Fairly French Pizza

So, I'm going to have to turn all of my mg and liters into ounces and gallons, so please have patience with me.

This is for two medium/small pizzas or one big one.

Pizza dough:
I did have a recipe as inspiration, but I didn't use it much. If you know what dough (bread dough) should feel/look like, make sure your Flour/Water mix feels like that. The rest is about right.


Flour, 500g (3 cups)
I always mix whole wheat flour with white flourWater, 300mL (1¼ cups)
this is going to be harder than I thought....Fresh Yeast, 20g (0.70 oz)
Olive Oil, 2 Tablespoons
Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and Cumin (¼ cup)
some salt, (1 tsp)
a little bit of sugar (1½ TBSP)

Pizza dressing:

Ground beef, 500g (one pound)
Spoonful of Paprika, Chilis, Herbs of Provence
(is that right? It's just a mix of Tarragon leaves, Rosemary, Thyme, and Oregano)Bell pepper, red
2-3 medium sized red Onions
(or normal Onions, but red Onions are sooooo much better!)1-2 Garlic cloves
Roquefort or Bleu Cheese... or just Gouda, if you don't like stinky cheese.
1-2 cooked/boiled Eggs
The dough works like every other dough (for people without Bread machines):
You mix all the bread dough ingredients together in a big bowl, and then knead it until you have a regular bread dough ball. Roll it out on a baking sheet/tray and let it sit in a warm place for about 30 min.

While you're waiting for the dough, you can start pre-heat the oven to 200C (or 392 F) and start working on the dressing:

Mix the ground beef until it has the same consistency as mashed potatoes and then add all the spices. This is your sauce. When the dough is ready, you can distribute the meat-sauce like you would tomato-sauce. Use a fork to poke holes in the meat-covered-dough, so it will bake evenly later.

Cut up the Bell Pepper, Onions, and Garlic as finely as possible. If you like lots of Herbs, you can add more of the French Herbs to this mix. If not, you don't need it. I added more Chili. Distribute this finely cut mix all over the pizza.

Slice the boiled eggs thinly and place them on the pizza. If you decided to go with the Gouda instead of the stinky cheese, I highly recommend putting bacon on top instead of Eggs. Because Bacon might not be French, but it's wonderful!

The Germans have a phrase, "Das Auge isst mit", which kinda means "your eyes eat with you". Ok, it sounds weird when I translate it directly, but it just means make what you're cooking pretty, because nicely arranged foods just taste better. All that to say, decorate your pizzas. Don't just throw every thing on there. I know this blog is called "Guy Foods", but even guys like nice-looking food.

Slice your choice of cheese (or shred it, depending on the cheese) to cover just about everything. Place your Pizza in the Oven for 30 min, but keep an eye on it!!!

Sometimes I need 30 min to get the cheese all nice and crispy and brown on top, sometimes I need 20 min. I don't actually know why. Probably has something to do with the settings.

Wait for it to cool a little when it's done, and enjoy!!!

Butter & Herb Potato Bread

1½ tsp active dry yeast
1 pkg Idahoan Butter & Herb Mashed Potatoes
3 cups white flour
2 TBSP white sugar
1 TBSP gluten
2 TBSP dry milk powder
2½ TBSP butter
½ tsp salt (the potatoes have salt as well)
1⅓ cups water, lukewarm.

Load into bread machine, set the timer, and press go.

This is good! Buttery, lightly seasoned, very smooth.

TJ's White Bread

Into the bread machine, in this order:

1½ tsp active dry yeast

4 cups white flour

2 TBSP white sugar

1 TBSP dry buttermilk powder
1 TBSP gluten

2 TBSP butter

1¼ tsp salt

1⅓ cups milk, preferably lukewarm.

This is the basic white bread recipe that we rely on day-in and day-out.

This is the launch point for a lot of discoveries.

Steak & Tater Soup

½ pound bacon, chopped medium.

5 cloves garlic, chopped medium

1 cup sweet onion, chopped into ½” cubes

1 lb steak, cut into ½” cubes

4 medium russet potatoes, chopped into ⅜” cubes, divided.

½ tsp ground black pepper, divided

1 tsp celery seed, divided
3 dried bay leaves

1 tsp chicken bouillon concentrate, normal,

3 tsp low-sodium bouillon concentrate

½ tsp dried red peppers, chopped (pizza peppers)

½ cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBSP dried buttermilk powder

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

Fry the bacon in a large cast iron frying pan. When the bacon is starting to be done, add the garlic and onions. Continue frying until the onions are starting to get transparent. Reserve excess bacon grease.

Heat half of the bacon grease you just reserved into a large cast iron Dutch oven, and add the steak (it should sizzle!). Fry over medium-high heat until brown on the sides. Reduce to medium heat. Add the ingredients from the frying pan (bacon, onions, garlic). Season with some pepper and celery seed, but no salt.

Heat the remainder of the bacon grease in the frying pan. When it’s hot, add ½ of the potatoes (they should sizzle). Season with pepper and celery seed. Fry until cooked through and brown on the outsides.

Microwave the other potatoes in 1 cup water, until cooked through.

As the steak gives off liquid, add bouillon concentrate and stir to coat all ingredients. Add cream, buttermilk powder, pizza peppers and stir. Add 2 cups water. Cover and heat to boiling again, stirring regularly. Add ½ of the boiled potatoes and their liquid. Mash the other half to release the starches (to thicken the soup) and add to the pot. Add the potatoes from the frying pan and clean the frying pan (we’re done with it). Add bay leaves. Cover and heat to boiling.

Add Parmesan cheese and stir it in well. Cover and heat to boiling. Uncover and stir regularly for 30 minutes, stirring as needed.

Serve with toasted homemade bread and a glass of good, rich stout!

Bacon Pizza Bread

1¾ tsp yeast

1½ cups 2% milk, warmed to room temperature

4 cups unbleached flour

1½ TBSP gluten

1 package spaghetti sauce mix (the dry mix, not the sauce)

¼ cup medium salsa

½ tsp white pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¾ tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dark chili powder

2½ TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ cup chopped sweet onion

2 TBSP sugar

3 TBSP butter, room temperature

1½ TBSP buttermilk powder

1½ cup shredded cheese

1 package bacon bits

Make this in the oven, not in the bread machine.

• Put yeast and warm milk in the mixing bowl. Let it set for 5 minutes.
• Add flour, salt, spices (including packaged mix) and butter. Mix at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more. Add most of the cheese and mix until combined.
• Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) to keep a crust from forming and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, two hours or so.
• Turn bread to a well-floured board or counter. Divide according to your whim for bread pans or smaller loafs. Coat pans with oil. Place dough in pans, and turn over so tops are also oiled.
• Cover dough with same clean kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough completely fills pan and rises above it slightly, 1 hour or so.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Brush each loaf with egg, then sprinkle a little cheese down center of loaf.
• Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 minutes to an hour. 

Fried Spaghetti and Awesome Sauce

In a cast iron frying pan, fry

2 slices bacon, chopped until it’s about halfway cooked.

Add:

1 clove garlic, chopped

¼ cup chopped sweet onion.

Cook until the bacon is nearly done; the garlic & onion should be only partly done.

Add:

1 serving of cold, leftover spaghetti. Stir it in with the onions, garlic & bacon. When it’s warm, add:

1 large dollop Awesome Sauce, pre-heated in the microwave.

Stir until the Awesome Sauce is thoroughly mixed in with the spaghetti etc. If desired, add some shredded cheese. When the whole concoction is well mixed, form it into a (thick) pancake kind of shape.

Turn the heat to medium high, and let it completely brown on the bottom. Then flip over and let it completely brown on the top.

Serve on a plate. Top with shredded cheese if you like, or maybe a fried egg. Or maybe both.

Awesome Sauce

Melt together in a medium saucepan.


4 TBSP butter, melted
3 TBSP all-purpose flour

Stir until very smooth. 
Slowly add 1 cup of warm milk, stirring constantly.

In a frying pan, melt 1 tsp butter. Add:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ of a sweet onion, chopped small


When they're partway cooked, add:
8 - 10 medium size mushrooms, chopped fairly small. Add more butter if needed.
Fry until everything is very soft.

When the saucepan mixture is warm, add the contents of the frying pan, and:
2 tsp low-sodium chicken bouillon paste
1½ cup shredded parmesan cheese (a little at a time)
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
½ tsp white pepper
Freshly ground pepper

The sauce will be thick, really thick. It will become thicker once it's cooled. 
It is really good for Chicken Pasta Mornay.