Try It at Home!

At the first sign of warm weather and the chance to get outside and enjoy it... what do I do? I pull out my trusty ice cream maker and browse some past issues of Bon Appetit in search of a new chocolate ice cream recipe. This one caught my eye...

3 egg yolks
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Whisk yolks in bowl. Bring cream, milk, sugar, and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Whisk cream mixture into yolks; return to pan. Stir over medium heat until custard thickens enough to coat spoon, about 2 minutes (do not boil). Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk to melt. Mix in coconut milk. Cool 1 hour.

Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions and freeze overnight.
It just so happened that this creamy, smooth ice cream and homemade fudge sauce was perfect on top of a brownie after a tasty meal this spring Sunday.

And while somethings are truly easier (and just as tasty) store-bought, I just may have found a pizza dough recipe that's worth the (very little) time to make it at home!

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F - make sure to test the temp)
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 TBSP olive oil

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 TBSP oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area (a cold oven works great!) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Punch down dough.

Roll out dough starting in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.

One recipe of dough is enough to roll out two pizzas... I quickly made two batches of dough and used the last 1/2 for breadsticks. Some ideas for toppings...

• tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil
• tomato sauce, dollops of ricotta, shredded Italian blend, sausage, thinly sliced onions, and pepperoni
• tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and shredded Italian blend, thinly sliced tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers

We loved these but you really can't go wrong topping this delicious dough! Enjoy!!