The Ice Cometh

Carrie at Sommer Designs is having a 5 Night Dinner Challenge, to make dinner each night this week and then post a pic and the recipe. I love it.

So last night, I make pizza. This is hardly going to set the world on fire as unique or gourmet, but it's a fave around our house and I have some INSANELY picky eaters to work around. But, things sometimes don't go as planned.

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4:30pm. Run to post office, only to realize that it is MLK day and they are not open. Repeatedly shove a $5 bill into the slot in the postage machine, as it repeatedly spits it back out. The Gods of Automation finally take pity on me and the machine takes the five. Get back change in Presidential series gold-ish dollars.

4:45pm. On the way home, remember Carrie's dinner challenge and decide on pizza. Pat myself on the back for being so on-the-ball.

4:50pm. Start the pizza sauce (recipe below). I like to start this ahead of time. The longer it cooks, the better, and if it can sit for a while, the flavors get an additional chance to blend.

6:30pm. Call hubs and see what time he thinks he will be home. He's on his way back from a meeting and seems to be behind some sort of accident or something, the traffic isn't moving. Oh, well, it should clear soon.

6:35pm. Start the pizza dough (recipe below). After all, it takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and he should be home by then.

7:00pm. Hubs calls. He's still stuck. And now the traffic coming from the other direction is sporadic, and moving at about 30 mph on an interstate highway. Hmmmm.

7:30pm. He is at a standstill on a bridge. That is now frozen. Sand and salt trucks have been driving by them on the shoulder. I call the highway department and they are reporting no road problems due to weather at this time.

7:45pm. Hubs is still stuck. And he needs to pee. I am starving and decide to make a small pizza for myself, and I will make another one for him when he comes home.

8:00pm. Watch Deal or No Deal with daugher and enjoy my pizza. Scream at the man playing to just take the deal already, you only have one large amount left on the board, are you crazy?

8:15pm. Still stuck. In the exact same place. Still needs to pee. I call the Highway Department again and they are reporting no road problems due to weather at this time.

8:30pm. Finally find a news report. The road has been CLOSED due to icing and a kajillion accidents.

9:00pm. Still stuck.

10:00pm. Still stuck.

11:00pm. Moving! But slowly. Like, 10mph.

12:00pm. Hubs finally gets home! He pees and then inhales a PB&J.

He left at 4:30, so it took him 7 1/2 hours to drive what normally would be an hour.

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So, I have no picture for my pizza, but here's the recipe.

Pizza Sauce

1 Large can of Pureed or Crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp. italian seasoning
A few shakes of crushed red pepper
salt
pepper

Let simmer on med-low for at least 15 minutes, longer if you have time. Remove from heat, and add in about 1 Tbsp. of sugar (reduces the acidity). The extra will keep in the fridge for at least a week and is great for bagel or french bread pizzas.


Pizza Dough

(I make this in a bread machine on the manual setting, but I'm sure that you could make this by hand.)

1/2 Tbsp. yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water

Makes enough for two pizzas. Bake pizzas at 450 degrees on the bottom rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is golden. You can also use this dough for calzones.

Insert Clever Title Here

Today is baking day. Crazy, gotta-do-it-all-today baking day. So instead of an actual post, how about a Christmas-y recipe and some Christmas-y pics?

Peppermint Bark

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
12 oz. white chocolate chips
6 oz. crushed peppermint candies (about 3/4 cup)

In a double boiler, melt semi-sweet chocolate chips with heavy cream and peppermint extract. When melted, pour onto a cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle with about half of the crushed peppermints. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
In a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips. When melted, pour and smooth over the chilled semi-sweet chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with remaining peppermint candies. Chill for at least an hour. Break apart into pieces. Enjoy!


Every year, each person in our family chooses an ornament to add to our collection. I always pick houses or buildings. This is mine this year.

This is my daughter's. Actually, she got two. Each year she chooses an angel, but we couldn't resist the Clara ornament, so we got both.

This is my big project from last year. I made about a kazillion felt poinsettias for package toppers. When I had waaaaay too many, I decided to do a new tree skirt. They have jingle bells in the centers. I'm told it also makes a nice cat bed.

Time to Make the Gingerbread

Ever since my daughter's first Christmas, we have made a gingerbread house. When she was little, we even had a few Gingerbread House decorating parties. I would make small houses and tubs and tubs of icing for her little friends and they would each bring a bag of candy to decorate with and to share.

When she was four I was crazy enough to do this for her preschool's Christmas party, and made 12 small gingerbread houses and gobs of icing. (I'm sure that the other parents were thrilled when their kids came home that day, hopped up on sugar and carrying a completely edible house dripping with icing and covered in candy.)

(Picture taken long ago, before Mommy knew how to use a camera, apparently.)

Last year, we made this house based on a picture of a cottage that Emily had seen and loved. And while it was not an exact replica, it was close enough. I melted butterscotch candies on parchment paper for the windows, and I put a string of lights inside the house for a cozy glow. Emily added the jelly bean string of lights on the roof, and I think it was the perfect touch!

Our snowman, with tiny bits of black jelly bean for eyes and buttons, and a shard of broken butterscotch for a nose.

And now it's that time of year again. Usually, the weekend after Thanksgiving, I start making the gingerbread dough. I always use this Martha Stewart recipe from her "Martha Stewart's Christmas" book that I bought ages ago. I couldn't find the recipe on her website, but here it is:

Gingerbread for Houses

1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
3 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/3 cup water

Cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the molasses and continue mixing until well incorporated. Sift the dry ingredients together. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternating with water. If the dough becomes too stiff, add the last bit of flour by hand.

Work the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth in consistency. Turn our onto plastic wrap, form into a neat rectangle, wrap well, and chill thoroughly.

After all the pieces have been cut out, bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until firm but not browned.

Mmmm.... I can smell it already.

Mmmmmm.... cake.

I found this recipe on another blog (I wish I could remember which one) and printed it and kept it in a drawer in the kitchen. I finally made it, and people, it is the yum!

The most amazing thing about this recipe? You just need a box of cocoa to throw this bad boy together, no actual chocolate is necessary. And while I almost always have cocoa on hand, but chocolate has a much, much, much shorter lifespan in my home, this should become one of those go-to recipes.

I used half dark chocolate cocoa and half regular cocoa, and I'm thrilled with the results. Very dark-chocolately, not too sweet, very moist.

Happy 4th!