Pizza!

I've tried several no-yeast pizza "doughs" and they just didn't pass muster.  I've recently been experimenting with yeast doughs and this one has had rave reviews from two teen boys as well as P!

This makes 1 14-inch thick crust pizza or 2 12-inch thin crust
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope RapidRise Yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup very warm water
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Cornmeal


Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast, and salt. Stir very warm water and olive oil into flour mixture. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.  Note:  I mix this in my KitchenAid mixer w/ dough hook = very little kneading by hand.
2. Lightly oil 1 (14-inch) or 2 (12-inch) round pizza pan(s). Sprinkle with cornmeal. Shape dough into smooth ball. Divide and roll dough to fit desired pan(s). Top pizza as desired.
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until done. Baking time depends on size and thickness of crust and selected toppings.

Ideas to try...Garlic & Herb Pizza Dough:  add 2 tsp of dried basil, oregano or rosemary and 1 clove finely minced garlic along with dry ingredients.  Whole Wheat Pizza Dough:  replace 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup whole wheat flour.

Pork Loin in Red Wine

This recipe was modified from MaryAnn Esposito's - Ciao Italia recipe for Pork Loin in Barolo Wine.
I used a good red wine (Barolo is a bit expensive -- $40+), and dried rosemary rather than fresh.
I wasn't sure how this would go over with P, since he's not a fan of rosemary, but he loved it!  Tonight he's taking several leftover slices to make sandwiches for dinner at work.


2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried rosemary OR 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5-pound boneless pork loin roast
2 cups Barolo wine (or other good red wine)*
1/2 cup tomato paste

Mince the garlic and rosemary together. Place the mixture in a small bowl and add salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork roast.

Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the roast and let it brown in its own fat. (*Note:  I had to add about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil).  Lower the heat to simmer, pour in 1 cup of the wine, cover and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Turn the meat once or twice halfway through the cooking process.

Combine the tomato paste with the remaining wine and add it to the pot. Cover and simmer about 1 1/2 hours, until the meat thermometer registers 155-160, and meat is tender.

Transfer the meat to a cutting board; allow it to rest, covered loosely by aluminum foil, for 10 minutes before slicing. Cut the roast into 1/4-inch slices. Return the slices to the pot and reheat; serve with some of the pan juices.

From the original recipe:  Note: This roast may also be made in a slow cooker. After browning the roast, set the cooker on LOW, put in the roast and leave it cooking for 8 hours. Add the rest of the wine and the tomato paste after 1 1/2 hours have elapsed.

Serves 12 to 16.

I served this with fettucine alfredo, as requested, but want to try the Broccoli Rape with Olives she made on that episode.

*I may  try a Zinfindel next time -- the jammy, spicy flavors could go well with pork...or, perhaps, a Merlot due to it's rich flavors of blackberry, plum and cherry.