Beer Pizza Crust II

Beer Pizza Crust II
recipe originally from Martha Stewart

1 c. warm (110˚ to 120˚) beer*
3 T. olive oil
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 T. coarse salt
1 pkt. yeast
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 c. flour, plus more for dusting (I added some wheat flour; probably 1/2 to 1 cup, but I'm not sure now.)

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk to combine beer, 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar, salt, and yeast. Fit bowl on electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add flour, and mix until dough is fairly stiff, about 10 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Brush the inside of a large bowl with remaining tablespoon olive oil; transfer dough to bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Punch down dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide dough into quarters; keep covered with plastic wrap.


*Dundee Wheat Beer

NOTES: I made two pizzas with this dough: one was with pizza sauce, peppernonis, mushrooms and cheese for Casey. The other was with a white sauce w/ peppernonis, sliced boiled red potatoes, mushrooms and cheese.

Casey's Pizza

I started with Hormel brand turkey peppernonis, because they are soooo much less greasy that regular peppernonis. [intentional misspelling] And mushrooms, because Casey loves mushrooms.


I formed (and pre-baked) the crust in an 8-inch cake pan, to make a personal-sized pan pizza:

Add lots of sauce for Casey:

Peppernonis:

Mushrooms:

Cheese, and half a mushrooms as a garnish:

He LOVED it....it was awesome...



Pizza 2

I also made a regular pizza, but I left the edges of the dough thick, so that the crust had some character...I wish I'd had some string cheese to stuff the crust with, but I did not...

I made a white sauce and threw in some chopped peppernoni:

Sliced some mushrooms:

Sliced some boiled new red potatoes:


Assembled the pizza:



NOTE: We took the second one nextdoor, and Scott said it was the best thing I have ever made!!!

random amusements

Bad news / Good news

The bad news is: we're almost out of MultiGrain Cheerios...
The good news is: we now have a whole bunch of Marshmallow-Cheerios Treats!



Marshmallow-Cheerios Treats

In *large* saucepan, melt:
1 bag mini marshmallows
1/2 stick butter (HAS to be butter)
1 t. vanilla
pinch of salt

After it turns into a gooey mess, remove from heat and fold in:
about 5 cups MultiGrain Cheerios

Stir carefully, with a folding-in motion, to lift the marshmallow goo from the bottom of the pan, and turn it over to the top. Repeat until it looks well-mixed, or your arm gets tired.

Press flat into a greased 9x13 pan with a rubber spatula. At least try to let them cool a little while before digging in. NOTE: you'll need a steak knife to cut through these, because the Cheerios are more substantial than Rice Krispies.


Yah, I wonder how many calories they have after being doused in melted butter and marshmallows?! LOL...ah, who cares...?

Gripe Of The Day

This shirt is falling apart; I saved it from Casey's pile of "get rid of" stuff after he cleaned out the closet. Below, I've illustrated the holes by putting a white piece of paper inside:

About as many holes as the Hawks' defense...

Hey, instead of running around in your own end trying unsuccessfully to poke-check the puck away from your opponents, why don't you f'ing THROW A HIT ON SOMEONE?!?!?!!!

What, no one but Troy Brouwer knows how to body check anymore?!! (okay, yah, Hjalmarsson, and he got suspended for "boarding", but that's beside the point, so shut up.)

You need to hit someone and take the damn puck away. Stop playing all fancy-assed and get TOUGH.

Grrr......

random amusements

Ohemgee!!! How can I be out of FLOUR?!!!

I wanted to mix up some no-knead bread dough, but I just remembered that I'm out of flour!!! Oh the humanity...!!!!

Broiled Lamb Dinner

This was our dinner tonight. Casey has been really stressed with work, so I wanted to make him a great meal, so maybe he'd feel better, or at least have a full belly. :)

I seasoned the lamb ("round bone lamb chops" on the label) with Greek oregano, corriander, cumin and onion powder. That was the perfect mix for lamb, lemme tell ya! It was really tasty.

The green beans were just one of those steam-in-the-microwave bags that you buy frozen. They usually turn out nice.

I made the pasta salad without a recipe. I had half a box of farfelle, and I was trying to figure out what wouldn't clash with the flavor of the lamb. So I diced up some feta cheese and some artichoke hearts, tossed it into the cooked pasta, and added just a smidge of dried onion flakes. It needed something more, so I sprinkled in a little grated cheees (I think it was "pizza" cheese; the pre-shredded kind).

Everything turned out yummy...then it was back to work...

I love you, Foofee! I hope you really enjoyed your noms!!

random amusements

Swiss Truffle Cake

Someone invent a reason for me to make this cake...

