Adventures in Pizza Dough Making

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Laura

Almost two years ago, I visited Taormina, Sicily (read about it here; it’s a beautiful, beautiful place), where I saw a pizza-making demonstration. It was really cool to watch the chef work – he made it look so easy! – and of course to taste the delicious finished products. Before I discuss my own recent pizza-making ventures, let’s reminisce about pizza-making in Sicily, shall we?

They toss the dough with panache…

And top it to perfection:

(All while sporting a pretty sweet popped collar, might I add)

And the finished product is glorious to behold!

Suffice it to say, I came home from that trip inspired to make my own pizza dough from scratch, but that inspiration didn’t translate to results. I’m not sure why, but I had it in my head that it would be ridiculously complicated for me to make my own dough, so I put off doing so for almost two years, until this spring. But once I finally got around to trying it, I wound up with excellent results.

I tried a couple different recipes with mixed success, but then I found this one (via Annie’s Eats) and knew I had found the one. This dough is so easy to make and it tastes super delicious. Now, whenever I don’t know what to make myself for dinner, I whip up a pizza and throw whatever veggies and cheese I have in my fridge on it. Total win.

I pretty much follow that recipe to a tee, with the one exception being I mix everything and knead the dough by hand. I’d like to claim this is because I simply prefer being more artisanal, rustic, and authentic…but, it’s because I don’t own a stand mixer. However, I actually quite enjoy doing it this way – it’s sort of fun to play around with the dough and get your hands messy. As you can see below, my dough winds up looking lumpy and less than perfect, but the finished product always tastes good, so why stress about it?

Of course, nothing will ever top the wonderfulness of eating pizza in Italy…but it’s nice to have a recipe you can count on back home, too.

(Making my own pizza dough was #25 on my 27 for 27 list)

Pork Ramen

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Laura

In my entire college career, I don’t think I ever made ramen noodles even once. That’s not to say that my roommate and I didn’t eat any terrible college-era foods; during freshmen year, we consumed our fair share of Bagel Bites and microwavable egg rolls from the Blue Apple (the phrase “Blue Apple” will mean almost nothing to you if you didn’t happen to attend Michigan and live in Bursley. If you did do those things, then I hope you get it).

All this is to say that I associate the words “ramen noodles” with cheap, terrible meals that poor college students are forced to subside on. However…this recipe (via Big Girls, Small Kitchen) will change your perceptions. This soup is insanely flavorful and so colorful – not only was it delicious, it was also pretty just to look at, which is probably something that only a person who blogs would get excited about. In any case, it’s a keeper.

(Recipe via Big Girls Small Kitchen)

Pinterest Projects: Huevos Rancheros

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Laura

Pinterest Projects is an ongoing series wherein I attempt to justify hours ~~wasted~~ spent on Pinterest by making projects from some of the inspiration I find there.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Julie & Julia, you might recall that the character of Julie doesn’t like eggs – or, at least, she spent most of her life hating eggs until one day she decided to actually try them. Well, for most of my life, I was a bit like Julie; I simply didn’t care for eggs.

Over the last few years, however, I have been rethinking my egg antipathy. In fact, eggs have become a regular staple of my diet and now I enjoy them. Weird, huh? In fact, I made this recipe (pin here; recipe via Bev Cooks) because I was actually craving them. It turned out pretty tasty (even though I overcooked my egg a bit), and I would definitely make these again.

Oh, and you know how I opened with saying, “if you’ve seen Julie and Julia”? Well, if you haven’t seen it, get on it. Great movie. Meryl Streep = genius.

(Pin here; original recipe via Bev Cooks)

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Laura

A few years ago, I bought a Crock-Pot and thought it would revolutionize my life (or, at least, my culinary world). I was working a lot and always too exhausted to cook when I got home, but I figured the Crock-Pot would change all that. I’ll get up in the morning, I thought, and chop up some stuff and throw it in the Crock-Pot and when I get home, I’ll have a delicious meal waiting for me.

Or not. I think I did this a grand total of one time. The problem? I will never, ever (ever!) drag myself out of bed early enough to put food in a Crock-Pot. It’s just not in the cards. However, I saw this recipe (via How Sweet It Is) and figured it was time to take my Crock-Pot off the shelf where it was gathering dust and actually cook something.

Because I am me, even a recipe that was labeled “easy” wasn’t without its complications. First, I have a smaller-sized Crock-Pot, and this recipe literally filled it to the brim; the situation got a little precarious at one point. Second, my dumplings didn’t cook all the way through (which, I think, is because of problem number one – they were crowded way up at the top and just didn’t seem to get enough heat). Despite these minor hiccups, this recipe is good and will definitely be repeated. It’s absolutely perfect for these increasingly cold Michigan days. And also, it’s delicious. Can’t beat that.

Note: this is where things started to get dangerously close to overflowing (and the dumplings aren’t even in yet!):

(Recipe via How Sweet It Is)

Great Grandma’s Chicken Casserole

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Laura

This recipe feels vintage to me, which I suppose makes sense because it was my Great Grandma’s. I mean, do people still make casseroles? Something about them just feels very ’60s housewife, but I enjoy this recipe nonetheless. Particularly as it gets cold out, this is a good, filling winter meal – and it’s super simple to make.

