Delicious Detroit-Style Pizza

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There are so many styles of fantastic pizza. New York. Sicilian. Chicago. American. And then there’s Detroit.

According to michigan.org, in 1946, Gus Guerra owned what was then a neighborhood bar, Buddy’s Rendezvous, when he decided he needed something new for the menu. He enlisted the help of his wife, Anna, who borrowed a dough recipe from her Sicilian mother. The Sicilian dough, topped with cheese and tomato sauce, would become the model for pizza in Detroit.

For this pizza, it’s not only the shape (it’s square) and the way the pizza is made (the sauce is on top) that makes it different, it’s also the pan that it’s cooked in! You can’t have a Detroit-Style Pizza without the pan. I use this specific pan, which we bought off Amazon.

The pan creates a pizza that is soft and airy inside with a crisp exterior because of the caramelized cheese on the edges. I found that the warmed sauce is best put on after the pizza is baked! This way, it doesn’t weigh down any of the airy-ness that’s baking in the pan.

You can make Detroit-Style Pizza as easy or as homemade as you want. You can use store bought pizza crust and store bought sauce or you can make your own for both.

Here’s how ya do it.

Ingredients

  • Pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
  • Pizza sauce (homemade or store bought)
  • 1 block of mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 block of cheddar cheese
  • Pizza toppings of your choice (pepperoni, veggies, etc.)
  • Softened butter
  • Detroit Style Pan (see link above to buy one)

Instructions:

If you choose to make your own pizza dough, that’s the first step. I’ve got a recipe for my favorite dough below.

Then, if you’re making your own pizza sauce, get that started. If you’re using store bought, don’t worry about it quite yet.

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.

Butter your Detroit-style pan on all interior sides and stretch your dough out to cover the bottom and go up the sides just about an inch or so. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Shred the cheeses and prepare your toppings. Place the cheese all the way to the edge of the pizza, so that it’s touching the sides of the pan. Put your toppings in the center and put more cheese on top.

Bake for 15-18 minutes.

While the pizza is baking, warm up your pizza sauce so you can dollop it on top after the pizza is baked. Don’t put too much on top, if anything you can add more when you serve it.

Let the pizza cool about 5 minutes, slice and serve! Enjoy!

Detroit-Style Pizza

Pizza dough:

  • 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 Tbsp. salt
  • 3 cups bread flour

Combine the yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the yeast to come alive (about 5 minutes). Add the oil and one cup of the flour, then the salt and the other 2 cups of flour.

Mix with dough hook for 8 minutes.

Let rise until double in size.

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How to make classic, creamy German Knoephla Soup

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Knoepha Soup

Is there anything more cozy to have on a cold day than soup? What about a soup from your childhood that brings back great memories?

Even though I only ever had this soup at school or a restaurant in North Dakota, Knoephla (or Knepfla) soup is one of my favorites from the German culture.

Knoephla is roughly translated into “little buttons” and are, in fact, little dumplings. The knoephla can be used in a number of ways, like a casserole, but the most popular way is in soup.

The soup is a chicken stock based, creamy soup with the dumplings, carrots, onions and potatoes. It is warming and comforting. It also is great to have when you’re sick. If you’re lactose intolerant like me, you can add coconut milk or just take about multple lactaid pills.

Knoephla Soup

Ingredients for soup:

  • Water
  • 3 tblspn. butter
  • 1 4-cup container of chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 4-5 medium red potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 2 large carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups Milk, half & half, cream or 1 can of coconut milk (your choice)
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for Knoephla dumplings:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • Between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup Milk

Instructions:

Knoephla – In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. In a separate dish, combine the egg with about 1/4 cup milk. Slowly add in the milk and egg mixture to the flour and mix with your hands. Continue to add more milk until it becomes a shaggy dough. Place dough onto a clean working surface sprinkled with flour until the dough comes together. Roll into long, 1-inch thin logs and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Soup – In a large soup pot, melt butter and sauté onion, celery, carrots and potatoes until softened, about 8 minutes. Add in diced garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add in stock and water to just cover the vegetables and add the bay leaf and two bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add in the pieces of knoephla and simmer about 10 minutes.

Then, add in the milk/cream/half & half or coconut milk and stir well. Taste and add more salt/pepper if needed. Heat thoroughly, but don’t bring to a boil.

Serve with a side of bread, if you like.

