Secret Recipe Club: Grandma Pizza

Today is the very last Secret Recipe Club post.  I've been a member of the group for 2 1/2 years, but the organizers decided to end it.  Very sad.  It was fun while it lasted.

 

My blog for this month was Karen's Kitchen Stories.  Unsurprisingly, it's written by a lady named Karen, and Karen has been blogging since 2012.  She's a member of multiple online cooking groups and really likes to bake bread!  Her blog has many tempting recipes.  I chose Grandma Pizza, but Yukon Gold Potato Wedges, Peanut Butter Whirligigs, Buffalo Chicken Baked Mac & Cheese, and Rosemary, Cayenne, and Brown Sugar Cashews all called out to me.  My original plan was actually to make the buffalo mac and cheese, but I had to change plans.  I will still make it sometime soon, along with the cashews for Christmas.

 

So, Grandma Pizza.  I had never heard of it, but it sure looked and sounded good.  It's a rather rustic looking style of pizza, always rectangular or square, that has just recently become popular in restaurants in some areas, seemingly in the northeastern part of the US.  This particular version has a make ahead pizza crust (convenient!).  No fancy toppings for this one, just fresh basil.  My pizza didn't get the basil because I was headed out of town the next day and wouldn't have been able to use up the rest of the package of basil before I left.  No regrets over choosing this for my last SRC, it was great and I'll make it again for sure! 

 

Grandma Pizza

 

1 tsp instant yeast (this is a specific kind!)

3 C bread flour

1 tsp kosher salt

1 1/4 C lukewarm water

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 C crushed tomatoes

4 oz sliced or grated mozzarella

sliced fresh basil to taste

 

Mix first 4 ingredients in a large bowl (I used my stand mixer) until it comes together.  It will look shaggy and ugly, that's okay.  Pour the oil into a gallon Ziploc bag and swirl it around to coat the inside.  Put the dough wad into the bag and seal it.  Refrigerate overnight or for 2 days (I did 2 days).

 

Preheat oven to 375 and plop the dough wad, complete with olive oil, onto a 9 by 13 rimmed metal baking pan.  Squish the dough into a rectangle with your fingers.  The dough may be stubborn since it's cold, but just keep trying.  sprinkle the tomatoes over the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch edge, then sprinkle the cheese over top.  Sprinkle the basil over the cheese.

 

Bake the pizza until the cheese is bubbly and a bit browned and the bottom is crisp, about 30 minutes.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pizza Subs

This is a simple but delicious recipe.  Good for a small crowd if you want to make something easy, or good to make ahead to reheat later.  I most recently made these for my brother and his wife to keep in the freezer for a quick meal after the birth of my nephew.  The original recipe is from Southern Plate.

 

Pizza Subs

 

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

7 oz package pepperoni, cut in half and separated

14 oz jar pizza sauce

small can sliced olives, drained

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 C grated mozzarella

8 sub rolls

 

Brown ground beef, drain.  Stir in all remaining ingredients except cheese and rolls and heat through.  Divide meat mixture evenly among sub rolls and top with grated cheese.  

 

To serve immediately, preheat oven to 350 and place as many subs as you want to cook on a cookie sheet, then bake until the bread is toasty and the cheese is melted, about 10-15 minutes. 

 

To serve later, wrap the subs tightly in aluminum foil and either refrigerate or freeze.  To heat, bake the foil wrapped sub in a 350 degree oven until heated through (about 20 minutes), making sure to thaw the sub overnight in the refrigerator if it was frozen.  If you don't have access to an oven (like if you take it to work for lunch), you can heat the unwrapped sub in the microwave until hot.  It will still be good, but not as nice as if it was heated in the oven.

 

Yield: 8 subs

Pizza Sticks

This is an easy and yummy recipe, even for adults!  I found it on the I Wash, You Dry blog, and changed it by using homemade pizza dough instead of dough from a can, and I added parmesan.  Not much to the recipe.  The pizza sticks are similar to something called pizza rollers sold at our favorite pizza place, but these are undeniably better.  Next time I make them, I'm going to try freezing a bunch of them before baking so I can see how they do when baked from frozen.  Talk about a convenient, quick dinner or lunch!

 

Quick Note:  Use part skim mozzarella.  I made half of these with regular string cheese, and half with lactose free cheese sticks (not specifically mozzarella).  Every single one of pizza sticks made with the full fat lactose free cheese burst open in the oven and leaked their cheese everywhere, I think because of the extra fat.

