Dinners

Pizza perfected

We ate the most amazing pizza the other night thanks to our friends Russell and Amy. Russell, who just happens to be a professional baker, just had a massive pizza oven installed at his home, and we were lucky enough to get to try it out.

The bacon and red onions on the deep-dish pizza made an excellent combination

While Russell perfected his dough, letting it sit for 3 days (I’ve still so much to learn about making bread), some of the fun was left for us: topping the pizzas, which I can definitely do. On top of a deep dish crust, I added pepperoni, bacon, red onion, red, yellow, and green peppers, mushrooms, and artichokes. Jan’s thin-crust pizza was a monster with double cheese, tomatoes, basil, and artichoke hearts so high that Russell wasn’t sure he’d be able to slide the pizza off the wooden cutting board and into the oven. Our friends Kristi and Ferol also got into the action, making a thin-crust margarita pizza, and another combination deep-dish.

Margarita pizza and Patron margaritas were another good pair

While Russell insisted his dough recipe needed perfecting, we all had to disagree. It was amazing! The thin crust was crunchy and light, and the deep-dish was the first time I’d had that style pizza without it being a soggy, greasy mess.

Amy and Russell sent us home with some dough for another pizza and I’ve now got my work cut out for me: trying to convince Jan a pizza oven shouldn’t be our next big investment.

Time for tamales

Tamales are traditionally made around the holidays Christmas and New Year’s, but when my freezer’s supply runs out, which is usually around March, I start craving them, hoping my dad might get the inkling to make more. No tamale I’ve eaten in any restaurant or bought pre-made could compare to the recipe and technique used by first my grandma, and now my dad.

My dad and I have started our own tradition of making tamales together in small batches, and since they require some teamwork and a bit of time, our method seems to alleviate the feeling that making tamales is a gargantuan task that can only be tackled once a year.

My dad’s process requires no secret recipe, but it’s always been something that intimidated me, and I’ve yet to make them on my own. However, after spending this father’s day making tamales with my dad, I think I’m ready to try it on my own next time.

My dad had already prepared the meat ahead of time, but he assured me it would be easy to do on my own next time. He used 5 lbs of pork butt (actually the front shoulder of the pig), cooked slowly, then seasoned and cooked with the mole sauce.

Here was our process of making the tamales (I’ll post the full recipe when I go through all the steps on my own).

Since the local SaveMart carries the corn masa only seasonally, we headed to Vallarta Supermarket, where there was quite a selection. We found the Vallarta brand, which contained no lard (we’d add vegetable oil, baking powder, salt, broth, and chili powder to it at home) and was made fresh in the store.

 At home, we soaked the corn husks in warm water until they were pliable. After mixing the masa, which we originally added too much broth to and had to re-thicken with corn meal, we began the process of spreading it on the smooth side of the ojas (corn husks). Then we added the filling, which was the meat mixed with mole sauce and black olives, wrapped the edges around each side, and folded in half.  

My dad showed me how to correctly prepare the tamale pot, which is basically a giant steamer. He placed four dimes at the bottom of the pot, filled it with a few inches of water, then added the metal divider which we would place the tamales on top of. We used an upside-down funnel in the center of the pot and places the tamales, open side up, around it in a circle. Next, we used the rest of the ojas to cover the tamales, creating a tent that would direct the steam and water around the cooking tamales, not in them.

We placed the pot on the stove and listened for the sound of the dimes rattling, indicating that there was still water at the bottom. If the dimes are quiet, you need to add more water, or the tamales will burn.

We cooked the tamales for about 2 hours, and then removed them to let them cool, though of course I couldn’t wait very long before enjoying one. My dad and I divided up the tamales, and knowing they would all be eaten within the next few days, I set out to make them very soon on my own.

Cupcakes and vodka

Birthday sunflowers
Setting the scene with happy sunflowers

And tri tip, and saffron-infused rice, and cheesy bread, and Louisiana hot links, and grilled zucchini, and taquitos, and fresh watermelon, and… You get the picture. It was a night of overindulgence. I hear that’s allowed for your birthday. However, my birthday is on the 22nd, and we celebrated early due to Jan’s work schedule. Now, I’ve got a week of using the birthday excuse and I hope I make it!

