About A Couple Cooks

A Couple Cooks is a food blog dedicated to from-scratch recipes and the joy of cooking together. We were founded in 2010 by Sonja and Alex Overhiser, a husband and wife team of recipe developers and cookbook authors. Our mission is to make home cooking and healthy eating easy and enjoyable for everyone, and to champion the power of two in the kitchen.

Our website, acouplecooks.com, is one of the most popular food blogs in America, with over 8 million pageviews every month. Sonja and Alex have also written two cookbooks, Pretty Simple Cooking (2018) and A Couple Cooks: Happily Ever After (2024).

A Couple Cooks has quickly become a trusted source for recipes. Our recipes have been featured in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The TODAY Show, and more. We were also named Best Food Blog in 2019 by IACP, the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

We believe that food should be both nutritious and delicious. That’s why all of our recipes are made with whole, unprocessed ingredients and are packed with flavor. We also offer a variety of dietary options, including vegetarian, gluten-free, pescatarian, chicken, and vegan recipes.

Why Trust Us?

We are a team of passionate food bloggers committed to providing our readers with the best possible experience. As two professional recipe developers with a background in technical writing, we’re known for our attention to detail and focus on a user-friendly experience. We use mostly whole, unprocessed ingredients in our recipes, so you can feel good about feeding them to your family and friends.

We are constantly updating and expanding our library of recipes so that you can always find something new to try. We respond to reader feedback and update recipes to make sure they work in every kitchen.

Our Authority

A Couple Cooks is a trusted source for recipes for a number of reasons:

• Our recipes are developed by experts. Sonja and Alex are professional recipe developers with over a decade of experience in food writing and over 15 years in the technical writing industry. This experience has given us a strong foundation in clear and concise communication and user experience, which is evident in our recipes and cookbooks. We also write freelance recipes for The Washington Post, including the Plant Powered recipe series, back to school lunch recipes, and holiday cookies.
• Our recipes are well-tested and reliable. We test our recipes multiple times before publishing them, to make sure that they work perfectly. We also provide detailed instructions and tips to help readers achieve the best results.
• Our recipes are trusted by readers and industry professionals alike. Our website is a popular resource for both home cooks and professional chefs. The recipes have been featured in major publications such as The Washington Post and The TODAY Show and we were honored as “Best Food Blog” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. We have also worked with brands to create recipes such as ALDI, Fresh Thyme, Meijer, Kroger, Bob’s Red Mill, Stonyfield, and more.

A Couple Cooks is also a trusted resource in the food and recipe development industry because of our strong social media presence and active engagement with our community. We have over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and we regularly share recipes, cooking tips, and behind-the-scenes content.

How We Can Help You

Whether you’re new to home cooking or a seasoned chef, A Couple Cooks has something for everyone. We offer a wide variety of recipes, from easy weeknight meals to artisan pizzas to craft cocktails. We also have a variety of articles on cooking tips, kitchen substitutions, knife skills, meal plans, the Mediterranean diet, plant-based living, and more.

We hope you will join us on our journey to make healthy eating easy and enjoyable for everyone. Sign up for our newsletter to receive new recipes and articles delivered straight to your inbox.

What Readers Love

What makes A Couple Cooks stand out to readers is our focus on simple, healthy, and flavorful recipes. Our recipes are also well-written and easy to follow, with beautiful photos and helpful tips and tricks. Specifically, our readers have provided feedback that they love that:

• The recipes are easy to make. We understand that people are busy, so we focus on creating recipes that can be made in a reasonable amount of time, even with minimal cooking experience.
• The recipes are made healthy whole food ingredients (except when they’re not!). We’re passionate about healthy eating. Whenever possible, we use whole, unprocessed ingredients focus on creating recipes that are balanced and nutritious. At the same time, we don’t focus on the word healthy, which is subjective and often used in diet culture to promote mindsets based on guilt and shame. Instead, we believe in balance in everything and there’s always room for a treat, so we offer dessert recipes, baked goods, and more.
• The recipes are flavorful. We are constantly experimenting with new flavors and ingredients, to create recipes that are both unique and delicious. We believe food should be well-seasoned, and use a variety of spices and herbs to add flavor to our dishes.
• The recipes are well-written and easy to follow. We take care to explain each step of our recipes in detail. We also include helpful tips and tricks to make the cooking process easier and more enjoyable. We write everything with our reader in mind and pride ourselves in user-friendly instructions.
• The photos are beautiful—and realistic. Alex is a talented photographer and his photos make each recipe visually appealing. At the same time, we don’t doctor our photos to represent something that is over-idealized. We make everything in our home kitchen and the photograph represents the real end product!

Readers have also told us they also appreciate the warm and inviting tone of A Couple Cooks. We are passionate about food and cooking, and we hope our enthusiasm is contagious! We make an effort to connect with their readers on a personal level, and they often share stories about our own lives in our blog posts, on Instagram, and in our newsletter.

What We Offer

Our recipes maximize flavor while minimizing effort. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned home cook, we’ve got something for you! On this website, you’ll find recipes to fit all kinds of eaters and occasions:

• healthy dinners
• vegan recipes and vegetarian recipes
• gluten-free recipes
• Mediterranean diet recipes
• salmon recipes, shrimp recipes, and seafood recipes
• chicken recipes
• breakfast recipes and lunch recipes
• baked goods, bread recipes, pizza recipes, and muffin recipes
• appetizer recipes and snack recipes
• dessert recipes
• cocktail recipes
• smoothie recipes, coffee drinks, and tea recipes

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

This post includes our honest review of our ILVE range and hood, gifted to us by ILVE. All opinions are our own.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, and no more so than in our house! As professional recipe writers, our kitchen gets splattered and battered on the daily. So Alex and I decided after 9 years of heavy use, it was time for a little kitchen refresh. We’ve teased it on Instagram long enough, so here’s the big reveal! The main innovation? We made space for this 40-inch ILVE Induction Range! Switching from gas to induction is a big deal: here’s why we did it and all the things we love about this beauty.

