Pizza to weather the storm

If you have not heard, there is a hurricane with my name on it, ravaging through the North East.  With nothing else to do, I finally spent the whole day exactly how I wanted, cooking.  I figured that taking another shot at making perfect pizza would probably not be a waste of time, as I had plenty of it.  I also had plenty of King Athur’s pizza flour, which I so optimistically bought in the beginning of the summer.  Actually, I bought enough to make pizza every day for 2 months, but somehow did not get around to it.  Perfect pizza scares me; I am very particular about the kind of pizza I like.  It has to be thin, crispy and not just on the edges.  It has to have the perfect balance of tomatoes to cheese and it has to be made with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.   Over the years I made plenty of attempts at the perfect pizza, having a husband who can toss the perfect crust, seemed encouraging, but the problems persisted.  Our biggest problem was the sogginess… Even when we did not overload the pie, the pizza never got crispy in the middle, the liquid from the tomatoes and the mozzarella prevented that.  The perfect crust was elusive at best.  All the recipes I ever tried, had always yielded either to soft or too tight of the dough, but I knew what the perfect dough was supposed to feel like.  I do buy pizza dough from a local pizzeria that mastered the perfect crust.  So on this rainy and miserable pre-hurricane morning, I thought about the problems I have been having… it seems that thinking before doing is not such a bad idea after all.  The result was perfect, tips and tricks are below.

Oh,  and major brownie points to my husband who tosses the perfect pie, with the pizzazz and flare, singing Mezza Luna… and, yes, he washes the dishes too!   

Perfect Pizza crust.

Makes three 12” pizzas or two 14” ones

3 ¼ cup of King Arthur Pizza flour ( if using bread flour, start with 3 cups)
1 ½ cups of warm water

2 tsp instant yeast

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tbs olive oil

Mix the four, yeast, salt and olive oil.  Add water a little bit at the time, kneading the dough with the dough hook of the standing mixer.  If kneading by hand, add most of the water all at once, reserving a bit to add when the dough already came together.  Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and stretchy, about 5 minutes ( of done with the mixer, 12 -15 min by hand).  Divide the dough into pie portions ( 2 or 3.  Resist the urge to make “super pizza pie” with all the dough at once).  Knead each portion of the dough individually for another 5 minutes, than form into a balls, cover and let rise at room temperature for about 1.5 hrs or until doubled in size.

After the initial rise, re-knead each dough portion, form into a ball, flour generously and wrap in plastic.  Let rest in the fridge overnight or at least for a few hours before baking.  The dough can also be frozen at this point.

For the perfect pizza.

6 – 8 Roma or plum tomatoes slowly roasted (recipe follows)

2 cloves of roasted Garlic

1 lb of fresh mozzarella drained (draining instructions below)

1 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese or combination of parmesan and pecorino.

2 tbs of olive oil

Fresh basil

Spicy dry Italian sausage or pepperoni (optional)

Roma or plum tomatoes are a perfect choice here, they are meaty, but when fresh lack that great tomato taste.  Once you slow roast them, the flavor concentrates and they become the most beloved condiment in your fridge.  Roast a whole bunch and store in a tight container.  I put them on everything, from pizza, pasta, omelets to salads.  

Seed the tomatoes, than cut them into thick rounds.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle of sugar, salt and pepper and roast at 250F – 265F oven for 2 – 2.5 hrs until they gave off most of their juice.  Toss a few garlic cloves coated well with olive oil and you have roasted garlic as well.

Here is what they look like out of the oven

Most fresh mozzarella comes in various states of dryness, most, even if looking fairly dry are not.  So before you decide to make pizza, cut up your mozzarella into slices, wrap in generous amount of paper towels and put something heavy on top like a pot full with water or a large heavy skillet.  Let the paper towels absorb the moisture, than change them a few times until no significant amount is absorbed any more.

