Thursday, January 28, 2010

Pizza

I made pizza tonight.  Ever since The Mrs. bought me a pizza stone I have been experimenting with breads, pizza and fococcia to name a few things.  I used to let my Bread Man 3 million make the dough for me, but decided a few days ago to try my hand at making the dough on my own.  I put the dough hook into my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer, bodged together a dough recipie and let fly.  The results were delicious.  I remember My Man Alton had said something about letting the dough rest in the 'fridge over night.  I put a chunk of my dough in the fridge and baked it off the next day.  It was twice as good as the day before.  I had made a white pizza because I was out of tomato sauce, but it was good enough to share with a co-worker or two, both of whom confirmed my (clearly unbiased) opinion that I had "done good". 

Last night I put together a batch of my dough, let it sit over night and cooked it today.  The difference is marked.  The overnight crust has a great balance of chewy, light and crisp.  Part of the overall effect is the oven and the stone, but I am convinced that the dough has to be right to take full advantage of all the parts that make up a good pizza. 

I also subscribe (now) to the "less is more" theory of pizza making/eating.  Two toppings at the most is my new motto.  Of course I am making smaller pizza's so I can make two or three, each with it's own topping and be happy. 

Pizza Dough
3 cups AP flour (or 2 cups AP one cup Whole Wheat)
3-6 Tablespoons of olive oil
One Packet of Yeast bloomed in one cup of warm water
Two Tablespoons Sugar
One teaspoon salt. 

I put the dry (Flour, sugar and salt) in the bowl of my stand mixer and sift with dough hook. 

Then you add the oil, starting with 3 Tbs. Turn the mixer on to medium and wait until the oil incorporates with the flour.  (you may need to push the flour down the sides of the bowl) add oil untill you get a good slightly lumpy but dry flour. 

I add the bloomed yeast and warm water in two stages.

I turn the mixer on to low (be sure to lock the head down once the dough comes together) and add up to another half cup of warm water untill the dough forms and is kneaded by the dough hook.

I let the mixer run for about 7-10 more minutes then take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a "jellyfish" and put it in a bowl (glass or aluminum are what I use) that has been sprayed with olive oil.  I cover the dough with wax paper and cover the bowl with a wet tea towel and put in my fridge overnight.  I punch the dough down in the morning, re-cover and use when I get home. 

If you have a mixer, or some time on your hands and want a good workout, I suggest you try making your own dough.  I never would have a year ago, but now that I have I don't see going back any time soon.  It is dead easy, cheap as chips, and gosh-darn tasty. 

So there you have it Gentle Reader, Pizza is served. 

Monday, January 25, 2010

From the Sea

I found some Atlantic salmon at my local Pathmark.  It looked good, and (while farm raised and fed feed for color) had a nice body and fat striation.  We haven't had fish in a while so I threw cation to the wind and picked up 3 portions.  I figure I can feed the two of us, and me for dinner tomorrow out of these three slabs.  If The Mrs. is particularly hungry she can have two portions.



I have seasoned the fish with salt and pepper, then sprayed with olive oil (using my new kitchen gadget the olive oil atomizer) and have placed them skin side down my black oven sheet.  (over foil for ease of cleaning)  I will introduce them into a VERY hot oven (490 because of the foccacia I am baking as well) on the top rack and hope for them to be done in 10 minutes or so.

I will put the fish in the oven as soon as the rice comes out.

The rice is 1.5 cups of water brought to a boil
1 cup of rice poured into the boiling water
Stir with a fork or chopsticks and put the lid back on the (oven proof) pan
When it all comes back to a boil, put the entire thing into your oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 mintues take the pan out and let it rest for 10 minutes
After the 10 minutes, take the lid off the rice, fluff with a fork (or chopsticks)
The rice should be soft and fluffy.
NB: there is very little chance of burning the rice during this as there are no "hot spots" on the pan and the heat is even all around.
Also: so long as the oven temp. is above 350 and below melting point of the pan, the water will do it's thermal insulation trick and keep the rice at optimal cooking temperature.  I have used this technique for years and have (with the exception of a few *magnificent* faliures) had good results.


