Homemade Pizza Please!

I know I'm a semi food snob and the reason I know this is because I'd rather eat at home or my grandparents house then most restaurants. I know pizza isn't exactly gourmet BUT this pizza surpasses gourmet and goes straight to DELICIOUS! Homemade pizza was one of our family's Friday night traditions. Now that I live in NY I don't get to eat my grandparents pizza but I've got the dough recipe & the rest is in my blood. This is a simple recipe for amazing homemade pizza, it's better than delivery and it's not DiGiorno.

I'm going to start first with the recipe & preparation for the dough & then we'll get to the good stuff.

Quick Pizza Dough

Ingredients

-1/4 oz pack of fast acting yeast
-2 1/4 cup of flour
-2/3 cup hot water (130 degrees)
-1/2 teaspoon sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

Mix together 3/4 cups of the flour, the sugar, the yeast, & 2/3 cup hot water. Stir until there are no lumps & the mixture is thoroughly blended, about 5 minutes. While mixing add the salt & 1 1/4 cup of flour. Mix until dough forms into a ball. Add by the tablespoon flour if the mixture is too wet or water if the mixture is too dry. Spread the remaining flour on a flat surface. Knead the dough on the flour for about 10-15 minutes or until elastic and able to stretch, knead into a ball. Place dough in a deep bowl & coat both sides with Olive Oil. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place in a warm area to let dough rise. (With this recipe the dough is ready to use as soon as you are done kneading but I like to let it rise for better results). I only let it rise for about 30 minutes or so. You can let it sit shorter or longer according to your plans.

Perfectly Homemade Pizza

Ingredients

-1 can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
-pizza dough (recipe above OR you can also buy frozen dough from your grocery store)
-Shredded Mozarella or a block of cheese that you shred yourself (I also like to throw in havarti w/ jalapeno & some cheddar, if you want)
-salt & pepper
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-parsely
-basil
-crushed red pepper (optional)

Preparation

(If you let the dough rise) Punch the dough down to reduce in size. I like to split the dough in 2 because I like thin pizza, I recommend this, if not you can use the dough as a whole. Get a long cookie sheet or round pizza pan, grease the bottom of the pan with either olive oil or crisco (I like to use vegetable crisco). Get the dough and spread across the pan, using the tips of your fingers to push towards the corners. Preheat the oven to about 450F.

Once the dough is stretched across the pan entirely pour the tomato sauce directly on the dough. I like to use a spoon to spread it evenly across the pizza. Leave around a quarter inch of dough along the outside for the crust. Here I like to sprinkle a pinch of sugar over the sauce (reduces acidity). Season generously with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsely, onion powder, basil & any topping you would like to add (I LOVE using sliced onion, which I sometimes saute to make a little softer). Cover the sauce with the shredded mozarella or other shredded cheese of choice. Pour a little olive oil along the crust & a little over the cheese.

Place the pizza on the middle shelf & let cook for 15 minutes or until cheese begins to melt & brown a little. If you are making two pizzas from the dough like I do, make the same exact way but when cooking put one pizza on the bottom shelf for half the time & then switch to the top where the second pizza has been cooking & vice versa. If you don't switch, the bottom of the pizza on the lower shelf will be more burnt where the bottom of the pizza on the top shelf will be more soft.

Take the pizza from the oven & let cool before slicing. I like to add a little crushed red pepper on top because I like some spice but this isn't required or recommended if it's not your thing. Slice the pizza to your liking & serve. Please enjoy because I swear by this recipe & I haven't had one complaint. Mangia!

Momma's Potato Salad

So last time I blogged I said the next post would be my mom's potato salad which I LOVE. Perfect for any barbeque or even if you just want to surprise someone with your amazing cooking skills, I promise you'll be asked to bring it to the next picnic too!




Momma's Potato Salad

Ingredients

-2.5 pounds of potatoes
-4 eggs
-1 cup mayonaise
-3 tbsp mustard (I like deli but whatever you prefer)
-2 celery stalks
-2 tbsp sweet relish
-2 tbsp salt
-2 tbsp mayonaise
-1 tbsp pepper
-parsley, onion powder, garlic powder
-paprika

Preparation

Peel the potatoes, place in a large stock pot & fill with water. Bring the potatoes to a boil & boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender, not falling apart, but soft enough to stick a fork through. Drain the potatoes in order to cool enough to touch, I like to add a little cold water to cool faster. Place the 4 eggs in another pot & fill with water. When the water begins to boil turn on the timer for 8-10 minutes, afterward dump out water & refill with cold water to cool down the eggs.

