Roasted Pork Loin w/ Sweet Potatoes and Drunken Figs

First off- I apologize for the picture quality. I am in the middle of moving and I seem to have misplaced my camera. These pictures were taken with my laptop's webcam. The pictures came out alright, but I can assure you the food turned out to be excellent.

Roasted Veg

-1 big vidalia onion, cut in half and then into half moon-shaped dices

-6 or so cloves of garlic, still in their natural wrapping

-2 medium sweet potatoes, diced into rounds

-Quite a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil

-Kosher salt, black pepper

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl until all of the vegetables are coated in oil and seasoning. Add them to the roasting pan with the pork loin after the meat broils. It's that simple.

Drunken Figs

-12 or so dried black mission figs, diced in half

-1/2-3/4 cup of good cognac or port (I used the rest of the Remy Martin left over from my Pork au Poivre)

-Good balsamic vinegar.

In a small saucepan, heat the cognac and figs on a stove to about medium heat. Let the figs simmer until the alcohol vapors are gone. Cover the saucepan, and let the figs steep for a while in the cognac until the pork is done. When you are ready to serve the pork, add the figs and the reduced cognac/vinegar mixtures straight in to the veg. It's that simple.

Roasted Pork Loin 

-1 bone-in pork loin, look for one with an ample layer of fat on the top and the rack of ribs underneath. Pick one that looks like it could feed your party

-Kosher salt, black pepper

-Garlic powder

-3 bay leaves (optional)

-Extra virgin olive oil

Lightly coat the bottom of a roasting pan with the olive oil, to make sure the meat doesn't stick to the pan. Salt the pork ALL over. I'm not kidding- this thing should be seasoned more than a pretzel when you're done. Crack some pepper and sprinkle garlic powder all around afterward. Make sure the fat side is UP. Tuck the bay leaves under the roast (they will flavor the drippings and provide a little aromatic to the meat). Set your oven to broil. Cook the meat by itself for about 5-6 minutes or until the entire roast appears white and opaque on the outside, and golden crispy on the top. 

This is what the meat looks like post-broil

Add the veg to the roasting pan and reduce the heat to about 400 degrees for another 3-4 minutes. You want to look for the fatty side to be a little bit brown and the veg to get just a little bit of caramelization. At this point, turn the oven down low- to about 285 degrees. Park the roast in there for about an hour.

After the first hour, pull the pan out, use a turkey baster or a big spoon to pour any oil and drippings over the meat. Once the first basting session is done- cover the pan with foil and put it back in the oven at that low temperature. Continue this every hour or so until you're ready to serve. My roast spent about 4 1/2 hours in the oven-total, and it probably weighed a little over 5lbs. When you are ready to serve the meat, add the figs and fig liquid into the vegetables and let the whole things rest for about 20-30mins in the oven with no heat on. Pour the wine, heat your plates briefly in the microwave, and set the table in the meantime. See below on how to cut the meat.

The Tasting:

The roast turned out pretty well. After letting the meat rest for 30mins in the oven with no heat on, I cut the meat off of the rack of bones. What I was left with were some individual chops with a little bit of that caramelized skin all around the top and then a fatty nub of meat at the end that was just delicious. I spooned the drippings all over the cut meat. The golden hues of the olive oil and rendered pork fat created a "broken" au jus against the dark drops of reduced cognac and balsamic vinegar. The pork was tender, but still held its shape- not like the fall off the bone baby food baby food style pork that you might get from a crock pot or from boiled carnitas (which are good at certain times). The only thing I would have changed would have been to salt it even more in the beginning- OR salt the pork roast the night before and let it sit in the fridge. That's the price I pay for being creative on a whim. 

The sweet potatoes were very soft and were complimented by the onions, which had lost most of their mass and gotten much sweeter. The figs were a little burst of sweetness, distinct (but not overwhelming) flavor from the cognac, and crunch from their seeds. 

The wine changed the way the flavors interacted in my mouth. The alcohol and tannins in the wine easily cleaned the fat and salt from the pork, while leaving a mild cherry flavor in my mouth. If I took a bit of the sweet potato or the figs, the wine would balance out the sugars. After I was done eating, a swallow of the wine would give an earthier flavor and a nice finish. 

The moral of this cooking story is simple: balance. I have never cooked this dish before, but I am familiar with the flavors. Part of this comes out of experience. I know what onions and garlic taste like after roasting in the oven for several hours. I know the texture and the residual sugar that will be left in a sweet potato after its been baked at a low temperature. I know that a pork loin with a nice blanket of fat on top will stay much more juicy in the oven than, for example, a pork tenderloin. Cooking is quite the nurturing activity- you want to make sure that the pork gets broiled enough in the oven so that the fat gets a little crispy- but not burnt. The saltiness of the pork must be balanced by the sweetness of the figs and vegetables. The little amount of vinegar in the drippings plus the alcohol in the wine cuts through the fat in the pork. If you can hone these intuitions and skills then you don't need cooking books and shows. Good ingredients and a little imagination become your inspiration.

