Pizza and a Movie

On Saturday night I was determined to make my own pizza with a pizza stone.  It was a little harder than I expected, but it was sure fun!  I have always wanted to make my own pizza on a pizza stone to make it taste like true wood fired pizza with the bubbly crust.  Nothing really is the same as pizza in Italy, but there are a few places here that come close.  Sometimes though, I would like to have my pizza in the comfort of my own home and have whatever toppings I want.  

This was my first time with my pizza stone, and I definitely need more practice with it, but below I have listed some of my dos and don'ts of pizza making on a pizza stone!  

Also, after racing through The Firm (book version) because I loved it so much and couldn't put it down, I was SO excited to rent the movie on our AppleTV and watch the book in action.  What a disappointment.  John Grisham is a best selling author for a reason and they totally hacked his work!  Switched around the story lines in detrimental ways.  Serves them right for getting such terrible reviews and ratings.  Seriously, I wish I could erase the whole thing from my mind because it was such a disappointment.  If you haven't read the book, you really should.  The movie was so awful.  

Ugh...thank goodness I had my pizza!!

My Toppings: Tomato Sauce, Mushrooms, Artichoke Hearts, Turkey Meatballs, Black Olives, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Onion, Pineapple, Shredded Mozzarella and Fresh Herbs from my patio garden.  Obviously you can use whatever you want.  Yes, I put all that stuff on, I like it that way!

First order of business.  Put your pizza stone into your oven when your oven is COLD.  Then heat your oven to 450 degrees.  Leave it alone and start dealing with the dough.

It is important to have a pizza peel or something like it to make sliding the pizza dough onto the stone as easy as possible.  Make sure to sprinkle some flour and cornmeal on the pizza peel first before you put the dough on top.  Otherwise it will be so sticky and heavy you will never get it off.  Brush the crust with a little olive oil so it gets nice and browned. 

After you stretch or roll out the dough onto the peel, put all your toppings on.  It is vital that you spread out your toppings, sauce and cheese evenly.  Try to not to put too much in the middle of the pizza because it will make the center too heavy and soggy when baking.  

Remove the Pizza Stone from the oven using gloves for HIGH temperatures only.  Sprinkle some cornmeal onto the stone and gently slide the pizza from your peel to the stone.  

Put your stone back into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly!

Things I learned:

-Remember to put the pizza stone in a COLD oven

-Buy fine ground cornmeal

-Do not listen to a guy in the elevator about how good Trader Joe's pizza dough is.  I bought the wheat kind and didn't love it.  Next time I will make it myself or get some from a pizza place.  

-That I am not a professional pizza tosser and next time I should use a rolling pin to get the 

dough to the thickness I prefer.  

-My husband standing over me directing is not helpful.  

Especially when he doesn't know anything about pizza making.

-Making pizza is harder than I thought.

Hope this inspires you to try this out!  It really was a lot of fun, even though at times I was a bit frustrated because I wanted it to be perfect.  I will have to practice more and I am sure I will eventually get the perfect results.  My pizza was still excellent and I am very proud that I didn't burn myself.  That pizza stone gets extremely hot so be careful!!

If you have made pizza on a stone, leave me some tips!  I am going to try again soon!

Missed the Boat

I don't know how I missed the boat...

On John Grisham.

After all the books I have read and all the trips to the bookstore who knows what happened along the way, but I just never started reading his books.  Probably because he wrote his first book way before I was born and, as I have mentioned before, I have an obsession with starting with the very first book an author has written and making my way towards the most recent.  

Of course, I know who he is and have heard of him.  I know a good amount of his books have been made into movies and have even seen some of them, but I just never started reading them.

Well, that all has changed two weeks ago and by extension I am a changed person.  I am obsessed with them and can't wait to keep reading in my spare time!  Last week I finished "A Time to Kill" and am already almost done with "The Firm".  I am hooked!

"A Time to Kill" had me mesmerized by the struggle between fighting for family and doing what is lawful.  I read it in perfect timing with the Caylee Anthony trial and the whole thing had me thinking about what it must be like to be a juror in a trial that has the whole country deciding what is right and what is wrong.  Both juries were sequestered and kept from the comforts of home, their families, their jobs with the weight of someones life in their hands.  If you haven't read this book, you really need to!

What is your favorite John Grisham book?

Take a Trip to the Bookstore

I just finished this book last week and, as usual, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge did not disappoint in their latest Michael Bennett adventure. I have been reading James Patterson novels for years, but only recently got into the Michael Bennett series and don't know how I missed them before. I can't say I like them more than his Alex Cross series, but they are defiantly tied. The only thing I am sad about now is that there isn't another new one at my fingertips. Supposedly there is a Michael Bennett TV series coming out based on the books, but for all I know that is just a rumor...this leads to the rest of this post...

If you have not already set your DVR to record the show Blue Bloods, go straight to your TV and do it now. It is a wonderful show based on a family of law enforcement and their lives. You have to watch it! It reminds me a lot of the feeling I get from reading the Michael Bennett books.

Lastly, if you don't read or have a DVR...I feel bad for you and I encourage you to change that! Take a trip to the bookstore, you never know what you may find!

Must Read

It has been a while since I have posted, but to be fair, I have been travelling and am just exhausted! I have to share this new book I have been reading. It is so atypical of what I normally am drawn to, but it is hilarious. I read one review where the book was described as "so funny I almost wet my pants several times..." Sold! Had to see what was so funny!

Normally, I read all of the author's books from the first published to the last and will not deviate. It doesn't matter whether it is a series or not, that is just my thing. When researching about the book I read that all Jen Lancaster's books are mostly about her life and this book, although just published, is about her childhood. With hesitation I started this one first because it is the most logical starting point.

I am only half way through, but it is hysterical. I laugh out loud constantly and her dry humor, even as an 8 year-old, is so perfect! I can't wait to read the next one already!