Cube the potatoes, I like to make the cubes smaller than larger. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add 1 cup of mayo. Stir together, coating the potatoes with the mayo. Add 2 tbsp of sweet relish and the 3 tbsp of mustard to the mixture & stir together.

Chop the 2 stalks of celery into small pieces and also add the egg, chopped. I like to crumble the yolks and add it also to the salad but if you'd prefer to use less yolk it will still be fine. To be able to properly mix the ingredients together add the extra 2 tbsp of mayonaise. (Just in case you aren't a huge fan of celery, I like to leave it out, or what I did this time was boil it for a couple minutes so it is more tender, less crisp.)

The last part is seasoning your potato salad. Add 2 tbsp of salt, 1 tbsp of pepper and mix. Then add a little garlic powder, onion powder, and parsley and mix again. If you don't want the little extra flavor you can leave it out or add more to your liking. Before you serve sprinkle the top with paprika. And Enjoy!

Perfect Sides for the Perfect Meal

Before I go getting all crazy, these aren't the ONLY sides you can use, but are some of my favorites that I add to my meals often. I will be adding more sides later. I'm new to this blog posting stuff so I'm trying to keep up. I could write and write about food but I want to give you guys the best! So here are a few of my favorite sides because they are soooo good! Speaking of being soooo good, I will soon be posting the yummiest addition to any barbeque my Mom's Famous Potato Salad. I say famous because it is that good period.

So I'm going to start with something very simple. I love love love mushrooms, all kinds, I haven't found one that made me say "ew!" I like to use sliced 'shrooms but if you like them whole it's all up to you!

Spicy 'Shroom Toppers

Ingredients

- sliced mushrooms, or whole, I like portabella, baby bella or the everyday mushrooms packaged at the grocer's
- about 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine, etc.
- teaspoon crushed red pepper
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
- dried mustard
- parsley

I told you this was simple, you really don't need any special ingredients

Preparation:

Put the 2 tablespoons of butter into a small to medium skillet & turn the heat to low. Rinse the mushrooms of any leftover dirt (or other). Place the mushrooms in the pan with the butter, mix around lightly. Place a lid over the pan and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove lid & stir the melted butter & mushrooms. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley & dried mustard. Mix the mushrooms again & let cook for a couple more mintes or until the mushrooms are soft and the butter is thickening. Add the teaspoon of crushed red pepper 7 stir, cook for 2 more minutes & serve.

I like to place these on top of steaks. They add a great flavor & a little bite. MY most favorite steak to eat with these is porterhouse because you get the best of both steak worlds, filet mignon and t-bone, yummy!

My next side I love love love is Grilled Zucchini. Again, there aren't too many ingredients, most are just seasonings.

Grilled Zucchini

Ingredients

- 4 Zucchini, sliced long ways
- Olive Oil (I like extra virgin!)
- Salt & Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley
- Basil
- Paprika

Preparation

Peel and slice the zucchini long ways, try to make the slices fairly thin. (Zucchini skin tends to be pretty bitter and could leave a bad taste in your mouth, I suggest to always peel the skin of zucchini) Lay them out on a pan or aluminum foil brush each piece or pour olive oil over the laid out pieces. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, basil, and finally paprika.

Now, if you don't have a grill, let's say you live in the city, like myself, you can make these just as easily in the oven or toaster oven even. Just place the tray with the zucchini seasoned & oiled in the oven on Broil for about 15 minutes or until they start to brown, turning the food halfway through. The zucchini will get soft & start falling apart so be careful. Some may get crispy, this usually happens to the ones laying on the outsides of the pan. This is all fine because either way they taste amazing, I promise!

If you have a grill, its just as easy. I find it better to use one of the grilling racks so the zucchini doesn't fall straight through the wire rack. Cook the same, flipping the zucchini often to ensure even cooking. Remove from heat & Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

- about 5 Carrots
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel the Carrots & cut off both ends. I like to slice the carrots into 3 equal pieces & then slice long ways OR you can just get a bag of baby carrots, may take longer time in oven. Rip off about a foot or longer piece of Aluminum Foil. place the carrots in a pile in the middle of the foil. Cup the foil around the carrots, almost like a bowl. Pour oil over the carrots. Add salt, mix around & close top of foil over carrots.

