Pizza Dough Expanded

 A good pizza dough is not just for those luscious pies.It can be used for everything from calzones ot  - yes - doughnuts. It's a versatile dough to make and to have.It CNA be a lifesaver on busy fall weekends.

What makes a good dough? Five vital ingredients. You should have a good light olive oil,water salt, yeast and flour. A pinch of granulated sugar is added to the yeast for quick activation. What yeast should be used? either active dry or just plain dry yeast. As for the  sugar you could sub in any type of honey for a more natural ingredient. Proofing the yeast requires adding hot water to the emoxo fo the sugar and yeast, stirring and then sti  ing it until beomes foamy and bubbly. Once the yeast is proofed start adding the olive oil.Drizzle it in in a thin ribbon instead of dumping the entire measurement in. It;s then adding the two cups of flour and salt. As with the olive oil, slowly add in the flour until you get a sticky ball.If you;re making a savory baked treat, this is the time to add any herbs or spices for extra flavoring.(This applies to more like garlic knots, stromboli and calzones).Knead the dough and let it rise for another ten to thirty minutes. DO this  by covering it with a damp towel  and place din a warm oven.

After you roll out the dough you can turn it into delicious dinners. A calzone or big sock in Italian  - can be filled with mozzarella , ricotta and ham.Some add pepperoni instead of ham and broccoli for more color and flavor  , A spoonful of marinara is also a perfect addition to a calzone stuffing. Fold, crimp the edges and give it an egg wash before baking in the oven. ANother Italain delight is stromboli,It a pizza more or less redone like a Swiss role. The toppings like sauce , cheese, meats and veggies are rolled inside the dough.It's baked and then cut into thick wedges. If you want a fun party food or even snack try garlic twists.This is taking strings of dough . twisting them and then brushing on live oil and garlic powder. Oregano is sprinkled on for more flavor. Pizza dough also makes for tasty  cinnamon doughnuts, Thye're sweet and puffy  and easy made. Keep in mind that you can also make doughnut holes and jelly doughnuts with the dough too. Cinnamon rolls are actually better when made with pizza dough. The texture is lighter and fluffier than the traditional bun dough.

Pizza dough isn't just for pizza, It can be used for savory and sweet treats. Use it for a tasty dinner or dessert.

Nibble In The New Year

 New Yea'rs Eve demands party food even if it's a party of one. Think fun appetizers and hors'douevres  for a fun ringing in to the New Year.. You can have a wide variety of bites from a mini charcuterie to saucy dippables .It's up to you to decide.

One fun thing is to create a charcuterie or sea-cuterie board. It doesn';t have to be grand. if there's only three or four  - or even two then think a good salami sliced along with slices of prosciutto and mortadella. Have slices or cubes of cantaloupe for a lovely savory - sweet flavor, along with  rounds of toasted Italian bread, crackers, olives and sun dried tomatoes in oil. I would also  include cubes of mozzarella and Parmesan too for fun snacking. A sea-cuterie can have chilled shrimp with  sauce along with crab cakes  You could include herring - a German tradition of ensuring good luck for the New Year along with anchovy fillets. Rice crackers wouldn't go amiss here. You could also have slices fo brown bread for the herring and Italian or zFrench bread for the anchovies. If you want to add canned salmon along with tuna in olive oil ,do that too.It's your board  so have fun with it.A cheese cuterie board is also fun too. Try different varieties of cheeses from Edam to Gouda. Have the centerpiece baked Brie in puff pastry. With this have apple and pear slices and various breads and jams that will go with the fromages.

Hot bites are always welcomed. Air fryer wings and /or drumsticks are perfect nibbles to ring in 2025. have them just oiled and then salted and peppered. These are the best. crispy and fried  and then dipped into a variety of sauces. Have little ramekins filled with barbecue, lemon  butter, and honey mustard.  Serve with little scoops of macaroni and potato salads. These with the chicken actually make for a filling meal. Mini or English muffin pizzas also make for tasty appetizers. These are so easy to assemble and then bake in whether a toaster oven or an air fryer. if there;s more than two people then set up a  toppings bar. Have olives  ,pepperoni,  sliced mushrooms and anchovies. Another fun idea is a basket of fresh from the oven garlic knots . You can get already made pizza dough or make your own. If you're making your own , the give the dough and hour to an hour and a half to rise. These can be baked in either the oven or air fryer. You can sprinkle a bit of Parmesan in for more flavor.  You could have a plate of olives or artichoke hearts as a nice accompaniment.

I'ts New Year. Ring it in with tasty nibbles. They can be cold or hot, but make sure they're delicious.

There's Always Microwave Cooking

The weather's getting warmer and that means a stuffy, hot kitchen. Cooking whole meals like we did a couple of months ago is no longer appealing. Yet , there's still the need for hot meal. What to do? Turn to our trusty microwaves.

After weeks of using the oven, crock pot  oven  and air fryer on a constant rotation, it's nice to use an appliance that can give us a hot meal in seconds. It''s also a fun treat because we tend to buy what we like. There are some great brands out there. I've recently discovered Annie Chun's , surprisingly sold at CVS. This company has many Asian influenced meals that can be cooked for a quick lunch or dinner. I tried their Soy Garlic Noodle Bowl and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it was. I was also leery because the noodles come precooked which can sometimes mean salmonella. However  they came out perfect and I loved that it had dried veggies that plump out when water is added.  There was also a sauce that's mixed in afterwards. This is the perfect lunch or dinner, especially on a weekend. The company also has pad Thai and teriyaki flavors that I'd like to try too. Amy's Kitchen also has very good microwave meals. Their's is a little more natural along with offering vegan and gluten free alternatives.I enjoy their organic pasta,broccoli and potatoes bowl. This is a filling dish, full of baked tofu, red bell peppers and roasted potatoes and topped off with an English cheddar cheese.

Another aspect of microwave cooking is creating our own dishes. One is taking garlic knots made from frozen prepared dough and dipping them in warmed pizza sauce. Getting the dough is easy.  You can select Pillsbury or in store brands along with frozen dough. The simpler method is use your air fryer. Baking them in a hot oven on a hot day  is really not fun.  They'll bake up in just four minutes flat. Then it's taking sauce and just heating it until it's hot and bubble. Grilled cheese is usually the domain of ovens and toaster ovens however it can be made in a microwave too. Don't use  white bread because it will become soggy . Try heartier slices of rye or sourdough bread. Also pick a cheese that melts easily These would be any kind of cheddar. You can blend it with Parmesan for a different,  tangier flavor. Add ham for a croque monsieur vibe or sliced tomatoes and already cooked bacon.Another easy microwave is a baked potato. This can be fun because you can add a variety of different toppings from chili to just plain butter and sour cream. You just microwave the potato first for about four minutes, then scoop out the middle. Mix this with shredded ham or bacon along with sour cream, butter, and onion powder, and then put back into the hollowed out potato. Microwave for another two to three minutes.

After months of oven and stove top cooking,it's time to take a break. Try microwave cooking, whether with prepared or make your own meals. It's an easy way to have a hot , filling meal.