The stomach bug has hit the entire family now. Judging from my scientific sampling (Facebook), it's hit a lot of entire families this week. We were making a fresh fettuccine dish from Mario Batali's book and I had about a half pound of the fresh pasta left over, so I decided to make chicken noodle soup for when the wife and others are feeling good enough to eat. It takes a bit of time but not so much effort. If you don't happen to have some leftover pasta dough, you can easily make some:
Crack two eggs, beat, add to about 1 1/2 cups of flour piled up in a ring (kind of like a flour bowl, or volcano) and start stirring in flour from the edges till it comes together, then knead it all together for about 10 minutes and wrap in plastic for a half hour.
The broth:
Add 6 chicken drumsticks, a half yellow onion chopped coarsely, one carrot cut into 1 inch chunks, and 1 celery stalk to a stockpot. I also added some leftover mushroom stems. Add about a tablespoon of salt and a couple of bay leaves, then add about a gallon of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, skimming the foam if you wish.
When the broth is done, drain through a strainer. Remove the meat from the drumsticks and reserve for the soup. Roll the pasta, then cut to fettuccine, then chop into 2 inch long pieces. Add the noodles to the broth, then coarsely chop the meat and add to the broth. The broth is probably hot enough to cook the noodles in about 5 minutes, or you can return the soup to a simmer for about 2 minutes.
Sure, it takes a bit of work to put together, but it beats the snot out of anything you'll get out of a can.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Deep Dish Pizza
OK, I am geeking out about deep dish pizza. Why? Because the secret to getting the pizza right is getting the crust right, which applies most of what I've been figuring out with bread baking for the last few months. Some review:
Yeast breads are either lean or enriched. Lean breads consist of just flour, water, salt, and yeast, and the protein structure comes from developing gluten in the dough; hence, hard bread flour and extensive kneading (and/or autolyse, but that's another show). Enriched breads add softeners such as sugar, butter, or egg yolk, and egg white for additional protein structure. What we want for our deep dish pizza crust is something in between, with some gluten but not too much so it keeps that flaky texture, and some enriching but not too much. We also don't want lots of extra protein because we're not baking a nice fluffy loaf, so the egg is out and we don't want to use bread flour - all-purpose will do perfectly. Here's my version:
The Crust:
8 oz warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
13 oz all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it sit till it starts to bubble a bit. Add the rest of the ingrediends and stir till the dough comes together, then knead with the bread hook on low-medium speed for only a couple of minutes. This is critical - we want a rather slack dough so it'll still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit, and we don't want to fully develop all of the gluten so we're not going to knead the dough completely. When you pull the dough out of the bowl it'll be sticky and a bit stringy and lumpy looking - not like biscuit dough at all, but if you're used to baking bread, it'll be not nearly as smooth. Oil a bowl and place the dough in it, cover and let rise for a couple of hours. Then, divide the dough in half and use each half for one 8-9 inch pizza pan.
The Sauce:
3 shallots, diced (you could use sweet or red onion instead)
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1 small to medium carrot, finely diced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, thyme, basil, oregano as desired.
1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
Heat the olive oil, then saute the aromatics for 8-10 minutes until they're nice and soft and the shallots are just thinking about browning but not doing it yet. Pull the pan off of the heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes. That's right - the sauce isn't cooked, it is left raw.
The Assembly:
Heat the oven to 425. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan (dust first with cornmeal if you wish) and squeeze it about a half inch up the sides. It doesn't need to come all the way up the side as you'll see when it bakes. Add mozzarella to the bottom to coat the dough - you can shred it but I think it works better if you slice the cheese and lay it in the bottom, just don't leave any sizable gaps. Then, press hot and/or sweet italian sausage (raw) in a layer on top of the cheese so that it's about a quarter inch thick. That's probably 2-3 links of sausage, casings removed, per pizza. Now, toss in some mushrooms and ladle in the sauce until the 'shrooms are just covered. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the crust are nice and brown and the sauce is just thinking about bubbling. Remove from the oven and add about a quarter cup of parmesan sprinkled on top, then let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and eating.
Yeast breads are either lean or enriched. Lean breads consist of just flour, water, salt, and yeast, and the protein structure comes from developing gluten in the dough; hence, hard bread flour and extensive kneading (and/or autolyse, but that's another show). Enriched breads add softeners such as sugar, butter, or egg yolk, and egg white for additional protein structure. What we want for our deep dish pizza crust is something in between, with some gluten but not too much so it keeps that flaky texture, and some enriching but not too much. We also don't want lots of extra protein because we're not baking a nice fluffy loaf, so the egg is out and we don't want to use bread flour - all-purpose will do perfectly. Here's my version:
The Crust:
8 oz warm water
1 tsp active dry yeast
13 oz all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Dissolve the yeast in the water and let it sit till it starts to bubble a bit. Add the rest of the ingrediends and stir till the dough comes together, then knead with the bread hook on low-medium speed for only a couple of minutes. This is critical - we want a rather slack dough so it'll still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl a bit, and we don't want to fully develop all of the gluten so we're not going to knead the dough completely. When you pull the dough out of the bowl it'll be sticky and a bit stringy and lumpy looking - not like biscuit dough at all, but if you're used to baking bread, it'll be not nearly as smooth. Oil a bowl and place the dough in it, cover and let rise for a couple of hours. Then, divide the dough in half and use each half for one 8-9 inch pizza pan.
