F.E.A.S.T.: Shrimp Risotto

Yeah, you read that right: Shrimp. Risotto. As a F.E.A.S.T.

Where did this come from, you ask? Surprisingly, nowhere in particular. I like shrimp. I like risotto, and I hadn't made any in some time. And while I was planning my meals for the week, I remembered that I needed to blog about something. So I asked myself, what do I do? And then the idea just came to me: what if I could do risotto as a F.E.A.S.T.?

"Madness!" I hear you say. "You can't do risotto on the cheap! You can't do it in under an hour!"

Oh, but you can!

::cue maniacal laughter::

OK, so it really isn't all that crazy truth to tell. And I didn't quite hit all the points needed for it to qualify as a F.E.A.S.T., but I'll explain that in a minute.

The truth is that shrimp, like most seafood, is actually quite easy to cook. You just have to have quality ingredients and you need to not over-complicate things. And trust me, I am the master of over-complicating things that don't need to be over-complicated. Luckily, seafood is not really one of them. The same goes for risotto. In reality, it isn't all that tricky; you just have to be diligent. That means that unlike with regular rice, you can't just walk away from it. It needs tending.

So, if you treat the ingredients right and just pay attention to what you're about, you can come up with something that's truly delicious. And everyone you serve will be so impressed that you made freaking shrimp risotto of all things, that you come off looking like a master chef. It really is just that impressive!

Oh, but still you doubt me? Well, read on dear readers, and judge for yourselves!

WHAT I USED!!!
1 yellow onion, diced  ($1.0)
a few tsp garlic, divided  (stock)
2 cups Arborio rice  (from a $6.0 container)
Approx. 5 cups vegetable broth or stock  ($3.0)
1 1/4 cup dry white wine (like chardonnay), divided  ($5.0)
6 tbs (unsalted) butter, divided  (stock)
1 lb frozen medium shrimp (raw, de-veined, tail-on), thawed  ($6.5)
Basil, julienned  ($2.0)
Juice of 1 large lemon  ($1.0)
Parmesan cheese, to taste  ($2.5)
Salt and pepper  (stock)

Final price for ingredients: $27.0

OK, so I'm over on my budget here, I admit that. But I only used about half the rice, and we were able to drink the rest of the bottle of wine with the meal. So technically I only went over by a little bit.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

WHAT I DID!!!
Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. Once you reach that point, drop the heat and keep the broth hot.

Meanwhile, melt 4tbs butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toss in your onion and some garlic, and cook for around 5 minutes, until the onion begins to turn translucent. Season with your salt and pepper, and don't be skimpy.

Add your rice to the pan and stir/toss the grains to coat them in the butter and onion mixture. Toast the rice, stirring regularly, for a few minutes, taking care not to let the rice burn.

Add 1 cup of white wine and stir occasionally until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Then, add your hot broth a ladle-full or two at a time, and stir until that liquid has also had a chance to absorb.

Once you've gotten through about half to two-thirds of your broth, melt the remaining 2tbs butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the rest of your garlic, the shrimp, half of the lemon juice, and the remaining 1/4cup of wine to the skillet, and season with salt and pepper. Saute until the shrimp turns opaque all the way through.

Taste the rice after each broth addition when you get near the end. The grains should be firm but not crunchy, and soft but not gummy. If you have to, ease up and don't add the last cup or so of the broth, but I found that this wasn't necessary.

Add the remaining lemon juice to the rice, then pour in all of the liquid from the shrimp. Stir in the shredded basil and the Parmesan.

Scoop the rice into a bowl, top with a few shrimp and some more Parmesan, and enjoy!

There now, that's not so difficult, right? Let's review our acronym.

Fast: Yep, right on the nose. From prep to eat took exactly one hour, and that was with me sort of making things up as I went. I had a couple methods to use as guides, true, but I really did just do this one on my own accord. The point is that I said it would take an hour, and it did!

