With snow coming down and my refrigerator running on empty, I decided to take what remained in my crisper and turn it into home pizzas. First on tap was the dough, which turned out to be quite easy. After kneading the dough and letting it rest, I turned my attention to toppings. I then put my pizza stone in a cold oven and preheated to three hundred and fifty degrees before caramelizing onions, sautéing artichoke hearts and Canadian bacon and roasting garlic. By the time my toppings were ready, my dough had risen and my pizza stone was hot. . With last night’s leftover marina as base, it became just a matter of taking orders, assembling, baking and eating.
Dough
1 package of active dry yeast
2 cups of warm water
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
4 cups of flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water and toss in sugar. Let rest for five minutes or until the yeast bubbles. Mix in flour. If the dough it too sticky, add additional flour in ¼ cup increments. When you can handle the dough fairly easily turn out onto a work surface and start kneading. It took me ten minutes of working the dough and dusting it with flour to get the right consistency for pizza dough. Let in rest in an oiled and covered bowl for about an hour
Making pizza dough is easy and quick.
Toppings
These topping are what I had on hand but you can use just about anything. Other favorites include mozzarella cheese, pineapple, and mushrooms.
Marinara Sauce
Onions
Artichoke Hearts
Goat Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Canadian Bacon
Broccoli (blanched)
Sun-dried tomatoes
A note about your pizza stone: put it in a cold oven and then preheat. If you put a cold stone in a hot oven it could crack.
Have toppings ready to go before assembly.
Assembly
I grab a handful of dough and pull it into a circle/oval. Next I dust a wooden peel with flour and lay the dough on it. I assemble toppings on dough. I jostle the peel back and forth to make sure my dough can move and then I open the oven and slide the pizza onto the stone. Cook for 10-12 minutes.
A note about assembly: Don’t assemble a pizza on the peel and then just let it sit while you’re waiting for another pizza to cook. The pizza will really stick to the peel. The trick is to assemble the pizza and put it immediately into the oven.
Detective Malcolm Kier, the hero of my February book MERCILESS, has been one of my favorite characters since he first appeared in I’M WATCHING YOU. He is not only smart, savvy and a little dangerous, but he can cook. Raised by parents who own an Italian restaurant, he grew up in the restaurant kitchens chopping, dicing and stirring. He would never eat a frozen pizza and runs from any sauce that comes from a jar. His specialty is a killer marinara sauce on fresh pasta. In case you want to try Malcolm’s marinara sauce (okay, it’s really mine) I’m passing on the recipe.
The Sauce
2 T Olive Oil
1 Large Onion, diced
2 Carrots, diced
2 Cans of Tomatoes
1 Cup of Red Wine
1-2 Cups of Chicken Stock
Salt
Sugar to taste
Fresh Oregano
Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and toss in diced onion and carrot. Cook the carrot and onion until soft. Add tomatoes, red wine and chicken stock. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Puree sauce with a hand blender. Caution you can do this in a blender but just puree a little at a time. Too much hot sauce in a blender can lead to hot marinara exploding all over you and your kitchen cabinets. (Heed my warning…I learned this lesson the hard way.) Once pureed add salt, and sugar to taste. Mix in freshly chopped oregano. Serve over fresh pasta.
This is a great sauce that works on pasta, pizza dough and breaded chicken cutlets.
This time of year I always have a pot of soup simmering on the stove. I never use a recipe and most times just make do with what I have on hand. Heat up a little olive oil in a pan, toss in onions, celery, carrots and garlic and then let your own tastes and creativity take over. There is no better comfort food than soup!
Some of my favorite or go-to ingredients:
Olive Oil
Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Celery
Canned tomatoes
Chicken or Beef Stock or Water
Black Beans
Garbanzo beans
Broccoli
Peas
Cauliflower
Chicken
The seasonings and toppings really depend on my mood.
Cumin and red pepper combined with crush tortillas give my soup a Mexican flare.
Italian herbs and sea salt with a handful of pasta give the soup a Minestrone feel.
Ginger, garlic and soy topped with rice add an Asian Twist.
So if you’re wondering ‘What’s for dinner?’ try a soup. It takes less than ten minutes for me to get my soup bubbling and after twenty minutes of simmering I’ve got a hearty meal.
Start with the basics: onions, carrots and celery.
Sautee veggies until soft.
A hot bowl of veggie and bean soup topped with rice.
Christmas snuck up on me this year but I managed to pack in several weeks worth of work in a couple of days. Lots of fun but I am ready to chill this week.
Buddy, Bella and I head to the woods to cut a tree.
Got the lights up before the snowfall.
Decorated late on December 23.
Put my Santas out for display.
My friend Kelly and her husband Jeff renewed their vows and I tagged along and snapped photos.
Made a trifle for my Mom's Julia Child themed Christmas dinner. It was a lot of work but delicious!
MB at Christmas dinner enjoying the wine and great food.
