Christmas 2020

I know for a lot of people Christmas was different this year. Smaller gatherings, less travel, the inability to see everyone, etc. I am thankful that for me a whole lot didn’t change. I don’t have a huge family, and I have several family members that live out of state so every year Christmas is different. This year was just another variation. No extended family gathering.

On Christmas Eve this year, my dad actually invited Lara and I over for a prime rib dinner that he ordered from one of his favorite restaurants (The Alpen Rose in Holland. Sadly, it is closing at the end of the year so this is the last time I will eat anything from there). He ordered a 7 lb rib roast, red skin potatoes, a seasonal salad, and a charcuterie platter. It was all so lovely! I rarlely eat prime rib, but it is so good! And they did a great job with this one, it was cooked perfectly!

The four of us then headed to church for an 11:00 candlelight service. I was afraid we weren’t going to have any in-person services for Christmas because our church has been watching the COVID case trends carefully to decide which Sundays in-person services are safe. The two Sundays before Christmas we did not have in-person church, but thankfully the infection rates were looking better so we were able to have a Christmas service! I have to be honest, staying up past midnight was rough for me :) I’ve typically been in bed for hours at that point! But it was totally worth it. Beautiful music, candlelight, meditations, and being able to do this all in person - what an extra special blessing for Christmas this year.

Prior to dinner at my parent’s that evening, Lara and I took a Christmas Eve walk to Outside Coffee Co (a coffee shop place that has always been all outdoor all year! They were ahead of their time. They’ve had their igloos and fire pits since opening several years ago, way before COVID) for Christmas Eve lattes. It was cold, and a little windy, but perfect! A light dusting of snow, a fire pit, and a latte. Perfect.

On Christmas morning Lara and I started the day with a Chirsmas Day run which is always so nice, and so quiet on the roads! We then had a friend over for a Christmas morning brunch. We served buckwheat scones with lemon curd, smoked ham with double cream gouda, and some fresh berries. It was perfect. Great conversation, great company!

I hadn’t made these scones in a while and now I don’t know why, they are so good! A little crumbly and sandy due to the buckwheat, slightly sweet and nutty. The lemon curd was the perfect accompaniment. I hadn’t tried the combo in the past, but it was wonderful! I may always need lemon curd with these scones.

Lara and I then headed to our parent’s home, with a stop at the dog park for a short hike, for a little relaxation by the fire. Just hanging out which is so nice.

Later that afternoon my brother and his family came over for our (now traditional) homemade pizza dinner followed by presents. I love homemade pizza so this has been a great tradition over the past several years. I hope everyone else likes it too!

The pizzas turned out really well this year! Last year for whatever reason, I wasn’t happy with how they turned out. I tried baking them on baking sheets, and I’m not sure I even preheated the baking sheets, all I know is they were a little anemic looking and didn’t rise much in the oven. More flatbread like than puffy pizza crust. This year was completely different! I heated two baking steels for over an hour in my mom’s new oven. The dough was nice and puffy, perfectly timed to go straight into the oven after topping. If I had my choice I would let the pizza dough rest a little longer after dividing, but it didn’t really seem to matter this time.

I had people shape their dough on a flour counter, and once shaped as desired they placed the dough/crust on a square piece of parchment paper. Then they could top as desired and the pizza, parchment and all, was transferred to the hot baking steel. I was able to fit two pizzas at a time onto each steel.

We only had one casualty (see left); as I was sliding the whole rack back into the oven after placing my nephew and my brother’s pizzas on the steel, I watched my nephew’s pizza (which was in the back corner of the steel) slowly waterfall off the back of the steel and onto the bottom of the oven. Talk about smoke and burning dough! I was actually able to pick up most of the dough with a large spatula and put it back on the steel in one big blob, but most of the cheese burned in the bottom of the oven. Very sad. Thankfully we had some extra dough for my nephew so he was still able to have a nice pizza. Lara and I enjoyed the blob of pizza. Almost like a calzone! Just without a lot of filling, but the inside of the dough was very soft and fluffy!

All the rest of the pizzas turned out great thankfully! I found out that my mom’s oven seems to be significantly hotter than mine. The pizzas only baked for maybe 5-8 minutes (I didn’t really time it) which is so much less time than I do at home. And the bottoms of the first pizzas were even a little charred and burned in spots (which I loved, but my nephew wasn’t a fan of). Even though I preheat mine to 550 degrees for over an hour sometimes, it has never been as hot as hers was (and I think hers only preheats to 500 degrees). Now I’m questioning my ovens accuracy, it’s ability to actually get up to 500 or 550 degrees, or perhaps my electricity… I know for a fact the electric in my house is NOT great. So I’m super excited for my kitchen renovation! New electrical, new oven - I can’t wait to see how much better everything will work (as I anticipate it will!)!

