Grilled Pizza Party!

Need a fun, easy idea for a Labor Day Party?!

A few weekends ago when I was at home, my family and Pat and I had a make-your-own-pizza-party!

I followed this recipe for the pizza dough and cut up various toppings and spread out different sauces and everyone went to town!

Pizza Dough

Annie's Eats

1/2 cup warm water

1 package yeast

1 1/4 cup water, room temperature

2 tbsp EVOO, plus more for greasing the bowl

4 cups bread flour (I used all-purpose)

1 1/2 tsp salt

Place warm water and yeast in a measuring cup. Let sit until yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.  Add room temperature water and olive oil and stir.

Add flour and salt in a bowl.  Slowly add liquid ingredients to the flour mixture.  

After the ingredients are combined, knead dough with hands (or mixer if you were home in VA!) for 5 minutes.

And knead.

And knead. Then flex your muscles : )

Roll dough into a bowl and cover in an oiled bowl for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Before

After

Deflate dough and cut into 6 separate mini pizzas.

(sorry, no picture.... too.excited.)

Now you are ready for the fun part!  Make sure to grease your grill extremely well with olive oil so the dough won't stick.  Also oil one side of the pizza dough.

Place oiled-side down on the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until brown.

Add toppings:

Pizza sauce, pesto, carmelized onions, chicken, bacon, cheddar  cheese, mozzarella cheese!

With the cooked side facing up, make your pizza!  Return pizzas to grill for 4-6 minutes, and serve!

This was such a fun night, everyone!  My parents and Pat really got into making their pizzas "their own".  Not only did it take no time to cook the pizza, but it tasted amazing!  The dough was perfectly cooked and browned on the edges--my favorite part!

The most attractive pizza of the night! Courtesy of Papa Gourmand!

Enjoy!

Cajun Deviled Eggs

There is a certain restaurant in Arlington that is one of our go-to lunches.


Bayou Bakery.


Not only do they have fluffy, sweet beignets, and the perfect Cuban sandwich with layers of meat and sour pickles sandwiched between two slices of buttery bread, Bayou Bakery provides one of life's simplest pleasures: Deviled Eggs.


These are such a yummy appetizer or light lunch for any egg lover (or even a person who, like myself, thinks eggs are only really necessary for baking).  These really stole my heart with the cajun seasoning instead of the standard paprika that is sprinkled across the eggs.  


You can only guess my surprise when I heard that the Occasional Oenophile sought to create imitations of these beauties.  The result: utter perfection.  They taste just like the ones from Bayou Bakery!


Now if only she can find a recipe to imitate the beignets....


Cajun Deviled Eggs
Inspired by Bayou Bakery's Deviled Eggs


6 Eggs, hard boiled and cooled
~2tbsp light mayonnaise
1/4tsp salt
One half batch of Bobbie Jean's Cajun Spice Mix (or your favorite Cajun mix!)

Slice eggs in half, remove yolks.  Mix yolks with mayonnaise and salt (I like to whip them).

Fill egg white cavities with yolk mixture.  Sprinkle with Cajun Spice Mix.

Chill for one hour or more.

Enjoy :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Ice Cream (or P.B.V.V.P.I.C. for short!)

It all started with this:

For any of you who haven't tried the amazingness that is TJ's Pb filled pretzels, you are missing out. 

It usually lasts two days in my house...and my roomie doesn't like them......

To comfort myself in the loss of such a scrumptious snack, I decided to use my newest gadget (I know it may seem like I am always getting a new gadget, but since I live far from home and rarely get to see my family, my birthday lasts longer than normal). 

Meet the ice cream maker.  (Thanks, Uncle Rob!!!!)

LOVE

When I showed this to my roommate she just shook her head.  Because she knows the truth.

The truth, my friends, is that I am in a long distance relationship.  Which means that I don't see my boyfriend that often.  So when he leaves.....things get ugly.

I have not put it past me to eat an entire half gallon of mint-chocolate chip (Edy's Slow-Churned!!) to drown my sorrows.  So to have the ability to make any kind of ice cream in 20 minutes or less......my hips are expanding at the mere thought of it.

But I digress...

I knew I had to somehow satisfy my peanut butter pretzel craving, so after a few minutes browsing the internet, I came up with this:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Ice Cream!!!!

I used this post on peanut butter ice cream and went to town with my own toppings.  It was so easy to make and I had all ingredients on hand!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Ice Cream

Adapted from Baked Bree's Recipe

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pretzels

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I had semisweet)

Melt the peanut butter in a saucepan.  Try not to eat melted peanut butter.

