Grilled Pizza

Please pardon the dark photo. I am too lazy to brighten it up

Last night I felt brave and decided to grill some pizza. We’ve done this before, with mixed results, but it actually went quite well this time. It’s intimidating to do, grilling bread of any kind–I’ve done this with naan a couple of times, as well, and once it went pretty well and once it went pretty poorly. I think part of the issue is just mastering some kind of technique. To that end, I made some pizza dough, a good-sized batch, and broke it into three pieces. Then I sprinkled a lot of cornmeal on my kitchen counter and spread the dough into a 12″ long oval that was, oh, 8 or 9″ wide. Something like that. I then put a lot of cornmeal on a cutting board, and put that pizza on it. Then I repeated this process so that on my way outside to my hot and waiting grill, I had a pizza on the cutting board, one still on the counter, and one on my pizza peel. Lots of cornmeal is key, as it keeps the pizza from sticking. I also had another cutting board covered with toppings–a pile of mushrooms, a pile of spinach, a pile of feta, a pile of pepperoni–and a bowl of sauce. I set up a table near the grill and brought all of these things, along with a bag of mozzerella, outside. Then I opened the grill and slid the first pizza off of the peel and onto the grates. Thanks to all the cornmeal, it slid right off. The trick at this point is to leave it be–cover the grill, and peek at the dough every couple of minutes to make sure it’s not burning. When the bottom looks sufficiently browned and the dough seems to be at least halfway baked through, use a giant spatula or your peel to flip it over. Quickly, and without burning yourself, top the pizza, turn the heat down a bit, and cover it. A few minutes later the bottom should be browned and the cheese melty.

Grilled pizzas are delicious, and it saves warming your house up with a 450-degree oven, which is pretty unpleasant in the summer. I went through a bit of an acrobatic routine to swap the cooked pizzas with the raw pizzas, but I’d put a platter outside to put them on, so all was well. We enjoyed the smoky taste of the dough with the different toppings; my favorite was the spinach with feta and mozzerella, which you can (sort of) see here. Very tasty!

New Blog Finds–Vanilla Garlic

The closer the deadline for my dissertation looms, the harder, it seems, it is to focus. Maybe that’s because so many of the big pieces are done–now it’s just writing the introduction (shudder–it’s what I’m doing right now) and some fast-paced, hardcore editing. So after I write, say, a paragraph, I go in search of something else to do. Today I stumbled on Vanilla Garlic, a hilariously entertaining blog of a cupcake aficionado in Sacramento. This is a fella who made, no joke, BACON cupcakes. Not exactly my cup of tea, but there are some others–the recent Coconut Pineapple Cupcake, for example–that look divine. He gives you step-by-step instructions and tells some hilarious stories, like the one I just read about a pregnant woman hollerating at some nutjob demanding mocha refills at a coffee shop. So if you’re looking to kill a little time, mosey on over. I know I’ll be there for a little while!

We’ll Never Want for Bread

You know you’ve gone a bit over the deep end into the world of baking when you’ve purchased a whole block of yeast. A two-pound block of yeast, to be precise. The average little packet of yeast weighs a mere .75/oz. So the three-envelope set is 2.25/oz. It’s like buying over 14 three-packs at once. I bought it from a health store on Amazon called Shop Natural, and it was right around $5! Can’t beat that, when the little packs are over $1 each. I also got some rye flour, so we’ll have some rye bread in the near future.

Anyway, what good is a pile of yeast if you don’t use it? It just sits in the freezer forever. Early yesterday morning, before the day had a chance to get really hot, I assembled some hamburger buns. Now I’ve tried this recipe a couple of times in the past, and the third time was definitely the charm. The first time they rose nicely but fell right before baking when the plastic wrap stuck to them and tore their poor, risen tops off. The second time I swapped in too much wheat flour, and they were terribly dense. But this time they were lovely. I’m using a recipe I found on allrecipes but have cut down to make far fewer buns.

Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed said buns, and filled them with burgers made from steak that I ground up in the food processor. Who knew you could do such things? There was a New York Times article that Baking Bites linked to a few days ago that recommended it, and I had some sirloin in the freezer that needed eating. The burgers would have been perfect if we hadn’t run out of gas in the grill right after I started them; they got overcooked by putting them on a hot pan, mainly because they’d essentially baked for five minutes in a 600 degree oven–the time they spent in the unlit, ungrilling grill.

Anyway, they were still delicious, and definitely tastier than just buying ground beef at the store.