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Health benefits to gardening

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Did you know that gardening is not only great exercise, but that playing in the dirt can keep you healthy both physically and mentally?

It’s true. Dirt has so many different things growing in it, it actually helps build your immune system by exposing you to these microbes. In fact, the BBC recently did an article all about how it can help.

Here’s just a few reasons why gardening is great for your health:

  • Good exercise when digging or planting
  • Exposes you to sunshine for vitamin D (wear sunscreen!)
  • Dirt microbes can help strengthen your immune system
  • Peaceful space for a mental health break
  • Growing your own food is not only an accomplishment but can also be more nutritious
  • Growing flowers can help the pollinators, which help food production
  • Great bonding experience with children or friends (unless you prefer alone time)

Like Kombucha, but want to try something new? Here’s how to make Jun with green tea and honey

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Have you ever heard of Jun?

It is similar to Kombucha, but instead of being made with black tea and sugar, Jun is made with green tea and honey!

I’ve been making Jun since 2018 and have even shared the “scoby” with friends so they can start to make their own, too.

Scoby stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast and it houses the cultures that make kombucha, jun and there’s even one that makes apple cider vinegar.

The Jun is a deliciously, sweet and tart beverage. You can drink it plain or you can add fruit for an extra pop of flavor. The process takes about a week for each batch, but after the first time you make it, you’ll want to have it available all the time.

Here’s what you need first:

Get a Jun scoby and starter tea either from a friend or from a reputable seller. We got ours from Fermentaholics.com.

For your brand new scoby, you’ll want to follow the instructions on the back of the packaging to start your tea.

You’ll also need to get some start up supplies including a 1-gallon jug, cheese cloth, PH strips, green tea teabags, unfiltered honey, glass bottles with caps, 1 cup measure, a temperature strip for the outside of your jug and a rubber bands.

Here are some links for items I recommend these bottles for the finished product; this jug for making the tea. This is great cheesecloth (it has lasted me since 2018) and these temperature strips come in handy for sure.

For an established batch you can follow my steps below:

  • Bring 2 cups of filtered water to a boil.
  • Once boiling, take off the heat and add four unflavored, caffeinated green tea teabags and let steep for 10 minutes.
  • After the tea has steeped for 10 minutes, discard the tea bags, stir in 1 cup of honey and let cool.
  • Grab your 1 gallon jug of Jun, take off the cheesecloth and give it a good stir. Then, take out the scoby and place in a clean bowl. Reserve 1 cup of the Jun liquid and place in the bowl with the scoby.
    • This is now your new starter tea – you need this every time.
  • Pour your Jun into clean bottles either with fruit or fruit juice for a second ferment or plain. Our batch makes 6.5 bottles if we don’t add fruit.
    • If you add fruit, you can leave the closed bottles on the table for a day to add some extra carbonation – but remember to “burp” them by lifting the lid once or twice before putting them in the fridge.
    • If you don’t add fruit, you can just put them in the fridge right away. No need to burp them as they aren’t undergoing a second fermentation phase.
  • Now that you have an empty jug, give it a good rinse and fill halfway with filtered cold water.
  • Add the cooled honey tea mix to the water in your jug.
  • If the temperature of the mix is below 75 degrees after you’ve added the honey tea mix, then you’re free to add the scoby and reserved starter tea back in.
  • Then top off with more filtered cold water and stir.
  • Cover with cheesecloth to keep the fruit flies out and set aside in a cooler spot in your house.
    • Side note: keep it away from your sourdough starter.
  • Then, let the new mix sit for 7 days. If you have a new scoby, you can stir it every few days to get things working.
  • In the meantime, enjoy the drink you just bottled. It is delicious.

Let me know if you have any questions!

How to make Jun tea

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A little known Southern dish that’s delish … How to make Chicken Bog

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Do you know what Chicken Bog is? Have you heard of it?

I’d imagine that unless you know someone from Horry (pronounced or-ee) County in South Carolina, you might not.

Chicken bog is THE dish of that corner of the state, so some would say. It’s a rice dish with chicken and smoked sausage, but unlike one you’ve ever had before. The name “bog” probably comes from the wetness of the dish, although some speculate that it may come from the bogginess of Horry County, according to discoversouthcarolina.com.