Ok, back to pizza.  Preheat the stove to the highest temperature available (mine is 550F -  I wish it went higher).  Place your quarry tiles or a baking stone on the lowest rack and make sure that the tiles are fully pre-heated, that means at least 2 min should pass from the time the oven came to full temperature.

Roll out the crust on a pizza peel covered with coned meal.  Crush 2 roasted garlic cloves with 2 tbs of olive oil, mixing into an even paste.  Brush the olive oil, garlic paste onto the crust with a pastry brush, making sure to cover the edges well.  Place the roasted tomatoes evenly on the crust.  

Followed by mozzarella, sausage (if using) and basil.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Do not overload the pizza or it will be soggy. 

Oh, and dont forget the glass of wine for the cook!

Working quickly transfer the pie from the peel to the baking surface.  Here you will find out how good of the job you did dusting the peel with cornmeal. 

Bake the pizza 10 -12 min, until the crust is well browned, and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let cool 5 min before serving. 

With over a 100 bottles of wine in my basement and food like this, who cares about some stupid hurricane!

Summer in a Jar - Peach Jam

It has been a year since my first blog post… so Happy Birthday, InFoodITrust!!!  God knows, I learned a lot this year.  For example, I learned you can cook a great meal and not be able to post it because the pictures are terrible.  I learned that you actually have to remember or write down the recipes as you cook, otherwise you look really, really stupid when your recipes don’t work.    I learned that a large, elaborate cooking project like Thanksgiving or a big party is not the best material for the blog.  By the time you get around to plating and taking pictures, your kitchen is a mess and you are not quite sober, so all that hard work looks terrible on film.  I also learned that even if I try really, really hard, I will never post everything I cook and I will never cook everything I want to… so no pressure…

Now back to summer.  There comes a day in a life of every peach, when it will go from perfectly juicy and ripe, to spoiled.  You have to head off that moment and give that perfectly ripe peach the destiny it really deserves, which to become jam. 

This time of the year is peach time in my house.  We go peach picking and sort of loose ourselves in the orchard.  We get seduced by this sexy fruit, by its fragrance, fuzzy skin and sunset colors. 

We lose our heads and over pick.  By a lot.  

Way more than the four of us can ever eat, without ending up in the ER.  This means I will be stuck with 40 pounds of peaches, which will begin to spoil in a few days, I will have to get really creative.

So, this is how peach cheesecakes are born, along with various salads with peaches, and sauces with peaches( I have a great peach and chili sauce I will post one of these days), I tried to make peach bread once ( did not work out).  But honestly, all these creative ways do not consume the amount of fruit I need, I still have way too much, beginning to go dangerously soft.  So, jam it is.  I will be honest, I hate making jams.  I love eating them, cooking with them, even looking at the pretty colors in the jars, but I hate making them.  They take long time, require you to stand by the stove and babysit them so they do not over boil, and will still do so, the second you turn around.  They make a mess, no matter how cleanly you are working, every surface will be sticky and attract every ant in you state, no matter how many time you wash them.  You will spill hot jam somewhere on your body and you will always burn your fingers handling the jars, but it is all worth it in the end.  When you pop that can open later and spread a thin layer onto crusty buttered bread… well, let’s just say, a little suffering makes it so much better.

I had a ridiculous amount of fruit and ended up with way more jam than I need, running out of jars, but I am sure I can make a few folks happy by giving it away, on the condition of returned jars of course.

Peach Jam

*** This jam needs to be refrigerated.

6 cups of ripe peaches cut up as small or large as you like (I prefer a chunkier jam)

4 cups of sugar

Julice of 3 lemons

1 packet of original pectin ( optional, see Note)

Combine the peaches, sugar and lemon juice and bring to a rolling boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer.  Make sure the mixture does not over boil and skim the foam from the surface periodically or you will not end up with clear jam.   The mixture should be reduced until it begins to “Gel”, which is anywhere between 235F and 245F.  Don’t guess, use the thermometer.  When the temperature of 235F is reached you can begin testing by putting a few drops onto a frozen plate.  If the mixture looks like gel, and begins to wrinkle at the surface, you jam is ready.

