Cooking with Company

This past week I have been spending a lot of my time with one of my best friends since his grandfather was in really critical condition and his parents were in Florida. A common bond that we have is through cooking. On Monday we made Tuna rolls (sushi) and a salad with mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, chopped pecans, and balsamic vinegar. Wednesday night we made this Shrimp thing that is one of his families traditions, that starts with a roux, then you add about two cups of heavy cream, and a lot of cooking sherry to taste. After that cooks down add in the shrimp, give it about 30 seconds and you're done! Then last night (Friday) was pizza night for all our friends. Nick helped me make the dough: one packet of yeast, a tablespoon on honey, and 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (proof it before adding dry ingredients) then add 3 tbsp olive oil, and about 4-5 cups of all-purpose flour just until it barely sticks to your finger. Let the dough rise for about two hours, beat it down, and start rolling. For toppings, we did a broccoli and bacon for Blake, a pulled pork for Katie, and smoked capricola for Nick. They all had a roasted garlic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. We all had a great night cooking and eating together! ~Georgia