Tuesday, July 22, 2014

What Blake Lively and I have in common....


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I know how your minds work: you thought of Ryan Reynolds immediately, didn't you?


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Well he is Canadian, but no, I am still pining for Georgie-Porgie...

So Ryan Reynolds is not what what have in common.

What is?

Well, Blake loves Martha Stewart and so do I.

Image result for martha stewart


Many of you know that I adore Martha, despite her kind of crusty exterior and the fact that she doesn't need a lot of sleep.

I have been a member of team Martha since around 1986 and I credit Martha for stepping in where my mother (seriously) feared to tread.  Thanks to Martha, I can clean, am a good cook and do things like make herb flower vinegar (note to self: time to try the vinegar...).

I defended Martha passionately when she went to jail, not because I thought she was innocent, but because the court was separating me from my self- appointed homemaking mother.  I considered it wrong of them to do that to me then and still think it was wrong of them now.

I need to know Martha is out there, testing things in her perfectionist way, making sure that all is well for me.

Apparently Blake is going the Gwynnie route with a new online site to be called Preserve.  I'll not critique that as frankly, Blake may have a trick or two up her sleeve that I've not seen (except for stealing Ryan).

Just so long as she makes no pretense of emulating Martha.

Emulating Martha is like trying to be the Queen.  Sure you can Helen Mirren all over the place, even do not a half-bad job of it, but in the end, you are not the Queen.

And like the Queen, the next-in-line seems slightly off-putting to many, though I will take Prince Charles over Alexis Stewart any day of the week!

Nope, it's Martha or nothing for me.

What made me think of Martha was that I made her grilled pizza tonight.  As I said, you can count on Martha: if she says something is going to work, well by God, get out of the way, it WILL work.  We have made this recipe lots of time over the last 18 years and loved it, and tonight was no exception.

Grilled Pizza




  • YIELD:Makes 2 fourteen-inch pizzas

INGREDIENTS

  • Pizza Dough, divided in half
  • Olive oil, for brushing
  • Pizza Sauce
  • Fontina cheese
  • Sliced fresh tomatoes
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves
  • Julienned scallions
  • Julienned pea pods
  • Fresh corn, kernels, blanched
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Cooked and crumbled sausage

DIRECTIONS

  1. STEP 1

    For best results, use a charcoal grill. Create two sections on the grill's very hot back section and a cooler preparation section in the front by putting extra charcoal in the back and less in the front. Place fire bricks on the grill's surface to divide these 2 sections. Allow the charcoal to burn, then cool a bit before cooking to prevent burning the crust.
  2. STEP 2

    If using a tomato sauce, place in a pot on the grill off to the side, stirring occasionally.
  1. STEP 3

    Place one half of the dough on a lightly oiled flat surface, such as an upside-down cookie sheet; work dough until it stays flat and forms a round or square shape, about 1/4 inch thick. (Tip: Pull dough out, and allow it to snap back. Let it sit for a few moments, then pull it out again. It will hold its shape better this way.)
  2. STEP 4

    Once dough is in desired shape, pick it up and place it directly on the hot section of grill. With tongs, gently rotate dough as it cooks, 2 to 3 minutes, until bottom side is browned and dough holds its shape.
  3. STEP 5

    Remove from hot section with tongs, flip over, and move to cooler section of grill. Brush top (grilled side) of crust with olive oil, and add toppings of your choice. Return to hot side for a few more minutes. Continue to cook until cheese melts and bottom is crisp, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and more toppings. Serve hot.

Well all choose our own toppings chez Wendy, as frankly there is not one kind of pizza that all of us will agree to eat.  For example, I cannot abide a pepperoni or a pea.  Go figure.  In my defense, the former is just plain Wendy and the latter is because they make me ill.

Tonight was extra yummy, because in addition to my chosen bacon, heirloom tomato, and goat cheese, I smothered the pizza in fresh herbs from the garden:





As Martha would say: it was a good thing.

I do wish Blake well.  I wonder who will be the Martha to the next generation - who will teach young women about all things home keeping?

Given that I am 20 years younger than Martha I am fearful of the day she leaves me.

When I needed a new family doctor a couple of years ago, I chose one 20 years younger than me - given my plan to live to be 93, I was pretty sure he could 'see me out'.  Do we think Martha can live to be 113?

I sure hope so....

Have a great day out there!

xoxo wendy




13 comments:

  1. We also enjoy making our own pizza although we cook in an oven. The trick is to heat the oven with a baking stone inside at 500F for an hour then cook your thin crust pizza...yum. My fav is BBQ chicken and carmelized red onions. Who is considered to be the next Martha?

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    Replies
    1. I love making pizza in the house, too, but our BBQ season is so short here that we are always desperate to use it!

      I can't imagine who the next Martha is? I think she needs to show up soon, though, as so few young women know so many things. When I buy my sewing machine, I am going to have my daughter and son (if I can pin him down) take some lessons with me!

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  2. I like Martha too. Read that bio by her former best friend and it just made me like her more in spite of her frenemy's efforts. Pizza looks terrific!

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    Replies
    1. I always wonder about someone who writes a book about their best friend...

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  3. i don't like to think about a world without martha. really the impact she's made in homes really is astounding isn't it?

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    Replies
    1. Janet - Martha is to the home what Barbara Walters was to network news - a real pioneer!

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  4. I'm all over the place when it comes to Martha. I defended her when she went to jail too but since then I have heard that she is a real b@$%^ to her employees and that does bother me. I read one biography about her and still retain a lot of respect for what she has accomplished.

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    Replies
    1. Well as my "home" mother, I must accept her warts and all....

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  5. I am a big Martha fan even though I fully believe in her evil side. In fact, I have a collection Mr. Hex calls "the Marthive"--every issue of MSL except for the coveted #1. I liked how she took her lumps and went to prison.

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    Replies
    1. I think I actually had #1 at some point. Now I tear out recipes and let them go after a few months - except for the christmas issues - love thos christmas issues!

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  6. I've actually never ever seen her show (but then I never saw Oprah either) but have read both of their magazines and love them. She seems stand-offish which actually seems to serve her well in this day of over-sharing. She seems to surround herself with very talented staff and apparently very very tough working on her mag.

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    Replies
    1. heehee - my mother was a little cold sometimes too!

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  7. I like Martha, even if she is really less present on the European territory. But I am sorry I don't get the Blake thingy as I did not get the Gwyneth website. I tried to love it, but I lat it go a long time ago...

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Kindness is a virtue...