Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: Basic Pizza

I'm cooking my to Italy this year, and I couldn't help coming back again and again to this classic, this essential Italian cookbook by Marcella Hazan. Of course, I had to try her recipe for pizza. 

I've been making homemade pizza crust for over thirty years, and I've always felt like I had a great deal of success with my go-to recipe. But let's try Hazan, shall we?

Basic Pizza Dough

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm water

3 1/4 cups flour

Extra virgin olive oil, about 4 tsp.

1/2 T. salt

Cornmeal

1. Dissolve the yeast completely in a large bowl by stirring it into 1/4 cup lukewarm water. When dissolved, in 10 minutes or less, add 1 cup flour. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. As you continue to stir, gradually add 3 tsp. olive oil, 1/2 T. salt, 1/4 c. lukewarm water, and 1 c. more flour. When adding flour and water for the last time, hold back some of both and add only as much as you need to make the dough soft, but not too sticky.

2. Slap the dough down very hard against the work counter several times until it is stretched out to a length of about 10 inches. Reach for the far end of the dough, fold it a short distance toward you, push it away with the heel of your palm, flexing your wrist, fold it, and push it away again, gradually rolling it up and bringing it close to you. Rotate the dough a one-quarter turn, pick it up and slap it down hard, repeating the entire previous operation. Give it another one-quarter turn in the same direction and repeat the procedure for about 10 minutes. Pat the kneaded dough into a round shape. 

3. Line a bowl with 1 tsp. olive oil, put in the dough, cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm corner until the dough has doubled in size, about 3 hours.

4. At least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, put the stone in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

5. Sprinkle the baker's peel with cornmeal. Divide the risen dough in half. Roll out the dough into a thick disk. Stretch the dough by twirling it on both of your upraised fists, bouncing it from time to time into the air to turn it. When it is the desired shape, put the circle of dough on the peel.

6. Put the topping of your choice on the dough. Jerk the peel away sharply, onto the preheated stone. Bake for 20 minutes until the dough becomes a light golden brown. As soon as it is done, drizzle lightly with olive oil. 

Epicurious did a wonderful post on 16 Things Marcella Hazan Taught Us About Cooking.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

The Most Common Words in the Titles of the Last 500 Books I've Read

How did I do it? I copied a list of the titles of the last 500 books I’ve read from Goodreads and pasted them into a word cloud generator, like Wordle.


Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

National Bookmobile Week, Yoga for Book Lovers, and Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon

I had a turbulent week last week, with a mandatory new financial system training at work, wrapping up the book fair, a Dance Party in the library during Fun Day/Field Day at school, getting my stitches in my thumb out, and worrying over my ninety-one year old dad having a pacemaker installed.

But all went well. Friday was an odd no-holiday holiday day-off from work, so I got some time to rest and relax and read.

NATIONAL BOOKMOBILE WEEK

Last week was both National Library Week and National Bookmobile Week. Do you remember bookmobiles from your childhood? I got my first library books from the bookmobile that came to our little town when I was a little girl.

We have a book bus that travels throughout our school district during the summer. It's the Alvin ISD Book Bus. It's a great opportunity for children who live in the far reaches of our district to be able to continue to check out books over the summer months.

Curious about bookmobiles? Here are some stats about them.


TALK TO BOOKS

Have you heard about the new Google search? You can ask a question and Google will search its database of books for answers. It is quite fun. Take a look at Talk to Books.


BALDWIN LIBRARY OF HISTORICAL CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

I spent some time last week exploring the University of Florida's Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature. It's a collection of 130,000 children's books published in the US and Great Britain between the mid-1600's and the present day. I wonder why many children's books from the past are sanctimonious. I don't think I'd have found reading so enchanting had I grown up in the 1800's.


YOGA FOR BOOK LOVERS

One of my friends, local author Glenn Starkey, shared this with me last week. Anybody else a yoga person? I may try this during Readathon next weekend.

DEWEY'S 24-HOUR READATHON

One of my favorite events of the year will be next weekend. Can you read for twenty-four hours straight? I can't, but I still have a lot of fun trying. Have you signed up? Sign up today here.

What are you reading today? 

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: Crespelle

Marcella Hazan is a revered name in Italian cooking. She's the real deal, and this book is a combination of her two books on authentic Italian cooking, Classic Italian Cooking and More Classic Italian Cooking, into one. One blogger spent a year cooking recipes from her book with her online group. Hazan focused on cooking simply, and what cook doesn't like simplicity?

Crespelle

• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup all purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• butter for crepe pan
• 
  

1. Add flour gradually to milk. Strain through a sieve to avoid lumps. Evenly blend.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating them rapidly with a fork. Add salt.
3. Butter the crepe pan. Use medium low heat.
4. Pour 2 T. of the batter into the pan. Tilt and rotate the pan to distribute the batter evenly.
5. As soon as the batter sets and becomes speckled brown, slip a spatula underneath and flip it to the other side. Stack the finished crespelle on a plate.

