It's officially the last day of 2011. Whoo-hoo! Are you ready to party like the Kennedys?
Yeah, we're SO not partying. In fact our plans to ring in the new year...Sit down and watch The Walking Dead. I know, someone needs to calm. us. down.
But I've never seen it and the Hubs got the first season on DVD for Christmas. Others have told me it's really good so I'm jumping on the bandwagon and giving the show a chance. :)
Don't get me wrong though. I'm not jumping on all his shows' bandwagons. I'm still not ready for American Horror Story. I'm not saying that one's not good. I believe it really is a great show. It just looks really disturbing and I'm already afraid of ghosts. Do I really need to feed my fears? No, I do not.
And I gave King of Thrones* a chance but I'm clearly not their target audience. Give me ABC Family original programming any day. lol!
* Update: I've been informed that the show is called Game of Thrones, not King of Thrones.
So The Walking Dead it is. Along with some Salt & Vinegar Pop Chips and a bit of Red Velvet Cupcake Wine (bought at the recommendation of my sister in law). And who knows, we may even break out scrabble or dominoes!
P. A. R. T. Y. ANIMALS!!
As for our last meal of 2011. Well let me just say we ended the year on a serious high note!
Last week the Hubs decided he wanted me to make pizza, but about halfway through the week he threw "french bread" into the mix. Man, we haven't had French Bread pizza since our college years and that was always the frozen pizza...not exactly top quality. The Hubs had every intention of just buying a loaf of French Bread at the store. Does he not know me at all? I decided I'd MAKE our French Bread. :D
FRENCH BREAD
(I admit, I have no clue what makes bread "french". In my mind if it's long and firm it's French Bread)
1 1/2 C Warm Water (Hot enough to activate the yeast but not kill it)
1 1/2 T Honey
2 Packages/Envelopes Yeast
3 1/4 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Large Pinch of Salt
Gently stir together the water, honey & yeast so that it's all dissolved together. Let sit for approximately 5 minutes until a foam forms on top of the water.
Stir together the salt & flour. Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mix & stir until combined.
Kneed for about 5 minutes.
Divide dough in half and roll each half into a rectangle. Then roll-up the rectangle into a long "log". Set each log on a pan and cover with a towel. Let rise for 30+ minutes.
Slice the top of the bread longways (see picture below) so that it gets that Fancy French Bread Look. :)
Pre-heat oven to 450°.
Place the bread in your oven. Add a cookie sheet of water on a lower rack. Bake for 8 minutes.
Spritz/brush the top of each loaf with butter and bake another 8 minutes until golden.
Remove from oven and let cool.
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| Yeast mixture |
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| Pour the yeast mixture in with the flour and Mix |
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| Switch to your dough hook and kneed for 5 minutes. |
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| Roll into a rectangle. |
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| Roll-up the rectangle. |
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| Place on baking sheet. |
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| Cover and let rise. |
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| One slice down each loaf makes it "Fancy" |
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| All Baked & Golden Brown |
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| Be Cool, Man. Be Cool. |
I sliced 1 loaf in half so I had 2 long "crusts".
Each one was topped with some Olive Oil, Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Marjoram and Minced Garlic.
Then add your favorite toppings...
Can you tell which one was mine and which was the Hubs? I know, we're polar opposites when it comes to food! His had tomato sauce and pepperoni. Mine had tomato sauce, red onion, sliced tomato, sweet peppers and spinach.
Then both were topped with some shredded Mozzarella cheese.
And into the oven it went, at 450°.
Once the cheese was nice and melted I turned on the broiler so that the cheese would brown. :)
Now that's a meal to end the year!
Hope you have a fun and safe New Year's Eve and a good start to 2012!
And here's hoping the Mayan's were wrong and we make it to 2013. I'm not too worried about it. I think a year from now I'll be thinking, "What a year it was!" :)
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