Jay's Weekend

My nephew, Jay spent the weekend with us.  It was a busy time and I left him with James on Saturday while I worked at a craft show.  They spent their time building a skateboard.

And they did a great job.  Jay was very happy about that.

Jay was also very happy with the amount of candy he was able to find at our house.  I'm working on a new venture, 'The Ultimate Candy Buffet', and the craft show that I was doing was to promote that business.  Jay was so excited when he started going through the bags of candy because apparently Mom doesn't let them 'have this stuff'.

Don't get me wrong.  We do have rules at our house.  You have to clean up after yourself. You don't throw anything in the house.  You speak politely. But other than that, it's pretty much anything goes.

So Jay enjoyed a lot of this:

Actually he liked these things called sour war heads which I think, well lets just say that Jay can have them all!  Those and a lot of Three Musketeers that melted during the day at the Craft Show and he was a happy guy.

Things slowed down on Sunday and they normally do around here so I introduced Jay to pizza making.  He doesn't help in the kitchen much at home but was open to doing it here.  This is Jay's cheeseburger pizza.

And this is Jay's pizza after baking:

He took it to the next level by adding jalapenos.  It was so good that words just don't really describe it.

I loved it.  Jay did too.  And guess what - Uncle Charlie liked it too.

Good Job Jay.  You can cook at our house anytime!


Pizza Dough:
from Martha Stewart Everyday Foods

2 packets (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons Sugar + 1 teaspoon
1/4 cup olive oil + more for bowl and brushing
2 teaspoons course salt
4 cups all purpose flour + more for work surface

Pour warm water into a large bowl, sprinkle with year and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Into yeast mixture whisk sugar, oil and salt.

Add flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir until a sticky dough forms.  Put olive oil on the sides and bottom of another bowl.  Transfer the dough into the oiled bowl and brush the top of the dough with olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm draft free place until dough has double in size, about 1 hour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead 1 - 2 times before using.

Top anyway you like.  We bake on a pizza stone, 500 degrees until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.

We topped it with a sauce made of 2 parts ketchup and 1 part mustard and diced dill pickles.  Added hamburger meat and shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Jay added the jalapenos after the pizza was baked.  You can also add some lettuce and tomato on top.

Try it some day.  You'll like it too.