Note:  If patience is not your virtue, you can add pectin powder to your jam any time after 220F mark.  Boil for a few minutes and you are ready to jar.

Run your jars either under boiling water or through the hottest cycle of your dishwasher.  Do not overfill the jars and seal them tightly.  Refrigerate the jam, it will keep for a few weeks at least, sometimes much longer.

Now if this is not summer in jar, I don’t know what is!

Philly cheesesteaks in New Jersey.

The doggy days of summer are starting to get to me, that is to say I am getting lazy.  I am not feeling an urge to stand by the hot kitchen stove.  All I want to do is chill by the pool with a glass of summer wine and play hooky from work.  So when I had to feed a whole bunch of kids a nice feeling meal, I thought of street food.  After all, it is quick, easy, and does not include a list of ingredients a mile long.  I was so lazy that even burgers were not an option, so when I saw shaved beef in the store I immediately thought of Philly cheese steaks.  Ultimate decadent street food, when cooked right.  Born on the streets of Philadelphia in the 30’s, originally it was chopped steak served with sautéed onions in a soft roll.   The original version sold at the Philly Italian market was made without cheese.  Provolone was added later.  There are horror stories of major rivalries, which include the famous Cheese Wiz or Provolone question.  The standoff continues even in my household, with my husband in the Provolone camp and myself firmly on the Cheese Wiz side. 

The whole process takes 20 minutes, I promise and is too simple to screw up.  So if you have a soft spot for ultimate street food or nostalgia for the streets of Philly, go ahead and try these. 

Philly Cheesesteaks. ( makes 6)

2 med yellow onions thinly sliced

1 bell pepper any color thinly sliced

2 cups of sliced button mushrooms ( optional)

2 lbs of shaved beef steak

1 lbs of thinly sliced Provolone cheese or Cheese Wiz

6 freshly baked hoagie rolls.

1 tbs butter

Olive oil

1 tbs of sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat  a large skillet.  Melt the butter and olive oil.  Add mushrooms if using and let the brown on all sides.  Do not salt the mushrooms or they will take a longer time to brown.  Lower the heat to low-med, add the onions and the peppers.  Add sugar, salt and pepper.  Cook the vegetables on low heat stirring often until translucent and start to caramelize. 

In the meantime preheat a griddle on the grill or stove.  Make sure it is piping hot.  Add a little bit of olive oil and cook the shaved meat in batches, taking care not to overload the surface.  Season the meat with salt and pepper.  When the meat is cooked through and well browned, stir in the onion mixture. 

Split each hoagie roll length wise and line with cheese.  Cover the beef mixture with cheese slices and let them melt for a minute or so.  Using two spatulas separate the meat, onion and cheese mixture into six equal portions and place each in the hoagie roll lined with more cheese.

Keeps the teens happy and that says a lot!

Travels and tastes of Virginia

It is no secret that I love food, but more than food I love wine and travel.  And when you can put them all together into one experience, this makes my perfect holiday.  Last summer, before this blog was born, we went away to our first wine tasting weekend up to the New York Finger lakes region.  The trip left me mesmerized and I wowed to take the same type of trip every year to different wine countries. What can possibly be better than driving through beautiful country sides, from vinery to vinery, taking in the sites, the scents and the buzz?   This year, we decided on Central Virginia’s Monticello region mostly for practical reasons, not knowing what to expect in terms of wine or countryside.  The trip was unforgettable.

Central Virginia is absolutely beautiful, covered in gorgeous meadow farms.  The long narrow roads, winding in the woods.  The little ponds and lakes and bright houses with rocking chairs out on the southern porches.  There is just a hint of the Southern charm peeking through in people and places you encounter.  It is the glimpse of a house flying a Confederate flag instead of the US one, it is the fields covered in wild flowers, it is country music played in the streets of Charlottesville, and the beautiful vineyards nested between the rolling hills.

