Clams Casino Pizza (from http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/06/clams-casino-pizza/)

makes 1 pizza

dough:

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat pastry)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 packet of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup warm water

In a large bowl, add warm water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Stir and let sit until yeast gets foamy, about 15 minutes or so. Once yeast is foamy, add 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup wheat flour and salt to the bowl. Mix well until a ball forms, then continue to mix with your hands until a ball forms. If dough is too sticky, add remaining flour. If too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. Flour your counter and knead dough 20-30 times with your hands. (I also have used an electric mixer to make this dough.) Lightly oil the same bowl, add the dough back in, cover with a towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2-2 hours. Once dough is ready, flour your counter again and use a rolling pin (or a bottle of wine!) to roll dough in to a circle, or shape of your choice.

for pizza:

1 tablespoons olive oil

4 slices of thick-cut bacon

1 small red onion, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1 small red pepper, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

1 small green pepper, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

4 garlic cloves, minced

4-5 glugs of tabasco/hot sauce

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

2 cans of minced clams, DRAINED

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Chop the 4 raw slices of bacon and add to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes (no longer), just so a bit of fat is rendered. You do not want the bacon to be crispy at this point. Remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside in a bowl, then turn heat down to medium. Add in onions and peppers with a sprinkle of salt, and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, continuously stirring. Add in garlic and cook for 3 more minutes. Completely drain clams, then add them to the peppers and onions along with half of the bacon. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add a few shakes of hot sauce.

Brush olive oil over pizza dough evenly and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Sprinkle dough with 4 ounces of mozzarella. Spoon clam/pepper/onion mixture evenly over pizza, then top with remaining mozzarella, parmesan, and the rest of the bacon. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.

I decided to treat my coworkers a couple of weeks ago….this is what I came up with. They were a hit!

prep time

20 min

total time

3 hr 10 min

makes

24 servings, 1 bar (62 g) each

A pie crust can be a touchy thing. For things like this I still defer to my Mom’s way of doing it. (She has one her share of blue ribbons at the local Fall Fair!!)

Pie Crust (tender flake recipe)

• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 lb tenderflake lard
• 1 egg, stirred slightly
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup cold water

Cherry Pie Filling (Nettie Neville)

5 cups of cherries, pitted and halved

3/4 cup of sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 unbaked pie shell with top

1. combine sugar and cornstarch and add to cherries
2. mix in almond extract
3. pour into pie shell. cut slashes or wholes into pie crust top, place on top of filled bottom. seal edges with a small amount of warm water and flute/pinch edges.
4. Bake at 375 F for 45 mins or until browned and bubbly
5. I have started brushing my pie tops with a small amount of beaten egg white and sprinkling it with sugar, they brown better.

Don’t be afraid of a little juice bubbling up… And this was my first attempt at the “lattice” work on the pie top…I’m impressed with myself!

YUMMM!!

After giving them a few choices, chicken wings was the clear winner.

One of our favorite chicken wing recipes is an easy to do, bake in the oven, gooey, sticky, yummy delite.

see how well used the recipe is!!!

I  bought quite a few wings so I decided to do a few kinds. The kids enjoy the breaded ones so I deep fried a couple of batches and added various sauces to them.

First dip the wings in milk and then a flour mixture. I used flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Then deep fry till cooked through and golden brown. Drain on paper towel and coat with your favorite sauce. Franks red hot sauce, BBQ sauce or teriyaki are always good.

salt and pepper deep fried breaded wings

And the kids enjoyed wings, all but 5 I think!!!

I’m not sure if this is because I’m a “food addict”, a mother of three, or because I come from an amazing line of cooks! The few things that I seem to have taken from these amazing women is a love of cooking, trying new things and pleasing others with food!

Yes this is homage to my amazing Mother, Grandmothers and aunts! (Yes my dad cooks too, pancakes (with beer) and goulash!)

So when I was at work today and I saw a couple of zucchinis in the conference room it made me think…mmmm, Impossible Zucchini Pie….so I commented, “How do I get my hands on some zucchini.

Well my lovely coworker, Lisa, said `Would you like some…. which to I replied`yes please! And voila, I came home with a zucchini!!!

You may be thinking, ZUCCHINI, keep it away from me, I’ve already had to much…well I haven’t this year yet, maybe it was such a lack of sun for so long, or I have the wrong friends and neighbours, so I am excited!

So tonight it is:

Impossible Zucchini Pie

Of course I adapted the recipe…. I didn’t have enough cheddar cheese so I added some Parmesan and I added some of those morels I spoke of last time…..

When zucchini is not in abundance I have made it with chopped broccoli!

In you’re wondering, this recipe mirrors a quiche a little or a strata (not that I’ve ever had that, but what I think it is, lol)

Hot out of the oven!

No kids to feed, (like they’d eat it anyways!), so the leftovers will be lunch and shared with my coworkers!

Jaycille

Everyone should have a friend like Dawn. We have known each other for over 10 years now, wow, and have liked, loved and disliked each other through those years. I’m not proud of those dislike years but we both had to grow a little/maybe alot and the good thing is, WE DID. We are both better people and can even laugh about alot of it!

So tonight I shared a meal with my dear friend Dawn. No kids, no men…just us and some laughs and wine! ( oh yah and a bitch session and a martini!)

We enjoyed…

MUSHROOM RISOTTO

“my own creation, google Jamie Oliver and his risotto, I added portabella mushrooms and dried morels from my mom!”

AND

MARGARITA MARINATED SALMON

Cedar Plank Salmon with Margarita Marinade
Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus soaking and marinating time    Cooking Time: 15 to 18 minutes   Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cedar plank
• 2 oz. tequila
• 1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 2 Tbsp. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 4 (5 oz.) salmon fillets

Yummmm….

So this blog started in a Media class to fill my Nursing degree requirements will now become my food blog….

Have fun watching me cook and feed my loved ones!