 

  

Pizza Sticks

 

13 oz pizza dough (1/3 of this recipe)

40 slices pepperoni

10 mozzarella string cheese sticks, or a brick of mozzarella cut into 1 oz sticks

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp dried parsley

3 Tbsp parmesan cheese

optional: pizza sauce and ranch dressing for serving

 

Preheat oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

 

Roll out pizza dough into an approximately 11 by 16 inch rectangle.  Make one long cut lengthwise, then cut the two strips into 10 rectangles total.

 

Line up 4 slices of pepperoni on each rectangle of dough, then top with a cheese stick.  Wrap the dough around the cheese sticks and pepperoni, sealing the seam and the ends.

 

Arrange pizza sticks on the baking sheet.  Melt butter and stir in garlic powder and parsley.  Brush over pizza sticks, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

 

Bake until golden, about 10 minutes.  Let cool a couple of minutes before serving.

  

Yield: 10 pizza sticks

Pizza Dough

My husband and I love pizza.  It's kind of hard not to love, isn't it?  We like all kinds of pizza, and one of the best things about it is that you can put pretty much whatever you want on it.  Our typical is good old pizza sauce with mozzarella and pepperoni, but I've also made chicken bacon ranch pizza, taco pizza, buffalo chicken pizza, pizza with pesto for the sauce and leftover cooked turkey and roasted red peppers for the toppings.  You can do whatever you want!

I've made quite a few pizza dough recipes over the past 10 years or so, and although many of them look pretty similar, different recipes turn out very differently.  This one originally from Forkful of Comfort has become our favorite and I've made it a lot over the past year.  It's equally wonderful rolled out really thin, normal thickness, or made into a thick pan pizza baked in a pie dish.  It works great for Wrapped Hot Dogs, too.  The recipe also doubles well to make 6 dough balls.

Quick Note: You can use whole wheat or spelt flour if you'd like, that's what I've started doing when I'm not making pizza for guests.  Pizza dough with whole wheat flour absorbs more water, so go ahead and add 3 tablespoons or so more water to the recipe.  You may need to fiddle with it and add a little more water or flour in the kneading stage, but that's just part of making dough!

If you use whole wheat flour, you will get the best results if you roll the dough out fairly thin- pan style pizza crust made with whole wheat dough is quite dense and heavy.  Spelt flour for some reason yields a softer, fluffier dough than whole wheat, so you can make it thick if you want and it will still be great.

 

 

Pizza Dough

 

for dough:

1 2/3 C lukewarm water (about 100 degrees, too hot will kill the yeast)

1 t sugar

1 packet yeast

5 C flour

2 t salt

1/4 C olive oil

for each pizza made with 1 dough ball:

2 T melted butter

1/4 t garlic powder

pizza sauce

toppings

grated mozzarella
grated parmesan
sprinkle of dried oregano

In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together warm water, sugar, and yeast and let bloom for 5 minutes.  Add flour, salt, and olive oil, and stir until it becomes too difficult.  Knead with dough hook until dough comes together and looks smooth.  It should be tacky feeling, but not stick to your finger when you touch it.  If it's too dry, add additional warm water 1 Tbsp at a time, and if it's too sticky, add additional flour 2 Tbsp at a time, kneading between additions.  

 

Once the dough is the correct consistency, knead it for 10 minutes on low.  Cover and let rise until doubled in volume.  You can do this by heating your oven until warm (but not hot), turning off the oven, then putting the bowl of dough inside.

 

Divide dough into three equal balls (about 14 oz each).  Extra dough balls can either sit, covered, in your refrigerator for a couple of days before you use them (this actually improves the flavor and texture of the dough), or you can freeze them in small plastic bags.  One dough ball will feed 2 people quite comfortably.

When you're ready to make a pizza, preheat the oven to 500 and put the oven rack near the bottom of the oven.   Melt the butter in a small bowl and stir in garlic powder.  Brush part of it onto a baking sheet to grease it.  Form one of the dough balls into a disc (just double the garlic butter mixture and use a larger pan if you want to make a big pizza!) and press it into the baking pan, then roll it out to your desired thickness, anywhere from 8 to 13 inches.  Brush crust with melted garlic butter.  Put pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese on crust and sprinkle entire pizza (including crust) with parmesan.  Sprinkle the top with a little bit of oregano.  Bake until golden, about 10-13 minutes, depending on your oven, the size of the pizza, and your preferences. 

You have three options when it comes to thawing frozen dough.  In each case, once the dough is thawed and room temperature, proceed with making the pizza as written above, starting with the step to preheat the oven.