The Sauce:
3 shallots, diced (you could use sweet or red onion instead)
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
1 small to medium carrot, finely diced
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper, thyme, basil, oregano as desired.
1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes
Heat the olive oil, then saute the aromatics for 8-10 minutes until they're nice and soft and the shallots are just thinking about browning but not doing it yet. Pull the pan off of the heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes. That's right - the sauce isn't cooked, it is left raw.
The Assembly:
Heat the oven to 425. Press the dough into the bottom of the pan (dust first with cornmeal if you wish) and squeeze it about a half inch up the sides. It doesn't need to come all the way up the side as you'll see when it bakes. Add mozzarella to the bottom to coat the dough - you can shred it but I think it works better if you slice the cheese and lay it in the bottom, just don't leave any sizable gaps. Then, press hot and/or sweet italian sausage (raw) in a layer on top of the cheese so that it's about a quarter inch thick. That's probably 2-3 links of sausage, casings removed, per pizza. Now, toss in some mushrooms and ladle in the sauce until the 'shrooms are just covered. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the crust are nice and brown and the sauce is just thinking about bubbling. Remove from the oven and add about a quarter cup of parmesan sprinkled on top, then let it rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting and eating.
New York Pizza
New York pizza isn't that tough. For the crust, I use an Italian bread recipe from this book, but I add half again as much salt to the final dough. I also make the dough a bit more slack so it stretches easier. A bit of extra flour and/or cornmeal helps keep the dough from sticking to the pizza peel (cornmeal doesn't soak up moisture the way flour does, so it makes a particularly effective sliding agent). I measure the dough into 8 oz balls and then spin them to about 12 inch rounds. A bit of sauce (not too much), cheese, and just a couple of toppings finish it out.
The key to baking the pizza is to use a stone and to get the oven rip-roaring hot. I used to try to bake the pizza at 400 or less, and you end up with burned cheese and raw dough. Now I run it all the way to 525 and bake the pizza right on the stone. When the cheese is bubbly and nice and browned, the crust is crispy, done, and perfect.
Try this for a sauce:
dice a couple of shallots, half a carrot, and a couple of cloves of garlic and saute in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, some thyme and oregano, salt and pepper, and simmer for a half hour or so till it tastes like sauce.
Favorite toppings:
Sausage chunks (pre-cooked - the pizza isn't in the oven nearly long enough to cook raw meat toppings)
Fresh tomatoes and fresh basil chiffonade
Ham and pineapple (try it before you knock it)
Lots of cheese.
The key to baking the pizza is to use a stone and to get the oven rip-roaring hot. I used to try to bake the pizza at 400 or less, and you end up with burned cheese and raw dough. Now I run it all the way to 525 and bake the pizza right on the stone. When the cheese is bubbly and nice and browned, the crust is crispy, done, and perfect.
Try this for a sauce:
dice a couple of shallots, half a carrot, and a couple of cloves of garlic and saute in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add a can of crushed tomatoes, some thyme and oregano, salt and pepper, and simmer for a half hour or so till it tastes like sauce.
Favorite toppings:
Sausage chunks (pre-cooked - the pizza isn't in the oven nearly long enough to cook raw meat toppings)
Fresh tomatoes and fresh basil chiffonade
Ham and pineapple (try it before you knock it)
Lots of cheese.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Fudging it
Yes, kids, it's that time of year. Time for me to try three batches of fudge before one of them comes out. But the one that came out so far was oh-so-fantastic.
