Stuffed Tomatoe Salad With Smoked Salmon

Slice Tomatoe almost all the way through but stop just short.

Slice fresh Mozzarella and insert into slices in the Tomatoes.

Insert Fresh Basil leaves and Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings also.

Top with a dressing of Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil with a small amount of brown sugar for sweetness and to balance the acidity. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Let sit 20 or so minutes to achieve flavor meld.

Add some Smoked Salmon.

Consume with wild abandon.

Oh yeah, Garlic bread goes well on the side.

Pizza,

Pizza Dough:
1/2 c. very warm water
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
6tsp yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 c. semolina flour (italian crust)
OR 6 c. regular flour (thin crust)


sprinkle the yeast over the 1/2 c. warm water in a small bowl with the sugar and salt. Stir and wait a few minutes for the yeast to foam. Stir in remaining warm water and olive oil. Stir this mixture into the flour, making a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is too dry add more water; too wet ad flour

Turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes to make a smooth elastic dough. Place in an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise 'til double (1-2 hrs). If dough rises before you are able to use it, punch down, reshape and let rise again. Or, you can reshape it and put in refrigerator for up to 2 days before letting rise at room temp.

preheat oven to 425 degrees with stone in. This crust: shape, top and bake pizza at once. Thick crust:shape, cover & rise 30 minutes. You can prebake 3 minutes before topping and baking, 15-20 minutes.
makes 4 pizza crusts, or 4 dozen appetizer size.

Catacombs Antioch (above): Mozarella, spinach, kalamata olives, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, rosemary garlic white sauce


Margherita: red sauce, mozzarella, fresh basil and fresh tomatoes

Note: I do not take credit for these. (except for the pictures) Melissa made them. I just ate them.

Bacon Asparagus Pizza!

So David wanted to use up the asparagus his parents gave him, so he made pizza. First you start out with homemade pizza dough, and brush it with olive oil. Top lightly with mozzarella. Then you add the chopped asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Add crumbled bacon.

Dot with Goat Cheese. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Bake and enjoy.

Cookin' with Hansen Kids

No, the Hansen kids are not the ingredients... they're the chefs!
Now, it's not all home made entirely from scratch or anything but, it was a fun project as we mixed and matched toppings!
Cookin' with the kiddos was Chris' idea and it was a good one!

The kids started with personal sized ready-made crusts and slathered on some pizza sauce from a jar.

Then added fresh chopped up tomato (chopped by an adult :-).

Then they sprinkled on chopped cilantro and some grilled chicken breast. Josh bought skinless, boneless chicken breast and grilled it on the Forman seasoning with a little basil then chopped it up.

Then they sprinkled on finely shredded mozzarella and mild cheddar (it came in a "pizza blend" bag of shredded cheese).

Then came pineapple (from a can) and shredded up bacon we had just fried up fresh.

They cooked for just 8 minutes.

Yummy yummy!

The kids really enjoyed having a meal they made themselves.

They did a large portion of the preparing

and it was goooood!

Then it was mom and dad's turn.
Ours included BBQ sauce instead of pizza sauce, grilled chicken, bacon, same cheese, red onion, fresh chopped tomato and cilantro, pineapple on Brittany's and fresh sliced jalapeno on Josh's.

Josh's Pizza.

Brittany's Pizza.

Eve followed up the delicious meal with a dessert that included a small bowl of sliced strawberry and bananas with whole milk poured over and topped with a few drizzles of honey.

Josh thought it sounded "weird".

Eve gobbled it right up and loved every bit!