Perfect Pizza Dough

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Perfect Pizza Dough

Who doesn’t love pizza? I know we do. Once a week in our house, usually Friday nights, is pizza night. I make the dough in the afternoon while the boys are napping, enjoy a cup of tea while the dough rises (or maybe try to catch a little catnap myself!), and then I let the boys help to top the pizza before we put it in the oven.

Turning out a pizza as good (if not better) than your local pizza joint’s requires a few things: #1 – a hot oven. #2 – a pizza stone. And, #3 – practice. When I first started making pizzas at home, I had a really hard time rolling out the dough. They’d tasted great, but were severely mishapen. I think that was my problem; I was rolling, not stretching with my hands and letting the dough do all the work.

After a couple of attempts I was producing perfectly round pizza doughs, and all was right with the world. It’s a rarity for us to order a pizza out anymore; partly because there aren’t any decent pizzerias in our small town, and also because they’re just so dag-gone fun to make at home!

If you haven’t found the perfect pizza dough recipe yet, look no further. Using bread flour is the key to a crispy, chewey crust. And, it’s a dream to work with! Let the pizza delivery guy pass your house by next time you’re craving pizza, and make it at home. I’m sharing my recipe for homemade pan pizza next week, so make sure to check in then!


Perfect Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup water, at room temperature
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the bread flour and salt, mixing briefly to blend. Measure the room temperature water into the measuring cup with the yeast-water mixture. With the mixer on low speed, pour in the yeast mixture, as well as the olive oil. Mix until a cohesive dough is formed. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Press down the dough to deflate it. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough relax for 20 minutes.

To bake, preheat the oven and pizza stone to 500? F for at least 30 minutes. Transfer the dough to your shaping surface, lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Shape the dough with lightly floured hands. Brush the outer edge lightly with olive oil. Top as desired. Bake until the crust is golden brown, and cheese is bubbling, 8-12 minutes.

Source: adapted from Baking Illustrated, via Annie’s Eats

Crab Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce

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We’ve been enjoying the final days of blue crab season here in Maryland, as it will be coming to a close in the next month or so. It’s actually the best time of year for them, as crabs are at their fattest and heaviest late in the year, right before they burrow into the mud for a long winter’s nap. While  my favorite thing to do with them is steam them, and eat them as is – often we’re left with a plethora of meat that we’ve picked to use up. I usually go with our standard favorites – crab cakes or crab dip (which reminds me, I was featured on our local news recently making the crab dip – check it out here!) but I wanted to do something a little fancier.

I’d been wanting to try my hand at homemade ravioli, so I thought why not stuff it with crab? I just took my basic ricotta pasta filling and gently folded the crab meat into it. The sauce takes only a few minutes to throw together. I more or less did an alfredo sauce, adding in some saffron and a bit of tomato paste at the last minute, to give it a gorgeous pink hue. It was insanely good, and definitely a cut above our standard weekly fare. I think I may have to treat us to a pound of crabmeat come December to make these for New Year’s Eve dinner. A special dinner, indeed!


Crab Ravioli with Saffron Cream Sauce

1 batch homemade pasta dough
1 pound lump crab meat
1 cup (8 oz) ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 scallions, chopped
salt and pepper
Italian parsley, chopped, for garnish

For the sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
pinch of saffron (5 or 6 threads)
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 tsp tomato paste

On floured surface or using a pasta roller, roll dough out to make a thin sheet (about 1/16″ thick). Gently press ravioli stamp or edge of a glass into the pasta dough to make outlines. Fill each ravoli with about 1 tablespoon of filling. Roll out another sheet of pasta, and place on top of the other sheet, pressing down around the filling. Cut the ravoli using a stamp or glass – pressing on edges to make sure they are sealed well. Place on jelly roll pan lined with wax or parchment paper.

For the sauce, melt butter in large saucepan. Add the flour, and whisk for a couple minutes to form a light roux. Slowly add in the chicken stock, and heavy cream – whisking constantly until thickened. Add the saffron, and reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add the Parmesan cheese, and tomato paste – stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil. When boiling, drop ravioli in and cook for about 4 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water in the event the simmering sauce is too thick.

