Mamma Mia! Homemade Pizza Crust and Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza

One of the best things about moving to a totally new place is the opportunity to meet people. The Hubby and I have met so many amazing people here in DC, and some of them are pretty awesome cooks in their own right. We went over the a friend's house for pizza, only to find that he and his fiancee made the pizza entirely from scratch! And it was vegetarian! With squash! Overachievers. Well, I couldn't let them out-perform me, so I asked for the pizza dough recipe and started making my own fancy-schmanzy pizzas.

The dough recipe is pretty basic. All you need is flour, yeast, and olive oil. The rest is left up to your

This dough is crying out for pepperoni. Or anchovies. Or whatever.

imagination, and, since the recipe makes enough dough for two separate pizzas, you can try lots of different ideas. Do you want basic pepperoni and cheese? Easy, just throw it on with some classic pizza sauce. Is your new girlfriend a vegetarian and refuses to eat real food? Try some sauteed veggies. Want to ward off vampires? Roast a head of garlic and smear it over the crust before adding cheese.You are only limited by your willingness to try new things! And maybe the amount of flour you have, but you could always buy more.

Classic pepperoni and cheese.

It is better to have a thinner crust than a thick crust with this particular recipe. It can be hard to stretch your dough out, but if you can, try to get an even quarter-inch thickness. It will rise up some in the oven, and you want the toppings to be the star of the show, not a huge chunk of crust. Also, go light on the sauce. If you do too much pizza sauce, it tends to get mushy in the middle, and mushy pizza is not my idea of a good time. Use the minimal amount of sauce and spread it all around for the best results. The amount of time needed for baking really depends on the amount of toppings you put on, so watch it carefully so it doesn't burn on you!

The fennel really adds flare.

Salmon and Goat Cheese pizza was really my husband's idea. He likes smoked salmon, and goat cheese is hoity-toity, so put them together and you get something that wouldn't be amiss at a boutique pizza restaurant. Artichoke hearts and dill help round it out and add some nice greenery. It looks very impressive, and very difficult (even though it isn't hard at all), so its perfect for when the in-laws visit. I recommend dressing up the outer part of the crust with some Italian herbs and fennel, which makes it look that much more fancy.

What would you put on your pizza? Let me know in the comments!

Ready to impress the in-laws!

Homemade Pizza Crust
(makes 2 crusts)
1 1/2 cups warm water, at 110-115 deg F
1 packet or 2 1/4 tsp active baker's yeast
Pinch of granulated sugar
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
3 3/4 cups flour plus extra for kneading
1 tbl salt

In a small bowl, add yeast to warm water and stir. Sprinkle a pinch of sugar over the yeast mix. Let sit until foamy, about 10 min. Add olive oil to yeast mixture. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Form a well in the flour and add the yeast mixture. Stir until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes. Allow dough to rise in a oiled bowl in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 500 deg F

Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll and stretch each ball onto a pizza stone or cookie sheet. Thinner is better! Add toppings and bake at 500 deg for 12-15 min.

Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza

1 pizza crust (see recipe above)
5 oz goat cheese
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
3 oz smoked salmon, sliced into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, or 2 tsp dried dill
2 tsp fennel
1/2 tsp oregano
olive oil

Spread out crust on a pizza stone or cookie sheet. Top with crumbled goat cheese, artichoke hearts, salmon, and dill, leaving about 1/3 inch at the edges as the outer crust. Brush the outer crust with olive oil. Sprinkle on fennel and oregano. Bake at 500 deg F for 14 min.

Like Mom Used to Make: Thai Chicken Wraps

Thai chicken wrap- pre-wrap stage.

I have been married for nearly four years to a wonderful man who, in addition to putting up with me, occasionally feeding the cat, and at times vacuuming the apartment, encouraged me to start up this blog. He really is my inspiration for all of this. I started cooking because I wanted to make sure he was well fed. No, it wasn't to make him fat, although sometimes he seems to think that. When I first got married, my mother-in-law bequeathed me with my husband's favorite recipes. Although I don't make it quite the same as his mother (apparently nothing is as good as how mommy makes it, no matter how hard you try), I think I do a pretty good job.

