Still here

Just so people don't think I've abandoned the blog I thought I'd check in and let you know I'm alive. Visiting my daughters for a couple weeks and I'll try to get some pics and posts while I am away, but it wont be a regular as when I'm at home. I'll be doing a bacon, mushroom and pasta dish today. Should have some pics to share later.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Stone baked Pizza

Homemade Italian Pizza

pizza dough recipe

We'll start with the thought that you already made your pizza dough. If you have frozen your dough, take it up the day before and leave it in the fridge. An hour before you are going to bake your pizza you should take the dough from the fridge and prepare a spot on the counter top with some flour. Take your dough and press it down in the flour and then turn it over. Work the dough into a circle and spread it into a flat 10cm circle. Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and leave to warm and rise for 30 minutes. 

 

 

After the dough has had 30 minutes to rise, place your baking stone in the middle of the oven and turn the oven to 275C. If you don't have a baking stone, turn your largest baking pan upside down and put it in the middle of the oven. The reason for using a hot surface to bake your pizza is so that the Dough seals quickly and has a chance to raise before the toppings make your dough soggy. This is what will make it more like pizza your ordered instead of just plain old homemade stuff. The old way of putting your dough and pizza on a cold tray and then putting everything in the oven means you are starting with a tray that is room temperature and by the time the tray warms up the top of your pizza is done and has soaked through to the bottom... not good. lol

I use a Weber baking stone that is made to be durable enough to be able to use in a BBQ. 

Put a piece of parchment paper on your counter top and spread out a couple tablespoons of corn meal. this will help your pizza separate from the baking surface. How thick you want your pizza is up to your. I am using 1/4 of the recipe to make a single serving thin crust pizza. 

Once you have stretched out your dough cover it while you prepare your toppings. When your toppings are ready, uncover the dough and brush a thin layer of olive oil over it to keep it from drying out. Mozzarella cheese, peperoni, fresh mushrooms, bacon, chopped leak and some grated Parmesan cheese to top it off. 

Once your pizza is decorated the way you like slide it onto the baking stone and turn the oven down to 200C. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes depending on oven and crust thickness. You want your crust to be getting a little brown coloration and for the toppings to be down but not burned. Use a pizza peal to remove your pizza and let it stand on the counter for a couple minutes before using your pizza wheel to slice. (you don't want to burn your tongue on hot cheese!!)

For having company it can be fun to do several different pizzas and because they go fairly fast it can be a fun meal just to try several versions. Once you have done it a few times you will have the timing down so that the next pizza is ready to go in the oven just as the one before is finished. Let the kids help. They will enjoy the meal even more and it's good for kids to learn how to cook for themselves. 

Pizza dough

Homemade pizza dough

There are a few things that you have to get right if you want to make your own pizza and today I will talk about the foundation of the entire project, the dough. Making your own dough is actually fairly simple. The most important thing is to make it at least 1 day ahead of when you want to make your pizza. To get a really good pizza dough you want it to have a chance to ferment so that the flavor really comes through. 

Ingredients

1 package dry yeast

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tsp salt

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons oregano 

Mix the lukewarm water, sugar and yeast in your mixing bowl. Let the yeast activate for 5-7 minutes. You will know it's ready to go when it gets a thin layer of foam on top. DO NOT USE TOO HOT OF WATER AND BURN YOUR YEAST.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients and turn the mixer on low. once the dough has started to come together turn it to medium and mix until you have a stick ball that separates from the sides of the bowl. If your dough is too sticky add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency.

Grease a large bowl with butter or non stick spray (I use Pam, only thing I use Pam for) Cover the bowl with plastic and then with a tea towel and put in a warm place to rise. Let the dough rise for about 90 minutes or until double in size. 

 After 90 minutes my dough has risen and is ready to be refrigerated

Remove the towel and plastic and punch your dough down. Depending on what kind of pizza you like (ie: thin crust or chicago style) separate into pizza size portions and put into plastic bags, then refrigerate or freeze. The dough will keep for 4 days int he fridge and a month in the freezer. I make four packages because I like Italian style thin crust pizza. I'll talk more about making the pizza tomorrow.

