Who needs a pizza oven.........???

I have always pictured a pizza oven in our backyard....right now there is a whole lotta work that needs to go on there before a pizza oven, but that's another story!

Well this weekend I learned that you can make a mighty fine outdoor pizza without an oven!  Just fire up the old BBQ and get to work!  Thanks to my sister, Jennifer, and her hubby, Dennis, we now have the knowledge we need to make our own BBQ pizza.

We started with pizza dough made in the bread-maker....

Here's the recipe my sis and her hubby use:

This is for a bread-maker so first put in the wet ingredients, then the dry, and then make a well and put the yeast in the well.

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 tsp honey
1 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour (Jen actually uses bread flour)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp olive oil


If you don't have a bread-maker frozen pizza dough will work or go on over to The Pioneer Woman and check out her pizza dough recipe - http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/my-favorite-pizza/

Let it rise in a plastic bag on the counter until they are puffed up (ours got so puffy the bag exploded - no one was injured in the process...)  We made four pizzas out of the one recipe...they were small to medium size.

Now here is where you have to make some choices...do you want thin crust or thick crust?  Do you think you can sling pizza dough like a pro or are you gonna find another way to make a pizza shape?

After some frustrating tries at 'slingin' the dough we opted for rolling it out to see if we could get a super thin crust - it worked! ( I mean even after when we cooked it, the rolled out dough was fine)

Jennifer and Dennis have all the cool pizza stuff - see the pizza board the dough is sitting on?  But they are smart ones - they got all their cool stuff at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and saved lotsa dough!  (good one huh?)  So the dough goes on a board that has cornmeal sprinkled on it, then add your sauce and toppings.

Some pepperoni, Parmesan...

A little smoked Gouda Or maybe that was Monterey Jack???

and over the top a sprinkling of this wonderful stuff!  Or the olive oil of your choice.

We actually made three types of pizza - the pepperoni, a four cheese, and I'm embarrassed to say one I did not know the name of a Margarita or Margherita pizza...that has fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil, no red sauce but of course some olive oil!

Notice the little pizza pan for putting it on after it is cooked!

Now we're ready for the BBQ part!

This is the four cheese pizza.

So the pizza goes from the wooden pizza board to the pizza stone on the BBQ...

Listen up -  here is where some sophisticated BBQ work comes in...there is direct and indirect heat on the barby - (I was a little mixed up on this concept at first, but Dennis straightened me out)

The pizza starts out on the pizza stone on the direct heat (right over the coals) and then moves over directly onto the BBQ for the indirect heat (where the coals aren't!) The lid on the BBQ is actually closed for the cooking process...I just kept annoying Dennis to open it for photos!

Once the pizza has cooked a bit on the stone they are easy to move around.

Here are our chefs at work!

Some more pizza products - the white board for cutting and the pizza cutter.

And the finished product........I had never eaten thin crust pizza before (I know amazing huh?) and I liked it very much!

Add a little vino or a beer if you like, some good conversation and what a meal!

So, thanks Jen and Den for the pizza BBQ 101 - I can't wait to try it at home!

What kind of toppings do I want to try next....waiting for my basil plant to come back after it's pruning...then maybe pesto!

To celebrate this first day of Fall, make some dough, get some wine, and call the friends over for pizza on the BBQ!  Manga!!!!!!!

xoxo    Elizabeth

More of the " I want that" girl...

Here's another little segment of the "I want that" girl...just look at these!

Now, I love rain boots.....ever since I was in college and had to get all the way from the bottom of campus to the top of campus in the rain carrying my books, walking up hill, trying not to get wet.  I wish I had a pic of me then, but let me describe it...I couldn't carry an umbrella because I didn't have enough hands with all the books, bags, etc. - soooo - I wore one of those bright yellow fisherman slicker-type hats pulled down as far as it would go on my head.  Then, I wore a long (mid-calf) yellow rain slicker...and...purple rain boots!  But wouldn't a pair of these have looked cute with that get-up!

How about this cow girl style?

Here's a pair for Tatum!

A cute city girl pair....

and my personal fav - the Geisha girls!  I of course would like several pairs of these wonderful rain boots and if you are in need of some also - then go here:

rainbooots.com

(yes there are three o's in there!)

They have quite a few other pairs, some for men and kiddos too!  How many are you gonna buy?

Looking for puddles to jump in!

xoxo    Elizabeth

The 'I Hate to Cook Book' - great even if you don't hate to cook!

This wonderful book has been in my life for years......my mom cooked from it when we were young and I have cooked with it since my very first kitchen of my own. 

“What most of us are after, when we have a picture taken, is a good natural-looking picture that doesn't resemble us” 
    .....Peg Bracken



Peg Bracken was a smart and funny woman who understood that we don't have to be perfect to make a nice home for our family or to throw a great party.

Here is a glimpse of some of the chapters in the book (originally published in1960) -
Even the comments here are funny...Take chapter 9 - Desserts...or People are too fat anyway!

There are wonderful illustrations - which are done by Hilary Knight who illustrated 'Eloise'.