What is an ILVE range?

What’s ILVE? ILVE (pronounced “il-vay”) is a brand of Italian crafted kitchen appliances, including ranges, ovens, hoods, refrigerators, microwaves and more. The brand was founded in Campodarsego, Italy in 1952 by two Italian friends. The appliances are commercial grade and highly regarded as some of the finest cooking appliances on the market.

Why did we want an ILVE range? First off, the sustainability of induction cooking. After learning that induction is more sustainable than gas, Alex and I decided we were ready to make the switch (gulp!). Second, we wanted a stylish European range that would make our kitchen look like an eclectic French cottage. After some research, we found ILVE! It’s a stylish range that’s offered in both gas and induction.

Why to cook with induction (sustainability and health!)

You’ve probably heard it before: gas stoves are best for cooking! But guess what? That’s not true. In fact, much of the passion around natural gas cooking is due to gas companies persuading us all that gas is better. After some research, here’s what Alex and I learned about gas vs induction cooking:

• Burning natural gas produces nitrogen dioxide, sometimes carbon monoxide, and other pollutants, which can be harmful to people and pets. (Source)
• New efficient electric appliances have lower carbon footprints. So they’re better for the planet! (Source)
• Induction ranges are much higher quality than old-school electric stoves with coils. It’s incredibly easy to control temperature and cook with even heat. (See more below.)
• You can boil water in 2 minutes! It’s an incredible time saver. Everything heats up faster!

Want to read more on induction vs gas? Here are a few resources: Give Up Your Gas Stove to Save the Planet (NPR) and Kill Your Gas Stove (The Atlantic).

Our ILVE Range Review

The ILVE range that we were gifted from the brand was the ILVE Majestic II. We previously had a 30-inch range which was on its last legs (a burner was permanently not working and it had a ton of hard usage). After much deliberation, we decided to remove one kitchen cabinet to make way for a 40-inch range. While this caused a lot of construction (cabinet removal, new backsplash, trim, etc), in the end it was all worth it!

We’ve been cooking on the ILVE Majestic II induction range for a month. The opinion of these two professional home cooks and cookbook authors? We could not love it more. Here are a few particulars:

• Induction cooking is far superior to gas. We are beyond pleased with cooking on induction. While we switched for the health and sustainability reasons, we’ve fallen in love with how it cooks food. It heats up incredibly fast and has much more even heat than gas.
• The range shows you the heat level and boils water in 2 minutes! We love that the cooktop shows the heat level you’re on. You can also use a “Power” mode to boil a huge pot of water in just 2 minutes! On our old gas range it took 10 to 15 minutes.
• The cooktop is very easy to clean. This is actually a huge life-saver. We’re pretty messy cooks, so just a wipe of the top gets it beautifully clean. No removing grates or caked on messes.
• It’s beautiful. (Drop dead gorgeous.) This is subjective, but ILVE ranges are the most beautiful, stylish ranges we’ve seen on the market. The way the brass knobs gleam in the light makes our hearts skip a beat. But in all seriousness: there’s really something to using an appliance that’s functional and beautiful. It’s just more fun.
• The ovens are very reliable (plus, the small one has a rotisserie!). Our model of ILVE range has a large oven and small side oven, which is nice for when you’re wanting to cook things at two temperatures. If we had room, of course we’d want two big ovens! But the side oven is great and even has a rotisserie. We’ve been using it to roast a whole chicken and it comes out incredibly moist! The oven’s baking ability is spot on: we’ve tested a bunch of our recipes and it’s incredibly accurate on bake time with very even heating.
• It’s got lots of other great features. There’s a warming drawer where you can store pans while the oven is off, or keep food warm when it’s on. There are lots of different oven settings depending on what you’re cooking, and it even gets hotter than a standard oven (up to 575 degrees, which is great for pizza!).

Want to know more about ILVE? Here are some of the ILVE Range Models and comparisons between the different features that each one has. Or browse around at ILVE.com.

Note: The larger oven in the 40-inch range is slightly too small to fit a standard half sheet pan. The oven comes with a custom sheet pan that fits perfectly. We also purchased a 16″x12″ pan which is approximately the same surface area.

More about our kitchen refresh

We used our new ILVE range as an opportunity to give our kitchen a little refresh! Eight years ago we did a major renovation of our kitchen when we moved into our 1926 home. Putting in this range required some construction to change from 30-inch to 40-inch, but there was no major re-configuration of walls or structures. Even so, we took it as a chance to update a few things to give it a new French kitchen look. Here’s what we changed:

• Backsplash changed to Zellige tile: Because the range width changed, we had to redo the position of the backsplash. We’d always loved the look of square, handmade Zellige tile so we went with it! We love the irregularity and uniqueness of the look.
• Added a pot rack: There was a theme in all my Pinterest kitchen photos when planning for this reno: a pot rack with copper pots! All of the pots and ladles hanging up are ones we actually use. We did have to buy new pots because of the induction range! Here’s a link to our copper pots that work on induction.
• Brass hardware: To update the look of our kitchen even more, we change out our stainless hardware with vintage-looking brass drawer pulls and handles. We love how unique they make the kitchen look.
• Brass faucet: We changed out the faucet in our island to brass since it was getting very worn. Overall we wanted a mixed metals look, so we went with a stainless ILVE hood and kept our old stainless shelves.
• Wooden bar stools: We swapped out our stainless bar stools for wooden ones with backs, to add more warmth to the room.

We love how it all turned out. Thanks to our designer Tiffany Skilling for helping us choose all these items to bring the look together!

Questions? Comments?

Thinking about an ILVE range? Have questions about switching from gas cooking to induction cooking? Let us know in the comments below!