  
 

make sure the bags are bigger than the dough or else they will rupture

Today I had grilled pork tenderloin and some vegetables. Very tasty. 

Grilled pork

BBQ is always the correct answer

12 months of the year using the BBQ is always the correct answer if you are looking for tasty and easy food. Remember when you are doing pork or chicken that it is important to add flavor. there is a reason they say everything tastes like chicken, because chicken doesn't taste like anything and spices rule. 

For pork you should try to marinade your meat at least an hour, a couple days doesn't hurt. You can even put your pork in a bag with marinade and freeze it down so that it is good and tasty when you take it up. 

Marinade

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 Teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons grated orange peel
• dash of soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• water to mix and cover all the meat

Put a plastic bag in a large bowl. Add  all the ingredients to the bag except the water and mix it up. Lay in your pork and then add water to cover. Seal the bag and shake well. Put the bag in the bowl and put it in the fridge. Go back and turn the bag over and shake now and then. Sometimes I like to add half a can of coca cola about 30 minutes before I take the meat out of the marinade.

Make sure the grill is hot when you start and place the meat on the grill. turn after about 1 minute and let it cook. Remember searing the meat keeps the moisture in. Make sure you don't over grill or your will dry your meat. Pork should be about as soft as the center of your palm when it's done.

Oven baked potato wedges recipe 
Dipping sauce

Grilled cheese

 Easy food can be tasty

Grilled cheese is an old school easy meal, but you dont have to go straight old school. You can add thin sliced meats like smoked ham, turkey or even pastrami. Today I went with bacon and tomato. Adding some meat makes it more of a meal.

Fry up your bacon first and when it's almost crispy lay it flat on a paper towel to drain the fat.

 Clean your frying pan and leave the heat on medium.

MY PERSONAL PREFERENCE IS BUTTER!!! If your doctor has told you to use low trans fat margarine you should so so, but if you are healthy butter is natural and tastes much better. Margarine can also turn your grilled cheese into a really greasy mess because it's made from vegetable oil.

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Turn two buttered sides against each other so you can put your cheese++ on the sandwich. Lift up your top slice and lay the buttered side down, with the toppings on and put the other slice of buttered bread on top with butter side up. Use a lid to cover your grilled cheese while they fry. This allows the heat to be kept and your cheese will melt. If you do it without a lid you risk toasting the grilled cheese and having cheese that has not melted.

Mix and match

Mixing and matching what can be cooked together can make meal planning a lot easier. Today the mix is potato wedges and chicken wings. They both go on the same tray in the oven and take the same amount for time.


The recipe for both is in previous posts.

Dipping Sauce

sour cream
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Ketchup
Soya
tomato paste

Still no sign of nice weather 

 

 

Bacon Pasta

Pasta rules!!

There is an unlimited amount of combinations you can have with pasta. It's an easy meal and can be amazingly tasty if you are willing to mix. Today I made bacon and mushroom pasta. It takes about 10 minutes to make and is absolutely delicious. 

Ingredients

100 grams lean bacon per person

100 grams fresh sliced mushrooms per person

1 small leak chopped

5 balls of Tagliatelle per person

a large spoon sour cream 34% 

fresh grated Parmesan 

Boil water and start bacon frying. You want the bacon to be fried, but NOT crispy. Remove the bacon to your cutting board and put the mushroom slices and leak into the bacon fat and fry it up. Cut the bacon into bite size pieces and put it back in the frying pan. Spice your mushroom and bacon mix with some salt pepper and garlic as they fry.

Put your pasta in the water and cook 30 seconds less than the recommended time. 

Use your spaghetti ladle  to lift the pasta from the pot to the frying pan and add a couple spoons of the water too the bacon and mushrooms. Add a large spoon of sour cream and mix everything and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Pour your dinner into a pasta bowl and top with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese.

 

 

Still waiting for warmer weather to come but at least it was a nice sunset today and that's never a bad thing.