Summer Pineapple Strawberry Cooler

I am ready for summer! This recipe just puts me in the summer mood. Come-on sunshine! Pineapple juice, limeade and club soda make a refreshing drink that goes beautifully with all kinds of summer fruit. And with strawberries in season right now, they make a perfect match.

Ingredients

• 1 12-ounce can frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 6-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed
• 4 cups cold water * 1 liter club soda, chilled
• Ice cubes
• Fresh strawberries (optional)
• Short (6-inch) wooden skewers
• Assorted fruits such as halved orange slices, halved lime slices, orange sections, raspberries, strawberries, sliced kiwifruit, and mint sprigs

Directions

In a large pitcher combine pineapple juice concentrate, limeade, and water. Chill for at least 30 minutes. To serve, transfer fruit juice mixture to pitchers; add club soda, ice cubes, and fresh strawberries.
Serve with Fruit Swizzle Sticks, if desired.
Makes 14 (6-ounce) servings.
Fruit Swizzle Sticks: On short (6-inch) wooden skewers, thread assorted fruits and mint sprigs. Make-Ahead Tip: Up to 24 hours ahead, prepare the juice mixture and chill well. Proceed as directed.
Sit back, soak up the sunshine sipping a sweet drink and enjoy summer.
Recipe from Daily Recipes, find more fun summer drinks here.  http://www.mommag.com/local/tri-cities/2010/6/16/summer-pineapple-strawberry-cooler

Espresso Chocolate Truffles and a wish for a very Happy Holidays!

Every year around this time the same question starts popping up into my mind: what should I make for the holiday gatherings? I think everyone has atleast a few dashing staple stars; these are the dishes that you can whip up with no worries at-all, with very less preparation and they are sure to please every tummy! I am always awed by all the fellow food-bloggers who whip up these delightfully scrumptious baked goodies; seeing the pictures of which make me wish I had more of a baking woo-doo :) But with my limited baking talent all I feel comfortable taking to any holiday gatherings is usually a banana nut bread or some fruit cake!

This year though when I saw this chocolate truffles post on Yasmeen's blog I knew exactly what I wanted to make! Chocolate truffles are a type of chocolates made with a chocolate ganache inside and coated with various coatings, the most ubiquitous of which is cocoa powder but powdered sugar and toasted nuts are common coatings too. Ganache is just a fancy name for smooth melted chocolate with cream (low-fat milk or heavy cream). Occasionally ganache is flavored with flavorings such as vanilla and espresso. Chocolate truffles are named for the look-alike wild truffle fungus/mushroom variety which is a delicacy. Now the truffle-police will insist that the real chocolate truffles must be uneven and rustic to resemble the mushrooms they are named after.. but I am raised in a round and perfect laddoo tradition and what the heck I took pride in making my truffles perfectly circular and round so the pictures will look better (don't tell the truffle-police!) :D

Anyway, so here is how I made my truffles:

Recipe source: multiple truffle posts mainly Yasmeen's post, an old Joy-of-Baking article describing anatomy of a truffle and a step-by-step photo post from here.

Ingredients:

For ganache:

8.5 ounces of dark chocolate (I used Trader Joe's Belgium chocolate brand with 54% cocoa)

1/2C cream (I used mixture of heavy cream and 2% reduced fat)

1/2tsp vanilla extract

1tsp instant espresso coffee

For coating:

cocoa powder

toasted crushed slivered almonds

powdered sugar

Recipe:

(The posts linked above have a much detailed description of the method, but here is what I did in a nutshell).