PLEASE?!!!

random amusements

my new library room

Well, after the boxes were sitting on the floor in the dining room for, what, three weeks, we now have them assembled. I say "we" like I had much to do with it. I got distracted, and Casey managed to complete the task. He said it got easier after the first one; you know how you get one put together, and then you just have to remember what you did before.

So, yah, it's done. Check another item off the list. (yes, we literally have a "to do" list.)

The photo above is taken from the doorway, and the other is taken from the corner behind the couch. I didn't include the couch in the pictures cause I'd have to move the pillows, blankets, electronics, DUST, etc. and I didn't feel like it.

I have to gather and organize all of my books and magazines before putting the shelves in, so that I know how to space them. There are magazines in binders and cardboard IKEA organizers that I have to find...all my gardening stuff got stored in the basement when we moved. I also have some Muscle & Fitness magazines that I need to locate and organize. *sigh* Anybody want to volunteer to help?!! LOL!

Here is a link to the IKEA bookcases we got:
Billy Bookcase
Flyt Magazine File

As I had told AZPatticakes, now all we need in there is a Keurig...LOL!

Cornbread-Stuffed Meatloaf

This is an interesting recipe...I forget where I got the original concept, but I made so many changes that now I consider it my own. Also, please note that I did NOT follow the recipe below. That happens in my kitchen all the time, because I'm such a rebel. Yeah. (It's not safe out there with us Swedes running around!)

Cornbread-Stuffed Meatloaf

stuffing:
1 medium onion; finely chopped
2 c. fresh cornbread crumbs (I made a fresh Jiffy cornbread mix)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped (optional)

meatloaf:
2 lb. ground turkey
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs (regular)
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 t. marjoram
1/2 t. oregano

topping:
1/4 c. parsley leaves
1 can tomato sauce
1 c. shredded cheese (any kind)

In large frying pan, sauté onion until tender. Remove from heat; stir in cornbread crumbs and mushrooms; mix well. Set aside to cool.



In large bowl, combine ground turkey, regular bread crumbs, eggs, and seasonings. Place meat mixture on greased sheet of aluminum foil; pat to 10" square.
(NOTE: I made mine with ground turkey, and it was too gooey to flatten out like that. I imagine ground beef would be easier to work with, but that's not the route I took. Still, you get the idea.)


Heat oven to 350˚.

Spread parsley leaves over center third of meat square. Gather together cornbread mixture and lightly press into a 10" log. Place over parsley-covered center of meat square.
I layered the meat, then cornbread mixture on top, then finished the top with another layer of meat...


Using foil, bring ends of meat together and seal meat to enclose cornbread mixture. Press loaf firmly and place, seam side down and still on foil, in shallow baking pan. Pour tomato sauce over top.
There was no room in the pan for tomato sauce!



Cover top with foil. Bake 1 hour.

Uncover loaf, sprinkle cheese on top and bake 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted/browned to your satisfaction. (no cheese on mine--sorry!)

leave of absence

I'm going to have to sign off for a while. There's just too much going on right now, and I'm feeling pulled in different directions, which is making me crazy. Of course I won't stop cooking; you just won't be able to read about it here for a while. But I'll be back when everything calms down again.

Here are some random photos that have been sitting in iPhoto or on my camera for some time now...

Thumper:


Salmon-Ricotta Savory Tart:


Mocha-Nutella Pudding Pie:


Banana-Coconut Streusel Coffeecake:


Beer Pizza Crust II:

Beer Pizza Crust I

I made this a few weeks ago, and just never got around to transferring the photos from my camera...now that I've done that, here is the recipe...

Beer Pizza Crust I

2 1/2 c. flour 

1 1/2 c. wheat flour 

2 t. instant yeast (1 pkt. active dry yeast) 

1 t. baking powder 

1 1/2 t. salt 

2 T. olive oil 

1 1/2 c. room-temperature beer (one bottle of beer)*

Measure out all ingredients carefully...

If the beer was in the fridge, like mine was, warm it up in the microwave for about 60 seconds to take the chill off, so it'll activate the yeast...

Mix and knead together all of the dough ingredients by hand until you’ve made a smooth, soft dough.

Cover the dough, and allow it to rise for 30 minutes, or for up to 2 hours.

Instead of pizza sauce, I made a garlic-Parmesan white sauce and added some chopped artichoke hearts...


Preheat the oven to 425°. Once the dough has risen, divide it in half. Shape each half into a 10" to 12" round. (NOTE: I used a large cookie sheet to make one big pizza.)


Pre-bake for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the oven, top as desired...


sliced yellow tomatoes from our garden...mmmmm....

Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the bottom crust is crisp and the cheese is bubbly and browned.


I like it when the cheese gets slightly browned...


*NOTE: I used Dundee Honey Brown beer for this recipe, which is in the "Craft Pack":