tom gray - seagrove, nc

BLOG DELETION

2010-09-27T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hey guys.....I'm deleting this blog by the end of this week. Please change your bookmarks, and pointers within your blogs, to http://www.tomgraypottery.com. Thanks! Tom

school lunches in paris

2010-09-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

rip off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

I'm ripping off my buddy Ron with these cache jars, but they sure were fun to make!

work, work, work.....

2010-09-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

With a trunk show in late October and the 3rd. annual COSP November 19-21, I'm shooting for two, maybe, hopefully, three, kiln loads by year's end. I spent part of today paddling and slip-trailing salt pigs and throwing cache jars, the latter of which will be trimmed and decorated tomorrow.

I seem to be slowing down these days, as far as pot-making goes, but I'm not alone; my friend Jeff Brown has been heard saying "life seems to be getting in the way of making pots." Amen to that.

recent pics from around the gray abode.....

2010-09-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Throwing pots, planting dwarf fruit trees and grilling pizza -- that's what I've been up to of late.

new dough recipe.....

2010-09-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post how I blended my two favorite pizza dough recipes in hopes of developing a dough for pizza in the home oven and on the grill, for focaccia bread, and that will hopefully work when I get the brick oven built. So far it has worked better than any other recipes I‘ve tried.

Tom’s Pizza/Focaccia Dough

5 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (25.35 oz.)

3 TB olive oil

2 and 1/4 tsp instant yeast

2 and 3/4 tsp salt

1 TB sugar

2 and 1/4 cups of water

Mix the ingredients using a stand mixer, food processor or by hand, and pour into a six quart plastic container. Put the lid on top and leave it out for a couple of hours. I’ve mistakenly left it on the counter all night with no harm. It’s easier to work with after it has been refrigerated for a couple of hours, but I’ve also made pizza from it after that first two hour rise. I usually try to make it a couple of days ahead, keep it refrigerated for a week or so, and pull out the dough as I need it about two or three hours before baking.

TIPS: I've found a huge difference in weighing the flour vs. scooping. Also, find a piece of granite, an old kiln shelf, a clay walkway stone, or a baking stone for the best results.

If you need more info on how to make and bake it, just google homemade pizza, or enter the same in my site’s search engine above. After you’ve made your own at home, everything else pales in comparison.

update.....

2010-09-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

School is back in full swing, and for me that means awaking to an alarming noise at 6am, Mon-Fri. I've never been a morning person, preferring to awaken at a more civilized hour, like 9 or 10. Nevertheless, parenting is the most important task I've ever been given, and one I thoroughly enjoy, just a little more so in the summer, on weekends and school holidays :-)

In other news -- Brenda drove up from the coast and spent last weekend with me. We grilled three pies Saturday night, and had a coupla friends over. We made a few batches of soft cheeses, mozz and ricotta, and were pretty pleased with our results. I'll have to admit she is far more tenacious than I!

Ron slid in on Tuesday for an opening at the Randolph Arts Guild, where he and a few of his buds were exhibiting. We ran into MH while there, spent a little time hob-nobbing, and returned home to grill pizza :-) Hmmhhhh, I think there's a recurring theme when folks visit, huh? Nah, I don't wait for visitors to be honest.

The next three pics are from the exhibit............

And lastly.........well pardners, there's a new chicken wrangler on the ranch.

I wish Seagrove had a.....

2010-09-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Seriously. It's not a mega-store, which is part of it''s charm, but for most of our weekly food needs, it fits the bill. Good produce, to fill the gaps my garden doesn't provide; good wine selection; good cheese selection. Not a one-stop shop, but a semi-quaint, if contrived to be so, throwback to simpler times when we didn't have a blue million choices. The prices are right too.

summer garden.....

2010-09-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

This summer has been so dangerously hot that the only time I ventured out to the garden was to harvest stuff. The grasses between raised beds grew about a foot and a half before the early morning temps were low enough for me to mow them down. Yet, it was still joyful, knowing that the garden was there, and producing food. Every time I walked out and plucked, snipped, or dug, it was like thanksgiving. I had put in so little effort, but had been blessed with so much. Not an abundance, but enough.

testing 1, 2, 3.....

2010-08-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the most interesting glazes I've ever used have been nominally to moderately successful on their own, but fantastic when blended together. My favorite red wines are blends, usually cabs, with whatever else the vintner deems appropriate and tasteful. With this in mind, I've blended my two favorite pizza dough / focaccia recipes, in hopes that the best qualities of each will predominate. So far, so good. I've made one loaf of focaccia from the blend, and two pies, one grilled, and one on a kiln shelf in the oven. The bread was excellent, better crumb than previous recipes, and the pizza on the grill was excellent as well. The pie baked in the oven was Slate's favorite, while the grilled pie was mine. Both were topped with a simple red sauce, mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, salami, mozz and parm. I'll post the recipe after a few more trial runs.