What I'm drinking- Portada Tinto (2006)

Yesterday was a tasting day at my local wine proprietorship. I did what I usually do during a wine store tasting- sip on my glass while I walk around the shop looking for new wines to try out. I knew I was cooking pork, so I wanted a good dry red wine that wouldn't break the bank. I walked by the cases of Bleasdale that was featured in my last post, and was tempted to pick up another bottle of that very drinkable wine. However- I came across a case of this wine, and its interesting description scribbled on the cardboard box. I asked Bruce, the owner of the store, for his opinion and his review reaffirmed my interest. Tannins, big flavor, and made from the same groups as used in port, the fortified after-dinner wine for which PORT-ugal is so famous for. 

So I picked up a bottle for $8.99. Opened it up, poured the first glass, and let the open bottle and the poured glass breathe for about an hour. I was really impressed. A little bit of cherry and currant up front, with a lasting smooth finish. The tannins are certainly present, but they are mild enough so that you don't have to gulp some water after each sip of wine. 

Portuguese wines are unique in their own respects. They usually come dry, but not bone-dry like french wines. They usually have a little bit of fruit up front to help give the wine a little more complexity. If you dig Spanish wines, like rioja or grenache, do yourself a favor and head the the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula for something a little different. Ask for a good recommendation if you can, as I have had a couple, cheaper Portuguese wines that were dry in all the wrong ways. I would certainly try this wine again.

A Meal Inspired

Today's meal has an interesting story. I have been housesitting for some friends that are out of town. As payment for my services rendered, I get access to their wonderful vegetable and herb garden. I'm lucky that summer squash and zucchini have been sprouting like weeds to past few days, so I am utilizing a lot of those vegetables in my daily meals (more on this in a later post). For dinner, I planned on baking some bread, frying up some of these truly local veggies, and baking a whole fish or something (something I saw Wolfgang Puck do on the Travel Channel late light night). I put some garlic in the toaster oven to roast, and started mixing my bread ingredients for the auto-lyse period. While the bread was doing its thing, I headed out the door to get the ingredients for the rest of my meal.

My meal plans changed a little bit after hitting up my regular, bi-weekly (thats every other week, not twice a week) wine tasting. During the wine tasting, I browsed a few inexpensive whites to drink with the fish- a good, semi-dry Muscat blend from Spain, some oaked California Chardonnays, etc. Maybe it was because Bruce, my local wine store proprietor, was being a little generous on his pours or maybe it was because I prefer red wine to white wine in all cases, generally, but I ended up buying a great blend of red wine grapes from Australia. This bottle was the last wine featured in the wine tasting, and its taste and inexpensive price left the most lasting impression on me. So I snagged this bottle, and hit the closest Food Lion on the way home. I bought a two-pack of porterhouse steaks to pair with the wine. The two-pack was only $8 on reduction. As the picture shows- these steaks are not super thick. But what these steaks lack in thickness, they certainly make up in length-if you know what I mean. Anyway- the meal came together and turned out to be one of the most delicious creations I've made. 

The lynchpin(s) of this wonderful meal is certainly the inspiration ingredient. It inspiration began with the fresh rosemary, zucchini, and summer squash from the garden, the lasting finish of a good wine,  and a good price on a good steak. Now that you know the backstory, let's get on to the details.

A Feast Tied Together w/ a Sprig of Rosemary

Rosemary-Garlic Bread

• 2cups of flour (I used a 60/40 ratio of King Arthur Bread to All-Purpose Flours)
• 2 tablespoon of SAF yeast (This may be a little overkill, maybe 1.5tb is better)
• 2tbl of kosher salt
• 2tbl of sugar (To supplement my excessive yeast levels)
• 1c of warm water
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped off the stem and diced
• 1 head of garlic, roasted (cut the top off of the bulb so that the cloves are exposed, cover it in extra virgin olive oil, wrap it in foil, and let that sucker fry in the oven at 400 degrees)
• Corn meal (optional- you can use AP flour for dusting)
• Extra virgin olive oil

• Spin all of the ingredients in a mixer, except the garlic and rosemary, until well blended. Let it all sit for about an hour. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a towel so it doesn't dry out. You should notice that the mixture will double or triple in size. 
  
• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, use it now. If not, then use a cookie sheet on a rack.
• Gently scrape the mixture out onto a cutting board that is well-dusted with AP flour. Sprinkle the roasted garlic cloves and rosemary onto the dough.
• Knead the dough for about 2 minutes and try to incorporate the garlic and rosemary throughout the bread.
• If you have a pizza paddle, sprinkle it with AP flour or corn meal (as I used). Place the dough on the paddle and make sure it isn't sticking to the paddle. Brush or spread some extra virgin olive oil on the top of the dough to help it brown slowly. Otherwise, the top will be burnt and the inside with be raw.
• Place the dough on your pizza stone or cookie sheet. Let it bake for about 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
• Serve it with some butter or a extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper for dipping.