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Need coffee for one? Here at A Couple Cooks, we’re coffee pros. We’ve researched all the best coffee gear so that you don’t have to! So if you’re looking for the best coffee maker for one person…we’ve got it for you. And, we’ve got a video on how to use it! Here’s our best pick, a runner up, and exactly how to use both of them. Bottom line: We love the Aeropress coffee maker!

1. Best coffee maker for one person (one cup): The Aeropress

If you’re looking for a personal one cup coffee maker, the Aeropress is our best pick for you! What’s an Aeropress? It may look like a space-age gadget, but the Aeropress is a coffee making device! You’ll steep the coffee, then force the water through the filter by pressing a plunger through a tube. It makes one great cup of coffee! Here are the reasons we love the Aeropress:

• It’s cheap: only around $30!
• It’s small & portable: it takes up very little space and weighs next to nothing. Perfect for travelling!
• It’s easy to clean: it just needs a quick rinse.
• It makes a great coffee: enough said. In fact, it’s hard to make a bad cup of coffee using the Aeropress.
• It’s fast: It only takes a few minutes to make one cup of coffee.

How to use it? Here’s how to use an Aeropress.

Aeropress accessories

Here’s what you need to make coffee in an Aeropress:

1. Filters: We like these paper filters, but metal filters are also available.
2. Electric kettle: The water temperature is important. Here’s the gooseneck water kettle with temperature control that we use.
3. Grinder: This Electric burr grinder is best in class. For an inexpensive option that’s also perfect for traveling, here’s a handheld coffee grinder.

2. Best coffee maker for one person (two cups): the Chemex

If you drink two cups of coffee per day, we’d recommend the Chemex coffee maker! What’s a Chemex? A Chemex is a glass beaker shaped coffee maker. It’s more expensive and a little more involved than the Aeropress, but better at coaxing out the flavor of the coffee beans. This is the coffee maker we use every day. Here’s what’s great about the Chemex:

• It makes really great coffee. The flavor this method extracts is excellent.
• It’s perfect for coffee nerds. Because the flavor is superior, it’s what we recommend for the very best cup you can make.
• It makes 2 cups of coffee at once. If you’re a 2 cup per day person, you’ll get both in one shot.

How to use it? Here’s how to use a Chemex.

Chemex accessories

Here’s what you need to make coffee in a Chemex:

1. Filters: Here are the Chemex filters we use.
2. Electric kettle: The water temperature is important. Here’s the gooseneck water kettle with temperature control that we use.
3. Grinder: This Electric burr grinder is best in class. For an inexpensive option that’s also perfect for traveling, here’s a handheld coffee grinder.
4. Kitchen scale: Weigh out your coffee and water using this kitchen scale. (It’s also handy to have for cooking, especially baking bread!)

This post contains affiliate links.

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

This post was created in partnership with Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove; all opinions are our own.

How many times have you argued over the best way to load a dishwasher? Every household seems locked into this eternal struggle: am I right? And Alex and I are no different. Over the years, we’ve had countless disagreements about how to load a dishwasher.

Well, thanks to our new Cove dishwasher, we’re finally starting to agree! The good people at Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove suggested that we try one out: and now we’re hooked. And our dishes are, in Alex’s words, “the cleanest they’ve ever been”. As people who use their kitchen A LOT, it’s been a fantastic change for us. Today, we’re sharing a few myths on the best way to load a dishwasher and how the Cove turns them upside down: and actually cleans our dishes.

Tip 1: Just scrape dishes before loading!

Myth: You have to fully rinse every smudge from your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher.

Anyone else this way? I was so used to pulling out dishes with leftover grime that I started cleaning the entire plate before putting it into the dishwasher. Basically, I was doing all the work of the dishwasher: before it went in! Did this cause some marital spats? A few, since Alex had to keep reminding me that all my elbow grease was not necessary.

With our new Cove dishwasher, it’s truly not necessary to do any heavy lifting on your own. Plates can go in with quite the amount of grime: and they come out clean every time. Our dishes are literally SHINY—cleaner than they’ve ever been—and we’re saving water.

Tip 2: Load it how you want!

Myth: There’s a best way to load a dishwasher. (And your partner is the only person in the world who knows it.)

So here’s the one that causes all the tensions: am I right? There’s some elusive “best dishwasher loading” strategy, and both people in the relationship know it. Alex and I have gotten up in arms about this for years! I’m the person who just shoves things in willy nilly, and Alex is the one who seems to understand the “best way”, which I’m always in the habit of forgetting.

Luckily with our new Cove dishwasher, there’s really no way to do it wrong. The inside has adjustable racks that you can tilt to accommodate different dish, pan, and glass sizes. And there’s a fancy silverware tray on the third level with slots for all your silverware. Something about loading it is kind of cathartic, actually! Even someone like me can enjoy loading it.

Tip 3: Don’t worry about blocking the sprayer.

Myth: Be paranoid about blocking the sprayer.

OK, maybe this is only a disagreement in our house. But there have been countless times that I’ve gotten in trouble for putting a dish in our dishwasher that blocks the sprayer. The result? Slime caked onto all of the dishes. (Sorry, Alex!) Well, the Cove dishwasher has three spray arms so dishes are sure to get clean. Genius! This is perfect error proofing for someone like me.

Tip 4: Let the dishwasher figure it out.

Myth: There’s one cycle for everything: make sure to fill the dishwasher to the brim every time!

After living with a dishwasher that wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed, I’ve been used to this: load it to the brim, then press Start.

The nice thing about the Cove dishwasher is that it’s actually smart! If you press the “Auto” cycle, Cove will choose the level of cleaning that’s right for you–by itself. The “Light Load” option lets us run a half load: which mainly happens after we’ve already run one full load that day (yes, we have a LOT of dishes over here). And, you can control the settings from a smart phone (iPhone only, for now).

Tip 5: Don’t live with hard water!

Myth: You need a water softener in your house to have really clean dishes.

This one isn’t a dishwasher area of marital conflict, per say, just a cool feature of our Cove dishwasher. Cove is available with or without a water softener inside the dishwasher itself. So you have the option to wash with softened water even if your house doesn’t have a water softener!

