Pizza, Italian (or New York) Style!

Mmm, crusty thin crust. Bubbly, toasty cheese. Classic Margherita flavors on a thin, chewy crust.



Supreme pizza toppings on the freshest, tastiest piece of pizza imaginable.



I wanted to make this. I found what I thought was a good recipe. (More about this later in the process.) The website sat and sat in an open browser on my phone for at least a month. It's hard to make pizza when you've got a four-year-old and four-month-old running your life. It was hard to plan ahead enough to make dough so the dough would be ready when it came time to start cooking at night. Anyway, here's the story. Bad things happened along the way and I thought it would be a disaster, or mediocre at best, but it turned out AMAZING! The best pizza I've ever made. There are some tricks you should know and I'd like to share them with you.

I started making the dough today from this recipe. It looked good. The recipe is from Serendipity Mommy and it's called The Only Pizza Dough Recipe You'll Ever Need.

I only held off on eating it to take photos because I knew the sauce was still so hot, it would burn my mouth off. But get in my BELLY!



I like that the dough included garlic powder, olive oil, and Italian herbs. I don't even know where I found the link. It wasn't through the usual internet search engine like Google. My only beef with the recipe is that I needed to add a lot more flour than what it called for. And that started freaking me out. I also used old bread flour that was past expiration, so maybe that was why the gluten wasn't activating? I don't know. I read up on it and since the flour smelled okay, not like rancid oils, it should have been fine.

I also have a beef with the serving size. Twelve? More like two-and-a-half. The pizzas are no more, and there are only three of us, and one is pint-sized. (To be fair, Adeline really liked it and had a pretty big serving size.)

Things you'll want to do in order to go the extra mile to get that really great, fresh pizza:

-Thin crust, baby. (Choose thin over thick, especially for the Margherita.)
-Use the freshest ingredients you can find. Fresh tomatoes over canned tomatoes for sure! Fresh basil if you've got it. Fresh onion, fresh green pepper, canned olives okay, though.
-Use a pizza stone and preheat it for awhile to fully warm it.
-Let gravity pull the crust, don't roll it with a rolling pin. Use your fingers, and be patient and give it time and more flour to keep it a big circle. Ya know how it's annoying when it snaps back to being small and then you're just eating a tiny, thick pizza? Overcome this. And when it's almost the size you want, use corn meal on the bottom.
-Don't let the pizza dough tear. (If it does, use a little water to get it to stick back together, and then be more careful.) When the dough is getting really thin, put it on the pizza peel (paddle thingy) (or cookie sheet with no edges) for easy transfer to the pizza stone. Use the palms of your hands and finger tips to stretch it a little more on the peel. Make sure flour and/or corn meal is on the bottom so the pizza dough won't stick and it will be easy to transfer to the pizza stone.
-There's a trick to getting the pizza off the peel and onto the stone. This is one of the hardest parts of the pizza process if you don't have a good system. My system is to keep the bottom from sticking to the peel by having enough corn meal and flour under there. Position the peel just above the heated pizza stone in the oven. Gently pick up an edge of the rolled out pizza dough. Slightly tilt the peel and put the edge on the stone. Let the rest of the pizza slide off the peel and it does the job. The worst is when your pizza does an accordion and smashes together on the stone. I hope this doesn't happen to you. Be careful and patient, but not too timid, and you should have some good results.
-Cook the dough all by itself on the stone first for about ten minutes (or until just getting a little golden) and then pull it out, add the toppings, and finish cooking the pizza on the stone. The dough won't get soggy from the sauce and toppings and it will be chewy and wonderful.
-When making Margherita, add a tiny bit of pizza sauce (I cheated and used Whole Foods bottled spaghetti sauce with garlic) and smear it around, then add thinly sliced tomatoes all over (as if they were the sauce), then mozzarella in thin rectangular/almost squarish slices, not too much. let a lot of tomato peek through, then a little basil, also not too much. I don't like the tomatoes on top of the mozzarella. Who does that? There is something sick and wrong about that. Maybe I'm getting more "Italian" and I realize that you shouldn't mess with perfection. (Aka the way it's classically done in the recipe. Don't be creative here, stick with tradition.)