Zucchini and Summer Squash w/ Rosemary

*Note- eyeball the amount of vegetables you'll need. For my big appetite, I used a fourth of a huge zucchini and a fourth of a squash

• summer squash, cut into fourths and then diced into medium chunks
• zucchini, cut the same as the squash
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt, pepper
• red pepper flakes
• garlic powder
• lemon juice (optional- it adds a little brightness)

• Cook the veggies on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, season them with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic power. 
• Turn the heat off after 2 minutes and cover the pan. The veggies will continue to cook for at least 5 minutes, or until the steaks are done, but they will still retain a little bit of crunch. 
• Squeeze a little lemon juice right before serving if you desire (I did). 

Rosemary-Rubbed Steaks

• Pick your favorite steak (I recommend a rib-eye, but I used a porterhouse because it was affordable)
• Kosher salt, pepper
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, stripped off the stem and diced fine

• Take the salt, pepper, and rosemary and grind them with the side of your knife or a mortar and pestle if you have a set. The rub should be mostly salt- you don't want the rosemary to completely dominate the steak. The salt and pepper act as an abrasive that will release the essential oils from the rosemary.
• If you like your steaks on the rare side, take them out of the fridge and let them sit out on the counter for at least 30mins before cooking. This ensures more even cooking.
• Use a cast iron pan if you have it- if not then use what you have. Whatever cooking vessel you use- turn it up the heat to high.
• Cover the steak with the rub. 
• Spray the pan with non-stick canola or vegetable spray. I prefer this to olive oil because the non stick spray does not burn quite as easily as olive oil.
• Cook the steak. I will not get into specific cooking times because stoves, steak thicknesses, pre-cooking temperatures- all vary. I usually just let my steaks cook 2-3 minutes on each side, just until you start seeing a little brown. I try not to overdo it because I hate a well-done steak, but that's me. 
• Let the steak "rest" on the plate for at least 2 minutes after cooking. This retains the natural juices in the meat, not on your plate. 

That was it- one of the most fantastic meals I've cooked...myself, if I may say so. But there's more!

What I am Drinking- Bleasdale, Langahore Crossing (2006) - $9-12

This Australian wine is a blend of cabernet (52%), malbec (27%), shiraz (15%), and petit verdot (6%). Those Aussies love their blend of old world and new world grapes and flavors. This red has a blackberry and slight spicy nose, and a cassis or currant taste on the tongue. The finish is dry, but quick. Not too many lasting tannins here. It really does a good job taming such a strong, woody herb like rosemary. Overall it is absolutely delicious, easy drinking, and very affordable.

(Vegetarian-Friendly) Lasagna Rolls

Who doesn't love lasagna? How many people like to make their own lasagna? Odds are, the answers to these questions are very similar (no one!). It's a shame that whenever the average American gets the lasagna fix, we have to settle for a frozen entree that either takes 2 hours in the oven or finishes as a watery mess in the microwave. This recipe is one that is inspired by a lasagna roll recipe that I saw on Giada's "Everyday Italian" the other day. Although I am a little inclined towards everything Giada, I thought this recipe was clever and a less-intimidating version of the traditional Italian dish. 

The version that I adapted uses a lot of stuff that I already had in my fridge/freezer. I decided to try it vegetarian style utilizing a lot of fresh herbs from my backyard, potted garden. The lasagna can be filled with whatever your heart desires (including meat).

Lasagna Rolls

• 1 pack of dried lasagna pasta
• 2 packages of frozen spinach
• 1lb of ricotta cheese (I used part-skim to lower the calorie count)
• Lots of parmesan cheese (or better quality, like parm-reggiano)
• Whipping cream (optional- could probably be swapped for olive oil)
• Plenty of kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Little dash of cinnamon or fresh nutmeg (because it's in all lasagna recipes)
• Dried red pepper flakes (optional- if ya like it hot!)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced fine
• Lots of diced fresh herbs (I used basil, Italian flat leaf parsley, and a little thyme)
• Low-moisture mozzarella cheese (either the shredded stuff in a bag or the whole mozz that is throughly dried by wrapping it in a paper towel)
• Tomato sauce (I used a mixture of leftover uncooked pizza sauce and bottled Prego brand)

Action time!:

• Remove the frozen spinach from the carton and place it in a microwave safe container for 3 minutes or until its thawed. Let the spinach hang out until its cool to the touch. Then grab it into a big ball and squeeze the residual liquid out. If the spinach is not dry, odds are you will get some water-logged pasta. We want the pasta to soak up the liquid from the tomato sauce anyway, not spinach juice.
• Get a pot (big enough for the lasagna sheets) of boiling water started.
• Mix the spinach with the ricotta, a big handful or two of finely grated parmesan cheese, the diced herbs, garlic, and the dry seasonings. Mix them together until well blended. To get the ricotta to spinach ratio correct, see the picture of my mix. If your filling looks too dry, then add a little cream or olive oil. 
• Once the water comes to boil, add a handful of kosher salt to the water. Always season your pasta water with salt! No one likes bland pasta flavor. The water should be slightly salty to the taste. Some people say it should taste like ocean water, but I have some bad memories of swallowing water as salty as the sea...so I take it a little easier. 
• Add the pasta sheets 3 or 4 at a time to the pot and stir them with tongs to make sure they don't stick. Let them cook for about 7-8 minutes a batch or until the pasta is bendy and pliable without breaking. You want a really al dente pasta that will soften in the oven. Overcooking the pasta is another source of soggy lasagna.
• Fill each sheet with the filling, as pictured. You don't want to overstuff them so that the filling oozes out of the sides when you roll them up. After lining each sheet with filling, then roll the lasagna up like a sleeping bag. Repeat with each batch as they come out of the pot (if you wait too long, the pasta will dry out and break). 

Runways of flavor

• Stack each lasagna roll, side by side, into a oven safe dish that is lined with a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom. 

Ready and rolled!

• Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, with a rack in the middle of the oven.
• Spoon some more tomato sauce on each of the lasagna rolls and make sure that the pasta is well covered by sauce. You don't want any dried, uncooked pasta coming out of the oven. 
• Liberally sprinkle some more parmesan on top of the lasagna rolls.
• Top the rolls with mozzarella cheese. I used some leftover fresh mozz from last week's pizza night that I just tore apart by hand for a rustic look.
• Pop the dish in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the pasta has finished cooking through.

 

Before- and after- baking

• Let the lasagna rest for 3-4 minutes before serving and enjoy! The herbs really pop and add a nice complexity, without the meat. The cinnamon is barely noticeable, but it leaves a nice, savory lingering flavor in your mouth.

 

Check out the caramelization on that cheese- yum!

Ok, I claimed this dish was vegetarian friendly but I cheated a little. As I was filling my lasagna rolls, I realized I didn't make enough filling (the amounts listed above should be enough though). I quickly whipped up another batch of spinach-ricotta-and prosciutto filling made up with some left over meat from my fig-goat cheese-prosciutto pizza night. Giada's recipe also orignially used prosciutto. The prosciutto batch had a little bit of sweetness. Moral of the story: utilize what you like and what you have on stock in your fridge if you can. 

pork au poivre

Today, I am making a pork spin-off of a traditional French dish: steak au poivre (pepper steak). True steak au poivre is a staple of French bistros, and involves a thick-cut NY strip steak or a filet mignon heavily seasoned in coarse ground pepper with a creamy cognac sauce. I was watching Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" feature his restaurants, the Les Halles bistro in NYC. My version uses a bone-in pork chop because they are cheap and are basically a culinary blank palette- you can do almost anything with it. The result is a blend of flavors: the saltiness and black-pepper heat from the pork chops balance the fruity and slightly sweet cream sauce. 

Like a t-bone, this cut of pork chop offers a great blend of really tender and really tasty parts of the pig. Notice a good amount of fat along the side- this adds flavor and keeps the pork moist

In all honesty, I bought my chops as part of a sale-priced value pack so they aren't cut super thick like the type of meat usually used for steak au poivre. That's ok for me because you have to cook pork all the way through, unlike steak. You can use thick cut pork chops, but just make sure its cooked completely. Anywho- on to the recipe!

Pork au poivre with roasted garlic potatoes

Ingredients:

For the potatoes:

• 2 medium Potatoes, your favorite variety, cubed (rinsed and/or scrubbed, skins on)
• 4 garlic cloves (papery wrapper still on, trust me)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Fresh thyme, rosemary (optional)

For the pork and pan sauce:

• Pork chops, one per person
• Olive oil
• Coarse ground black pepper
• Kosher salt
• Shallots or onions, diced (I used red onions, but you can use yellow or white but probably not Vidalia)
• Heavy cream
• Cognac (if you aren't a frequent sipper of the "yac" then you can get a few of those mini-bottles from the liquor store)

I used a bottle of Remy Martin VSOP that we had around the house

Directions

• Prepare the potatoes in advance by tossing the garlic cloves and cubed potatoes in olive oil in a large piece of aluminum foil (If the potatoes aren't coated, they will stick to the foil). Leaving the garlic in the paper helps them to roast and develop a really nice sweetness (and you can easily peel the paper off when its cooked). 