After pizza it was time for presents. Lots of presents! This seemed to be the year of the canvas bag! I got two (one farmers market bag, and a reusable grocery bag, both from Food52), and Lara got a canvas garden bag. They’re all beautiful and will be very useful I have no doubt. I also got some great running gear, a headband and scarf from Tracksmith to add to my winter running wardrobe which has greatly improved over the past month. I finally pulled the trigger and bought myself some new winter running tops and tights and it has been glorious! The stuff I had been wearing was SO old! I was wearing some of it in college it’s that old. I’m still waiting on a new running jacket (the NDO jacket from tracksmith) which I splurged on and bought myself on boxing day, the day it was available. Should be coming this weekend and I can’t wait to try it!

After presents we enjoyed a short dessert time before everyone headed home. Earlier in the afternoon I had felt like baking something, so Lara found a recipe for a gingerbread loaf cake that was quick and easy to throw together, and my mom had all the ingredients in the house. So we had baked that before pizza time. I loved it! I love gingerbread and this cake was perfect! We used a combo of dark, and blackstrap molasses which is what my mom had, and I thought it was great. I like using the darker molasses in baking. It just adds more flavor, and bitterness which I like. The cake was moist and rich. It would have been perfect with a little whipped cream or my personal favorite, cream cheese frosting. But it was wonderful on it’s own as well. I will definitely make this again.

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Basic Pizza Crust
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients

• 3 and 1/2 cups (440g) all-purpose flour

• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

• 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce) olive oil

• 1 and 1/3 cups water

Directions
Prepare the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook in place, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the olive oil and mix until the dry ingredients are slightly moistened and coated in the oil. Then add the water and knead for 5-6 minutes until a smooth shiny dough is formed. Form the dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise 60-90 minutes at room temperature, or until about double in size.

Shape the dough: When the dough is ready turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two pieces and shape each piece into a round. Let these rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to help the dough relax.

Shape the dough: press each ball of dough into a disc and stretch and flatten the disc into a circle, approximately 12-inches in diameter. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for a few minutes as you prepare your pizza toppings. (You can also top immediately and bake if you don’t have the time, it will turn out either way if you’re in a pinch).

For this Christmas I made 2.5 batches of the dough above. From this I ended up making 7 pizzas initially, and then an 8th after my nephew’s initial pizza fell off the steel. After all that we still had a little dough left over. Probably a little more than one pizzas worth, but I didn't weigh it. Each pizza was 215 grams which I thought was a nice size. They were definitely not too small. More than I want to eat on my own for sure. But no one else had any trouble finishing theirs off! Everyone else ate their own whole pizza, Lara and I ate 1/3 each of ours.

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Spiced Gingerbread Loaf
From Sally’s Baking Addiction
Ingredients
For the Cake:

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

• 3/4 cup (225 grams) unsulphured or dark molasses

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) hot water (about 100°F (38°C))

• 1/2 cup (115g; 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

• 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg, at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Orange Icing:

• 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

• 2–3 Tablespoons (30-45ml) orange juice

Directions
Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl or dish, whisk the molasses and hot water together.

In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla extract until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing. Batter will be thin.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for around 50-60 minutes (mine went about 47 minutes , I had to restart the timer at one point so I may have lost a few minutes, but it was perfect, so I’d probably start checking at around 45 minutes) or until baked through. All ovens are different and your loaf could take a little more or less time. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the gingerbread loaf. If it comes out clean with only a couple moist (not wet) crumbs, it is done. Allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before removing from pan.

Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice together. Drizzle over cooled loaf. Tasty I’m sure, but option. Very good without the glaze.

Tomato and Asiago Pizza

August is almost gone, can you believe it? I sure can't. This summer just FLEW by! One of my favorite parts about August is how amazing the farmers market is this time of year. Tomatoes, peaches, melon, corn, squash, peppers and the first of the apples, wow is it glorious. I have been eating good! 

There's almost nothing better than a simple, homemade pizza to showcase some of that summer bounty. This pizza only needed a couple ingredients to help it shine. Start with a good crust, add some garlicky oil, top with a couple handfuls of whole milk mozzarella mixed with a bit of asiago, top with a couple slices of one of those juicy, sweet and tender August tomatoes and sprinkled with thyme. A quick trip to the oven and you're ready to go. Serve with a bit of fresh parley and Parmesan cheese and you are set for dinner.

You could kind of consider this a spin on the traditional Margarita pizza, just switching up the cheese a bit and using a different herb, so not really a Margarita pizza at all! But in the same spirit in my opinion! Whatever you all it, it's delicious!

Tomato and Asiago Pizza

• 1/4 of the perfect pizza dough recipe
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tomato, sliced thin
• Asiago cheese, shredded
• Parmesan cheese, grated
• Fresh Thyme
• Fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions
Heat a small frying pan over medium to low heat. Add the oil and allow it to heat up for 30 seconds, then add the sliced garlic. Fry the garlic in the oil until it is just starting to turn golden, watching it closely to ensure that it does not burn. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool. 