Easy: I would say so. Sure, it's not as easy as making a sandwich, but it ain't rocket science either. Just keep your eyes on the rice and don't let it burn or get soggy, and you'll be fine. The trick is to just keep stirring the pot, and I know that you can handle that part.

Affordable: Like I said, I did go over my $20 budget, which is unfortunate. But I have enough rice left over to make a second meal, so I feel like I only went over by a few dollars. But, a budget is a budget, and I did bust it on this one. Still, the results were worth the extra expense, in my opinion.

Super Tasty: Yes. Very yes. The shrimp were succulent and juicy, with a light, aromatic flavor. The rice was wonderfully creamy, cooked to a perfect al dente. Together, with the acidity of the lemon and the pepperiness of the basil, they came together to make a wonderfully light, and surprisingly healthy, meal that was very satisfying nonetheless.

So there you have it: shrimp risotto in an hour for around twenty bucks. It's easy, it's delicious, it's a F.E.A.S.T.!

As always, thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it. Comments and suggestions for new meals are always welcome. Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Cocoa Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Hello once again!

As I'm sure you've already guessed from the nature of this blog, I like to experiment with my food. Sometimes it works and I discover something tasty, and sometimes it doesn't and explodes like so much... exploding... explody stuff. My poor attempt at an analogy aside, I am pleased to say that this time my experimentation not only worked, but worked rather well.

It started a few weeks ago, when I had some bananas lying around that were too ripe to eat out of hand. Obviously, the solution was banana bread, but I didn't have a banana bread recipe I liked. Sure, I had the one I created years ago that used coconut and walnuts, but that one tended to lean towards the explody end of the spectrum. Plus, I was out of walnuts anyway, so no dice. So I went digging around the internets, trying to find a new method. While I found plenty of recipes, I didn't find one that spoke to me. I was about to say, "To hell with this!" and start flipping over metaphorical tables when I had another crazy idea: why not just make something up?

Why was this idea crazy? Because banana bread is baking, and baking is as much a science as an art, and you can mess things up if you don't get the ratios right. But then again, science is about experimenting with the unknown, and trying new things, and laughing maniacally as you're throwing random ingredients together into a mixing bowl. Or maybe that last one is just me?

Regardless, this idea came together as a way to make a new banana bread that I had never tried before, and I am pleased to say it turned out quite well. I was about to try it simple as a cocoa banana bread, and I think it would have been good that way too. But then the idea sprang up to add peanut butter chips, and it took everything to a whole new level. Try it yourself if you don't believe me.

So, without further ado, let's get started.

For Science!

WHAT I USED!!!
2 cups AP flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
a good pinch or two of kosher salt
5 very ripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 stick of butter, melted
2/3 cup sour cream
a good splash of vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips

WHAT I DID!!!
Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. If you feel like sifting, go ahead and do it to break up any clumps and ensure that everything is evenly distributed.

In another bowl, peel and mash your bananas until smooth. Using a hand mixer, work in the sugars, followed by the eggs, butter, sour cream, and vanilla.

Pour the wet stuff over the dry stuff, and fold everything together with a great honking wooden spoon or spatula. Then stir in your chips.

(This is called the Muffin Method, by the way, and is used for everything from muffins to waffles. You don't want to over-mix, or the flour will produce too much gluten and then everything will be tough. We don't have to worry about that too much here, but still, mix everything until it is just combined. Don't fret if it's a bit lumpy; the lumps will cook out.)

Divide the batter evenly between two standard size loaf pans, and bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the load comes out clean.

And that's all folks! It's quick, it's easy, it's delicious.

You get a definite chocolatey flavor throughout the bread, with little pops of sweet and salty peanut butter now and then. But the predominant flavor across the board is definitely the banana, which is good, since that's kind of the point after all. Over all, you get a moist and tasty quick bread with a lot of flavor and a lot of surprise from those eating it.

This experiment, if I do say so myself, is a definite success.