In addition to the treats I listed before, Kristi made Santa Maria beans and may be persuaded to share the recipe on her blog or as a guest contributor. I made the Czech potato salad using Jan’s recipe, which I will be posting in the near future, along with the recipe for the warm spinach artichoke dip we also enjoyed.

Birthday barbeque plate
Attempting to make room on the plate

Since Jan and I collaborated on the coleslaw, we called it Swedish-Czech coleslaw, but I realize that’s probably a lot more confusing of a name than it needs to be and we’ll have to work on coming up with a new one. We made it for the first time using the food processor, which worked well for the carrots, but I think it cut the cabbage into too small pieces. We combined green cabbage, carrots, and a fuji apple, then mixed with mayo, milk, white vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.

We also had ooey, goey, warm out-of-the-oven brownies made by Amy. I was impressed with Ken’s homemade German chocolate cupcakes, and his firefighting-in-the-backwoods-while-eating-gourmet-Spam recipes were intriguing (another guest contributor perhaps?) I was very happy to hang out on the patio with family and friends, listening to my own CD of happy music (thank you Jessica!) with so many thoughtful wishes from everyone. I felt very happy indeed.

Rocky road ice cream pie
The rocky road ice cream pie got a little messy

I made ice cream pies for dessert, and was a little embarrassed to reveal the recipe, as it was incredibly simple. It should be made ahead of time because there are few steps that involve allowing time for things to set in the freezer.

Rocky Road Ice Cream Pie

Chocolate graham crackers

½ stick butter, melted

Ice cream (you will use about ½ of a 1.5 quart container for one pie)

Whipping cream

Directions

The crust is made from chocolate graham crackers. Other cookies work well too, and I’m currently developing new crust/ice cream combinations using 1.) Animal crackers and 2.) Ginger snaps as the cookie crust base.

Crush cookies by hand or in a food processor. This time I used a food processor to grind the cookies for the first time, but I felt like I was missing out on half the fun. My usual technique is putting the cookies in a bag and beating with a meat grinder. I guess you could choose your method depending on whether you’re in a hurry or you need to let out some steam! Combine with melted butter until the mixture can be pressed into the bottom of a cake pan. I used about ½ stick of butter to one package of the chocolate grahams (about 13 whole crackers, or 26 squares.)

Adding whipped cream
Adding whipped cream

 Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven and let cool completely. Set out your ice cream on the countertop to soften, about 30 minutes. Fill crust with the ice cream. I made one pie with rocky road and the other with strawberry, but you could use your favorite flavor of ice cream, or get creative and mix things in with chocolate or vanilla. I mixed vanilla with strawberry once, which was tasty, but the strawberries stayed more frozen than everything else, prompting my friend Chanel to call the creation “popsicle pie,” which could be considered a good or a bad thing, depending on how you feel about popsicles.

Cover the ice cream with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours. Add a little bit of powdered sugar to whipping cream to taste, whip the cream, then remove plastic wrap and top the cake. Cover again and freeze for at least 2 hours.

When you’re about ready to enjoy, remove from the freezer and set out on the counter for about 20 minutes or so before serving.

A glorious truce with eggplant

I knew it wasn’t fair. I just didn’t like eggplant. I couldn’t even remember a specific time when I ate it and didn’t like it, we clearly just didn’t understand each other.

Then one day, Jan said he was going to make eggplant parmesan. “I don’t like eggplant,” I warned him, shaking my head. I sat at the countertop/bar overlooking our kitchen, pulled out a crossword puzzle, and sipped some red wine. A little bit later, Jan presented me with a disc, breaded and deep-fried, for me to try. I was skeptical, but instantly amazed. It was good. (This is not to say that the deep-frying technique will resolve conflicts with any vegetable I’m prejudiced against, as it did not work for mushrooms, Jan tried.)

