BLUEBERRY CRUMB CAKE

Adapted from a MarthaStewart.com recipe heavily influenced by a Ina Garten recipe with my usual changes. I used frozen wild blueberries (from TJ’s of course).

Struesel Topping
½ cup butter, diced and chilled
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup pecan pieces
¼ cup AP flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt

Cake
2 cups AP flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of one lemon
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 cups blueberries, rinsed and allowed to dry a bit

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 13 by 9 inch pan.
Make Streusel Topping: Combine all ingredients in food processor, pulse until mixture forms large, moist crumbs. Chill.
Make Cake: Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla and zest. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately. Gently toss blueberries with about 2 tablespoons flour, then fold into cake mixture and spoon into pan. Top with Streusel. Bake 45 – 50 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool, cut into squares and serve.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE COFFEE CAKE

Adapted from a MarthaStewart.com recipe.

9 tablespoons unsweeted cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ cups AP flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream (or Greek style plain yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly butter and flour a bundt pan.
Make marble filling: stir together cocoa powder and 3 T sugar in a small bowl; set aside.
Make cake batter: Whisk together next five ingredients. Cream together butter and 1 cup sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Mix in flour mixture, alternating with sour cream.
Spread about one third of batter in bundt pan. Sprinkle half of filling. Spread another third, then other half of filling, then final third of batter. Swirl batter and filling slightly with a knife or skewer.
Bake 35 – 40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes, then invert onto a plate.

SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE

This is from Bon Appetit to go with Lasagne, and if you use the whole amount of crushed red pepper I imagine it will be quite spicy, but I did not, of course. It is a good basic sauce.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
¾ teaspoon dried marjoram
2 shakes – ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 – 8 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes, with puree
½ cup red wine
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper

Heat oil in large heavy bottomed pot. Saute onions with dried herbs until transluscent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another minute or so. Add tomatoes and wine and bay leaf and simmer uncovered to reduce liquid, for about an hour. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

GREENER PESTO

Inspired by my friend Gwen (she used to put spinach in her pesto when her kids were small) and Mark Bittman, who suggests using parsley to help green the pesto in “Food Matters”. I find that if you add the whole leaves last, and then the olive oil right after that, mine does not brown. But the spinach and parsley do make for a brighter green, and a bit of a different taste. I also use walnuts because they are local for us.

2/3 cup walnut pieces
2 – 4 garlic cloves (to taste)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (or more to taste) grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup packed fresh baby spinach leaves
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves, washed and patted dry (be careful to snip the leaves off at the stem – if you break the leaves themselves, they begin to blacken and your pesto won’t be as pretty)
2 – 4 tablespoons parsley leaves

1 – 1.5 cups olive oil (you don’t really have to measure)

Toast the nuts at about 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Don’t over brown. Cool.

Place the first four ingredients in a food processor and process until well combined and chopped. Add the parmesan and do the same. Add the basil and do the same. Then, with the processor running, drizzle in the oil until the desired consistency is reached (you may not need all of it). Use immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze.

PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES

Adapted from “Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics”. The first time my kids have liked oatmeal cookies – and these are very oatmeal-ey. Almost like a granola bar. Hers calls for raisins, which the kids really really don’t like. Although I think they’d be good with raisins, this was a more unique cookie without them. I reduced the sugar quite a bit.

1 ½ cups pecan pieces
2 sticks butter at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (kosher or sea)
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 ½ cups raisins, if using

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes, until crisp, but not over-browned. Set aside to cool.

Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla, one at a time.

Whisk dry ingredients, except oats and raisins, together in a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients into butter mixture in a few stages, mixing on low. Stir in the oats, pecans (and raisins if using) just until combined.

Using a small ice cream scoop, drop 2 inch mounds of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, until lightly browned (they dry out if you over bake.) Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

PUMPKIN PUREE – MAKE IT YOURSELF!

For pie, you want the little sweet ones – 6-7 inches in diameter. The cooking is the same for all pumpkins (and winter squashes) though, it just takes longer.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Cut the pumpkin in half vertically (through or right next to stem, or remove stem). Scoop out seeds and stringy stuff.

Place pumpkin halves cut side down. Cover with more foil, not tightly, more like a tent.

