January 2015 – Cooking through the seasons: the adventures of a San Diego Gastronaut.

Hi Guys!

The first month of 2015 is in the bag and it was for sure full of cooking for me! I’m looking forward to sharing some of the better meals with you guys. So let’s get started!

First up – PIZZA

Now, nothing against fast food pizza chains, but, there’s something pretty satisfying about making your own pizza, from scratch. I’m all for a take-out pizza when you’re in a hurry or just not in the mood to cook (Costco pizza is truly legit) but if you’ve got some free time, try out a home-made pizza.

What You’ll Need-

The pizza will be done in sections, 1. dough 2. toppings 3. put it all together 4. bake

Step One- The Dough

Now, I looked through several recipes to find my perfect dough. In the end I chose to go with one you make in the food processor, because, why would you not?? I worked off the following recipe from Cuisinart – https://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/breads/436.html

I followed it almost exactly, only I added beer. YES, beer! I have been reading up a lot on cooking with beer for two reasons – 1. My boyfriend just brewed our first batch of beer! It’s called The Go Padres Preller Porter! We are SD Padres fans through and through and ever since A.J. Preller became our new GM we’ve been making some pretty exciting moves! So who else would we dedicate our inaugural beer to? 2. I am planning a beer-luck (a.k.a. beer + potluck) for my boyfriend’s birthday in March.

Anyway, in my research I came across several posts indicating bread with beer in the recipe results in a very taste loaf, so I thought, why not pizza dough? So feel free to add a bit of beer to the above referenced Cuisinart recipe, or make it without. Either way, it will be fabulous.

What You’ll Need-

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2/3 cup warm water (105 to 115°F.)
1 2/3 cups unbleached, all-purpose or bread flour
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more to coat dough
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. In a liquid measuring cup, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Insert dough or metal chopping blade in work bowl and add flour, olive oil and salt. With the machine running, pour the liquid mixture through the feed tube as fast as the flour absorbs it. Process until dough cleans the sides of the work bowl and forms a ball. Then process for 30 seconds to knead dough. Dough may be slightly sticky.

4.The Cuisinart recipe calls for you to allow the dough to rise. Before doing this I actually kneaded the dough by hand for an additional 3-5 minutes. Then formed it into a smooth ball and wrapped it with plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

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Step Two – Toppings

This is the perfect time to turn on your oven to pre-heat at 375°.

Now, there’s not much to be said here about preparing toppings. It’s pretty self-explanatory, chop up every thing good you want to eat on your pizza! All I can say is that a trick I learned a bit back was to combine all your ingredients into a big bowl and mix well with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then when the time comes to put your toppings on your pizza, you have a perfectly combined mixture that you can spoon out onto your dough and spread evenly over the entire pie.

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Step Three – Roll Out The Dough

1. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from fridge and unwrap. Discard the plastic wrap.

2. On a clean surface spread a small amount of flour. Do not over use flour as it changes the taste of your pizza crust. Use a rolling-pin to spread out your dough into a large, thin, circle.

3. If your dough is resisting being rolled out, hold it up and let gravity help you stretch out the dough. Try not to rip the dough, however, if it does, just knead it into the pie and continue to roll out.

4. When the dough is completely rolled out, transfer to a baking sheet or pizza stone for cooking. Spread olive oil over the dough to help it crisp up.

5. Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes on 375°.

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Step Four- Put it All Together

1. Remove the pizza dough from the oven. Do not turn off the oven. Increase heat to 425°.

2. Use a spatula to ensure the dough has not stuck to the cooking sheet.

3. Now it’s time to top your pizza. I think everyone has an order that works for them and I doubt there is really a right or wrong way to top a pizza. I personally like sauce, spices,cheese, meat, veggies/fruit, and more cheese.

4. For the sauce I like to add – oregano, basil, cumin, sugar, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. For the veggies/fruit -I like to peruse the kitchen for whatever I have available. For this pizza I used – green bell pepper, red onion, honey crisp apple, radishes, and capers! I also topped it with some pepperoni and the 4-cheese combo bag from Trader Joe’s!

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Step Five- Bake Your Pizza

1. Bake your pizza at 425° for 15- 20 minutes, keeping an eye on it to ensure the toppings and cheese do not burn. Naturally, if you prefer crispier crust, cook it on the longer side.

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Step Six – DIG IN!

It’s time to eat. After allowing your pizza to cool a bit, serve it up with the same beer you used in the dough. Enjoy!

Buon Appetito!

Hello Readers,

Welcome to 2015! I hope everyone had a lovely New Year’s Eve and relaxing New Year’s Day. I will be slowly posting each recipe from my cooking adventures over the holidays. Until then I hope you enjoy this simple, yet lovely, recipe for a pear and apple pie 🙂

INGREDIENTS

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Brown Sugar
White Sugar
White flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Vanilla Extract
Fruit for filling – I used 1 granny smith apple, 1 red pear and 1 brown pear
Lemons or lemon juice
Pie crust- I used a frozen one
Oatmeal – dry –
(not pictured)
Agave syrup / honey (not pictured)

Let’s get started!

Step One – Pie Crust

Now clearly I used a frozen pie crust. I had one sitting in my freezer for a while now and that served as my inspiration to make a pie. I am by trade NOT a baker, so attempting my own pie crust felt a bit daunting. More baking is my cooking goal for 2015 (along with homemade tamales!) If you, however, have mastered homemade pie crust, I am sure it would make this recipe even better.

(Now is the time to turn on your oven and preheat to the temperature indicated on the pie crust package.)

Step Two- Fruit Filling

Dice up the fruit into bit sized pieces. Set aside into large mixing bowl.

Squeeze some lemon juice over the fruit to keep it from browning while you finish the rest of the pie.

Step Three – Spice it up

Into the bowl add the spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, 1 or 2 drops of vanilla extra, brown sugar and white sugar. I decided to add some agave syrup (not pictured above) to make the mixture extra sweet. You could also add honey. Stir well so that all the fruit is evenly coated.