I will pull the fish when it flakes nicely under the fork (about 10 minute as I said above) and let it rest while I assemble the rice on a plate.

It is a simple dinner, but tasty and vaguely nutritious.



Dinner is served!


We won't mention the brownies for desert.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Menu

Well, the menu for the SuperBowl party is almost set.  Indiana will be represented by "Fried Pork Loin Sandwiches" or a center loin pork-chop, butterflied out, breaded and then deep fried (I may go with a pan fry in cast iron, depending on the availability of my boys Fry-Daddy.  I think one of his overly health conscious ex's may have slipped it in the garbage.) 

My thought is to do this with a pork loin, and make "Sliders" or small sandwich's for passing on a plate.  This will make shopping, frying, portion control and serving much easier.  Still, fried pork is NEVER a bad thing.

I am waiting on the overtime between Minnesota and New Orleans to come in.  Minnesota is (to me) calling for a wild rice pilaf with dried cranberries, but The Mrs. is holding out for some form of Scandinavian food like Gravlox, herring (in any way I can remember from the honey moon) or perhaps a Swedish Smorgasbord.

Aaaaand after seeing the game wining field goal by The Saints, it would seem that the other half of dinner will be a jambalaya. 

This is going to be a AWESOME dinner.  Both The Mrs. and I have been knocked out of my school's pool, but we are both excited for a good company, good dinner, good game and the best team winning.

Pictures will be posted of the feast in two weeks gentle readers, but there will be dinners between then and now.

I close with the final thought, finish if you can.

"Breakfasts come and go René......."

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The roast is still giving

Nothing too exciting today gentle readers.  I have taken the potatoes that were under the roast (lots of amazing flavor I assure you) and sliced them thinly.  (about 1/8 of an inch)  I put a potato (sliced) and a slice of roast on my samosa dough (see earlier post) rolled out. 

They are in the oven at 375 as I type. 

Pictures when they come out. 

Bon Apetit

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The Roast that keeps on Giving

A few weeks ago I made a roast of beef.  The Mrs. and I ate well off the beef for about 3 days, including steak and eggs, cold roast sandwiches, re-warmed roast, and of course the original roast.  By my calculations we fed two people 4 meals on one piece of meat.  (it was under two kilo's)


Today I braved the busy halls of my local Pathmark and found a Rib Eye roast on sale for $3.29 a pound (for club members).  Knowing the length to which I can streatch such a piece of meat (even thinking Roast Beef Hash on Saturday) I was excited to find a 3.6 pound (apx 1.5 kilos) eye roast for $12.  (rounding like Edward Norten here)


The Roast, potatoes, seasoned and ready to go

When I got it home I let it sit out for an hour or so.  I beleive in bringing meat up to room temperature before roasting, but Williams Sonama suggested chilling an eye roast before roasting to enhance flavor.  I am not sure on the science of this, but I split the difference, and let the hunk of beast come up for an hour, but still maintain some chill in the middle.  I am out of oninos, so I used qartered potatoes as a roasting rack.  I wiped the roast down with olive oil, sprinkeled on some Kosher salt (to draw out the protiens dont you know?) and then seasoned with my trusty pizza seasoning.  When I knew The Mrs. plans I turned the oven on to 475.  When the oven hit temp I introduced the roast to the hotbox (middle rack) and turned the heat down to 350.

I know my man Alton advocates a "low then high" method of roasting, I have found with my personal sized roasts the "high then low" method works for me.

After a 40 minutes there was VERY little thermal action

My new Pot Holder, thing is awesome (and from our regestry)

so I put the roast back into the oven (top rack this time) for another 40 minutes.  The center reads 110 now (after checking) and I know that I want to pull the roast at 120.  (Degrees F)  With a caryover of around 10 degrees my roast should wind up around 125-130, or a wonderful medium-rare, in the middle.  The ends shoudl be wonderful and crusty, full of flavor, the center full of juice and redness.