1. Cut the chocolate into as many thin pieces as possible. My chocolate slab was very thick and so I chopped it very roughly into big pieces.
2. Heat the cream just until the boiling point. Add espresso and mix well.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate pieces and let it stand for a minute. At this time if your chocolate was very finely chopped then the cream will be able to melt the chocolate. If instead you had big chocolate chunks like mine, you will need a double-boiler method to melt the chocolate. For double boiler method: heat water in a large pan to barely simmering. Place the pan holding the chocolates and cream over the simmering water and continue stirring until the entire chocolate is melted.
4. Add vanilla extract to the melted chocolate and mix it really well to get a smooth consistency. This is your ganache, cover and let it chill in refrigerator for overnight.
5. Remove from fridge when you are ready to make truffles. Place each of the coating ingredients in a separate plate.
6. Using a mellon scooper scoop out a chocolate bowl. Roll in your hands for a smoother round shape. (Heat from your hand will start to melt the chocolate making it easy to reform into a round ball).
7. Roll the chocolate balls in one of the coating plates making sure the truffle is thoroughly coated. Place  the truffle on a parchment paper.
8. Ready to serve! Serve them at room temperature or refrigerate for later use.

These were heavenly and had a perfect truffle byte! I forgot to take a photo of the truffle byte, may be next time :-)

These chocolate truffles go straight to S of the wonderful blog Art, Food and Travel Chronicles for giving me my first food blog award here! Thanks S!

   http://ginger-and-garlic.blogspot.com/2009/12/espresso-chocolate-truffles-and-wish.html

Edible Fruit Christmas Tree

I have a lot to be thankful for this season including my friends and family and all of you wonderful bloggers who encouraged me through these initial steps of my blog! Happy Holidays to all! Till next time, leaving you with an edible fruit tree that I made few weeks ago for some decoration:

(Image credit: my husband, Saurabh Deoras)

Note: Since many people asked me how this tree was made I am updating this post with the instructions on how you can make an edible tree like this one!
Source: Inspired from a supermarket holiday flier.
Material:
1 styrofoam cone (small or medium size) from your local craft store. (I got mine from Michaels).
Toothpicks
Cookie cutters with various shapes (I used a gingerbread-man shaped and a star shaped cutter)
Assorted fruits - I used green and black grapes, strawberries, kiwis, dried cranberries and a honeydew melon.
Cilantro garnish.
Steps:

1. My styrofoam cone was green in color, if you only have a white one then I suppose you could drape some green paper on a white cone or attach fruits very densely so it resembles more like a tree trunk.
2. Using the cookie cutters create various shapes out of the melon slices.
3. Attach toothpicks to the styrofoam cone. Attach one piece each of a fruit to a toothpick. (Think free-form; as the tree starts building you will know more about which fruit combinations are looking better and how densely packed you want your tree to be).
4. Continue building the tree as dense as you want!
5. Use cilantro leaves as grass garnish.
6. Enjoy your new edible fruit tree!!   http://ginger-and-garlic.blogspot.com/2009/12/espresso-chocolate-truffles-and-wish.html

BAKED FRIED CHICKEN!

This is, hands down, a family favorite! Everytime I make this everyone goes nuts! I have actually made it a lot easy! It is super easy, so it is easy for big groups! I made it for our little family. Then I made it for the weekly Lindstrom gathering at my in-laws house, which usually includes about 20-25 people. Then, because it was such a huge hit there, we suggested to Jake & Tyler (cousin), whom are both working on their "Citizenship in the Community" merit badge for scouts, that this would be a great dinner idea for the Ronald McDonald House in SLC. A few days later, we were on our way up there. Salad, bread, corn, mashed potatoes & gravy and this chicken were all on the menu. The boys worked their little hineys off and we served nearly 50 people! We cooked 4 big bags of chicken tenderloin strips, about 100 strips in all, and we knew the meal was a success when there was only 1 piece of chicken left and a lot of happy faces! :)

I am pretty sure that I have discovered the KFC secret recipe! It is DEAD ON! It is also baked...not fried and there isn't any skin! So you get to enjoy the taste of the seasoning, instead of pulling it off because of the slimy skin!

This is super easy and you are TOTALLY going to love it!

ENJOY!

{Baked Fried Chicken}

Place thawed chicken breast tenderloin strips in a bowl of milk. Let soak for 20-30 min.

Mix in a Gallon Size Ziploc or Large Bowl:  

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 T Season All

3/4 tsp Pepper

1 c. Flour

2 tsp. Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into a few pieces and place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter in pre-heated oven.