It might not seem like a big deal, but soft water optimizes the cleaning ability of the water. We’ve noticed this literally makes our dishes squeaky clean: something we’ve never been used to. Another plus: the inside of the dishwasher stays cleaner too!

A few other bells and whistles

As is pretty obvious, our Cove dishwasher is spoiling us a little! Here are a few more things that we love about it:

• It’s nearly silent. True story, our past dishwasher was so loud that when we’d run it at night, I’d think someone was breaking in downstairs.
• It’s light and bright! The interior has LED lighting, which makes easy to load after a late night dinner party.
• There’s a “dirty” and “clean” light indicator. So you can easily tell whether the load is in progress or clean, there’s a cool light that shines on the floor: green means clean and red means in progress

Any questions?

Questions? Does your household get in related arguments about the best way to load the dishwasher? Tell us your stories in the comments below!

Get a Cove dishwasher

To learn more about Cove dishwashers, go to the Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove website.

Related

We love to provide resources for your kitchen and garden! Here are a few more of our resources:

• How to Compost
• How to Grow Herbs
• How to Grow Basil | Harvest Basil | Store Fresh Basil
• How to Cook with Herbs
• How to Organize Your Spices…the Minimalist Way
• How to Replace a Garbage Disposal
• How to Give Your Pantry a Healthy Makeover
• DIY Gold Painted Herb Pots
• How to Care for Butcher Block Countertops

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

We’ve been keeping a secret from you.

Alex & I are writing a new series with Washington Post Food!

Do you want to cook more plants? Voraciously: Plant Powered is a free newsletter series with 24 exclusive NEW plant-forward dinner recipes, tips, & shopping lists, all written by us! And it’s designed for anyone, no matter your diet or experience in the kitchen.

Alex and I are thrilled to be working with the talented teams at Washington Post Food and Voraciously on this “mini cookbook” that’s delivered to your inbox. We’ve bought thousands of groceries (yes, they know us at the checkout counter), taste tested until we’re blue in the face, and fidgeted through writer’s block. And we’re so excited to finally share it with you!

Here’s what you can expect to arrive in your inbox each week:

• Two main-dish dinner recipes per week — one vegan and the other vegetarian (includes dairy and eggs).
• Tips for easy meat or seafood additions for the flexitarians among us.
• Recipes that are designed for one or two people but are easily scalable.
• A budget-conscious weekly grocery list that includes both meals, to simplify your shopping.

Voraciously is all about helping you navigate the kitchen efficiently and with confidence. Each week, we’ll pop into your inbox with a lesson about plant-powered cooking and two great recipes that let you taste it in action.

We hope you’ll sign up, and tell all your friends, too! You’ll receive a new Plant Powered newsletter every Tuesday afternoon (beginning June 4) for the next 12 weeks.

Sign up for Voraciously: Plant Powered here.

Image credits: Photo: Justin Tsucalas; food styling Nichole Bryant

Looking for more plant based recipes & meals?

Here are a few resources:

• 28 Day Plant Based Diet Meal Plan
• What is a Plant Based Diet?
• 10 Filling Plant Based Recipes Perfect for Dinner
• 28 Day Vegetarian Meal Plan
• 28 Day Vegan Meal Plan

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

If there’s one question we get asked again and again about our kitchen renovation, it’s “how do you like your butcher block countertops?”. It’s an easy answer for us: we love them! They’re affordable, they’re beautiful, and they add a nice warmth to an otherwise bright kitchen. We have the beech counters from IKEA and left them completely unfinished, aside from monthly oiling (details below!). We’ve found the butcher block countertops to hold up quite well to our usual messy selves in the kitchen!

Our Butcher Block: A Few Notes

Two important notes regarding our butcher block counters:

• Our main sink is in a quartz-countertop island, so we do not wash dishes near the butcher block counters. We are always careful to dry off any standing water the butcher block to avoid stains.
• Although we’ve been careful to only use food-safe oils on our otherwise unfinished counters, we do not cut or chop directly on the counters, since we’d like them to stay in great shape as long as possible.

Otherwise, we’re not too timid around the counters. They’ve been stained, burned, and used quite thoroughly for two years, and they look better than ever!

Taking care of the counters is fairly simple. Every four to six weeks when the counters start to look and feel dry, we treat them with a butcher block wax/oil combo. We use a food safe butcher block oil / wax combo and we’ve been pleased with the results; I’ve also read that you can simply use mineral oil.

Butcher Block Countertop Maintenance 101

Here are the steps we use to treat our butcher block countertops:

1. Clear the counters of all items and lightly sand them with a medium sandpaper block. If you have any stains, you might need to sand more heavily. Don’t worry if it looks a bit lighter in the stained area after sanding; it will blend in after a month or two. Also, don’t be too fussy about getting every last stain out, since a little patina looks good!
2. Wipe off all of the dust with a barely-damp rag.
3. Warm the wax bottle under hot water for a few seconds, then squirt a line of wax around the counters. You don’t need to use too much.
4. Using a paper towel, spread out the wax evenly on the counters. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until the wood absorbs the wax. If you’ve missed a month or two, you may want to repeat this step.
5. Using a fresh paper towel, remove any excess wax. Allow the counters to sit for about another 15 minutes — the wood will continue to absorb the remaining wax.
6. That’s it! Your counters should be waterproofed and ready to go. Remember, water is the enemy, so make sure to keep them dry!

Related

We love to provide resources for your kitchen and garden! Here are a few more of our resources:

• How to Grow Herbs
• How to Compost
• How to Organize Your Spices…the Minimalist Way
• Cove Dishwasher: “Cleanest They’ve Ever Been”
• How to Grow Basil | Harvest Basil | Store Fresh Basil
• How to Replace a Garbage Disposal
• How to Give Your Pantry a Healthy Makeover
• DIY Gold Painted Herb Pots

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

Over hundreds of years, pizza has grown from a lowly peasant Italian food to a worldwide phenomenon. There’s variations of all kinds, from frozen to delivery to deep dish. But our favorite is the Italian-style: a thin, supple crust seared in a blazing hot oven, topped with simple, quality ingredients like peppery garden basil, sweet, juicy tomatoes, Pecorino cheese, and gooey fresh mozzarella.

