Monday, January 31, 2011
Snow Day Part 1
I have had a few requests to bake more of "The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies." Batch one is heading to Sundays Super Bowl party here in Waukesha and the second batch is traveling to a Super Bowl party in Cheyenne, WY.
As I started working on the chocolate chip cookies it didn't seem right to only send one flavor of cookies all the way to Cheyenne!!
So, I'm also making Penzey's Gingersnap Cookies.
If you aren't familiar with the Penzey spice company you are missing out!
Here are the reasons I Love Penzey's:
1. Locally owned; you can find Penzey's retail stores popping up all over the US, giving little excuse for people to buy generic grocery store brand spices.
2. They have a great website; www.penzeys.com. On the website you can purchase spices, search recipes, order gifts etc. (If only there was an iPhone app!)
3. The free spice gift with each catalog!!! Yes Free!!! Sign up for the free catalog online or in the store. Not only can you page through it dreaming of the spices you need, but they include recipes and interesting factoids about spices. (This month I got free minced garlic!!)
4. The super nice people in the store (I tend to go to the Delafield location)! They are always helpful and have printed out recipes right there when I had questions about a new spice or rub.
Finally,
5. They have super cute new bumber stickers, "Love People, Cook Them Tasty Food". As soon as I have a clean, snow free car I will put mine on!
Ok back to the recipe! I didn't take photo of the Gingersnap baking process because it was sooooooo simple!!!
Here is the recipe:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 Cup vegetable shortening
1 Cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 Cup molasses - either regular or unsulphured
1 tsp. GINGER, powdered
1 tsp. CINNAMON, powdered
1/2 tsp. CLOVES, powdered
1/3 Cup granulated white sugar (to roll dough in)
Sift flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and sugar until well blended. Beat in egg,
molasses, GINGER, CINNAMON, and CLOVES. Add the flour mixture in two parts, blending well. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and refrigerate overnight or at least 2 hours.
Going to bed, will finish tomorrow, Day 2 of Snowocalypse.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Deep Dish Pizza
I have to be honest, I am not a deep dish pizza fan, but I know plenty of people who are, so this ones for you guys.
When you hear the word "pizza", what do you think of? The restaurant you had the best pizza of your life, your favorite take out joint on the way home from work, or possibly even the worst pizza you ever had....
Regardless of where you live, what toppings you like, or whether you like thin, hand tossed, or deep dish pizza we all have our memories and sentiments about pizza.
As a child I remember going to Barbiere's on Bluemound Rd, Mama De Marinis on Wentworth Ave in Milwaukee, and Balistreri's on 68th in Tosa, all great pizzas and all slightly different.
As I moved, traveled, and starting working in the food industry I have tried new pizza, including deep dish in Chicago and the local Rosati's here in Waukesha, it never was as enjoyable as the thin or hand tossed pizza of my younger days. Maybe my parents spoiled me early on with good pizza!
Now that I live in Waukesha I am fortunate to have an abundance of great pizza places to choose from. Try counting all the pizza places in town!!!
(After the city burger challenge, currently underway between J Lotti's, Peoples, Bodways, & Fuzzy's, I recommend a city wide pizza challenge.)
Next step in my quest to like deep dish pizza ....make my own!!!! I looked online at different recipes and through cookbooks and magazines. I ended up going with a recipe from America's Test Kitchen website.
Here is the recipe condensed and simplified, what you need, and my results.
2 -9inch straight walled round pans
Mixer with a dough hook
We will start with the dough, the most intimidating part of the recipe.....
In your mixer, with dough hook attached, place 3 1/4 C flour, 1/2 C yellow corn meal, 2tsp sugar, 1 1/2tsp salt, 2 1/4tsp rapid-rise yeast. Mix until incorporated and add 3tbs of melted butter and 1 1/4C room temp water.
Mix 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Take a clean large mixing bowl and place 1/2tbs of olive oil in the bowl and coat the bowl thoroughly. Place the dough in the bowl, cover tightly with plastic film and let rise for 40-50 minutes on the counter.
While the dough is rising we are going to make our sauce.
In a skillet melt 2tbs of butter and grate 1 med onion (using your standard graters large holes).
Cook together with a pinch of salt and about 1tbs dried oregano for about 5 min. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and 1/4tsp sugar. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 35 min. Then add 2tbs of olive oil and a small handfull of fresh chopped basil.
Dough should be doubled in size by now.
Place on a clean surface, I used my wooden cutting board, and roll into an aprox 15x12 rectangle. (I was unable to roll in a pretty rectangle and that didn't affect the outcome, so just try your hardest.) Take 4tbs of room temp butter and spread all over the flattened dough.( I used my fingers rather than a rubber spatula.)
Next, roll the dough back up into a "log", cut in half, and fold the 2 halves in half 2 times...... basically you are adding layers to the dough similar to making croissants. (This reminded me of my days working at Albermarle Baking Co in high school!) Once you have made the 2 balls of dough, place them back in the oiled bowl, cover tightly, and place in the fridge for 40 minutes to rise again.