Well, thanks for reading as always. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Scallops with mashed potatoes and asparagus

Hello again, dear readers!

Today, I just wanted to share a tasty dish I made for dinner last week: scallops. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy, not even a F.E.A.S.T., just a simple meal that you yourself can make without too much effort.

"Ye gods!" you say. "But wherein lies the adventure?" you ask. An excellent question, indeed! And I have an answer for you!

::cue crickets chirping::

Ok, so there really isn't one. I've made scallops before, and they're easy. I mean, super easy. But I haven't had the chance to prepare them in ages, so I wanted to try my hand again. I looked up several methods and then adapted my favorites into a cohesive whole. And I am pleased to say that they turned out marvelously. And that's why I decided to tell you about them: because they're easy enough to cook that with a little effort you too can plate a mighty impressive dish that will have others saying, "ooh" and "ahh."

Don't believe me? Come now, have I ever led you astray? And no, don't even talk about my last experiment with ice cream; that was for science!

WHAT I USED!!!
1lb. frozen bay scallops, thawed, drained, and patted dry
3 slices bacon, chopped
2/3 cup apple juice or cider
1 half-pint heavy cream
approx 2lbs golden potatoes
1 stick butter, softened
1 bunch of asparagus
garlic, minced, to taste
salt and pepper
fresh chives, chopped

WHAT I DID!!!
Drop the potatoes in a pot and add enough water to cover by an inch. Give it a good pinch of salt and then set it over high heat. Once it boils, drop the heat to med-low and let them simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the taters can be easily pierced by a knife without much resistance. Drain the spuds once they're done.

Meanwhile, prepare your asparagus. Hold the stalks one at a time by the base and near the middle, and start bending them gently. The hard, undesirable part of the stalk should snap cleanly off. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once this is ready, drop the asparagus in and give it a minute to blanch. This will improve both the color and the flavor. After a minute, transfer the veggies using a slotted spoon into a waiting bowl of ice water to halt the cooking process. Once they've cooled, set them aside to dry.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned. Using your trusty slotted spoon once more, transfer the bacon to a waiting pile of paper towels to drain. Up the heat to high and add the scallops to the bacon drippings! to cook. Give 'em a few shakes and cook until they all just turn opaque, or about four minutes. Grab that ever-so-useful slotted spoon once more and remove the scallops to a dish, and stash said dish in a warm oven to keep things toasty.

Add the apple juice/cider and 1/3 cup of the cream to the pan. Cook this mixture to boiling over med-high heat until the sauce thickens, or about seven minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll know it's ready when the sauce coats the back of a metal spoon and holds its shape when you swipe your finger through it. This is called nappe', as I've mentioned before. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While the sauce does its magic, cook your asparagus. Get a nonstick skillet warmed up over medium to med-high heat and give it a swirl of olive oil. Add as much or little garlic as you care to and saute until the garlic just begins to gain some color. Add your asparagus and give it a toss to coat the veggies in olive oil and garlic. Cook the asparagus until it softens slightly and begins to pick up some color of its own.

Warm the remaining cream for a few seconds in the microwave. Then simply go to town with your favorite potatoes masher or a hand mixer if you so choose. Once the potatoes have been mashed, work in the butter and cream and blend it all into one amalgamous mixture.

To serve, place a good pile of potatoes on each plate. Top with a scoop of delicious scallops, then place a few stalks of asparagus off to one side slightly. Give the whole thing a bit of sauce, and sprinkle with bacon and chives. That's it, you're done!

Ok, so maybe it looks a little complex once I write it all out, but it's really not all that bad. Trust me, this may seem like a handful of steps, but they're all pretty basic steps if you really stop and break it all down: prep and make mashed potatoes, saute some asparagus, saute scallops, make a basic sauce, combine. That's it! Trust me, it's easy.

And totally worth it too. The scallops have a natural sweetness to them, and they lack any of that "fishy" smell that turns off so many people. Moreover, the potatoes are rich (but not too rich), and the asparagus provides a nice counterpoint both in texture and in flavor.

