classic pizza with awesome-sauce

Pizza is always the right decision for dinner. I'm sure I've posted the dough recipe before, if you want it.

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.

Cap'n jucy's

So I went with Allynn downtown to cap'n jucy's today, and had a veggie pizza dog, and might I say it was the best hotdog I've ever had. However, it did not occur to me to take a picture.
Post script;
they have normal hot dogs for you carnivores, too!

Pizza, Cakes and Birthdays

Tiffany working on a birthday masterpeice.

You probably cannot tell but this is the first time she finished a cake with fondant

The presentation to the birthday girl...


Brother Jim rocking one of the many pizzas that night.

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.

More Pizza

Jim aint no slouch... he got in on this weekend's pizza too.

Before Cooking...

(we call that crust shape - the loincloth)

After Cooking...

Disclaimer - Due to unforseen and uncontrollable circumstances, Chris' pizza cannot be shown at this time.

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!

Miranda's Pizza Recipe

Matt, Miranda sent me this recipe last week when she couldn't find the recipe for BBQ'd Peaches.
I think this is what she's trying to say... ;)

Mix up some dough per her instructions.
(Thank God for mixers)

Let the dough rise... etc.

Once your dough is ready, slap it. Fling it.
Show that dough who's boss!

Pizza is, of course, usually cooked in the oven. However, with a setup like this, why not cook it on the grill?

Just brush the crust with olive oil before throwing it on the grill, then flip, brush again, and top the pizza.

The variety of toppings is endless.

Topping off our lunches.

A closer look.

BBQ Sauce, Pepperoni, Sausage, Jalapeno, Onion, Cilantro...
You get the idea.

Pizza Sauce, Pepperoni, Sausage, Onion, Black Olive, and Mushrooms.

BBQ Sauce, Genoa, Roasted Garlic, Fresh Basil, Cilantro, Fresh Tomato and Parmesan Cheese.
Delightful!

Pro Pizza Dough

Makes: 4 crusts
Total time: 1 1/4 hours or more
Preheat oven: 500 degrees with baking stone in oven
Bake: until crust is nicely browned, 10-12 minutes

Dissolve; stir in:
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 t)
1 cup warm water (105-115)
1 t. honey
1 T extra virgin olive oil

Add, knead, let rise, press out:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 t. table salt

Dissolve yeast in water in the mixer bowl. Stir in honey and let stand 2-3 minutes, or until the liquid begins to bubble. Add the olive oil and stir. Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Use a paddle attachment just to mix, then change to a dough hook. Knead until the dough comes cleanly away from sides and clusters around the hook, about 5 minutes. Turn out dough onto a clean work surface and briefly knead by hand. The dough should be smooth and elastic; when pressed, it should slowly spring back and not feel tacky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to rise for 30-60 minutes. When ready , the dough will stretch when gently pulled. Divide dough into 4 pieces; shape into balls, pulling down sides and tucking under as you work around the ball 4 or 5 times. To remove air bubbles, roll each ball under your palm until smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap coated with nonstick spray and let rise another 30-60 minutes. Press dough out on a lightly floured surface. Turn the dough, pressing on its center, to gradually spread it to a 7-8" circle, or roll it out to 10-12" for a larger, thinner crust; press around the edge for a thicker, raised rim. Transfer to a pizza peel dusted generously with cornmeal or flour, brush dough with oil, then top.

After forming the dough balls, they can be covered and refrigerated for 1-2 days. Just punch them down again when you're ready to roll them out. If you don't have a peel, use the back of a baking sheet to transfer pizza to the heated oven stone.

Pizza without slug topping

If I had to pick only one thing to eat for the rest of my life, it would be pizza. Homemade pizza without slugs. :)