Wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! Here’s a simple Recipe to take to your next BBQ or keep on hand for something sweet.
Continue reading “4th of July Recipe | Patriotic Nutella Puppy Chow”
4th of July Recipe | Patriotic Nutella Puppy Chow
Pizza Perfection
After years of popular demand, Kalamazoo created a built-in version of its famous pizza oven for people who want an oven installed into a wall or masonry structure and not sitting on a countertop.
Like the traditional wood-fired pizza ovens, the built-in Artisan Fire Pizza Oven is stone-lined. Pizzas cook directly on a hollow-core baking deck. Its honeycombed interior is designed to rapidly change temperature. A ceiling stone radiates heat down to quickly brown toppings.
The Artisan Fire Pizza Oven uses propane or natural gas and heats up in about 20 minutes. It is capable of the high heat needed for making delicious pizza, reaching temperatures of 800 degrees Fahrenheit via two independent burners.
Of course, the outdoor oven can be used to make other dishes such as roasting meats, fish and vegetables. Simply use cast iron fajita pans right on the baking deck. Kalamazoo’s Asparagus Wraps with Crispy Prosciutto and Herbed Cheese seems to be a very popular recipe for pizza oven owners.
Priced at $8,295, the oven will surely be the center point of your Outdoor Entertaining. The Oven can be specified for either natural gas or liquid propane, and is made by hand in Kalamazoo, Michigan, of stainless steel.
Kalamazoo has a terrific newsletter filled with great recipes that I personally enjoy. Try this incredible recipe with pancetta and baby arugula.
Rustic Pizza with Baby Arugula, Pancetta and Tomatoes
After years of popular demand, Kalamazoo created a built-in version of its famous pizza oven for people who want an oven installed into a wall or masonry structure and not sitting on a countertop.
Ingredients
- 1/2 batch White Wine Pizza Dough, about 14 ounces
- 2 oz pancetta, chopped and cooked until crisp
- 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
- 1 cup baby arugula leaves
- cup halved sweet grape tomatoes
- Cooking: 30 min
- Ready in: 30 min
Instructions
- Prepare the pizza oven or grill for baking pizza at 500°F Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the dough. Add the arugula, then the tomatoes, and then sprinkle the pancetta over the top.
- Transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese is browning.
Notes
Recipe by Russ Faulk 2009
How to Make a Romantic Bath
Foaming bath salts made with Dead Sea Salt give a luxurious, pampering, and skin loving bath! To make your own for yourself or to give as a gift, I’ve included a recipe from The Rustic Essentials Crafting Library.
Items Needed:
1/2 cup Liquid Glycerin Soap Base
2 Tbsp. light oil ( Sweet Almond Oil or Grapeseed Oil)
Gel Soap Colorant (a few drops)
6 cups coarse grain Dead Sea Salts
1/4 ounce (approx. 2 teaspoons) of body safe Fragrance Oil
Directions:
Mix Liquid Glycerin Soap, carrier oil, body safe fragrance oil, and coloring. (If you’re using a teaspoon to measure fragrance oil, be sure to use metal rather than plastic.) Pour over Dead Sea Salts. Stir continuously until salt crystals are evenly coated. Thinly spread the salts on a cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper and air dry for 24 hours.
Store in a glass container with a lid. If you are gifting, you might want to include in ingredient label.
If you are feeling less ambitious, this second recipe uses easier to find ingredients.
Ingredients:
6 Cups Kosher or Epsom Salt
¾ Cup Lavender Scented Body Wash
1 tbsp Olive, Coconut, or Sweet Almond Oil
2-3 Drops Lavender Essential Oil (Optional)
Purple Food Coloring (Optional)
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine salt and body wash, and mix until well combined.
Add in your oil, essential oil and food coloring and mix well.
On a lined baking sheet, spread the salt mixture out into a thin layer. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
Once dry, break up any large clumps, and spoon into a glass jar with a lid.
Add a Wood Bath Caddy/Tray and some votive candles and you have a nice gift for that special someone.
Wishing You a Happy Valentine’s Day! xoxo-Ann
Happy Friday!
Happy Friday, All. I am realizing that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I need to plan my menu since my family will be coming to town. So far it looks like we will have a fried turkey, my mother’s famous Dressing, sweet potatoes with a cranberry walnut topping and bread pudding. This could all change at any moment – especially since the menu once included a Smoked Turkey.
Indulging my Pinterest addiction this morning, I found a nice recipe for Thanksgiving Leftovers that I thought I’d share. This recipe comes from a cute food blog called The Runaway Spoon. I probably wouldn’t think to keep turkey stock unless I was planning to make soup – sometimes it pays to plan ahead. I hope you enjoy it.
Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Chowder with Toasted Dressing Croutons
Ingredients:
2 cups finely diced onion
1 cup finely diced carrot
1 cup finely diced celery
2 Tablespoons olive oil
8 cups turkey or chicken stock, or a combination
2 finely minced garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage
1 yellow potato, finely diced
1 ½ cups quick-cooking wild rice, or 1 ½ cups wild rice cooked according to package instructions
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups diced cooked turkey
Directions:
Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a 5-quart Dutch oven in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sprinkle over 1 Tablespoon of the sage and stir well.
When the vegetables are soft, add ½ cup stock and cook until the liquid is evaporated.
Add the garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Pour in the remaining stock and bring to a boil. Add the remaining sage and the potato, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 1o minutes until the potatoes are becoming tender.
If using quick cooking wild rice, add it now, cover the pot and cook for a further 15 – 20 minutes until the rice is tender. Bring the soup to a low bubble (not boiling, but bubbling).
Cut the cream cheese into small chunks and whisk a few at a time into the soup adding more as it melts. (Don’t worry if it looks odd and separated at some point, just keep whisking away until the soup is smooth and creamy.)
Stir in the diced turkey (and cooked wild rice if that is what you are using) and cook, stirring, until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Because of the potatoes and rice, you may need to be generous with the salt.
Serve immediately. Leftovers can be gently reheated until warm.
Serves 6
For the Croutons: Cut leftover dressing into cubes or rough pieces. Melt a Tablespoon of butter over medium high heat and toast the cubes until brown and crispy.