Adventures in Food: Brick-Oven Pizza

Hello all!

So I don't have a recipe or anything for you today. Or rather, I would, if I thought everyone out there had brick ovens in their backyards. Since I'm guessing most of you don't, I'm just going to be sharing a little of my experience today, and you can all be jealous of the fun I had. Aren't I the greatest?

A little background: one of my roommates, the one with more siblings than I can count (four hundred and thirty six I reckon), has a brother who recently completed construction of a full-sized brick oven in his backyard. And, even cooler than having a working forno, he regularly invites friends and family over to make use of the thing. So the other day we trekked over to his house and made brick-oven pizza, just because we could! Ok, it was one of the other sibling's birthday as well, but who's keeping track, right?

By the time we arrived, the fire was already blazing hot and near ready to go. Impressively, the forno regularly hits temperatures in the latter few hundreds, going so high as a thousand degrees if you let it. Yeah, you read that right: a thousand degrees. He also had the pizza dough waiting, so the first thing we had to do was divide it up into individual balls and they were ready to go.

Next, we worked on our toppings. We sliced up some fresh mozzarella and a few more non-traditional cheeses (like Gouda). We made a simple tomato sauce out of a can of crushed tomatoes, some fresh green basil, and a few garlic cloves. We chopped onions and peppers and a few different deli meats even, pulling everything out that could possibly go on a pizza. Oh, and a bag of sliced pepperoni, too. Because sometimes you have to go with the classics.

Then it was time to stretch out the dough. He has a few different peels, wide wooden paddles with long handles for moving the food around. The idea was to flour the peel and gently stretch the dough across it to create the crust. You had to constantly check that the dough would easily slide around on the peel, because if it stuck when you tried to slide it into the oven, you'd be left with a mess. Once that was done, you could top the crust with the sauce and meats and veggies and cheeses of your choice, to create whatever pizza your little heart so desired.

After that came the actual baking. First, we checked the fire with a laser thermometer. For those who don't know, it's exactly what it sounds like: a laser pointer that reads the temperature of whatever or wherever you direct it. I want one. Not 'cause, y'know, I really need it per se, but just because I want it. Then we simply slid the pizza inside. Picture it this way: a big dome where there's a blazing hot fire pushed to one side, with a spot left in the middle for the food. All in all, the whole process takes about, oh, two to three minutes per pizza. Don't believe me? Let's go to the video:

Ok, so my camerawork still needs a little, uh, work. But yeah, that fast.

Trust me, this pizza was delicious. I'll need to get his pizza dough recipe, because I want to find out if I can actually attempt to duplicate the magic in my plain old boring regular oven. I doubt it, though. The live fire adds a smokiness and an earthiness to the crust, but it bakes so fast that the dough doesn't have time to get dry and tough. The result: a warm velvety interior with a crunchy exterior. And the cheese melts so perfectly, it's practically a solid and a liquid at the same time. Even the toppings manage to crisp up, including the veggies. Since I don't care for raw veggies on my pizza, this is a big plus for me. All and all, as I said: delicious.

In the end, this was a very fun experience. I look forward to going back in the future to repeat the process. Sure, it takes a little more work than simply ordering delivery, but the process really is half the fun, and the results are more than worth the effort.

Join me next time when I'll have something I came up with from scratch! As always, I welcome comments and suggestions. Especially the suggestions; I need some new wacky ideas.

Until then, go forth and eat well.

+3 Flaming Chili

Hey everyone!

Today I have for you one of my all-time favorite things (and yes, I admit there are a lot of them) to make: chili.

The cool thing about chili is that it's actually really easy to make, and there's a ton of space left open for interpretation. Don't mistake easy for simple, though. The easiest things to make are often times the easiest to screw up, so you have to pay attention to what you're about. But, once you know what you're doing, you're golden.

Now, my chili recipe is the way I like it. I know that there are true chili aficionados out there, especially here in the Great State of Texas, who will tell you that chili should be meat, sauce and spices. That's it. No beans. No tomatoes. No nothing. But dammit, I like that stuff in my chili. To me it helps to round out the dish and turn it into more of a complete meal. So, if you want to be picky about having "authentic" chili, you'll have to look elsewhere. Me, I'm going to stick with what I like!

