Date Night with Homemade Pizza--Cope Style

Remember our friend's the Cope's, who gave us that wonderful roast recipe awhile back during the holiday season? Well, they've done it again! Except this time they had a lovely date night with some Pizza and champagne and we get to share their experience (via lots of pictures and descriptions of the fantastic food)! I love getting beautiful photos from Full Feather Photography and I'm always more than happy to get a guest chef on here! The mixtures they used were from Wildtree, and look absolutely divine! If you're unsure what Wildtree is, (as was I) they are a company that provides all natural alternatives to your cooking lifestyle! Their products are free of fillers and additives which helps promote a healthier lifestyle. She started the company after finding that her two younger children needed specific dietary restrictions in their diet, and it took off from there. As a household that uses many natural alternatives to our everyday life, I'm excited to get to know more about this company and their products!  So let's get on with it, and make us a pizza!!!

Pizza Sauce 

1 (14.5 oz) can of Tomato sauce

1 TB of the Wildtree perfect pizza sauce seasoning

In a small bowl, you're going to combine the tomato sauce with the pizza sauce seasoning, mix together and let the sauce stand for 5 minutes to get all the flavors incorporated together. As a plus side to this being pizza sauce, it can also be used for dipping, lasagna, or whatever your heart may desire! Tara said this made more than enough for their one pizza, so they are saving the leftover sauce for some ravioli!

In case you're interested in what pizza sauce was used, this Napa Valley Bistro brand is outstanding! I use a lot of their sauces with my pasta and have never been disappointed!

Hello sauce! Don't you look just absolutely wonderful!

Now, onto the Wildtree So Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

1 bag So Quick & Easy Pizza Dough Mix 

1/2 c very warm water (120-130 degrees F)

1 TBS Wildtree Grapeseed oil (any flavor)

To start off you're going to want to adjust the rack in your oven to the lowest possible position, and set the temperature to 500 degrees. Take your pizza stone and place it on the rack in the oven and heat the stone for 30 minutes before proceeding with it! In a bowl, mix together the dry mix for the dough, water, and Grapeseed oil. Whisk all this together until a ball of dough forms. 

Once you have the ball of dough, turn the dough out on a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. (Okay, in very simple terms (just in case you need it lol), get the dough out of the bowl, lightly flour a surface area, and start working the dough with your hands until it seems smooth and stretchy). Cover the dough and let it rest on the floured surface for 10 minutes. 

After the dough has taken it's nap on your counter, flatten the dough using the palm of your hand! You're going to want to try and work the dough into a disc shape! Starting in the middle of the disc and working your way out, use your fingertips to press the disc until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick. 

How You Doin'??

There's a good reason why this chef is off the market ladies...

I see about 5 different reasons in this picture alone!

All together now:

 "When the moon hit's your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's Amore"

Using one hand to hold the dough, use the other hand to stretch the dough (carefully) outward until it has reached the desired diameter (eh-hem, I hate math terms sooo...Carefully stretch the pizza dough out until you have a dough that fits the size of the pizza you want)! 

Now you're going to carefully lift the dough off the surface and place on a peel (looks a paddle for pizza), or you can place it on a large wooden cutting board that has been dusted with semolina. 

Now you're going to proceed with the pizza toppings! From the looks of the pictures, I'm gathering they had cheese, red bell pepper, pepperoni, onion and possibly some ground beef! 

The sauce is going on!

Here comes the cheese

All the extra goodies are on!

Once all your toppings are in place, slide the pizza onto the pizza stone, and bake for about 8-12 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown. 

There you have it! It looks so delicious, I wish I could just reach into the picture and take that piece right out of his hand! So making your own pizza may not be the fastest dinner on earth. However, think of all the endless opportunities you have when you make your own! We've had pizza parties before where everyone can come and make their own pizza and choose the toppings they want! Whatever you do, please please please don't be scared to make your own! A little birdie was telling they went with some friends many moons ago to a pizza making class and spent big money on it! Let me tell you this, save your wallet, and experiment with different dough recipes at home. The toppings are the easy part! But once you find a dough that suits you, you've got it made! The thing I have learned is that EVERYONE has their own secret to dough. My philosophy, if it works for you and tastes great, use it! I can't wait to get my hands on these ingredients and try it out! 

