Interesting Recipes by Merrillee Whren

Recently I made some of my homemade pizza for a crowd. I don't particularly like to cook these days, but whenever my kids ask me to make my pizza I usually oblige. This pizza has been a hit with my kids and many of their friends over the years. When my husband and I were first married, we lived in a little southwestern Ohio town. We met another young couple Kevin and Kathy. We used to play cards and share Kathy's delicious pizza. She gave me the recipe for her dough, and I've been using it ever since. Here is that recipe.

Pizza Crust

1 envelope dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)

3 ½ to 3 ¾ cups flour (I usually use the extra ¼ cup for kneading)

2 tsp. sugar

1 ½ tsp. salt         

1 egg

1 Tbsp. oil

Sprinkle yeast over water, stir until dissolved. Stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved. Stir in 1 ½ cups flour. Add egg and oil and stir until smooth and glossy. Stir in 2 cups of remaining flour. On a lightly floured surface knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn to grease top. Cover and let rise until more than doubled (about an hour). Punch dough down. Divide dough and roll out and place on pizza pan. Add toppings of your choice. Makes two 16-inch pizza crusts.

Even though I don't cook as much as I did when our kids were still at home, I run into interesting recipes from time to time. When I was doing research for my current book, NURSING THE SOLDIER'S HEART, I came across a recipe for Brazilian fish stew or Moqueca. My heroine had been a missionary in Brazil, and despite her doubts about the hero, she begins to fall in love with him when he gives her a moqueca pot. You can see how moqueca is made here. Here is a list of ingredients for moqueca. 

2 1/2 pounds red grouper, cut into 2-inch pieces (or substitute redfish, flounder, striped bass, escolar or any other white fleshed fish)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup dende oil (Brazilian palm oil) or olive oil
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes, plus 2 tomatoes sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, divided
1/2 cup fish stock or water
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/4 cup Piri Pir
1 (14.5-ounce) can coconut milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Steamed white rice, as an accompaniment

For the Piri Piri:
1 tablespoon, plus 1/2 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed
4 cayenne chile peppers, stemmed, ribs and seeds removed, and roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Do you have any favorite or unusual recipes that you use?

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Merrillee Whren is the winner of the 2003Golden Heart Award presented by Romance Writers of American. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of  thirty-five plus years, and has two grown daughters. Her latest book, Nursing the Soldier's Heart, is available at all major book retailers. You can find the buy links at her website. Connect with her on her Facebook page.