From Food Blogs to Our Table

Eating good food is a must in our household. If we want to stuff ourselves silly with pizza, cookies, and ice cream, might as well do so with style, right?

Here are some great foods we have made at home from my favorite food blogs. Thank you to Joanne, Joy the Baker, and Food Network for making us happy! Your blog posts and recipes are well-loved in our home.    

No-Knead Pizza with Corn, Hatch Chile, and Bacon, from Joy the Baker

I followed the recipe closely… the no-knead pizza didn’t really turn out to be no-knead and I ditched my spatula and used my hands instead. There’s really nothing better than kneading dough and I love every part of the whole process. So using some arm muscles was not a big deal. The dough was delicious, but what is even more amazing about this pizza are the toppings. I altered the recipe a bit by using my own fresh pizza sauce, half mozzarella and half queso fresco, roasted poblano peppers (instead of hatch chile), and roasted corn. The homemade pizza sauce, salty cheese, crispy bacon, spicy poblanos, and sweet corn are so perfect together! One of the best pizzas I have ever made.

Here’s the recipe for my homemade fresh tomato sauce.

Fresh Tomato Pizza Sauce (Good for 2 pizzas)

3 Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp olive oil
¼ tsp coriander
¼ tsp salt
a pinch of chili flakes
 
Place all the ingredients in a blender. Puree until everything is well-mixed and smooth.
 

Dark Chocolate, Pistachio, and Smoked Sea Salt Cookies, from Joy the Baker

You guys, these cookies were so good! That Joy girl sure knows her stuff. When I read her blog post on these babies I knew I had to make them. And boy, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how so much better these cookies were than what I had imagined! DFJ ate about 5 per day until they disappeared. These cookies are a combination of fancy, campfirey, and all-time favorite. Please do yourselves a favor and bake these for your loved ones or just for yourself because you deserve them!

 

Roasting and Seeding Various Peppers, from Food Network courtesy of Emeril Lagasse

 

I followed this recipe to make roasted poblano peppers and loved the result. I roasted 4 large poblano peppers, peeled, and then sliced them. They already went on the pizza above, stir-fries, and Zucchini with Sausage and Greens. I love how they add a wonderful mild spiciness to all the dishes they have been thrown into!  

Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream, from Joanne of Eats Well with Others

My blogger friend, Joanne of Eats Well with Others, is going through a difficult time right now with news of her father’s cancer. To support her, I decided to make this delicious ice cream recipe that she posted on her blog. DFJ and I made ice cream for the very first time a few nights ago and hovered our ice cream maker like little kids. We followed Joanne’s directions closely and used all the ingredients required except for the peanut butter. Only almond butter was available at home and that’s what we used. If you tasted the ice cream, you would think we had been making ice cream for years. This was utterly delicious! Goodbye store bought ice cream! And hello homemade ice cream, especially you Almond Butter and Honey Ice Cream.

Joanne, thanks for sharing this recipe. You and your family are in my thoughts.