Pizza is endlessly versatile; nearly anything you can find in your pantry or farmer’s market can transform into a topping. Pizza Friday is one of our favorite ways to end the week, just the two of us or with friends, as we contend for the most creative and satisfying flavor combinations. Our love for the Italian pizza was solidified on our honeymoon in Rome (which we revisited 7 years later). Since then, we’ve been working to perfect the art and science of pizza making at home. To help you with your own pizza party, we’ve got a full list of resources below.

Related: How to Make Artisan Pizza at Home | Homemade Pizza for Beginners

How to make pizza dough

The key to a great pizza is first in the dough. Dough making takes a bit of time to perfect, but practice makes perfect! Since the texture and feel of the dough is so important, Alex created a video a few years ago that shows the optimal texture. We’ve also included our two tried-and-true methods for dough-making, one with a food processor and one with a stand mixer.

Here are all our secrets to making perfect pizza dough:

• Master Recipe: Pizza Dough
• Food Processor Pizza Dough
• Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Essential pizza tools

The two essential tools for great pizza at home are a pizza stone, which makes for the perfect crisp crust, and a pizza peel to slide the pizza onto and off of the stone. And if you really want to nerd out on pizza, a portable outdoor pizza oven. But only the stone and peel are essential; here are our recommendations:

Pizza peel

To slide your homemade pizza onto that pizza stone, we recommend a pizza peel. What’s a pizza peel? It’s a paddle shaped wooden tray with a handle: you’ve probably seen people in pizzerias use them! They’re essential to using a pizza stone. You can use a rimless baking sheet instead, but it’s much more difficult. Try this standard pizza peel!

To step up your pizza game a bit, try this conveyor pizza peel! It makes it very easy to slide the pizza on and off the pizza stone.

Pizza stone

To make really, really good homemade pizza, you’ve got to have a pizza stone! You’ll preheat your oven with the pizza stone inside, which then makes the pizza crust perfectly crispy. Round pizza stone $36

Related: What’s the Best Pizza Stone? | How to Clean a Pizza Stone

Our favorite pizza recipes

With literally thousands of pizza topping combinations, there’s endless variety of pizzas you could serve at your pizza party. Here are a few of our favorite pizza topping recipes! Or, you could do a Make Your Own Pizza party: see below.

• Best Pizza Margherita
• Greek Pizza
• White Pizza
• Spinach Artichoke Pizza
• Goat Cheese Pizza
• Pesto Pizza
• Perfect Neapolitan Pizza
• Best Ever Taco Pizza
• Veggie Pizza with Avocado
• Mexican Pizza
• Our Best Vegan Pizza Recipe

Make your own pizza party

Instead of making a bunch of different pizza flavors for your pizza party, why not let your guests join in the fun and do a Make Your Own Pizza party? This way, you can just have a bunch of pizza toppings and let guests decide what they’d like to add. Here are a few ideas for toppings to have on hand:

• Sauces: Best Homemade Pizza Sauce, Basil Pesto, Olive oil for brushing
• Mozzarella cheese
• Other cheeses: Feta cheese, goat cheese, burrata cheese, Parmesan cheese, or Pecorino cheese
• Vegetables: Chopped spinach leaves, chopped bell peppers, sliced red onions, thinly sliced tomatoes, avocado
• Preserved vegetables: Olives, roasted jarred red peppers, artichokes
• Sauteed vegetables: Sauteed mushrooms
• Herbs: Fresh basil, fresh thyme or fresh oregano
  

Appetizers for pizza party

Once you have all your pizza gear and toppings decided: what kind of appetizers for a pizza party? Here are a few salads and appetizers that would be perfect for a pizza party:

• Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip and veggies
• Classic Hummus or Glowing Green Hummus and veggies
• Burrata Salad with Arugula and Tomatoes
• Famous Tomato Dip with Grilled Bread
• Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Radish Chopped Salad Recipe

Sides for a pizza party

And what about side dishes? Check out our 10 Best Sides to Go with Pizza. It also includes specific pairings for some of our favorite pizza recipes.

Party Sized Pizza Dough

---

★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

No reviews

• Author: Sonja Overhiser
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 7 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
• Yield: 6 personal pizzas or 3 medium pizzas

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

Want to throw a pizza party? Cooks everywhere agree: this is the best pizza dough recipe! It’s a trusted resource for how to make pizza dough with the perfect chewy texture—every time.

For the best possible pizza dough, we recommend this pizza stone. Here’s why we love it.

---

Ingredients

• 500 grams* Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour (3 ⅓ cups)
• 8 grams instant or active dry yeast (2 teaspoons)
• 7 grams kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
• 338 grams warm water (1 ¼ cups + 3 tablespoons)
• 13 grams olive oil (1 tablespoon)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine. Add the water and olive oil and stir until a raggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
2. Knead the dough by pushing with the base of your palm, then reforming it into a ball. Continue kneading for 8 minutes until the dough feels pillowy and has a smooth, stretchy exterior. If the dough is very sticky, add a small amount of flour while kneading. Alternatively: attach the dough hook to a stand mixer and start the mixer on medium-low speed, then allow the mixer to knead for 8 minutes.
3. After the kneading is finished, divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Using floured hands, gently shape each half into a boule (ball shape) by folding the dough under itself. Set each boule on a floured surface and dab the dough with a bit of olive oil to keep it moist. Cover all boules with a damp towel and allow them to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. The dough can be used immediately. However for the BEST flavor, transfer the dough to separate sealed containers, large enough for the dough to double in size again, and store in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. (Alex and I don’t always do this, but we try when possible because it makes for a noticeably nutty, unique flavor that truly is the best homemade pizza dough you’ve ever had.) 
5. **If you’re using the dough after refrigerating: The day of serving, remove the dough from the containers, place it on a lightly floured surface covered with a towel, and allow it to come to room temperature before stretching, 30 to 45 minutes.
6. To stretch the dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and gently press it into a circle, flipping several times and adding a pinch of flour if it is too sticky. Once you have about an 8-inch circle, pick up the dough and gently drape it over the knuckles on both of your hands. Slowly rotate it around, allowing gravity to stretch it into a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Do not overwork or fold the dough. If the dough starts to resist stretching, put it down and allow it to rest for a few minutes, at which point it will stretch more easily.
7. We bake our pizzas at 500F and use a pizza peel to transfer it to a preheated pizza stone in the oven: the bake time is around 5 to 7 minutes. See our pizza recipe posts for baking instructions.