Spread melted butter around the bottom of the pan. Lightly spray the pan, if needed, to make sure that there are no dry spots.

Shake excess milk off of chicken and completely coat each piece with the seasoning mix. You can either shake the chicken in the bag, until coated, or dip each piece in the bowl until coated.

Place each piece of chicken in the pan.

Cook for 20 min. Turn each piece of chicken and continue cooking for 20 more minutes, or until cooked through.

ENJOY!    http://thewondertwins.blogspot.com/2011/10/mondays-menu-baked-fried-chicken.html

Ham and cheese rolls

It is no secret the carnivore and I like different things. There are, however, a few things we both love - like cheese and bread. This nifty dinner not only works in these things we hold near and dear, but it is also super quick. (Plus, you can adjust it be either vegetarian or carnivore friendly.) It is a wonderful way to throw together a meal in minutes on those days when the rest of your day has been spiraling out of control.


Start with a roll of 4 regular Pillsbury crescent rolls. Unroll them and divide the rolls in half leaving two triangles connected. You should have two rectangles. Lightly flour them and a rolling pin. Flatten the rectangles out some. Then place them on a greased cookie sheet. Top each with your chosen ingredients. This night we both had swiss cheese. The carnivore also had deli ham, while I had vidalia onions and basil. Once filled roll the reactangles. Then bake these beauties according to the directions (usually a little more than ten minutes at 375 degrees). Remove from the oven while golden brown and serve while hot.

They are buttery and satisfying. Plus, you can vary this recipe to suit anyone's tastes or dietary restrictions. Oh, and as you can see they take little time to make. This is a great meal for those nights you work late and need to through something together quick. I promise they will stop things from spiraling out of control. Nothing like a super with some of your favorite things (like cheese and bread) does the trick faster - except maybe a meal that is ready in minutes. And, this will do both.     http://www.cooking4carnivores.com/2009/08/spiraling-out-of-control.html

Italian Easter Bread

Buona Pasqua!  I've made this Easter bread for years for my kids. It's a sweet bread, made with milk and sugar and has an Easter Egg in the middle! There's a lot of Italian recipes for Easter breads, some are savory and some are sweet. This one is fun.

Italian Easter Bread

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for a printer friendly recipe, click here
Ingredients:

• 1 package Rapid Rise yeast
• 1.25 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3.5 cups flour (approximate)
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
• 6 dyed Easter eggs
• sprinkles

 

tip: the Easter eggs do not need to be hard boiled. They cook when the bread bakes. I usually just dye the eggs right out of the fridge, without hardboiling them. Saves time. Just be careful they don't crack!
Instructions:
In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, warm (not hot) milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook.   Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Don't worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is not sticky anymore.  Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a "braid", pinching the ends,  and loop into a circle.

Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with beaten egg wash. Put on the sprinkles. In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg.

Bake at 350 degrees until golden - about 20 - 25 minutes. Cool on rack.

** Note:  For an updated version of this bread, see my most recent Easter Bread post.  It's made with golden eggs and pearl sugar:
  http://theitaliandishblog.com/imported-20090913150324/2008/3/19/italian-easter-bread.html

IKEA's Swedish Meatball Recipe (Knock-Off).....Delicious!!

I haven't quite caught the IKEA bug, yet.  I know, I'm crazy...from what I hear.  However, I've only been there one time, for about 15 minutes, and I was with the husband.  Shopping with the man is one of my least favorite things to do.  I don't know why.  Dan is totally sweet, but I clam up when I shop with him (or anyone, really.)  It offends him, but I just can't do it.  I like to shop alone, that's when magic happens, I find awesome things, and I can move super fast.  I have this nerdy method, where I walk past everything really quickly, and I won't stop until something grabs my attention.  I figure, if I have to carefully browse to find something I might like, I don't like it enough.  I'm one of those ladies at the store who speed walks, freaking people out, because I'm zooming all around them.  It's my shopping-mode, can't help it.  Watch out for the crazy-lady.

