7 Monks Taproom - Traverse City, MI

For the first time in the history of our "friends vacation" the kids took a day trip without the parents.  We're all over 21 now (I'm talking to you Ber) so we decided to do lunch and some wine tasting.  7 Monks Taproom for lunch and beer was perfect!  I like lighter beers so I had one of the ciders that they had on special.  Their beer menu is extensive, with 46 beers on tap, and I'm positive you'd find something you like.

We started by sharing the meat and cheese board.  It was awesome, and had all kinds of goodies.  Brie, Gorgonzola, jelly, mustard, olives, prosciutto, rabbit sausage.  Delish! 

Crostinis, crackers, seasonal fruit, a pretty complete sample if you ask me!

C and I shared the chicken pizza, with pineapple and Gorgonzola cheese.  It was amazing.  They make their menu everyday pending what fresh ingredients they have to use.  I could really tell the difference in the food, it was so great! 

Had to take a picture of the mac and cheese, which someone else ordered.  I even got to taste it, the cheesiest!

Two beers each and lunch and we walked out pretty happy campers!

Homemade Pizza

I know it's a cliche to say this, but I'm going to stick to my guns: you haven't had pizza until you've had pizza in Italy.  Hole in the wall, made from scratch, with love and Italian hands, pizza.  A couple of my favorite bloggers just got back or are currently in Italy and I couldn't be more green with envy.  It's one of the many countries I can't wait to go back to, especially for the food.  This Italian Dish is one of my favorite sites to visit, she combines great Italian cooking, with a love of travel.  Plus she lives in Michigan!!  I adapted this pizza recipe from her, she made a potato pizza, I used the same crust but added different toppings.  Either way, this dish is delicious.

For the dough, add salt, olive oil and yeast to 1/2 cup of warm water and stir together. 

Mix in 1 cup of flour.  Gradually add in 1/8 cup of more flour until the dough comes together enough to start kneading it.  You want the dough to be sticky but not enough that it sticks to your hands, without being too dry. 

Knead for a couple minutes with your hands.

Put the dough in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for a couple hours.  I made this the night before and kept it in the fridge overnight, taking it out a couple hours before use to let it rise.

Instead of using a tomato based sauce, I decided to try garlic and olive oil.  Mince 6-7 garlic cloves, mix with 6 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Stir and mash together until you have a sort of paste.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  After you let the dough rise for a couple hours, sprinkle your counter top with flour so the dough doesn't stick.  Roll out the pizza dough using a rolling pin.  Roll out until it's the size and thickness you would like.  Place on a pizza pan and spread the garlic paste on top of the dough.

Chop whatever veggies you like on your pizza as toppings.  I used onion, tomato, red pepper, mushroom and some cooked chicken.

Layer the toppings on the pizza and finish off with a layer of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pepper to taste.  Bake for 10-14 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden brown.

This pizza was delicious!  The crust was crunchy and thick and tasted dramatically different because it's homemade.  Although it can be a timely process, when you sit down to eat it's completely worth it!  The great thing about this pizza too is how filling it is.  After one slice I was full, and we had leftovers to last us for a few days.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza

Serving Size 1 large pizza

Adapted from The Italian Dish

Dough:

1/2 cup warm water

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon instant fast acting yeast

1 1/4 cup bread flour

1/4 cup olive oil

Topping:

8 garlic cloves minced

6 tablespoons olive oil

red pepper diced

mushrooms diced

chicken breast cooked and cut into bite size pieces

onion chopped

tomato chopped

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Dough:

Add salt, olive oil and yeast to the 1/2 cup water water and stir.

Mix in 1 cup flour, then gradually add in 1/8 cup more until the dough comes together.

Add enough flour so it's not too sticky, but not too dry.

Knead for a couple minutes on a floured surface.

Put the dough in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.

Turn the dough to coat in the olive oil.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for a couple hours.

You can stick it in the fridge if you made it a night before, and take out to let rise for 2 hours before making.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 

Roll out the pizza dough, using flour so it doesn't stick. 

Roll it out until it's the thickness and size you like and place on a pizza pan. 

Topping:

Combine the minced garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix for form a paste and spread on the dough. 

Layer all the toppings on the dough. 

Finish with Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste. 

Bake for 10-14 minutes until crust is crisp and golden.

Pizza for 2...or 3.

One of the great things about being a food blogger is the feedback I get from all of you.  I get many ideas for recipes, different ways to cook, or bake food every day, and I love it.  Keep the feedback coming, because I really do read all of it, and use the information as I continue to work on my kitchen skills.  After I posted my best meal for one  pizza recipe,  I got a lot of feedback on how everyone makes their own pizza.  One of my friends told me about the Boboli crust in whole wheat, and I decided to try it. Since they only had the large crust, it was perfect dinner for C and I, instead of just one.  Then after a visit to a local farmers market, and the purchase of way too many tomatoes, I got the idea via twitter for this fresh tomato sauce.  I decided to put the two together, and it was a hit! 

Again I want to discuss the fresh tomato sauce, it is so simple to make at home, and you will be hooked after tasting the first bite.  It tastes so fresh and light, perfect for any pasta or pizza!  I made a huge batch a couple weeks ago, and froze half of it so I can use it at later date, and it worked out perfect for the pizza.  Spread the sauce on the crust, use as much or as little as you like.

Chop up around a half a cup of onion.

Cut up 1/2 red pepper, or green pepper, which ever you prefer.  Using both always tastes great too!

I sliced around 6 mushrooms to add as well.

Garlic goes well in anything, and pizza is no different.  I minced two cloves of garlic.

I had extra basil from another recipe that I needed to use, so I chopped around 4 basil leaves to add.

Layer all the veggies on top of the tomato sauce, try and distribute evenly.

