Iron Chef.... Battle Pizza!

One of the most fun things that results from having a food blog is being contacted to try new products, and while I haven't been asked to try out the newest Viking range or a great new Kitchenaid or Rachel Ray's new cookware. But I was excited when a rep from Pillsbury asked if I would be willing to try and post about some new products, including a new thin pizza crust, frozen mini cinnamon rolls, and Crescent Recipe Creations, a product that is like crescent rolls without those perforations. Well, I don't know about you, but I can hardly say no to Pop'n Fresh (My oldest daughter used to have a little Pop'n Fresh doll when she was a baby!), so I accepted the challenge.
When the products arrived, it wasn't hard to decide which product we were going to review, since the kids were all about making pizza and my husband likes pizza crust thin enough to see through. While you might say, hey, make your own homemade crust, for those days when you need something quick and simple, it is nice to have an option that I (or even my kids) can use to make our own custom pizza! However, we decided to have some fun with this and planned an Iron Chef with Bridget and I as competitors and Molly as our sous chef. I made a score card for all of us to fill out to determine the winning pizza and the contest was on! However, if you are an Iron Chef fan, you know that you have to first unveil the secret ingredient, and so we decided to videotape our unveiling- easier said than done. It took us about 6 takes before we finally got one that everyone was happy with! You can see this is our first experience with video, but getting this right was as much fun as the Iron Chef battle, so I am including this (and the out-takes at the end of the post)

Once the unveiling was done we started our cooking- I was making a white pizza and Bridget had decided to do a red pizza. Her base was sauteed onions, buffalo sausage and a sundried tomato sauce. My entry- caramelized onions, sauteed spinach, goat cheese,and my own secret ingredient- white truffle oil. I would've added mushrooms, but Molly is not a mushroom fan, and since she was a judge, I didn't want to turn her off right away.

While Pillsbury's new thin pizza crust comes in the familiar tube, this is where the similarity ends. The crust rolls out to fill a large pizza or ,in our case, cookie sheet. This pizza would easily feed a family of four. The dough is easy to work with, and spreads out really thin, with a minimum of hassle. We both followed the directions for getting a super-crispy crust and baked the crust for 5 minutes without toppings before adding all the goodies.

Bridget's homemade sundried tomato sauce was spread on the pizza dough after she did the initial 5-minute bake, but I took the working woman's approach and used a bottled alfredo sauce as the base for my pizza, before adding my toppings.

Everyone in our family loves white pizza so I was
really excited to give it a try and the Pillsbury
Thin Crust Pizza dough made this an easy workday meal. Since I love trying new things, this is a perfect product for me and my kids, since it provides a perfect base for new, different and adventurous combinations.

Finally, after getting the pizzas into the oven, we took a breather and waited for the final product, and both turned out with a thin and crispy crust (thin enough even for my thin-loving husband), the perfect foil for both our ingredients.

And the winner?? My white pizza got the highest marks, but really, we were all winners since both pizzas were outstanding and we found a new product that makes it cheap and easy to create you own gourmet pizza at home when you don't have time to make your own homemade crust. And I have to say, we are already thinking of the next combinations we want to try....buffalo chicken pizza, stuffed crust pizza...

For those of you who like a good laugh.... the out takes:

Adoptive Mom.... of a New Blogger!

Wouldn't you think with 6 kids I would have had enough of being a mom? But when I saw that Kristen of Dine and Dish had a new crop of baby bloggers who wanted a blog mentor, I thought about when I started my blog and how people helped and encouraged me (Tanya Wenman Steel at Epi-Log, Anne of Cooking with Anne, Glenna of A Fridge Full of Food to name a few) and I thought this was a great idea. So I threw my name into the hat and I was paired with Tanya at Take the Cannoli, a great pairing since we have just the right number of commonalities and differences to make things interesting.

