I'd Rather be Cooking: Dinner and Dexter

Owen was pooped and didn't make it to Dinner with Dexter. Veerrrryyyyy Disappointing.

I am very confused by this whole new blogger. I was excited for the picture caption element, but it isn't quite what I thought it would be. I thought it would be set apart and framed - not so much. I am so impatient with learning new things on the computer so I usually just skip it and never figure it out...does this sound familiar to any other moms out there??

Anyfood, Jeremy and I have been having dinner dates with "Dexter" for the last three weeks and it is has been AWESOME. Have you ever seen it?!? It is SO GOOD. I think the first three seasons are streamed on Netflix, but the last two we've had to wait each week for our disk. When Friday rolls around we are so excited for Dinner and Dexter!

YUM. Amazing date night dinner! The three cheeses combined with the yummy dough and garlic oil was delish!

So for this week's dinner I made White Pizzas out of "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics." Why have I waited so stinking long?! It was DELISH!!! I am not a big baker, so making my own pizza dough was a stretch for me. My sister and a girlfriend here in the Little Apple swear by the Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe - but I decided to go with Ina's recipe for the first go around. Next I'll try Ree's!

White Pizzas with Arugula

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees)

2 packages dry yeast (I used one package of rapid rise and one of active dry because that is what I had...)

1 tablespoon honey

Good olive oil (I find this instruction from my dear friend Ina to be a bit snobby, how do you define "good" - is it by price or taste? One is objective one is subjective. Any ideas??)

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

Kosher salt

4 garlic cloves, sliced

5 sprigs fresh thyme

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups grated Italian Fontina Cheese (8 ounces)

1 1/2 cups grated fresh mozzarella (7 ounces) (I used buffalo mozzarella and just slices it and tore it)

11 ounces cream goat cheese such as Montrachet, crumbled

1/2 cup good olive oil

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces baby arugula

Instructions

For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. (This was the first time I busted out my dough hook for my Kitchen Aid - which I've owned for about 5 years or so. If you've never used your dough hook, you are only supposed to use it at speed 2!) When the yeast is dissolved, add 3 cups of the flour, then 2 teaspoons salt and mix on medium-low speed. While mixing, add up to 1 more cup of flour or just enough to make a soft dough. (I never got "soft" dough - I may have added too much flour or maybe it was the mixed yeast?! Any bakers with any insight??) Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with the flour as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bowl. When the dough is ready, turn it out on floured board and knead it by hand a dozen times. It should be sooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. (I checked with Pioneer Woman, and she lets it rise for much longer, in fact, she said the longer the better. After 30 minutes it appeared as if my dough hadn't risen. So I waited about an hour and it was much "higher.")

Meanwhile, make the garlic oil. Place 1/2 cup olive oil, the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and bring a simmer over low heat. Cook for 10 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. (Ina warns to make sure your oven is clean. Mine was not, nor has it been since we moved in. I need to get on it...so instead we grilled our pizzas: rub each side with olive oil. Grill on one side for 1-2 minutes. Place toppings on the previously grilled side. Grill for 7-8 minutes more - delish!)

Dump the dough onto a board and dived it into 6 each pieces. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and voer them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours. (I froze my remaining dough - I will report back how the defrosted dough works!)

Press and stretch each ball into an 8-inch circle and place 2 circles on each parchment-lined sheet pan. (If you have chilled the dough, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature.) Brush the pizzas with the garlic oil, and sprinkle each one liberally with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the pizza evenly with Fontina, mozzarella, and goat cheese. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon more of the garlic oil and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crusts are crisp and the cheeses begin to brown.

Meanwhile, for the vinaigrette, whisk together 1/2 cup of the olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. When the pizzas are done, place the arugula in a large bowl and toss with just enough lemon vinaigrette to moisten. Place a large bunch of arugula on each pizza and serve immediately.

Bon Appetit!