She can't take her eyes off of that good-looking Margherita pizza we made together.



-When making Supreme, add a bit of pizza sauce, but DO NOT OVERDO the sauce. A little goes a long way. This used to be my problem. I would add too much of everything on pizza, especially sauce, and then it was too weighed down and soggy and just mediocre. Shoot for AMAZING! And do not be heavy-handed with toppings.
-Layer the Supreme this way, you'll be glad you did: Sauce on bottom, then any combo of diced onion, sliced green pepper, red pepper, mushrooms (I did large portabella caps diced up, yum!), sliced black olives. Do NOT overload. Then finish with mozzarella cheese on top. And if you're doing pepperoni, the pepperoni goes on the very top, resting on the cheese. This way both the cheese and the pepperoni can get a nice golden toasty look and taste. So so good! Sorry we are getting so nitty-gritty, but believe me, it's important.
-If you're doing a deep dish Chicago style, then you can add tons of sauce and toppings. But you will need to find another recipe for the proper crust. Share it with me if you do, I want to successfully make a good deep dish pizza, like the kind you can get at Pi Pizzeria in St Louis. So so good.

Just some things you'll want handy as you make the dough and pizza. Cornmeal, sauce, pizza slicer. Someday I'll get one of those fancy rocking pizza knives to cut it without pulling the toppings off.



You might want to accessorize your pizza with sparkling grape juice or a salad. I failed and bought flat water that I thought was fizzy, but it came from Tuscany and it tastes like amazing glacier water, so I guess it's all good. (And I had a bottle of Perrier handy to go in the grape juice, and it was delicious.) I thought the labels were especially pretty.



Take me to Tuscany!



Adeline wanted to play with my camera and be a photographer, too! Here's a great photo she took of her pizza.



I'm going to re-post the recipe in case the website goes down. It contains my notes and what I did differently.

-----------------------
Perfect Pizza Dough
By Candy, the Culinary Grad at Serendipity Mommy
(Parentheses mark where Danelle deviated.)

Ingredients:

1 C. HOT water (110 degrees F or 45 degrees C)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
–
2 C. Bread Flour (more like 3 C., 2 C. Bread Flour, 1 C. all-purpose (I had run out of bread flour))
2. tsp. white sugar
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh minced if you wish)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1. tsp. salt

Instructions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it set for ten minutes, it will thicken slightly
Pour the yeast mixture in the mixer bowl
Add the flour and other ingredients leaving the salt for last, the salt will kill the yeast with direct contact so make sure its last to go in.
Beat the dough into a stiff ball.
(It NEVER made a stiff ball, I beat it FOREVER with the dough hook in my stand mixer. Gave up. Added more flour. Didn't really knead it in since my kids started having melt-downs. Figured it was going to turn out mediocre at best.)
If it sticks use a little olive oil on your hands and it will come off. (Olive oil? Let me know if that works for you. I used flour on my hands. It was still sticky, but magic things can happen during the rising phase.)
Cover and let rise to double size, which takes about 25-30 minutes. (Kind of forgot about it during the rising phase while I was nursing a baby and putting her down for a nap. It rose for maybe an hour. It looked pretty good. I touched it and it immediately deflated. Oops. I threw it in the refrigerator to deal with later when it was time to make pizza.)
This recipe made 3 personal 8 inch pizza’s but would make 2-12″ pizzas as well. (Yes, we turned it into 2-12'' pizzas.)

For Pizza: (This is where I deviated to Better Homes and Gardens Instructions for Thin Crust Pizza.)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. (Nope, 425 degrees. (Authentic pizza ovens operate well over 500 degrees, so don't panic. Experiment!) Also, get your pizza stone in there nice and early. Give it a good half hour to heat up to 425 degrees.)