The wineries range from tiny, one obsessed winemaker owned, to huge Napa style castles.  Some have manicured grounds, complete with anything you need to hold a grand event from a wedding to a polo match.  Some feel almost amusement-park-like, and some are reminiscent of a friend’s living room. 

Virginia is United States third largest wine producer behind California and New York states.  Unlike New York, which produces excellent whites and only a few well deserved reds, Virginia’s reds are much more mature, balanced and varied.  You will find excellent Cab Franks, Merlot and even Petit Verdot, as well as many very successful Bourdoux style blends.  The whites are drier and cleaner, with the Viogneer and Chardonnays as predominant grapes.  After last summer’s Riesling fest up in Finger Lakes, this was a nice surprise. 

With over fifty wineries in a Monticello region, you can’t possibly visit them all in three days.  We certainly tried.  And my basement wine racks are now the proof, as they are filled completely.  I am sure that sometime this winter I will be opening a bottle of wine, and question my reasons for buying it.  I would say that the boozy buzz of all day tastings does leave you to deal with a few misfortunate purchases, but for the most part, there will be no regrets.

We stayed in the most charming bed and breakfast, which in my opinion is the only way to travel to experience all of the region’s character.  It was brightly painted houses, done in the true southern country style.  Thirteen acre property filled with gardens, vines and roaming ducks and chickens. 

A swing set and a beautiful garden has a feel of a doll-house, not quite real, perfect for truly taking your head on complete vacation

The breakfast veranda, reminded me of summer houses we used to rent when I was a kid.  Always brightly covered table, with the feel of permanent summer.  I just can’t imagine this place in the winter, although it must be beautiful.

A gazebo to spend a lazy afternoon, I swear the place has hypnotic powers because your mind stays completely still there.

The endless vineyards,
farms, meadows and ponds. 
I could hardly belive that a hussle and busse of any city even exists anywhere.

It really made me long for a simpler life.

The winery highlights included Pollak winery which had the most amazing Merlot and the grounds with the pretties pond.

Blenheim Vineyard had the best wine, their woman winemaker's touch leaves all of their wines soft and balanced.

The Glass House winery which is done in the very original style of the tropics.  The winery only opened in December of 2010, but the wine is surprisingly good and the grounds are beautiful.

And this is that moment of the day, when all wine tastes pretty much the same and the life is at it’s greatest.

A very needed shot of espresso at the  right time ( right after the buzz starts to wear off and you remeber why a hangover is not the most pleasant way to end the day)

When the you need something other than wine, stop at the local brewery and pick up these jugs of beer to take home - or dink on the spot if you can

If you are feeling brave take a long, wild, very winding road through the woods up to the Stone Mountain Vineyards. If you don't wet your pants driving up there, you will be rewarded with the most amazing view of the valley. 

And on the way back to your busy, crazy life, stop by a truck stop and pick up the real deal southern BBQ and sweet tea.  The kind that can only be found on a side of the road, and has to be eaten on the hood of the car.

Vigrinia was unforgettable and I hope to go back one day.  But for now, every time I open a bottle of it's wine, I will go back to the lazy bright afternoons at the High Meadow B&B, to the fields buzzing with bees, to the sunshine peaking thrugh the branches of the magnolia trees.  And of course to the wonderful tastes and sites of Virginia's wineries and sweet, perfect fruit that is responsible for so much joy in the world.  Because ultimately it was all about the wine.



My very best Chili - seriously!

When I think of chili I think of a bunch of cowboy boot and hat wearing tough guys standing around some frontier town with their guns ready to draw.  Very intimidating picture, but seriously, I think of the 400 yearly cook-offs that take place throughout the country, each cook claiming the most authentic, the most balanced and correct version of a poor man’s stew.  Also very intimidating.  If I were to join one (even the one held yearly in Brooklyn!) would I be laughed out of the park?  What can a girl with the Jewish-Russian background know of proper chili, but I actually think, I got this one in the bag.  It did take quite a few experimental rounds but well worth it.  So maybe next year, I will put away the intimidation and join the fight for the best chili in town, guns blazing and all.

