Thanksgiving Memories and Faraway Friends

I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving and what it means to me. I'm not sure if it's just because of the upcoming holidays, or "holidaze" as I like to term it. I think it is because we are so far away from most of our family and friends, and I miss spending time with them. I especially miss cooking for them.

Most people spend the holiday with the family and a select few friends. Before I was married, I only knew the holidays as time spent with family. Gatherings around the table with family, that always ended with discussions about politics. Sometimes fun, but always loud! The food for my family was never the most important thing, it was the gathering and the the love. My grandparents were originally from the New England area, and the dishes I grew up with were all traditional New England Thanksgiving dishes. I miss spending time with family, but I have to admit I do not miss Creamed Onions!

Then I was married, and we were gone. First to Seoul, South Korea where we celebrated with friends. I can't remember many of the details of our first Thanksgiving there, other than the panic of preparing my first big meal for a group of people! We knew how hard it was to be away from family for the holidays and decided to invite anybody who wanted to come. Now that I think about it, it wasn't a huge party, I think there was a over 10 people. But that was more people than I had ever served, and we had to buy more plates, silverware, napkins and glasses! The second year we co-hosted Thanksgiving for a group of mostly single sailors and marines with my friend Chasity who lived 3 floors below us. It was great, and besides the fun, I remember it was the first time I had ever had pecan pie!

Since then, I have celebrated Thanksgiving in 3 different countries, and at least 7 different cities. I've been lucky enough to celebrate through the years with all sets of our families. We've traveled to Dallas to celebrate with Patrick's father and step-mother. Soon after I met my father, he became ill, and we came here to St. Louis to spend the last Thanksgiving that my father got to see with him and his family.

I think about all of the friends that I have fed at our house, and all of the friends who have fed us at their houses. I also think about good friends that I have not had the opportunity to celebrate with. For all of the times that family is far away, friends have become family, and I miss everyone of them.

This is for every member of our immediate families, as well as our friends that are like family: Chasity, Danielle, Tara and Marvin, Crystal and Rob, Shazi and Bernard, Shastie and Ed, Tammy and Marvin, Maureen and Tim , David, Valarie, Michelle and Dan, Craig and Mikal, and Sean and Shay. I'm sorry if I forgot anyone. I love you all!!

Pizza, Pizza

Just about everyone likes pizza. But every one's idea of a good pizza is different. Some people like their pizza very simple with only one, maybe two toppings and some like their pizza chock full of different tastes and flavors. There are many different styles of pizza - thin crust, thick crust, deep dish Chicago style, Italian (which you can further vary by Neapolitan, Sicilian, etc), New York (I'm not even going to go into the different styles up and down the East Coast!), California, St. Louis ... this list can go on and on. I have two dough recipes that I use when I make pizza, it depends on who I am making the pizza for and what kind of toppings that I want to use. One is a thin crust and the other is a thicker crust. It is all about what you like.

I was lucky enough to live in Italy, and had access to the thin crust Neapolitan style pizza just about everywhere I went. With only a few toppings, this pizza is so wonderful. But I will be honest that while we lived there, the American in me did miss the thicker crust pizza with more toppings every once in a while. The most popular thin crust pizza is the Margherita which has the colors of the Italian flag - tomatoes, buffalo milk mozzarella and fresh basil. Another really excellent one to try is the Primavera, with fresh arugula leaves added after the pizza has come out of the oven.

But when I make thin crust pizza, I have to make at least one with mushrooms and garlic. In Gaeta there was a restaurant called "The Bunny Pub". We would go out with friends, and have dinner enjoying several bottles of wine. The first time I went there with Crystal, she told me that I had to try the mushroom and garlic pizza. I tried a mushroom and garlic pizza once before, but I had forgotten how the flavors meld together so wonderfully.

I am not going to give you exact measurements for the toppings, just some rough ideas. Please use your imagination and personal taste to decide what you want on your pizza! The dough for this pizza is from Todd English's cookbook "The Fig's Table". It makes 4 pizzas which serve 1 -2 people per pizza. This dough is much wetter than you are probably used to. Try to use as little flour as you can, and try not to overwork the dough. You can wrap the balls of dough in plastic wrap to freeze for future use (up to two weeks).

I have not always had a stand mixer, a baking stone or a pizza peel. You can easily mix the dough by hand and use cookie or pizza sheets to bake the pizza on.

