Pizza Dough

Hello again followers!
I have come to share a fantastic pizza dough recipe with you--adapted from a dear, dear friend of my family, Cathy Rogers (who should have a blog of her own, but I'm glad she doesn't because her recipes are almost too good to share with others). Every time I am with her, we cook for hours on end. I kid you not, the woman in about 5"1 and weighs maybe 90 pounds because lord knows that woman doesn't eat any of the food she makes, which only means more for me! She thinks of things that no one would ever come up with in their lives! I remember this one time where she made her own freshly baked Krispie Kreme Donuts and then puréed it and put it in a small shot glass. It may not sound appealing, but it was like tasting a thick, hot and creamy shot of donut going down your throat...it was orgasmic.
Anywho, she is a big believe in adding a little bit of sweetness to almost everything she makes, which, I can't say is a bad thing, so here is her recipe:

Pizza Dough:
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbs agave nectar (my friends wanted to use honey, which is almost fine if you can't find any agave, however, the honey is a bit thicker, so you may want to add less)
1 ts salt
2 tbs olive oil
4 cups flour

Place 1/2 cup of the warm water in a bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it and allow it to stand until the yeast begins to bubble. *Note: you may need to give it a little stir for it to start bubbling, but not too vigriously. While you are waiting for it to bubble, in another smaller bowl, place the rest of the water, the sugar, the salt, and the olive oil together and once the yeast has finished bubbling, add this mixture into it. Put the flour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast mixture and stir!
Once it becomes like a dough consistency, take it out and knead away, and once you are able to really gather the perfect texture (about 5 minutes of kneading), roll it into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl and cover it was saran wrap and let it sit for about 2 hours.
And voila!

While you're waiting for it to rise, and it can rise quite a bit, you're gonna want to get out all of your ingredients that you're going to top it with and also preheat the oven to 500º.

When the dough looks like it is ready to come out over the top of the bowl, you'll want to take it out and either on tinfoil or parchment paper or a regular pizza oven stone, you'll need to stretch it out all along the edges until it is very thin.
(I had my friends doing some of the hard work)

Then top it!
Once you pop it in the oven, it takes about 10-15 minutes to cook and then it's ready and done and time to cut and eat!

Mozarella, Tomatoes, and Basil

Sundried Tomatoes, Chicken, Mango Habanero Sausage,
Mozarella, and Basil

Nobu- Sushi

It's about time that I start blogging about one of my all time favorite hobbies...eating. Some people eat to live, but I live to eat. Whether I go out to a restaurant to eat or if I eat at home or even if I cook up a storm on my own, I always find myself wondering what I will be eating next. I am addicted to food and can't tell you how excited I get anytime I get to try something new.
Even when I was a little girl, I would go into the kitchen and create some sort of concoction that I would force everyone to try. The first thing I ever "created" was Lemon Roll Roll, which, in retrospect seemed like something that no one had ever done before and I deemed myself to be a culinary prodigy. However, it turned out that I was not the first person to add avocado and lemon juice to a quesadilla.
Fortunately, I have come very far since then and enjoy making (and baking) anything that I think up. I also enjoy eating anything that other chefs decide to think up for me, which usually occurs in a more intimate restaurant setting, such as a sushi bar...Nobu in Malibu to be exact.
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa is the incredible chef who sparked my decision to create this blog where I will share recipes, photos, and restaurant suggestions to anyone willing to hear and share feedback!
The night before heading back to my second semester as a senior in college at the University of Arizona, my parents surprised me by taking me to one of the most popular and incredibly delectable sushi bars on the coast of southern California, (at least in my opinion!)

The best way to eat at a sushi bar, is to tell the sushi chef that you're starving and everything sounds so good that you can't possibly make up your mind about what to have and that you would like for them to surprise you and keep it coming until you can't bare to stuff one more piece of creamy, delicate fish into your belly.
Since it wasn't too crowded at Nobu, that is exactly what I did.
The chef was more than happy to accommodate my needs and started me off with Amberjack sashimi topped with a sesame and curry sauce and fried onions. I had never had Amberjack fish before, but my tastebuds were elated as I tried not to quickly devour this light pink silky fish with a hint of spice and the crunch of the onions to create the perfect blend of texture. YUM! Next on the list was Red Snapper sashimi with a citrus and chili paste, a familiar and comforting taste to me. The sweetness with the kick of the Japanese chili pepper created a new appeal to Red Snapper that I had never had before. Then, it was off to a plain and simple Scallop sushi, something that I often enjoy and enjoyed even more because of the freshness of the fish, (Nobu would never do me wrong with a piece of fresh fish).

Of course after that, my whole family ordered Spicy Tuna on a rice cake, which is an all-time favorite of ours and many others, I'm sure. The rice cake was not too crispy and not too oily, which is sometimes the case in some sushi bars. I was also please with the texture of the tuna, as it was so finely diced, and, they did not add any mayo to the spice mixture, so it was spicy without the extra unnecessary fat added into the mixture. I then ordered a Spicy Shrimp roll with avocado and smelt eggs. If you are making that grossed out or upset face because I mentioned eating unborn Nemo's, stop it! You are missing out if you haven't added smelt eggs or asked for them to be removed from your sushi. They are, in my belief, a great alternative to soy sauce because of the salty-ness that they create AND they're a great late night snack when they get stuck in your teeth! (just kidding....but really, brush well before you go to bed). I kid you not though, you must add them to one of your sushi rolls and give them a shot, I promise you won't regret it. Finally, I ended with something made from the kitchen, their famous Squid pasta with mushrooms and white asparagus in a reduced broth that the Squid and mushrooms had been cooked in, which included a flavorful amount of salt and light garlic. But the Squid pasta was not the chewy texture that you would expect, it was just like pasta! It was easy to chew, it was soft, and it was delicious! The mushrooms were cooked to perfection and the asparagus was not too mushy and not too crunchy, it was just right.


Like I said, Nobu would never do me wrong! I highly, highly recommend going if you haven't, there are several locations across the on the East and West coast and it is definitely a treat! Pricey, but worth it.
With all of the food I eat, you would except that I wouldn't be the smallest of people, and I have always heard that you should never trust a skinny chef. But, I have come to prove you wrong. I am a skinny chef and a skinny eater and I will do my best to never steer you wrong.