New Year’s Eve Pizza

Tags

Baking, gourmet pizza, holiday tradition, homemade pizza, Kids, New Year tradition, New Year's tradition, pizza, pizza crust

Every New Year’s Eve, Hubster and I make a gourmet pizza from scratch and fill up before we go somewhere to celebrate. This year, with the house full of boys, we were going to skip this tradition. After finding this post, I decided not to omit but to alter our tradition. Each child made their personal dough from scratch, measuring their own ingredients and kneading. Only one child’s dough didn’t rise, so I quickly swapped bowls with one that I had Hubster make. It was surprising how mindful the kids were, taking in the smell of the yeasty dough and the tacky feeling as they kneaded it with their floured fingertips.

Making Pizza

We used this recipe for our pizza dough, the boys had to mentally cut the measurements in half (look at me sneaking in mental math) and come to a consensus before measuring. After patting (or pounding) out the  dough, we rubbed olive oil on the top and sprinkled it with basil, oregano, garlic, thyme and marjoram. Hubster and I split a pizza and each boy had their own. On my half, I swapped the tomato sauce for greek dressing. I topped my half with feta cheese and artichoke hearts (the other blog reminded me of the artichoke hearts I had on hand). At least one pizza was gourmet. Hubster had an Italian blend of cheeses and turkey pepperoni. The boys all chose turkey pepperoni and (get this!) mushrooms.

New Year's Eve Toast

The boys were so excited to be part of the process and extremely proud of their end product. We were so excited and hungry, that I forgot to take a picture before they were devoured! The boys toasted the New Year with sparkling cider and Hubster and I toasted with sparkling wine. I topped the glasses off with frozen raspberries (which I had picked this summer).

Focaccia Bread

Tags

bread making, bread recipe, carbs, focaccia, focaccia bread, pizza crust, recipe

Happy New Year everyone! After a lazy New’s Day, I wanted to whip up some homemade bread with our easy dinner tonight (spaghetti). I got Pumpkin and my nephews involved in the process. There is a restaurant which I frequent solely for their brick oven focaccia bread (okay, and their supremely yummy house salads). I like that their focaccia bread is thin and not thick, just a bit crispy and oh so savory. Here is my take on their carby bliss.

Ingredients:
4 tsp. yeast, 4 c. flour, 4 Tbs. olive oil, 1 3/4 c. warm water, fresh ground sea salt, garlic powder, marjoram, basil, thyme, oregano, fresh grated Romano cheese

Directions:
Mix together yeast, 1/2 c. flour and 1/2 c. water. Cover with a warm moist towel and store in a warm area for 1/2 hour. Mix in remaining, flour, water, and some salt. Knead dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes. Oil dough and place in a metal bowl, cover with warm moist towel and store in a warm area for about an hour. Preheat oven 400°F. Sprinkle two baking trays with cornmeal. Split dough in half and using floured hands, spread out dough on baking trays. Rub tops with EVOO and sprinkle on the garlic powder, fresh ground sea salt, marjoram, basil, thyme and oregano. Bake for 10 minutes, Sprinkle with fresh grated Romano cheese and bake for 15 minutes longer. Cut into rectangular pieces and serve warm.

Focaccia Bread

With my houseful of boys this week, they all loved this bread and learning how to make it.