Thursday, January 28, 2010

Last Night's Treat: Pizza from Scratch!

The crust:

1 tsp. dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 C. warm water (add 1/4 tsp honey--it helps the yeast). Let that sit until it begins to froth a little.

In a bowl, combine:

1 1/2 C. unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
a generous sprinkling of dried oregano, dried basil, and dried crushed red pepper

Add the yeast and approximately 1/2 C more warm water (you've got to have a 'feel' for how much is needed). You can also add a T. or so of olive oil at this point.

Mix thoroughly and turn out on a floured surface. Knead for several minutes, then place in a bowl which has been rubbed with olive oil. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place.

At this point, you can chop garlic, slice mushrooms and grate mozzarella cheese.

When the dough has risen by half, turn it out into a pizza pan which has been rubbed generously with olive oil. Nudge the dough carefully to the edges of the pan.

My favorite ingredient here is pesto sauce, which I usually thin with a bit of olive oil. This pizza required 3 T. of pesto; then I loaded it with garlic, Crimini mushrooms, fire-roasted red peppers and a generous sprinkling of grated Romano cheese.
Here's how it looked, ready for the oven!

I slid it into a pre-heated 425 degree oven for about 14 minutes, then added the grated mozzarella and let it bake until the cheese got bubbly (about 6 minutes more).

And then, it was done! A nice crisp-but-chewy, flavorful crust with very healthful toppings!

I then sat and watched "Abraham Lincoln" (1930, with Walter Huston) on IMDb, before hitting Fox Live for the SOTU.

My pizza was much more spectacular than the speechifying, thank you!

Dissing the SCOTUS? What a schlub!

Justice Mouths 'Not True' as Obama Slams Court

Screen capture, found on YouTube, showing Justice Samuel Alito at left

WASHINGTON -- The man in the House chamber openly disagreeing with President Barack Obama as he spoke to Congress wasn't an over-the-top Republican or a seething Democrat. He was a Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito.

Obama had taken the unusual step of scolding the high court in his State of the Union address Wednesday. "With all due deference to the separation of powers," he began, the court last week "reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections."

Alito made a dismissive face, shook his head repeatedly and appeared to mouth the words "not true" or possibly "simply not true."

A reliable conservative appointed to the court by Republican President George W. Bush, Alito was in the majority in the 5-4 ruling.

Senate Democratic leaders sitting immediately behind Alito and other members of the high court rose and clapped loudly in their direction, with Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leaning slightly forward with the most enthusiastic applause.

The rest is here.

*********

"With all due deference to the separation of powers..."--an interesting line, isn't it? Even more interesting was the underlying snide tone of the president's voice.

The impression given is that the president would like to 'do away with' the separation of powers. He, who knows very little American history, seems to continue to think that the Office of President of the United States automatically grants him dictatorial rights over the citizens of this great nation!

Obama seems to not understand the words of a former President, Abraham Lincoln:

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

CBS Lies!

These shots ARE worth another thousand words. Compare, and see for yourself.


The caption reads:

Tokyo

A shopper watches flat panel TV screens showing live broadcast of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address from Washington at Yamada Denki discount store in Tokyo, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.

But, where are Nancy and Joe? And the RED tie?


This caption reads:

Glenview, Ill.

Kiran Gyawali, a salesperson with an electronic store, watches President Barack Obama deliver his State of the Union address in Glenview, Ill., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010.

Even my own poor vision can tell the difference.

Does CBS, like the president, think we are stupid?