1) Let the dough ball thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then take it out of the fridge a couple of hours before you want to make the pizza so it can warm to room temperature, or 2) Let the dough sit in the bag on the counter for several hours until it's room temperature, or 3) If you need the dough quicker than that, you can place one of the balls in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place the bowl of dough in a warmed oven as described earlier.  This will speed up the thawing process.

Secret Recipe Club: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

My Secret Recipe Club assignment for this month is Sarah's blog, Things I Make (for Dinner)!  Sarah lives in Canada, is married, and has been blogging since 2012. 

  

I considered making her Rustic Plum Tart, Baked Egg Boats, Hot Cheese Sandwiches, Volcano Sandwiches, or Spaghetti Carbonara, but I couldn't resist her Buffalo Chicken Pizza.  Believe me when I say this is one yummy pizza!  We love homemade pizza (this was the 4th weekend in a row I've made pizza), but in spite of loving buffalo chicken, I've neither had nor made buffalo chicken pizza before.  How could I resist it when I found a recipe on Sarah's blog?  No regrets, either, because it's delicious!  My husband really enjoyed it, too.  It's definitely one I'll make again and I'd like to use the sauce for other pizzas.

  
You can really make this pizza your own.  The type of pizza crust you use (store bought, homemade thin, pan, whatever) and even the size of the pizza is up to you.  The recipe makes a cup of sauce and it was nice and rather thin (but still delicious!) on my large pizza, but you could make a smaller pizza if you want and just have a thicker layer of the amazing sauce.  You can also use however much hot sauce, cheese, and green onions you want.

  

  

 Buffalo Chicken Pizza

 for sauce:

1 Tbsp butter

1 clove garlic, minced

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 C milk

1/4 tsp salt
 

for pizza:

pizza dough (2/3 of this recipe works great, just freeze the other 1/3 for later)

2 C shredded or chopped cooked chicken

1/3 C Frank's Red Hot Sauce or other hot sauce of choice (can use more to taste)

shredded mozzarella or crumbled blue cheese

shredded cheddar

green onions, sliced

 

for sauce:

melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute until golden.  Add cream cheese, milk, and salt, and whisk until smooth.

 

for pizza:

Preheat oven to 450 and grease a large baking pam (I use butter).  Press or roll dough out to fit pan and prick all over with a fork.  Spread sauce over crust, then top evenly with the chicken, cheese, and green onions.  Bake until crust is lightly browned and cheese is melted and bubbly, about 12-20 minutes.

An InLinkz Link-up

Tuesday's with Dorie: Pizza Dough

Okay, okay, so I really only made half of this week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, which is supposed to be Pizza with Onion Confit (can find the recipe here at The Boy Can Bake).  I didn't make the onion confit, which sounded very interesting, because my husband was horrified by the idea of topping a pizza with so many onions, and I envisioned my house reeking of onions for the next 3 months.  So I decided to make a different kind of pizza, though the dough recipe was followed straight from the book.  Sorry, Dorie and Julia!

The verdict: Pretty good!  Easy to make, easy to work with, tender, soft.  Definitely not a chewy crust (which may or may not be good, depending on your own tastes!), not heavy or dense, and not too breadlike, which is good.  Not especially remarkable though, and no better than my regular pizza dough recipe but takes longer to make since first you make a sponge, let it rise an hour and a half, then make the dough, and let that rise for an hour and a half.  Don't think I'll be making this one again, but we ate it happily and the other half of the dough will be enjoyed later, too.

I made my dough into a good ol' pepperoni and olive pizza, which is our default.  Used my pizza sauce recipe and baked it on my cast iron pizza pan.

French Bread Pizza

Okay, this isn't a recipe as much as an idea for a quick, yummy and kind of fun dinner! French bread pizza. Exactly what it sounds like. Nice, thick crust that's crunchy on the outside and soft inside, topped with regular pizza fixings and ready to eat in about 20 minutes. You could also make it into a great appetizer by mixing lots of chopped pepperoni with the sauce and sprinkling the cheese over it, then cutting it into slices after it's cooked.


French Bread Pizza

1 french baguette
1 recipe pizza sauce (or 1 cup jarred pizza sauce if you'd prefer)
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
toppings of your choice
sprinkle of garlic bread seasoning

Preheat oven to 400 and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Cut the baguette in half down the middle so the loaf isn't as long, then cut each piece in half lengthwise so you have 4 pieces. Arrange the bread on the cookie sheet and spread with pizza sauce, then top with cheese, toppings and a sprinkle of garlic bread seasoning. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. You can crank up the broiler for a bit at the end to get the cheese bubbly and golden, just don't walk away! Cut into smaller pieces and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Pizza Sauce

I've tried several pizza sauce recipes over the years and like this one the best, which I made up. It's very simple but yummy and doesn't need to be cooked. When I make homemade pizza I don't want to mess around with making a time consuming sauce! It also goes great with other things like breadsticks, zucchini patties, or anything that you need a side of pizza or marinara sauce for. I like Hunt's tomato sauce for this because I think it has good flavor but you can use whatever brand you want. You may want to add a little salt if you use another brand.