Drain pasta and gently toss with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Chicken Parmesan

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Chicken Parm is definitely one of my favorite choices when it comes to Italian fare. A tender chicken cutlet, breaded and pan fried – then slathered in a zesty tomato sauce and melted cheese. How can you not love it? It’s also a relatively quick dinner, that can be pulled together with pantry staples.

I remember my early days; making this dish with pre-breaded chicken breasts and jarred tomato sauce. But, once I made it from scratch, there was just no comparison. No going back. I’ve been known to use a jarred sauce in a pinch, actually have a couple of jars of sauce in the pantry that I need to whittle down. But, after making this super quick marinara a few months ago – I just haven’t been using the store bought stuff. If you’ve not made chicken parm at home before, give it a try. It’s a classic dish that anyone should be proud to have “under their belt”. Enjoy!


Chicken Parmesan

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
3 cups fresh breadcrumbs*
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups marinara sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Beat the eggs in a second shallow dish. Spread the breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish.

Pound the chicken to an even thickeness, about 1/2-inch. Pat dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge through flour, then dip into the egg, and finally coat with the breadcrumbs. Press on the breadcrumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the breaded chicken on a plate.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add two pieces of chicken and cook until light golden brown on both sides, 4 to 6 minutes.

Drain the chicken briefly on paper towels, then transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining breaded chicken.

After cooking, place the breaded chicken over cooling rack placed inside a rimmed baking sheet. Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Spoon 1/4 cup marinara over the top of each chicken breast, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1 tablespoon of shredded Parmesan. Bake the chicken until the cheese has melted and browned, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve with pasta and remaining marinara sauce.

* To make the breadcrumbs, tear 4 pieces of sandwich bread into quarters and pulse in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 8 pulses. 

Source: The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Chicken Marsala

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You know those chef competitions that are so popular right now (Top Chef, Master Chef, etc)? At some point or another, they are usually asked to prepare their signature dish. Id’ have to say that chicken marsala would be mine. It’s one of the first recipes that I’d ever tackled back in my newlywed days, it was even the first post I made here on the blog. This was the also the first recipe I’d ever tried from Cook’s Illustrated, which quickly became my go-to recipe source. So many good things I associate with this recipe!

Which is why I figured I’d take a new shot for you guys when I made this last week. I’ve probably made this dinner 100 times, and it still never ceases to “wow” us. It’s perfect for company too – impressive, but much of the prep work can be done beforehand, which is great for dinner parties. When browsing through the ingredients list, the sweet Marsala might throw you a bit. Who wants a sweet wine in their savory sauce, right? But trust me, the sweetness is balanced out with plenty of fresh lemon juice. I’ve tried it with dry Marsala as well, but it’s just not as flavorful – sweet definitely wins out. If you can’t find sweet Marsala, use dry but omit most of the lemon juice. Paired with a pile of fettuccine and a nice green salad, this is truly a perfect meal!


Chicken Marsala

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
kosher salt
ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices of bacon, chopped
2 cups white or cremini mushrooms
2 large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. minced shallot
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1  cup Marsala wine (sweet)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 lemon, juiced
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place large heatproof dinner plate on oven rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees.  Meanwhile, pound the chicken breasts to a 1/2 inch thickness in between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Pat chicken breasts dry. Place flour in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Season both sides of chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Working one piece at a time, coat both sides of chicken breasts with flour. Shake to remove excess flour, and set aside.

Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (you can hold your hand 2 inches above pan surface for 3 to 4 seconds), about 3 minutes.  Place floured cutlets in single layer in skillet and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets and cook on second side until golden brown and meat feels firm when pressed with finger, about 4 minutes longer.  Transfer chicken to heated plate and return plate to oven to keep warm.

Return skillet to low heat and add bacon; saute, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits until bacon is brown and crisp, about 4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate.

Add mushrooms and increase heat to medium-high; saute, stirring occasionally and scraping pan bottom, until liquid released by mushrooms evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and shallot and saute for 1 minute. Add tomato paste, and cook until paste begins to brown, about 1 minute.

Add Marsala and chicken stock, and increase heat to high.  Scrape browned bits from pan bottom, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is slightly syrupy and reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, add lemon juice and any accumulated juices from chicken in the oven; whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time.  Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir in parsley. Return chicken breasts to pan and simmer in sauce for a few minutes before serving.

Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, May 2000