The pouch- before cooking

• Season the garlic and potatoes with salt and pepper.
• Toss in your favorite fresh herb if you want. This part is just another slight flavor enhancer. The real star of this dish is the pork.
• Fold the foil to make a pouch for the potatoes to steam in and bake the pouch around 400 degrees until the potatoes have softened all the way through. If you want, you can just roast them on the foil, not in a pouch, at a lower temperature. This will give you a drier, crispier potato with more caramelization. It's your choice.

The pouch after cooking

Roasted garlic - that dark brown color is what you should be shooting for

• Sauté the onions or shallots in a pan with olive oil and a little salt n pepa on medium heat until they get soft and semi-translucent.
• Season the pork chops with salt and lots of pepper (see the picture).
• Cook the pork chops on another pan on medium high for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. If you chose the thick cut pork chops, I would leave them on the counter for 20mins to warm up to room temp a little before cooking them and/or finish the seared chops in a warm oven for a few minutes to make sure they are done.
• Turn the heat off the chops when they are done, leave them in the pan.
• Pour a healthy double shot of cognac into the pan with the onions and stir. Let the alcohol cook off for a few seconds.
• Add a little pour of heavy cream into the cognac and onions. The color you are looking for is a light brown (see the picture). 
• Stir and adjust any seasoning (salt and/or pepper). 

At this point you can either toss the pork chops into the pan with the sauce or you can pour the sauce directly on the chops. Garnish your prized pork with some of those roasted garlic-fragrant potatoes. 

A note on drinks - Rosé:

My drinking preferences change with the seasons. In the summer, I enjoy a little dry, chilled rosé. Yeah it's pink, so what? Europeans drink rosé throughout the summer. This stuff isn't sweet like Franzia or André blush. It has subtle flavors that range from cherry and strawberry to pomegranate. It's crisp, clean, and got a little more body than a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio and can hold up to meatier dishes.

Sol Angélys - Tavel, France

To pare with my French-inspired pork au poivre, I am drinking a rosé from Tavel, France- one of the most famous cities for making rosé. I snagged this bottle after a recommendation from my local wine store proprietor for $12. Any guys who feel emasculated by drinking a pink wine can do a few pushups after dinner while watching the Spike channel.

getting your fried chicken fix

this post comes remote from winston-salem, nc. i will be back in the 'burg on monday.

maybe it's the little bit of southern in me, but every now and then i get a craving for fried chicken. however, fried chicken is sometimes a guilty pleasure because it obviously packs a lot of calories. some people might have trouble finding good fried chicken around them (KFC does not count). if youve ever tried making real fried chicken in your house, you know it isnt easy. you need a deep pan, a lot of oil (which splatters everywhere), and the chicken can be done on the outside but not done on the inside. thats why i save the real fried chicken for restaurants with pressurized deep fryers or grannies from the south. i like the idea of using chicken tenderloins because they are small and cook quickly. you dont need to worry if the meat around the bone cooked all the way through because there's no bone and no huge amount of breast meat to cook through. this is a great dish for guys with little cooking experience (yeah im stereotyping) to make for their dates because its fast and tasty, and you can play with the presentation to make it look playful and special.  

so- i am presenting a dish i made with some ingredients that are usually found around the house:

• frozen chicken tenderloins/fingers, unbreaded (thawed in room temperature water for an hour or so)
• 1-2 eggs (depending on the size)
• italian breadcrumbs (or season them yourself)
• corn meal
• seasoned salt
• pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• box of store-bought wild rice mix (reduced sodium, preferably)
• fresh tomatoes and herbs, for garnish (i used basil, chives, and lemon thyme)

first- that your chicken by putting them in room temp water and letting them hang out for an hour. you can start on the wild rice. most directions usually involves pouring the rice, seasoning mix, and some margarine or olive oil in a small sauce pan and letting it simmer for 20-30mins. once the rice is soft, you can turn off the heat and let it hang out on the stove- itll stay warm for a while. you can also substitute some saffron/yellow rice (which come in packets for like 80 cents) instead of wild rice. 

get two shallow containers, whether they are bowls or tupperware dishes, and fill one with the eggs, scrambled, and enough italian breadcrumbs to coat the bottom of the container. dash a little bit of corn meal in the breadcrumb mixture (this adds a little crunch). season the breadcrumbs with seasoned salt and black pepper. you can even add some cayenne pepper if you like things a little spicy. 

after the chicken is thawed, set them on some paper towels in order to absorb any extra moisture. pour some extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of a pan on medium-high heat. 