First of all Tanya is young, while I am, well...vintage. Tanya lives in a metropolis known for food (Chicago), while I live in an area where you really have to scramble (or cook your own) to find really great food (Newport News VA). I have six children and have been married for 34 years, while Tanya and her husband are relative newlyweds. Tanya is a real professional baker, while I am a rank amateur home cook. However, we both love food and blogging about our food and cooking experiences, Tanya loves vintage (she should love me since I am vintage '50s!) and I love antiques, Tanya likes to bake desserts and I like to eat them, so I think we have something to build on.

I have been monitoring Tanya's blog since we were paired and I see that she is making one of my recipes (actually my lone dessert) for Dew-licious Turnovers. I have already found several things from Tanya including a group who bakes cookies and sends them to the troops (already signed up) and a recipe for cupcakes with Mountain Dew (need to try it). Tanya has also, after losing her regular job as a baker (damn economy!) has started her own baking business, so if you are in the Chicago area, check her out at Sweet Baker Lady.

We will be keeping in touch and I will be keeping you all in the loop as well, so stop by Tanya's blog and welcome her to the blogosphere..... you bring the coffee, she'll have the baked goods!

"Luxury" items for camping (or how to enjoy the wilderness with arthritis and teenagers!)

Do you remember camping back when there were pup tents? How about sleeping an rocks in a sleeping bag that was either too hot or not warm enough? Well, truth is, technology has made camping a lot more fun and more comfortable for families whether you are taking babies in backpacks or teens with I-pods for a chance to enjoy the great outdoors.

With the economy so tight and gas so high, camping is a great way to vacation with your family no matter the age of your children. When all our children were young we could not afford a "real" vacation because we couldn't fit in one hotel room (fire codes). That was when we first decided to try camping. We hit the camping aisle at Costco and bought a tent, camp stove, lantern and sleeping bags. We had all the best intentions to hit the road with our kids in the minivan, but the camping gear then sat in our garage in the boxes... for three years! But once we got started, we were hooked. There is nothing like being in nature where you have no distractions and can focus totally on each other. Camping builds independence and self-confidence... like Survivor without the million dollars and with better food!

So you won't have to spend 10 years like we have learning what really helps when you go camping, here is a list of things to add to your gear before you go!

Air mattresses-Why sleep on the hard ground and wake up stiff and sore?Air mattresses are easy to pack and make for much more comfort (especially as you get older). I have to say that we even have a queen-sized air bed that makes for a great night's sleep. You can even buy air mattresses that are self inflating.

Portable DVD/video- An essential, especially for long car trips to eliminate the "Are we there yet?" and "Stop touching me!"

First Aid kit-This is more than just band-aids and aspirin. Make your own medicine kit with bandages, elastic wraps, antacids, antihistimine, and anti-diarrheal (changes of food and water can have that effect).

Good(heavyweight) plastic tablecloth - This makes eating and cleaning up so much easier I have a Coleman one made for camping and metal clips to hold it on the table no matter the wind.

Antibacterial kitchen wipes- These make keeping your cooking and eating area clean to keep away bugs and bees.

Zip-Loc bags- I take different sizes- good for marinating,mixing pancakes and storing leftovers.

Frozen bottled water- We keep about 20 bottles of water frozen starting at the beginning of hurricane season and use these in our cooler when we go camping. Then when we go camping, we have cold bottled water while we are hiking. On our latest trip,after 3 days we had some water at the bottom of the cooler that was still frozen!

Playing cards - We play Speed and Spoons while the coffee is perking or after dinner dishes are done, and these are critical if you get a rain shower. Other games that are easy to pack like Left, Right, Center are also a lot of fun around a picnic table.

Extra trash bags- Besides holding your trash, extra bags can carry your wet shoes or clothes back home or cover rain-dampened wood picnic benches, or cover your gear in case of a shower.

Essentials for camp cooking

We are preparing for the second time in two weeks (thanks Hanna!) to go camping in the mountains this weekend. If you have been reading this blog regularly you know that usually by this time we have been camping several times, but this summer was full of summer school and freelancing, and home projects and so we are getting a late start.

Food is one of the most important things for a successful camping trip, and preparation is essential to good meals in the wild. I thought it might be a good idea for those of you who also enjoy camping, or would like to try to share some of what I have learned about cooking and camping, what equipment you need and some of our favorite dishes and ways to convert dishes to a campstove or campfire.

