Eka Bakie: Pizza

It has been said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. If this were true for my husband, pizza would be a love potion-infused chocolate cauldron. (See Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) Here's how I make the dough for my pizza.

1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp) Active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 C warm water

1 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

2 1/2- 3 C flour

*Add yeast and sugar to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the warm water and let proof for about 5 minutes. If the yeast doesn't look somewhat foamy or smell yeasty after 5 minutes, either the water used was too hot or the yeast was old. 

*Mix in the olive oil

*Add 1 C of the flour, then your salt, topped by another cup of flour and start to mix. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour about 1/2 C at a time. 

*Once the flour is mixed in, knead for a couple of minutes or until the dough clears away from the sides of the bowl. 

*Once the dough is off the sides of the bowl I will spray one hand with cooking spray so I can pull the dough off of the dough hook and also give the bowl a mist of oil as well. Then I just put the dough back in the bowl to rise, covered, for an hour or until doubled in size.

*After the dough has risen I spread it out on a greased pan and let it rise for 15-30 minutes, depending on if I want a thinner or thicker crust. 

*Top the dough with sauce and your favorite toppings and toss it in the oven at 400F for 10-15 mins. *It's good to know your oven. I'm still adjusting to our new oven so I ended up over baking ours :/ Just keep an eye on it.

Tips:

*The sugar in this recipe isn't to add sweetness, but to feed the yeast. 

*The water used to proof should not be scalding. Think baby bath water.

*Never add salt to proofing yeast. Salt kills yeast and your dough will not rise properly.

*If you choose to make this dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for a day or so, let the dough come completely to room temperature before you bake it. Just as salt kills yeast, cold retards the growth of the yeast. If you bake cold dough, you'll end up with thin, tough, yucky crust. 

Eka Bakie: Chicken and Potatoes

While the husband and I appreciate fine foods with refined flavors, and multi-course dinners, at home we like simple food. One of our favorite no-nonsense meals is chicken and potatoes. It's simple, easy, and hits all sorts of spots.

I first wash 2-3 potatoes, dice them, and toss them in a pan. A 9x13 usually does the trick, but use whatever you have or prefer.
Next I drizzle on some olive oil and whatever seasonings sound good. Some nights I'll use Italian seasonings, others lemon pepper, but I always add salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder regardless.
I like to use a whole, sometimes partially frozen, chicken breast, and make him a nice spot in the center of the pan. I'll give the chicken a nice sprinkle of seasoning as well.
The first time I made this I didn't add any liquid to the pan aside from a squeeze of lemon, but I felt the dish was lacking and needed a sauce component. So every additional time I make this I will add about 1/2-3/4 C of chicken or vegetable broth and maybe a tsp of lemon juice
Then I dice up a couple tablespoons of butter and dot the pieces over the potatoes and chicken. This, coupled with the broth, helps to keep the chicken moist and tightens the sauce.
Pop the pan in a 400*F oven for 20 ish minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes aren't hard. I give things a stir every ten minutes, which also helps me keep an eye on the doneness of things.


Here's a picture of everything assembled and ready for the oven. I was too excited to eat once this was done so you don't get an after shot. Whoops.

Chicken and Potatoes

2-3 Potatoes

1 Chicken breast

1-2 T olive oil

1/2-3/4 C Chicken or vegetable broth

2 T butter

Salt and spices

Lemon juice (optional)

Dice. Drizzle. Season. Bake. Enjoy!

- Eka

Eka Bakie: Cake Batter Chex Mix

Here is a recipe I made this past Sunday for the SuperBowl - Cake Batter Chex Mix. It's super easy and tasty. This makes quite a lot, so feel free to halve or quarter.

1 box (approx. 10 cups) of Rice Chex - you can use other flavors, I just grabbed Rice
1 bag of white chocolate chips
4T (1/2 stick) butter
1 box of Funfetti cake mix
Splash of vanilla
Sprinkles
Husband suggestion: pretzel rods or twists

*Melt chocolate and butter together in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until melted, stir in vanilla

*Pour over the Chex (& pretzels if using) and mix (I started out using a wooden spoon for this part but switched to my hands as they seemed to work better)

*Pour the powdered cake mix & sprinkles over the still wet chocolate-covered Chex and toss until coated

*Spread the mix on a large jelly roll pan/ cookie sheet to let cool and firm up

*Eat yourself into a coma

:]