County Fair Fried Dough

Last week as a Birthday gift for Fran and an early Birthday gift to me Sammy and Tricia got us a new 6 Quart Professional KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

Needless to say, I was delighted. We use our current 4.5 Quart KitchenAid constantly. For the longest time, I've wanted to upgrade to the larger machine and now I have it.

I just couldn't wait to mix up some of my Easy all-purpose dough in my new KitchenAid. So, I mixed up a batch and made some pizza.

I only made a couple of small pizzas so I would have some dough left over to make some fried dough.

County Fair Fried Dough:  

You don't have to wait for that annual county fair to have this sweet little treat. These are so easy to make and the perfect little snack. You can make your own dough or just pick up some fresh dough at your local grocery store.

I pulled off a handful of dough and then shaped it into as close to a circle as I could get. These are about 4 to 5 inches across.

Using my 8-inch cast iron skillet I poured about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil into the bottom. I set the heat to medium and heated the oil to about 350 degrees.

Once the oil is hot they only take about 20 seconds per side to cook. If the oil is too hot they'll brown too fast and not cook on the inside.

In a separate dish, I mixed 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. I used Penzeys Vietnamese Cinnamon it's a favorite of ours.

Out of the skillet and into the sugar and cinnamon coating on both sides. Then place them on another dish lined with paper towels.

Let them cool for about 10 minutes before eating. Now you can enjoy county fair fried dough any time of the year.

You might like: Fresh Tomato Spinach Pizza

As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Make your own: County Fair Fried Dough

KitchenAid KP26M1XER 6 Qt. Professional 600 Series Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer - Empire Red

Lodge Heat Enhanced and Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet, 8-Inch

Vietnamese Cinnamon Ground By Penzeys Spices 1.7 oz 1/2 cup jar (Pack of 1)

Apple Crisp

I had some apples left over from my previous post-Sam's Apple Pie. I was all set to make some more pie crust for a second pie, but my wife said: "why don't you make an apple crisp instead". I took her advice and made this simple yet delicious dessert. This apple crisp is great served warm, with whip cream or ice cream.

Here is what I used to make the crisp topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup Quaker Oats

I loaded all of this into my KitchenAid mixing bowl, set the flat beater in place, and turned it on low speed for about one minute. This mixed up very nicely until it was crumbly.

This was really enough for a 9x13 inch pie plate but I didn't have that many apples left over, so I used another 9-inch pie plate. I put the apples in the pie plate and then packed on the crisp topping, as I had more than enough.

I set the oven to 350 degrees and baked it for 45 minutes, I also set the pie plate on a cookie sheet just in case of any spills.

As Always Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.

Why I Love My KitchenAid Stand Mixer

In today’s busy world we need all the help we can muster, especially in the kitchen. My KitchenAid is a real time saver for me.

I have a passion for making homemade pizza, bread, and homemade pasta. My mixer makes short work of the dough for any of these.

Just add the ingredients attach the dough hook and turn it on. I have a nice batch of fresh dough for my homemade pizza in about 5 minutes.

There is nothing like the smell of homemade baked goods coming from the oven. What did you say? You like homemade cookies; well this mixer will help cut the time to mix your favorite cookie dough or batter.

 With the time you save you could be helping the kids with their homework, or talking with a friend on phone. I love oatmeal raisin cookies, and mixing up a batch in the KitchenAid is really easy.

Here is my quick and easy pizza dough recipe:

5 1/2 to 6 cups of all-purpose flour
2 package of dry yeast
3 tablespoons of oil or Crisco
1 teaspoon of salt
2 1/4 cups of warm water

All I have to do now is put all of these ingredients into my Kitchen Aid bowl, attach the dough hook and turn it on. In about 3 minutes I have enough dough to make 2 fresh homemade pizzas.

  Get the recipe for homemade pizza here

Some Features of My Mixer

I have the one pictured it's the 6-quart Professional Mixer, and it comes with a Flat Beater, Wire Wisk, and A Dough Hook. You'll find that these tools are able to take on many tasks to assist you in the kitchen.

Here is a fresh batch of dough for my homemade Cavatelli.

  Get the recipe here for homemade Cavatelli.

A video of the many attachments and their uses

As always Thanks for stopping by and enjoy.

KitchenAid RRK150BK 5 Qt. Artisan Series Stand Mixer - Imperial Black (Renewed)KitchenAid NEW 7 Quart Bowl Lift Stand Mixer with Double Flex Edge Beater KSM70SK, Empire Red

 

Homemade Cavatelli

This homemade cavatelli pasta recipe has been in our family for years; I swear every time we make them they get better.

The homemade cavatelli dough is really easy to make and we enjoy spending a little extra time to have something homemade.

If you like pasta you're going to love cavatelli. There is always something special about fresh homemade pasta.

You may not know what cavatelli are. So let me explain right from Wikipedia. Cavatelli is a type of pasta. The most common meaning is small pasta shells that look like miniature hot dog buns.

Homemade Cavatelli Recipe Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheese

All-Purpose Flour

Salt

Egg

You can use the whole ricotta cheese but we prefer to use the part skim.

Here is the Recipe for homemade cavatelli:

2 1/2 to 3-Cups of flour
1-pound of ricotta cheese (You buy ricotta in 15 oz. containers) this is okay
1-Egg
1-Tsp of salt

Combine all ingredients in the bowl, set your KitchenAid on the lowest speed and let it work until the dough binds together.