So, I should probably give IKEA another chance (alone, next time.)  If not for the ultra-cheap/cool knick-knacks, but for the food court.  I keep hearing about these amazing Swedish Meatballs, so when I saw a "perfect knock-off" recipe in the latest Food Network Magazine, I had to try them.  Although, I can't attest to their authenticity (since I've never eaten at IKEA), I can tell you that my family loved them.  Dan asked me to save this recipe in the keep-pile, because he wanted more...we all did.  Luckily, I doubled my batch of meatballs, to freeze half of them.  So, next time around, all I have to do is make the sauce!

'Get on with it', I hear ya.  So, to make the meatballs, you will need:  breadcrumbs, butter, minced onion (fresh or dry), minced garlic, ground allspice, salt, white pepper, milk, Worcestershire sauce, lean ground beef, lean ground pork, and an egg.

* Again, I doubled the meatball recipe, to have an extra batch of meatballs to freeze.  Also, I tripled the sauce recipe...not to freeze, but because I wanted plenty of sauce to serve over noodles.  I'm not sure, but I don't think IKEA serves their meatballs with noodles, just plain. Don't quote me.

Heat the butter, in a skillet, over medium heat.  Saute the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and white pepper, for about 5 minutes, or until garlic and onions are soft.  I just used dry minced onion, so I just cooked it for about a minute.  Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce to the mixture, and bring to a simmer.

Dump the breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Pour the hot skillet mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir together.

Add the beef, pork, 1 egg and 1 egg white to the bowl, and mix until combined.  It's easiest to use your hands and squish everything together for about 5 minutes.  I'm scared of raw meat, so this is where I pull out my plastic doctor gloves.

Spray a sheet pan to grease, and roll the meat into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet.  One recipe makes about 35-40 meatballs.  Make sure you don't roll them much bigger than 1 inch, or they take a lot longer to cook through...unless, you're cool with that.  Cover your sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the meatballs for about an hour.  I didn't have an hour, so I stuck them in the freezer for about 25 minutes.  Worked for me.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

Next up, the gravy.  For the gravy, you will need:  butter, flour, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and parsley (optional, for garnish).

If you are going to serve this with noodles, this is about the time you get the water boiling.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour.  Cook for a few minutes while whisking.  Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a simmer.  Finally, add the heavy cream and the cooked meatballs.  Let simmer, until the gravy thickens.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve plain, or over a bed of noodles, rice, or potatoes.  (Remember, make extra sauce if you're going to be serving on top of something...again, I tripled the sauce recipe.)

IKEA's Swedish Meatballs Recipe (Knock-Off)
Food Network Magazine

Meatballs
(Makes about 35-40 1" meatballs.  Make double to freeze a batch for later!)

1 cup breadcrumbs
2 TBS butter
1/3 cup white onion, mince (or a couple TBS. of dry minced onion)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tsp. pre-minced garlic)
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. lean ground pork
1 large egg, plus 1 egg white, beaten

Gravy
(Makes just enough to cover the meatballs, if you want extra to serve over noodles, double/triple gravy recipe.)

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Parsley (optional - garnish)

Directions:  To make the meatballs, heat the butter, in a skillet, over medium heat.  Saute the onion, garlic, allspice, salt, and white pepper, for about 5 minutes, or until garlic and onions are soft.  (I just used dry minced onion, so I just cooked it for about a minute.)  Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce to the mixture, and bring to a simmer.  Dump the breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Pour the hot skillet mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir together.  Add the beef, pork, 1 egg and 1 egg white to the bowl, and mix until combined.  (It's easiest to use your hands and squish everything together for about 5 minutes.)  Spray a sheet pan to grease, and roll the meat into 1 inch balls, and place on a baking sheet.  One recipe makes about 35-40 meatballs.  Cover your sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate the meatballs for about an hour.  (I stuck them in the freezer for about 25 minutes.)  Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in a skillet and add the flour.  Cook for a few minutes while whisking.  Pour in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a simmer.  Finally, add the heavy cream and the cooked meatballs.  Let simmer, until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Serve as is, or on top of a bed of rice, noodles, or potatoes.  Garnish with parsley.

  http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2011/11/ikeas-swedish-meatball-recipe-knock.html

Homemade Goldfish Crackers (she: Ilene)

Hi! I'm ilene from Come on, ilene! I like to say that I'm a web designer by day and a dreamer by night. I started my blog after my wedding as an outlet for all my creative energies and to document all the random projects I'm working on. I'm honored to be guest posting today! Check out Come on, ilene for more baking, sewing, woodworking, wedding and craft ideas! I hope you will find something that will inspire you!

