Date Night/"Snow" Day

So, it's snowing in NC (sigh). It's coming down a little more now, they say it'll accumulate up to 3 inches...We're using it as a good excuse to stay in and have an at home Date Night, with homemade pizza, homemade beer (well, we're making it tonight, drinking Corona!) and a Chick Flick (Music and Lyrics) and a Scott movie (Ocean's 13)...

I made pizza dough tonight - with a recipe we fell in love w/ this summer. It's a little labor intensive, but soooo worth it! Plus, a good excuse to use my Kitchen Aid Mixer (no kneading!)

Whole Wheat Herb Pizza Dough
(Shamelessly pulled from Jenni's Kitchen blog - link in side toolbar)

1 package dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons pizza seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking Spray

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, oil, garlic powder, pizza seasonings and salt to yeast mixture, stirring until well-blended. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a 12-inch circle on a floured surface. Top and bake according to recipe directions.

Note: You can prepare this in a stand mixer using the dough hook. Add all the ingredients and let the hook knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes. Also, this dough may be frozen. Follow directions for kneading dough, and shape dough into 2 balls. Coat balls with cooking spray and place into a ziploc plastic freezer bag. Thaw overnight in a refrigerator. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85'), free from drafts' 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If Indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Shape as instructed.

By trial and error we've found for the crust we like (slightly crispy) we preheat heat the oven to 400F, bake the pizza dough for 5 minutes, then add our sauce, cheese, toppings and more cheese. Then, bake approximately 15 more minutes until the cheese and melted and just ever so slightly browned.

Here's a pic of Scott's foray at beer making: