Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Pizza Sticks

Who doesn't like pizza? It has to be one of the most versatile foods ever invented....you have a crispy crust topped with whatever you can think up! The only issue with me is trying to make it at home and not have a meltdown over it. If you follow this blog, you know what I mean.

So I am at Williams Sonoma (cue singing angels) and I see this nifty pan called a "pizza stick pan". Number one, I want an easy way to cook pizza at home and number two...I can always use another gadget. Bam, sold!

I hope you can tell from the picture, but the pan has 5 shallow wells in it and it is coated in this gold coating that I have been seeing more and more of. It's non stick but looks different. The pan also comes with a handy dandy cutter so the dough fits perfectly in the wells.




Top it with sauce and whatever, bake them at 450 (I think) and you are in business. I have made them two times..one time it worked (pictures attached) the second time I did something wrong because it so didn't work. Note to self: When rising the pizza dough in the oven with the oven off...don't try to get ahead of yourself and pre-heat the oven for the actual pizza sticks. It wrecks the dough. I'm just sayin.

I think these are a cool invention and everyone gets their own pizza to top.





Pizza Sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste
6 oz warm water 110 degrees…but hot tap will be fine
3 tbl grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp of honey
¾ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried marjoram
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine everything (water last) and let sit for 30 minutes or longer to let flavors blend. Spread over pizza dough, top and bake – yum


Pizza Dough

3cups flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 tbl vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbl granulated sugar
1 cup warm tap water – 110 degrees at least.

Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. When a ball forms spray ball in the bowl with cooking spray or rub lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in warm place for 30 minutes or so. (You don’t have to let the dough rise…it is perfectly good as is, but it just is a bit denser. If you can let it rise its just a bit chewier) I turn on the oven to about 280 degrees and put the oven safe bowl covered in there and turn off the oven. Rises fine.

After the rising, or after the mixing (if you aren’t rising) you can do 1 of 2 things:
1. Spread out on a large cookie sheet or pan. Top as desired. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or so.
2. If you have a pizza stone (how I do it with a pampered chef cookie sheet stone) preheat the stone in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. Spread the dough out onto parchment paper, top with toppings. Slide pizza onto either an inverted sheet pan or cookie sheet and slide from that onto the preheated stone for 15 or so minutes. To do a second pizza you only need to heat the stone for 5 minutes.
3. For pizza sticks, roll out the dough and use the cutter and continue with the pizza stick pan directions.
Yummy!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Supposed to be "poached" not overcooked salmon in sour cream dill sauce.

So I am at Costco (moment of silence...) last weekend and I am compelled to buy the new Bon Appetit magazine which features a yummy looking fillet of salmon on the cover. Doesn't that look yummy? I thought so too.


It looked so yummy that it inspired me to cook, or overcook..rather, salmon for last nights dinner. Did I set out to overcook dinner? I don't enjoy my food tantrums that bad. No, I just wanted a good piece of fish for dinner which doesn't seem too much to ask. You would think that I would just open my new magazine for a recipe but no, I head to the Internet. I guess $4.99 just bought me "inspiration" as opposed to actual recipes I want to use. I swear, only I would buy a gourmet food magazine only to search the Internet for a recipe where the main ingredient is FEATURED on the cover of the magazine. Maybe that should have been a red flag?

I decide to adapt a Cooks Illustrated recipe called "Poached salmon with dill and sour cream sauce". Mmmmmmmm. Doesn't that sound good? I know right? I make a list and run off to the store to get the ingredients (the salmon, I actually had). Oh, I was also excited that I got to use my Christmas saute pan for this recipe. I still haven't quite figured out how to cook normal food in it without needing a chisel to get the food out afterward. Woo hoo! Let's get this party started!

There is a bit of prep to do ahead where you slice lemons and mince shallots and put them in the pan with wine and water and dill stems. Lay your salmon fillets on top of the lemons, bring to a boil....reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 11-16 minutes until the internal temperature (make a note of this step) is 125 degrees. You take the temperature of the fish with an instant read thermometer. I am always excited to use my thermometer. So the timer gets set for 11 minutes and I am mincing dill and measuring out the other ingredients...making rice pilaf yada, yada. Timer goes off, I take the temperature and its barely 100. That's strange. The fish is looking done? Remembering back to the big cookie, and how that too, "looked" done. I set the timer for 4 more minutes and go back to finishing the rest of dinner. The timer goes off again, and as I remove the lid from the pan I instantly know something is amiss. The fish has shrunk and looks dry instead of moist (I can't describe it ....you would have to be there) and almost at the same time as I am reaching for my thermometer I see that it isn't set to Fahrenheit. It's set to Celsius. Celsius! At this point, I don't even NEED to take the internal temperature of the stupid fish to know it's overcooked. I add insult to injury and take the temperature and let's just say, it was way more that 125 degrees Fahrenheit. I announce the "fish is overcooked" and get the response "I'm sure it will be fine". There is a sauce with this recipe so now my thought is to smother the fish in the sauce and it should help. That probably would have been true except this sauce is made with lemon juice, Dijon mustard and shallots. Not the kind of sauce that you want to "smother" anything in really.

So anyways...I did smother the fish with the sauce. The fish was horribly overcooked. I have two more dinners worth of overcooked fish to eat which I guess serves me right.



Here's the recipe. Make sure your thermometer is set to Fahrenheit. Far-en-height!

Ingredients
2 lemons
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill fronds , plus 8-12 dill stems
2 small shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup water
1 skinless salmon fillet (1 3/4 to 2 pounds), about 1 1/2 inches at thickest part, white membrane removed, fillet cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces (see note)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions
1. Cut top and bottom off 1 lemon; cut into 8 to ten 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut remaining lemon into 8 wedges and set aside. Arrange lemon slices in single layer across bottom of 12-inch skillet. Scatter dill stems and 2 tablespoons minced shallots evenly over lemon slices. Add wine and water.

2. Place salmon fillets in skillet, skinned-side down, on top of lemon slices. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent (or until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees), 11 to 16 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using spatula, carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to paper towel-lined plate and tent loosely with foil.

3. Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl; discard solids. Return strained liquid to skillet; whisk in Dijon mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons shallot. Simmer over high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons. Whisk in sour cream and juice from 1reserved lemon wedge; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill fronds. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper. Using spatula, carefully lift and tilt salmon fillets to remove lemon slices. Place salmon on serving platter or individual plates and spoon sauce over top. Serve, passing reserved lemon wedges separately.

Monday, March 1, 2010

The last cheesecake recipe you will ever need.

Cheesecake is just one of those things, isn't it? You either like it or don't. Usually, the cheesecake you get in restaurants is so heavy that you can barely manage one or two bites without feeling overcome with richness. I am not much of a dessert person (it's all about the salt, baby) but when I do eat dessert, I want something light that won't push me over the "bad full" edge. Readers, you know what I am talking about. You go out to eat. You are full after dinner but want dessert because they flaunt the dessert tray right under your nose. You are overtaken by the Jedi mind tricks of the server and BAM! now you are "bad full". Not just full, but unbutton you pants, wish you hadn't been born full. And really, who wants that?

Holy waaaaay off track, Batman. So as I was saying...

I have in my possession, the bestest cheesecake recipe in the universe. I got it from a co-worker about 1 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away. No, but really I used to work in this office and we would have these quarterly pot lucks in the department. One time my co worker brought this cheesecake and I had an out of body experience. She was kind enough to share the recipe which she got from this B&B she and her husband went to once. It is everything that the typical cheesecake is not: It's Light, it's silky and not, and I repeat not heavy!

I bet you could even eat two pieces and still not be "bad full".

I usually serve it with raspberry sauce which gives it a slightly sweet note to the cheesecakes tartness and it's a really good balance. This time, I just put a bunch of fresh strawberries in the food processor and added a bit of sugar. But it's very good just plain. I have been making this recipe for, *ahem* over 14 years and I swear by it.


Buckle your seat belts, you won't use another cheesecake recipe ever again.

(Excuse the crumbs all over the cheesecake in this picture....there were issues getting it onto the plate.)

Crust

2 packages graham crackers
4 tbl unsalted butter
2 1/2 tbl sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Process the above in a food processor pulsing until the crackers are uniform crumbs. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. cool on a wire rack.

Filling

2-8oz packages cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Process all the filling ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and process again to insure that the mixture is well blended. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 25 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.

Topping

2 cups sour cream
2 tbl sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 425. Blend together all ingredients. Cover the cream cheese mixture with the topping. Spoon it on so that it doesn't sink into the cheesecake. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

This isn't the quickest recipe on the planet and you should plan to make it in the morning for that nights dinner so it has time to chill. It is great leftover.

Raspberry sauce - because Sascha will ask.... love you Sasch, muwah!

1 package frozen raspberries, sweetened if you can find them. If not, just get regular and add a teence of sugar.
Let them thaw completely in the sink (still in the package).
Put them in a strainer and press with a spoon to get the juice out leaving the seeds in the strainer. Voila! Raspberry sauce for your cheesecake.