I have engineered the formula for fudge by combining the old Hershey cocoa recipe (look it up) with Alton Brown's recipe (look it up) and adding some of my own magic. The formula is:
4 / 2 / 1 plus 3/4 (/drumroll)
That is: 4 parts sugar, 2 parts dairy (I like half and half), 1 part flavoring a la cocoa powder, all by volume. I put 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of half and half, and a half cup of cocoa powder (a proprietary blend of brands) plus 1/8 teaspoon salt in a 4 quart pan and stir it all till it looks homogeneous. You can also use baking chocolate as long as it's 100% cocoa, which obviously won't look homogeneous until it melts. Put it on the stove on 5 and keep stirring until it just begins to boil. You have to stir to make sure that the temperature is even throughout the syrup - you don't want it burning on the bottom and cool on the top. Once it starts to boil, QUIT stirring and just watch. It'll hit softball stage in about 10 minutes or so (I'll try to post pictures of that later). When it gets to softball, CAREFULLY pull the pot off of the heat (not needed if you use gas, you lucky dog) and add a teaspoon of vanilla and 3 tablespoons of butter - that's the plus 3/4 from the formula. Cool to about 130F, then beat with a wooden spoon until it starts to get thick. I like to slowly stir and see how fast the fudge fills back where the spoon was. Once it starts to set (the beating of the spoon is what makes it set, believe it or not) you have to move fast to spread the fudge into a pan. If you want to add nuts (pecans, of course), you can add them in the middle of the beating process.
I have tried once replacing the 1 part of cocoa powder with white chocolate, alas with poor results. I'll try again and post if I can get that to work.
I have engineered the formula for fudge by combining the old Hershey cocoa recipe (look it up) with Alton Brown's recipe (look it up) and adding some of my own magic. The formula is:
4 / 2 / 1 plus 3/4 (/drumroll)
That is: 4 parts sugar, 2 parts dairy (I like half and half), 1 part flavoring a la cocoa powder, all by volume. I put 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of half and half, and a half cup of cocoa powder (a proprietary blend of brands) plus 1/8 teaspoon salt in a 4 quart pan and stir it all till it looks homogeneous. You can also use baking chocolate as long as it's 100% cocoa, which obviously won't look homogeneous until it melts. Put it on the stove on 5 and keep stirring until it just begins to boil. You have to stir to make sure that the temperature is even throughout the syrup - you don't want it burning on the bottom and cool on the top. Once it starts to boil, QUIT stirring and just watch. It'll hit softball stage in about 10 minutes or so (I'll try to post pictures of that later). When it gets to softball, CAREFULLY pull the pot off of the heat (not needed if you use gas, you lucky dog) and add a teaspoon of vanilla and 3 tablespoons of butter - that's the plus 3/4 from the formula. Cool to about 130F, then beat with a wooden spoon until it starts to get thick. I like to slowly stir and see how fast the fudge fills back where the spoon was. Once it starts to set (the beating of the spoon is what makes it set, believe it or not) you have to move fast to spread the fudge into a pan. If you want to add nuts (pecans, of course), you can add them in the middle of the beating process.
I have tried once replacing the 1 part of cocoa powder with white chocolate, alas with poor results. I'll try again and post if I can get that to work.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Potato Soup with Mustard Greens
We've been shopping at the farmer's market quite a bit lately for fresh fruit and vegetables. Last time we were there, one of the growers was really trying to sell us some mustard greens, and after a quick sample of the wares, we decided we just had to try cooking up a bunch. So, what's the best place to put them when they're cooked? Well...
Chop 4 strips of bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and cook in the bottom of your soup pan (we use a 5 quart enameled cast iron pot, which I highly recommend) until the bacon is fully rendered. Remove and reserve the cooked bacon. Add a bit of olive oil (not extra virgin) so that there's a couple of tablespoons of fat total in the pot. Add about 1 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup celery, and 1/2 cup red bell pepper plus a pinch of salt and sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until nice and soft. Add two cloves of minced garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Now, add about 3 cups of yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes and add chicken broth until the potatoes are covered just over 1/2 inch. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. At this point, if you want a thicker soup, blend wtih the stick blender to the desired thickness.
To cook the mustard greens, chop them into 1 inch pieces and wilt in a large frying pan with some olive oil and garlic, then add a bit of chicken broth and cover, stirring occasionally, until the greens are fully wilted.
Finish the soup by adding half and half as desired and adding in the cooked mustard greens. Serve with the reserved bacon bits. For an extra treat, grate some cheddar cheese on top of the soup.
Chop 4 strips of bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and cook in the bottom of your soup pan (we use a 5 quart enameled cast iron pot, which I highly recommend) until the bacon is fully rendered. Remove and reserve the cooked bacon. Add a bit of olive oil (not extra virgin) so that there's a couple of tablespoons of fat total in the pot. Add about 1 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup celery, and 1/2 cup red bell pepper plus a pinch of salt and sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until nice and soft. Add two cloves of minced garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Now, add about 3 cups of yukon gold potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes and add chicken broth until the potatoes are covered just over 1/2 inch. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. At this point, if you want a thicker soup, blend wtih the stick blender to the desired thickness.
To cook the mustard greens, chop them into 1 inch pieces and wilt in a large frying pan with some olive oil and garlic, then add a bit of chicken broth and cover, stirring occasionally, until the greens are fully wilted.
