Homemade Artisan Pizza

Someone mentioned to me recently that we posted a lot of stuff about pizza...and I completely agree.  Pizza is good, cheap, and insanely easy to make.  So far, we've eaten out at a lot of pizza places, but we hadn't made a pizza ourselves.  Well, I decided to change that and make a pizza from scratch that didn't require but two ingredients for the crust.  Now my inspiration stems from brick oven or coal-fire pizzas, which in my opinion have the most character of any type of handmade pizzas, and they can be dressed with the most basic or advanced ingredients, depending upon your preference.

Before we get too far into this, let's mention what two ingredients you need for your crust:

Road Trip: Classic Cup Cafe in Ann Arbor, MI

Recently, I visited my brother and sister-in-law in Ann Arbor to welcome the new addition to our family. After a long weekend of chasing toddlers around and staring at my beautiful new niece, nobody was in the mood to cook breakfast on Sunday.¹ We went to the Classic Cup Cafe, which was just a short jaunt away from my brother's place.

Hoosier Fat Daddy? Tell Me Now!

On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the annual May Day Concert, presented by radio station WRZX 103.3 FM (X103).  To those of you who don't know, it is an outdoor event hosting five or six bands at the Klipsch Music Center.  It's pretty hard to find a better time, due to the fact that there's music, beer, and FOOD TRUCKS!

Jockamo Upper Crust

Don't Panic! There is parking in the rear. And a patio!

Have you ever been in the mood for pizza, but tired of the normal toppings? Or, have you been in the mood for a Philly Cheesesteak or Cajun food, but whoever you’re hanging out with has just wanted pizza? If that has ever happened to you, then consider Jockamo Upper Crust. Located on the East Side of Indianapolis in the Historic Irvington District, Jockamo has been serving up traditional and not-so-traditional pizzas since 2007.

Baked-In Apple (Apple) Pies

Mmmmm.......

My wife is an Pinterest fiend...always showing me stuff that she's pinned and whatnot.  It's the only form of social media I don't really understand in some fashion...even though I do have an account, and have pinned one thing since setting up my account.  I found it lame, until I realized that my wife was gaining a lot of insight on cooking new meals and becoming more adventurous with cuisine.

Recently, she showed me something that blew my mind...Baked-In Apple (Apple) Pies.

Now, I'm not much for baking...other than the occasional loaf of banana/pumpkin bread, and I've never even attempted to make a pie.  So in my mind, I thought that this would be the worst challenge I've faced.  Honestly it wasn't that bad, and ended up being a much easier process than I had anticipated; and the payoff was completely worth it.

The Diner

What kind of food is it that restaurants serve that makes you want to keep coming back?  For most, it's one of two things: either the restaurant serves comfort food, or a restaurant that serves up the food the way the owner and workers would want it if they cooked it for themselves?  What if I told you that a place like this exists in Indianapolis, fits into our price point of $15 or less, and has amazing quality food that has had me there 3 times in their first three weeks after opening.

Getting to Know @Mealightenment [Newbie]: Joe

If anyone is curious, I am the large one in the back.

Howdy, everyone! My name is +Joe Reese and I am (one of) the newbies to the blog. I work with Justin and Jacob, and that is how I got tabbed to be a part of the blog. I guess it should go without saying, but my enjoyment of food and cooking in general gave us something to talk about right off when I started getting to know the guys. Since high school, I've had several jobs in the food industry. I started out as a bus boy/dishwasher at a small restaurant on the east side of Indianapolis. I've also worked in a couple different chain restaurants in just about every position you can think of, until my job change about a year and a half ago.  I wasn't too sure what to write about for my intro post, so I decided to steal the questions I liked from the other "Getting to Know" posts. And without further ado, here we go!