You know what this week was? Calm and peaceful and not too busy. Just the way this stay at home introvert likes them.
Monday
For some reason I was organized when it came to dinner. I was able to take stock of what was in the house, something I should be better about doing. I accidentally overbought onions a week ago, and combined with the last few tortillas in the fridge, it seemed like a perfect night for fajitas. Normally those last few tortillas are the ones I forget about until they are stiff like Frisbees and my onions grow trees, so I was happy. Everyone ate and enjoyed dinner without one complaint. I almost pinched myself to verify I wasn’t dreaming.
Tuesday
Mikey did well at his baseball game. I was relieved, because a few of the kids did winter ball last year while Mikey was swimming, so their skills have increased dramatically. Let’s just say one or two of them were ribbing him about his skills a week or two ago.
Wednesday
We went to the dentist for a cleaning and survived. For dinner I used up leftovers in a way that no one knew they were leftovers, so no one really complained (that much).
Thursday
I returned books to the library almost on time. Success! I went to the pharmacy and they lost my prescription. Failure! This pharmacy is always screwing something up, and if they weren’t so convenient I would go somewhere else. I kind of let the guy have it and he never lost his cool. Not once! He was unflappable, and not in an apathetic way. He genuinely felt bad and let me grouse over a mistake a coworker made. I’m not happy that the pharmacy screwed again, but I’m glad for the opportunity to interact with that pharmacy tech. He was professional and calm, and I feel like I learned a lot from him. Later I got home and snapped at Nicholas for dilly-dallying when he should have been doing homework so I didn’t learn that much, but I’m at the pharmacy every month and, trust me, they’ll screw up again. Plenty of time for me to review my lessons.
Friday
It’s Friday and it’s Lent. That means one thing: pizza. Does anyone have a great pizza crust recipe? All the ones I’ve tried have been a little dense. I’m thinking maybe I should try a focacia recipe for a lighter crust.
The Weekend
Mikey has baseball and Nico starts tennis. I don’t think we have anything else going, and that’s A-OKAY with me. I would really love to finish The Historian.
Have a happy weekend, everyone.
Pizza seems to be our Lenten go to as well. We can’t get enough of this crust from Annie’s Eats. We have made it numerous times and varied it by adding herbs to the dough or a bit of cheese. It is really wonderful and we haven’t found it heavy at all! If you have the time to let the dough rise, it is definitely worth a try! Have a great weekend.
http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/04/29/perfect-homemade-pizza-crust-tips-and-tricks/
We love pizza during Lent also. Actually we love it all the time! This is our favorite recipe. It makes 2 thin and crispy pizzas.
The first recipe is for the dough and the second one is the directions for assembling and baking it. I’ve made this many different ways and it’s always delicious.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pizza-Dough-237338
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Three-Cheese-Pizza-with-Pancetta-and-Mushrooms-237339
I use the Alton Brown recipe for a thin crust pizza. Focaccia might be a good idea for a pan style pizza. I think King Arthur Flour has a good recipe.
I keep meaning to try this one: http://www.food.com/recipe/amazing-thin-crust-pizza-123710?layout=desktop
But then Papa Murphy’s herb chicken Mediterranean Delight pizza calls, and I’m done. Speaking of which, I do believe I know what we’re having for dinner tonight.
A happy weekend to you!
I always have great luck with this one – can be rolled out very thin and gets really crispy:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/debi-mazar-and-gabriele-corcos/pizza-dough.html
The first thing that comes to my mind when you ask about pizza dough is Elise Blaha’s recipe: http://eliseblaha.typepad.com/golden/2010/08/pesto-pizza.html – Haven’t tried it yet but I do trust this crazy crafty lady. Greetings from Berlin, Germany :)
Well, I wasn’t planning to make pizza this weekend but now I feel compelled to try at least one of these recipes! Sounds (mostly) like a lovely week, and I hope you have a nice quiet weekend.
I’ve tried a lot of pizza crusts, but I was blown away by how much better this one was, especially if you’ve tried NY-style pizza, which has a great chewy, soft, bendy crust. But you’ll have to save it for next week–it does require starting the day before. Worth the planning, though. :)
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/03/no-knead-pizza-dough
I always have trouble getting books back to the library on time as well! I did find a great app that almost completely cut down my library fines. I think you mentioned before that you have an iPhone so you could download the app, LibraryBooks. You type in your barcode and you get reminders in the notification bar when things are due. It also lets you track multiple library cards which I love.
Hope this helps! I know that my library fines have gone way down since I downloaded it. : )
Also, just want to let you know that I always look forward to seeing a new post from you in my rss feed. You’re a great writer.
Have a wonderful weekend.
My crust recipe is pretty simple –
3.5 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1.5 tsp yeast
2 TBS olive oil
But my secret (which won’t work for you until next week) is to make it at least a day ahead and then put it in the fridge to proof. Then let it warm up on the counter for a couple hours before you make your pizzas. That simple thing makes a huge difference in flavor and texture!
This is my favorite: http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/classic-pizza-margherita I double the recipe to make a big pizza (aka, once that Lance and I can split and feel like we ate a lot of pizza…) I’ll make 4 double pizza doughs at once, let them all rise, then wrap up 3 and freeze ’em for my future pizza needs.
Artisan Bread In Five Minutes has the best pizza recipe, I can’t remember if you have the book or not. Let me know if you want me to email you the recipe.
Pizza is a much better plan than the Friday fishsticks of my childhood. We probably had pizza sometimes during Lent too, but all I remember were the fishsticks. My husband uses the Joy of Cooking pizza dough recipe, and we both enjoy it, but we haven’t tried others to compare.
I think Focacia would make an excellent pan-style pizza! I don’t know if you have the Little Caesars franchise in your area, but if you like their dough and want to re-create it, let me know and I’ll email what I’ve fine-tuned. I worked there for 14 years and when we moved to a city that didn’t have one, I started researching and playing to figure out one that was close enough.
When I have time, I make Pioneer Woman’s recipe. When I don’t have time, my friend has a simple, 20 minute rise recipe. If I remember when I get home, I’ll comment again with it.
With 2800 reviews averaging out to 4.5/5 stars, I always go with Jay’s Signature Pizza Cruist over at all recipes http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Jays-Signature-Pizza-Crust/ Read the most helpful reviews for some good tips.
I never get my library books back on time – sniff, sniff!
Have a great weekend!
Sounds like a successful week! ;) Gotta tell ya, I’m having pangs of jealousy that your surroundings include such a lovely little fruit tree. Wishing for spring up here in the arctic north! :)
That orange tree picture is so peaceful.
I have to say that I do always get library books turned in and things like that, but it’s not necessarily worth it- it’s a byproduct of my anxious personality. I wish I would rack up a late fee now and again.
I love the pizza crust from Dinner: a love story.
http://www.dinneralovestory.com/perfect-pizza-crust/
Not cracker-like thin, but not doughy either. And the best thing is that it is a single rise dough. Oh, and no kneading. So two good things. Three if you count that it tastes good. And it freezes well (the recipe makes a double batch), so that would be four good things.
That’s the second recommendation for this crust! People are also really loving this cookbook. Really good, huh?
I usually make the pioneer woman/smitten kitchen one as well and just forget about it in the fridge for a few days! ie. combine everything then put into a ziploc and put into the fridge… 3 days later, pizza!