You'll use alot of this.

You have to massage the chicken...

Thai chicken wraps are one of those things that takes up every single dish you own and makes a gigantic mess, but the leftovers will last for days.  I have yet to figure out what makes them "Thai" (maybe the peanut sauce or the very small amount of ginger?) but that's what my husband calls them, so that's apparently what they are. I would recommend making these on a Saturday or a Sunday, and using the rest for lunches for the rest of the week. They pack up pretty well in tupperware and reheating isn't too difficult in the microwave.

I wasn't kidding about the dishes.

All in all, this isn't a very complicated recipe, but it does have several parts. Start with the chicken, since that takes the longest. When you are putting together the wraps, make sure you don't overfill them, because they are likely to fall apart on you, and its embarrassing to have rice and chicken fall down your front. For storing leftovers, I recommend storing the chicken and cabbage together, but keeping the sauce and the rice separate.

Ready to serve!

To make up a wrap for lunch, construct the wrap in a tupperware, but don't wrap it up. Microwave it open for a minute or so, and wrap it up afterwards. If you wrap it up in advance, you might end up with uneven reheating, which makes the wrap not as pleasant to eat.

Thai Chicken Wraps

Chicken-
4 chicken breasts
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced

Cabbage Mix-
2 tbl vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup grated cabbage
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ginger powder

Peanut sauce-
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbl soy sauce
4 tbl vegetable oil

Tortillas
2 cups cooked white rice

Chicken- Pat the chicken breasts dry. Combine pepper, garlic and sugar. Rub mixture all over chicken breasts. Broil chicken until done, about 8 minutes a side. Cut chicken into strips and set aside.
Cabbage mix- Heat oil in a large pan for about a minute. Add cabbage, carrots, garlic and ginger. Stir and cook for 5 minutes and set aside.
Peanut sauce- Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat on medium and stir until combined.

Wraps- Heat tortillas in the microwave for about 15 seconds. For each wrap, add a small amount of rice. Add a few pieces of chicken, a spoonful of cabbage mix, and top with a generous dollop of peanut sauce. Wrap up tightly and enjoy!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie East of the Mississippi

Nothing's better than a warm cookie and a glass of milk.

I got quite a bit of nice stuff for my wedding. A comforter set, an heirloom table, a clock, and more crystal bowls than I know what to do with. One of the very best things I got, though, was a particular recipe. These are seriously the best cookies I have ever had. I love them, my husband loves them, and they will make your day a little bit happier. I was hesitant to share it, because it has been my secret weapon for years. However, as I am such a selfless person (or something) I figured I should probably pass on this gift to the rest of the world, for the betterment of mankind.

Now, there are tons of recipes out there that claim to be the "best chocolate chip cookie ever," but I promise these have a track record of success. Everyone I have ever made them for has declared them the very best cookies east of the Mississippi. I haven't made them to the west of the Mississippi, but I bet they would be pretty good there too.

My ancient KitchenAid. I call it "Old Faithful."

All the ingredients for success.

This isn't too different from the basic recipe, but it has more flour and involves butter flavored Crisco. The Crisco really is necessary, and helps the cookies stay gooey when done. The hardest part of the recipe is figuring out your oven. I've had different results in different ovens, probably because of the variation and evenness of the heating. Be really careful and keep an eye on your cookies throughout the cooking time until you figure out how long you need to leave them in your particular oven. Allowing the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet lets them cook a bit longer without being at the full heat, which for some reason that probably has to do with thermodynamics and chemistry, keeps them moist and chewy on the inside. The wire rack helps the outside get a little more crispy.

They start like this....

And end up like this!

It might take some trials to get them perfect, but trust me, it is totally worth it!
 

Perfection. A+ for me.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie East of the Mississippi
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened (but not melted!)
1/3 cup butter flavored Crisco shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 deg F

With an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time and blend well, then add the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the flour mix to the butter mix 1/2 a cup at a time until it has all been added. Beat in chocolate chips until just combined.

Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Use about 2 tbl of dough per cookie, spaced about 1 in apart. Bake for 8-10 min, or until slightly browned. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for approximately 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy with a glass of milk.

Ways to Ruin Your New Year's Diet: Soft Pretzels

Pretzels and cheese! It can't get any better.

I made the stupid decision to get in shape for the New Year. This was partly because it was New Year's and I needed a resolution, and mostly because I just bought a new swimsuit and I didn't want to look like a beached whale. I've been good about going to the gym, but when I get back I am just SO HUNGRY. I could eat anything and everything and basically just want to stuff my face with carbs. Stop judging me.

You know when you go to the mall and you smell that amazing smell of soft, buttery pretzel wafting through the Macy's, calling your name? Yeah. As a way to ruin my diet with the promise of warm carbohydrates and straight up melted cholesterol, I decided to make pretzels. Hey, the machine said I burned 600 calories today! I deserve it! The pretzel dough has to rise, so it does give you some time to really think about if you want to eat them or not, but I can pretty much guarantee that you will devour them the minute you smell them in the oven.

Don't forget it has to rise!

The egg wash is necessary so the salt sticks.

It's pretty easy to find a recipe by searching around online. I didn't really want to make the giant pretzels, just pretzel snacks, because I felt better eating just a few little ones instead of the big one, although I'm pretty sure that I ate enough small ones to equal 2 or 3 big ones. I took a recipe from allrecipes.com (here) and adapted the baking technique from Two Peas & Their Pod (here) to make my perfect pretzel snack.

These are best served warm, but if you want to keep them around for longer, store them in a sealed plastic gallon bag. Take them out when you want and microwave them on a plate for about 15 sec to re-live the warm deliciousness. If you want a more dessert-type pretzel, you can top the pretzels with cinnamon and sugar instead of salt after you put on the egg wash.

These are definitely tasty with dips of all kinds. There are lots all over the internet, but here are a few links to get you started:
Warm Beer and Cheddar Dip from Williams and Sonoma
Creamy Pesto Dip from Rachael Ray
Hot Mustard Pretzel Dip from Taste of Home

Beer, pretzels and cheese dip! The Williams and Sonoma Warm Beer and Cheddar dip is shown here.

Pretzel Bites
(adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod and allrecipes.com)

1 package or 2 1/4 tsp bakers yeast
2 tbl brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water at 110 deg F
1 1/4 tsp fine salt
4 cups flour, plus some extra for kneading
1/3 cup baking soda
1 egg, beaten with about 1 tbl of cold water to make an egg wash
Coarse sea salt

Dissolve yeast and brown sugar in warm water. Proof the yeast by letting it sit for about 10 minutes, or until nice and foamy. Add salt and flour, and stir until it forms a soft dough. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth, about 5 minutes or so. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Put in an oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 deg F.

Once dough is risen, roll it into 6 equal sized balls. Take each ball and roll the dough into a long rope. You want the rope to be thin. Cut the rope into approximately 1 inch pieces. Repeat with remaining balls.

Fill a medium size saucepan with water about 2/3 of the way. Bring it to a boil, and add the baking soda to the water. It will foam up so be careful. Bring it back to a boil and drop in your pretzel bites, about 10 at a time. Boil until they float up to the top, about 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining pretzel bites. Place boiled bites on a well-greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake bites at 425 deg for 9 min or until golden brown. Serve with dip and cold beer!

Alfredo with a kick! Spicy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

Spicy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

My family is originally from New Orleans, so spicy shrimp is definitely one of my favorite dishes. And, as has already been established, I love anything that involves butter and garlic. Heavy cream is a plus, too! So, I modified my favorite alfredo sauce recipe to include the NOLA spice that I love so much.

I've tweaked the recipe since its initial creation to add more spice and pop. You can change it up, too, if spice just isn't your thing, just cut down on the chili powder and cayenne. If you feel like it, you can add other spices to the shrimp or whatever suits your fancy. If it isn't spicy enough for you, add some Tabasco sauce.

Not too many ingredients required, I promise! You can add or subtract based on your tastes.

