NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA DOUGH RECIPE

Hello Friends,

Not a whole lot going on down here.
Like everybody, we sure have had some strange weather.
In the morning, you need a coat and hot coffee,
by noon your coat is off and you're in a t-shirt sipping iced tea,
by the time it starts to get dark you need a coat and hot chocolate
to get warmed up again.

We have been trying to clean up the woods a little bit.
Last Winter we had quite a few fallen limbs & rotten trees due to heavy ice.

When weather permits, we have been making burn piles to get rid of the old
rotted wood that we can't use for regular heat burning.
I know with the way this holler cools down so quick I have definitely
put a wood burning fireplace on my list of 'have-to have" for our house.
We are wanting to use an outside wood burning system for heating our home,
but I think we need an inside fireplace for the really chilly days.
I wish we could put a wood burning stove in this little
spam can, umm, trailer. I just don't trust it. The floors are about gone any way,
the roof leaks in too many places to count.
I don't believe I could sleep knowing there was a wood stove burning in this tinder box.
So we make due with a kerosene heater.
As holy as this place is, I definitely don't have to
worry about being overcome by fumes...

We have made a few trips to a local lumber yard and
picked up scrap wood for burning and for small wood crafts.
I am going thru the stuff, before he burns it, picking out what would be good
for birdhouses, little shelves, small single benches.

Most of the time, when I find a piece of wood or a twisted tree, as I am working with it,
I let the wood tell me what it wants to be -
Here is a picture of one of the pieces of wood



Now doesn't that look like the front of a birdhouse to you ??




Ok, let's get back to the kitchen...



I AM IN THE MOOD FOR HOME MADE PIZZA

Menu:
Pizza
Tossed lettuce salad
w/ home made croutons


New York-Style Pizza Dough Recipe
(one 12"-14" pizza)

Dough Ingredients:
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 tablespoon corn meal
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 package yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour or unbleached white flour

In a large bowl: mix water, milk, brown sugar, salt and shortening
with an electric mixer on a low speed for about 1 minute.

Add corn meal, olive oil and yeast, and continue mixing it for one minute.
Let it rest for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining flour and mix it with your hands.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and
knead the dough about 8 to 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a warm place.
I put mine in a bowl and set it in a cold microwave.

Let it rest about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Roll out dough for your pan.



Add your favorite pizza sauce and ingredients.
I have used spaghetti sauce when I couldn't afford the store bought pizza sauce.

Our absolute favorite pizza is pepperoni, black olives with extra cheese.
The best thing about making pizza, in my opinion, is deciding how much
of your favorite ingredients to use.

topping tips:
Be sure and take the time to drain all of your fried meat ingredients
on a platter, lined with a paper towel, before placing them on your pie.


Some of our favorite ingredients include;
Pepperoni slices
( I don't care for cubed pepperoni )
Ground beef cooked and crumbled
(you can add diced onion and minced garlic while cooking)
Sausage or ground pork, cooked and crumbled
Thick sliced Bacon, cooked and crumbled
diced or sliced onion, either raw or cooked in a little olive oil.
Sliced Mushrooms
Black olives

*If you use canned black olives or mushrooms:
they also need to be drained and I even rinse them with cool water,
then drain on a paper towel.

Bake at 425-450 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
You may pre-bake the crust for a few minutes if you like.

While you are waiting for your pizza to cook,
you can chop up your salad ingredients.
You are Done when the pizza is...

Pizza's are a wonderful way to cook using your imagination !


Okay, I have to get going and check on my outside furbabies.
We had a sleet / ice / snow thing last night.
It was hitting the windows so hard, at first I thought someone was
tossing pebbles at the window.....




Return to Diary of a Kentucky Cook Home Page