It's okay to be cheesy

I remember my first attempt at making pizza dough ended as a complete disaster because I thought I could get away with "adjusting" my ingredients and measurements. Big mistake. My pizzas came out worse than chewed up cardboard (that pretty much summarizes what they tasted like too).
This time I was determined to make a damn good pizza so my brother would shut up once and for all about my horrible pizza making. And I'm pleased to say that he has been thinking of something else to make fun of now since he took his first bite of my improved pizza... 20 bites ago.

Pizza








for the dough (two 12-inch crusts):
1 1/3 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. salt
1 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. honey

Combine water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Let the yeast dissolve for 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand or on low speed for about 1 minute, Knead for 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes).
Punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll each piece into a ball and let rise another10 to 15 minutes, loosely wrapped in plastic.
Flatten each ball of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round. Place each dough circle on a prepared baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Lift the edges and pinch to form a lip. To prevent the filling from making the crust soggy, brush the top with olive oil. The pizza is now ready to be topped and baked.

The beauty about pizzas is the infinite number of combinations of toppings that can complement each other. Of course, you can make it really sophisticated and add anchovies and roasted asparagus and what not, but for the sake of my simplistic brother I made a classic cheese pizza (with extra extra cheese) and pepperoni.

For each 12-inch round, you will need:
1/2 cup pizza sauce or marinara
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella or 6 oz. sliced mozzarella (I cut my own)
feta cheese
parmesan cheese
seasonings (salt, pepper, italian seasoning, coarsely chopped basil)

Once you have prepared your dough, preheat the oven to 475 degrees [F].
Before I spread on the marinara, I like to gently rub some garlic over the surface of my dough so that it adheres to the olive oil and flavors the crust a little more. Put an even coating of sauce and seasonings. Layer cheeses and pepperoni (or whatever your heart desires) over that and pop one pizza at a time into the oven. Bake for approximately 12 minutes.

I finally feel content. =)

Simplicity

It really are the simple things in life we overlook most of the time. I think I have a tendency to complicate something already complicated or actually make something more complicated than it really is. (Does your head hurt too?) So I came to the conclusion that I'm going to simply everything I possibly can in my life (without sacrificing the necessary components) and pursue a more peaceful life. Peace is such a calming word. And I desire so much of it in my chaotic life right now.

The first step I'm practicting is breathing. A silly thing to rehearse, I know, but it's something I really need to do because I feel like I'm suffocating in my own tumultuous mind. I know I sound kind of desperate. And I suppose I am.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Mexican Pizza

Ingredients:

flour tortillas

pizza or tomato sauce

shredded cheese (4 cheese)

favorite pizza toppings (grilled chicken)

Directions:

Warm a tortilla on a skillet. Spread a couple spoonfuls of a tomato sauce evenly across the top. Add your favorite pizza toppings and sprinkle liberally with cheese.

I waited for all the cheese to melt beautifully and let my "crust" toast on the skillet until it was nice and crispy.

Nothing complicated, really. Just simply delicious.

Inhale.

Exhale.