WHAT I USED!!!
1 onion, diced
A few tsp minced garlic
3lbs ground beef
1 7oz can chopped green chiles
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 14.5oz cans Rotel (diced tomatoes with chiles)
1 16oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed well
1 16oz can kidney beans, ditto
3 Shiner Bock beers (or other good dark beer)
1 can chipotles in adobo sauce (optional, for a little extra kick)
about 3tbs Worcestershire sauce (optional, but I think it adds a nice smokiness)
1/2cup masa harina (corn flour) mixed with 1cup H20
3tbs Chili Powder
     (To make Chili Powder, combine the following and mix well:
     - 3tbs ancho chile powder
     - 2tbs cayenne powder
     - 2tsp cumin powder
     - 2tsp ground oregano
     - 1tsp garlic powder
     - 1tso onion powder)

WHAT I DID!!!
First, dig out your biggest skillet and saute your onion and garlic over medium heat with a little salt until soft and translucent. Add the beef, brown thoroughly, and drain the fat.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, dutch oven, or slow cooker, combine the chiles, tomato paste, Rotel, both beans, and the beer. If you're using the chiptoles, and they aren't already chopped, pull them out of the sauce. Cut them open and scrape out the seeds, then dice fine. Add them and the adobo sauce from the can into the pot. Add the Worcestershire sauce, if using, the 3tbs of Chili Powder, and the masa harina slurry. Set the whole thing over medium-low heat, then add the meat and onions. Bring to a simmer.

Simmer for at least 1 hour, though more is fine, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat if it gets too hot; you don't want the bottom to burn, right?

When at least an hour has passed, check your seasonings and adjust to taste. If the mixture is too liquidy for your preference, add more masa in a 1:2 masa to water ratio (such as 1tbs masa mixed with 2tbs water).

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and corn bread on the side.

So delicious. And like I said, it is fairly easy to make. You just have to pay attention to the heat and your meat and your seasonings to get it right. This chili is wonderfully savory, with just enough spice and heat to make you pay attention. But you can always adjust the heat by adding or subtraction Chili Powder to the mix.

Even better, it's chili, so you can play around with it! Add more peppers if you want more of a kick. Use ground turkey or pork or buffalo if you want to change up the meat a bit. I tried using chorizo once, but it didn't really work. Of course, I'd never worked with chorizo before, so I probably messed it up in the initial execution. Regardless, it was worth trying!

I hope that some of you will give this a try and tell me what you think of it. I've developed this recipe over several attempts, using multiple sources for inspiration. The Chili Powder recipe comes from the internet, I admit, but I really like it and so have used it constantly. But the rest has come from my own trial and error, and I'm quite proud of it.

Meanwhile, if anyone out there has suggestions for something crazy to try, I look forward to getting some new ideas!

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Parmedijon Chicken

Hello everyone!

Today I have a new method for you, a F.E.A.S.T. that is guaranteed to jazz up plain old boneless/skinless chicken. It's simple, straightforward, and surprisingly tasty given how little goes into it. I call it Parmedijon Chicken, a name that I totally did not make up for the sake of a snazzier-sounding blog post.

In all honesty though, I highly recommend you try this. My mother has been making it for years and it's always a hit. I think you'll be impressed with how easy it is to make, especially when you compare that fact to the results. But as usual, I'll just let the food speak for itself.

WHAT I USED!!!
3 boneless/skinless chicken breasts  (stock)
3/4cup panko bread crumbs  (from a $2 box)
3tbs melted butter  (stock)
approx. 1/3cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese  (from a $5 block)
approx. 3tbs honey dijon mustard (stock)
salt & pepper to season/taste  (stock)

Check out that list! I told you it was simple. But wait, it gets better!

WHAT I DID!!!
Preheat the oven to 500 degress, and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out the chicken. Smear the top of each breast with the honey dijon, using as much or as little as you like. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Combine the panko, butter, and cheese in a bowl. Using your hands, mound this mixture onto each breast, applying gentle pressure to ensure it all sticks.