If I were to offer any critique of the meal, it's that the scallops can get lost in the potatoes. This is simple because they are so small. You don't lose the flavor much, it just gets mixed in with the rest of the dish. To be honest, I would have preferred to use the larger, meatier sea scallops, which are three times as big. The problem was they were also three times the price, so I had to pass. Maybe next time though.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. And I hope you'll go out there and give this method a try. It'll impress and amaze your friends, I guarantee!

Comments and suggestions are welcome as always. Until next time, go forth and eat well!

F.E.A.S.T.: Indian-style Curry Sauce

Hello again, dear readers!

This week's humble offering is the result of a two-part challenge I recently issued to myself. Well, I say that, but it didn't exactly develop that way. You see, I wanted to create a new F.E.A.S.T., mostly because I haven't done one in a while. I've also been wanting to try making a curry sauce, since I've never actually done that before. Lo and behold, the idea came: why not do both?

Before I jump into the ingredient list, I feel I should also admit something: I'm not very familiar with Indian food. In fact, I can't honestly recall but maybe one or two times in my life where I've actually eaten it. Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against the cuisine. It's just not ever something where I've said to myself, "Self, what d'you say to some Indian food?"

That being said, I can neither confirm nor deny how "authentic" this dish is. I basically looked up a few basic curry recipes and then came up with my own using the common ingredients and what sounded tasty. I have it on the authority of those who tried it that it does in fact taste like Indian-style curry, however. So that's something, right? Regardless, it was quite good, and I highly recommend you give it a try, if only so you can say that you have!

WHAT I USED!!!
1 yellow onion, sliced  ($1.0)
2 tsp minced garlic (or about four cloves)  (stock)
1 inch ginger, peeled and diced  ($0.5)
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped  ($3.0)
1 8oz can tomato sauce  ($1.0)
1 4oz can green chiles  ($1.0)
1 6oz tub plain Greek yogurt ($1.5)
1 cup cilantro ($1.0)
2 tsp turmeric  (stock)
2 tsp cumin  (stock)
2 tsp coriander  (stock)
1 tsp paprika  (stock)
1 tsp cinnamon  (stock)
1 tsp cayenne pepper  (stock)

Final price: $9.0 for the whole thing.

OK, I admit, some of you may not obsessively keep as many spices on hand as I do. But let's say you do have to go out an buy some of them. You're still getting away for pretty cheap, since you only need a little bit out of each jar, right? That means you'll have everything on hand to make the curry again, and that's just a win-win situation in my book.

WHAT I DID!!!
In a large saucepan, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high to high heat. Toss in your onion and bell pepper, and saute them until the pepper softens and the onion starts to brown, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drop the heat to low, then add your ginger and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Add all six spices and whisk well to combine. Add in your tomato sauce, green chiles, and cilantro. Once that's all incorporated, slowly whisk in the yogurt.

Now, working carefully, drop the whole mix into a blender or food processor and start pulsing. Add about a cup of water, then blend until smooth.

Put the mix back in the saucepan over low heat, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, covered. Serve over rice, chicken, vegetables, or whatever you like.

And there we have it. Let's compare to our acronym:

Fast: The whole process took me about an hour to concoct. Admittedly, with the rice and chicken, it was closer to an hour and a half, but the sauce itself was relatively quick to make, even with the simmering.

Easy: Yes, I'd say so. I could've been a lot more complicated, toasting the spices, using fresh spices (I wish!), adding more exotic ingredients, but I decided that what I had would suffice. And guess what? I was right!

Affordable: At under $10 to serve four to six people, we're doing just fine financially. Even if you do have to spend a little more to acquire some of the spices, you still come out ahead, since now you have said ingredients on hand and ready to go for the next time.

Super Tasty: Hell yeah. This curry is rich and savory, with a smoky subtle heat to it that you just have to experience to truly understand. Honestly, I am actually quite pleased with how it turned out.

