Pizza, Part 2

The Crust

Dear Sweetie Pie,

Hopefully you’ve got your pizza sauce made, and are ready to start the dough. I don’t know which I like best, the sauce and all the toppings, or the crust. I do know that the pizza crust can make or break the whole pizza. So here we go!

What you need:

4 cups of flour                                                                                                                           1 package yeast (or about 1tablespoon)                                                                                   1 tsp. salt                                                                                                                                   1 1/2 cups warm water                                                                                                             1 tablespoon olive oil

Place 3 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and the salt.

Mix that around with a wooden spoon, then pour in the water and the olive oil.

Now you have to mix that really well with a wooden spoon.The dough will be very sticky. Gradually add more flour( you still have 1 cup to use)until the dough is very stiff. Now, flour the counter top(to keep the dough from sticking) and knead the dough until it is smooth, and no longer lumpy and full of cracks.

Wash out the mixing bowl,(or use another one) oil it with a little olive oil(to keep the dough from sticking) and place the dough in the bowl, turning it over so all sides of the dough get a little of the olive oil.

Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place (on the counter is good!) until doubled in size.Turn the oven on to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and let it warm up while you prepare the pizza.

On your floured counter top, roll out the dough(did I mention you need a rolling pin?) to fit the pan you’ll be using. I recommend using baking paper (baking parchment) to line the pan. Now, spread on your sauce, add some grated cheese, pepperoni etc.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 min. Start checking it after 10 min. When the crust is a nice golden color, and light brown on the bottom (lift up the edge a little to check) then it’s ready!  MMMmmmmmm

Here’s a little surprise for you!

Have a wonderful day!

Do Real Men Eat Quiche? Do you care?

Of course not! Because you LOVE quiche! A few years ago, (back in the ’80’s. Thats just a few years ago. Okay, its before you were born.) there was a popular book entitled Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Men_Don’t_Eat_Quiche Apparently, quiche is just a tad too girly for “real men”. But hey, throw in some bacon and a jalepeno pepper or two and call it an egg and bacon pie, and most guys will scarf it down. Or make it just the way YOU like it.

First, you need a pie crust. Pie crust isn’t hard to make, but there is a skill involved. Since you mostly eat what’s in the crust (and toss the crust, which by the way, is the best part) AND since you live in America which has all kinds of ready made convenience foods, you can go to the store and buy a ready made pie crust.

http://startcooking.com/public/IMG_1309k.JPG

Here is the rest of the ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups grated cheese ( I use Jarlsberg, but you can use Swiss cheese or a combination of swiss and cheddar, or some kind of white cheese and cheddar, but not all cheddar.)

1 pint cottage cheese ( a pint is 2 cups, but you can buy cottage cheese in 1 pint containers. Perfect! Buy small curd cottage cheese.

1/3 cup of milk

bacon or ham or both(cook the bacon first)

You need to buy a pie dish also, but thats easy to find at Target, or even the grocery store.

Put the crust in your pie dish

Place the cheese in the bottom of the pie.

Then add your cooked bacon or ham ( I used both)

Mix your eggs in a separate bowl

Add the cottage cheese, seasonings ( garlic powder, pepper, 1/2 tsp. cumin or oregano or whatever you like) and the 1/3 cup of milk

Pour this over the top

Bake at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.

Let cool for at least 20 minutes after you take it out of the oven. It will still be hot, but will hold together nicer if you let it cool a bit. I like to have broccoli (as you know) in the quiche, but you can serve it with a nice salad. Have fun making quiche, and I’ll show you how to make a kick-ass quiche crust another day!

Have a great day, Sweetie-pie!