 

Bake for 10-15minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the topping is Golden, Brown, and Delicious. Serve with the side or veggies of your choice.

There. That's it. Simple. Easy. But oh so tasty. The chicken cooks quickly, so as long as you watch it it won;t have time to dry out. Aside from that one issue you're golden. Let's take a look at our acronym:

Fast: The whole process took around a half hour to make, so yeah, I'd say so.

Easy: Did you see that method? Anyone can do it!

Affordable: I keep frozen chicken on hand at all times, so the whole meal came together for under $10. And it fed three people, so not bad.

Super-Tasty: Yes, yes, yes. The mustard and the cheese combine together in a very pleasant way, sweet and salty, savory and spicy. The chicken cooked perfectly, having no time to dry out because it cooks so fast. And the panko provides a nicely contrasting crunch. Overall, delicious!

So, I would have to say this is one of the best weeknight quick-and-easy meals you're ever likely to make.

And it's so easy to adjust too! If you need to feed more people, just add more chicken and up the panko by a 1/4cup and the butter by 1tbsp per breast. You'll need to increase the cheese and mustard correspondingly, of course, but I reckon you figured that out. And if you don't have panko, you can always grind up some plain old sandwich bread in your food processor to make breadcrumbs. Just use about 1 slice per each breast, and you're set. It won't be as crunchy, but it still works in a pinch.

Anyway, I hope that some of you will give this a try and let me know what you think. I always hope to see feedback from my readers.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Sauerbraten Dinner

Hello again!

So I've been wanting to try making saurebraten for a while now, but I just hadn't ever gotten around to it. You know how it goes, right? Who can be bothered to make a dish that needs half a week to prepare? We're all busy folks, and none of us has the time to just decide, "huh, how about a German pot roast/brisket marinated in vinegar for dinner?"

Well I'm here to tell you that not only is this in fact doable, it's actually pretty easy, especially if you can cheat a bit!

As is my M.O., I started with the Alton Brown method for sauerbraten, but I made a few changes. He calls for a bottom round, but I used a brisket. I was fairly confident that it would work, since the method found here used brisket as well, and the methods are very similar. I did follow the braised cabbage recipe from that page too, but I'll get to that shortly.

Also, I couldn't find juniper berries, but the interents suggested subbing in some gin, which I thought was brilliant. Last, I decided to just throw the whole thing in a slow cooker, because let's face it, those things are magic. To round out the meal, I also made braised cabbage, as I mentioned before, and pretzel rolls, based on this recipe here.

All in all, it was a good meal, which is why I've decided to share it with y'all, my loyal readers.

Without further ado, let's jump right to it!

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
For the sauerbraten:
2cups water
1cup cider vinegar
1cup red wine vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped roughly
1 large carrot, ditto the onion
1tbs + 1tsp kosher salt
1/2tsp pepper, fresh ground
2 bay leaves
6 or so whole cloves
1tsp mustard seeds
a good splash (maybe 1/4cup?) gin
3 1/2 - 4lb beef brisket
vegetable oil for rubbing the brisket
1/3cup sugar
around 18 old fashioned gingersnaps, crushed

For the cabbage:
5tbs unsalted butter
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 medium white onion, also diced
2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
1 large red cabbage, cored and sliced thin
about 2/3cup dried cherries
1 1/2cup red wine, like a shiraz
2 whole cloves
1/3 cup brown sugar
1-2 bay leaves
a good splash of cider vinegar
juice of half a lemon

For the pretzel rolls:
1 1/2cups warm (not hot!) water
1tbs sugar
2tsp kosher salt
4 1/2cups AP flour
1 package rapid-rise yeast
2oz unsalted butter, melted
10cups water
2/3cup (yep!) baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1tsp water
more salt for sprinkling

(Ok, yeah, that's a lot of stuff, but a lot of it is cheap or else a staple, so just bare with me. I'm going to show you how easy this is in the method below. Just read the whole thing.)

THE METHOD!!!
Start the meat. Turn on a fan ('cause, y'know: vinegar!) and bring the water through mustard to a boil. Then drop the heat and simmer for 10min. Set aside to cool, then add the gin.