Roll your dough into a round shape with a rolling pin on floured surface if desired OR shape the dough in your hands just working in a circle letting the dough gently stretch. (Just use your fingers and palms and gravity to stretch the dough. You know you've done a good job when it doesn't pull back to being small. Use flour as needed to keep it stretched out and nice and thin. Put it on a peel with flour and corn meal underneath to keep it from sticking, and get ready to cook it without toppings on the pizza stone.)

Place on your pan, make sure you leave some extra at the edges if you want a thick crust there, then add your toppings, Bake for 15-20 minutes. (Just look to the Better Homes and Gardens Pizza and Thin Crust tips for baking instructions. Cook it until the cheese is bubbling and turning a lovely golden color and the crust looks nice and crisp.)
-----------------------

My wonderful sous chef.



In the photo above, she's pictured with the Margherita. Below is the Supreme.



Adeline helped a lot. She was so excited to mix the yeast into the hot water. Adam lets her help him make his famous Sourdough Pancakes (I should include a link for the recipe for that here! - will do soon!) and she loves helping get the yeast going the night before with Daddy. She's getting a lot of hands-on experience with yeast already!

Here she is with the finished Margherita and our make-shift peel with dough ready for cooking. (Don't forget that you add the toppings in the middle of cooking. I know it's a lot of steps, but if you try it a few times, it gets easier and you can do it more quickly.)



Here are the Better Homes and Gardens tips on pizza and thin crust, if needed. You can also just Google it and find it that way.







My stand mixer really needs the grease replaced. I'm pretty sure the grease split and ran out the back. Sometimes some of us forget to put the gear head back down from being tilted and the grease leaked out the back. I didn't realize that's what the nasty oily gunk coming out the back was until a few years later. There are great YouTube videos that will help me with this fix. This seems like a tangent, but since I would need the stand mixer to help make the dough, I didn't want the gears to grind and die while I'm trying to make this, so it's one reason I have been putting off making this recipe. I wanted to service the stand mixer first. I need to find some time to address adding more grease to the gear box. I have never done this before and it's freaking me out. I just ordered the stand mixer grease today from Amazon, along with some Italian 00 flour for making super pizza dough! And a pizza peel, our other one went kaput. We are not operating on full cylinders here. None of these things will arrive in time for me to make the pizza tonight. I am looking forward to making a lot more pizza. It's been awhile. And I actually thought that the cookie sheet worked very well as a peel. Maybe I shouldn't have ordered one. Darn.

I'm in pizza heaven. Best and freshest supreme I've ever had. We all love pepperoni around here.

Autumn and Halloween Recipe Linkfest - My Recipe "To Do" List

My friends have been posting yummy looking recipes online. I usually "like" them in my Facebook feed and then forget about them, then wish I had the recipe later. But I saw a great one for Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins and my daughter and I LOVE making muffins together in the morning. Then we might have a little tea party brunch and eat the fresh muffins, and then save the leftovers in a ziploc baggy to freeze in the freezer and munch on later or pack as a snack on an outing. So many options for leftovers. The Caramel Spiced Pumpkin Parfaits just look amazing.

Here are some of the recipes. I hope to update and let you know how they turned out and if they are going to join my repetoire. The pumpkin apple muffin one has streusel. Everyone loves streusel on their muffins! My husband doesn't like pumpkin so more for me and my daughter.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe
From Allrecipes.com. I already have a great taco seasonings recipe and a fajita seasonings recipe in my recipe book. I need to whip up some pumpkin pie spice and have it ready to go when I need it.
Recipe can be found through this link.

"Use this mixture in recipes that call for pumpkin pie spice. A blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice that can be scaled to any size."
INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground allspice
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Store in air tight container. Makes 8 tablespoons.


Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins
LIBBY'S PUMPKIN
By: LIBBY'S PUMPKIN
5 out of 5 34 ratings
Muffin recipe link here.

Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 30 mins
Level:Intermediate
Cooling: 5 mins
Yields:24 muffins
Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins are moist and delicious with cinnamon streusel topping that makes these muffins memorable!

