Pizza

I am a major pizza lover. I could eat pizza everyday for the rest of my life and never get sick of it. This recipe is one I modified from my FACS class in 8th grade. I only made two toppings but you can use as many or as few as you desire. This pizza is without a doubt delicious and well worth the effort you put into it. 

DOUGH:

Ingredients:

-2 cups flour

-1 pkg yeast

-2 T olive oil

-1 tsp salt

-2 tsp white sugar

-1 cup warm water

-dash garlic powder

-about 1 T butter

Directions:

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour, oil, salt, sugar, and the yeast mixture. Cover and let sit in a warm area for 30 min.

    Preheat the oven to 350F. Knead and roll out dough on a well floured surface. Roll onto a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet in a circle. Melt butter and add garlic powder then spread over the crust of the pizza and set aside.

SAUCE:

Ingredients:

-1 small can (8oz) tomato sauce

-1/4 tsp oregano

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and spread evenly across pizza. 

CHEESE:

Ingredients:

-2 cups mozzarella 

-2 slices provolone 

Directions:

Spread mozzarella evenly over pizza and tear provolone into pieces and spread over pizza ( I added the provolone on top of the toppings to bind it all together).

TOPPINGS:

Ingredients:

Whatever you want!

I used pepperoni and Italian sausage.

Directions:

Depends on what your making

Pepperoni:

place in between two paper towels and microwave for about 30 sec to prevent gross amounts of grease on your pizza. Then spread evenly over pizza. 

Sausage and/or vegetables:

Fry in skillet, chopping into small chunks with spatula while cooking. (For veggies, chop/dice before frying) Drain grease in colander and spread over pizza.

BAKE!!

Bake on low rack in oven for 25-30 min until crust is fully cooked and cheese is fully melted. Cut into slices and cool before eating. Enjoy!!

French Silk Pie

I was wanting to make this delicious pie for a couple months and what better reason than pie day? I made this wonderfully scrumptious pie for my math class and it was devoured in the blink of an eye. This was also the first time I made my own pie crust and, although I though I did, I did not have a pastry cutter at the time so instead I followed my wise cooking teachers instructions and used to knives to literally "cut-in" the fat into the flour mixture. Also, while mixing the chocolaty goodness the recipe tells to mix until it reaches mousse texture, well I didn't exactly know what mousse texture was so when I reached it I didn't know and thought it was supposed to be thicker and the recipe said I could mix for up to five minutes so I did and big mistake! it turned by chocolate mixture soupy. However, it still turned out delicious, the chocolate thickened into a sort of pudding that was very tasty. But a word to the wise, don't mix too long when the chocolate doesn't run off of the beater it's done!

PIE CRUST:

Ingredients:

-1 c. flour
-1/4 tsp. salt
-1/3 c. shortening (or butter)
-3-5 tbs. cold water

Directions:

Combine salt with flour. Use pastry blender to incorporate fat into flour. The fat should be broken down into pea-sized balls or larger. Do not mix it in too much or you will not end up with a flaky crust. Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and fluff into flour with a fork. Form dough into a ball, flatten slightly, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.

      Preheat oven to 425 F. Lightly flour rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll dough out lightly in all directions and place in pie pan. Since there will be no filling at this point, puncture the bottom and sides of the dough to prevent air pockets from forming between the pie pan and dough. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown. The high temperature will cause the butter to melt and turn the water into steam, creating a nice flaky crust. Remove from oven and cool while you make the filling.
 

FILLING:

Ingredients:

-1 c. butter (typically 2 sticks)
-1-1/2 c. sugar
-2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted and cooled (Bakers Square)
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-4 eggs

Directions:

Prepare the pie filling by first beating sugar and melted butter until thoroughly combined and no longer grainy. Mix in melted chocolate and extracts.
Add eggs two at a time, beating for about 3-5 minutes after each addition until the filling has a rich mousse texture.
Pour filling into cooled pie crust.

WHIPPED CREAM:


Ingredients:


-1 pint heavy whipping cream
-1/4 cup sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions:


 Prepare whipped cream topping by beating heavy cream until soft peaks form then mix in remaining ingredients and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe pretty decorations over the top of the pie (if lazy you can just spread the whipped cream over the pie; either way it tastes the same). Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours until set. Cut into slices and enjoy!!

Basket of Flowers Cake

I made this cake for Christmas at my grandma's house and it was quite popular. The cake and icing themselves are very simple and so is the decorations they just look complicated. 

CAKE:

Ingredients:

- 12 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large egg whites 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour two 9 x 2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper.

To make the cake: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour in three parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, on the high speed of an electric mixer, beat the soft egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter, making sure no streaks of white are showing.

Divide batter between the cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack. When cake has cooled, ice between layers, then ice top and sides of cake. Make sure you brush all crumbs off the sides of the cake layers and place the layers top side up on a level surface.

