A few recipes

Here are some of the things we’ve eaten the past couple days. For my birthday, we had homemade pizza. It was awesome! Here is the recipe for the crust, courtesy of my friend Michelle B.

1 pkg dry yeast (1 TBS)
1 tsp sugar
1 c warm water
Approx 2 c flour
1 tsp salt
1 TBS olive oil

Mix – add more flour until dough is not sticky. Knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed Stretch into a greased and floured 9×13 pan (this is the easiest – you can also separate it into 2, 12″ pans). No need to allow to rise. Add toppings.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it.

This dough was super. We used a can of tomato puree (sauce) and added some oregano and fresh garlic for the sauce. That was quite tasty as well. Top as you like!

A kind of funny side note. Today I decided to use the rest of the sauce to make noodles for me and the kids. I made the noodles, grated some more parm cheese, got the sauce ready and was prepared to have a lovely lunch. I walked outside with my bowl and hear both kids complaining inside that the food was gross. Seriously, not again. They are such whiners. Then I took a bite and It. Was. Horrible. Seriously. It was bad. I think that the fresh garlic maybe got a little rancid or something, but it was so bad. We dumped it all out. Nasty.

So last night was great, lunch was gross and then I had big plans for dinner tonight: BBQ chicken and fresh homemade rolls. Here is the recipe for the rolls, also from Michelle.

No-Knead Rolls
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

·  2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast

·  1/4 cup sugar

·  4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for pan and brushing

·  2 large eggs, lightly beaten

·  1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·  6 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for shaping dough

Directions

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
2. Add sugar, butter, eggs, and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour; mix until incorporated and a sticky dough forms. Brush top of dough with butter; cover bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place until dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface. With floured hands, roll dough into a thick log. Cut into 18 equal pieces (halve log, cut each half in thirds, then cut each piece into thirds again).
4. Brush a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter. One at a time, flatten each piece of dough, then fold edges toward the center, pressing to secure, until a smooth ball forms. Place dough balls in prepared baking pan, smooth side up (you should have 3 rows of 6). Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate, at least 4 hours and up to 1 day.)
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap; brush rolls with butter. Bake until golden and rolls sound hollow when tapped on bottom, 35 to 40 minutes (tent with aluminum foil if browning too quickly). Pull rolls apart, and serve warm

Apparently a convection oven cooks bread MUCH faster. I checked the rolls after about 15 minutes and they were dark brown on top. I took them out to cover them with foil and realized they already sounded hollow, so I dumped them onto a plate and, sure enough, they were done. They were ok, but the crumb (I think that’s the right word) was not right. Kind of a too dry. Some of my measurements might have been a tad bit off, but I’m doing the best I can!

I had made a bbq sauce from a Reader’s Digest magazine. It was from Paula Deen’s sons. Sorry Paula, but your boys are NOT you! It was just too sweet and tangy. So, if anyone has a good recipe for bbq sauce, send it my way!  Part of the problem could just be that the ingredients out here, even though they say they are the same thing (molasses, ketchup…) might just be a little different than what you’d get in the states. Who knows?

The kids really liked the bread, Tyson liked the chicken, and Jori ate it because I told her she’d be heading right to bed if she whined about the food. Darin was not here to enjoy dinner with us because he is off helping to fight a fire in the veld. Not sure when he’ll be home.