Roast out of the oven after 80 minutes (One hour twenty minutes)


I will, of course, let this rest for 10-15 minutes for the carryover to take effect, as well as letting the juices re-distribute; that is go back into the roast as the meat cools and relaxes.  There is some science behind all this, but that is a later post.

The Roast Rests under an aluminum tent


Pictures will follow.  For now, gentle reader (and eater) imagine the smell in the kitchen. 



Dinner is served.  


Have a good Wednesday, and look for some leftover recipes soon.

Monday, January 18, 2010

MLK was the Man

Martin Luther King Jr. was the MAN.

That being said, I am going to just cook a meal that will feed sweetie and me for a day or two.

I have been marinading a pork loin in Italian dressing for the majority of the day.  I will put it in a 400 degree oven next to some potatoes, (tossed in the same dressing) and carrots.

As it comes out of the oven I will rest it on a resting rig (small plate inverted over a large plate over paper towels) let it sit for 10 minutes and then carve.


Resting Rig.

I hope to have extra potatoes and carrots (Samosas tomorrow I am thinking).  I bought some salad in a bag and will serve it next to the pork and tubers.

My thought is feed sweetie as she would like to be fed (less bread than I have been making lately) and work with what I have.

Pics to follow when I make the meal


Dinner is served.  Tubers, Rice, Foccacia and the pork. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Long Lines and Frozen Shrimp

I went to my local Pathmark today.  I had just changed the left taillight of my car at the insistence of a very nice and respectful officer in the NYPD.  It would seem I had a taillight out and that caused said nice young officer to pull me over, run my name and bid me a good day; my thought is he was looking for somebody else and was slightly disappointed that I was not he.

There were no red baskets available at Pathmark; and the lines were too long to contemplate so I bid my supermart good day and went off home (by way of the "Super Lube" for an oil change and a free car wash).  This tactical retreat away from the clogged checkout lanes of my local grocery left me at the tender mercies of the food I have stockpiled against such a day.  There was nothing in the 'fridge, but some frozen shrimp in the freezer, tomato sauce and pasta in the cupboard and onion in the root cellar. (the empty space between the microwave and the coffee maker) 

I made a very nice shrimp Giopinno (Italian seafood in spicy tomato broth) served over the corkscrew pasta (caviatelli) and an olive feta foccacia. 

Recipes is as follows:
Giopinno

Two small onions, one diced one frenched
Four cloves of garlic
10 medium pitted olives rough chopped
Spices (salt, pepper, chili powder)
6 glugs of olive oil
one pat of butter (about one Tablespoon) 
two medium (one large) can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine
Rice Wine Vinegar to taste

3/4-1 pound of shrimp (shelled and de-veined)

I use my large straight sided sauce pan (oddly enough, it is fantastic for cooking sauces) and put the onions into a cold pan with three glugs of olive oil, a pat of butter and turn the heat to medium.  I stir this until the onions have a "see through" quality (between 7-10 minutes) and are ready for spicing.  Sprinkle on salt, freshly ground black pepper, chili powder and anything else you want.  I like my supermarkets "Pizza Blend" for some depth of flavor.  I toss in the diced garlic at this point and cook everything for another 7-10 minutes over medium heat; stirring as needed to layer flavor and keep anything from sticking.  Then put the two cans of sauce and the wine into the pot, turn heat to high and wait for bubbles; upon bubbles I turn the heat back to medium and leave the sauce alone, stirring occasionally, checking for seasoning and balancing the sweetness of the canned tomato with the rice wine vinegar.
Let it simmer untill you introduce the pasta to the boiling water. 

Pasta

Cook as per the package, using plenty of salted water, to "Al Dente" or slightly firmer than you would think you would like.  Don't worry, the carry over heat, and the heat from the sauce will cook the last few bits of the pasta.

As you put the pasta in the water, stir and cover put the shrimp into the sauce, it will be done by the time you are ready to serve. 