Bake until tender – until you can pierce the skin and flesh all the way through easily with a fork – about 1 ½ hours. Remove from oven and cool a bit. Scoop out flesh with a spoon. Puree using an immersion blender (easiest) or food processor, to desired smoothness. Pour off any excess liquid. Stores in the fridge for about a week.

CORN MUFFINS - SWEET

This one, I adapted from the recipe on the side of the Albers Corn Meal Box (with my usual substitutions).

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup corn meal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (eliminate if you don’t use buttermilk)
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk (or regular milk, but they’ll only be good, not the best)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 18 – 20 muffin cups.

Whisk together flours, sugar, corn meal, baking power, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, oil and butter (add that last) in a small bowl until a bit frothy. Add to flour mixture, stir just until blended. Pour into muffin cups, 2/3 full.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until wooden tester comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Can also put in a 8” square baking pan and cook for about 35 minutes. Serve warm.

CILANTRO-LIME SALAD DRESSING

I served this over arugula and toasted sliced almonds (get the raw ones with skins on and just put in the toaster oven or in a skillet) and it was fantastic. From RECIPES FROM AMERICA’S SMALL FARMS. It has kept well in the frig for a week; you just have to take it out, allow to come to room temp and shake to use.

¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sugar
½ cup olive oil

Put the first six ingredients in a jar and shake to combine (or a bowl and whisk). Add olive oil and shake to combine (or whisk in).

HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH # 2

This is even easier and was just as successful as the other pizza dough recipe I’ve got in here. Its from A YEAR IN A VEGETARIAN KITCHEN by Jack Bishop. I changed a few things to make it work with whole wheat flour, but its his use of the food processor that makes it so easy. Great with PESTO CALZONES – it made enough for 5.

½ cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
½ teaspoon sugar or honey
1 heaping tablespoon yeast
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ¼ cups room temperature water
2 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the bowl

Put the warm water into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add the sugar and yeast, stir to combine, and let sit for 5 minutes (top should foam).

Meanwhile, put the flours and salt in a large food processor bowl (11 cup capacity) and process to combine.

Add the rest of the water to the measuring cup (total 1 ¾ cups), and then the oil and stir with the fork to combine roughly.

With the processor running, gradually pour the yeast/water mixture through the feed tube. Process until the dough comes together and forms a ball, about 30 seconds.

Coat a large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough into this bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise for about 2 hours, until it doubles in size. Divide and shape as needed.

BOUDIN BAKERY BROWNIES

This is adapted from the LA Times’ adaptation of the above bakery’s recipe. I cut the sugar down a bit - 3 cups just seemed ridiculous. Its actually a nice variation on the typical chocolate brownie: rich but not overpoweringly and nicely moist and fudgey. The firefighters at our annual Block Party loved them!

2 sticks butter
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish.

In a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

Beat together the eggs, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, beat in the melted chocolate, then the salt and flour just until combined. Gently fold in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and almost set, about 45 minutes. A toothpick inserted will be slightly moist. The color is a pale brown – don’t overcook! Cool before cutting.

CINNAMON GRAHAM PASTRY

This is also from Karen Barker’s SWEET STUFF and as she actually used whole wheat flour and not too much sugar, I made it as is! To be used for rustic pies or tarts of all sizes. This makes enough for one large tart.

1 cup flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 ½ tablespoons ice cold water

Combine the flours, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor with the steel blade. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse in, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the water and pulse briefly to blend. The dough should come together when you pinch it, but don’t over process.

Remove the dough from the processor and gather into a flat round (I had to knead a little bit here to get it to be a nice ball and not flaking apart.) Wrap in plastic and chill for a few hours or overnight. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before rolling out (this is where you get your good upper body workout!).

OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Based on a Gourmet March 1996 recipe, I reduced the sugar, did my usual flour sub and didn’t use as much chocolate. These are very satisfying, nicely crun-chewy and a nice variation on regular old chocolate chip. I think they would be good with raisins, too, but my kids hate dried fruit.