I couldn’t do a series on favorite snacks without attempting to make goldfish crackers. If you work with kids like I have, you know that goldfish can work miracles. Nothing soothes tear-filled eyes, scrapes and bruises like a little colorful dixie cup full of goldfish crackers. It’s like the universal comfort food for toddlers. …and adults. Even as a grown woman, these cheesy, puffy, crunchy fish-shaped crackers are my “go-to” snack for long road trips. I just crave them!

I think I salivate for any snack with this much cheese! (I love cheese! Do I sound like Steve Urkel? My love for cheese might be the reason I will never fit into my wedding dress again!)

Ingredients (recipe adapted from here)
1 cup all-purpose flour(or whole wheat for healthier alternative)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper (optional, it gives it a spicey kick)
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
8 ounces grated cheddar cheese
3-4 tbsp water

Directions:
1. In a food processor, pulse the flour, salt and pepper together. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add grated cheese a little at a time until the mixture again resembles coarse meal.

2. Pulse in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough forms into a ball (about 1 minute). Your dough will form and look like this:

3. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours. You want the butter to chill so that the crackers will bake nice and puffy.

4. Cover with wax paper and roll the dough out to 1/8″ thickness. The thinner you get the dough, the crispier the cracker will be. But don’t roll it out too thin or the crackers will not puff up.

5. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the little fishies. I used a homemade cookie that I made out of an aluminum sprite can. (here is my tutorial on how to make your own cookie cutter) If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can also just cut simple square shapes using a pizza cutter or knife.

6. Use a toothpick to poke an eye and draw a mouth on each fish:

7. Bake at 350° F for 15-20 minutes or until crackers turn golden brown around the edges. They will start puffing up around the 10 minute mark. Watch carefully as the tails are thinner and may burn.

Look how cute they turned out!!

I had enough dough to fill about 3 trays full of crackers. For the last batch, I cut a bunch of the crackers in a flower shape (using the same cookie cutter as the base of the cupcake pops):

These will keep overnight in an airtight container but I noticed by day 2 & 3 they were starting to turn a little stale, so I would plan to eat them right away!! Great for young kids and adults alike!

 ~ Ilene  http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2011/05/homemade-goldfish-crackers-she-ilene.html

10 Secrets for the Best Homemade Pizza Imaginable! (she: Patricia)

Anybody in the mood for incredible homemade pizza?

 I know, I know... you can't make pizzeria quality pizzas in your humble home oven, right?

Wrong, you can.

 

Look, no soggy bottom crust here. Oh yeah baby!

You want to make some, don't you? Uh huh, you know you do.

Okay, wipe the drool off your keyboard and pay attention. I'm going to share some of my pizza making secrets with you. You can thank me later :).

 Secret #1

Start by placing a baking stone on the 2nd lowest rack position in your oven and preheat it at 475F for an entire hour. I know that sounds like a long time, but trust me, you won't be disappointed.

A note on baking stones, aka pizza stones - this particular one is sold by Pampered Chef, but I have others that were purchased in department stores. They start off very light in color and darken with use. The darker they get, the more "seasoned" they become; developing a non-stick patina - like a cast iron pan. These stones are great for baking bread and cookies too. I highly recommend one for every kitchen.

Secret #2

I take my blob of risen pizza dough (recipe below) and press it into a 12-inch circle on a piece of parchment paper. This eliminates the need for cornmeal or flour on the bottom of your crust (which I find very icky).

Secret #3

Use a pizza peel to easily transfer the wet, sticky dough to the searing hot baking stone. To easily remove the crust from the oven, just grab a corner of the parchment and pull off the oven shelf, back onto your peel.

