Pizza

Mom often made pizza from scratch. Homemade pizza is not too difficult. But most importantly, homemade pizza is easy to customize. Mom always made this pizza as thin-crust pizza, but you could use the pizza to make a stuffed pizza if you wanted.

I remember helping Mom make pizza. She always used rectangular cookie sheets and cut the pizza into squares. Cutting pizza into squares is common in Chicago, even for round pizzas, and is known as "party cut" or "tavern cut." Also, Mom had a few mini-pans, that were about 4 inches by 2 inches, and Mom always let me have one of the mini-pizzas that I could top however I wanted.

For the cheese, Mom used to get a block of mozzarella and cut it into slices. Using this type of cheese can create a nice thick layer of cheese on the pizza. For this batch, I made one pizza with sliced cheese and one pizza with shredded cheese.

I suspect that the most popular pizza topping in Chicago is Italian sausage. Mom's standard topping was usually ground beef. For this pizza, I used Italian sausage, but any toppings will work. Sometimes, Mom would use vegetable toppings, but I am not sure my siblings like anything but Mom's standard pizza. The great thing about homemade pizza is that you can use any toppings, any sauce, any cheese that you want.

Pizza 
(yields 2 pizzas)

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 2-3 cups flour
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• Sauce (16 ounces of tomato sauce seasoned with garlic and oregano)
• 2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
• toppings such as cooked sausage (about one pound), veggies, etc.
• grated parmesan cheese

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy. Combine flour, olive oil, salt, sugar, and yeast mixture in a large bowl. Stir well until the dough comes together and is stiff. Add additional flour, if needed. Cover dough and allow to rise until dough has doubled, about 1 to 2 hours. When the dough is almost done rising, cook any of the toppings (such as sausage) that need to be cooked. Turn out dough on floured surface and form into pizza crusts. Grease the pans and sprinkle with semolina flour. Place dough into pans and create a slight edge with the dough. 

Cover the dough with sauce, toppings and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle pizza with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pizza is golden. Enjoy!

Grandpa's Birthday Cake

One year (and just one year) Mom made this birthday cake for Grandpa. It must have been in the 1980s because we still lived on Lincoln. Grandpa loved blueberries, so Mom made this very special blueberry layer cake. Layer cakes, especially with whipped cream topping, can be fragile. After dinner when it was time for dessert, John was carrying the cake to the table when suddenly the top layer slide off. I seem to recall that the cake was salvaged, and it was messy but delicious. This photo is not from this famous blueberry layer cake birthday, but it captures Grandpa.

Today is Grandpa's birthday. It has been not quite five years since Grandma and Grandpa passed away. I miss them, but I have wonderful memories of them, especially this delicious birthday cake. While Grandma was famous for her sweet tooth (which I have inherited) and would be happy with anything sweet, Grandpa loved cake. But not just any cake. Grandpa did not like and refused to eat chocolate cake; he always said devil's food cake was for the devil. So this cake is made with a classic yellow cake. I personally think it would also be tasty as a chocolate cake. But in honor of Grandpa, this cake is not chocolate.

After making and taste-testing this cake, I can report that this cake is as delicious as I remember. Even though the top layer did not slide off this time, the cake was still a bit messy. The cake itself is a standard yellow cake; you can follow the directions below or just use a box mix. The frosting is whipped cream and the blueberry filling is store-bought blueberry pie filling. You can make your own blueberry filling, but Mom used store-bought pie filling and so did I.

Grandpa's Birthday Cake


Yellow Cake

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, butter, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes until well combined. Add eggs and beat for 2 more minutes. Pour into 2 well greased and floured 8-inch round pans until pans are half-full. If you have leftover batter, make a few cupcakes or use another pan. Bake in an oven heated to 350 for 25 to 35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to completely cool before removing from the pan.

Whipped Cream Frosting

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Place all ingredients in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use

To assemble the cake, place the first layer on a plate and cover completely with whipped cream frosting. Before placing the second layer on top, cut out a circle from the top layer to create a ring of cake. Place the second layer on top of the first layer and cover completely with whipped cream. There will be a well in the center of the cake. Smooth the whipped cream frosting. Fill the well with the blueberry pie filling. 

Jambalaya

Recently, when going through recipes with Mom, we came across this recipe. Mom said she made this jambalaya all the time. To be honest, I did not recall this recipe until I tasted it. It is funny how certain taste memories stay with us.

Mom's jambalaya is not exactly traditional jambalaya. I suspect Louisiana natives would not even consider this dish a true jambalaya. But my understanding is that "jambalaya" means "mishmash," so I guess just about anything goes. There are many variations on jambalaya, and this recipe is Mom's.

