Powder and Pizza

With ski season finally ramping up all over the country now that we've passed the first of December, I can't help fight that familiar itch that begins. It starts with the first couple times on the mountain. You're happy to get turns in no matter how many rocks you hit or times you catch an edge and wipe out. But slowly the the itch builds. You find yourself starting to check the forecast daily (hourly) lusting to see the snowflake in the upcoming days. Momentary elevation of your mood heightens when new areas of the mountain start to open or you go on a tour to mix things up...but again the itch continues. Finally let's add in the horror of the internet that allows you to look at the snowfall that's occurring everywhere else but not where you are.

That's when you (or at least I) snap. Where. Is. The. POWDER ?!

Some have to bring me down to Earth and remind me that it is still early, there is still snow to be had, it needs to cover up the rocks, etc etc. It's hard to remain calm. Salt Lake had highs of 55-60 degrees for the last two weeks which I really couldn't complain about, but I'm ready for winter. Thankfully this past weekend a storm came through and graced Little Cottonwood Canyon with almost 10 inches and the itch was fixed...for the time being.

On top of the ridge on my first backcountry tour in the Wasatch

While waiting for the snow to fall I decided to take on a new recipe in the kitchen, homemade pizza. It absolutely boggles my mind that I have never made fully homemade pizza given that it's one of my favorite foods. The dough was extremely easy to make and the pizza was perfect for a football Sunday.

I am a huge fan of thin crust and used the crust recipe from The Kitchn. The only advice I would give further is that you really need to roll the dough out. I thought I was borderline too thin but in reality it raised much more than I thought. If you like a little thicker crust then you don't have to roll it out as much.

I'm getting ready to head home this week for Christmas and needed to clear out the fridge in preparation to be gone. Alas, the Mediterranean Kitchen Sink Pizza was born. Here's what I topped my pizza with:
-Herbed goat cheese
-Diced pepperoni
-Caramelized onions/shallots
-Sweet peppers
-Artichoke hearts
-Roasted Garlic
 Topped with a balsamic glaze

I am looking forward to more days like these in the future. Powder followed by pizza. 


Safe travels to everyone during the holidays. If you have a connection at DIA, I wish you luck. If you need any recommendations about where to find the strongest drink or how to win an arm wrestling match for the nearest outlet to your gate - contact me. I've spent so many hours in that airport during the holidays I should list the skills I acquired on my resume but I digress.

Happy Holidays and cheers. Santa, please bring snow.

k