It is best eaten with a spoon and can be made any time of the year – even though it is very delicious and comforting in the colder months. There are recipes for it online now, but many who live here in Horry County learn how to make it from someone else.

A small part of this post is an ode to my former boss, Mr. Steve Robertson, who recently passed away. He was the publisher of the weekly newspaper I worked at for a number of years.

Mr. Steve was also the Loris Bog-off Champion one year and was generous enough to tell me how to make this iconic dish.

Here’s what you need.

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 large chicken thighs or breast
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 tsp. dried Rosemary
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1-2 stalk of celery, chopped
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 mounded cup of white rice
  • 1 smoke sausage
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Let’s start with the stock for the chicken bog.

Place the chicken thighs or breast into a large sauce pan and cover with three cups of water. Add in all of the spices listed above and simmer until the chicken is cooked. Cool for 15 minutes and then take chicken out of the stock, dice and put back into the stock water.

In a separate large stock pot, sauté the onion and celery in olive oil for about 7-8 minutes and then add the garlic. Sauté together for another 2 minutes.

While the onion & celery are cooking, dice the smoked sausage into bite sized pieces.

Once the onion, celery and garlic have cooked for about 10 minutes, add in the diced sausage. Then, add in the mounded cup of rice and cook for 1 minute.

Then, pour in the stock and diced chicken, all at once.

Stir, bring the mixture to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. You can check on the rice and stir during this time. It will not ruin the rice.

Taste for seasoning and rice done-ness. Serve in a bowl. Enjoy!

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How to make a delicious, hearty winter dinner of Pastie (meat pie)

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Pastie with gravy

Everyone has the dishes they love from their childhood. The one or two meals that just bring back great memories and makes you feel good when you eat it. For me, one dish is called “Pastie,” pronounced [pass-tee].

The dish, which originated in England, can be made two ways: a smaller, filled hand pie or a standard pie, like the one my mom made. It’s filled with any spiced meat, onion and potatoes. It can be fried or baked. The hand pie version is apparently very popular in Michigan and Cornwall, England.

I’ve made some changes to my mom’s recipe by adding in some extra spices and pouring over gravy when it is served, but the essence of the original dish I grew up with is there.

Here’s what you need.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pie crusts (store bought or homemade)
  • 1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
  • 3-4 larger red potatoes, diced into 1 inch chunks
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 tbsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp. onion powder
  • 1 tbsp. dried parsley
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Worcestershire sauce – add to taste (optional)
  • Soy sauce – add to taste (optional)
  • 1 packet of brown gravy, prepared separately

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a sauté pan, pour in olive oil and add onion. Cook onion until softened, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Remove onion and garlic from the pan into a separate bowl. Add in ground beef and cook until browned. Drain excess fat from ground beef and add back in the onions and garlic. Add in the potatoes, salt, pepper and spices. Cook until the potatoes start to become translucent.

While the mixture is cooking in the sauté pan, prepare the pie pan by placing one of the unbaked pie crusts in the bottom of the pie dish.

Once the potatoes are just starting to cook, place all the filling into the crust and top with second pie crust. Crimp edges, slice a vent into top of pie to allow steam to escape and place in oven to bake for 30-35 minutes.

If the pie crust starts to brown too quickly, you can place aluminum foil over the top to stop the browning.

Once baked, let cool for 10 minutes while you prepare the brown gravy. Slice into pie pieces and serve with gravy on top.

Enjoy!

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Easy twice-baked croissant recipe

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I love croissants. I’ve made them myself twice now and, if it weren’t for the time you have to dedicate to them, I’d make them more often.

But, whether you’re making your own croissants or buying them from a great bakery, twice-baked croissants are my absolute favorite. The slight almond flavor of the filling with the flaky, buttery pastry is absolutely amazing.

You may think twice-baked croissants require a lot of work, but you’d be wrong. They’re super easy and super delicious.

Here’s what you need.

Ingredients

  • 4 large croissants or 6 medium sized ones
  • 4 tablespoons of softened butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • Sliced almonds (for topping)
  • Powdered sugar (for top)
  • Simple syrup (to brush on the croissants)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together the butter and sugar until they are not too clumpy. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract and mix. Add in almond flour and mix until incorporated.

Cut the croissants in half lengthwise and brush on the simple syrup tOn the inside of the croissant. Then scoop the filling inside saving some for the top of the croissants. Spread remainder of filling on top (about a tablespoon each). Sprinkle tops with sliced almonds that will stick onto the filling.