Ingredients

MUFFINS
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
STREUSEL TOPPING
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter or magarine

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350º F. Grease or paper-line 24 muffin cups.

FOR MUFFINS:
COMBINE flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine pumpkin, eggs and oil in medium bowl; mix well. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Stir in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling three-fourths full.

FOR STREUSEL TOPPING:
COMBINE sugar, flour and cinnamon in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffin batter.

BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly.


Caramel Spiced Pumpkin Parfait
By way of Slow Roasted Italian blog.
By way of Parade Magazine blog.

By DONNA ELICK
SERVES
4
ACTIVE TIME
20 min.
TOTAL TIME
20 min.
SAVE RECIPE
PRINT
INGREDIENTS

Caramel Sauce:
1 (11-oz) bag vanilla caramels, unwrapped
½ cup heavy cream
Pumpkin Mousse:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 (15-oz) can pure pumpkin, (not pie filling)
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
Brown Sugar Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
Cookie Layer:
4 graham cracker sheets
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp brown sugar
DIRECTIONS

Prepare caramel sauce: Place unwrapped caramels and cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted. Stop microwave and stir every 30 seconds. Once you have a smooth mixture, set aside to cool.

Prepare Mousse: Combine ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Place in refrigerator while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Prepare Whipped Cream: In a tall bowl whip cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add brown sugar and whip until stiff peaks form (when you lift mixer out of bowl, cream stands up on the end of the beater). Place in refrigerator while you prepare the next layer.

Prepare Cookie Layer: In a small bowl combine ingredients, smash graham crackers with a fork. Continue mashing until you have one cohesive mixture.

Assemble: Add a heaping tablespoon of cookie mixture to trifle dish. Add a heaping tablespoon of mousse. Add a heaping tablespoon of whipped cream. Pour 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce into dish. Repeat layers. Drizzle final caramel layer on top of trifle for spectacular presentation.

Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!

COOK'S NOTE

Shortcut suggestions: Substitute a jar of caramel sauce and container of whipped topping to create a shortcut version of this fabulous treat.

Serves 4.

Salmon Chowder or Fish Chowder, either way it's soo good!

I have to post my version of this recipe from Simply Recipes by Elise Bauer. Here is a link to the original Fish Chowder recipe.

Love this recipe. It just works. I do some substitutions or just plum leave things out, but maybe one day, I will follow it to the letter. (Basically I leave out the white wine and the clam juice. I don't normally have them on hand. Sometimes I'll add a dash of vinegar to mimic the white wine, but don't be heavy-handed about it! And I might substitute just a tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce and pretend it's clam juice. It does have anchovy juice in it.)

Sometimes I can't help myself and add a little dried dill. My husband also isn't a big fan of dill, so I don't get it often and it just seems to go so hand-in-hand with fish dishes anyway. I will also cheat with the potatoes and sometimes get them softening in the microwave, to save on cooking time. I'm such a little cheater! But I like saving time!

I will use either frozen halibut or canned Alaskan salmon (the cheap, yummy, bone-filled, lower-mercury kind) in the recipe. Again, it depends on what I have on hand. I don't bother deboning the salmon bones, they are pretty edible anyway and they are good for you. If I'm going to serve some to others or drop the soup off for a friend, I'll remove more bones just to make it more appetizing for them.

And I usually won't have so much cream on hand, sometimes none, so I'll just make it with whole milk or figure something out. Milk will scorch faster than cream, so watch out! I know, I'm probably too loosy-goosy here, but I've had really great results. I've made it a few times a few ways and I've always loved it. Since I'm the only big fish eater here in the house, I'll either cut the recipe amounts in half or just store it in the fridge and have it a few days for lunch. Mm. Enjoy that chowder, and don't let fish haters in your house stop you from enjoying yourself!

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Salmon Chowder Recipe
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
3 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 cups clam juice (optional)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Old Bay (optional, can use a little paprika and a dash of cayenne)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs wild pink Alaskan canned salmon (or fresh salmon or cod, etc.)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk (but watch out for scorching if you don't use cream)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh (or dried) parsley

METHOD
1 Heat oil and butter in the bottom of a large pot (6-qt) on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, if using, and turn up the heat, cook, uncovered until the wine reduces by half. (If not using wine, add 1/4 cup of water with the clam juice.)