Get your toppings ready! I am keeping it simple this time, a cheese pizza and a pepperoni pizza. For each pizza you will need 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and whatever toppings you want.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll into a aprox 13 in circle. place in the oiled 9 in pan and stretch the dough up the sides..... repeat for pizza number 2.
Place in the 2 cups of cheese and other toppings
and spread 1-1 1/2 sauce over the toppings and bake at 425 for 15 minutes (keep an eye on it, mine only took about 12 minutes).
Let the pizza rest for 10 minutes and slice and serve!
This turned out to be a great pizza! My other taste testers also enjoyed its flavors and crust and compared it to deep dish pizzas they had in Chicago.
But I still prefer a thinner crust pizza and will stick to Magellans, D Mo's and other local establishments for my pizza needs.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
When you hear the word "pizza", what do you think of? The restaurant you had the best pizza of your life, your favorite take out joint on the way home from work, or possibly even the worst pizza you ever had....
Regardless of where you live, what toppings you like, or whether you like thin, hand tossed, or deep dish pizza we all have our memories and sentiments about pizza.
As a child I remember going to Barbiere's on Bluemound Rd, Mama De Marinis on Wentworth Ave in Milwaukee, and Balistreri's on 68th in Tosa, all great pizzas and all slightly different.
As I moved, traveled, and starting working in the food industry I have tried new pizza, including deep dish in Chicago and the local Rosati's here in Waukesha, it never was as enjoyable as the thin or hand tossed pizza of my younger days. Maybe my parents spoiled me early on with good pizza!
Now that I live in Waukesha I am fortunate to have an abundance of great pizza places to choose from. Try counting all the pizza places in town!!!
(After the city burger challenge, currently underway between J Lotti's, Peoples, Bodways, & Fuzzy's, I recommend a city wide pizza challenge.)
Next step in my quest to like deep dish pizza ....make my own!!!! I looked online at different recipes and through cookbooks and magazines. I ended up going with a recipe from America's Test Kitchen website.
Here is the recipe condensed and simplified, what you need, and my results.
2 -9inch straight walled round pans
Mixer with a dough hook
We will start with the dough, the most intimidating part of the recipe.....
In your mixer, with dough hook attached, place 3 1/4 C flour, 1/2 C yellow corn meal, 2tsp sugar, 1 1/2tsp salt, 2 1/4tsp rapid-rise yeast. Mix until incorporated and add 3tbs of melted butter and 1 1/4C room temp water.
Mix 4-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Take a clean large mixing bowl and place 1/2tbs of olive oil in the bowl and coat the bowl thoroughly. Place the dough in the bowl, cover tightly with plastic film and let rise for 40-50 minutes on the counter.
While the dough is rising we are going to make our sauce.
In a skillet melt 2tbs of butter and grate 1 med onion (using your standard graters large holes).
Cook together with a pinch of salt and about 1tbs dried oregano for about 5 min. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic, cook for 30 seconds. Add 1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and 1/4tsp sugar. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for about 35 min. Then add 2tbs of olive oil and a small handfull of fresh chopped basil.
Dough should be doubled in size by now.
Place on a clean surface, I used my wooden cutting board, and roll into an aprox 15x12 rectangle. (I was unable to roll in a pretty rectangle and that didn't affect the outcome, so just try your hardest.) Take 4tbs of room temp butter and spread all over the flattened dough.( I used my fingers rather than a rubber spatula.)
Next, roll the dough back up into a "log", cut in half, and fold the 2 halves in half 2 times...... basically you are adding layers to the dough similar to making croissants. (This reminded me of my days working at Albermarle Baking Co in high school!) Once you have made the 2 balls of dough, place them back in the oiled bowl, cover tightly, and place in the fridge for 40 minutes to rise again.
Get your toppings ready! I am keeping it simple this time, a cheese pizza and a pepperoni pizza. For each pizza you will need 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and whatever toppings you want.
Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll into a aprox 13 in circle. place in the oiled 9 in pan and stretch the dough up the sides..... repeat for pizza number 2.
Place in the 2 cups of cheese and other toppings
and spread 1-1 1/2 sauce over the toppings and bake at 425 for 15 minutes (keep an eye on it, mine only took about 12 minutes).
Let the pizza rest for 10 minutes and slice and serve!
This turned out to be a great pizza! My other taste testers also enjoyed its flavors and crust and compared it to deep dish pizzas they had in Chicago.
But I still prefer a thinner crust pizza and will stick to Magellans, D Mo's and other local establishments for my pizza needs.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tonight's Dinner Flop
Today I decided to think "outside the box" and well, I went a bit too far. :( A linguine, fresh oysters and scallop entree with a garlic/thyme butter sauce SUCKED! Back to the drawing board....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, January 24, 2011
Char Siu Pork with Noodles
This lo mein is the most adventurous recipe I have tried in a long time! Do not attempt this recipe if you are lazy! Total cooking time was about an hour, the prep list is a bit long, and the steps are a bit complicated. But well worth the effort, I even amazed myself with this one.
I will break down this recipe into smaller steps due to the number steps. All of the not quite so common ingredients were available at the local grocery store. Also you will need lots of little bowls for prepping ingredients and one large mixing bowl for transferring meat and vegetables to and from the cast iron dutch oven.