once the pan is hot, dip your first chicken tenderloin into the egg wash, let the excess drip off, and then toss it in the breadcrumb mixture. after shaking the excess crumbs, gently PLACE the chicken in the hot oil. repeat with the rest of the chicken. if you are making several batches of these fried chicken fingers, dont crowd the pan with more than 4 or so of them, or else the oil temperature will drop too much. turn the chicken once they are golden brown. because you are using chicken tenderloins, it should not take too long to cook. once they are done on both sides, you can let them cool for a sec on some paper towels (which absorbs some extra oil, preventing oil-logged chicken). 

scoop the rice in the middle of the plate, and slant the chicken tenderloins on top of the pile of rice for each plate (i used 4 because ive got quite the appetite). garnish it with some halved cherry tomatoes or fresh herbs. be creative and play with the colors. you can even turn up the impress factor by pairing the dish with a great glass of wine. i used cardinal point's dry riesling (around $11-12), an excellent local white wine from near charlottesville. 

i know this isnt the most groundbreaking dish ever, but its a good example of a delicious meal that you can make at home without breaking the bank at the grocery store, heck you dont even need to make an extra trip to the store!

pizza pt. 2 - wet dough

i went home to richmond for the weekend to hang out with some friends and the family. i spent some time at my best friend's apartment in downtown richmond, and he showed me some tips to improve my pizza game. this guy has been making pizza in his kitchen for several months now, and has the process down pretty well. he made four pizzas with dough that rose in his fridge for about 24hrs. the dough was soft and spread almost instantly; no dough wrestling that resulted in any pizzas shaped like africa (see my first pizza trial). he used cento brand italian plum tomatoes that were seeded, rinsed, and drained to minimize bitterness and "steel can flavor." when the pizzas came out of the oven, there were great gluten bubbles in the crust, although i felt the pizza could have been left in the oven for 30secs more or so to give the crust a little more structure (it was almost too soft). however, this pizza is more like the pizza that im aiming for. to better understand his pizza process, he introduced me to a link:

http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm

this guy, jeff varasano, was a software engineer turned pizza obsessor. he has spent countless hours testing almost every conceivable ingredient and technique in making the perfect basic, neapolitan pizza in his home kitchen. his instructions are often too detailed and a little too risky for my student apartment (no thanks to clipping the safety handle off of my oven's clean cycle- id like to get the security deposit back on my apartment).  however, i feel like his site is very helpful and practical if you take some things with a grain of salt. 

jeff emphasizes 3 things: 1) heat, 2) kneading technique, 3) yeast type. of the three, i have the most control over #2). my buddy is planning on growing his own italian yeast culture, but i am sticking with the store bought stuff for now because it's easily available and i want other people to replicate my recipes on this blog whenever possible. traditional pizzas are usually cooked in brick ovens which burn well over 800-1000 degrees (F), while the normal kitchen can only bake around 500-550. my oven dial goes up to 525ish on the bake cycle, but could probably get higher if i then switch it to the broil cycle (which i think is how my friend made his pizzas). in theory, my oven could cook over 900 degress on the clean cycle if i did the "varasano" mod on my oven- but im not. anyway- jeff quotes a recipe in his site that is very similar to what i was doing, except he says it is WRONG. haha! ohhh well. cooking is a process, remember? the first few trials did give me a feel for handling the dough and gave me confidence with working with flour (not my favorite cooking ingredient to manipulate). i plan on making some more dough with the following modifications:

• using a MIXTURE of king arthur (KA) brand AP flour and KA brand bread flour, for added gluten and a better crust. this is similar to what jeff and my friend use. ill probably use a little less than a 50-50 ratio of bread to AP flour.
• AUTO-LYSE step of making the dough- this is something that is common in breadmaking. basically, you add all of your ingredients into the mixer with the paddle attachment (but reserve a little of the flour), and mix until it all of the ingredients are a wet dough. then let the wet dough rest in the mixer for about 20 minutes. apparently this is a more effective method of developing gluten in your dough/bread. after 20mins then you can knead.
• kneading a WET DOUGH for only 30 secs-1 minute. i dunno why this didnt make more sense to me earlier. good eats led me to believe that the dough should be a little drier and that it should spin in the mixer for 15mins. apparently not. think about pancake batter: you dont want to overwork/mix the batter or else your pancakes will not get fluffy and soft. jeff's page is really good on telling you what the consistency should be like (like a baby's bottom-ha!). quickly kneading a wet dough on some flour using a hand tuck and fold method (more on this in subsequent posts) will probably be more effective.
• using less olive oil when putting the dough in the fridge to rise. the oil burns at higher temperatures and can give off some funky tastes and blacken your pizza stone. 
• using uncooked tomatoes in the sauce, for a fresher sauce. theres no need to cook it twice. i cooked my marinara the first time to tweak the flavor of my kroger tomatoes of unknown taste and quality. next time, ill get something of a little better quality. 

unfortunately, i will be away from kitchen for the next few days and will be in winston-salem for a debate conference. the next few updates will be a mixture of describing some of my more classic recipes and reporting on the excellent food finds from NC. 

