When Adam and I sat down to plan our menu we wanted to buy as little groceries as possible. We were making a whole chicken that was in the freezer and I had some leftover pesto from Cream Cheese and Pesto Stuff Chicken and decided this would make a simple pizza. But our chicken turned out to be a diaster last night so we subbed ham in.

This was the BEST pizza we have ever had, the crust was no soggy at all something I normally don’t like about homemade pizza, the toppings were yummy. And I think we both have a new passion for pesto.

For toppings on our pizza we put a thin layer of pesto, ham, spinach, sauted mushrooms with garlic, and mozzarella cheese.

Basic Pizza Dough (From: Annie’s Eats)

• ½ cup warm water (about 110°)
• 1 envelope (2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast
• 1 ¼ cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups (22 oz.) bread flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for greasing the bowl

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup.  Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes.  Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.  

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed.  Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix at low speed until a cohesive mass forms.  Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ to 2 hours.  Press the dough to deflate it.

To bake, place a pizza stone in the lower third of the oven.  Heat the oven to 500° for at least 30 minutes.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Form both pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and cover with a damp cloth.  Let the dough relax for at least 10 minutes but no more than 30 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough and keeping the other covered, shape the dough and transfer to a pizza peel or round of parchment dusted with semolina or cornmeal.  Top as desired.  Slide the dough onto the pizza stone.  Bake until the crust edges brown and cheese is golden brown in spots, about 8 to 12 minutes.  Repeat with remaining ball of dough or freeze for later use.

Jimbo’s Hambo (From: Guy Fieri)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons cognac
• 1/4 cup yellow mustard
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup apple juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8 to 10-pound) smoked, unglazed ham
• Whole cloves

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Once heated, add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions become translucent. Remove pan from the heat and carefully add cognac (the alcohol can flame up).

Return the pan to the heat and let reduce for 2 minutes. Add mustards, pineapple juice, apple juice, brown sugar and honey. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Turn down heat to low and allow to reduce by 1/3, about 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice ham diagonally approximately 1 1/2 to 2-inches deep. From left to right and then right to left, making diamonds on top of ham. In each point of a diamond, press in a clove. Place ham in roasting pan, on cooking rack. Add small amount of water to base of pan to keep drippings from burning. Place in oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Liberally apply mustard glaze to ham and bake the ham for another 30 minutes or until the glaze begins to turn brown and caramelize. Remove, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes

Tonight for dinner, Adam had requested Wild Rice soup, and I figured I would make a special warm dessert to go with it since he worked out in the cold and the wind today.