The recipe is simple and flexible. It is easy to add additional ingredients or leave out ones that you do not want. For this batch, I used only crab and no shrimp. Also, I had plum tomatoes on hand, so I used 5 because they were on the smaller side. I used dried parsley because that is what I had on hand; but I bet fresh parsley would be delicious. Mom's recipe called for Accent seasoning, but I substituted Lawry's seasoning salt.

Jambalaya

• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• Parsley
• 1 to 2 heads garlic, minced
• 3 tomatoes, cubed
• Seasoning (Lawry's, Accent, etc.)
• Parsley, to taste
• 2 cans crab meat or shrimp
• 3 cups cooked rice

Saute onions in the butter until tender. Blend in the flour. Season with parsley and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add seasoning and tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add crab and/or shrimp. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cooked rice. Enjoy!

When I say jambalaya, I say it just like Newman.

Mexican Wedding Cookies

If you are looking for a super easy cookie to make, look no further. The Mexican wedding cookie is easy to make and easy to eat. I have seen variations of these cookies with nuts or with other flavors. But Mom always made these basic cookies as is.

Mom made these cookies often when we were young. I vaguely remember bringing these to school for a bake sale or class treat. These cookies can be for a special occasion or just an average day. Recently, I made the cookies for a Saturday at Mom's when she had the grandkids over for dinner, and the cookies were a hit for dessert.

Mexican Wedding Cookies 

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour

Cream the butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, vanilla and salt until fluffy. Stir in flour until well-blended. Chill for about 30 minutes until dough is firm enough to handle. Shape into one-inch balls. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 365 for 12 to 15 minutes. While warm, dust cookies with powdered sugar. Cool thoroughly. Enjoy.

Peanut Butter Cookies

What I remember most about making these peanut butter cookies is using a fork to flatten and mark the cookies. The fork-prints create a nice pattern on the finished cookies. I do not remember having these cookies very often, but they are a tasty treat.

Even if you are not a big fan of peanut butter (like someone I know), you should try these cookies. They are sweet with a slight peanut butter flavor that is not overwhelming.

Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Mix together the ingredients. Form tablespoon-sized balls of dough and place on cookie sheets. Dip a fork in sugar and use the fork to flatten the cookie. Bake at 325 for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Mississippi Mud Cake

I remember loving Mississippi Mud Cake as a kid. Truthfully, I love just about anything with chocolate, so enjoying this cake is no surprise.

Mom's recipe calls for walnuts to be mixed in with the cake. I don't recall walnuts in this cake, so I left them out. Feel free to add nuts to this cake. Mom recalled that she did not include nuts because none of the kids would eat the cake if there were nuts.

After I made this cake, I was talking to Mom about it, and she remembered that there was a layer of marshmallow fluff inside the cake. There was no fluff written on the recipe so I did not include it in this version. I guess I will have to make this cake again with the marshmallow fluff variation. My favorite taste-tester will just have to test the cake with the fluff variation.

Mississippi Mud Cake


Cake

• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 6 tablespoon cocoa powder

Cream sugar, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until just blended. Stir together flour and cocoa and add to the butter mixture. Mix well. Spread in greased and floured 9x9 pan. Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely.

Frosting

• 4 tablespoon butter or margarine
• 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoon cocoa
• 2 tablespoon milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add in powdered sugar, cocoa, milk and vanilla. Add in additional milk, if needed to make frosting spreadable. Spread frosting on cooled cake. Enjoy!

Meat Loaf

What I remember most about Mom's meatloaf is the key role of ketchup in the recipe. Ketchup is mixed into the meat mixture and the loaf is topped with tomato sauce. I even recall more ketchup being served on the side.

Mom said that the boys used to complain about meatloaf because they would rather have the ground beef turned into burgers. But as Rich said, a slice of meatloaf between a hamburger bun is just a hamburger.

There are any number of ways that this recipe could be modified to change up the flavor. Mom's recipe calls for Accent seasoning, which is MSG. I did not have Accent seasoning, so I substituted Lawry's seasoning salt. Accent is available in the spice aisle, or you can just substitute your favorite seasoning blend. Mom's recipe includes an option of adding slices of bacon on top of the loaf before covering in tomato sauce. I don't remember bacon on Mom's meatloaf, so I did not use it in this version, but I may have to give it a try the next time I make meatloaf.

Meat Loaf

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp Accent seasoning
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

Blend all ingredients, except tomato sauce. Put into a loaf pan. (Option: cover with bacon) Pour 1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour.