Arizona Bound

Brian and I are having an amazing time at Terri and Chuck's new spread in Arizona. Gracious hosts as always, it is wonderful to spend time with my sister. We have met wonderful new friends, rode a lot, ate too much and are REALLY enjoying the sun!

This weekend we (Connie and I) treated ourselves to some deep dish pizza and it was fantastic. the best part about it was that it was homemade!

OK, Homemade pizza as good as the place on the corner? Yup, but better! Here's how.

What you'll need

Dough

2 cups warm water (not hot, you'll kill the yeast)

2 tsp quick rise yeast

1 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil (veg or olive)

1 egg

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Flour ( white flour! If you're gonna use whole wheat stop reading now cause whole wheat flour is bitter and yucky!!)

Sauce

1 med can op tomato sauce

1 small can of tomato paste

2 tbs Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

First turn the light in your oven on... really!

In a large bowl, mix the water, yeast, and sugar and give it 5 minutes or so to dissolve.

Add everything else except the flour and mix till blended. I use a fork for this.

Start adding flour a cup at a time, until you get a very soft but still a little sticky dough.

Don't kneed to too much or you'll get the gluten all too excited and your crust will be tough.

Cover with a dishtowel and stick it in the oven. With the light on it's the perfect temperature for rising.

Next, mix the tomato sauce and paste, the seasonings in a bowl, set in the refrigerator to set.

You'll have an hour to wait for the dough to rise so go for a ride around the pasture, or better yet go have a few drinks with a buddy and invite him over for pizza. They gotta bring the beer!

Fun part!

pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees F

This much dough is gonna make 2 really thick pan pizzas, I used 2 cake pans this weekend and it was perfect.

After rising split the dough into two equal parts and spread into well oiled pans. Oil your hands too, makes it easier.

Spread the sauce liberally, but not too much of the toppings are gonna slide right off.

What do you like on a pizza? Well that's up to you.

We had onions, peppers, sausage, canned shrimp on one of ours and chicken, onion, peppers on the other. On the chicken pizza we used bar-b-que sauce instead of the tomato sauce and it was amazing.

Liberally topping the whole thing off with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake on the rack  above the middle of the oven. That way the bottom won't be overcooked and the toppings will be just right.

Make sure to pre-cook any ingredients like sausage, or  beef, that wont have time to cook on the pizza.

Bake for about 15 minutes of so, keeping an eye on it. Once the cheese is bubbling. and the crust is browning around the edge, you're good to go!

Remove the pizza and let it set for a bit. Slice, serve and drink all your buddies beer!!

Happy cooking!

Cookie!

Under Threat!!!!

Hey Y'all, it's me again! Been a while BUT, after the message I got from Arizona, (something about a threat of being chained to a computer until I add to the blog), I figured I'd better add some new recepies for everyone.
Here's a dinner idea that is quick and simple. The unfortunate part is that I made this and took the picture a few months ago, (see I had good intentions), and I never measure when I cook so bear with me.
You will need:
1 bag of bow tie pasta
1 bag of frozen shrimp.(thawed) (I used a shrimp\scallop mix)
1 bottle of your favorite red wine (substitute white if you must.. Ick)
1 Tbs of olive oil
1 Tbs of butter (no margarine - it's BAD for you!)
1 onion coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1\4 tsp cayenne pepper (more if your brave)
2 Tbs parsley ( fresh is better but who the heck has fresh parsley in their refrigerator!!)
Pepper
Salt
3 oz Glenlivet Scotch (15 year)

First get a short tumbler with 3 ice cubes and add the scotch.
In a large pot, bring salted water ( Eh about 6 turns of the grinder or 1 Tbs.) to a boil and add the pasta. You gotta have a big pot cause you gotta give those little guys room to swim around of they'll stick to each other.
Open the red wine and let it breathe.
Have a sip of the scotch...mmmm
In a medium saucepan that's on medium high heat, add the oil and butter. The oil stops the butter from burning. Add the onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes till the onion is translucent. Add the seafood,cayenne, and half the parsley.
Have another sip of scotch.
Ok, here's where it's all about timing! You got pasta boiling, you got shrimp that's gonna overcook on ya if your not on top on 'em.
As soon as the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the big pot, add the shrimp to the pasta and toss.
Add ground pepper to taste.
Then guzzle the last of the scotch cause you have a bottle of wine on the table to drink!
Plate up the seafood pasta and garnish with the remaining parsely. Serve with parmsean cheese and a smile!

 

Happy cooking!! and only a few more chilly months till we're back on the trail!!

Cheers!