Pizza Secrets

Pizza
Simple? Yes. Boring? Hardly.





My ultimate pizza dough recipe. Dead simple. Dead quick. Dead delicious.

Whole Wheat and Honey Pizza Dough recipe from Allrecipes.com
(If we don't happen to have honey or I just don't feel like dirtying a spoon to scoop some out of the jar (ie, most of the time), we omit the honey, and honestly, I can't taste the difference.)
The Mustards split this recipe in to two pizza pies.

Mr. Mustard is real particular about the order of his pizza toppings.
This is how he does:

In order!

Pizza/tomato sauce
Cheese
Onions
Vegetables etc
Spices

The tastier of the two pizzas pictured featured diced potatoes & pesto!

And now for the real secret to gooood pizza:
HOT OVEN!
Forget 350F or whatever the recipe says.

- Turn your oven to broil with the rack near the top.
- Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal and place the bedazzled pizza in the centre.
- Now let that baby buuuuurn (not literally) for 7-10 minutes, or until everything is nice and bubbly and lightly browning.

Eggs Benedict

Weekend Eggs Benedict



Eggs Benedict is absolutely my favorite fancy breakfast. If you ever need to suck up to me, this meal is well in order. But it has to be homemade! I've never tried a great, or even really good, Eggs Benedict in a restaurant. Ever. Yet I always try.

Now, this Saturday morning, make this. Then ask for a car. It will probably work.




Eggs Benedict for 2

1 whole wheat english muffin, cut in half
2 slices of veggie ham
2 eggs
1 T vinegar
1 package of "International" brand Hollandaise sauce (such a cheater!)
brussel sprouts

1. Prepare Hollandaise sauce as per directions.
2. Steam washed brussel sprouts.
3. Place English muffin halves, with veggie ham on top, on a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven.
4. Bring a pot half-full of water & 1 T or so vinegar to a steady simmer.
5. Crack one egg into a teacup.
6. Swirl simmering water with a spoon and gently add egg to the swirling water.
7. Remove egg with a slotted spoon after about 3-5 minutes or until the white is cooked but the yolk is still jiggly. (You can test this by taking the egg out, placing it gently on a plate and poking it a bit. Very scientific and precise)
8. Repeat with second egg.
9. Assemble bennies: English muffin, ham, egg, salt & pepper, generous helping of Hollandaise sauce.
10. Serve with brussel sprouts (also drenched in Hollandaise sauce).

If making this for 2, you will have leftover Hollandaise sauce, even with pigish helpings the first round. Store it in the fridge, covered. The next day, heat it on the stove and have Eggs Benedict on Sunday too! Weekend bennies, mmm.

Homemade Pasta with Homemade Pesto

To make up for my (extremely)extended absence, I thought I'd ought to make my (re)debut post a knock-out. And that, it is. It really is.

Homemade Pasta with Homemade Pesto



(I literally had to throw this plant out a few hours ago. Maybe I was feeling nostalgic, hence the surprise posting... but it was just getting too buggy(ew) and those bugs are stubborn and I would not put it past them to mowsy on over to my brand-new herb additions and set up camp there.)











To the last drop.


Recipe for homemade pasta from JoyTheBaker. Get it here!

Recipe for homemade pesto from Das Grosse Betty Bossi Kochbuch:

(Lately we have been adding chopped sundried tomatoes to the basil mixture before pureeing it and it is amazing!)

Basilikum-Pesto

3 bunches basil, coarsely chopped (about 100 g)
3 garlic bulbs, pressed (*we use only 1, though)
2 T pinenuts

Puree in food processor
(do not over-process or basil leaves will become bitter)

1/2 t salt
3 T grated parmesan
small amount of lemon peel (*I think we skip this, but it sounds nice!)

Mix into basil mixture

150 ml olive oil

Add slowly to mixture

Pesto will keep in the fridge for a maximum of 5 days.