2 Add the potatoes, clam juice, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper, and Old Bay spice. (The potatoes should be just barely covered with the liquid in the pot. If not, add water so that they are.) Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium and cook, covered, until the potatoes are almost done, about 10-15 minutes. (Sometimes I will cheat and use baked potatoes cut in cubes. You can cook them in the microwave and add them toward the end.)

3 In a separate pot, heat the cream until steamy (not boiling).

4 Add the fish to the pot of potatoes and add the heated cream. Return to the stove. Cook on low heat, uncovered, until the fish is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Keep your eye on the heat! If you are using straight heavy cream you should be more easily able to avoid curdling, even if the soup starts to boil. But if you are substituting light cream, half and half, or milk, the mixture will likely curdle if it gets near boiling point (one of the reasons I like using straight heavy cream). Keep the temperature so that it barely gets steamy, but not simmering. If using fresh fish, when the fish is just cooked through, remove from heat.

Mix in the parsley. The flavors will improve if the soup rests 30 minutes before serving.

Serve with crusty bread or oyster crackers (not for gluten-free version).

Yield: Serves 6.

Real Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Real Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Edited and changed
Originally from http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/thaichickensate.htm

I can attest that this is quite mouth-watering and savory.

And don't worry, you don't need a grill to make my version. Just an oven.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
Yield: SERVES 4 as a Main Entree
Bake at 350 F.
Don't forget to start your rice now. I cook mine in a rice cooker. I do about 3 cups, we like to have leftovers for packed lunch for Adam.

Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts, thawed

SATAY MARINADE:
1/4 cup minced lemongrass , fresh or frozen (can substitute lemon juice/lemon zest/or leave out completely)
2 shallots OR 1 small onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic
1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced, OR 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste (only did a sprinkle, kept it mild for my child.)
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, thinly sliced
1 tsp. minced fresh turmeric OR 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric
2 Tbsp. ground coriander
2 tsp. cumin
3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce (available at Asian food stores) (just used regular soy sauce)
4 Tbsp. fish sauce (substituted soy sauce)
5-6 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Dipping Sauce: see Easy Satay Peanut Sauce below

Preparation:

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water while you prepare the meat (to prevent burning). The kitchen sink works well for this.Cut chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well.

(just mixed the marinade together in bowl, I didn't bother with the food processor.)

Taste-test the marinade - you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. The strongest tastes should be SWEET and SALTY in order for the finished satay to taste its best. Add more sugar or more fish sauce (in place of salt) to adjust the taste. You can also add more chili if you want it spicier. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir well to combine. Allow at least 1 hour for marinating, or longer (up to 24 hours).

(didn't wait, cooked chicken as whole breasts immediately in marinade in glass dish in oven, baked at 350 F for about 25 min., the juices from the cooked chicken marinade are great drizzled over rice, tasted fine without the skewering and long marinading.)

When ready to cook, thread meat onto the skewers. Tip: Fill up to 3/4 of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person grilling has a "handle" to easily turn the satay during cooking. Grill the satay on your BBQ, OR on an indoor grill, basting the first time you time it with a little of the leftover marinade from the bottom of the bowl. OR you can broil in the oven on a broiling pan or baking sheet with the oven set to "broil" Place satay close beneath the heating element and turn the meat every 5 minutes until cooked (be sure to soak your wooden satay sticks in water before skewering). Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay should cook in 10 to 20 minutes. Serve with rice and my Easy Satay Peanut Sauce for dipping. ENJOY!

(We put the chicken breasts over a bed of rice, poured some of the chicken juices over the chicken and rice, and cut the chicken in bites to dip into the peanut sauce. Mmm! Fast and easy.)