Secret #4

I "dock" my dough to keep from developing big air bubbles during the baking process. I use a fork to do this - poking holes all over the portion of the dough that will hold the toppings.

 

Secret #5

I prebake the naked crust for 7-10 minutes. Note how the undocked edges rose during baking, while the docked center did not.

Secret #6

I brush the edges of the crust with olive oil (I used garlic oil here).

Add your favorite jarred or homemade San Marzano Tomato Sauce and toppings. You'll add whichever toppings you like, but I'm a purist - plain ole cheese pizza for me. I do, however, have to doctor it a little bit to mimic the nyc pizzeria pies of my childhood (which just so happens to be my next secret).

 

Secret #7

I sprinkle a good healthy dose of dried oregano on top of that cheese. Again, trust me, this takes the pizza to an entirely new level. Now back into the 475F oven for another 7-10 minutes.

 

Secret #8

Oops, I forgot to get a picture of this step, but when you take your finished pizza out of the oven, brush the edges with a little more olive oil and a light sprinkling of garlic salt. In this particular case, I used garlic flavored olive oil and a sprinkling of Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt (great stuff). Don't worry, the crust will absorb the oil so your fingers won't get too greasy, and it helps to keep the edges from being too dry.

Hubby and the kids are pepperoni pizza fans. If hubby had his way, there would be 2 or 3 times more pepperoni on this pizza.


Secret #9

A while back I shared a tip about cutting brownies - you remember, use a plastic knife because the brownies won't stick to it? Well, apparently the Oxo people realized this works for pizza cutters too. Nothing worse than using a cutter that pulls all the stringy melted cheese off your pizza, so I purchased this cutter the second I saw it at the store. It works perfectly and leaves all that wonderful cheese in place.

Secret #10
(last one)

If you don't have a pizza peel to transfer your pizza to and from the oven, you can use a flat cookie sheet or an upside down sheet pan like the one I used above.

 

I hope you'll give try some of my secrets the next time you make homemade pizza. Enjoy!

ButterYum's Pizza Dough
makes one 12-inch pie

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons dry active yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoons tepid water, if using a bread machine to make the dough (use 110-115F water if using a stand mixer)

To make dough in a bread machine:
Add the ingredients to your bread machine following your manufacture's instructions. Mine says to add the water first, then olive oil, half of the flour, sugar, salt, remaining flour, and finally the yeast. Set the machine for the Pizza Dough cycle (about an hour in my machine).

To make dough in a stand mixer:
Heat water to between 110-115F; add sugar, and yeast. Proof yeast mixture for 5 minutes. Put dry ingredient into mixer fitted with a dough hook; add yeast mixture and olive oil. Mix on low until ingredients are moistened. Increase to speed 2 and knead for 5 -10 minutes.

To make dough in a food processor:
Add dry ingredients, yeast mixture, and olive oil to the work bowl fitted with either the dough blade or metal chopping blade. Mix until a ball forms, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 -10 minutes.

To make dough by hand:
Combine ingredients in a bowl until a ball forms, turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 10-15 minutes.

To let dough rise: (this is a good time to preheat your oven to 475F) Place dough in a large oiled bowl and allow it to double in size; 30-60 minutes. Place risen dough onto parchment paper and press it into a 12-inch circle. Dock dough with fork. Prebake 7-10 minutes. Brush edges with oil; add toppings. Return to oven to bake an additional 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush edges with oil again; sprinkle with garlic salt (lightly).

Notes:
You can substitute garlic oil/salt for olive oil/garlic salt.

My 2-pound bread machine can make a quadruple batch of dough. Alternately, my stand mixer can make consecutive double batches.

The unbaked dough will stick nicely to the parchment, but the prebaked dough might slide off, in which case you don't really need it anymore, so don't worry about it.

Enjoy!

~ Patricia  http://www.oneshetwoshe.com/2011/01/10-secrets-for-best-homemade-pizza.html?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OrSoSheSays+%28Or+so+she+says.%29&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner