Perfect Prompt Pizza Dough

We found this one in "Food and Wine", of all places.  If we have time, we prefer to make this over-night dough from 101 Cookbooks. But when we are pressed for time, this dough works out great in just 2 hrs, start to finish at the table.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water (110°)
• 2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Steps

1. In a bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 cup lukewarm water and 1/4 cup flour in a small bowl. Let it stand for 30 minutes.
2. Add the remaining 1-3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons luke warm water, olive oil and salt. 
3. Mix the dough thoroughly.  I use the dough hook and the Kitchen-Aid on low speed for 1 minute, scraping the sides if I need to. 
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, elastic and a bit tacky to the touch, 7 to 8 minutes. For this, I keep going on medium speed with Kitchen-Aid and the dough hook for 5-6 minutes.
5. Place in an oiled bowl and turn to cover with spray oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (75°) until double in volume, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
6. 30 minutes before you are ready, pre-heat the oven and pizza stone to 500 F.  Typical baking time is 12 minutes, more for heavier toppings.

Chicken Cacciatore, Hilltown Style

We love chicken cacc, but it (like many homestyle dishes) has many different variations.  We wanted one that retained the flavor but had less of the fat of the traditional breaded versions.  The crunch of the chicken was nice but not necessary, especially as leftovers got it soggy.  This is our result:


Ingredients

• 1 4lb chicken, cut up into 8 pieces and skinned
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 cup green olive brine
• 1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup green olives
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano 

Steps 

1. In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high heat. 
2. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. 
3. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Add the brine, the tomatoes with their juice, broth, olives and oregano. Simmer 10 minutes.
5. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. 
6. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes.
7. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken
8. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Mind you pot roast recipes are the kind you do on a Sunday, and let it roast (simmer in water with chosen side veggies and herbs) for 3-5 hours or even more -yikes! But on a slow temperature over a long time is what makes this a super tender chunk of beef. This is one of those recipes that a slow cooker comes in super handy - but it is not necessary by all means - but a crock pot, or a deep and large soup pot with lid will easily suffice.

In this posting I share the best pot roast recipe and beef stroganoff recipes I could find and think are worthy should you too be looking at what the heck to do with your bottom roast of beef. I did learn that the bottom roast comes in two types, one has a point on one end and that is called the rump roast and the one I have with is simply a somewhat rounded rectangular slab of beef. Now the bottom round is not the most tender of cuts, hence why it is more affordable. Nor is it marbled, so it is quite lean - but when properly and slowly cooked - or in this case, pot roasted, you will have a tender roast that provides great juices for the perfect pan gravy.

Best Pot Roast Recipe:

Ingredients:

• beef rump roast, about 4 pounds
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons salad oil
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) beef broth, undiluted
• 12 small white onions
• 6 to 8 carrots, peeled & halved lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons flour

Directions:

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large heavy kettle over medium heat, brown the rump roast with sliced onions, turning, until browned on all sides using olive oil and a little butter.
2. Add garlic, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, black peppercorns and and salt; cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
3. Add beef broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for about 2 1/2 hours. Add onions, carrots, and parsley; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables and meat are tender.
4. To make gravy: Transfer meat and vegetables from Dutch oven to warm serving platter. Keep warm, covered loosely with foil. Into 2-cup measure, strain liquid remaining in Dutch oven. If necessary, add water to measure 2 cups. Return the hot liquid to Dutch oven.
5. Combine flour with 1/4 cup of cold water; stir until smooth. Stir flour mixture into liquid in Dutch oven and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer for another 3 minutes. Taste and add salt if desired. Serve with potatoes.
   
   Serves 8.

Miang Kam - Thai Tasty Tidbits

Miang kam is a tasty snack often sold as street food. It involves wrapping little tidbits of several items in a leaf, along with a sweet-and-salty sauce. Chewing all the myriad ingredients together gives taste receptacles on the tongue and mouth a thrilling experience – from the rich, roasted flavors of coconut and peanut, to the tanginess of lime with zest and the pungent bursts of diced ginger and chillies. It makes a great party food.

