The Big Idea

You know when you have one of those BIG ideas? The kind of idea that makes you smile to no one in particular while you are going for a walk in the morning. Then builds and makes you laugh quietly to yourself. Then expands into something huge and suddenly makes you sprint down the street so you can tell your fiance before he leaves for work at 7 a.m.?

Well ... this morning I had one and I did just that. I sprinted down Franklin Street only to find that Peter had already left. Boo. So my excitement went on reserve until I could tell him the big idea in the evening.

See ... it had been one of those weeks where every night brought with it a winning recipe. I had all the momentum going into Friday that Jess Thompson has every day.

Monday was grilled cod with fried chiles and garlic.

Tuesday we used the rest of the cod to make fried fish tacos with roasted tomato salsa, slaw, black beans, and guacamole. 

Wednesday was pasta with braised chicken and sage cream sauce. (and the camera ran out of juice)
Thursday was surf and turf (I got the surf, Peter got the turf) with a watermelon, tomato, jalapeno salad.
And Friday - the day of the big idea, brought pizza - made possible by a recipe from my artisanal bread baking book, my new pizza stone from Kassen, and my idea.

Okay, what's the idea? Sorry, but I really can't say. Basically, because I'm afraid you'll take it and run with it. So I'll leave you with this. You'll get hints of the idea as it unfolds on my blog over the next year or so. It will involve one of my passions, one of Peter's, and the stories that go along with them. And it's going to make me very happy, excited, giddy, and down right high on life all the time.

That's it. That's all I can write. But I did promise Kassen my pizza dough recipe.

Pizza Dough 
(FYI - this is the slow kind - the kind that is perfect for summer hour-Fridays, where you can let the dough rise for five hours and still go on a long walk with Claire and Ellie.)

Makes 4 individual pizzas

3 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water

Combine flour, yeast and salt. Add lukewarm water and stir until mixture just starts sticking together. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until the dough sticks all together, but not too smooth. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes. After resting, kneed the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is smooth and flexible.

Separate the dough into four equal pieces using a pastry scraper (thank you Missy). Roll each in flour, place on a tray, cover tightly and let rise for 5 hours or more.

About 45 minutes before baking, heat the pizza stone in a 500 degree oven. Prepare the toppings for the pizza. Tonight we went with wild mushroom, goat cheese and chorizo sausage pizzas. 

Bake for 7-10 minutes.
And enjoy (with a great home brew ; )

Lo.