I wanted to try a couple different cheeses this time, so I grated around a half cup of Parmesan cheese on top of the veggies.

Then I added another half cup of Colby Jack cheese.  Sprinkle a little pepper on top to taste.  Then cook at 350 degrees for around 12 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

It was very yummy, and I believe I've become addicted to another creation :)  I served with a small side salad and had enough pizza for probably three people.  This is a great week night dinner because it's quick and healthy.  

Pizza with Fresh Tomato Sauce

tomato sauce - see recipe here

6 sliced mushrooms

1/2 chopped red or green pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 Boboli whole wheat pizza crust

1 tablespoon chopped basil

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Colby jack cheese

Spread the tomato sauce on top of the pizza crust.

Add the veggies on top of the sauce, and spread evenly.

Grate Parmesan and Colby jack cheese on top of veggies.

Sprinkle with pepper to taste.

Cook at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Serve and enjoy! 

4th of July Fruit Pizza

Although I can't be in my normal stomping grounds for the 4th of July, I wanted to bring a little of home to life with this fruit pizza.  It's something my Mom has made every 4th of July since I can remember.  You can make this for any occasion.  I think it works best in the summer with fresh fruit, but really anytime of year with any fruit would be great.  I usually buy the Nestle pre-made chocolate chip cookie dough from the store, this time I decided to make the dough myself.  I liked it a lot more than the store bought, and although it does take a little more time, it's worth it. 

I will post the cookie recipe at the bottom.  I made half the batch and it was the perfect amount!  I also let the dough cool, covered, in my fridge for two days before making the "pizza" crust.  I'm taking my leanings from the best chocolate chip cookies ever, and putting them to use.  If you don't have the time to chill the dough for a few days, it'll work great to use right after you've made it as well.

Press the dough onto a cookie sheet.  Try to get it as even and flat as possible.  I used a 9x13 inch cookie sheet, and had just enough extra for one cookie :)

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for around 8 minutes.  Make sure you check on the dough a couple times as the dough bakes fast.  The edges will start to brown, that's how you know it's done.

Once the cookie has completely cooled, spread a thin layer of cool whip on top.  I used low fat, just so I could eat a couple more pieces and not feel AS guilty!

This is where you can get really creative.  Since it's the 4th of July, I made a flag and sprinkled some powered sugar on every other row of strawberries for the white stripe. 

 I've eaten this with many different fruits, and they all taste great.  Bananas, grapes, raspberries, blueberries - you name it and believe it or not, it'll go great on a chocolate chip cookie with cool whip :)

What are your favorite 4th of July desserts? 

Almost the weekend...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

*I cut in half! 

2 cups butter

24 oz mini chocolate chips 

4 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups sugar

5 cups blended oatmeal

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender until it's a fine powder. *

Cream butter and both sugars together.

Add eggs and vanilla and mix together well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Add chocolate chips.

Roll into balls for cookies, or spread onto a baking sheet for cookie pizza.

Bake at 350 degrees for around 12 minutes for cookies, 8 minutes for pizza.

*You can skip the oatmeal in these cookies altogether, but they do taste great with the oatmeal included!

Fruit Pizza

1/2 batch of the above cookie dough, or store bought Nestle chocolate chip cookie dough

1/2 cup cool whip, possibly a little more

strawberries

blueberries

Spread the cool whip in an even layer over the cooled cookie dough.

Cut into equal sized pieces.

Add fruit to each piece 

Enjoy! 

Apple Pizza Pie

 

Who doesn't like apples?  Who doesn't like pie?  Mix the two together, you can't go wrong!  This is a creative idea because it's not exactly a pie, just uses pie crust like a pizza crust.  It tastes amazing, like a little slice of apple pie with a sugary glaze on top.  I think this dessert is great to bring to spring/summer BBQ!

I used store bought pie crust, and used both of them.  If you have a great recipe of your own I'm sure that will work great too!  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Roll pie crust out into a rectangle and line the cookie sheet with the dough.  I had to cut and paste some of the edges.  It doesn't have to look perfect because you won't see it!  Set aside.

The first part of this recipe is a little tedious, but stick with it, it'll get easier.  Peel, core, and slice six apples into bite size pieces.

Put the bite sized pieces of apple in a large mixing bowl.

Add sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour.  Stir until the apples are all evenly coated.

Pour apples onto the dough.  Spread into an even layer.  Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar and oats.  Cut in the butter.  I mixed this in with my hands, but you can use a fork too.

Mixture should be crumbly, like above.

Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the apples.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.  My piece of advice here is don't under-cook.  I usually like my baked goods gooey, so I cook them a few minuets less than the suggested time, don't do that here.  The crust in the middle takes a little longer to cook, if you think they look like they're done, I would cook them an extra two minutes just to make sure!

While the pizza is baking mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk.  Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature so you can combine easier.  I mixed it all together and then used a whisk to get all the clumps out.

Once the pizza is finished cooking, remove from the oven and drizzle the cream cheese icing over the top.

Slice and serve.  It tastes great served warm and cold.  I kept the leftovers in the fridge, and they taste just as great then too!  The butter and oats crumbles and the icing really make this a tasty dessert. 

Apple Pizza Pie

Adapted from: Flour Me With Love

1 double crust pie dough recipe (or 2 refrigerated crusts)

6 medium sized apples

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup butter

Icing:

2oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a cooking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Roll pie crust out onto cookie sheet, and set aside.

Peel, core and slice apples into bite size pieces.

Add the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and flour to the apples until evenly coated.

In a separate medium bowl mix together flour, brown sugar and oats.

Cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until crust looks golden brown.

While pizza is cooking make the icing.

Mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk. 

Whisk until all clumps are out.

Once the pizza has finished baking, remove from oven and drizzle with the icing.

Slice and serve!