Notes

*Using a food scale will ensure you have consistent results every time! We use this one.

You can make 6 personal pizzas or 3 medium pizzas with this size of dough. If you’re making personal pizzas, you can cook 2 at a time on a pizza stone. Or, cook them to order!

• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: How to Throw a Pizza Party, Pizza Dough, Pizza Dough Recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

All photos by Mike Gilger, The Fresh Exchange

“I have always loved setting the table, cooking, and gathering ingredients to share with people. But when I think about what matters the most it rarely comes down to the uniqueness of the table setting and more on the ability to leave space for community and connection. Even the simplest meal can feel special, intimate, and beautiful even if it is just white tablecloth and napkins made from spare fabric. The simplest things when gathering are usually the greatest.” -Megan Gilger, The Fresh Exchange

Related: A Pretty Simple Dinner Party with A Couple Cooks — Megan’s post about the evening!

The magic of gathering

A few weeks ago, Alex and I drove up to Leelenau Pennisula, Michigan for a simple backyard party based on our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking. Our friends Megan and Mike of The Fresh Exchange generously offered to host the gathering in the backyard of their white modern farmhouse in Traverse City. Driving north from Indiana, the moment you hit the Michigan state line you can sense a change. There’s a certain magic to the Michigan ecosystem, with its blueberry bushes, sand dunes and clear blue green waters. Alex’s great grandfather used to be a fruit farmer in Michigan, so he has it in his blood. Both of us can feel the pull of this land.

Have you ever sat at a dinner table so intimate it felt sacred? This is the reason we love gatherings so much. It’s not just about the food. It’s about an open space for connection with other humans. The table is a place to feel fully known. It’s a place to feel heard. This is why we gather—not just to eat, but to engage in community and connection. Delicious, seasonal and nourishing food is just a bonus.

Our backyard party ideas

Have you ever been part of a dinner party to celebrate seasonal food and community? For this backyard party, Megan and Mike created an incredible yet simple space to enjoy company and the fruits of summer. We spent quite a bit of time preparing for it, but the overall concepts and approach was simple. Here are some tips and backyard party ideas, our menu from Pretty Simple Cooking, and the gorgeous photographs of the day captured by Mike Gilger.

A HUGE huge thanks to Megan and Mike for hosting this incredible gathering! Make sure to follow along for inspiration from their simple Michigan lifestyle at The Fresh Exchange and on Instagram. 

Curate the menu from one cookbook, and all pitch in.

Have you heard of a cookbook club? It’s a gathering where people all bring dishes from the same cookbook. This way, the menu all has the same vibe and goes together using the same author’s touch. What we love about this approach is two-fold. Having dinner party guests bring a dish helps everyone to feel like they’re a part of the gathering, and it lessens the burden on the dinner party host. And, you avoid the randomness of a potluck, where you end up with small piles of vastly different dishes on your plate instead of a cohesive meal.

For this backyard party, we did a cookbook club based on our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking! As the host, Alex and I chose the menu and then each dinner guest signed up for a different item. Our tradition for a cookbook club is to have the host make the main dish, since it’s usually hardest to transport. The dinner party guests then bring appetizers, sides, salads, and desserts.

Our simple Backyard Party menu

From the Pretty Simple Cooking cookbook

Goat Cheese & Honey Thyme Crostini with Plums
Rosemary Olives
Vegetarian Lentil Gyros
Tangy Cucumber & Onion Salad
Grilled Corn
Peaches & Greens Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Vanilla Orange Strawberry Shortcakes

Shop the farmer’s market.

Alex and I get this question all the time: How do I actually do seasonal eating? How do I shop my local farmer’s market to create a meal? As with most of cooking, it’s all about practice, practice, practice. Learning what’s in season and how to fit seasonal produce into recipes comes with time. When Alex and I curated the menu above, we selected recipes where we knew there would be opportunity for seasonal food in the Leelenau Penninsula: peaches, plums, salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, and berries. Knowing the rhythm of food that comes with the seasons is specific to your region. Our best recommendation is: don’t use Google search to see what’s in season. Actually GO to your local farmer’s market and start to observe when you see different foods appear.

Most times Alex and I will go to the market, grab a bunch of foods and THEN Google search to find recipes that use the various foods we’ve picked up. This is the right time to use Google! It’s a great resource to see how to use your new seasonal produce (and we hope you’ll find our recipes!). But in the case of a planned dinner party like this one, we chose the recipes in advance. If you’re doing it this way, our best tip is to learn to improvise recipes based on what’s on hand! See below.

Improvise on recipes as necessary.