Pat the meat dry, rub with a little oil, and sprinkle with salt. Heat a large skillet over high and brown the brisket on both sides. It should take 2-3min per side. Let that cool, then drop (not literally!) the meat into the marinade. Stash the whole thing, covered, in the fridge for around 5 days. Yes, 5 days. Be sure to flip the meat over every day if it's not completely submerged.

The morning you want to eat, pull out your slow cooker. Set the thing on its lowest, longest setting (mine was for 10hrs) and put the meat and marinade within said vessel. Don't forget to add the sugar like I did. When you get home, switch the setting to warm and work on the rest.

Oh, and at the last minute, strain the solids out of the marinade and discard. Put the remaining liquid in a small pot and place over med-high heat. Whisk in the gingersnaps to form a sauce, adding a bit of water of it gets too thick. Serve sauce over the meat.

To make the pretzel rolls, drop the water through butter into your bread maker and turn it on to the dough setting. Don't have a bread machine? That's ok, just follow the method in the link above. When the dough is done, bring the 10cups of water to a boil with the baking soda. Roll the dough out into 16 even pieces and form into balls. Give each a 30sec bath in the water, then place on a cookie sheet. Brush each with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 450 for 12-14min, or until GBD (golden, brown, and delicious).

Meanwhile, while the dough is doing its thing in the bread machine, start the cabbage. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and apple and saute for 5min, or until the onions are translucent. Add the cabbage through the bay leaves and bring the whole thing to a boil over medium high. Cover the pot, reduce the head, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaves (if you can find 'em!) and the vinegar and the lemon juice.

See, now wasn't that easy?

...Ok, yeah, it's still kind of daunting, isn't it? But I promise, it's worth the time and effort to make this meal.

The brisket came out perfectly tender, and was fall-apart-in-your-mouth delicious. Like I said though, I forgot to add the sugar to the marinade at the end. As a result, I think we lost a little bit of the sweetness we should have had, and the meat had a bit too much acidity. The cabbage was also quite good, crunchy and tender, aromatic and sweet. The pretzel rolls were also phenomenal, perfectly salted, and kind of stole the show.

I think next time I make this meal, I'll be sure to sweeten the marinade for the actual cooking process, so as to get the flavor balance correct. Other than that though, I'd call the meal a success. I hope that if you are brave enough to try it for yourself that you have as much luck as I did.

As always, thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing some feedback on how y'all think I'm doing here.

Go forth and eat well!

(Oh, by the way: you're probably asking yourself, "where are all the pictures he usually posts?" Well, unfortunately, all the pictures came out blurry, so none of them are worth sharing. Sad times, right? I really need to get a better camera...)

Restaurant Review: Benihana and The Londoner (take 2)

Hello again, loyal readers!

I recently went out for another friend's birthday, during which time we went to not one but two different restaurants: Benihana for lunch and The Londoner for dinner. I am pleased to report that a good time was had by all, so I would like to offer up a pair of quick reviews to entice and amaze you.
Without further ado:

Benihana
The Place: Benihana is your typical Asian-inspired restaurant, sparsely decorated with bamboo and paintings of kanji. The real show, however, comes at the table. As with any hibachi restaurant, they seat you around a large flat-top griddle rimmed with a counter for plates and drinks. Once you've placed your order, a chef comes by, cranks up the heat to high, and prepares everything right in front of you. Yes, you get to watch as everything from the fried rice to the steak is cooked before your eyes. They even throw in a few tricks, such as a stack of onion rings made to steam like a volcano. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the concept, but if you've never been it really is a fun experience.

What I ate: Since it was lunch time, I ordered the Lunch Boat served with chicken. It also came with steamed rice (I upgraded to the fried rice, though, 'cause why not?), onion soup, salad, edamame, sashimi, sushi, fruit, tempura shrimp, and a partridge in a pear tree. It sounds like a lot, but it was definitely an appropriately-sized portion for lunch. One of my friends, the birthday girl in question, ordered a bit more ambitiously and let me try her jumbo shrimp and filet mignon. I am pleased to report that all of the food was fresh, delicious, and wonderfully prepared.