1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
¾ cup peanut butter (ish – hard to measure so I guessed)
2 large eggs
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (or whatever)

In a food processor pulse 1 cup of the oats until ground pretty fine (this seems like a pain, but reading reviews and then doing it myself, I think it does make a difference in texture). In a large bowl, stir together all oats, flours, baking powder and soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy, then mix in peanut butter and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. You are supposed to chill for 2 hours at this point, but I made one batch pre- and one post-chill (because I had impatient play date children) and I could not tell a difference.

Plop onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I love my cookie dough scooper now) and bake for 12 – 15 minutes (depending on how crunchy you want them) at 350 degrees.

NOT-QUITE-AS-HEART-STOPPING-AS-THE-FARM BROWNIES

Gourmet just calls these Deep Chocolate Brownies, but those of you who know me well, know what I’m talking about. The CHOCOLATE BROWNIE recipe elsewhere in this blog is out of this world but just a bit too much for every day brownie enjoyment. I’ve been looking for an alternative, and this one fits the bill. Easy, too – so stop using those mixes! The original recipe called for bittersweet chocolate, but the unsweetened baking chocolate worked fine (if you use bittersweet, decrease the sugar for sure). As a fun alternative, push some fresh raspberries into the batter after you’ve poured it into the pan. yum.

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 ounces fine-quality unsweetened chocolate, broken into pieces
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a simmer. (or the bottom of a double boiler) Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl resting over the simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat. Stir in sugar and vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into the chocolate mixture and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 – 45 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

MOLASSES GINGER COOKIES

This I adapted from an LA Times recipe, adapted from the Model Bakery’s recipe. The girls loved forming the balls and rolling them in the sugar, and liked them better than other ginger snaps because they had a good balance of crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.


2 sticks butter, softened
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 cup turbinado,coarse or sanding sugar, more as needed

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until each is incorporated. Add in the molasses and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until fully incorporated to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. (or overnight)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough into small balls, then roll them in your hands until smooth. Roll each ball in the coarse sugar, then place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.

Bake the cookies until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the cookies, then store in an airtight container.

BANANA MUFFINS OR BREAD

This came from a few different recipes on Epicurious, and I made my usual changes. I have resisted putting something with bananas on the site as I don’t think there is a place in the US where bananas are local produce, but, sometimes, you know, your husband buys bananas and nobody eats them and they get brown and really chocolate chip banana bread is the best course of action in that situation.

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda (1/2 teaspoon if using buttermilk)
2 large eggs
½ cup whole milk, low fat milk or buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar (I use a combo of granulated, brown and/or honey)
1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (3 – 5 bananas)

1 cup pecans, toasted, chopped (optional)
½ cup mini-chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a loaf pan, or muffin tins. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, beat eggs, then beat in milk, vanilla, oil and eggs. Add bananas and mix in well. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir until just blended. Fold in nuts and/or chocolate if using. Transfer to prepared pan or muffin tins.

Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean: 25 - 30 minutes for muffins, 60 – 70 minutes for a loaf. Cool 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

FALAFEL

This was adapted from a couple of recipes on Epicurious, with reviewers advice taken as well, as I continued on the Greek theme. I sold this to my kids as “fried hummus balls” and it went over pretty well. Morgan chowed; Audrey said, “Oh, I like these, I had them at Lainey’s”. She ate quite a few bites before dumping them out and eating the pita bread. I think she thought they were meatballs. Oh well.

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup onion, preferably sweet
2 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
pinch of chile powder
several shakes of paprika
1 egg
¼ cup cornmeal
olive or canola oil for frying

Pita bread
tahini or TSATZIKI sauce
lettuce, tomatoes or other accompaniments of choice

Put about half of the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor and process until almost pureed. Add onions, garlic, herbs and egg and process until well mixed. Add the rest of the chickpeas and pulse until it forms a sticky paste. It should be a little bit chunky. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered for a couple of hours.
Pour oil until it covers the bottom of a deep sauté pan. You can fill it a bit deeper if you want them more deep fried. Heat oil medium high. Form falafel dough into balls, about the size of a walnut and fry in the oil. Try one first. If it falls apart, stir some more cornmeal into the dough. After the tester, fry 6 – 8 at once, leaving a bit of space between them. Turn so that each side browns well and then remove to paper towels to drain. Serve hot or room temperature.