Place the carrots with the top of the foil closed over in the oven. Cook for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the carrots begin to get tender. Open the top of the foil exposing the carrots. Mix the carrots around in the oil & let cook longer in the oven. Check often to see if carrots begin to brown slightly. Add salt to your liking & enjoy. I feel that seasonings aren't something that should be measured unless by the chef. I like to cook to my liking, some may not enjoy certan strong flavors so make sure YOU like what you are serving, it will help.

The Perfect Balsamic Sauce for Any Steak

Isn't that a perfect steak? It's missing one thing...the sauce! One thing you must learn about me and my recipes is that most of my ingredients are interchangable with something else. If there is an ingredient you don't like, say butter, think of what could be substituted...butter melts and becomes a liquid that food is cooked in...what other liquid is food cooked in? Oil. I'm sure there are more but that's the first one off the top of my head! If there is an ingredient you don't like, unless it's the base of the sauce or meal, don't add it or add something else, it's up to you!

Lacy's Balsamic Steak Sauce

Ingredients

- Steaks (I recommend filet mignon but I know they are a little pricey!)
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Butter or Margarine (I have even used yogurt based butter and the 0 trans fat kinds)
- a dash or 2 of red wine
- garlic powder, onion powder
- fresh chopped parsley and basil (or dried)
- dried mustard
- salt and pepper
- crushed red pepper

Preparation

To cook the steak: Set your oven to broil. Depending on where your broil is located either A) line the broiler pan with tin foil or B) place a long sheet of tin foil on the middle rack to catch the juices of the steak. Flavor the steak with salt and pepper and place on top rack or on the broiler pan that is covered with tin foil. Brown the steak on both sides, time will vary with regards to how you want the steak cooked. For a more red steak leave it in for a shorter time, for pink or less keep steak on each side for longer. A good way to check is to make a slice into the steak, put a for on one side and the knife on the other & pry the slit open a bit to check the insides. Take steak out and place on serving dish.

To prepare the sauce: Get a large skillet and cover the bottom with balsamic vinegar to about a centimeter up. Add about 3 tablespoons of butter or margarine to the pan, and the dash or 2 of red wine (optional). Let them heat, stirring ocassionally. When the mixture begins to lightly boil add a tablespoon each of the fresh chopped parsley and basil. You can substitute these with the dried herbs. Also add a teaspoon of the dried mustard and stir together. Let simmer.

As sauce begins to thicken flavor with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders. Sometimes I find that I need a bit more butter to even out the mixture or some oil to stop it from burning. Let the mixture simmer to your thickness and stir in some crushed red pepper to spice it up! When the sauce is flavored to your liking, remove it from heat and pour over the steak.

*If your steak is frozen you can chop it into large cubes and cook directly in the sauce. The steak comes out nice and tender with the juices flowing through it.

The Truth about Beef Stew & a Great Recipe too!

The truth is, you can make beef stew from a bunch of left overs in the fridge that normally would get thrown away! Another truth is you can put just about anything in beef stew as long as you have some of the main ingredients: Beef and Beef Broth. Now I don't mean ground beef, I mean some sort of steak. Often I use left over steak from previous meals of the week. Today I used the sliced steak used for stir fry or fajitas. Of course there are vegetable essentials such as carrots, potatoes...and actually any other vegetable can be substitued for another. Heck, maybe even the carrots and potatoes can be substituted if you aren't a fan. But one thing to remember is, it's so simple! Honestly, I don't even measure half the time, I find sometimes when I'm adding ingredients I add to my liking, I stop when I think that's enough of that ingredient. Depending on what flavors you like more you add more or less of certain ones. I promise you, if you follow simple directions you can have a great stew brewing on your stove in minutes.

