California Pizzas Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Mix tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt, garlic powder and pepper; set aside. Stir Bisquick mix and cold water until soft dough forms. Pat or roll dough into 12-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet with hands dusted with Bisquick mix; pinch edge, forming 1/2-inch rim. Or pat dough in 12-inch pizza pan.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese over dough. Spread tomato sauce over top. Top with chicken and olives. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Garnish with avocado slices.

Steps:

• For the dough, combine the water, yeast, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 3 cups flour, then the salt, and mix. While mixing, add 1 more cup of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead the dough on low to medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth, sprinkling it with flour, if necessary, to keep it from sticking to the bowl.
• When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured board and knead by hand a dozen times. It should be smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn it several times to cover it lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll each one into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet and cover them with a damp towel. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
• If you've chilled the dough, take it out of the refrigerator approximately 30 minutes ahead to let it come to room temperature. Roll and stretch each ball into a rough 8-inch circle and place them all on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. (You will be able to fit 2 pizzas on each 18 by 13-inch baking sheet.)
• Light your grill and wait until it's hot.
• Place the pizzas directly onto the grill and cook on 1 side for 1 minute. Turn the pizzas over and brush with olive oil or garlic oil.
• Top the pizzas with any toppings you wish, piling them high. Drizzle each pizza with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put the lid on your grill and cook for 5 minutes more, until the crust is crisp and the toppings are cooked.

Steps:

• Rinse and sort the split peas.
• Add them to a large pot with 6 cups of water, chicken broth, onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, sugar, parsley, pepper, and thyme.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the peas are soft.
• While the peas are cooking, combine the barley with 6 cups of water in a saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the barley is soft and most of the water has been absorbed.
• When the split pea mixture has become a thick soup, use a handheld blender to puree the peas until the mixture is smooth.
• A standard blender or food processor may also be used to puree the soup in batches.
• This step may also be omitted.
• Drain the the remaining water from the barley and add the barley to the split pea mixture.
• Add the carrots and celery and continue to simmer the soup for 15 to 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender, stirring occasionally.
• Turn off the heat, cover the soup, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
• Garnish each serving with the snipped green onion.

Steps:

• Combine yeast, honey, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl with a whisk. Let stand to dissolve, about 10 minutes.
• Add salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and 1 cup flour to the mixture and stir until a batter forms. Add another 1 cup flour; stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup more flour and combine.
• Turn dough out onto a surface dusted with 1/4 cup flour. Knead until a smooth, fairly firm, slightly sticky dough is achieved, adding more flour as needed.
• Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and pat down with your hand. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Stretch and fold each piece down and under, tucking as you go, to form pizza dough rounds.
• Cover with a towel and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Dust a baking sheet with cornmeal.
• Transfer dough rounds to a lightly floured board and press each piece out to desired thickness, starting in the center, until 8 to 10 inches wide. Form a crust shape around the outer edges with your fingertips.
• Transfer one round of pizza dough to the prepared baking sheet and brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Top with any sauce and toppings you like.
• Bake in the lower rack of the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Move to the center of the oven and continue to bake until golden, about 10 minutes more. Repeat to bake remaining pizzas.

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it proof for 5 to 10 minutes. The yeast should have a little island of fizz/bubbles before you start. (if you're using instant yeast dissolve it in the water and skip the proof).
• In a separate bowl mix all of the dry ingredients and create a little well in the middle. Dump your yeast mixture and the olive oil into the well and stir with either your fingers or a wooden spoon.
• Once a lumpy kind of dough forms lightly oil your hands and start to knead the ball. Knead it for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth but slightly tacky.
• Lightly coat the ball in olive oil and place in an airtight container, allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• You can use the dough at this point, but for a finer texture and a nice, mellow sort of tang do the following: Deflate the dough, bunch it back up into a ball, put it back into the container, and stow it in your refrigerator overnight.
• About 2 hours before you're going to make your pizza remove the dough from the refrigerator, deflate again, and split into 2 equal portions. Roll both portions into balls, sealing any cracks as tightly as possible. Place the new dough balls on opposite sides of a shallow dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let them sit at room temperature for the aforementioned 2 hours (they'll be much easier to shape).
• After this just heat your pizza stone (or failing that, the floor of your oven with both racks taken out) to 500 degrees F, roll out your dough balls, top them, and slide them into the oven using a cornmeal-dusted pizza peel (or failing that, anything smooth and thin enough to manuever, like a cutting board).
• Your pizzas will cook very quickly, so it's easier to just eyeball their progress than try to time them.