Meanwhile, heat the pitas in a warm oven. I served with halved cherry tomatoes and lettuce and tsatziki. Thinned tahini (sesame seed paste, available at TJ’s) is a good sauce as well. For lunch the next day, I warmed a few falafel balls in the toaster oven with a pile of leftover grilled veggies and a half a pita and that made a great sandwich as well.

Reviewers of this recipe have said that the dough keeps well in the refrigerator, for frying up later in the week.

HOMEMADE PANCAKES

These are from Joy of Cooking, and I make them so often that the book is broken at this page (I can never trust that I have a recipe memorized). I have, of course, changed stuff – added whole wheat flour and almond meal as per usual. I can’t recommend this vs. Bisquik or any other mix enough – I really think they taste more “real”. And of course, both my kids love them. But I don't try and hide vegetables in them.

Melt
3 tablespoons of butter.

Begin to heat a griddle or other non-stick cooking surface to medium. If you have a place to keep items warm, like a warming drawer or toaster oven, warm that.

Whisk together in a large bowl
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup almond meal (if you don’t have it just use flour, or flax seed meal or corn meal – be creative!)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (eliminate if not using buttermilk or yogurt)
½ teaspoon salt

Whisk in a smaller bowl
2 eggs
Then add
1 ½ cups buttermilk (or yogurt, or yogurt and milk, or milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Then whisk in melted butter.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix just until combined. Add a cup of small berries if desired, or mini chocolate chips (not that I would do that!).

Melt some butter on the griddle, then wipe off with a paper towel. Pour batter onto griddle (in fanciful shapes, if you’re up for it). When edges are dry and top bubbles, turn pancakes. Cook for another minute or so until both sides are golden brown. (It’s a good idea to do a tester to make sure the griddle is at the right temperature and you removed enough butter from it.) Remove to warming oven or serve immediately, with fresh berries, yogurt, preserves, or real maple syrup.

Note: pancakes freeze well, between pieces of waxed paper. To reheat, melt some butter in a non-stick pan, place frozen pancakes in one layer and cover. “Steam” until reheated, turning once.

CORN MUFFINS - SWEET

This one, I adapted from the recipe on the side of the Albers Corn Meal Box (with my usual substitutions).

1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup corn meal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (eliminate if you don’t use buttermilk)
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk (or regular milk, but they’ll only be good, not the best)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup canola oil
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 18 – 20 muffin cups.

Whisk together flours, sugar, corn meal, baking power, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, oil and butter (add that last) in a small bowl until a bit frothy. Add to flour mixture, stir just until blended. Pour into muffin cups, 2/3 full.

Bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until wooden tester comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Serve warm.

CORN BREAD – NOT SO SWEET

This one I adapted from the recipe on the side of the Corn Meal bag I bought in NC. Made this for breakfast two mornings and it was VERY popular. (I subbed the ww flour and the buttermilk).

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda (eliminate if using regular milk or cream)
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups buttermilk (or regular milk, cream and/or yogurt)
2 tablespoons oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat eggs in a small bowl, then beat in milk and oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry, mix together just until everything is moist. Pour into a buttered 9 x 9 inch baking dish or muffin tins. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH

This is from Ellen Jackson, at Culinate.com. It was the most successful for me so far. Made a nice thin crust, but no bubbles. James didn’t particularly like the cornmeal in it. Girls ate it up though.

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup cornmeal
¾ cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
around 2 cups flour

Place the water in a large bowl with the yeast and honey. Stir to dissolve and let sit until foamy on top, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt, cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, and olive oil. Gradually stir in enough all-purpose flour to form a ball that comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface or in a mixer fitted with the dough hook. It should be pliable and elastic, but not sticky. This will take 6 to 8 minutes by hand, or half that time in a mixer.

Lightly oil a large clean bowl and place the dough in it. Turn it over to coat it with the oil and cover loosely with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch it down.

If you’re going to use within the day, allow to rise again in a warm spot. If not, divide dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Flatten the balls slightly so that they resemble thick pizzas. Cover and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to use the dough, allow it to come to room temperature before stretching and rolling.

Roll into desired size, add toppings and bake for 10 – 12 minutes at 425 degrees on a pizza stone or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. It works best to heat the cooking surface and then transfer the topped pizza onto it, but I always make a mess that way, so I make the pizza on the pan and put it in the oven.