Chicken, Peas and Pasta
When family visits you put together their favorite foods. Then you find peas are no longer a favorite. Oops! After this, peas are back on the menu. It says a lot about this recipe!
Wood Oven Pizza
It absolutely works! The little terra-cotta pizza oven I bought at Cost Plus World Market is worth it. Now 40% off too. Start the fire, let it burn for 15 minutes to reach a peak temperature, bake pizza in two minutes. Amazing!
Choose your favorite pizza toppings and add them to this amazingly quick and easy pizza dough. In fact, I would say this is a no fail pizza dough recipe. Yep, while at World Market I picked up this great pizza recipe book, Patio Pizzeria by Karen Adler & Judith Fertig. Lots of good and delicious ideas. I decided to try their simple “Classic Pizza Dough” with slight variations. It was pretty near perfect. They did suggest ’00’ flour for wood burning ovens … providing a thinner crust. But I used bread flour as the original recipe suggested and it worked well. In fact, the recipe was to make four 6 inch size pizzas. I found it made four 8-9 inch pizzas instead … It was easy to stretch out with semolina flour dusted on the working surface.
It was fun using this method of cooking. Just have the right wood for your oven, small enough and safe to use with food. I like the idea of a pizza stone and I didn’t have any trouble removing the pizza when done. When transferring onto the heated stone the pizza dough should be resting on a cornmeal covered surface. This helps tremendously. I had the pizza resting on a large wooden paddle covered with cornmeal and lifted/slid the pizza onto the heated stone with a 6 inch round spatula. Worked perfectly.
Outdoor Pizza Oven
This may take away any thought about me being pretentious. I’ve been wanting one of those super duper expensive outdoor pizza ovens for years. You know, the kind that costs thousands. I might even be able to kinda afford one. But instead I opted for this $100 Cost Plus World Market version. This little terra-cotta oven looks like it will hold up for some years. Wonder how the pizza will bake. Will it be crispy and perfect like I perceive it would be if baked in one of those pricey ovens? We shall see!
Don’t be fooled by my outdoor stove. It’s only providing a little more height than the original pizza oven stand. Yes, I’ll be burning wood inside the pizza oven to heat it up. I’m going to include a pizza stone inside as well. The online reviews of this wood burning oven were 3+ out of 5 (best). (Most reviews were 5’s but one review was a 1 because the oven arrived broken.) One particular criticism was the lack of a crispy crust. Although this could be secondary to the heat of the oven, the crust recipe and who knows what else, I’ve opted for the pizza stone. Wish me luck!
The 1930’s Wedgwood stove was my grandmother’s. She used it for many years to cook all our favorites. Try her Portuguese Beans with Linguica or her Portuguese Marinated Pork. My brother has great ambitions for me to fix up grandma’s stove. I was actually thinking of using it in the yard for plants. Oops!
Orzo with Eggplant
Vegetarian Main Dish
You may not think of this as a Valentine’s Day meal but my Valentine does! This fills the bill for pasta Sunday too. How perfect is this! May you have a day filled with love and good food.
Winter Soups
Love love love soups! Hearty, healthy, satiating, warming, cozy, delicious one dish meals! What could be better this time of year!
It’s Souptime! 25 Great Soup Recipes … New Ones on the way!
1. Tortilla 2. Pumpkin 3. Minestrone 4. Albondigas 5. Garden Variety
6. Spicy Tomato 7. Tinolang Manok with Bean Threads 8. Pizza 9. Sausage Navy Bean 10. Manhattan Clam Chowder
11. Basic Potato 12. Pasta Fagioli 13. Greens and Beans 14. Cauliflower 15. Boston Clam Chowder
16. Portuguese Green 17. Basque 18. Portuguese Bean 19. Sopas 20. Vegetarian Black Eyed Pea
21. Chunky Root Soup 22. Tinoling Manok 23. Sopas with Wine 24. Depression Era Potato 25. Chicken Soup
Garlic Bread
In Search of the Perfect Recipe
Have you seen the Garlic Bread on Crack Recipe! My photo version here. It’s buttery, garlicky & cheesy. And I love it! The problem is I love it too much. If served with a meal it becomes the meal. Yep, the pieces missing I ate while taking the photo. It’s true to its name. Oops! Check out the Recipe here if you dare.
Tom’s Garlic Bread Recipe
My vote for the Perfect Garlic Bread! Rich garlic butter taste with a crunchy Parmesan topping. Not too heavy with the richest of meals. Perfect! Thanks Tom! Hope I get the technique close to yours. Ann stated the taste is spot on.
Ann’s Super Spaghetti Sauce
Ann’s an amazing cook as well as a brilliant College Educator (Political Science, History, Economics … Yikes!), part-time Copywriter and she even entertains the idea of occasionally working at a nearby bookstore to be close to one of her favorite hobbies. So while she might spend all day in the kitchen putting together a special meal or dish, for the most part it’s just not practical with her schedule.
This sauce is so rich you’ll be convinced it’s been fussed over all day. Enjoy Ann’s Super (Fast) Spaghetti Sauce Recipe.
For a closer look at this lovely Portuguese Platter (exclusive at William Sonoma) check it out here. Marked down approximately 50% from the original price. Love Portuguese pottery. Thanks Ed. 😉
Tortellini and Butternut Squash
Such a great dish for butternut squash! Not quite vegetarian but with little effort it can be made so if you like. Cheese tortellini is my favorite to add to this dish but it will work with a meat tortellini as well. Ready in 30 minutes! What a great wintertime dish!
Roasted Red Potatoes
Holiday Suggestions
During the Holidays my home is pleasantly filled to the brime with family and delicious food. Thanksgiving Day revolves around one big meal but overnighters are hungry long before this meal is served. Here I’ve included several quick recipes to satiate those appetites until dinner is served. Sausage and Navy Bean Soup, a simple soup satisfying both young and old, can be made ahead. Tex Mex Migas, Austin’s fav, is everyone’s when you have multiple toppings to add. The Hot Chocolate Bar is fun for all. Shave your favorite chocolate bars for spooning into heated milk and don’t forget sweetened whipped cream and marshmallows. These Roasted Red Potatoes are simple but tangy tasty. And the perfect accompaniment with red meat. Continue reading for this recipe.
Sunday Breakfast Andolini Style
Brunch Pizza
Naples, Italy to Manhattan through San Francisco, and now Oklahoma, Andolini’s present destination. If you’ve been as lucky as I you’ve stumbled upon Andolini’s restaurant. My first taste experience at Andolini’s Pizzeria was many years ago while visiting winter cold Owasso, Oklahoma. (Yep, road warrior days.) It was so unexpected. But my affection quickly took hold for Owasso and this little restaurant. Both have grown exponentially … many others caught on. I, too, became a homeowner there. A couple of weeks ago I came across this video of Mike Bausch, one of Andolini’s owners, making what he called a Santino Colazione. It looked so delicious I couldn’t resist. You’ve got to try this! He didn’t give the recipe for his perfect pizza dough but if you’re close enough to one of his restaurants I heard he sells it.
Are you like me? Do you feel a pizza crust can make or break a pizza? If you live near Andolini’s that’s easy. Or try contacting your favorite local pizzeria. But if this is not practical here are some good options for pizza crust among my recipes: Linguica Prosciutto Pizza, Italian Flat Bread, Stromboli It isn’t just the dough though, is it? It’s the way it’s cooked. I prefer a pizza stone but transferring on and off can be a bit of a nightmare. Try placing your pizza pan right on the pre-heated stone if you have trouble with the transfer. Another option is Mario Batali’s Pizza Pan and Griddle … baking the pizza to perfection. But let’s get onto the recipe!