Pizza Sauce

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 t dried basil

1/2 t dried oregano

1/4 t dried rosemary

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t onion powder

If you have one, crush the dried herbs in a mortar and pestle to release the flavors. Stir everything together in a small bowl and use as desired.

Taco Pizza (aka Leela's Bean Pizza)

My husband and I are big Futurama fans and anyone who likes Futurama will recognize the name of this recipe! I actually made it yesterday and this is just a picture of the leftovers, but whatever. We like leftovers here because as much as I enjoy cooking, I also enjoy being able to reach into the fridge or freezer and pull out something I already made. This pizza was thrown together with things I already had on hand, specifically the delicious Green Tomato Salsa that I shared earlier.

I should add some disclaimers to the pizza dough. About 5 years ago when I started on my quest for the perfect pizza crust recipe, this is the first one I tried (it's Pizza Dough I from Allrecipes). It was disappointing because it's quite dense since it barely has any time to rise. After trying many, many pizza dough recipes, I finally found one that we love (will post it later). For this pizza, however, I decided to go back to my first ever dough recipe because it's dense and thick and I thought it would hold up well to the heavy toppings (specifically the beans). I was right! Feel free to make this recipe for other pizzas because it's definitely easy, but in my opinion, it would do best with pizzas with tons of toppings that need a sturdy crust. 16 Meat Monster Pizza? Yes. Cheese Pizza? No.

Note: I wrote out the directions assuming you have a stand mixer. It may seem counter intuitive to mix up the dough with a spoon first if you have a stand mixer to do it for you, but trust me, you will save a LOT of time doing it by hand first. If you don't, the dough hook will just kind of bat at the flour and you'll spend 15 minutes watching it twirl around while you scrape down the sides of the bowl before the ingredients finally turn into a ball of dough. Not much fun for little Harpo.

Now if you don't have a stand mixer, just mix it all up with a spoon to start with and then dive in with your hands. It may take a little longer and be a little messier but it will turn out just fine.

Also, you'll probably notice there isn't any meat on this pizza. I didn't have any and the beans and cheese are full of protein already, but feel free to toss on some cooked taco meat if you feel so inclined!


Quick Pizza Dough

3 C flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 packet yeast
2 T oil
1 C water

Stir together dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Stir in water and oil and mix with a spoon until mostly combined. Attach bowl to electric mixer and mix with dough hook until dough is homogenous and slightly sticky, like a big wad of chewing gum. Knead in a tiny bit more flour or water if needed to get the right texture. Grease a large baking sheet and press dough into an approximately 14 by 11 inch rectangle (you can wet or grease your hands first if the dough sticks to them), then roll the sides over slightly to make a crust. Place in cold oven and then turn it to 375. You don't want to preheat the oven because the yeast will at least get a chance to think about rising if you let it hang out in the oven while it preheats. Bake 15 minutes or until cooked through when poked with a fork (crust should still be pale).

To transform into Taco Pizza, you will need:

1 can refried beans OR 2 cups of leftover homemade refried beans
Mexican hot sauce of choice (we like Tapatio and Cholula), optional
8 oz grated cheese of choice (I used mozzarella but cheddar, jack or colby would be good)
4 oz can diced green chiles OR a couple tablespoons of canned diced jalapenos
small can of sliced black olives, drained
a handful of cherry tomatoes, quartered (or a big tomato chopped up)

Additional toppings for when it's out of the oven: shredded lettuce, sour cream, salsa, taco sauce, crushed tortilla chips, diced onion... whatever sounds good!

When pizza crust is cooked, remove from oven and spread the refried beans evenly over the top. You don't have to heat up the beans or anything first. Sprinkle with the hot sauce if you're using it. Sprinkle with grated cheese and top with the green chiles/jalapenos, olives and tomatoes. Put back in the oven and bake at 375 about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is as golden and bubbly as you want. Let cool a couple of minutes, slice, and serve with the additional toppings.

Yield: 8 slices, about 4 adult sized servings.

Enjoy! I hope you like Leela's Bean Pizza as much as we do.