Prepare pizza dough. Brush shaped dough liberally with the garlic oil, you may not need it all, save the leftover oil to use later on. Sprinkle the oiled dough with a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Then top with asiago cheese, spreading almost to the very edge. Lay tomato slices on top of the cheeses. Sprinkle the whole thing with minced fresh thyme and some salt and pepper. Slide pizza off peel and onto your heated stone or baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden and and cheese is bubbling and just beginning to brown, 6-10 minutes depending on your oven. 

Spinach and Mozzarella Stromboli

Homemade pizza is one of my favorite meals. While I love making a traditional pizza with mozzarella and tomato sauce, I also love using homemade pizzas as a perfect way to finish off some leftovers. Leftover taco meat, make a pizza. Leftover roasted vegetables, throw them on a pizza. A few extra pieces of lunchmeat, on the crust they go. That grilled chicken you just couldn't quite finish, on the crust it goes. You can really put almost anything on a pizza, and it's always delicious. Sometimes I like to change it up and instead of making a pizza, I'll take my pizza dough with all it's yummy fillings and roll it up into what I call a stromboli. It's just a different take on the normal pizza, it's just as tasty, and fun for a change. And again, you can throw anything at all inside. I've done ham and swiss, sausage and cheese, salami and mozzarella, you get the idea. For this particular stromboli I went very simple with fresh spinach, a little garlic, and some mozzarella. So easy and so good!

Pizza Dough

Adapted from

500 Pizzas and Flatbreads

by Rebeca Baugniet

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 -1 cup warm water

Directions

Mix together flours, yeast and salt. Add in the honey, olive oil and water. Knead together until you form a soft, smooth dough, adding more water if the dough is too wet, and more flour if the dough is too dry, this will probably take 4-6 minutes using a stand mixer with a dough hook. 

Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until double in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours. 

Take dough out of bowl, split in two, and you are ready to make your pizza, or stromboli, or whatever it is you want to do with your pizza dough! 

Rosemary Onion Focaccia

The idea of focaccia always sounds so appealing to me, a flatbread rich with olive oil and topped with any number of delicious things. It's really like a pizza in disguise, dressed a little differently so you can eat several slices without feeling too guilty. In the past however, I've attempted to make focaccia a couple of different times and have never been very successful at it. It's always been, well, just okay. But I want more than okay, I know it can be so much more than that. With this recipe I've found my stride, I have found a focaccia that is well beyond okay. This bread was soft and light, tender and rich, topped with just a few simple accompaniments. It really was what I've been looking for. I can't wait to play around with different toppings and flavors. With this focaccia as a base I know they will all be great!

This recipe was very simple, and pretty quick as yeasted bread goes. Knead everything together and let it rise for about an hour. I was in a little bit of a hurry and only let it rise for about 45 minutes and it didn't seem to matter at all. Then all you have to do is press it into your pan and let it sit for only about 20 minutes. While it's resting you can get your toppings together. I went simple this time with some thinly sliced onion, rosemary, a sprinkling of pecorino and some sea salt, but there are so many options when it comes to focaccia, you can really do whatever you want. After the 20 minutes rest, just top it off and stick it in the oven. In another 20 minutes you'll have a beautiful golden brown round of rich, savory bread. You really can't go wrong.

Rosemary Onion Focaccia

Adapted From 

Food and Wine

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
• Thinly sliced sweet onion
• Roughly chopped rosemary
• Grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
• Sea salt

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast and salt. Add the water, honey and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Knead the dough on medium speed until smooth and supple, 5-6 minutes. Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for about 1 hour. 

Transfer the dough to a well oiled 9-inch cake pan, pressing it down to fit and dimpling it all over with your fingers. Drizzle the dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and let rise until puffed, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the dough to taste with the thinly sliced onion, rosemary, cheese and salt. Drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the focaccia. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 450 degrees until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

Just a quick post today, but it has to do with one of my favorite topics, pizza! I've said it before, but I love pizza and I love making homemade pizza. It is fun to try all different toppings and flavors that you might not be able to get at your local pizza place. Recently I've discovered that one of my favorite ways to top a pizza is with delicious roasted vegetables. This particular pizza has red, orange and yellow peppers along with zucchini and onions. If you are thinking that a pizza with just vegetables sounds boring, think again. Roasting them brings out all their natural sweetness; add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes for some heat and you have a delicious combination of sweet and heat. I can't wait to try different combinations of veggies as the growing season gets under way.

For the pizza dough, I used my go-to pizza crust. Just top with a quick tomato sauce, the vegetables, and a sprinkling of cheese and you will be good to go. I just love roasting vegetables! Just toss together whatever veggies you like with enough olive oil to coat, pepper and plenty of salt. Spread them out on a baking sheet that is covered in foil and sprayed with cooking oil, and pop them into a hot oven, 425 or 450 degrees. Keep on eye on them, flipping them over if needed, and roast until charred and tender. The time will vary depending on the vegetable and the size you cut them into.

This really is the best way to eat vegetables in my opinion. If I make too much to fit on the pizza it never lasts long. I just snack on it the whole time I'm putting the pizza together. It is so good I don't even care that I'm not even hungry anymore!

Ready for the oven

Cheesy and sweet

Dig in!