Here’s the bun recipe! You’ll need:

1/2 packet of active-dry yeast (this is about 1 1/8 teaspoons)
1 c of milk, slightly warmed, or cold if you don’t mind waiting longer for the rise
2 T of butter, melted
2 T warm water
2 T white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 c all-purpose flour

In a bowl, add milk, butter, and water; add yeast and whisk. Allow to sit for ten minutes. If your milk is cold, you won’t see much blooming; if it’s warm, five minutes will probably do the job. Make sure that the milk-water-butter combo is not hot–under 120 degrees–or you’ll cook the yeast and it won’t rise.

Mix in the salt and the flour, one cup at a time. The last cup–and you might not use all of it–is best kneaded in, as opposed to trying to mush it in with a wooden spoon. Give dough a quick knead to make it smooth, just five or ten turns.

Break dough into six pieces, and roll them into balls. Put balls on a cookie sheet and dust with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise an hour or so, until sorta doubled. These puppies are more likely to rise out than up, so when you initially roll them, try to make them tall, as opposed to wide.

If you see any of them sticking to the plastic, carefully lift it and dust on a little more flour.

When they’re ready, bake in a 375 oven for 15 minutes. Before baking, you can CAREFULLY brush with milk or an egg wash for a golden top, and add sesame seeds or poppy seeds or whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Pork Kabobs

I bought some pork chops on our last trip to the grocery store, but I was really not in the mood last night for plain-jane chops. So instead, I trimmed the fat off the chops and cut them into big cubes. I marinated them for a couple of hours, skewered them, and grilled them for 12 or 15 minutes. They were juicy and delicious. If you’re already sick of chicken kabobs or beef kabobs, you’ll have to give them a whirl.

I also made some couscous to serve with the kabobs. I was going to make risotto–I’d opened a bottle of white wine (badly–how I can’t ever open a bottle of wine is the stuff of another post) for the job, and went in search of arborio rice in the pantry…where there wasn’t any. Not to let it go to waste, I poured myself a glass o’ wine and found some couscous hiding on a shelf. The couscous was nice and fluffy, a good accompaniment to the pork, though it tasted like it needed something. I just can’t put my finger on what.

To marinate the pork:
I used three 1″-thick chops–you could easily use just over a pound of loin or tenderloin for this.

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced or put through a press
juice of one lemon
3 or 4 T of olive oil
kosher salt (big pinch)
pepper (you know, some–I turned the grinder five or six times)
a couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves pulled

Mix together and allow pork to sit for at least a couple hours (in the fridge, of course). Grill over high heat until cooked through.

For the couscous:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
pinch turmeric
1 1/2 c couscous
1/4 c or so feta cheese
2 T or so chopped fresh parsley

Saute the onion in the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When softened, add broth and turmeric, and bring to a boil. When it’s come to a good boil, stir in couscous, remove from heat, and cover. Leave it be for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Add feta and parsley and mix before serving.

Cucumber Salad

Now I realize this might not be the most flattering of pictures, but this salad was far tastier than appearances would make it seem. It was light, cool, and delicious, perfect for a warm summer night. Here in New England, we’re supposed to hit 85 today and 91 tomorrow, so a cucumber salad might be in order!

I modified this recipe from one I found in this month’s Everyday Foods. They used 4-6 of those little Kirby cucumbers you use to make pickles; I had one giant cucumber I bought at the grocery store. Either way, it’s fine. There’s just enough sauce for, say, one and a half good-sized cukes. This salad gets really watery overnight (this is yet another leftover photo, can you tell?), so it’s best eaten the day you make it.

You’ll need:
1-2 good-sized cucumbers
1/2 c sour cream (light sour cream’s fine)
2 T fresh dill
salt and pepper
2 T fresh lemon juice

Peel the cucumber; slice it in half lengthwise, and then into think half-moons. Put in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together lemon juice, sour cream, a pinch of salt and pepper, and dill. Combine with cucumbers and toss to coat. Voila. Tasty salad, no stovetop needed!

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the rest of all that dill…

Caked Out

So this past weekend, Mr. Pea and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We went up to the Maine coast for a few days (where the sun never showed up once!) but returned to participate in ye olde wedding tradition of eating some of the wedding cake, which had been cryogenically frozen for the past twelve months. Now we had a small wedding, but enough cake for a much larger one, and the top tier that my mom froze for us was, in fact, a 10 or 12″ double-layer cake! Honestly! I popped it into the fridge to thaw over the weekend, and we’ve been eating it ever since. The cake actually held up beautifully, thanks to my mother’s incredible wrap job. It was ensconced in plastic wrap (all over–probably ten feet of the stuff) then foil, and then more plastic wrap. It didn’t have even a trace of freezer burn. Anywhere. And I’d know, since between the two of us, we’ve eaten six slices of this cake. We’ve given some to friends, too. I can’t eat another bite. It was delicious–white/yellow cake with serious buttercream and raspberry filling–but I probably won’t ever fit in my dress again (not that I’ll be wearing it again, but you know what I mean) if this keeps going.

