Sick, lethargic, but in the kitchen
I've been sick and lethargic since thursday. It's been awful, and I've been so sendentary and too fatigued (though not tired, really) to do as much moving/exercise as I normally do, which really got to me.
I'm no exercize fiend (HAH! Hahahhahahaha....), but I've been moving about a lot lately (in the kitchen, at the very least), and sitting around all day made me bored and fidgety...
Plus, I was banned from the kitchen for a while, which didn't help.
But on Sunday I was allowed back in, and I made chocolate strawberry ice cream (mom and sis liked, dad complained that the strawberry distracted from the chocolate -- I have to admit he had a point), coconut-nut-fruit macaroons (from the leftover egg whites) and -- most laboriously -- pan pizza from my beloved Americas Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.
I made pizza for the second time several weeks ago, from a skillet pizza recipe I quickly copied down from a B+N copy of CI Best Skillet Recipes. I don't know if I missed a step or what, but the dough never rose properly, and the end result was a disappointingly flat crust (at least it didn't stick tenaciously to the pan, like my first attempt did).
This time I was clever enough to 1) find a recipe *specifically* designed to be baked on a baking pan (most are designed for a pizza stone, a piece of kitchen equipment even more more extraneous than the ubiquitous unuused waffle irons and ice cream makers that collect dust in American households) and 2) use a silicon mat for baking so the DAMN THING WOULDN'T STICK IF IT TRIED.
Too bad the recipe took hours and was messy as all hell!
Thankfully, it turned out well. Everyone loved it, and when my super-health-conscious sister goes back for seconds, I know I have a winner on my hands. The secret to the recipe's perfection, imo, was the step calling for par-baking the crust with a layer of parmesan cheese, which creates a sort of "moisture shield" over the crust to prevent the toppings from making everything soggy.
Unfortunately, the damn thing was so labor-intensive to make and difficult to clean up (decide my genius choice of using a silicon mat) that I doubt I'll make it again any time soon unless I have a dedicated kitchen helper. My dad always helps with cleanup and dishes, but my mom and sister seem to think they're exempt, so...yeah. I'm lucky enough to have my hard-working dad around, but I don't want to take advantage of his kindness. And I can't demand upfront that the rest of my family help with the cleanup unless they're actually *clamoring* for me to make dinner that night.
I'm no exercize fiend (HAH! Hahahhahahaha....), but I've been moving about a lot lately (in the kitchen, at the very least), and sitting around all day made me bored and fidgety...
Plus, I was banned from the kitchen for a while, which didn't help.
But on Sunday I was allowed back in, and I made chocolate strawberry ice cream (mom and sis liked, dad complained that the strawberry distracted from the chocolate -- I have to admit he had a point), coconut-nut-fruit macaroons (from the leftover egg whites) and -- most laboriously -- pan pizza from my beloved Americas Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.
I made pizza for the second time several weeks ago, from a skillet pizza recipe I quickly copied down from a B+N copy of CI Best Skillet Recipes. I don't know if I missed a step or what, but the dough never rose properly, and the end result was a disappointingly flat crust (at least it didn't stick tenaciously to the pan, like my first attempt did).
This time I was clever enough to 1) find a recipe *specifically* designed to be baked on a baking pan (most are designed for a pizza stone, a piece of kitchen equipment even more more extraneous than the ubiquitous unuused waffle irons and ice cream makers that collect dust in American households) and 2) use a silicon mat for baking so the DAMN THING WOULDN'T STICK IF IT TRIED.
Too bad the recipe took hours and was messy as all hell!
Thankfully, it turned out well. Everyone loved it, and when my super-health-conscious sister goes back for seconds, I know I have a winner on my hands. The secret to the recipe's perfection, imo, was the step calling for par-baking the crust with a layer of parmesan cheese, which creates a sort of "moisture shield" over the crust to prevent the toppings from making everything soggy.
Unfortunately, the damn thing was so labor-intensive to make and difficult to clean up (decide my genius choice of using a silicon mat) that I doubt I'll make it again any time soon unless I have a dedicated kitchen helper. My dad always helps with cleanup and dishes, but my mom and sister seem to think they're exempt, so...yeah. I'm lucky enough to have my hard-working dad around, but I don't want to take advantage of his kindness. And I can't demand upfront that the rest of my family help with the cleanup unless they're actually *clamoring* for me to make dinner that night.