Snow day!!!!

Yes, it is snowing! I can honestly say that I am not ready for snow. Yuck. It's also blustery, so it is full fledged winter here today. I am not a winter fan- except for the days and days of baking that ensue because just looking outside makes me cold. Abigail came home from school with a note that said if she doesn't have boots and snowpants, she cannot play in the snow. Nice. Now she wants me to send her to school in boots and snowpants. Which we don't have. At least, not the boots. There is no way she will fit into last years boots, and I am sooo not driving into town on a snowy blustery night. Poor girl will have to wait. Tomorrow I am running in with Mom, so I will pick up a pair for her then.

Anyway, in honor of the snow, I made a batch of sugar cookies today. Sugar cookies just scream winter. Especially when paired with a nice mug of hot chocolate. I tried a new recipe for sugar cookies, and I won't even bother posting it. They really aren't very good. But a nice layer of frosting and sprinkles, and they sure made my angel light up when she got home from school. I did find a recipe today on allrecipes.com, so when I get around to trying that one, I will share it- it has great reviews. It is made with whipping cream- how can that be bad. :-)

Tonight's dinner is homemade pizza. I will happily share my recipe for pizza dough. I got it about 3 years ago from Sara Moulton, and it has been my pizza dough ever since. It is easy and makes enough for two large pizzas. It also makes great breadsticks, calzones, foccaccia, or caramel pecan rolls. Tonights offerings will be topped with cheese, bacon, pineapples, red peppers, mushrooms, and onions. I plan to roast the peppers, mushrooms, and onions before adding them to the pizza. If I cn find some on the freezer, I want to add some spinach as well. Here is the dough, enjoy:

Pizza Dough

1/4 cup lukewarm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (or 1 packet)
4 cups bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup cold water
1 Tbs olive oil

Combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, cold water, and oil, to the flour mixture. Stir to combine, dump out onto a well floured surface. Knead the dough for 5- 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Let rest for 5 minutes. Spray a large bowl with cookling spray, add the pizza dough. Spray top of dough, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place free of drafts for 1 hour. Punch down the dough, knead briefly, and let rise a second time, about 30 minutes.

To make pizza: Divide dough in half (one recipe makes two large pizzas). Top dough as desired and bake at 500 for 10-15 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and cheese is bubbly.

To make focaccia: Divide dough in half. Shape dough to desired shape. Cover with plastic and let rise again for another 30 minutes. Dimple the dough with your fingers. Drizzle with good olive oil, and top as desired (I like fresh rosemary, sea salt, and black pepper). Bake at 500 for about 15 minutes- or until golden brown.