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Saturday, October 06, 2007

Latest Kitchen Adventures......$$$

Friday, I decided to make a "Dad" pizza. For many years- before, during, and after kids, pizza was/is our traditional Friday food! I make a killer sauce about 4 times a year, making enough to freeze pizza sized portions to last for a few months. I also make the dough from scratch, utilizing the convenience of a bread machine set on "dough" cycle to do the grunt work. Except last night... I was looking right at the bread machine wondering how old it actually was (20yrs!), when it started making a very odd noise. I opened the top, looked in, and no dough was mixing merrily as I hoped. In mid-pizza crust, it had croaked (Sh*t the bed, Tits up, Gave up the ghost, etc.). I grabbed the blob of dough and started kneading it, like I saw once on the Food Channel, feeling like I was trying to give some sort of weird life saving class to a bunch of student bakers. I realized then; This is how people really make bread! Came out great, topped with Mozzerella, Aged Provolone, real Italian Parmesean, and Romano cheeses, with Italian sausage, sauted mushrooms, and Pepperoni. We aren't buying a replacement bread maker, as we have a heavy duty Kitchenaid 6 quart mixer, with a dough hook attachment! Also, it did push us to ditch our harvest gold, 34yr old wedding present blender for a diecast base brushed nickel 700watt Kitchenaid Food processor- with attachments!
Tomorrow, a 5lb. Cajun marinated Boston Butt roast, slow cooked 5-6 hrs at 275F with baked Yukon Gold potatoes! The home made Toll House chocolate chip cookies I baked will have to be the dessert.....

19 comments:

Akelamalu said...

Oh please adopt me, I want to live at your house and eat all that yummy food you make! :)

Odat said...

Damn, I'm gaining weight just from reading your blog!!!
Everything sounds soooo great...
I want to be adoped too!!!
(My condolences to your loss of your trusty, crusty breadmaker!)
Peace

Christo Gonzales said...

I used to do the same thing with a bread machine until mine croaked....I have the slate gray kitchenaid with the grinder attachment and sausage stuffer...I have had it for about 8-9 years now and I love it.

HAR said...

I am having hamburgers on the grill at my BIL's house tonight. I am so jealous of your many food talents.

Helene said...

Its a good thing I just finished dinner or I would be heading to the refrig right now! Sounds great... especially the roast! YUM

Anonymous said...

That pizza sounds absolutely wonderful..

My grandma used to make her own bread. I used to enjoy watching her work that dough. Then she used to put it back in huge roaster, wrap it with a warm blanket and let it rise slowly... Her bread was the best!

Casdok said...

Ive just put on 2lbs reading you blog!!

pinknest said...

you performed dough cpr!! congrats. ugh i'm jealous of your kitchen aid.

Sornie said...

Sounds about as old as the avocado green Coronado brand kitchen appliances my parents finally ditched about 2 years ago.

buffalodick said...

Ake- Pizza was incredible, roast came out very tender- turning the leftover pork into a cabbage/vegetable/pork soup for tonight.
odat- We owed that breadmaker nothing, except a thankyou for lasting so long...
DogB- Got the grinder, and some other attachments. We are getting the sausage stuffer, and the pasta extrusion plates next!
har- Few things in this world beat a burger with your favorite toppings on it!
Kate- Roast was in the Cuban roast pork tenderness range, but with a tangier flavor..
Nancybee- Few things can rival the smell of home made bread baking...
Casdok- Food is indeed the universal language for getting along- unless it's a chili contest!
Pink- It had been so long since I kneaded dough, I actually had to stop and think what to do! When you go for the mixer, buy the Kitchenaid 5qt. tilt head mixer, the 6qt. Pro model I got. It is really overkill few would ever need!
Sornie- Those were the 2 hot colors with "almond" coming on fast!

urban vegan said...

"feeling like I was trying to give some sort of weird life saving class to a bunch of student bakers."

You are the comedian extraordinare of the blogosphere!

Angel said...

um...I seemd to have misplaced my address card with your addresson it...could you give it to me again? Not that I want to come over, or anything like that....at dinner time, or anything like that.....I just wanna send you a Christmas card, ...YA! That's the ticket! ;)

Mike Minzes said...

OK, not you have crossed into my area of talent. Notice I said talent, NOT expertise. I have a Godly talent for making the best pizza on the planet.

snowelf said...

We must have pizza at the giant blogger party. :)

--snow

Stephanie Faris said...

When I grew up we had those family traditions too, always on Friday night. I guess it's a way of celebrating the start to the weekend!

buffalodick said...

UrbanV- An insane man kneading bread for the first time in years- A video would have been even funnier!
Beth- If you ever show up, the food will be here! If you bring your one son at college, I'll invite my youngest boy and make 5 times as much!
Mike- A Pizza Throwdown! I'm there!
Snow- When my kids were in scouts, we would have a parent/kid pizza night-everybody had to bring a pizza. Most would get a chain store pizza, I would make a home made cookie sheet sized "Dad" pizza. I don't recall ever getting a piece of what I made, those cub scouts swarmed it like jackals...
Steph- Is there a better friday night food than pizza? No!!!

Tanya Kristine said...

tits up!

good job on the dough...sounds wonderful.

Jen said...

mmm pizza! I could have a slice just about now. And cookies? You mentioned cookies?

buffalodick said...

Tanya- First time I heard that expression describing death, I couldn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes!
Jen- I have an entire cookbook of chocolate chip cookie recipes, but the one I still use is the original "Toll House Cookie"!