was playing games with him, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed that his BS radar is as finely tuned as it is. Usually, the bachelor will put up with all kinds of crazy before he finally sees the light and kicks off the chicks that are so obviously not suitable for him. Jake is definitely impressing me more than I expected... what about you? Any Bachelor fanatics out there? Who's in your top 4? My money right now is on Tenley, Ali, Corrie, and Ella.

And a bonus track...

I forgot that I hadn't posted the pork tenderloin with the Dijon thyme marinade over roasted vegetables that I had raved about earlier. I'm officially obsessed with roasted fennel. Or braised fennel. Or fennel mixed inside of a potato gratin. Mmmm... but that's another recipe for another day. Today I give you, for your holiday enjoyment:

Roast Loin of Pork with Fennel

From Barefoot Contessa Parties

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves minced


• 1 Tbsp kosher salt


• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves


• 1/4 c. Dijon mustard


• 1 3 lb. boneless pork loin, trimmed and tied


• 3 small fennel bulbs, tops removed


• 10 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced diagonally


• 10 small potatoes, quartered


• 2 onions, thickly sliced


• 4 Tbsp. good olive oil


• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted


• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

With a mortar and pestle, or in the bowl of a food processor, grind together the garlic, salt, and thyme leaves. Add the mustard and combine. Spread the mixture over the loin of pork and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the fennel bulbs into thick wedges, slicing through the core. Toss the fennel, carrots, potatoes, and onions in a bowl with the olive oil, melted butter, salt, and pepper. Transfer the vegetables to a large roasting pan and cook for 30 minutes.

Add the pork to the pan and continue to cook for another 30 to 50 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the middle of the pork reads exactly 138 degrees. Remove the meat from the pan and return the vegetables to the oven to keep cooking. Cover the meat with aluminum foil and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Then remove the vegetables from the oven.

Remove the strings from the meat and slice it thickly. Arrange the meat and vegetables on a platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and enjoy!

Serves 6

Best. Soup. Ever.

This is easily one of my top 3 favorite meals (that I prepare for myself anyway...) It's hearty and thick, tastes and feels like comfort food, but is actually really healthy... and easy to make. Plus the leftovers freeze beautifully and then you get to enjoy it all over again some other cold night. Dare I say it's my "signature dish?"

Leek and Chickpea Soup
Adapted from Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef

Ingredients:
5 medium sized leeks
1 14-oz. can of chickpeas
1 potato, peeled
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3-4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil (optional for drizzling)

Directions:
Cut off the root end of the leek, and then cut off the rough, green tops of the leek. You'll just want to use the portion of the leek that is white or light green. Slice the leeks in half vertically and rinse well under cold water. (Lots of dirt and grit tends to get caught inside the leek's many layers, so you'll want to kind of pull it apart to make sure you get in there really well.) Then slice up the leeks finely. Pushing them through the tube at the top of your food processor works great for this, but slicing manually is fine too.

Put the butter and olive oil into a large, heavy pot. Melt the butter over medium-high heat, then add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt, and sautee until the leeks are soft, about 7-10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop up the peeled potato into large chunks, and drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add the potato and chickpeas to the pot and cook for about a minute. Then add 3 cups of the chicken broth and simmer for about 15 minutes. When the potato chunks are fully cooked and you can easily pierce them with a fork, turn off the heat.

The final step is to puree about half of the soup, so it has a velvety feel, but still has some nice texture. You can either ladle about half the soup into a blender to puree and then mix it back into the remainder of the soup, or use an immersion blender to puree the soup about halfway in the pot. If you use the blender, don't fill the blender the whole way since it is a hot liquid and will need some room for steam. It's also a good idea to hold the top of the blender down with a towel just for safety. I usually try to include most of the potato chunks in the portion that I puree since I don't like the big chunks in my soup, but either way is fine. Once you've pureed to your desired texture, decide if you need to add in any additional chicken broth. Sometimes I like to thin it out a little.

To finish, ladle the soup into bowls, add a some freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I like a lot!) and some freshly ground pepper. If you want to get a little decadent, drizzle a little bit of good quality extra virgin olive oil over the top and enjoy! Throw in a mixed green salad and a glass of white wine and you have weeknight dinner perfection.

September Goals and Housewifery

Well, I wanted to post pictures of the wedding this weekend, but I can't find my camera cord, so September goals will have to do for now.

• Workout 4 times per week. Since I'm starting a new job, I am going to go a little easier on myself in this department. My new job will also be decidedly deskbound, so no counting work as fitness, a la August.


• Really finish putting everything away, hanging pictures, etc.


• Aside from Texas football (which I know is HUGE), get out and participate in or visit two new, unique Austin activities or sites.


• Make one new and interesting recipe per week.

This week I've been home enjoying my final few days of freedom before I start work and I have been living it up housewife-style. Aside from the strange quiet of being home alone in your house all day (except when I have episodes of What Not To Wear and A Baby Story running ad nauseum for company), I could really get used to this lifestyle. Yesterday I cleaned the house, worked out, made a menu plan for the rest of the week, and went grocery shopping. Then I came home, got cleaned up, and made a new Rachel Ray recipe for beanless (Texas-style) chili and a spicy chile cilantro vinaigrette for a garden salad. Off to a good start on the new recipe front!

Today I worked out again, tackled some of the few remaining random boxes in the corner of my bedroom, organized my closet, and then cooked my heart out for about two hours. The spoils included roasted salmon with a cucumber dill sauce, steamed green beans with herb butter, wild rice pilaf (OK, fine, Uncle Ben helped me out on that one), and the most delicious, crispety crunchety, salty-sweet toffee bars. Mmmmm.... Recipe from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits (I just bought a bag of mini Heath bars and chopped them up)

1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with a foil sling and grease foil. Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and confectioners' sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until the dough becomes sandy with large pea-sized bits, about 30 seconds.

Reserve 1 cup of the dough for the topping. Sprinkle the remaining dough into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Sprinkle the toffee bits and chocolate chips evenly over the dough and then sprinkle with the reserve topping. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. (Mine were done at about 22 minutes.)

Let the bars cool completely in the pan, set on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Enjoy!