One of the recipes that my mom used to make when we were all still at home (she actually made it later when we would all gather at her house also) was Stayabed Stew.  Peg says: This is for those days when you're en negligee, en bed, with a murder story and a box of bonbons, or possibly a good case of flu.  It's a great hearty, but easy recipe.

I have made Peg's Chicken-Artichoke Casserole many times and it is delicious.  There is a Cockeyed Cake where you mix all the ingredients in the same pan you cook it in!  Crazy, but again delicious and great fun to cook with children.  Dr. Martin's Mix is a recipe that my dad remembers eating.  It combines pork sausage, rice, green onions, green bell pepper, celery, chicken stock and Worcestershire to make a yummy one pan dinner.  As Peg tells us in the book...Dr. Martin then puts the lid on and lets it simmer at the lowest possible heat while he goes out and sets a fracture.  When he comes back in about an hour, his dinner is ready.

The Tia Juana Tamale sounds delicious: 

1/2 C oil                            dash of tobasco

1 lg onion chopped           No. 2 1/2 can tomatoes

1 pound ground beef        1 C corn meal

2 tsp chili powder             1 C milk

2 1/2 tsp salt                     No. 2 can cream-style corn

1 C black olives

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes, then add your beef and brown it.  Next, add the salt, chili powder, tomatoes, and Tabasco, cover it, and cook 15 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the corn and the olives.  Pack all this into two greased loaf pans, brush the tops with oil, and bake them at 325 degrees for an hour.

"Facts must be faced. Vegetables simply don't taste as good as most other things do." 

.......Peg Bracken

Peg Bracken's first book, "The 9-Months' Wonder" (with Helen Berry Moore), published in 1958, described the journey through pregnancy with her daughter, her only child.

Here are some of her other books:
"The I Hate to Cook Book" (1960)
"I Try to Behave Myself" (1960), an etiquette guide
"The I Hate to Housekeep Book" (1962), a book of household hints
"Appendix to the I Hate to Cook Book" (1966)
"I Still Hate to Cook Book" (1967) UK edition
"I Didn't Come Here to Argue" (1969)
"Instant Etiquette" (1969) UK edition
"But I Wouldn't Have Missed It for the World" (1973) described as "the pleasures and perils of an unseasoned traveler"
"The I Hate to Cook Book of the Year: A Book of Days" (1977) UK edition
"The I Hate to Cook Almanack" (1980)
"A Window Over the Sink" (1986) "a mainly affectionate memoir"
"The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book" (1988)
"On Getting Old for the First Time" (1997) All are wise, wonderfully helpful and laugh-out-loud hilarious.

I loaned out my original 'I Hate to Cook Book' and so had to find another - Amazon has them and many of her others.  

http://www.amazon.com/Hate-Cook-Book-50th-Anniversary 

Add this cook book to your collection - it is a hoot to read and the recipes aren't half bad either!

Peg Bracken was with us until 2007, she passed away at the age of 89 - I'm sure she would be happy that her cook books have stood the test of time.

Let me know which is your favorite of Peg's recipes.

xoxo    Elizabeth

Those Pointe-y Shoes!!!!!!!!

When you've been in ballet a long time, and you've worked really hard, and your muscles are very strong ...then you get to have a wonderful thing called pointe shoes!

And even though Madison has done this many times - every time is exciting.   We get to go to one of our favorite places - The Dance Bag - and Holly makes sure that we get just the right pointe shoes.

Sad to say, but there comes a time when the old pointe shoes are just too worn out to do their job.

We love them regardless and wouldn't dream of getting rid of them...but a new pair becomes a necessity.

So under the watchful eye of the ballerina doll - and - with Holly's careful guidance, we search for the perfect new pointe shoes.

Mom feet and ballerina feet!

Couldn't resist taking a picture of me taking a picture of me taking a picture....like that little pinky touch?

First the older shoes are put on and sort of scrutinized...

Don't you love the 'skinny' jeans and 'pointe' shoes?

then lots of pairs of shoes are considered...different sizes, sometimes different brands and styles, sometimes different widths....

different positions are tried out, the shoes are squeezed and pushed at...

now do this....

now do that...there is some talking between Holly and Madison - how does it feel here? Does this one feel more secure or does that one?  After careful consideration the new pair is chosen!!!  And a happy ballerina browses the store while Holly puts on the ribbons and elastics.

We look wistfully at the little ballerina clothes - these are no more for us....but maybe, just maybe we can buy some for Galaxy who we hope will be starting ballet this year!

Just look at those wonderful layers of pink fluffiness........

And those tutus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are racks of leotards....

and stacks of shoes...

There are crazy, fun things to spice it up...

and bags of every shape and size to put it all in!

This is one of my favorite patterns...so sweet.

While you are here you can buy a shirt - this one would be perfect for my Bethanne...

or get a ballet card - hand made by our own Wendy Bright!!!

Don't forget to check out the fantastic window display....

right now it's Cinderella!

So much imagination and creativity always goes into these windows!

So, thank you Holly for all the special care you take with our special ballerinas -
a trip to The Dance Bag is always a treat.    http://www.thedancebag.com/

And for us this shirt just about sums it all up!

xoxo    Elizabeth