Roasted Red Pepper Pizza

Tried roasting red peppers for the first time. They came out really well and added a great taste to the pizzas. Used my latest dough recipe. I start these on the stove top in a cast iron pan and just lightly brown the crust. I then put it into a 500F oven in the cast iron pan until the cheese is nicely melted and a little brown. You get a nice crispy crust. Give it a try.

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2  cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1.In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar or you can try using honey (1 tablespoon) in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2.Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3.Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Roll out the dough. I use a knuckle technique.

4.Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it. I start mine out on the stove top in a cast iron pan. So far this has been the most successful. I then finish it off in the oven.

5.Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes

Spaghetti Season

I recently posted a photo of one of my spaghetti meals and mentioned that it was still spaghetti season. Yes there is a season for spaghetti. Spaghetti season ends on the first day of summer and begins on the first day of fall. To me it is a cool weather comfort meal. In the summer for the most part I BBQ. I know that some of you eat spaghetti out of season but you really shouldn't. You wait all summer and then on that first day of fall....it's spaghetti time. Trust me it will make you love spaghetti even more. Here is one last photo of last night's meal and the recipe I use. I know it is not conventional but it is terrific and I am The Arrogant Chef.

 

 

Spaghetti Meat Sauce
4 tablespoons of salad oil

2 lbs of beef
2 large onions chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup of celery chopped
1 large green pepper diced
1 tablespoon of salt
2 6oz. Cans of tomato paste
½ can of V8 juice (need to adjust to get the right sauce consistency just make sure the sauce is not to runny)
3 tsp chilli powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1/2tsp curry powder (or more to taste)

Brown beef in large pan; add onions garlic, celery, pepper and salt. Simmer 3-5 minutes. Combine tomato paste and juice chilli powder, cayenne, curry. Add to meat and vegetables. Simmer gently for 1-2 hours.