Easy Satay Peanut Sauce -

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: SERVES 4-6 as a Dip

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh-tasting dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 to 2.5 Tbsp. fish sauce - for vegetarians: substitute 2.5 to 3 Tbsp. regular soy sauce
1/2 tsp. tamarind paste OR 1/2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, OR 1 tsp. Thai chili sauce (more or less to taste)
1/3 cup coconut milk

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until sauce is smooth. If you prefer a runnier peanut sauce, add a little more water or coconut milk. Do a taste test, adding more fish sauce (or soy sauce) if not salty enough, or more cayenne if not spicy enough. If too salty, add a squeeze of fresh lime juice. If you'd prefer it sweeter, add a little more sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature with my Thai Chicken Satay, Thai Pork Satay, or Vegetarian/Vegan Thai Satay. It also makes a great dip with fresh veggies, fresh rolls, or other Asian finger foods. Or combine with noodles to create a Thai-style noodle dish or cold noodle salad. Enjoy!

Note: This sauce tends to thicken as it sits - just add a little water or coconut milk to thin it out, as needed. Otherwise it stores well if kept covered in the refrigerator (keep up to 2 weeks; freeze thereafter).

Layered Angel Fruit Cream Cake for a hot summer's day

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Doesn't this hot summer weather stink? I am roasting, I tell you, ROASTING! I wish it were more temperate. Here is a great dessert to help you beat the heat. It is a great show piece so it's perfect for a family gathering or party, and technically it is a no-bake cake too, so it's relatively easy. You could get your two-year-old to help you! The assembly is a little time consuming, and there is freezer time involved as well. But you will be well rewarded, and you might get audible "Oohs and Aahs" from the people about to enjoy the cake. It does't just look good; it tastes amazing. My nephew licked his plate clean. Apart from the bad manners, it was quite the compliment and made me laugh. You will also need a large chiffon/angel food metal cake pan and enough space in the freezer for this to set up for two days.

I got this recipe out of a magazine called Home Living, Aug 2011 issue. I went with Adam to Jefferson City, MO, for his swearing in as an attorney after passing the Missouri Bar. Good work, Adam! I think it's a local Missouri magazine. Oh, now I'm seeing more info about the recipe on the page I tore from the magazine. I picked up the magazine while we were getting lunch at a delightful little cafe not far from the state capitol building. The recipe is by Denise McMillen and she can be contacted at denise@newstribune.com. If you like her recipe enough, you could send her a Thank You e-mail to let her know you appreciate her. :-)

In case all my words have not persuaded you, maybe this picture of the cake will. (Please forgive the fact that it came out of a torn and folded magazine page.)

This cake is as lovely as a Shakespeare sonnet. So without further ado (much ado?), the recipe, maestro.

Layered Angel Fruit Cream Cake

Serves 8-10 people.
Time needed: 30 min. assembly, and 2 days to set up in the freezer.

Ingredients:
1 angel food cake
1 3oz. pkg strawberry gelatin, dry
1 3oz. pkg lime gelatin, dry
1 3oz. pkg orange gelatin, dry
20 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed and drained of juice, but save the juice
1/2 gal. vanilla ice cream
1/2 gal. orange, lime, and lemon sherbet blend
1 large can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 large can mandarin oranges, drained

1. Divide the angel food cake into three layered sections. Slice each layer into small cubes and place in three separate bags or bowls. Sprinkle the dry strawberry gelatin onto one layer of cubed angel food cake until all four sides are colored as heavily as possible. Repeat with the lime gelatin and again with the orange gelatin. You will have a few tablespoons of the dry gelatin powder remaining in your bag or bowl and can discard.
2. Depending on the size of your tube pan, you may/will have leftover ice cream and/or sherbet. Take the cake cubes flavored with the strawberry gelatin and place them in the bottom of a large tube pan. Add the drained strawberries on top of the cake, distribute evenly and drizzle some of the juice over the cake. Add enough softened vanilla ice cream to cover the strawberries completely.
3. Add the lime gelatin angel food cake cubes, then sprinkle pineapple over the cake and cover with a layer of sherbet. Layer the orange gelatin angel food cake and cover with mandarin oranges. Cover up with another layer of vanilla ice cream.
4. Freeze for two days, take out and let thaw for about ten or fifteen minutes, invert onto platter, and slice when ready to serve. Enjoy.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