You'll probably have to take it out of the bowl and work it with your hands until it's smooth.
If you don't have a KitchenAid stand mixer that's okay.

You really don't need one. You just have to mix the dough with your hands. Just work the dough until it all comes together and it's smooth and forms a ball. Don't forget to wash your hands first!

 

Here you see the dough formed into a ball.
This recipe yields 2 lbs. and we call this one batch of cavatelli. I don't know why but that's what we call it.

Now cover this with a bowl and let it rest for about 1/2 hour. While you’re waiting you could mix up the second batch.

Now you'll want to spread some flour out onto a cutting board or your counter. Form the dough into one large log, as you see in the picture.

Then cut 1/2" slices which you will then roll into smaller 1/2" logs. Roll them in the flour because you don't want the dough to be wet.

As you can see in the picture here, I have made three batches. We like to make cavatelli for some family events.

Attach the cavatelli machine to your counter. Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper and spread some flour over it.

Start feeding the logs and crank out those little beauties onto a floured cookie sheet.
Keep adding some flour to the rollers of the machine so they don't stick.

 If adding flour doesn't prevent them from sticking, just let the logs set a while, as they are too wet.

Pictured here is our grandson Bobby cranking out the cavatelli. He was 7 years old in this picture and he is the greatest helper.

My grandmother used to make these without a machine; she would cut the logs and sort of flip them with two fingers. I never could master that so I opted for the machine, it is much faster.

This is what they look like ready to go in the freezer. Now just place the pan in the freezer for about 30 to 45 minutes they will be frozen.

Fill up your freezer bag, and now you can have homemade pasta whenever you want to.

Learn how to make homemade tomato sauce here

 As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy.


Make Homemade Cavatelli

& 

Sorrento Whole Milk Deli Ricotta Cheese, 32 Ounce -- 6Pillsbury Best All Purpose Flour, 5 lb.Fante’s Cousin Elisa's Cavatelli Maker Machine for Authentic Italian PastaHefty Slider Freezer Bags (Gallon, 56 Count)Latest Cutting Board - Lifetime Replacement Warranty - Best RatedOvenStuff Non-Stick Set of 3 Cookie PansReynolds Wrap Cut-Rite Wax Paper - 75 sq ft -KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart,

How to make Homemade Pizza

This mouth-watering homemade pizza recipe is handed down from my grandmother. My grandma Liz made the best pizza in the world. Whose grandmother didn't?

When I was a kid and knew she was making pizza I would make a dash for her house, which was easy because she only lived two blocks away.

Oh, the wonderful smell and the anticipation of waiting for it to come out of the oven. This is my recipe for homemade pizza; it's probably not as good as my grandmother's but close and besides it's homemade what more could you ask for?

Here is what you need to make the dough:

· 2 pkg. active dry yeast

· 2-1/4 cups of warm water, not too hot

· 1 tsp salt

· 3 tbsp of Crisco or oil

· 5 to 6 cups of all-purpose flour

This is how you make the dough:

1. In a measuring cup, add the yeast to the warm water and let it stand.
2. In a large bowl or your KitchenAid mixing bowl, add the flour, Crisco or oil, salt.
3. By now the yeast should have mostly dissolved in the water. So pour it into the bowl with the flour.
4. Mix by hand, or set your KitchenAid mixer on the low setting using the dough hook
5. Mix until the dough is smooth, and let the dough rise for one hour

This will yield about 3 pizzas 12” to 14” depending if you like thick crust or thin. I like thin crust.

Mixing the dough in my KitchenAid

Now we can make the sauce:

· 2 Can (28Oz.) of crushed tomatoes

· 2 or 3 tbsp of light olive oil or vegetable oil

· 1 glove of garlic Finley chopped (you can also add garlic powder)

· 1 Tsp. of oregano or Italian Seasoning

· 1 Tsp. salt - a little pepper

I like to cook my sauce first. Pour the tomatoes into a 1-quart pot, add all of the ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil, not a roaring boil, as soon as you see it start to bubble turn off the burner.

My pizza sauce on the stove

Preheat your oven the 450 degrees, spread the dough in your pizza pan, add your sauce, and sprinkle some Italian seasoning and Romano cheese. I bake two pizzas at a time for about 20 minutes, one pizza on the middle rack and one on top. After 9 or 10 minutes switch the racks.

Now you'll notice that I don't have any other topping on my pizza because this is the way my grandmother made it and I like it this way. 

The greatest thing about pizza is that there are so many toppings. Here are some that I do like to add sometimes:

Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Italian Pork Sausage, Anchovies (not my favorite), Green Peppers, Hot Peppers, Mozzarella Cheese. To add your toppings shorten your bake time by about 2 minutes, take them out and add your favorite topping, and put them back in the oven for 2 minutes.

As always Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed my recipe.

KitchenAid KSM3311XAQ Artisan Mini Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, 3.5 quart, Aqua Sky BlueBaking Sheet Set, 3-Piece Cookie Sheet Set with Silicone Handles, Steel Baking Pans Set, Durable Baking Sheets for Oven, BPA Free Cookie Sheets for Baking Nonstick Set, Sheet Pan - Black Baking Pan