Another place we get a lot of questions is how to improvise when cooking. How do I know when I can substitute one ingredient for another? How do I customize recipes based on seasonal eating? How do I adjust for dietary preferences? Again, this is a place for practice and trial and error. It’s easiest explained in an example, so here’s the example from our dinner party:

• Peaches & Greens Salad: We found local peaches and greens at the local Sarah Hardy Farmer’s Market, but Megan had also picked blackberries from the bushes on her property so we added them here. We also substituted feta crumbles for the goat cheese (due to a personal preference), and crunchy pumpkin seeds for the hazelnuts (due to a nut allergy).
• Vanilla Orange Strawberry Shortcakes: Strawberries were not in season, but we had gone blueberry picking at a local Leelenau Peninsula blueberry farm. So, we made Blueberry Shortcakes instead by subbing in blueberries! They were just as delicious.
• Goat Cheese & Honey Thyme Crostini with Plums: For this appetizer, our dinner guest made the crostini with plums AND a variation with blackberries. The blackberries paired perfectly with the goat cheese.
• Grilled Corn: Often improvising has to do with time management! We were running short on time, so instead of the planned grilled corn we made a snap decision to boil it and slather it with smoked butter from the farmer’s market. Making quick decisions to improvise on the fly is what hosting a dinner party is all about!

Go simple on decor.

The decor for this backyard party was elegantly simple, put together by Megan and Mike. Hanging a few strands of outdoor lights transforms a space from modest to magical. For this setup, there was some manual labor involved in setting up poles to hang the lights from. If you’re not up for that sort of work, you could use a tree to suspend the lights, or have the table near a deck, fence, or structure to use for hanging.

For the tablescape, Megan went super simple: a blue-gray chambray tablecloth, white dishes, simple patterned napkins, a few candles, and some flowers. She is talented at flower arranging and grabbed the flowers from a local farm, Loma Farm. However, many times your local farmers market will sell bouquets already assembled! Or, you could place all of one type of flower in a ball jar.

Cultivate space for community and connection.

Once you’ve gotten everything prepared for your backyard party, now’s when the fun begins! It takes some practice, but we have learned how to let go of any challenges that happened during the preparation and focus on our guests. During mingling with appetizers, we like to make sure everyone has met each other and knows a few things about each other. Our favorite type of dinner party is inviting old friends and a few new people into the fold, so we try to make sure connections are made during mingling time.

When the meal begins, we like to welcome everyone to the table and describe a bit about the meal we’ll be having. This way, the floor is open for all the dinner guests to experience and enjoy the meal together. To foster deeper connections, at some meals we’ve also chosen some questions to discuss: a way to even further get to know each other! This meal was a lovely mix of Megan and Mike’s friends and neighbors in the Leelenau Pennisula. Though we had just met, we were able to delve into deep topics because of the willingness of the others around the table to be real with each other. This is what we love about gatherings: experiencing seasonal foods together and chatting until the sky is dark and the moon is bright.

Related links

• Thanks for reading about our backyard party ideas and this Pretty Simple Dinner Party! This was the second gathering of our Pretty Simple Dinner Party: a virtual worldwide dinner party to celebrate good food and good people!
• Here’s how to order Pretty Simple Cooking. And How to Start a Cookbook Club.
• Megan Gilger runs The Fresh Exchange website and Instagram, where she has tons of resources around gathering and seasonal eating. Follow her there!
• Megan is also opening a new venture, a shop called Shop Fresh Exchange with products made by her and other local artisans! The online store will open in October and in March 2019 she’ll launch a large collection of products. Her dream is to launch a brick and mortar store in the Leelenau Peninsula in the next few years.
• Want to hear from Megan? She was a guest on our podcast Episode 57, The Art of the Dinner Party.

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

If you’ve been following our blog this summer, you probably caught the first couple hints about our new house around mid-May. We weren’t necessarily house shopping, just keeping half an eye on any new listings in the neighborhood — when a house popped up just a few blocks away from our (old) house that we just couldn’t resist. Tons of charm, plenty of space, and a kitchen just begging to be remodeled.

Living in a beautiful 1920’s neighborhood in Indianapolis has plenty of perks, but large kitchens (and decent-sized closets) come few and far between. It didn’t take us long to decide that the possibility of remodeling a kitchen, while staying in a location within walking distance of our favorite locales, was too good of a opportunity to pass on.

We had 6 weeks before closing to design our perfect kitchen. Of course, perfect meant stylish, functional, and most importantly, within our budget. This was a tough 6 weeks. Sonja would pin items to our Pinterest boards feverishly every single night. Meanwhile, I would try to find the cost of the “in real life” items that she was pinning. It was a LOT harder than we would have ever expected. Designing a kitchen without being in the space, without seeing many of the items before purchasing them (like cabinets), and staying within our budget was tough! I can’t even count how many decisions were required for us to make. We had more than a few “what have we gotten ourselves into” and “NEVER doing this again” ‘s, but we survived. And we love the final result.

We are having so much fun with a big island, two sinks, lots of windows, and a wide open room. It’s pretty much a home cook’s dream! Here are a few before-and-after pictures, and a gallery of the finished kitchen. Thanks for cheering us on during the process — we can’t to develop new recipes for you from our new space!

A few detailed notes about the project for those of you that like this sort of thing:

• We sealed off a door just to the left of the two windows in the kitchen. This allowed us to put in a ton more counter space.
• We widened the door from the kitchen to the dining room.
• We refinished the painted floor in the dining room to the original 90-year old maple floor.

The Finished Product (see below for Before + After shots)

Wondering about our inspirations while designing the kitchen? Check out our Pinterest board. After gathering enough images, we realized that the butcher block / white shaker cabinet / subway tile style is what we are drawn towards. In particular, we were strongly inspired by the cabin renovation that Sarah from Smitten Studio has been sharing on her blog.

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

Before / After

In Our New Space

Let us know if you have any questions, or kitchen design stories to share – we love hearing them, especially now that we’re on the other side. We’d like to thank our the contractor, Matt Troyer and Emergent Investments, for all of their hard work making it happen. And, thanks again for all your support through this process!

Here’s a list of the main components we ended up deciding on. We wouldn’t have been able to design our kitchen without all the bloggers who’ve shared their renovations before us!