Foccaia

1 and 1/8th cup of warm water
two tablespoons of oil
one teaspoon of salt
3 and 1/3 cup of flour
two teaspoons of sugar
one packet of dry active yeast

toppings

Feta Cheese
Olives
Olive Oil
Spices

I put all the ingredients into my bread-maker (breadman 3million), set it to dough and let it do its job.  One hour and 20 minutes later I kneed the dough out on a floured surface, dimple with my fingers, introduce the toppings (feta cheese and olives today) drizzle with olive oil and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.  Put into a 400 degree oven (on a pizza stone) and let cook until bottom is crispy
 and top is done.  I would love to give you times, but your best bet is to stay in the kitchen and check the progress through the window in the oven.  Don't open the oven door more than twice because you loose alot of hot air that way, and hot air belongs IN the oven, not OUT of the oven.  When it is done, take it out, rest it for AT LEAST 10 minutes, cut it and serve with your sauce over pasta. 

It was a delicious meal born of an impatience with long lines.  I would say the lesson today is keep food in your larder and be prepared to be inventive. 

Onions and Oil, ready for the medium heat


Onions and Oil, after abotu 10 minutes I just put in the olives and garlic.  Note the Frenched onion wilted and *just* taking on color

Foccacia, proofed and ready for the oven; remember flour the Peel (Emma) for easy transfer





The bottom of the foccaia, note the brown and crispy; if you see this you are done


Dinner is served!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day After Samosa

Last night I made a delightful roast pork loin, rice and tuber dish.  I made extra with the hopes of making Samosas tonight.  Lo and Behold, I have enough tubers and rice to make some most excellent Indian pocket food.

I first had a good samosa at the Blue Hill Farmers Market when my fiance (now The Mrs.), her mother and I were on wedding reconnaissance.  We had gone to the Farmers Market in search of yarn, but seeing no yarn we looked around at all the stalls and marveled at all the things on sale.  As we were about to leave (to go yarn shopping) The Mrs. reminded me that I should have something to eat.  The nearest thing that looked good was what looked like a pyramid of dough.  Triangular bottom, sides rising to a point, good brown sheen to the dough; in short an interesting and intriguing mid morning snack.  The purveyor of this morsel told me it was a Samosa and had no meat; upon further questioning I was informed that NONE of his food had any meat.  Since I had a spot in my stomach for food, and a joy of geometry in my heart I payed for the snack.  It was awesome, it had potato, cauliflower, other veggies and a wonderful mellow curry and cumin flavor.  Since then I have been trying to re-create (with meat this time) the experience.  I have come close, and my recipe is below. 

The dough, an un-leavened affair, is a modified recipe from an old internet search.  I would give full credit where it is due, but I cant for the life of me remember where I found the recipe.

It starts with two cups of flour(I use one of whole wheat and a sprinkle of corn meal),
1/2 a teaspoon of salt,
4 tablespoons of oil
enough water to bring it all together.


I sift the flour and salt together and add the oil.  I use my fingertips to whisk it all together until I get a sort of small pea crumb texture.  Then I pour in the water, bit by bit while working the dough; when the dough is wet enough to stay together and not split, but dry enough not to stick to everything you have enough water.  Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, roll into a nice disk and set aside for 45 minutes to an hour.  When you come back to it, cut it into 6 even pieces and roll them out on a floured surface until they make disks.  Fill them, and pinch them into triangles.  Bake at 375 until crispy and brown, about 30 minutes.

For the filling I use what I have lying around (tonight it will be carrot, potato, rice and maybe a smidge of pork with all manner of spices, cumin and fennel being two of my favorite for this application).  If I ever remember to bring my camera home, I will have pictures of these edible labors of love.


The Filling


The dough, ready to be rolled out


Rolled dough with filling in place


The first fold and pinch (Use water on the dough to get a nice bond)


Folded, sealed and ready to go


All six, ready to bake

Monday, January 11, 2010

Pork Loin and Rice. Roasted Tubers

It's all because I wanted to type "tubers" but it is a funny word to say; right up there with "legume", "kumquat" and "turnip". 