Finish the soup by adding half and half as desired and adding in the cooked mustard greens. Serve with the reserved bacon bits. For an extra treat, grate some cheddar cheese on top of the soup.
Beer and Brats
A couple of times every year, I like to have the team from work over to the house for beer and brats. It's a perfect way to hang out on the deck, grill up some food, and have a good time. Plus, it's an easy recipe.
Start by poking the brats with a fork 10 or so times per side. Slice a medium-sized yellow onion and put it in the bottom of a stockpot, then add the brats. Now, add beer until the brats aren't quite covered, and add water until they're covered by about a half inch. This is perhaps 2/3 beer, 1/3 water. Also add about a half teaspoon each of cardamom and dry mustard, and a bay leaf or two. Bring the pot to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. The skins will be pale and the sausages will be fully cooked at this point, but they're not quite ready to eat. Now, fire up the grill to about 450 F and grill just until the brats are brown and crisp on the outside. Serve up with whole grain mustard and sauerkraut.
As to the beer, I usually just use average, Bud-type beer. I wouldn't go on the cheap here, but I certainly wouldn't sacrifice good beer (i.e. Sam) for boiling bratwurst.
Start by poking the brats with a fork 10 or so times per side. Slice a medium-sized yellow onion and put it in the bottom of a stockpot, then add the brats. Now, add beer until the brats aren't quite covered, and add water until they're covered by about a half inch. This is perhaps 2/3 beer, 1/3 water. Also add about a half teaspoon each of cardamom and dry mustard, and a bay leaf or two. Bring the pot to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes. The skins will be pale and the sausages will be fully cooked at this point, but they're not quite ready to eat. Now, fire up the grill to about 450 F and grill just until the brats are brown and crisp on the outside. Serve up with whole grain mustard and sauerkraut.
As to the beer, I usually just use average, Bud-type beer. I wouldn't go on the cheap here, but I certainly wouldn't sacrifice good beer (i.e. Sam) for boiling bratwurst.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Fish and... guacamole?
Yep, it probably sounds odd, but trust me, it's fantastic. The aunt is visiting from Kiev and apparently it's a combination that Ukrainians love, so we made our own version. It looks something like this:
Use 1 or 2 whitefish filets per diner. We used the thin whitefish that Costco sells. Soak the fish in buttermilk for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a dredge with cornmeal, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. I don't use exact proportions on such things. I just put cornmeal in the pan and add the spices until it looks about right. Put a 12 inch skillet on medium heat with about 1/4" of canola oil, for pan-frying. Once the oil is hot, dredge the filets in the cornmeal mixture to coat, shake off any excess, and pan-fry, no more than 3-4 at a time. The oil has to remain hot to get the crust crispy, and too much food will cool it too rapidly. It should take about 3 minutes per side to get the crust finished and slightly browned. Drain the fish on a cooling rack suspended over a pan. When the fish are all pan-fried, I put them in our oven on "warm" to keep them nice and toasty while we make the guacamole.
For the guacamole, use one avocado and add about a cup total of diced onion, diced red pepper, and diced tomato (seeded), plus a bit of salt, pepper, and about a half lemon worth of juice to add flavor and keep the avocado from browning.
We served the fish with the avocado on the side, but I suppose we could have gotten all fancy and plated the fish on top of a guacamole bed with all sorts of other fun garnishes. If I wanted to. I'd rather eat.
This meal goes well with a slightly sweet white wine, like a riesling. We served with a chenin blanc-based white.
Use 1 or 2 whitefish filets per diner. We used the thin whitefish that Costco sells. Soak the fish in buttermilk for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a dredge with cornmeal, salt, pepper, and Old Bay seasoning. I don't use exact proportions on such things. I just put cornmeal in the pan and add the spices until it looks about right. Put a 12 inch skillet on medium heat with about 1/4" of canola oil, for pan-frying. Once the oil is hot, dredge the filets in the cornmeal mixture to coat, shake off any excess, and pan-fry, no more than 3-4 at a time. The oil has to remain hot to get the crust crispy, and too much food will cool it too rapidly. It should take about 3 minutes per side to get the crust finished and slightly browned. Drain the fish on a cooling rack suspended over a pan. When the fish are all pan-fried, I put them in our oven on "warm" to keep them nice and toasty while we make the guacamole.
For the guacamole, use one avocado and add about a cup total of diced onion, diced red pepper, and diced tomato (seeded), plus a bit of salt, pepper, and about a half lemon worth of juice to add flavor and keep the avocado from browning.
We served the fish with the avocado on the side, but I suppose we could have gotten all fancy and plated the fish on top of a guacamole bed with all sorts of other fun garnishes. If I wanted to. I'd rather eat.
This meal goes well with a slightly sweet white wine, like a riesling. We served with a chenin blanc-based white.
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