***UPDATE***

i made pizza from the last bit of dough leftover from the batch i made last thursday. this dough was rested for basically 5 days and it had an extremely soft texture, similar to the texture i felt at my friend's (or "baby bottom soft" as varasano would put it). this dough ball was super easy to stretch, and i got the pizza quite thin (as you can see from the pictures). i baked it at 550 degrees (the highest my oven does on "bake") since i was inspired by my findings on the effect of heat on the quality of pizza. it took a little more than 4mins to cook, whereas the pizzas i baked around 500-520 degrees took over 5-6 minutes. there was some decent puff on the crust but i still need to tweak the recipe. overall- dough that has rested for several days isnt too bad of a thing. 

im a fan of basil baked under the cheese as well as fresh basil after the pizza has cooled for 2-3 minutes (or else it will blacken). the baked basil is crispy and has a slightly sweet taste while the fresh basil is pungent and full of flavor. 

this cross section shows how thin the pizza was, and how part of the crust didnt rise and bubble too much. 

same slice of pizza from the other side- many more gluten bubbles. 

just a little bottom shot- a little bit of good charring around the top edge of the pizza. i credit this to the higher temp.

pizza party

after testing out some pizzas with some food lion mozzarella and prego sauce, i stepped it up a notch for some friends coming into town. i made a traditional pizza margherita with homemade marinara and smoked mozzarella cheese and a prosciutto and goat cheese pizza with homemade black mission fig spread. 

 

on the fig pizza (above, right slices), you can see how my crust has some nice air bubbles below the surface of the crust. these are OK bubbles, as it makes for a more airy crust. i guess this game about from my rolling skills before the final proofing of the dough. below is a second pizza margerita that i made, and i think it has the best crust of them all:

my experimentation with pizza

i decided my first substantive post would be of my current project: pizza. if youve ever had homemade pizza or really good pizza from a restaurant, you know that delivery pizza is never a substitute for the real thing. some downtime during the summer gave me the opportunity to test out my pizza making skills. i first did some research by reading some pizza dough recipes, watched a few youtube clips (including the good eats - thin is beautiful episode), and consulting my friend (who is a veteran of at-home pizza making). next- i got the right equipment. this basically involved a mixer and a pizza peel (or paddle). i use the paddle and the dough hook attachment to my mixer. obviously, if you dont have a heavy duty mixer like mine, then you can resort to hand kneeding your dough. this involves mixing the wet ingredients in a "well" made of the dry ingredients. to understand this technique, i suggest youtube'ing a few videos. i use the mixer because its faster and easier. the pizza peel took me a while to get ($15 at the local mennonite farmer's market) because they really considered a speciality kitchen item. check online at places like amazon.com for some more affordable ones. ALSO- use a pizza stone or quarry stone (available from your local lowe's or home depot for cheap) as a surface to cook the pizza directly on top of. the pizza stone stays in your oven on the bottom rack when you preheat the oven and allows for even cooking (see the good eats episode for more info). anyway, onto the ingredients.

in the mixer:

• 2cups all purpose flour (i used king arthur's brand, which is widely available, is high quality, and has a fairly high level of glutenous protein. good eats' alton brown also said that you can also substitute any flour that is made for bread machines, which have high levels of protein also).
• 1 tablespoon of (kosher) salt
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

in a measuring cup or another cooking vessel:

• 3/4 cup of warm water (should be around 100 degrees or just warm enough so that you can feel that the water is warm, not hot.) this should go 
• 1 1/2 tablespoon or so of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast (available in the baking or butter/egg/dairy aisle of most grocery stores)

mix and let the water, sugar and yeast set out in their container for 5-10 minutes. if you are successful, there will be a bunch of frothy bubbles that form on top of the water- that means youre yeast are ready for the pizza party. if you dont see any bubbles, then maybe your water was too warm/not warm enough (so try again) or maybe your yeast packet was bad (and the yeast were dead on arrival). 

after your yeast mixture blooms, pour the wet stuff in the mixer with the oil and dry ingredients. i use the paddle attachment on my mixer first and beat the mixer on low (setting 1) until most of the flour is incorporated. after a few clicks at setting 2, i add a little more flour until the dough mixture is just slightly sticky (wet) to the touch. then i scrape off the dough from the paddle and put on the dough hook after greasing it with some cooking spray. i vary the dough hook speed from medium (2-3) and gradually add flour until the dough ball no longer sticks to my fingers (i pull it off of the hook, and hand knead it for a second to get a feel for the dough). this is crucial. if youre dough is too wet, you could mix it for days and still not get a good consistency (which i struggled with badly my first attempt) and if it is too dry (and thus, in need of water), it wont be easy to roll out later. anyway- keep adding flour and beating it in the mixer for about 15-20mins, pulling it off the hook every now and then and if the dough separates into multiple balls. to tell if its done kneeding, i take a golf ball size of dough out and hand pull it, like im making a mini pizza. if you can stretch the dough enough so that you can see your finger behind a thin (drumhead-skin) layer of dough without it tearing, then youre good to go. if not, then keep mixing it and/or add a bit more of flour. 