Let's start with equipment you need if you are planning to cook more than trail mix and freeze-dried meals or hot dogs on a stick (Which can be good too!)

1) Campstove- We use a propane stove by Coleman with two burners and electronic ignition that is now about 13 years old. It works well, is easy to carry and provides enough space to make a meal for a crowd. Some people, including some of our friends use liquid fuel stoves which do provide higher BTUs if you are a heavy duty camp chef, but I have never been fond of the idea of carrying liquid fuels and funnels with me in the car.

2) Cast iron griddle- Essential for making breakfasts of bacon and pancakes that are must for cool weather camping.

3) Camp percolator- No instant coffee for us- we love the real thing and it tastes twice as good in the wild. Ours is the old granite wear and about as old as our stove!

4) Silicon or other heat-proof oven mitts- These are essential when camping since often handles get hotter than they might on your home stove. Burned ands are no fun, especially in the wild.

5) Long-handled lighter- This is great for lighting your stove or the campfire.

6) Heavy pots and pans (without non-stick coating)- Some of our friends carry their Le Creuset, but I don't have any, so I have to settle for a large cast-iron skillet which is a great all-purpose pan for camp cooking, and a set of Eddie Bauer camp pans that nest together.

7) Cutting board- I love these new flat flexible ones that I bought for my kitchen and I carry one along.

Next Installment: Extras that make camp cooking (and eating) better

34 years.... and counting!

One vow...Two rings.... 8 jobs.....3 towns....5 houses...8 pregnancies...6 children....3 decades....3 class reunions....6 graduations...7 cars....5 dogs....2 cats...1 anole....8 goldfish...2 hermit crabs...34 years...1 man...


Happy Anniversary to Us!! (and people think Michael Phelps' gold medals were a great accomplishment!)

Preparing for Hanna

There are plenty of lists about what to do to get ready for a storm, assuming you are sheltering in place, not evacuating. Having flashlights, gassing your car, getting water and canned goods are all very important, but having been without power for 14 days after Isabel, I am going to share with you a few things you might want to do that probably not on any of those lists.

1) Do your laundry- If you end up with no power and lots of cleanup in the aftermath of the storm, you will be glad to have clean towels and underwear. We were lucky after Isabel that a friend offered to help by taking our laundry to her house which had power and washing it for us, but that was a very special friend, and I wouldn't count on that from just anyone.

2) Wash your dishes- Without power, you don't want to be stuck with a lot of dirty dishes that you then will have to wash by hand.

3) Clean out the fridge - If the power is out for an extended time the last thing you need is some two-week old leftovers or slimy lettuce in your fridge smelling it (and your kitchen) up!

Are there other suggestions you have for helping to shelter in place without losing your mind?

A Rerun on Storm Preparation

One of my most popular posts was one about what I observed people buying in preparation for a winter storm. I am working on a new list of preparation tips, etc, and thought I would reprise this here for your own amusement and input! Remember- the most important rule for storm prep is to stay informed and to not wait too long to lay in your storm supplies (Don't I wish that I looked like the picture,left, shopping!?)

Check it out at http://cookandrink.blogspot.com/2008/01/snow-day.html, and then you can compare to the summer hurricane prep list! And for those of you in the path of these storms- stay safe!

Getting ready for the storm

Here we are in the midst of hurricane season for the mid-Atlantic, and as we head toward the anniversary of the worst storm in 40years to hit the Hampton Roads, Isabel, it looks like we are faced with a triple threat in the Atlantic- Hanna, Ike, and Josephine are headed our way. We are starting to make our storm preparations, and I thought it would be interesting to hear from others what they are doing to prepare for the storm or any tips for weathering a storm. Whether it be a hurricane or a winter storm, you need plans for power outages, food that is easy to prepare, and things to keep the electronic generation busy when the power is out and you are sheltering in place. Let me know what you are doing or have done to get ready for a storm or any tips that may be helpful to others facing this triple threat!

What I will miss about summer

The haul at the Williamsburg Farmer's Market! Flowers, veggies and even recipes.