Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Almost Turkey Day!!!

This is a picture I took earlier in the year, but it shows some of what I am grateful for, the beauty I am surrounded by.
I have the turkey and the ham and all the trimmings, including my homemade cranberry sauce. Now all I need is Jim and my Thanksgiving will be complete. Well, actually it would be more complete if the kids, grand kids and great grand kids could all be here. That would be wonderful, but I will take what I can get. I also bought supplies to make Jim cheesecake, which he loves. I am thinking I will take half of it to Ellen and Scott, that way we will only be half as bad. Also planning to make cookies and pet treats, Charlie let me know he was disappointed that I was out. You know that look they give you, like OK, I was good, now where is my goodie??

The weather has been warm? in the 30's. I still have problems associating warm with temps below 50. With the sun and the calm air it really is pleasant outside, brisk would be a good description. It is nice walking the dogs around, except when Charlie spots or sniffs a bird. Then I have to hold on as quail explode around me, or a rabbit takes off. Charlie would have been a great field dog. I have been toying with the idea of seeing how he would do with agility training. Right now he is so hyper but I am thinking by the Spring he might be calm enough to work with.

I had mentioned perfecting my pizza making and Violet Lady asked for the recipe, so here it is. One important thing, make sure to use Bread Flour, it is high gluten and gives the dough elasticity.

I package of yeast= 2 1/4 teaspoon 1 Cup warm water 1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons oil 2 1/2 cups bread flour

Combine water and yeast then add sugar. Have flour in mixing bowl and whisk salt into it, then add oil and liquid. Mix slowly, I use a spatula to fully incorporate the ingredients. If you have a heavy duty mixer at this point I attach the dough hook and mix until a ball forms. Mix for 2-3 min. You can also knead on flour covered surface if you do not have the heavy duty mixer.

Lightly grease a bowl, put dough into bowl and turn dough until all sides are coated with oil. Cover and let rise for approximately 20 minutes. This needs to be a warm area.

Roll out on flour covered surface using only enough flour to keep dough from sticking. I have also discovered that I can put the dough on my cookie sheet and kind of press it into place. Very important, using a fork poke holes all over your dough, other wise you end up with all kinds of bubbles in your crust. There is actually a tool you can buy, a roller with tines you can roll over the crust. Pre-bake crust for about 5 min.
Add sauce and toppings , return to oven and bake for about 10-15 additional minutes at 450 degrees.

I mention the warm area as the last time Jim was home it was chilly in the kitchen and the dough was not rising. I ended up putting the bowl in hot water, as I was in a hurry it still did not rise as much as usual and I ended up with a thick crust. It was still OK, but usually we have a thinner crisper crust. I have tried all types of toppings and like being able to monitor the amounts that go on. I was surprised at how easy all this is. The dough is the kind that is nice and stretchy just like the kind in the pizza parlors that they toss around.

I bake this on a cookie sheet and cut it into 9 pieces. Good luck and enjoy. I hope I have included everything.

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving, remembering what the day is about. No meltdowns over trivial things. Being glad for all we have and not worrying about what we do not have.

7 comments:

Joanne said...

Wishing you and your family a Happy & peaceful Thanksgiving Day, Barbara!

Renie Burghardt said...

Have a wnderful Thanksgiving with Jim and all the fur kids, Barbara!

Hugs and blessings,

Renie

Carole Burant said...

Yummmm, it sounds like there will be all kinds of delicious food at your house for Thanksgiving...now I want to cross the border to celebrate it again! lol We Canadians had our Thanksgiving back in October:-) Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Thanksgiving!! xoxo

Joanne said...

Happy Leftover Day! I laughed at your comment that you bought a 2nd bird, love that attitude!! Hey, why not, and enjoy leftovers and all the fixings for days. Enjoy!

Nancy said...

Hi Barbara!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit! Sorry to hear about Elvira. Is she the kitty you picture on your blog? She looks beautiful! It is heartbreaking to lose them....I have 8 little cremation chests of ashes on my mantle. My son had his Punky put to sleep a week ago yesterday. He lost both of his girls in less than 7 weeks, so he is heartbroken yet.

Our Thanksgiving was just the 4 of us...my 2 kids and my ex. We have no family here in SC, as we are originally from PA. But we always enjoy our holidays together!

I also have my pizza recipe on my cooking blog. I use a Breadman machine to mix and raise my dough. It unit heats inside, and it raises beautifully. I see Target has them online for $59.99. I wouldn't take a million bucks for mine! I love it!!! I don't like to bake the bread in it, though, as the loaf is hard to get out in one piece. I love it for pizza crusts, though. I just spread my crusts out, bread-plate size them immediately. It raises in the oven just right. I believe I posted a pic of one of my personal size pizzas on there, too. If not, it's on my regular blog. It is quick and so easy with the Breadman, and with my work schedule, everything has to be done rather quickly! LOL I have been up since 4:30am working today! My deadline is today...have to get them all formatted so they can be printed today and delivered tonight before the 1st. I can see the end now, thank goodness!

Stay warm now. It was 65 here on Thanksgiving but light rain yesterday and again today, so it's cold and damp. Beats that summer heat and humidity, that's for sure!

(((((( HUGS ))))))

Karen said...

Popping in for a quick hello. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, Barbara. I do love the photo in your header. It makes me feel peaceful. Reminds me of the farmland across the road from where my brother used to live. I always thought that if I could start each day with a cup of coffee and that view, I couldn't help but have a good day!

Nancy said...

Drop by my blog, as I have an award waiting for you!

(((((( HUGS ))))))