Awesome Pizza Dough Recipe

I found a recipe online and then tweaked it a bit (of course). The original is Jay's Signature Pizza Crust on allrecipes.com.

The crust turned out really great. It had a really light texture, was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The flavor was great too. It is fairly easy to make (you do need to plan on starting your dough about 2 hours before you plan to eat though).

Here is a piece of our pizza from last night. See how yummy that crust looks!

Ingredients: (for two large pizzas or three medium pizzas)

• 1 T active dry yeast
• 1 t brown sugar (or honey)
• 3 C warm water
• 2 t salt
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 5 C all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 C wheat flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl (or your Kitchen Aid bowl), dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Let sit 10 minutes (be patient and let it sit).
2. Add the salt and oil and mix.
3. Add half the white four and all of the wheat flour. Mix.
4. Knead in the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky and has a nice smooth texture.
5. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl (let's be honest, I just lifted the dough, sprayed my already-used bowl with olive oil spray and then plunked the dough back into it, I then sprayed the top of my dough with a little of the olive oil spray).
6. Cover and let rise until double (approximately 1 hour).
7. Punch down dough and form into balls (3 for 3 pizzas, etc.). Let it relax a bit before you start to spread it.
8. Form into the shape of your pizza pan. Because the dough is quite rubbery, I found a small (like fits in my hand) roller to be essential. Before Phil bought me said roller, I would use a small glass and that worked as well.
9. Preheat your oven to 425 and then top your pizza with your favorite toppings.
10. Bake until the cheese and crust are golden brown (about 15-20 minutes).

Food Friday - Fettuccine with Fresh Tomatoes and Brie

Since most people have fresh tomatoes now (don't even ask me about our tomato plant - the saddest thing ever!), I thought I'd share this really delicious recipe.

2 T Olive Oil
4 Large Tomatoes - peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 Clove Garlic - pressed
6 oz. Brie - cubed
5 T Fresh Basil - finely chopped (I do have a beautiful Basil plant!)
1/4 t Salt
1/2 t Pepper
1 lb. Fresh Fettuccine (if you don't feel like making your own - just buy a box of dried - it won't hurt!)

Saute tomatoes and garlic in olive oil 6-9 minutes. Lower the heat to medium - add the Brie. Continue cooking until the mixture is creamy. Stir in basil. Pour over cooked pasta and serve immediately.

This is seriously good stuff (and it only takes about 15 minutes prep and 15 minutes of cooking).

Enjoy!