My thoughts: As I said before, it really is an experience going to a place like this. The service was excellent, the chef was very entertaining, and the meals were quite tasty. As for my rating? I'm hovering at around a four out of five stars. Don't get me wrong here, I was quite satisfied with my meal. But, while well prepared, the food was not so astoundingly delicious as to merit a perfect score. Still, even a 4/5 is a solid score in my book, and one that I would gladly revisit in the future.

The Londoner
The place: Nothing has really changed since my last review. It's an English-pub-style joint, 'nuff said.

What I ate: This time, they had Magner's hard cider (on tap!), a personal favorite. I eagerly ordered a pint. Of course, the Cheesy Hampton fries were ordered once more, and they were as tasty as they were before. This time around, I ordered the Steak & Ale Pie in a further attempt to eat appropriately-themed food wherever I go. This steak, mushroom and onion concoction, more of beer-infused stew, came topped with puff pastry and served with baked beans and mashed potatoes. The steak was quiet good, although the pastry got soggy really fast. Still, it was quite good, The potatoes were about what you'd expect, but the baked beans were positively wonderful. I think they may have been the best thing I've eaten there yet. Overall though, a much better meal this time around.

My thoughts: Last time, I rated the Londoner at about 3.5/5 stars. I think I'm willing to upgrade that to a 4, but I'm not quite sure to be honest. The food was good, but was it four-star good? Hmm... I may need to go back a third time to really get a handle on this place. For now, I'm going to rate it at 3.75 out of 5 stars, which is weird, I know. But I'm just not totally convinced that it should be bumped all the way up to a full four. But anything over three stars is good food, so don't let me deter you; go check it out for yourself!

Anyway, thanks for reading as always. And as always I look forward to hearing back from anybody who would like to leave feedback!

Go forth and eat well!

Happy Holidays: Easter Dinner

Hello again! Did you miss me? I hope you did, 'cause I'm back!

So as you know, last weekend we celebrated Easter. And of course, in my family, celebrating a holiday means cooking up something special for dinner. The choice this year: ham or lamb. Well, it was no contest. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy ham as much as the next fellow. But c'mon... lamb. Pardon my drooling, but it's juicy, tender, and delicious in a lot of ways.

The next step: how to prepare it. We brainstormed for a bit and then I went hunting in the wilds of the Internets in search of a method we would all like. And I found one here. It was just what I had been hoping to find. We had bandied about with the idea of doing a Greek menu, and this seemed to be the perfect fit for just that.

So we planned out the meal, went shopping, and were all ready to go Sunday afternoon/

Then my dad said, "Son, why don't you take the lead with dinner tonight?" Gulp.

Ok, it was just my parents and me, so it wasn't like I was cooking for two dozen people on Thanksgiving or anything. But still, taking the lead on a holiday... I guess there's always a first time, right? So I plucked up my courage and set about getting it done and getting it done right.

Here's what I made:

THE INGREDIENTS!!!

For the lamb:
4-5lb boneless leg of lamb
6oz spinach, chopped
1/2cup fresh mint, chopped
1tsp(about) fresh ground black pepper
1tsp(ish) salt
2tsp(sorta) minced garlic
1/2cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2cup onion, chopped
1cup panko
1/4cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4cup half-and-half
2 eggs
more salt
more pepper
olive oil
fresh rosemary, chopped fine

For the sides:
10oz package couscous
1lb asparagus
2cups sliced strawberries
4cups baby spinach
1/4cup + 2tbs lemon juice, divided
6tbs olive oil, divided
2tbs honey
fresh thyme, finely chopped (or Italian seasoning)
1/4cup fresh mint, chopped1/3cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped
salt
pepper

THE METHOD!!!
For the lamb:
Preheat the oven to 425. Unroll the leg of lamb (skin side down) and pound on it a bit to flatten things out. Use a knife to facilitate spreading if need be. Mix the spinach through the eggs together in a large bowl. Spread the mixture over the lamb, taking care not to overstuff. Roll it up like a jelly roll and tie into place with butcher's twine. Rub the outside of the lamb with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary.