ICING:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter (room temp)
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/4 tsp. almond extract
-1/4 cup milk
-gel food coloring

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the vanilla, almond and powdered sugar until combined then add the milk turning the mixer on high until thick and smooth.   Dye 2-3 large spoon-fulls of frosting green and spread over the top of the cake. Set aside leftover green icing for leaves at the end. 

        Next, spoon white frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a basket tip to make the basket weave on the side of the cake. Starting at the bottom of the cake with the ridged side of the piping tip facing outward, pipe a line of icing as straight as you can eyeball it up the side of the cake. Then, starting at the top of the line you just piped, still with the ridged side facing outward, pipe a horizontal line about 1-1 1/2 inches long along the top of the side of the cake (make sure that your not piping on the top of the cake). Then make an identical horizontal line about 1/2 inch ish below the first line you piped (The gap between these lines should be about the width of the piping tip). Continue this until you reach the bottom of the cake (you can stop a little above the bottom to save room for a border). Then pipe another vertical line along the edges of the horizontal lines you made. Lastly, in the gaps left from the previous weave (you'll see what I mean when you do it) pipe horizontal lines that go over the vertical line and about an inch past it. Continue this pattern around the sides of the cake.

       Next, switch from the basket tip to a star tip on the white icing pastry bag and pipe a shell border along the top ridge and bottom of the cake. Then dye another 4-5 spoon-fulls of icing red (or as close to red as you can get) and spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a flower tip. Pipe one rose at a time and place strategically along the top of the cake covering as much surface area as possible without smashing flowers. Then spoon the remaining green icing into a pastry bag fitted with a leaf tip and pipe leaves in all the empty spaces around the flowers on the cake. 

I used the same piping technique on a red velvet cheesecake I made for
another Christmas party the next day

         

Maple Nut Chiffon

So this is not what you would call a pretty cake (or tasty if you were to ask my opinion) but it sure was popular. I made this along with the "Easy White Cake" for my grandma's 70th birthday party. She requested this cake because it is her favorite, her mom used to make it, my grandma also made this cake in her high school Home EC. class. Although this cake is not my flavor of choice everyone at the party seemed to love it especially the birthday girl. It is fairly simple to make the only tricky part would be the egg whites but if you follow the recipe they shouldn't be a problem. When I made this cake I actually forgot to add the nuts to the batter until after I had poured it into the pan but in the end I was able to stir them into the batter while keeping it into the pan. This cake has a unique flavor that's fun to make. 

CAKE:

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
-3/4 cup granulated sugar
-3 teaspoon baking powder
-1 teaspoon salt
-3/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-5 egg yolks
-3/4 cup cold water
-2 teaspoons maple flavoring
-1 cup (8) egg whites
-1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
-1 cup finely chopped, toasted walnuts
Directions:


Set oven at 325 degrees F. Sift flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl; stir in brown sugar. Make a well in dry ingredients. Add vegetable oil, egg yolks, water and flavoring. Beat until satin smooth.
Combine egg whites and cream of tartar in large mixing bowl. Beat until they form very stiff peaks (stiffer than for meringue or angel cake). Pour egg-yolk batter in thin stream over entire surface of egg whites, gently cutting and folding down, across bottom, up the side and over, just until blended. Fold in nuts. Bake in ungreased 10-inch tube pan in slow oven at 325 degrees F for 55 minutes; increase heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert pan; let cool thoroughly.

GOLDEN BUTTER FROSTING:

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup butter
-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
-1/2 cup light cream
-1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons maple flavoring
-1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan; keep over low heat until golden brown, watching carefully so it does not scorch. Remove from heat, stir in confectioners' sugar. Blend in light cream and maple flavoring. Place pan in ice water and beat until of spreading consistency (add more cream if needed). Frost top and sides of cake. Decorate with chopped walnuts. Yield: 1 10-inch cake.

Easy White Cake

I made this cake for my grandma's 70th birthday party and it was a big hit. This cake is easy and involves so little that its perfect for the lazy and forgetful who need a quick sugar fix. This is the first cake on which I used gel food coloring and since then I don't use anything else. The gel not only makes colors vibrant but it actually makes the reds red as opposed to pink. This "recipe" is one that I made up and is the only one that involves a boxed cake mix because personally using boxed mixes always feels like cheating but I was out of time and left with no alternative.

CAKE:

Ingredients:

-1 super moist white cake mix

-about 1-1 1/2 Tbsp. almond extract

Directions:

Prepare cake batter as directed on back of mix box but before pouring into greased pans add enough almond extract as desired (I added enough so that I could slightly smell it in the batter). Continue baking and cooling as directed on the box (like I said this is as easy as it gets). 

BUTTERCREAM:

Ingredients:

-3 sticks butter (room temp)

-2 lbs powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/4 tsp. almond extract

-1/4 cup milk

-gel food coloring

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle cream the butter until smooth. Gradually mix in the vanilla, almond and powdered sugar until combined then add the milk turning the mixer on high until thick and smooth.  Color with food coloring as desired. Spread/decorate on the cake as you so desire.