Mix in a small bowl:
3tbs soy sauce
2tbs oyster sauce
2tbs hoisin sauce
1tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Place 3tbs of the mixture and 1/2tsp liquid smoke in a gallon ziplock.
Slice 1 pound of boneless country-style pork ribs into 1/8 strips and add to the ziplock. Marinate for 15 minutes.
While the meat is marinating start prepping! Keep all the prep in separate bowl so it's easy to add to the dutch oven as needed.
Chop 2 bunches of scallion and set aside.
De stem 1/2 pound of shitake mushrooms and give a rough chop set aside.
Chop a head of napa cabbage into 1 inch strips.
Add 1tsp of cornstarch to remaining soy mixture.
Get 1/2C chicken broth set aside for later.
Mix 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2tsp oil, and 2tsp grated ginger in a bowl and set aside.
Measure 1tbs of Asian garlic-chili sauce and set aside.
Measure 2tbs of dry sherry and set aside.
Place your cast iron dutch oven on the burner, add 1/4
tsp vegetable oil and turn on high.
Place 4quarts of water in a pot and start to boil.
By now your meat should be fully marinated and your oil should just about be smoking.
Once the oil is smoking add the pork. Break up the large clumps and let sear for 2 minutes. Turn and flip the meat and cook for another 2-4 min until it has a nice brown outside. Add sherry, cook until the sherry reduces.
Remove the pork and place in the large mixing bowl.
VERY carefully wipe out excess oil/marinade/pork remains from the dutch oven.
And add 1/4tsp oil and mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes until tender and add scallions, cook until wilted.
Add the cooked vegetables to bowl of pork.
Place 12oz of Chinese noodles (if unavailable use dry linguine) in the boiling water.
Add 1/4tsp oil to dutch oven, get smoky hot and add cabbage. Stir frequently until it becomes spotty brown 3-5 min.
Make a "well" in the center and add garlic-ginger mixture. Cook 30 seconds in the center, then incorporate into the cabbage.
Add pork mixture, remaining soy mixture, and chicken broth back into the dutch oven. Simmer 1-2 min until the sauce thickens.
The noodles should be perfectly cooked by now. Strain them and add to the dutch oven.
Stir in the Asian garlic-chili and plate!!!!!!!
WOW that was a long one and possibly one of the best things I have EVER made!!!!
If you have questions let me know! I plan to make this dish a lot now that I have the steps down! I might try chicken or shrimp next time.
I will break down this recipe into smaller steps due to the number steps. All of the not quite so common ingredients were available at the local grocery store. Also you will need lots of little bowls for prepping ingredients and one large mixing bowl for transferring meat and vegetables to and from the cast iron dutch oven.
Mix in a small bowl:
3tbs soy sauce
2tbs oyster sauce
2tbs hoisin sauce
1tbs toasted sesame oil
1/4tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Place 3tbs of the mixture and 1/2tsp liquid smoke in a gallon ziplock.
Slice 1 pound of boneless country-style pork ribs into 1/8 strips and add to the ziplock. Marinate for 15 minutes.
While the meat is marinating start prepping! Keep all the prep in separate bowl so it's easy to add to the dutch oven as needed.
Chop 2 bunches of scallion and set aside.
De stem 1/2 pound of shitake mushrooms and give a rough chop set aside.
Chop a head of napa cabbage into 1 inch strips.
Add 1tsp of cornstarch to remaining soy mixture.
Get 1/2C chicken broth set aside for later.
Mix 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2tsp oil, and 2tsp grated ginger in a bowl and set aside.
Measure 1tbs of Asian garlic-chili sauce and set aside.
Measure 2tbs of dry sherry and set aside.
Place your cast iron dutch oven on the burner, add 1/4
tsp vegetable oil and turn on high.
Place 4quarts of water in a pot and start to boil.
By now your meat should be fully marinated and your oil should just about be smoking.
Once the oil is smoking add the pork. Break up the large clumps and let sear for 2 minutes. Turn and flip the meat and cook for another 2-4 min until it has a nice brown outside. Add sherry, cook until the sherry reduces.
Remove the pork and place in the large mixing bowl.
VERY carefully wipe out excess oil/marinade/pork remains from the dutch oven.
And add 1/4tsp oil and mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes until tender and add scallions, cook until wilted.
Add the cooked vegetables to bowl of pork.
Place 12oz of Chinese noodles (if unavailable use dry linguine) in the boiling water.
Add 1/4tsp oil to dutch oven, get smoky hot and add cabbage. Stir frequently until it becomes spotty brown 3-5 min.
Make a "well" in the center and add garlic-ginger mixture. Cook 30 seconds in the center, then incorporate into the cabbage.
Add pork mixture, remaining soy mixture, and chicken broth back into the dutch oven. Simmer 1-2 min until the sauce thickens.
The noodles should be perfectly cooked by now. Strain them and add to the dutch oven.
Stir in the Asian garlic-chili and plate!!!!!!!
WOW that was a long one and possibly one of the best things I have EVER made!!!!
If you have questions let me know! I plan to make this dish a lot now that I have the steps down! I might try chicken or shrimp next time.
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