Contrary to a popular belief chili did not originate in Mexico.  If it did, it would still be there today, but it is not, aside from few touristy places.  Chili was the poor man’s stew, the first colonist around South west in 1600 and 1700 hundreds would cook something known as “Spanish stew”, which was no more than a clay pot filled with scraps of meat, minced very fine, beans, bread and lots of local peppers.  The meat was so expensive and hard to come by that it had to be stretched out by adding lots of other things.  Also the meat was basically scraps, which were tough and required a long stewing process to make them palatable. 

Chili is not a name of the dish, as there are thousands of ways to make it, but is named after the tremendous variety of chili peppers that grow in the South West region of US.  The chili became more mainstream with the invention of the chili powder, which no one can claim as their own invention.  It is believed that whoever invented the chili powder deserves a slot in history close to Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite.

I prefer to make Texas style chili, which is all meat and no beans.  I played around quite a bit with meats and spices and finally settled on bison meat as I find it the leanest.  I also find that it adds a bit of ‘gaminess’ to my chili, which I think it traditionally had.

Now comes the spicy questions, how hot can you take it?  In the recipe below I give suggestions for adjusting the spice.  Ultimately, everyone will come up with their comfortable level of heat.  Just to clear things up, my family likes the chili very spicy, but since I normally cook for a bit of an extended audience, I try to tune things down just to please the majority. 

Now another question is how to serve the chili.  Some serve it over rice or pasta (shocked?  This is how it down in Cincinnati).  I totally think it should stay on its own with just a few condiments. 

My best Chili

Note: the recipe below is for 4 lbs of meat.  It can be easily adjusted up or down.

4 lbs of ground bison.  You can substitute by using beef, but stay with a very lean ground meat. 

2 med Spanish onions minced

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup of bacon finely sliced (Optional)

1 pint of beer (I like ale)

½ cup of olive oil

36 oz of crushed fire roasted tomatoes

1 cup of beef stock

1 tbs of toasted ground cumin

1 tbs of smoked paprika

1 tbs of chili powder

1 tbs of Mexican style chili powder

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

½ tsp of ground nutmeg

1 tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional - omit or half if trying to keep the heat down)

1 tbs of ancho chili powder

2 chilies in adobo minced (optional - omit or half if trying to keep the heat down)

2 tbs of adobo sauce

2 tbs of honey

2 tbs of soy sauce

1 lime

 Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all dry spices and mix them together.

In a heavy bottom pot such as a Dutch oven, heat a bit of olive oil and brown all the meat in batches.  Set aside.  If using bacon, brown it until crispy and set aside. 

Using the bacon fat, or olive oil sauté the onions on low heat until tender.  Add the garlic and sauté a few minutes.  Add all the dry spices and the canned chilies in adobo with the adobo sauce.  Let cook a few minutes on low heat, stirring often.

Add the honey, soy sauce and beer and scrape all the brown bits of the bottom of the pan.  Let the mixture cook for 3 – 5 minutes.  Add back the meat and the bacon (if using), tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  The liquid should cover all the meat, if not add the reserved beef stock.

Cover and simmer for 2.5 – 3 hours.  Stir once in a while to make sure the bottom is not burning.  Half way through check for seasoning and add salt as needed.

The chili is best the next day after it had time to mull over in the fridge.  I like to reheat and squeeze 1 lime into it just before digging in.

Serve with few corn chips, shredded cheese and scallions on the side. Avocado and sour cream also make popular condiments for chili, especially for those who need to cut the spice factor.

Of course a nice glass of beer doesn’t hurt either! Enjoy!