Cabinets — Aristokraft Benton in a White Finish
Floors — Stark Tortora from The Tile Shop
Island Countertop — Caeserstone London Grey
Outside Countertops — IKEA Beech Numerar Butcher Block
Open Shelves — IKEA Ekby Mossby
Pendant Lights — Pottery Barn Classic Pendant
Stools — Tabouret Stools from Overstock

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” -William Morris

Adding a baby to the house comes with an addition of a massive amount of new baby gear. For Alex and me, this made the blood pressure rise on our minimalist-craving insides. These days there is more baby gear than ever, making the baby registry process overwhelming. However the first six months of Larson’s life have sped by, and in that time we’ve found items that are both useful and not terrible to look at (and maybe even a few that are beautiful). Becoming parents comes with a huge ramp up of knowledge. Now, we know the best baby bibs and all the unique baby shower gift ideas that we give to friends who are becoming parents!

Related: Traveling with a Toddler: A Survival Guide

Minimalist baby shopping guide

Both Alex and I love design and aesthetics; we try to keep our house serene and minimal-looking, lots of grays and whites. Hence, we were both a bit fearful of bright plastic baby gear invading our home. However, we’ve found that there are lots of options for neutral, understated baby gear. Much of the time, finding these items is less about cost and more about choosing the right aesthetic. 

Also, since we crave minimalism and simplicity, we’ve taken a hard look at what we needed to add to our household. If we receive gifts that were not from our baby registry that did not fit into the “beautiful” or “useful” categories, we’ve gotten more bold about simply parting with those items in an effort to simplify.

Best baby bibs

Since this website is food-focused, we thought we’d highlight the very best food-related baby gear for a 6 month old: our best baby bibs! Honestly, we don’t know how our parents lived without these in the 1980’s. Now that we’re feeding Larson solid foods, this OXO silicon roll up bib is a lifesaver! We only need one bib, it’s easily cleanable, and the rolled up portion catches the crumbs. I’m not sure we’ll ever use another bib again!

Unique baby shower gift ideas

Many of you have asked for a “favorites” list of baby gear that we can’t live without. We’ve compiled this unique baby shower gift ideas list. Our list highlights the major items we’ve found to be useful, beautiful, or both. (As a note, this post not sponsored by any of the brands below, though we receive a small percentage from any Amazon sales.) We hope you find these unique baby shower gift ideas perfect for your next baby shower or when building a baby registry!

Ergonomic car seat

Car seats are terribly confusing. After much debate, we opted to go “higher end” for our car seat and stroller, and we’re glad we did. We use this Nuna car seat, which is easy to use and understated in color and design.

The best stroller

Confession: I’m terrible at maneuvering products. This is the Nuna stroller we use, and I can actually unfold with one hand while holding Larson! It’s a testament to its usability. Pro tip: We store our stroller in the trunk of our car so it doesn’t take up valuable indoor space.

Best most stylish high chair

This Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair is wonderful; it’s stylish and blends in to our decor instead of screaming A KID LIVES HERE. It also can hold a 300-pound adult, so he’ll be using this for years! We started using this when Larson started eating solids at 5 months, using this insert for small children. This is a great big ticket item to add to a baby registry for that will last for years.

Italian clear pacifiers

Interestingly, many people ask us about pacifiers: sounds like babies have particular preferences! And Larson absolutely did. These Chicco pacifiers are the only ones Larson would take as a baby. Maybe because they’re made in Italy? They’re also clear, so they’re less obtrusive looking.

Best glass baby bottles

These AVENT bottles are fantastic; they’re made of glass and are sturdy. Several friends have found their babies liked these as well.

Stylish diaper bag (backpack)

Who needs a diaper bag? Since both Alex and I carry it and love neutrals, we wanted something very understated that doesn’t scream baby. Here’s the backpack we use as a diaper bag.

Easy to store baby bath tub

For the first few months, it’s handy to have a baby bath tub that can go in the regular tub or on a counter. Here’s our baby bath tub; it’s collapsible and hangs for easy storage.

Ergonomic booster seat

Many people use Bumbo seats, but another confession: the word Bumbo weirds me out! So I was happy when we got a hand-me-down of this seat (similar) and it’s worked great. It also has a tray that helps to keep the baby inside and can be used to placing toys and books.

Easy to use baby carrier

Count me as one of the people who were overwhelmed by baby wraps! We got a wrap and it was so difficult to use, I stopped trying to make it work. We had also received this Infantino soft baby carrier as a hand-me-down, and ended up loving it. Even at 6 months, I still use it to carry Larson on walks (and we used it every time we fly).

And if you’re looking for a toddler carrier for a year down the road, here’s the one we recommend: LILLEbaby 3 in 1 CarryOn Toddler Carrier.

Best baby bibs

As you saw highlighted above, this OXO silicon roll up bib is a lifesaver! We only need one bib, it’s easily cleanable, and the rolled up portion catches the crumbs. We’re obsessed with these and they work perfect for toddlers too.

Exercise bouncer

Many of you have seen Larson bouncing away on Instagram Stories and have asked about his bouncer! Here is the doorway jumper seat that we use. We didn’t have this on our baby registry, but we would recommend it. At 7 months, Larson can spend about 20 minutes at a time in it before getting bored; which is well worth it for us!

Functional mesh crib liner

Once we transitioned Larson to his crib at around 5 months, he kept rolling over, getting his arm stuck between the bars, and waking up! We wondered if other people had this problem, and a quick Google search found Yes. Luckily, there’s a product that was invented to solve this: the Mesh crib liner. It’s been a game changer! No more stuck arms.

Books, books, and more books

Books are our favorite thing to purchase and give. Here are our favorite baby books in Spanish; we’re working on a list of top baby books in English.

Best stylish baby mobile

We’ve gotten lots of requests on our baby mobile! It was a gift and similar ones can be ordered on Etsy here.

We’d love to know your thoughts on our best baby bibs and unique baby shower gifts! Let us know in the comments below.

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.