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 bunches of bai cha plu (wild pepper leaves), or substitute large leaves from 1-2 bunches of spinach; or 1 head of leafy lettuce, tear leaves into 3- to 4-inch round or square pieces

Filling Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup small dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup roasted unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/3 cup diced ginger (about the size of a pea)
• 1/3 cup diced shallots or onion the same size as the ginger
• 1 lime, cut into small peanut-size wedges, each with both peel and juice sacs
• 4 heads pickled garlic, stem removed and bulb cut into peanut-size pieces
• 6 serrano peppers, cut into thin half circles; or use Thai chillies ( prik kee noo), cut into thin rounds
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup finely ground dried shrimp
• 1/2 cup roasted shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup palm or coconut sugar
• 2 Tbs. fish sauce (nahm bplah), or to taste
• 1/2 cup water

To roast coconut, place unsweetened fresh or dried shredded coconut in a dry cast iron pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the coconut shreds are evenly a golden brown and very fragrant. Pickled garlic is available in jars from Southeast Asian markets.

Arrange the spinach or lettuce leaves and filling ingredients on a large serving platter, piling each separately and aesthetically for a pleasing presentation.

To make the sauce, grind the dried shrimp, roasted coconut and peanuts separately and as finely as possible in a clean coffee grinder. (For the dried shrimp, measure out 1/4 cup after the shrimp is ground.) Place in a small saucepan together with the palm sugar, fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently to make sure all the ingredients are well blended and the sauce as smooth as possible. Cook about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of light batter. Transfer to a sauce bowl and allow to cool to room temperature before using. The sauce will thicken more as it cools.

To eat, take a spinach or lettuce leaf, fill it with a little bit of everything, top with a dab of sauce, roll or wrap up, stuff the entire leaf packet into your mouth and chew everything all at once. Enjoy the explosion of flavors!

Slow Cooker Stroganoff

We love stroganoff - it goes back to our Burlington days when we were vegetarian and tried desperately to recreate a good stroganoff with mushrooms and silky tofu to make the whole thing work with a deep flavor and a creamy sauce.  Today, we serve it with our beef and lots of extra mushrooms.  Sorta hybridizing the two ideas - a traditional stroganoff has beef and sour cream and the earthiness of the mushrooom/sherry version.

Plus this one is all about the slow cooker - yea!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp beef bouillon
• 2 1/2 lbs of steak or chuck, cubed
• 3/4 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 16 ounces of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tsp of dried dill
• 1/4 cup of dry sherry
• 1/4 cup of corn starch
• 1 cup of sour cream

Steps

1. Saute the onion in 1 tsp of olive oil.
2. Transfer the onion, steak, water and beef bouillon to a slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Saute mushrooms in 2 tsp of olive oil.
4. Add mushrooms, dill and sherry in the last 15 minutes.
5. Remove the meat and thicken the juices with the cornstarch.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.
7. Serve over egg noodles.

Home Fries - We sow the seeds

We love potatoes, oh the potato.  Today is potato planting day for our Zone 4b garden and it is Earth Day, so we all thought of the same planting joke this morning at breakfast:

So, go grow the seeds and then you can eat the seeds.

Ingredients

• 4 good sized potatoes, 
• 2 onions, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup of olive oil (peanut oil would work well too)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

1. Cube the potatoes into 1/2" pieces - we leave on the skins, it doesn't matter.
2. Rinse the potatoes in cold water and leave them to drain in a strainer.
3. Put a 1/4 cup of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat (we love cast iron here) and toss in the oil.
4. Cover the skillet for 10-12 minutes and let it cook.
5. Remove the cover and add the onion.
6. Toss again and saute for another 10 minutes.
7. Serve and soak up the glory.

We like to serve this with scrambled eggs and a piece of good bacon.  Serves 4 hungry potato-vores.

Thanksgiving Paninis

We love making paninis, especially with leftovers. And when there is turkey and stuffing involved, we get doubly excited.

Ingredients

• 2 slices whole wheat bread or ciabatta
• Turkey breast, sliced however thick you like
• Turkey stuffing (about 1/2 cup per panini)
• Cranberry dressing (about 1/4 cup per panini)
• Mayo for spreading
• Butter or spray oil

Steps

1. Power up the panini press - we use High power setting for panini.
2. Spread mayo over both sides of your 2 slices of bread.
3. Lay turkey and stuffing on one side, cranberry on the other side.
4. Carefully fold the pieces back together.
5. Spray oil on both sides of the panini outsides or butter if you are feeling naughty.
6. Cook the panini for 4-5 minutes.
7. Enjoy!