I made my first Moroccan Chicken Tagine. It was quite serendipitous. Adam had set up the free Amazon Prime streaming videos to our Blu-Ray. (Thanks for the Christmas present, Mom and Dad Rowley!) I was looking for something to watch. Then I saw America's Test Kitchen. I had never seen an episode before. My sister-in-law Sarah had been telling me about how great it was (a year or so ago). So I gave it a chance. I was looking through the episodes, and the Moroccan one sounded great! I'd love to travel there someday. One of my friends went there recently and he took the BEST photos of all the amazing mosques and architecture and his whole amazing experience. Since I can't go there right now, I could still get a "flavor" of the country by experiencing some of the food. I watched the episode, and then the next day, my delusions of grandeur took over and I tried to cook the dish. I only had the episode (duh, I should have pulled up the recipe on the internet), and it took FOREVER because I had to fast-forward and rewind and make sure I hadn't missed a step or an ingredient. That was definitely NOT the best way to cook the recipe. Adam had come home and I still wasn't done, and I think I was teaching a voice lesson after dinner so I was really stressing and I had to have him dive in and help me with watching the episode and getting everything all cooked and finalized. It came off as a success (thanks Adam for the help!) and was SO DELICIOUS! I highly recommend it.

If you will watch the episode (it's long and they take a lot of tangents talking about the best way to cook couscous, etc.) then you can see it here. You might have to give you e-mail address. That part is a little annoying.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

This is what you could be eating!

Other things I did differently:
I only had chicken breasts on hand, so that's what I used. I didn't bother with all that breaking down of the chicken, although in the show they give very good instructions on how to do it. Looks like fun and I want to try it sometime. I also didn't add the olives, we're really not that big of fans. I did make the lemon salt garlic paste by scraping it with the flat part of the knife. That part was really interesting and fun. I didn't have a dutch-oven pot, so I just used a big soup pot. Maybe that goes without saying. I don't think I had the fresh cilantro either. It still tasted good without it, but I do love my fresh cilantro!

I also made the couscous pilaf to go along with the chicken, and it is NOT included in the recipe below. It can only be accessed through the part of the website that you have to pay for (boo!) so I was going to watch the show again and transcribe that part and include it. Only I haven't done that yet. Sorry. Also, I didn't have couscous on hand so I used rice and toasted in the pan before cooking. It turned out very well! Good luck and I hope you enjoy! The recipe is a little involved, but I love how unusual it is and I love to challenge myself every now and again. I can go back to easy lazy cooking tomorrow and the rest of the week!

UPDATE: The couscous recipe is added now and can be found at the bottom of the post. Thanks!

Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon (Chicken Tagine)

Serves 4
Bone-in chicken parts can be substituted for the whole chicken. For best results, use four chicken thighs and two chicken breasts, each breast split in half; the dark meat contributes valuable flavor to the broth and should not be omitted. Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of zest from the lemon before juicing it. Make sure to trim any white pith from the zest, as it can impart bitter flavor. If the olives are particularly salty, give them a rinse. Serve with couscous (see related recipe).

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2teaspoon ground cumin
1/4teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2teaspoon ground ginger
1/4teaspoon ground coriander
1/4teaspoon ground cinnamon
3strips lemon zest (each about 2 inches by 3/4 inch)
3tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 to 2 lemons
5medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks; wings reserved for another use) and trimmed of excess fat
Salt and ground black pepper
1tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 3 cups)
1 3/4cups low-sodium chicken broth
1tablespoon honey
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick coins, very large pieces cut into half-moons (about 2 cups)
1cup Greek cracked green olives, pitted and halved
2tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Combine spices in small bowl and set aside. Mince 1 strip lemon zest; combine with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and mince together until reduced to fine paste; set aside.

