Family Chow Hall

The awesome thing about pizza is that you can do it so many different ways. Don’t you just love versatile foods?

With pizza, you can pile on the toppings and have a loaded-down, fill-your-belly meal. Or you can go with a simple sauce-and-cheese version and have a salad on the side. Of course, you can make it anywhere-in-between, including veggie-only, lots-of-meat, or simply pick-your-favorite toppings.

Not to mention the crust choices — everywhere from thin-and-crispy to thick-crust, deep-dish. You can even go with two layers of crust with the toppings in the middle, like a pie. I’ve even seen pizza with the “crust” on the top!

This is the recipe I recently used for a simple, cheese-only pizza crust:

Hand-Tossed Pizza Crust
makes two thin crusts

1 1/2 c. water
1 Tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 c. flour
1 teaspoon yeast

Combine everything in your bread machine and set it to dough.

When the machine is done doin’ its thing — punch down the dough and divide into two pieces.

Roll into balls and then roll out flat with a rolling pin. After that, use your hands (if you’re brave) to stretch to the size of a round pizza stone or pan. If you are not so brave, continue with the rolling pin - you will get the same crust using either method.

Heat your oven to 400, sprinkle a little cornmeal on each of your pizza pans, and flop the crust on top. Top with whatever you like and bake for 15-20 minutes. (More toppings require longer cooking times.)

Enjoy!

Using sourdough starter for breads adds a special flavor that just cannot be made any other way. I, for one, love it, although some people are turned off by sourdough. For the last several weeks, I’ve had a sourdough starter on my kitchen counter. Once a week, I make bread, English muffins, or bagels with it, replenish the starter, and let it regenerate for another week.

If you’ve never used sourdough, there are some things you have to know. Go to this previous post to read more about starting and using sourdough.

If you don’t have a sourdough liquid already started and ready to go, you need some patience to get started, as the liquid takes an entire week to ferment before you should use it. If you happen to have one and need a new use for it, try the Sourdough English Muffins that I make last week. They were extra delicious with butter and strawberry jam.

Sourdough English Muffins
makes 18

1 c. sourdough starter
1/2 c. water
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons honey
4 1/2 c. flour — this can be part whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons yeast
2 Tablespoons cornmeal

(Yes, you still need yeast - the sourdough is not active enough to get much rising action.)

Into your bread machine, place all of these ingredients except the cornmeal.
Set it to “dough” and let the machine do the work. When it’s done, about an hour and a half later, punch the dough down and flop it out onto a floured board.

Knead for 4-5 minutes, then roll it out, just as if you were making cookies or biscuits. It should be fairly thick, about 3/8 to 1/2 inch. Cut into circles with a drinking glass.

Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle cornmeal over it. Place your “muffins” on top of the cornmeal and cover them until they have doubled in size — about an hour or longer, depending on the temperature in the room.

Next, heat your skillet or griddle to medium heat - 350. Fry the muffins for about 7 minutes or less on each side. Keep an eye on them and flip when they are getting nice and brown.

Remove from heat and let them cool. These are a thousand percent better than the ones that are sold in the grocery.

Enjoy!

With summer upon us, it is time to resurrect those recipes that are best for hot weather. Cold salads, jello salads, grilled foods, etc…

Cool, creamy, and crunchy. Excellent with anything grilled. I can’t believe now that there was a time I wouldn’t touch coleslaw.

It is one of my favorite salads, any time of the year. Once perfected, I have never changed this recipe. Some of you will want to add a few other veggies, like carrot shreds or bell pepper.

Coleslaw
serves 4-6 / prep. time: 10 minutes

1/2 head of cabbage
3 T. marzetti slaw dressing
3 T. creamy mayonnaise
2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. celery seed
1/4 t. lemon juice to prevent browning

Shred the cabbage as thinly as possible without slicing your fingers. Add the remaining ingredients and toss. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving.

Serve with burgers, hot dogs, or just about anything!