Obsessions

 Willie took a little walk to the lower gardens on his leash.  He is as bored as I am.  You can see both of his shaved legs.

He took a nap on one of the perrons.

I managed to make some quick pizzas for dinner.  I haven't been to the store in about 10 days so I figured this was a good time to use up whatever I have in my larder.  It will become interesting in another week.

This is the crust recipe for this type of pizza.  I cook them at 500 degrees. The W's eat the crusts and we eat crustless pizzas.

 Any long time followers know how obsessed I get occasionally with certain recipes, i.e. my 2000 biscuit baking madness from years ago.  Well, I'm obsessed with the Appalachian sweet bread and trying to make the perfect recipe even better.

 I am now preheating the cast iron pan in the oven as I make the batter. When you pour the batter in the pan the preheated cast iron creates a crisp, sweet crust.

 I'm also sprinkling the top with vanilla sugar just before baking. This produces a sugar shell on the top.

 Since vanilla is the #1 ingredient that makes this cake so special, I've ordered even better vanilla than I usually use to see if it makes a difference. I'll let you know once I try it.

I have been giving this away left and right but quite honestly, once this settles down and I'm not making as much, I don't think I will have any to spare. I have made this every day this week.

How can something this plain and almost ugly be so wonderful? It is amusing to watch people reluctantly try this and then see their reaction after they bite into it.