Lacy's Beef Stew

Ingredients

- Beef - about 1 to 2 lbs. cut into cubes
- Olive Oil - I prefer Extra Virgin
- 8 oz. sliced & cubed mushrooms
- 3 or 4 carrots sliced
- 1/2-1 chopped onion
-3 or 4 stalks celery sliced
- 6-8 cups of beef broth
- a couple fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves of garlic- sliced
- 2-4 half baked potatoes cubed (amount depends on your potato liking, I LOVE potatoes)(to half bake put in microwave covered by wet paper towel for about 8 minutes & let stand - too hot to cube right out of the microwave)
- 1 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- salt, pepper, oregano
- 1 cup of rice - cooked (optional)
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- about 5 tablespoons of gravy or sauce thickener (I used Gold Medal Wondra, but you can also use flour)(amount may vary on how thick you want your stew)


Preparation
First start browning the cubed beef in a large stockpot, or one of the big spaghetti pots if you talk like me. Throw in about 2 tablespoons of the gravy thickener or flour, toss the 2 together. Then add some salt and some pepper I'd say about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. Pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let cook for a couple minutes, but not too long about 3 minutes.

Add sliced & cubed mushrooms, sliced celery, and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is tender & beef is browned. Add the Beef Broth, depending on how much stew you want your beef and vegetables to have you can use 6 cups for a thicker sauce that surrounds your beef and vegetables OR you could use 8 cups and have a slightly thick stew that covers your beef & vegetables, it's all up to your taste buds. Cover and let simmer for 25 minutes.

Add carrots, basil leaves, and cubed half baked potatoes. Reduce the heat a little, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes stirring ocassionally. Or until vegetables and meat are tender. Add the peas and rice cook for 10 more minutes. To thicken the sauce add 3 more tablespoons of the sauce thickener or flour as well as some grated parmesan cheese. Flavor with salt, pepper & oregano.

Pour into bowls and garnish the top with a bit more of the parmesan cheese. I like to serve my beef stew with 1 or 2 pieces of buttered toast - such as an italian loaf or sourdough bread. Enjoy!!

If there are any questions regarding this recipe feel free to email me at lacyorama@gmail.com

Ingredients You Should Add to Everything (and make it taste great!)

I know there are a lot of different tastes out there but I’ll tell you these ingredients will work for everyone. I’ve found when you add these five essential seasonings to anything, be it chicken, or steak, or pasta, but what I learned was from making AMAZING rice, the food comes out with a smell, look, flavor anyone would enjoy. I know, you say ‘rice?’ Well my friend from middle school wrote me the other day to say she saw an ad for some kind of rice in a magazine and it reminded her of the best rice she’d ever had, mine.

So how I started wasn’t very out of the ordinary, my grandparents, both italian, would cook all day long, so my cousin and I would go over and make anything that was easy enough for us to make, mainly cookies (that recipe will come soon enough!). One night my mom was coming home late from work so I decided to make a meal for dinner, it included, chicken with a cream cheese and chive spread, rolled in bacon and then baked but the thing I didn’t know how to make was rice. I called my little italian Mommom and asked for her recipe, might have been the best thing I could have done. I don’t think the rice has ever come out the way it did that first night cooking but its damn delicious every time.

Mommom’s Rice

Ingredients

-2 cups long/med white rice
-2 cans chicken broth
-1 small onion, chopped
-3 tablespoons of butter/margarine
-parsley, garlic powder
-salt and pepper

Get a medium sized pot with a lid. Place the 3 tablespoons butter along with the onions in the pot and turn the heat to low and let simmer. When onions are soft but not brown, add rice, stir coating the rice with the onions and butter, let simmer for a couple more minutes. Once the rice is starting to brown a little add both cans of chicken broth. Turn the heat up to high, let boil. When the broth begins to boil turn the heat down slightly, add parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper, you want a good amount of each so the flavor can explore your taste buds. Believe me, you’ll want them to savor this. Turn the heat back to low put lid on and let cook through, may take about 30 minutes. If need be add more seasonings half way through the cooking. Also you don’t want to over cook the rice, it will come out very mushy and not good, keep an eye on your rice, stirring occasionally. Bon Appetite!

Can anyone guess what those key ingredients my article is speaking of? That’s right. It’s the seasonings. Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Parsley, and since I gave the rice recipe these were fresh but also Onion Powder. I’m telling you if you can get the right blend of these 5 seasonings then you can make anything taste great, granted you aren’t my boyfriend’s mother who turns pancakes into stoning material but I highly doubt that. I hope I’ve helped and I sure will be writing more articles, giving away more delicious recipes, for you!