Add the milk. Stir until combined.

Add the cream, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Chill mixture in the fridge.  Baked Bree recommended overnight--however, I was not so patient (half an hour it is!)...

Pour mixture in the beautiful ice cream machine.

Meanwhile, chop your pretzels and chocolate chips.  Snacking is allowed here (preferably with the reserved melted peanut butter that you had from a few steps back...)

Add toppings after the 20 minutes cooking (churning?) time.

Pour into an air tight container and freeze for at least 2 hours (I did overnight--I was too stuffed from the pretzels and peanut butter sauce).

 And feast!

This was AMAZING : )

I was so happy with this recipe, and it was ridiculously easy to make! I don't know if I will ever buy ice cream again!!!!

The ice cream itself tasted like the hardened peanut butter shell of a Friendly's sundae cup:

Source



Heaven, my friends, heaven.  The texture is amazing with the pretzels and the chocolate chips--I was worried that the pretzels might become soggy after freezing, but they were still crisp! 

I will definitely have some on stock in case of emergencies...in fact, I sense an emergency happening next Sunday when someone special leaves for Boston (*cough* Pat *cough*).

Enjoy!



Cinnamon Scones

More often than I would like to admit, I go to Starbucks and get iced coffee.  The price is reasonable enough where I don't bat an eye when I get "a venti iced coffee light on the ice and 2 pumps sugar" every few days.

But the time has come to face my addiction....

I've now gone "often" enough where I now have the gold membership card.  You know, the one where they personalize this gold, shiny card with your name on it.

(It's the least they can do when they rely on you for half their profits every month....)

Eek. 

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or to embrace it.

Regardless, I've now started bringing coffee to work from home to save money.  I am also looking into other opportunities to experience the wonder that is Starbucks' pastry case without breaking my wallet.

Here's to crossing one treat off the list and making it at home!

Cinnamon Scones
By The Pioneer Woman

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar

5 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

2 sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
3/4 cups Heavy Cream
1 whole Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Cinnamon Chips

Topping
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

Slice cold butter and toss into the mixing bowl.  Press into mix with a fork until all blended.

Add cinnamon chips.

Mix cream, vanilla extract, and eggs in a separate bowl.  Pour into the dry mix. Blend together (be careful not to overmix!!).

Drop mix onto a clean countertop and work into a rectangle. 

Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over top of dough.

Make cuts of the dough to form triangles.

Place on baking tray and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Keep in mind that I cut relatively small triangles in hopes of making mini scones.  As you can see, the dough expanded exponetionally in the oven, so adjust accordingly to the size that you desire!  I always love things in miniature form, because it seems like you can eat more haha. 

These were even better than Starbucks!!!  Notice how the cinnamon topping formed a crust on top of the scone--it added unbelievable flavor to this breakfast treat!  I brought some in to work with me so I won't eat the entire plate and they were such a hit! 

Things to change:

Next time, I might add a little more cinnamon to the scone batter itself, because the scone didn't taste as "cinnamony" (say that 5 times fast!) as I would have liked...

Also some icing can't hurt ; )

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

After the final venture home before my next (and almost last!) semester, I can think of a few memories.....

Having dinner in Boston with Patrick (he's camera shy!)

Fishing with my Dad and his friend Bart in Cape Cod

Venturing to Provincetown, MA

And these (random segway, I know...)

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

Adapted from Ina Garten

5 potatoes, quartered

Ground mustard
Salt
Garlic Pepper
EVOO

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Toss potatoes with the rest of the ingredients. 

Sometimes I add garlic and onions--but since that wasn't in the fridge, forgetaboutit. 

Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour, tossing halfway through until tender.

LOOK AT THE CRUNCH!



Dig In.

These are sooo good people! It doesn't taste "mustardy" at all, and they are a must-have for dinners at my house!  When Pat comes to visit, his job is to make these.  All you have to do is chop the potatoes, squirt the mustard and evoo and toss w some S&P!  I loveeee the crunchiness that roasting them brings--so much flavor!

Ina is flawless once again!

And here is one more photo from my vacation that is definitely worth mentioning:

Don't you wish your life was as carefree as your pet?!

A Wordless Weekend Recap

Recipe to come!

Sorry for the blurry pic of the ribs--I was too busy wiping the drool from my chin : )

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Let's eat, drink, and play Jenga!