My two favorites are back together again.
I think Maddie missed Derek just as much as I did. 😉
Can you believe it has been a month since we last saw each other?!?! Far too long in my opinion!
In honor of mine and Derek’s (and Maddie’s) reunion I promised Derek I would bake him a little piece of Chicago in the form of a deep dish pizza.
Rumor has it the key to a great deep dish crust is butter. Which makes sense because doesn’t butter really make everything better anyways? Tami had heard me raving about the amazing deep dish crust at Ginos’s East and was kind enough to send me a link to this recipe for the perfect deep dish crust.
I followed the recipe exactly (full butter and all). The end result was a lovely bowl of dough that was left to sit and rise for an hour.
A beer helped the hour pass.
After the dough doubled in size I split it in half, put half in the freezer, and stretched the other half to a 9 inch cake pan.
Per the directions I baked the crust first for 15 minutes and prepped the toppings.
Fresh Mozzarella, Mushrooms, Basil, Onion, Tomato, Soy Crumbles, and Olives
Marinara sauce to finish it off
15 minutes later…
Not quite Chicago deep dish, but pretty darn close.
I was going for a thick, crispy crust, but ended up with more of a chewy, dense crust. It was still delicious and I enjoyed every bite, just not quite what I had in mind. 😉
I had half of the pizza for dinner this evening.
With massaged kale salad.
Nom Nom Nom
I had a coupon for dessert!
1 small Scoop Froggy Frog Italian Ice with Vanilla Soft Serve
It had been far too long since I had Jeremiah’s! Last Fall I swear I was there every other weekend. Which reminds me… Only one more month until the pumpkin italian ice makes a come back! I’m counting down the days. 😉
Movie time!
Anyone seen it? So far it’s a little weird.
Good Night.
Butter in the crust is the secret? I usually use EVOO. I’ll have to switch it up next time.
Derek looks just like Bob Saget at that angle!! Have fun!!
Yay!!! A month is wayyyy too long!! I am happy you are having a fun date night 🙂
Never seen that movie! Let us know how it is! I’m glad you and Derek are reunited! A month is wayyy too long! Enjoy yourself 🙂
I cannot believe it’s been a month! Hope you have a fun reunion!
The pizza looks yummy, I’m going to definitely try green olives next time. Have a fun weekend!
Kick-Ass is kick ass 🙂 No actually, it’s pretty good; just not what I expected when I rented it.
Pizza looks delish though. My mouth is seriously watering. What is froggy italian ice? What does it taste like?
I love Honey Moon, I swear, I can drink it like I drink water :o)
mmmm, I don’t remember having a deep dish pizza, but maybe you had to press the dough sort of pie shaped for the consistency?
Anyway, I saw Kick-Ass a couple of weeks ago and it’s so bad ass and funny. But the downside is, the girl had to do six months of therapy because of her role. I don’t blame her, pretty grueling what she has to do.
Have a sweet time with derek
how did i never get that frozen treat when i was in FL!?!?!?! tragedy!!!
It is a very bizarre movie, but I enjoyed it.
hey meghann! im a long-time, in-the-closet reader and i’ve finally decided enough is enough! i love your blog, and definitely read it everyday. your creative meal ideas are great for new flavor inspirations haha. anyways, kick-ass is a weird movie, but it liked it as well—you just have to go with it, weird super-heros and all.
my best friend and i just started our own blog, http://www.standingintadasana.blogspot.com
obviously, we share a love for yoga 🙂
Bummer that the pizza didn’t turn out, but it still looks good!!
me and my friends are somewhat obsessed with kick-ass. it’s different and weird… but in a good way! i know what you mean about waiting a month. i LOVE pumpkin anything!
I am counting down ’til October too! Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, etc.! My favorite time of the year! 🙂
After all you guys have been in Chicago, I had the same thought (about making homemade deep dish). I’m not surprised that butter would be a secret ingredient. Maybe next time, try to get it up on the sides more, similar to a pie crust. That’s how I always have seen deep dish in Chi-town.
i am TOTALLY impressed! and inspired 🙂 i will have to try this soon!
That ice cream looks so amazing!! So does the pizza! I’ll have to try out that crust recipe and see if I can replicate my own Chicago deep dish. Gino’s East does have an amazing crust. Gosh, now I’m hungry! 🙂
My husband watched Kick Ass in bed next to me while I faded in and out of a sickness-induced stupor, so I have awful memories of way too much action for my delicate state. How did you like it?
Mmmm that deep dish looks yummy! I never thought to put green olives on my pizza, great idea!
I love deep dish so much! I get it everytime I go back home to Chicago. I’ve thought about making my own, but my husband hates it. 🙁
That must be so nice to see Derek after so long!! Thats crazy! And that pizza looks good! I don’t have a crust preference it just depends on my mood, thin, crunchy, dough-y… it’s all good in my book. But I’ve never tried deep dish!
Gino’s East has a cornbread crust, so next time try adding more cornmeal and less flour. My great uncle founded Gino’s, and even I don’t know the crust recipe!!
I wonder what the trick is to deep dish pizza dough? If you ever find out, let us know:)
I’m very impressed that you tackled deep dish! It looks pretty darn good if you ask me! Too bad I can’t lick my screen (kidding..err yeah)
Meghann, the only way you get a crispy crust is to preheat your oven proof skillet for like 30 minutes before you put your dough in – then put oil (not a lot) in the bottom of the skillet, add your dough and bake it for 15 minutes.
Then take the dough out of your pan, add your toppings and cook the remainder of the time just on your oven rack – the heat of the oven will crisp up even the sides that way – let me know if you try it!
And great run!
I have never considered making my own deep dish before (I’m from the Chicago area so I guess I just took it for granted there) but that sounds delish! It looks like your crust didn’t rise enough, hence the denseness.
What a long time to go without seeing Derek! I bet it was fun being reunited.
I can’t wait for all things pumpkin! Pumpkin spiced icecream, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin ale, pumpkin pie!! Yay!!
Comments on this entry are closed.