I am marinading about a pound of pork loin in World Harbors Acadia Marinade.  The loin will marinade for about 45 minutes to an hour as it comes up to room temperature.  Then I will put it on a bed of sliced onion in a glass roasting pan.  The onion keeps the pork up off the bottom of the pan, imparts some flavor and becomes a lovely part of the roasted tubers.  This pan of pork and onion (which might or might not be a "tuber" depending on how much I trust my cursory web search) will go into a 400 degree oven.  Along side of the pork and onion (might be a tuber) I will put chopped potatoes, and sliced carrots on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper.  This pan, too, shall go into the oven.  I chop the potato to an approximate size of a pink school eraser; the carrots get about half an inch bias (slant) cut

I pull the pork at an internal temperature of 140 degrees, and let it rest for 10 minutes.  To keep the loin, or anything I am resting, from getting overwhelmed by its own juices I always rest on a small plant turned upside down over paper towels on a larger plate)  By the end of the 10 minutes the internal temperature (at the largest part natch) should have risen another 5 degrees or so. The original roasting time usually takes around 40 minutes, but check after 20, depending on oven, size, position yadda yadda yadda. 

While the loin is resting, I slop the roasted onions and juices over the roasting tubers, give a stir and re-introduce into the roasting oven. This allows the pork fat that has rendered and the onions to be part of the roasted tubers.  (They usually become part of a day after Samosa, so stay tuned gentle reader)

Now to the rice.  I boil a cup and a half of water, introduce a cup of rice, stir like crazy for 10 seconds, re-lid and wait for the starchy water to start bumping the lid.  When the lid has been bumped I move the whole pan, lid and all, into the oven (still at 400 deg.F) for 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes I remove the rice and let it sit for 10 minutes extra.  (If you plan well, the pork and rice come out around the same time and will have rested for the same 10 minutes.  In those 10 minutes the tubers finish roasting and everything is ready at the same time.  This is the timing that comes with experience and luck) I then fluff the rice with chopsticks (a fork is fine) and I have lovely white, fluffy, unburnt rice. 

For those of you who are list oriented:
1lb pork loin (buy the pre-packaged ones at 2 lbs, they usually have two back to back)
Marinade of choice in a large zip-top bag.
4 Medium sized potatoes, cut into shapes that resemble a pink erasor.
3 carrots cut into 1/4 inch rounds, if you want to look fancy cut on the bias
2 small/medium (one honking big) onion, sliced about 1/2 inch thick for the bottom of the roasting pan.
3 glugs of olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste (go nuts with other seasonings, Cajun, Garlic, Old Bay; The Mrs. likes her 'taters to taste like 'taters)
1 cup rice and 1&1/2 cup water.

This is my first recipe post so please gentle readers, be gentile. 

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Repurpose

I am self hijacking this blog for a few reasons. Facebook has reared it ugly head, and I have found myself posting things that I am cooking. This has led to some (I wish I could say several, but I am in a truthful mode tonight) requests for pictures, recipes, motivation and explanation. This is to be the forum for meeting said requests.

The other kernal of fun for all of this is a challenge that was laid down last Friday Happy Hour. (Thankfully no pics) I am on the hook to cook a Super-Bowl dinner with the menu dictated by the teams playing. For instance, earlier tonight my beloved Patriots had a (admittedly slim) chance at the Super-Bowl and would have brought New England Clam Chowder to the table. Baltimore is still in it and I am looking for a good CrabCake recipe (that and some lake trout).

When I was informed that the Cowboys were the second winners last night my initial (and vocal) thought was Oooooo, BBQ is still in.

So, readers; I hope to have pictures, recipes, anecdotes and dinners up until the Super-Bowl at least.

I will be using the Mrs. (that is the wife) as one of my football experts. That being said, any and all mistakes to follow are mine and mine alone.

So saddle up food lovers, it is time for a culinary rodeo.