~Happy Eating~

The Pioneer Woman's Prime Rib--Cope Style

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! I hope all of you are enjoying this time of year and not too stressed out or overwhelmed yet :) There are a lot of great memories attached to this time of year for many of us! Seeing friends we haven't seen in awhile, spending time with our families, and more often than not, gathering around in the kitchen sharing stories and laughs with those we love! The kitchen seems to be a gathering place for many households! I can remember many mornings spent in my Mema's kitchen watching her cook breakfast for the family, while the smell of bacon cooking, and biscuits in the oven would wake up and bring the rest of the household in to see what divine breakfast we were all about to eat! Over the holidays, as a little girl, my job was always to taste test her dressing! It was by far my favorite job I've ever had! She would get everything mixed together in a big bowl, add all the seasonings and then let me take a bite to see if I approved! I was always the one who could eat about 1/2 the pan of dressing, it was truly my favorite. With that being said, I guess she figured if I wasn't happy with the way it tasted, she would tweak it until she got it just perfect and then pop it in the oven and we would move on to fixing something else! Lot's of memories made it her kitchen for sure!

Some good friends of ours, The Copes, had a family get together at their house not too long ago! They worked hard to get their table ready and sit with their loved ones to talk and laugh and make a new memory for the holiday! Although we were not present, they sent me pictures of their time together and lots of delicious looking photos of how they prepared the Pioneer Woman's prime rib dinner! So let's get started on this dinner that I'm sure many of us will want to try after hearing about what a successful evening they had!

You can find the recipe on her website, or by clicking here. They told me they followed her directions, and it turned out great. So let's see what ingredients you're going to need:

Ingredients
1 whole rib-eye roast (should weigh in at about 14 pounds)
4 TB olive oil
1/2 c Kosher Salt
4 TB tri-colored peppercorns
3 sprigs of Rosemary
3 sprigs of Thyme
1/2 c minced garlic

Get your oven pre-heated to 500 degrees.

You will take your oil, and add to a pan and heat the oil on high heat! Cut the rib loin in half, then sear both sides of the loin until it has a golden brown color to it! You will want to make sure the heat is on high to make sure you get both sides seared!

Getting the Roast ready to go

Ladies....he's already a married man! Don't get jealous with a good looking man workin'

hard in the kitchen! (He makes some really EXCELLENT food too!)

The Roast...Looks fantastic!

Now take the peppercorns, and place them in a bag. Take a rolling pin and crush the peppercorns with the rolling pin! Take the leaves off the thyme and the rosemary and add  it with the salt and garlic to your crushed peppercorns! 

Then take your olive oil and pour over the roast and then pour on the rub mix! To get the mixture to stick to the roast you will lightly "pat" down on the roast! Sometimes if you try and "push" a rub onto meat you will find that it sticks more to your hands than what you want it to stick to!

Now with your oven set to 500 degrees, you set a timer for 20-30 minutes for the roast. Reduce your heat back down to 300 degrees and cook another 20-30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the meat is reading 125 degrees (this is medium/rare...but no worries...your roast will continue to cook once it's been removed from the oven!) Once you pull the roast from the oven, let it stand for 20 minutes to ensure that it continues cooking! If you like your roast a little more "cooked" then just leave it in for a little longer at first! But you don't want it to go over medium/rare for proper cooking!

In the oven it goes

Finally out of the oven...and looks DELICIOUS!

Now all that's left to do is sit down at this beautiful table and enjoy

the good food, great company, and good laughs!

From word-of-mouth, this roast looked delicious and I've been told tasted even better than it looked! I have yet to find something from the Pioneer Woman that I don't like! She not only has great recipes, but her blog over all is fantastic! We also love her blog, because my sister home-schools (as does she) and she always has great tips and funny quips about her life! 

The professional photos are courtesy of Full Feather Photography. Tara does excellent work, and specializes in children and family photography! You can also follow her blog here. Her business comes to you from Claremore, OK (she does travel to Tulsa frequently). Be sure and check out her work, or even find her on Facebook if that's easier! 

I hope everyone had a safe holiday season, and is gearing up for bringing in 2013! 2012 has been such a blessing for us! Our Christmas was one for the books!! My sister adopted 2 beautiful children from the Congo, and they made it home Sunday evening!! It has been truly amazing to get to know these two angels, and love on them and learn with them!! You'll have to stay tuned for this Aunt to go picture crazy!!! We already have SOOOO many, but they all need to be filtered through! Until the next happening from my kitchen to yours.....

~Happy Eating~