Don't worry if you can't get fresh shrimp. I actually use frozen shrimp from the grocery store. Defrost them in the sink under cold running water and de-shell them. Make sure you take out your trash immediately after you get rid of the shrimp shells, unless you want to have your kitchen smell like the dumpster at the fish market. If you can't take out your trash right away, or the garbage man already came for the week, put the shells in a bag and keep them in the freezer until next garbage day.

Mmmmm...spicy.

Shrimp and alfredo. Match made in heaven.

As far as the alfredo sauce, I recommend adding the Parmesan sllloooowwwwly while stirring the hot cream. This helps prevent unappealing clumps in your otherwise heavenly sauce. This might require an assistant to stir while you pour. (My spouse is a stirring professional.) It makes fairly decent leftovers, but is definitely best served fresh.

Spicy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo 

Garnish with some extra Parmesan and parsley for extra flair.

12oz shrimp, defrosted and peeled
3 tbl olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt


8oz fettuccine, cooked according to package and drained
3 tbl butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and fry for 30 sec. Add shrimp, chili powder, oregano, basil, cayenne, and salt. Stir well to coat shrimp. Continue to stir until shrimp are opaque, about 5 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add whipping cream, remaining salt, and pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to boil for about 5 minutes or until mixture starts to thicken. While stirring, add the Parmesan cheese slowly. It should melt while you add it and go in smoothly. Add the cooked shrimp to the cream, scrapping out the spices and oil from the pan used to cook them. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve over fettuccine immediately.

Aw Shucks! Broiled Oysters

I recently discovered the Maine Avenue Seafood Market in the District. My life will never be the same. Inspired by the fresh catches of the day, I decided to embark on a seafood cooking adventure of (slightly) epic proportions. I haven't done much in the way of fish to be honest. Most of my previous attempts at fish have been pan frying tilapia, making fish tacos, or possibly baking some salmon. Time to branch out. And that brings us to the oysters.

The seafood market had fresh Bay Oysters for cheap, so I got inspired and decided to do something fun with them. They are fresh, tasty, versatile, and fancy. To get the full experience, you have to shuck your own. I invested in 24 oysters, and then realized I had no idea what to do with them. This Deadspin article will tell you basically everything you need to know about eating raw oysters.

Shucking is not exactly easy and definitely takes some technique. Get the oyster knife. It helps, and will cut down on gnarly oyster-shucking injuries that are fairly embarrassing to explain to the ER docs. Just be careful, please!

My husband and I both tried our hand at shucking, and I am the shucking champion. I shucked like a boss. I bet if I did it more often, I could probably shuck a whole bushel of oysters in no time. Probably not. Those little buggers are pretty resistant to shucking but if you are persistent, you will eventually win. I just want to say "shucking" a few more times. Shuck. Shucking. Ha.


 

I did eat some raw ones, which are okay, but not my cup of tea. Definitely better if you add a little lemon juice or Tabasco. But, as someone who doesn't really like raw oysters, I decided to experiment with various ways to cook them. I have had them grilled with butter and cheese, but it's cold outside, and I'm out of charcoal so I decided broiling would be the better way to go. After searching the internet, I found multiple broiled oyster recipes from various sources. All of them seemed to have one constant theme: butter. As someone who likes to harden her arteries with butter and garlic as often as possible, I decided to adapt a recipe I found on Food.com. These butter broiled oysters are so easy, but they look super fancy, so you can impress your guests and look like you worked really hard. I used them as a fancy appetizer before having steak, but I think they would probably go better as an intro for scallops or pasta. Great idea for Valentine's. Remember, oysters are supposed to be an aphrodisiac!

Butter Broiled Oysters 
(adapted from Food.com)


 9 Shucked oysters in their bottom shells
3 tbl butter, melted
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
Pinch of salt
Dash of cayenne
Parsley




Preheat your oven broiler to high. Place your oysters in a large baking dish. Mix together butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt and cayenne. Go easy on the cayenne, you don't want it to overwhelm the delicate oysters. Spoon butter mixture over the oysters evenly. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until oysters plump up a little. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.