I wish I could better explain the flavor, but beyond calling it "exotic," I'm a bit at a loss for words. So, I challenge each of you reading this to go out and craft this wonderful sauce for yourselves so you can be at a loss for words as well. I promise you won't regret it.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Until next time, go forth and eat well!

Molten Chocolate Souffle with Creme Anglaise Sauce

Hello everyone!

So yes, it has been a while hasn't it? But the dry spell is over, and it's back to business as usual.

Today's humble offering comes from a video that someone posted on my Facebook page: individual molten chocolate souffles with creme anglaise sauce. They looked amazing. So I went looking and found the actual recipe here, which also happens to contain the how-to video as well. It's definitely worth a watch. But if you're impatient and just want to see what the darn things look like, then wait no more!

Trust me, they taste even better than this picture shows. And the video makes them look even better.

Ok, now here's the catch: the recipe comes in grams and ounces, so that means all the ingredients have to be measured by weight. I happen to have a food scale, so this wasn't a huge issue for me. I do realize however that not all of you have a food scale, so you may be a bit put off. I'd like to say, "Fear not! For I have converted everything to volumetric measurements for your peace of mind! Rejoice!" But I can't. The fact is that in baking, measuring dry goods by weight is just more accurate.

That being said: okay, yeah, I did kind of convert some of it as I went. But I strongly encourage you, if you want to do the thing properly, to go out and just acquire a food scale. Honestly, they're not even pricey.

So, without further ado, let's jump right to it!

WHAT I USED!!!
For the souffles
6.6oz whole milk
1.2oz bread flour (about 1/2 cup)
1.2oz butter
3.5oz sugar
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
4.8oz 70% dark chocolate, chopped fine
a pinch of salt

For the creme
2 vanilla beans
8.8oz heavy cream (just over 1 cup)
4.4oz whole milk (just over 1/2 cup)
1.8oz sugar (about 1/4 cup)
3 egg yolks
a pinch of salt

WHAT I DID!!!
For the souffles
Preheat the oven to 375. Using some extra, butter the insides of 3 small oven-safe ramekins, making sure to get complete coverage. Sprinkle some extra sugar into each, rotating the ramekin to completely cover the butter with sugar. This gives the souffle the grab it needs to climb the ramekin and rise up.

Using your hands, combine the salt, butter and flour into a paste. Heat the milk and the sugar to a brief boil over medium heat, then drop in the flour mixture and whisk to combine. This should not take very long at all. Add the chocolate and whisk to combine, then work in the egg yolks.

Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in your stand mixer (or get a trusty minion to use your hand mixer) until they reach soft peaks. You'll know you have soft peaks when you can dip the beater into the egg foam, pull it out, flip it over, and see mountain-like peaks that fall over if you gently tap the beater with your hand. Add a little extra sugar, and continue to beat until you get stiff peaks. These peaks don't fall over as easily, hence the name.

Take a scoop of the egg white mixture and stir it into the chocolate base, just to loosen things up a bit. Then fold the rest of the whites into the chocolate in about three stages. You do this by making cutting-and-flipping motions with a spatula, rather than traditional stirring motions.

Fill each ramekin right to the top, and use the back of a knife to level off the surface. Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 17 minutes. When they come out, garnish them with powdered sugar and the creme anglaise, which you should have already made.

For the creme
Chop your vanilla beans into a fine dice. Combine the beans with the cream, milk, sugar, and egg yolks, and whisk well. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture hits about 180 degrees or it makes it to the nappe stage. This is when the mixture will coat the back of a metal spoon completely. If you swipe your finger through it, the sauce will still adhere to the spoon and keep its shape without running.

Whatever you do, do not let it over-heat like I did! (What? It was my first time making the stuff.) It really will not take very long at all to be done.

When it's ready, strain out the beans and cool before serving over your souffles.

There now, ain't that just sexy?