the next part involves you squeezing the dough so that you make a ball out of it, similar to mozzarella cheese. you want a tight, smooth, skin around the dough ball and pinch the rest behind the dough ball. for more specific technique on this, refer to the good eats video (sorry that i didnt take any pics). then put the ball in a glass/steel/plastic bowl that is roughly 3-4 times larger than the dough ball, smear the ball in olive oil to coat, and put plastic wrap on the bowl. from here- the dough could go one of two ways: 1) park it in a warm area (or just on your countertop) for 30-40mins if you want pizza immediately. 2) park it in your fridge for 24hrs or so and let the dough rise slowly. the latter option is always better for taste, as slower rising dough has more time to develop flavor, however- sometimes you just gotta feed yourself or your buddies in a flash. 

after the dough rises [whether via option 1) or 2)], then i split the dough ball in 2 with a knife (thus giving you enough dough for 2 personal pizzas). with each half, i press and beat it down on the countertop (cleaned of course!) and pop/smooth out any air bubbles that the yeast formed (or else your pizza will explode). after smoothing it down into a thin layer, then reform the dough into a bowl like you did earlier. let that dough ball rest for anywhere from 15 (if your dough was at room temp) to 30 (if you took your dough out of the fridge) minutes. it should feel sorta like the dough you get from those pilsbury cans, room temp and sorta spongy, before you try to roll out your pizza. 

after this proofing, its time to roll. on a pizza peel/plate/cutting board/turned over cookie sheet dusted with flour, you can begin to roll out your pizza. i do the stretch from the center and pull method, so that i can get a gentle, even pull while trying to minimize and breakage. this takes some trial and error. just try and get the pizza dough as even as possible and make it fairly thin. ive found that the best thickness of the crust results from a little bit of rolling (using a wooden rolling pin/wine bottle with the stickers removed) dusted with flour. this gave me an even crust that wasnt too thick. if youre dough keep stretching it, then maybe you should let the dough sit for a few more minutes and try again.

at this point, preheat your oven to its max temperature (BELOW CLEAN/BROIL!) which should be around 500-525 degrees. yes it will probably smell of burnt cheese from all those lame frozen pizzas that have dripped in your oven, so it wouldnt hurt to turn on your fan/open the windows if you can. 

 

after you have some sort of shape (my first trial resembled the shape of africa) stretched out on your pizza peel, shake the peel back and forth to make sure that your pizza dough slides easily on/off of it. if not, then add more flour before preceding to the toppings. first, brush the crust with olive oil to help it brown without burning. dont make the crust too large, as it will expand in the oven. next- put a little bit of sauce in the middle and swirl it around. DO NOT dump a bunch of sauce on your pizza. this will result in a lake of liquid in the middle. pizza places use less sauce than you imagine- you just want enough to barely coat the non-crust of the pizza. you can use a canned/bottled tomato sauce or make your own. next- add whatever spices you like on top of the sauce: red pepper flake, oregano, etc. i also like to add some fresh basil from my herb garden at this stage because this basil crisps up (without burning) under the layer of cheese to make a more intense basil flavor. the next layer is cheese- i use low moisture mozzarella (the shredded kind in a bag is fine) and a little bit of parmesan for flavor. slide your pizza on your peel as a double check and into the oven it goes (make sure its preheated)!

this suckers dont take long to cook- less than ten minutes. check after about 4 minutes. pop any giant air bubbles that form in the crust with a knife and let it cook until the edges of the crust are just barely golden brown and the cheese is melted. slide your peel/plate under the pizza (dont burn yourself- its hot in there!) and admire your pizza while it cools for 3mins or so. after cooling, you can add more fresh basil on top and youve got a pizza fit for a king! actually- youre first few runs will probably turn out less than desirable. dont quit though! ill post some pictures of my pizza creations in the next post. good luck!

testing the water

im a fairly normal college student who cooks much more than the normal college student. i grew up around my mother in the kitchen and spent a lot of time as a kid making my own meals while my parents were at work. i feel that food is not only vital to life, but its also a way to better understand places both near and far, whether you are searing a piece of locally-raised beef or using some special blend of spices from the far east. the goal of this blog will be to record and share some of the creations that i've made in my own kitchen. i hope to make these sort of recipes accessible to most people. great dishes need not be flashy (although a little presentation goes a long way!). i will emphasize a lot of the techniques and the steps that i used to reach each end result, because cooking is always a constant trial and error process of refinement. this author is barely testing the water of culinary perfection.