Bake for 15 minutes uncovered on a lined baking sheet. Then, cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 12 minutes.

Let them cool for 10 minutes and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Then, enjoy!!

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How to bake my version of Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies in a whole new way

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You might be surprised to know that my chocolate chip cookie recipe is based off the classic Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. How could it not be?

The original version are so absolutely delicious and it is how I learned to make them and find my passion for baking.

Over the years, after making a recipe time and time again, you tweak things to make it your own.

Here’s my way to make these cookies – and my signature way to bake them: in a muffin tin!

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together butter and the two sugars until just combined, but not grainy or lumpy. Add in the 2 eggs and the vanilla. Mix together until eggs are incorporated. Add in all of the flour, baking soda and salt and mix carefully until incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips with a hand mixer – and be a little rough so that some of the chocolate pieces may break, this adds more flavor and more pieces.

Spray a standard size, 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop, place cookies into the muffin cups. Flatten out to scoop just a bit so it reaches the edges of the cup.

Bake 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is just set. Let the cookies cool in the muffin tin or else they’ll fall apart. You will need two 12-cup muffin tins to bake these in a timely manner or else you can wait until the first batch cools.

This method makes about 30 deliciously crisp on the outside and soft in the middle chocolate chip cookies.

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Baking Through History: Fry Bread Tacos

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Hard shell tacos, soft shell tacos, walking tacos, puffy tacos, birria tacos – there are a multitude of styles of tacos out there.

But, have you heard of fry bread tacos??

I grew up eating these in North Dakota and they’re still a favorite today.

Instead of a standard shell, the meat, cheese and other delicious toppings are piled on a crispy, fried bowl of dough with a soft and fluffy inside. Fry bread is so popular in North Dakota and South Dakota that in 2005 South Dakota lawmakers even declared it to be the state’s official bread, according to travelsouthdakota.com.

The standard is to use regular frozen bread dough, thawed and cut into one inch pieces, but if you’re ambitious, you could make your own dough or even use sourdough starter in your dough. That could be quite tasty.

The recipe is super easy.

Here’s all you need:

  • Cooked ground beef prepared with taco seasoning
  • 1 or 2 loaves of frozen bread dough (each loaf makes about 8 smaller fry breads or 4-6 larger ones)
  • Cooking oil
  • A high sided frying pan
  • Taco toppings (lettuce, salsa, sour cream, cheese, pickled jalapenos, etc.)
  • Refried beans (optional)

Thaw the bread dough. Cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Stretch out the dough to make a flatter round disc. Set aside.

In your high sided frying pan, heat about 1 to 2 inches of oil until ready to fry. Fry each piece of the dough until golden brown. The center will still look doughy, but that’s ok as long as it isn’t raw.

Cook up the ground beef as noted on your taco seasoning package.

Scoop ground beef onto fry bread and place your favorite toppings on the beef.

Enjoy!

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Baking Through History: Chocolate Potato Candy (ew.)

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Chocolate Potato Candy

Potato. Candy. With chocolate. How do these ideas make it onto a page? I have no idea, but really, this one shouldn’t have.

In the “Hershey’s 1934 Cookbook,” is all about chocolate. Chocolate bread, chocolate ice cream, hot chocolate, and potato chocolate. There’s not just one recipe that uses potato, there are two!

The second is a Cocoa Potato Cake. But let’s start with Chocolate Potato Candy.

The recipe sounds like one you could use to make potato gnocchi, but instead of flour to bind the potato together, it uses powdered sugar.

I expected these to be quite delicious – but boy, was I wrong. What was the point of the potato? You couldn’t even taste it. They were way too sweet and used way too much powdered sugar to make them worth it.

If you want to try and make these, good luck. Let me know how it goes.

Chocolate Potato Candy
By Hershey’s

  • 1 medium baked potato, mashed (¾ cup)
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa
  • 4.5 cups powdered sugar
  • Chocolate glaze 

Combine the mashed potatoes, salt and vanilla. Gradually beat in the cocoa and sugar until mixture is stiff enough to be rolled into balls.

Chill the balls. The recipe called for a Chocolate glaze, but they were so bad, I didn’t want to waste the ingredients.

Baking Through History: Chocolate Potato Candy

Makes 4 dozen candies

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