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.

Vintage Sugarcube's Peanut Butter Fudge

I came across a blog yesterday that was exciting. I love anything retro or vintage, so when I saw the name I had to visit. Wow, I was blown away. This girl is grand. You can visit her at ttp://www.vintagesugarcube.com/.  I'm sure you will enjoy it too. 

The thing that caught my eye at first was the 2 ingredient peanut butter fudge.  I have been lazy this year and haven't made fudge yet, much to James' dismay.  However....how could I not try something as simple as peanut butter and frosting.  So I jumped right up and got to it.

And then I jumped right in the car because we had about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter left in the jar.

Oh well, I needed a few other things too.  But don't you just hate when you have 6 items and the person in front of you has, oh about 30 but they think it's ok to get in the express checkout lane.  That drives me insane!

Enough about my insanity, back to the fudge.

Please take notes.  You might not get this on the first try.  Put peanut butter in a microwavable dish and melt.

It takes about 30 seconds.  You will notice that I am using the vitamin and iron fortified peanut butter.  If you are going to indulge, please do it properly.

Alright, I really don't think you could eat enough of this to make a difference with the vitamins and iron.  I just thought it was kinda funny that they have to up the anti on peanut butter...the perfect food.


After you are sure that you handled the first step, we'll move on.

Grab some vanilla frosting in a tub.  I used Duncan Hines because that's just what I had.  I'm not even sure why it was in the pantry, I guess it was is a Christmas Miracle.  Anyway, put that in a dish and zap it for about 30 seconds.

You will notice the streaks of peanut butter running through the icing.  I figured since they are going to get stirred together later, I'd have less dishes to wash if I used the same spatula for both.

See, I'm always planning.

Ok, the hard part is over with.

Mix the melted peanut butter and melted frosting together.  You get to pick which bowl you pour into.  My peanut butter was already getting thick so you have to do this right when you take the frosting out of the microwave.  Mix it well.

Use your favorite prep method for the pan.  Butter it, wax paper, foil, whatever works for you.  Then pour the combined mixture into the prepared pan.

Try to not lick the screen. 

As you can tell it has already started setting up.  Put it in the fridge until it is firm.

Cut it into pieces and enjoy.  These pieces are actually too big.  While it isn't an overly sweet fudge, it is still fudge.  One by one squares are a good size, I usually get carried away and go bigger.

In case you needed more convincing.  Let's review...Few ingredients, fast prep, not too many dishes to wash, tastes great.  It's a winner.  Thanks Vintage Sugarcube!



A great look for serving your Peanut Butter Fudge!

Toffee

This recipe comes to you courtesy of The Pioneer Woman, who got it from Chef Lia, who I guess adapted from somewhere or just has a brilliant mind and came up with this on her own.  I really don't care where it came from, all I know is that it is the best stuff you can find at Christmas time.

Butter toffee with chocolate on both sides, who would have thought about chocolate on both sides, Yum! and then it's sprinkled with peppermint, pecans or sea salt.  We did some of each.  I liked the sea salt best.

I did make a few errors.  I should have spread it thinner and it would have been easier to break.  But wow, what flavor.  If you just take a small piece and leave it in your mouth without biting, it melts.  No really, just be patience and enjoy the flavor of the butter, chocolate and a little bit of salt coming together.  Sweet with just that touch of salt.  Oh, I'm in heaven.

As the recipe says, you have to have a candy thermometer.  They aren't expensive but they are fragile so handle with tender loving care so that you can make these over and over again.  And then you can send me some.  Aw come on, you aren't going to eat it all yourself, were you?

Live, Laugh, Love,

Karen and Charlie

Complete Recipe found at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/