Though it seems somewhat logical to assume the Neapolitans have only given us the wonder of three-flavored ice cream, it is also the pizza that originated in Naples. Considering its popularity, it’s hard to believe that the pizza is barely one-hundred years old, born in 1889 as a dish prepared during the visit of Queen Margherita. This most basic of pizzas, consisting of little more than dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil (a classic Italian combination, symbolizing the colors of the flag and basically all that’s good in the world) started a culinary marvel that would soon span the globe. A Little Slice of Heaven…

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 3 cups rolled oats (do NOT use instant oats)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, toast the coconut until it is fragrant and lightly browned. Keep on eye on this and stir frequently because it will quickly go from brown to burnt. Put the coconut in a large mixing bowl and toast the oats until warmed. Combine the coconut, oats, brown sugar, honey, oil, cinnamon and salt and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake the granola until your house smells like a comforting bed and breakfast, about 20-25 minutes. Allow granola to cool, then break apart into chunks and store in an air tight container. Add additional ingredients if desired, such as toasted nuts or seeds or dried fruits, after the baking process to prevent burning.

As with many food lovers, I’m sure, my first experience with food was baking with my grandma. Baba and I would make bread and buns, where I would furiously pound down the dough with my little fists, cookies and, on occasion, we would even make doughnuts. I remember that we even made playdough on the stove top, which always kind of sucked, but was fun anyway. After all that childhood experience, you’d think I’d be endowed with superior baking skills.

As it turns out though, I’m not much of a baker. The recipients of some of my baked good may beg to differ, but baking and I don’t particularly get along. As much as I love the idea of the science involved in it, that there may in fact be a perfect harmony of ingredients and temperature that will yield the best baked good, that even altitude plays a role; I simply don’t have the patience for it. I can’t be bothered to measure things exactly. I don’t have a food scale. Actually, that’s a lie, we just only use it to weigh Harrison. I have difficulty following a recipe step by step. I don’t like that you can’t lick a finger of raw batter to determine whether the result is going to turn out right. Well, most of the time, anyway. Which is why I often delegate these types of duties to Shannon, who will meticulously follow a recipe to its every detail and yield predictable results every time, where I would be batting .500 (which is great for baseball but horrible for food).

This is why I love baking muffins.

Muffins…

2-1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon shortening
1 tablespoon butter, melted

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let stand until foamy.
2. Sift together flour and salt. Stir the shortening into the wet ingredients and slowly incorporate the flour and salt until you have a soft, elastic dough.
3. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for several minutes, then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and put in a warm place to double in bulk, about an hour.
4. Pound down dough and return to the bowl. Cover and return to a warm place until doubled in bulk again.
5. To make buns, roll out dough to 1/2" thickness and cut out buns with the rim of a pint glass and place on a baking sheet. To make bread, cut dough in two and press into the bottom of greased loaf pans.
6. Return buns or bread to a warm place to rise.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Bake buns or bread until golden brown and sound hollow when you tap on the bottom, about 45 minutes.
9. Brush the top of the buns or bread with melted butter to prevent drying.

Makes 12 servings

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins

1. Combine yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a bowl and set aside until foamy.
2. In a separate bowl, combine remaining sugar, milk, butter, salt and eggs, then add the yeast mixture.
3. Gradually incorporate all of the flour until you have a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Knead dough on a floured surface for several minutes, then transfer to a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
5. Punch dough down and roll out into an even rectangle about 1/4" thick.
6. Brush the dough with half the melted butter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle a generous layer over the buttered dough, then arrange raisins over top.
7. Carefully roll up the dough tightly like a jelly roll and slice into 12 equal portions.
8. Coat the bottom of 2 baking dishes with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
9. Place cinnamon rolls closely together in the pans. Let rise again in a warm place for another hour.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
11. Bake cinnamon buns until they are golden brown. Serve drizzled with icing, if desired.

Makes 12 servings

1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup corn kernels
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 ounces mild cheese, grated
salt

1. Combine flour, baking powder, paprika, oregano, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk and gradually incorporate into the dry ingredients, making sure the batter is free of lumps.
3. Fold corn, scallions and red pepper flakes into the batter and refrigerate for a couple of minutes.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Repeat 3 or 4 more times, leaving space between each fritter.
5. When the underside begins to brown and the top has set, flip the fritter and continue to fry the other side. Transfer to a warmed plate and top with cheese when finished cooking.
6. Repeat with additional batter and cheese, adding more oil as necessary.

Makes 4 servings

2 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup onion confit

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Rub pork tenderloin with olive oil and press salt and pepper into the flesh. Slice into pieces small enough to fit into a skillet.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear all sides of the tenderloin. Transfer to the oven to finish cooking until a meat thermometer can be inserted into the center and register around 160 degrees, about 20-25 minutes.
4. Allow meat to rest before slicing and serve with onion confit. See Dinner Entry for possible recipe!

Makes 8 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound baby spinach
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
salt

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, then the spinach.
2. Coat spinach with the oil and sauté until it just begins to wilt. Remove from heat, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and season to taste with salt. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 cups flour

28 ounce can plum tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
16 whole basil leaves
8 ounces mozzarella, thickly sliced
2 ounces Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

1. Combine water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and allow to proof for about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the salt, then whisk in the oil until well blended.
3. Gradually add in the flour until you have a soft, elastic dough.
4. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes, then place in a greased bowl, covered, in a warm place to double in bulk.
5. Once the dough has doubled, punch it down and let it rise a second time.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the pizza sauce. Drain tomatoes, reserving the juice. Squish whole tomatoes in your hands, removing as many seeds as possible.
7. Put the reserved juice along with red wine in a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce until very thick.
8. Add the crushed tomatoes to the reduced sauce, along with red pepper flakes, olive oil and 3/4 of the basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
10. Separate dough into 2 separate pieces. Roll out dough to the size and shape you like and place on individual baking sheets.
11. Divide the sauce amongst both pizzas and sprinkle with remaining chopped basil. Arrange basil leaves where each slice would be and top with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
12. Bake pizza until crust is golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, slice and serve.

Makes 8 servings

1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey
2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup warm whole milk
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups flour

1. Whisk together warm water and honey in a small bowl, then stir in the yeast. Allow to proof for 5 minutes while preparing other ingredients.
2. Combine the egg, milk, coriander seed, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a large bowl, beating until smooth.
3. Stir the yeast mixture into the egg mixture, as well as 5 tablespoons of the butter. Gradually incorporate the flour until it becomes a smooth dough. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, at least 5 minutes. Place dough in a clean bowl greased with the remaining butter and cover with a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
6. Punch dough down and form into a round. Transfer to a baking sheet and allow to rise for 10-15 minutes while the oven is warming. Bake until the crust is a light golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when you tap on it, about an hour. Allow to cool before slicing.

Makes 8 servings