2. Season both sides of chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy--bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer chicken to large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.

3. Add onion and 2 remaining lemon zest strips to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned at edges but still retain shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add 1 tablespoon water if pan gets too dark). Add remaining 4 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, until darkened and very fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add thighs and drumsticks, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add carrots and breast pieces (with any accumulated juices) to pot, arranging breast pieces in single layer on top of carrots. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Transfer chicken to plate or bowl and tent with foil. Add olives to pot; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid has thickened slightly and carrots are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Return chicken to pot and add garlic-zest mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

TO MAKE AHEAD: The recipe can be prepared through step 4, cooled, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm until the chicken is heated through, then proceed with the recipe from step 5.


Authentic Moroccan Couscous

Ingredients:
3 Tbs unsalted butter
3 shallots, sliced thinly (or 1 onion, seriously, who buys shallots?)
2 cups couscous
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup water
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped


Add the butter to a sauce pan at medium-high heat until it melts. Add the shallots and cook in butter for 5 minutes until toasted and caramelized. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Add couscous, toast to golden for about 5 minutes, but keep your eye on it! It can go from toasted to burned quickly. Then add the water and chicken broth, stir, let sit for 1 minute. Add the salt, stir, and put on the lid and remove couscous from heat. The couscous will continue to cook and absorb the liquid. Let it rest for about 7 minutes. When liquid is absorbed by the couscous, add lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, and toasted almonds and stir in together in the couscous. Enjoy!

Tonight I Made My First White Bean Chili Recipe

Hello everyone,

Must be brief, tonight I made a White Bean Chili Recipe. I had never made one before. I remember going to a work party at Missouri American Water. (I had the best extended temp job there, wow, it feels good to remember it! It lasted something like 5 months! Loved my boss and my coworkers!) Some people made gumbo, there was a gooey butter cake (this is St Louis, people, gotta have your butter cake), and a bunch of different chilis. That was where I had my first White Bean Chili. I did enjoy it. I like regular chili too, and if given the choice I might choose regular chili over white chili, but that's probably because I'm more used to it.

Regardless, tonight I had a hankering for White Bean Chili. Normally, I scour the internet or The Better Homes And Gardens Recipe Book for recipes and ideas. I usually will give preference to the Food Network recipes that I find online, and the highest rated (Adam taught me these wonderful tricks), and especially Bobby Flay recipes. My husband and I are big fans.

However, in the Google search below the link to the Food Network White Chili recipe, there was a Pioneer Woman recipe that caught my eye. Wow, 2008 was a great year. It was the year I started working at Missouri American Water, and also it was the year that my friend Amy first told me about the Pioneer Woman and her fabulous recipe blog. Thanks Amy, for introducing us!

Well I'm ashamed to say that while I've read her blog since 2008, this was the FIRST TIME I've ever cooked anything from her blog. She comes highly recommended, but I was a little bit skeptical, because, hey! The Food Network is pretty darn good too!

This recipe, imho, delivered. It was just what I wanted from a White Bean Chili Recipe. I want you to have a good experience too. Here's the link to her post. Now enjoy that chili on a cold winter's evening!

The Pioneer Woman - Simple Hearty White Chili

Here's a picture of what you could be enjoying soon.



My only regret is that I didn't have any cilantro on hand. Frowny. :-(

Fyi, I just realized that in her looong version of the instructions, near the beginning steps she cooks the onions and garlic in butter and olive oil, but has left this off of the shorter, printable version of the recipe. I made mine without the butter and the oil so it was probably healthier, but maybe it could have tasted better. Please be aware of this step and make your own call. Also, the recipe called for a lot of chicken broth. Since I made my chili from canned beans which had already been soaking in moisture, I didn't need quite that much broth, so I probably should have scaled that back too. Oh well, it fed 8 people and it was still YUMMY! :-)

Mwah! You get a kiss tonight! Lucky you! (That will teach me to blog after midnight!)

Sincerely,
Danelle

P.S. That reminds me, I need to put that chili away so I can eat it tomorrow!