Fig's Pizza Dough

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling

2 teaspoons yeast

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 2/3 cups lukewarm water

Place the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixer fitted with a dough hook. While the mixer is running, gradually add the oil and water. Knead on low speed until the dough is firm and smooth, about 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into four balls. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Place two balls on a sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let them rise in a warm spot until they have doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

To roll out the dough: Dab your fingers in flour and then place 1 ball on a generously floured work surface and press down in the center with the tips of your fingers, spreading the dough with your hand. When the dough has doubled in width, use a floured rolling pin and roll out until it is very thin, like flatbread. The outer border should be a little thicker than the inner circle. Pick the dough up with a spatula or the back of a knife, allowing it to fold up almost like an umbrella and transfer it to a paddle. Do not worry that the pizza is not round, you are looking for an 8 - 10 inch shape, a cross between an oval and a rectangle. If you get a hole, simply pinch the edges back together.

To top and bake your pizza:

One hour prior to cooking, place a baking stone in the oven and preheat it to 500F. Roll out your dough and place it on a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal. The cornmeal helps the pizza slide off the peel. Cover the surface of the dough with 1 teaspoon of olive oil to prevent the dough getting soggy.

Now comes the fun part, use your imagination to what types of cheese and topping you would like. Here are just a few examples:

• My Favorite - with a simple tomato sauce, sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced garlic and mozzarella cheese, and a shaking of hot pepper flakes on top (I sometimes add additional cheeses, depending on what I have on hand)
• try different sauces - besides a typical pizza or marinara sauce, you can use pesto sauce, or no sauce, just cheeses for a white pizza
• try different types of cheese - fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, Asiago, Cheddar, Provolone is really popular here in St. Louis
• sliced or diced ham, pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, smoked turkey, cooked and crumbled sausage
• sliced onions, peppers, olives

Knitting on a Sleepless Night

I know it's late - 3:35 AM, and even though I would like to go back to my morning person ways, I think both the genetics of the females in my family (who are all night women) and because Patrick is working nights, I just can't seem to sleep. I was just laying down to attempt to go to sleep, and after tossing and turning with the start of this new blog entry repeating in my head more times than I would like them to, I realized that I was not going to be able to get that blessed rest until I wrote what was going through my mind. I think all the knitting I did this evening affected my brain. I guess you could say I have stitches going through my mind! As a military spouse, you get used to being away from your friends and family. But there are times when that it is more difficult than others. You miss so many important events - the good times such as births, birthdays, new jobs and promotions. Then there are the not so good times, the times people need your shoulder to cry on such as deaths, break-ups and divorce. You let friendships slide as you are trying to get used to your new duty station, and the longer that you are away - the worse that this becomes. I have spent the last 13 years as a Navy spouse, and although Patrick is no longer active duty, I find myself missing the people that I have known and loved more and more. It is very difficult to remain as close to both your old and new friends when you are so far away from them and trying to learn your new city, or country, depending on where you have been stationed! I have completely lost contact with many people who are important to me, and am barely in touch with others.



Perhaps this is in the forefront of my mind because of the newness of the year. Or perhaps it is because I am in the process of making several baby blankets for friends who are expecting. I am not an expert knitter, and I had not knitted for several years but I began again when Patrick was in Germany. I needed something to keep me occupied while he was gone, and that was a good thing. For those of you who dislike Martha - I'm sorry, but I do! I do think it was a good time for me to start knitting again because I just found out that several good friends of mine are expecting. It's not that these women are the only friends I have had who have been lucky enough to bring a baby into the world in the last few years, it's just that they are unlucky enough to be expecting when I have more time on my hands! Like I said, I'm not an expert knitter, and these first few knits that I am doing are not exactly works of art. I guess what I really want them to know is that although I cannot be there, that I am thinking of them and their new bundles of joy, and that I wish them warmth, happiness and only the best! I have already made and even mailed out one! It was for my friend Theresa, a woman I met in Washington DC. We worked together, and although we haven't kept in touch quite as much as I would have liked us to, I still want her to know that I am wishing her and her new family only the best. The second is for a woman who is like my sister, for better or for worse, Shazi - we have been friends since we were in the sixth grade (and no, I am not going to tell you how many years that has been because I already feel older than I want to!). The third, the one I haven't even bought the yarn for yet, is for my friend Crystal. The one who could always call my bluffs and remind me that the pot calls the kettle black.



I really have wanted to do something very sophisticated and beautiful. Something that people would look at with great awe, but alas, that is not to be. I have been fighting the yarn, and the patterns that I have been trying. I have ripped out more lately than I have knitted. I got this pattern free online at http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/babyafruffle.htmonthenet.com/patterns/babyafruffle.htm. I know that the colors of the yarn are a little, ahem... different. But I wanted to do something that wasn't your typical pink or blue. I just hope that Shazi likes it! Here is a picture of what I have done so far...