As I said, I did over cook the sauce a bit, so the eggs curdled. It was tasty, it just didn't have that rich, velvety smoothness that it should've had. The souffles, though, turned out wonderfully. I didn't get quite as much rise as in the video, but I think that had to do with the shape of my ramekins (they have a lip, and the recipe calls for completely smooth sides). Still, they had a wonderful chocolateyness to them that I loved. I can't wait to make these again!

Anywho, I hope that you enjoyed this long-awaited entry to my blog. If you have any comments or suggestions, I look forward to hearing them.

Until next time then! Go forth and eat well! 

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Hello once again, loyal readers!

So. This title. It's a doozy, isn't it? Well, before your question my sanity, let me explain.

In the past few months, I've really started to develop a love for spicy foods. Not super over-the-top why-God-why? spicy, but the the kind of spicy that just gives you a good kick as you eat it. As such, I've also come to love jalapeno poppers.

For those not in the know, a jalapeno popper is simply a hollowed out jalapeno stuffed with cream cheese. Often times the filling will contain chicken. Often times the entire thing will be wrapped in delicious, delicious bacon. Sometimes they're even deep-fried.

Yeah. They're tasty.

So I thought to myself: how could I add to that awesomeness? Well, I thought, they already have cheese inside, so what could go well with that? Simple: pasta! And spicy mac & cheese totally happens all the time down in the Caribbean, so there's all the precedent I needed.

But, the idea of trying to cram noodles into jalapenos (which are not exactly large) seemed questionable. So then I thought, what if I deconstructed the popper, mixed it into the macaroni, and then stuffed all of that into a different pepper? Hence this idea was born! Behold!!

WHAT I USED!!!
6 bell peppers, caps removed (and saved), inner cores and seeds removed
6 jalapenos, seeds similarly removed, and julienned (that's cut into strips)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 package bacon, cooked and diced
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
1-2 cups milk
2 blocks cream cheese, cubed
2 cups (8oz) elbow macaroni
shredded cheddar cheese for topping the peppers

WHAT I DID!!!
First, cook your chicken. I did what I always do: a little olive oil, some salt and pepper, medium to medium high heat in my favorite skillet, cooked until all the pink is gone. It only takes a few minutes. Oh, and be sure to drain the chicken well when it cooks.

Next, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and jalapenos and saute until the veggies soften. Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and cook for two to three minutes to form a roux. Add enough milk to create a sauce. (I admit, I didn't measure this, but it was somewhere between one cup and two.) Once you have a base sauce, incorporate the two cream cheese blocks one at a time. Once it's all completely melted and formed into a cheesy saucy consistency, stir in the bacon and the chicken.

Meanwhile, boil your pasta to al dente, following the packages instructions. Once the noodles are done, drain them thoroughly and add them to the cheesy-bacony-chicken sauce.

Now, scoop the mixture into the hollowed-out peppers. You're going to have left over filling most likely. Arrange the peppers in an oven-safe dish so they will sit upright. Sprinkle the mixture with your shredded cheese, and replace the caps. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the peppers have softened. Serve with the sides of your choice.

These came out quite well, I am very pleased to say. The mac & cheese filling had the perfect balance of heat from the jalapenos, savory saltiness from the meats, and sweet cheesiness from, well, the cheese. It tasted just like a jalapeno popper spliced with warm comforting mac & cheese, which was, after all, the entire point.

If I were to offer any criticism of the meal, it would be that the bell peppers seemed almost extraneous. The filling was definitely the star, which is good. But since the original idea was to add mac & cheese to a jalapeno popper, the bell peppers didn't seem to contribute much. Not that they weren't tasty, mind. They just didn't really add much to the dish.

I think next time I may go with my original idea of stuffing the mac & cheese inside the jalapeno. I may even deep-fry the suckers just for the hell of it! Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but I'm willing to try it and see!

As always, thanks for reading. Comments, suggestions, thoughts, and especially new ideas are always welcome. Until next time, go forth and eat well!

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.