When the moon hits your eye like a pig pizza pie...

When you try this pizza you too will sing "That's amore!" Lol : ) But seriously, you are going to be in love with this easy, awesome, home-made pizza! The dough recipe makes enough for three 12" pizzas (which make 6 slices each, of which I can eat only two! I ate three the first time we made this because it was SO GOOD and went around feeling fat the rest of the evening - but remembering how good it tasted made it worth it...). I'll list the toppings I did, but you can, of course, do whatever you like, keeping in mind all your toppings together should total around 2 cups. Also note that the dough is easiest to roll out when fresh (it will spring back on itself more after being in the fridge). Alan says he is going to learn to toss the dough like the guy in the Visa commercial, but I have yet to see it : )

Light whole wheat crust
enough for three 12" pizzas- adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day

challah bread + my awesome hubby = amazing french toast!

So I have been baking up an artisan bread storm since my last post - it's so much fun! Last night I mixed up a batch of challah bread dough from the same book and used about a third of it to make a gorgeous-looking loaf that Alan promised to make into french toast this morning. It was awesome, but don't be fooled by the picture - I only ate 2 of those pieces! Alan's trick with french toast is to pour the egg/milk/cinnamon mixture into a cookie sheet (with a lip) and let the pieces sit for a little bit on each side so that they soak it up a little more than if you just dipped the pieces.

If you love bread, you have to try this!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day is a book anyone who likes to bake bread should own - especially if you have never baked bread before or been intimidated by the steps, kneading, and long amount of time needed.  They have another book on with healthy recipes, and one on the way about pizza and flatbreads. I was introduced to the books (and the bread!) by my cousin Seth and his wife Cherie, and I knew that this was something I wanted to make too! You'll need just a few things before you start:

1. A 5 qt (20 cups) tupperware with a lid (although I only had a 4 qt one and it didn't overflow mine with this recipe)
2. A long-handled spoon, preferably wooden
3. Parchment paper
4. A baking stone (you can use a cookie sheet but it changes the crust a little)
5. A broiler pan or cookie sheet with a lip

Basically, you will just dump the 4 ingredients (water, salt, yeast, and flour) into the tupperware, mix with the spoon, let rest for a few hours (or over night in the fridge like I did), pull out a hunk of dough and let it rise on the counter for about 40 minutes, and then bake for about 30 minutes. And that's it! The dough lasts in the fridge for 14 days, so you can just keep pulling out as much as you want and baking it when you need it. I am going to send you over to their website for the full basic recipe with photos. The books have many variations as well as recipes for things to make to go with the different breads. I love it!

Cornbread, with a Twist

I once heard that when people get homesick,  often what they miss the most is food. Nobody can make (your favorite dish) like (your mom, grandma, dad, etc.)! When I went away to boarding school, every break my mom would ask what I wanted for my first meal back home. And I always wanted the same thing: cornbread, baked bean, and broccoli. I'm not sure why that meal said "home" to me like none other, but it still does.

I've continued make that meal through the years and never thought of changing it till one day Alan, my husband, and I couldn't agree on what to have for supper. I wanted cornbread, and he wanted something spicy. So finally I said fine, I will make you spicy cornbread! A tradition was born, and now we never have the same cornbread twice. We always start with my mom's recipe and then add different spices or other ingredients we happen to have on hand. Try it plain, with one of our variations, or make up your own!

Cornbread
serves 4 people

Mmm... do I smell Cinnamon Rolls?

You really can't go wrong with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The problem with making them from scratch is that it takes such a long time. All that rising and resting makes it hard to actually make fresh cinnamon rolls and eat them for breakfast on the same day, unless you are a crazy baker who gets up way too early! So I was very excited to find a recipe that was only supposed to take ninety minutes on AllRecipes.com. I think it took me a little longer, but the first time you make something always takes longer because you don't know what you're doing : ) I changed the recipe to bake in a pan instead of a muffin tin (thought they would get dry) and added some of Martha Stewart's buttercream icing to the top. These were delicious!

Ninety Minute Cinnamon Rolls 

makes 12 small rolls