My mother knows how to make a memorable meal, and her desserts are even more so (if that’s even possible). I enjoyed this dessert while growing up and it continues to be one of my favorite go-to’s when I need something easy, refreshing, and delicious! There …
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating at a Sweetwater Tavern in Northern VA, you are considered among the most fortunate. It is one of my most favorite places in the world. I love everything they serve – from the sweet little fried bread balls to …
Years ago a friend of mine introduced me to a little pizza shop located in the Shenandoah Mountains, near the Virginia/West Virginia border. This quaint little ‘mom and pop’ parlor served up some of the best pizza I have ever eaten and their taco pizza left me wishing that I lived a little closer!
While I can’t do justice in comparison, I decided to try my best to recreate the taco pizza with some pretty good results. It is actually super easy to make. Check it out for yourself…
First things first. Whip up some pizza dough.
This has been my go-to pizza dough recipe for many years. It is simple to make, uses few ingredients, and you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise very long.
Make sure to use lukewarm water when mixing it with the yeast. The warmth will help activate the yeast but if its too hot, it’ll do the opposite and kill it. After standing for five minutes or so, the yeast mixture should appear foamy and smell like ale. If this doesn’t happen, your yeast isn’t good anymore. TIP: Keep your yeast in the freezer until ready to use. No thawing necessary and it’ll keep much longer.
After mixing up the dough and letting it rest for ten minutes, roll it out on your pizza stone. I’ve found that a rolling pin works perfectly to roll the dough out directly on the stone. Gently roll past the edges of the stone and the overlapping dough will make a perfect edge.
Spread with taco sauce, some prepared taco meat, and shredded cheese.
Bake until the cheese is nice and melted.
Top with your preferred toppings. I used shredded lettuce, tomatoes, crushed corn chips, sour cream, and some more taco sauce.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
For the dough: Mix water, yeast, and sugar together. Let sit for five minutes or until slightly foamy on the top.
Add the flour and salt to your mixer bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil and yeast mixtures. Using a dough hook, mix on med-low until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms into a smooth ball.
With slightly floured hands, remove dough hook and place the bowl in a nice warm spot. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
Brown the ground beef. Drain and add the taco seasoning. Prepare according to the package instructions by adding about 1/3 C of water and cooking until the liquid reduces.
Roll or press the dough out onto a pizza stone.
Spread an even amount of taco sauce over the dough. Top with the seasoned ground beef and shredded cheese.
Place in the oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and dough is cooked through.
Top with lettuce, corn chips, sour cream or any of other desired toppings.
I know it probably seems strange but I never grilled brats before moving to Colorado. Thus the inspired name for this post. I have eaten my share of the foil-wrapped, slightly spicy dogs – usually when in a hurry to keep the pace before starting …
When we’ve been fortunate to eat at Maggianos, there is always one go-to dish that my family loves. We never go home without ordering it. You guessed it. It’s Rigatoni D. I have to admit that I’ve been working on recreating this recipe for years …
If you love chocolate. This cake is for you.
I made this cake last week to celebrate a friends birthday – she obviously loves chocolate too!
When you really need a chocolate fix – look no further! Instead of your typical buttercream or cream cheese based frosting (don’t get me wrong, I love those versions too!) try a ganache frosting. This frosting is rich, decadent, and complete ‘fudgy’ (can’t believe thats not a real word) goodness!
Ganache is simply cream, and chocolate married to each other with butter.
I heated up about 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 stick of butter (I used salted since I didn’t have unsalted on hand) until almost simmering. Then I poured the hot cream and butter over TWO packages of 16oz packages of chocolate chips and let sit a minute for the heat to do its thing. Then stir until all the chocolate is melted and beautifully velvety.
You can let this cool a bit and pour it as a glaze.
Or cool longer until the chocolate starts to set up and keep its shape. Then whip it until it because a frosting but be careful here. If your trying to achieve a perfectly smooth frosted cake – you’ll need to work quickly since as the frosting sits it’ll become more stiff. Likewise, if your chocolate isn’t set up enough, then it’ll ‘melt’ off your cake.
*You can use whatever chocolate you like. Just remember the better the quality, the better the taste. For the cake above I used one package of milk chocolate chips and one package of semi-sweet chips.
**You can also add a tsp or 2 of expresso powder to help intensify the chocolate flavor. Add this to the chips before mixing in with the hot cream.
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