Hazan tells us that Italians stuff crespelle with meat, cheese, or vegetable fillings. 

Maybe I'll try that next time.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Philosophy(ish) Books (Gulp!) You Haven't Read But Mustn't Miss

Philosophy doesn't sound very interesting to you? You've never taken a class, then, or maybe you had an awful teacher.

The best class I ever took was in philosophy. We read and thought and discussed, read and thought and discussed, and read and thought and discussed until we found that pattern, reading-thinking-discussing, carried over into our everyday lives. It's a good way to live.

Here are some philosophy(ish) books you might like. 

At the Existentialist Cafe

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry

How to Live Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer

My Name is Asher Lev

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Lila

How to Be Perfect (poetry that's philosophical)

Zen and the Zen Classics

Antifragile

Montaigne in Barn Boots

Walden

The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish

Zen Camera

Maybe you also have some titles to share with me. I'd love to hear your recommendations.

The Texas Library Association Conference: Where Do All the Books Go?

I left you last with this photo of a jumble of books I brought home from TLA. If you recall, my final day, sadly, was spent at the ER with a dislocated thumb from a fall I experienced on the way back to my hotel. I came home with $110 in cash I'd planned to spend the last day (where lots of publishers sell off their books at cut-rate, cash-only prices instead of paying to ship them home), buying books for my district's Book Bus, but that money, again sadly, will be used to pay my deductible for the very wonderful staff at Baylor University Hospital who sewed up and splinted my thumb.

Nevertheless, I came home with these totals: 

Day 1 (Exhibit Hall Opening Night): 49 books

Day 2: 97 books

Day 3 84 books

Grand total: 230 books

What happens to these books? you may be asking. 

Simple answer. I read them.

Some of them I want to read cover-to-cover. 

The finished books I hope to read and review and then pass on to our district's Book Bus, to check out to children this summer:

The rest I've sorted into adult, ya, and children's stacks. I'll save these for a while and see what I want to read. Then, if I pass on reading a complete book, I'll send it out into the world with other school librarians, teachers, and my Little Libraries in low-income areas of our town. 

What would you read first if you had these books to choose from?


Here are some of books I finished recently:

cover	title	review	date read
	Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture	This book is the little story of the way competition combined with a big problem combined with clever brain synapses resulted in the completion of a p ...more	Apr 14, 2018
	Awesome Is Everywhere	Let's take a look at this book. Open it...whoosh! You are way, way up in space, looking down on this beautiful earth. Now tap and you zoom in, down in ...more	Apr 14, 2018
	The Overstory	I'm one-handed this week, so typing is a difficult, hunt-and-peck sort of adventure. But that's just an excuse thrown out there; the truth is that I'm...more	Apr 14, 2018
	Discovering Titanic's Remains	What do children love to read about? True things. What is one of their favorite true things to read about? The Titanic. This book is an excellent explo ...more	Apr 14, 2018
	Marwan's Journey	Marwan is on the road, off on a journey to another place, leaving behind all he knows, all he loves. This is a story of sadness, of loss, but it is al ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Let's Hatch Chicks!: A Day-by-Day Chick Hatching Guide for Kids	What happens when chickens lay eggs? This is the day-to-day story of what happens. The text and illustrations are perfect for children who want to expl ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Everybunny Count!	I've read a lot of counting books in my ten years as a Cybils judge. A lot. I can't imagine how many counting books come across a good editor's desk. E ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Bella Figura: How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way	Kamin Mohammadi moves to Italy for respite from the stressful and unhappy life she has created for herself in London. She begins again, guided by new ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Here Comes the Easter Beagle!	It's Easter, but where is the Easter Beagle? Is he coming this year? Or did he, perhaps, drink a little too much root beer? This adaptation of the tv m ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Hazelnut Days	Children face troubles in our world today. Everything isn't bunnies and puppies. Sadly. Children need books that help them know that other people have ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt (A Narwhal and Jelly Book #2)	I was astonished to find that the first Narwhal and Jelly book beat out some amazing books like There's a Bear on My Chair and A Unicorn Named Sparkle ...more	Apr 09, 2018
	Zen Camera: Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography	I'm fascinated with both Zen and photography. This is the perfect book for me. I'm not an expert on either, and Ulrich doesn't claim to be a Zen master...more	Apr 07, 2018
	The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish	When you read on a book for four months, you know that something good is there. If you are anything like me, you probably know nothing about Sufism. P...more	Apr 07, 2018

What are you reading today? 

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week. 

 It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is now being hosted at The Book Date.

Voodoo Donuts (Redux)

You can't go to Austin, Texas and miss Voodoo Donuts. Thank goodness Lent hadn't arrived yet. There's nothing like Voodoo Donuts.

For more wordless photos, go to Wordless Wednesday.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken and then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at West Metro Mommy Reads.