For the casserole:

2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
1 cup chopped celery
2 T. chopped onions
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 ½ cups cooked rice
¾ cup Miracle Whip

For the topping:

1 cup corn flakes
2 T. butter

Mix together all ingredients. Turn into greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with topping (I cut the butter into tiny chunks and just scatter it over top over the corn flakes). Bake at 350º for 35 minutes.

Meatball Sandwiches

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Laura

When my mom and I visited Sicily last summer, our tour guide told us that, contrary to what Americans might think, Italians never eat spaghetti and meatballs – they prefer to just have their spaghetti left alone. I myself have never been that big a fan of spaghetti and meatballs, so I can get on board with this decision.

I do, however, enjoy a good meatball and I think, rather than pairing them with spaghetti, meatballs are best in sandwiches. I found this recipe via David Lebovitz and am mildly obsessed; the meatball in particular is super flavorful. The recipe makes a ton of meatballs, so you can either freeze some for later or you can be like me and eat a meatball sandwich for lunch and dinner every day for a week.

You probably shouldn’t be like me.

Or maybe you should. These are pretty tasty.

Anyway. To start, make your sauce:

Then, make your meatballs:

After you cook your meatballs, combine it all together:

And then assemble your sandwich and pop it in the oven to get everything deliciously melt-y:

And finally, enjoy!

(Recipe via David Lebovitz)

Pinterest Projects: Mini Thai Chicken Pies

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Laura

Pinterest Projects is an ongoing series wherein I attempt to justify hours ~~wasted~~ spent on Pinterest by making projects from some of the inspiration I find there.

It seems a bit disingenuous to call these “Thai” chicken pies. Sure, there’s Thai red curry paste in them, as well as many of the ingredients I associate with pad Thai (lime, green onion, peanuts). But if you ever happen upon a street vendor in Bangkok selling something with Bisquick in it, please let me know – that would really be something.

Perhaps these aren’t the most authentic taste of Thai cuisine. But, they’re simple and super easy to make, which means they are worth your time anyway. I enjoyed them, but I think the next time I make them, I’ll experiment with spices as they came out a tad bland for my taste. Other than that, though, I thought this recipe was pretty solid.

(Pin here; original recipe here)

Chunky Chicken Soup

Posted on October 28, 2012 by Laura

There are certain things in the kitchen that intimidate me, for whatever reason. One of them? Working with a whole chicken. I’m not sure why, but something about a gigantic raw chicken just freaks me out.

So, up until now, I had successfully avoided working with a whole chicken. But then, I saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman. And it looked delicious. And I’m on a total soup kick lately. So I decided to be bold and work with the whole chicken. The result? Culinary triumph. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration. But it was a damn good meal.

This recipe isn’t difficult. In fact, it’s pretty straightforward; it just takes awhile to cook. And the end result is worth the wait – my entire kitchen smelled wonderful, and the soup was hearty and delicious. I ate it for like a week, and I’m thinking of making another batch sometime soon. It’s getting chilly outside and – trust me – you need this soup in your life.

(Recipe via The Pioneer Woman)

Sweet Corn Creme Brulee

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Laura

Let’s talk about recipe shortcuts. I’m in graduate school, so I’m a gal on a budget – which means that, occasionally, I just make do with what I have instead of buying whatever fancy tool a recipe calls for. Generally, this works out just fine. But sometimes…it doesn’t.

Let me back up. This summer, I had an awesome meal at Sable in Chicago. One of my favorite dishes there was a sweet corn creme brulee. I loved it so much that I was determined to recreate it. I found this recipe via the Food Network and it seemed like exactly what I was looking for. The only problem? It called for dividing the sweet corn mixture into eight ramekins. Now, I don’t even have one ramekin, so I wasn’t about to buy eight of them.

In retrospect, it seems pretty obvious that dumping the entire mixture into one big pan was not going to work as expected – the cooking time would need to be way different. I put it in the oven and baked it…and baked it…and baked it. And after like an hour and a half, it was still completely liquid. Then, I split it into two pans and baked it for like an hour more. It finally started to set up a bit, but even after all that cooking, it still sorta soupy.

The lesson? Ramekins = important. However, the flavor was pretty nice, so the recipe wasn’t a total failure. Budget cooking win! Okay, maybe not win…

(Recipe via Food Network)

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Laura

The moment it became cold, I began to crave soup. Isn’t soup just the ultimate in perfect cold weather comfort food? I like to make a big batch of soup and then eat it repeatedly over the course of the week. I live alone, and sometimes eating leftovers several nights in a row gets tiring, but I almost never feel that way with soup. I can eat it for a week straight and still be satisfied, if it’s a good one.

And this Chicken Tortilla Soup, which I found on Eat Live Run, is definitely a good one. I omitted the jalapeno pepper (because I’m afraid of spiciness), but otherwise followed the recipe to a tee. I also consulted this tutorial for roasting the poblano pepper, as I had never worked with poblano before. Other than that, the recipe was a breeze!