Tuesday, February 8, 2011

pizza pizza!

we made the most fabulous homemade pizza.  {i am so humble.}  it was my attempt at a healthier meal.  lots of veggies, fresh marinara, but i still had to add a little cheese.

& i want to share it with you!

first & possibly most important is the pizza dough:


1 {0.25 oz} package active dry yeast
1 c warm water
2 c bread flour
2 T olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp sugar
some fresh rosemary {yes, this is my secret to success}

1. in a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.  {i am pretty sure this step is unnecessary since we are using active yeast.  but i am "following"-ish the directions & it dissolves the yeast well, so i let it sit in the water until i needed it.}

2. in a mixer bowl, combine bread flour, olive oil, salt, sugar, rosemary, & yeast + water.  use the dough hook to combine all ingredients until the dough starts crawling up the hook.  cover & rise, about an hour.

{this is when you'll skip down to the pizza portion}

3. turn dough onto very well floured surface {to make your life easier}.  roll out into the shape you would like it.  let the dough proof {ie sit} for about twenty minutes before adding toppings.  {short reason: let the gluten relax, so the dough is super soft & not chewy.}

pizza portion

1. make homemade marinara.  it is super easy & so much more delicious than store bought.  ours is my mom's recipe & you know my theory about not sharing recipes that aren't mine to share, so google & find a delicious one of your own!


2. ingredients!  totally personal preference & what you are in the mood for.  on this occasion, we went with: 

{sauteed mushrooms & onions
note: EVERYTHING is better with sauteed onions}

{fresh mozzarella}

{black olives & artichoke hearts}

3. when your dough is finished proofing, top away!


4. bake at 350 for about 20 minutes-ish, until your cheese is ooey & your crust starts to turn to that beautiful golden brown.


{yum!}

love love,
kjp.

Monday, February 7, 2011

saturday date day!

blakey & i had a super fun saturday - great friends, great food, great date.


for lunch we headed to a neat upscale market & cafe, v richards.  they have a fabulous selection of meats, cheeses, breads, & wines that you can purchase & eat out on the patio.  this cold morning kept us inside, but we will definitely go back when it is warmer.  amy & ogden had a friend from college in town, so the five of us had a marvelous time.  an extra plus was that urban's prior chef & friend of mine now works at v richards, so we got to chat & i got the scoop on some fabulous feta.

we continued on our day with a little more happy hour & then pedis!  blakey was so kind to drop me off while he did a little browsing at our favorite packy store.  my toes are now very cheery with a valentine's hot pink.

blakey & i had an afternoon coffee at urban with my favorite work friends before we headed to a so very delicious dinner.  GianMarco's is a little neighborhood italian restaurant that tops so many people's favorite birmy restaurant list.  we have been reluctant to go, as we hardly eat italian out.  but we had a large appetite and decided to give it a try.


this place is really neat.  it's nestled in a quaint neighborhood that you would never happen upon without looking.  the restaurant is small - one side is a cozy, warm bar and the other is the restaurant & kitchen.  with no reservations, we chose to sit at the bar {& talk about what blake's man cave will someday look like...} 

the wine list had plenty of reasonably priced bottles - we went with an italian pino grigio, of course.  good choice.  the highlight of the entire meal might have been our appetizer: marco's cheese torta with layers of mascarpone, pesto, & sundried tomatoes with balsamic & evoo, served with crostini.  so so good.  for dinner, blakey had linguine carbonara - these people know how to make pasta!  & i had the veal marsala - the veal was a bit chewy for my taste but the sauce was divine.  dessert was absolutely out of the question, especially since we had a lovely tiramisu sitting at home that i made in class this week. 

a wonderful day with my husband.  i couldn't ask for more :)

hope your weekend was marvelous!

 love love,
kjp.

Friday, February 4, 2011

happy friday!

{my favorite picture from my trip to italy in 2005}

as the rain pours down here & the snow continues down in oklahoma, i remind you that the sun will shine again. 

happy friday, friends.  make the most of it.

love love,
kjp.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

thankful thursday # 5.

{via love & brunch.
via oldshellsoul.}

my friends' blogs have been so very uplifting & awesome lately.  for them, i am thankful.

one friend mentioned a wonderful read that i have already ordered & am excited to start enjoying very soon:

another friend had a fantastic quote from this book.  seriously, you should go read the quote {here}.  barnes didn't have it yesterday, so i will definitely be ordering it soon as well too.


a wonderful sister of a friend & thus a friend always has something positive to say, something wonderful about someone else, something funny.  & i just love reading it.  it is inspiring.

so, thank you, blog friends!  i am grateful for you today.

love love,
kjp.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

wedding wednesday # 25: bridal party gifts!


the one & only decision i made all on my own for the wedding was the bridesmaid & house party gifts.  & to be not humble at all, i did a fabulous job.

the bridesmaids received beautiful kate spade swirl glitz ball necklaces!  picking out colors for each bm was fun.


 {i HAD to get this one for myself :) }

my super house party girls received kate spade idiom bracelets!  in addition to the different colors, each bracelet has a little saying, or idiom, on the inside.  my favorites were: tickled pink, sing a different tune, as good as gold, & creme de la creme.  so unique!

{& they even come in a pretty little package!}

let's play i-spy-the-fun-gift!

 {cari marie at the rehearsal dinner}
 
 {jess & megan at the wedding}

{shannon at the wedding too!}

24.

love love,
kjp.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

pastry school lately.

some of the beauties we have been working on in class lately...

entremenets are short (less than 2") cakes with a lot of layers.  the word means "between courses" in french.  here is the chocolate one:



{the inside layers}

& the citrus one:


baked alaska:
{there is an ice cream surprise inside!}
{note: once a kappa, always a kappa.
i designed the tuile :)}

frozen souffle with a macaroon & candied lemon on top:

ice cream cake - raspberry sorbet, vanilla, & chocolate & a passion fruit sauce:

frozen mousse with poached pears in a tuile cup:

a chocolate box - we tempered the chocolate, patterned it, constructed the box, & made the cute decoration on top:
a sample of jess & my petit fours:

it is february & you know what that means... it is my BIRTHDAY MONTH!!  what kind of cake should i have for my birthday?!

25.

love love,
kjp.