Lemony Lemon

When I saw these on Everybody Likes Sandwiches, I knew I’d be making them pretty soon. These cookies contain a fair amount of lemon zest, which gives them a lovely, bright flavor. They’re still buttery–the lemon’s not overpowering–and they have both a crispy edge and a chewy exterior. Yum!Here’s the recipe pretty nearly as Everybody Likes Sandwiches posted it. I made these babies almost exactly as she did–and she says she got them from another blog, and that blogger got them from Rachel Ray’s magazine. So there’s the provenance. The only thing I did differently was to NOT roll them in sugar. I’m not always crazy over the extra sugar layer on the outside, so I just left it off. These cookies are really tasty dipped in your cuppa joe.

Lemon Cookies a la Everybody Likes Sandwiches

1/2 c butter, slightly chilled
1 c sugar (plus another 1/4 c for rolling)
zest of 2 lemons, plus 1 T lemon juice
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a mixer, blend butter and sugar until combined. Add in lemon zest, lemon juice and egg and mix until fluffy.  Add dry ingredients and beat until combined.

2. On a small plate, roll teaspoons of dough into balls and then roll in the remaining sugar. Place onto cookie sheet. Bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from sheet and cool on racks. Makes 3 dozen.

Potato Salad

We had another warm one yesterday that begged for a summery dish for dinner. The day actually started cold and dreary but climbed into the mid-80s by the afternoon; using my head (for once), I boiled my potatoes in the morning, so my house wasn’t overhot and the potatoes had time to cool. Mr. Pea is a huge fan of potato salad. While I like pasta salads more, tater salads have grown on me over the years, and I’ve made a number of varieties. Warm French salads with a vinagrette; bacon-and-sour cream “baked” potato salads; you name it, we’ve given it a whirl.

This particular salad is a pretty standard edition, and can be changed and improved with a number of additions. Scallions, hard-boiled eggs, veggies, you name it, you can try it.

First, boil 6 medium potatoes whole, until fork-tender but not falling apart. Let them sit in the fridge until shortly before you plan to eat the salad. Chop 1/4 c of onion and a stalk of celery and add to the taters.

Whisk together about 1/3-1/2 c of mayo, a couple of good squirts of spicy mustard (2 tablespoons?) and a tablespoon of sweet relish.

Toss the dressing with the potato mixture. Serve cold. Yum!

Gold-tone Coffee Filter

I drink a lot of coffee. Typically I go through a lot of filters, and run out a lot, and then do a lot of cursing. I’d buy them when I could at Trader Joe’s, where they were cheaper and came in greater quantities, but the last time I was there they didn’t have any in my machine’s size. And then, frustrated, I decided it was time for a change. I ordered this filter from Amazon–it’s by cuisinart, and so’s my machine, so the fit was perfect–and have been pretty happy with it ever since. I feel more green, since I’m not throwing out multiple filters a day, and I’m saving a few bucks every week. Each morning I just remove the old grinds and put it in a container by my sink for tossing in my compost bin (another new project), give it a good rinse, and fill it with new grinds. I pop it in the dishwasher, too, on a regular basis. The one thing I don’t like about it is that I now get some very fine, silt-like coffee dust in my cup–it sits at the bottom, but has no texture, unlike when you accidentally drop grinds through the filter. The coffee itself is stronger, too, and that’s taking a bit of tweaking to get right. Altogether, though, it’s been a great $10 investment. You can get your own here.

Sure, this end looks fine…

Remember how I told you I have the insatiable urge to cut into bread right after it comes out of the oven? And I said (I think) that someday I’d regret it? Well, lesson learned. Despite the delicious way it smells, give the poor thing five minutes out of the oven. Even if you dropped it a bit on one end getting it out of the pan and giving it a bit of a sag. And you just want to nibble that end a little. Resist! Batter bread, because it’s not needed and made from a batter (duh) rather than a dough, doesn’t have a lot of structure. When you knead bread, it produces gluten. Gluten gives the bread shape and structure. Without needing, the structure is more delicate. Kind of like how a cake can be delicate, and I’ve broken a few of those turning them out too soon to prove it.

Anyway, the bread is delcious, and I can slice it from the good end for tonight’s BLTs. You can find the recipe at the Smitten Kitchen. But this loaf is no longer so pretty to look it.

Must….keep….hands…to…self….