Place the meat in the oven-proof vessel of your choice, and spread any remaining filling around the lamb. Roast in the oven for 15minutes, then drop the temperature down to 325 and go for another hour. When it's done, let it rest for 10-15minutes, lightly covered with foil, before serving.

And yes, it tastes as good as it looks!

For the sides:
Prepare the couscous according to the package's directions. When it's done, add 2tbs lemon juice, 3tbs olive oil, the mint, the pecans, and salt & pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Meanwhile, trim the asparagus to rid yourself of the woody base. To do this, use this trick my sister taught me: hold each stalk at its base and around the middle. Bend the stalk gently. If all goes well, the end should snap off right where you would want it to. Cut the asparagus into 1inch lengths. Drop the asparagus into boiling water for 3-4minutes to blanch them. This will improve their color and texture as well as cooking them. When they're done, drop them into a bowl of ice water to stop them from overcooking.

Combine 1/4cup lemon juice, 3tbs olive oil, 2tbs honey, a dash of salt & pepper and your thyme in a small lidded vessel, like a mason jar. Microwave for less than 10seconds, just to help melt the honey down. Shake to combine. Toss the dressing with the asparagus, spinach and strawberries, and serve as a salad.

TA-DA!!

And there you have it, folks, a delicious lamb dinner! And y'know? It was actually all pretty easy, too. I mean, it's mostly just chopping and mixing. The best part was that I never felt like I was rushed or otherwise pressed for time. Everything happened as it was supposed to, and it all turned out pretty well. All and all, I declare the meal to be a great success!

Well, I hope you enjoyed sharing this experience with me. And I also hope that some of you will give this or some other method a try, especially if you've never had lamb before. Trust me, you'll love it!

As always, comments are appreciated. Go forth and eat well!

Restaurant Review: The Londoner

Hello readers!

Over this past weekend, I helped celebrate one of my closest friend's birthday. To honor the day, we all went out to eat at The Londoner Pub & Grill in Frisco. The company was of course excellent, and good fun was had by all, but the dining experience itself, while certainly not terrible, was a bit... lacking in a few areas.

The place: The Londoner is done up British pub style, with lots of deep colors and dark-stained hardwoods. A few TVs, which were airing European football of course, are scattered across the restaurant. Yet, despite that, it lacks that "sports bar" feeling, which is something I honestly have to be in the right mood to enjoy. British paraphernalia lines the burgundy walls, including a portrait labeled "The queens of England" featuring Queen Elizabeth, Sir Elton John, and Freddie Mercury. Overall, the Londoner enjoys a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere, although I don't doubt things get a little crazy around World Cup time.

What I ate: To begin, I helped consume a plate of their Cheesy Hampton Fries. If you ever go, I highly recommend trying these out, as they are an entire pound of fries smothered in aged white cheddar and applewood-smoked bacon. Delicious, to say the least. Along with that, I was able to order a Belhaven Scottish Ale (which they had on tap!), a personal favorite when it comes to imports. If you go expecting to have a wide variety of beer and spirits from which to choose a beverage, you won't be disappointed.

Now. My entree. As I was in a British-style pub I wanted British-style grub, and as such ordered Bangers and Mash. For those of you unfamiliar, that would be sausage and gravy with mashed potatoes served over a crusty piece of bread called a Yorkshire pudding. The sausage was wonderful, savory and a little spicy, and I absolutely loved the red onion gravy that came with it. And the potatoes were prepared perfectly. The bread, however, was dry, dull, and burnt on the end, so there I was considerably less than impressed.

My thoughts: Overall... I liked the place. Would I go back? Maybe. The food ranged from delicious to just "meh," and our service that night was distinctly lacking in quality. One of my friend's meal must've gotten lost somewhere, because she had to wait an additional twenty minutes for her food to hit the table. I think maybe it was just a bad night for them, or maybe our server was overwhelmed by our group. Despite that, I give the place a tentative 3.5 out of 5. I want to try some of the other entree and appetizer options before I give a final opinion. I guess that means I'll just need to go back one of these days!

Well, thanks for reading. As always, I hope to hear back from you on what you think of the blog. Go forth and eat well!