Jan said that the trick with eggplant was slicing it horizontally, placing each medallion out on a tray, and sprinkling the eggplant with salt on both sides. Then the tray should be placed in the refrigerator for half and hour, letting the salt leach out the bitterness of the eggplant. Before cooking, the eggplant must be thoroughly rinsed of the salt water.

I was already amazed by the eggplant by itself, and the finished eggplant parmesan was even better. It was like lasagna, just with fried eggplant instead of the noodles and ricotta.

Now I request eggplant parmesan. The dish has opened up so many doors for me, this last time I decided it would open a new one. It was time for me to get over my fear of deep-frying. The last time I attempted to do so, I almost burned off my eyebrows a week before my wedding, setting a small but instantaneously out stove top fire in our apartment. Three and a half years later, my friend Heidi (who I was attempting to cook french fries for) still won’t let me live it down. This is also the reason a fire extinguisher now resides on our countertop, though it probably should have been there all along knowing firefighters’ propensities for starting fires.

So, when Jan began frying the eggplant slices for eggplant parmesan and asked me if I’d like to do the rest, I decided, why not? The fried eggplant is an amazing appetizer on its own, and one eggplant provides plenty of slices for constructing the layers of eggplant parmesan and for snacking on while you’re cooking the dish. And not an eyebrow or eyelash was harmed.

Here’s our simplified recipe:

Slice one eggplant and set out slices on a tray. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and place in a colander to drain.

Set up a breading station with three shallow dishes. Fill one with flour, another with egg and milk, and the last with seasoned bread crumbs. Pat eggplant slice dry with a paper towel, coat with flour, then dip in the egg wash, and last, cover with breadcrumbs.

Fill a saucepan with about 3/4″ of oil and heat. Then fry about 4-5 of the breaded eggplant slices at a time, flipping over to brown both sides. Remove from oil and let drain over paper towels.

In a baking or casserole dish, layer red sauce (this time Jan made his own with Italian stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste, and I messily completed the final step with the immersion blender), eggplant, sauce, cheese (we used an Italian blend of shredded cheeses), eggplant, sauce, cheese, etc., just like you were making lasagna.

Bake, covered, in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes (remove the lid for the last 10 minutes or so).  Remove from the oven and let rest for about 20 minutes before serving. Then enjoy! I am still enjoying the leftovers.

Behold, the seven hour book club

I hosted this month’s book club at my house, and we had two new women joining us, so I was excited and determined to make sure everyone had a good time. Our book selection was Orangette author Molly Wizenberg’s “A Homemade Life,” and the plan was to make recipes from the book and/or blog.

We had an appetizer of an assortment of cheeses, breads, crackers, and fruits. For dinner, Laura made the Chana Masala, Nicea made the roasted tomatoes, and I made Burg’s potato salad. It was a challenge for me to step outside my tried and true potato salad recipe and make one with ranch dressing, dill, and caraway seeds, but I think it came out well, and there wasn’t any leftover–a  good sign.

The unanimous hit was the bread salad with cherries, arugula, and goat cheese. Beth used fresh cherries from the farmer’s market to add sweetness to the salad, and the toasted bread mopped up the juices from the cherries, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil with perfection.

Oh, and Beth showed me how to use the “food” setting on my camera, and we practiced getting more delicious food shots with about 15 different pictures of the dessert (winning entry here). Rachel made Hoosier pie: a pecan pie with bourbon and chocolate chips. It was rich and delicious, and I had to force myself to stop eating it.

It was 1 a.m. before we knew it. I wasn’t sure if everyone stayed later than usual because of all the wine we drank and their need to sober up, or perhaps that they were having such a good time they didn’t want the evening to end. Hopefully it was a little bit of both.

Filet mignon and trials in blue cheese dressing

Blue cheese dressing and filet mignonBlue cheese is a bit too smelly for me, but I love blue cheese dressing. I don’t buy blue cheese dressing. It’s one of those things like Rocky Road ice cream that just doesn’t live in our freezer/refrigerator out of fear that it would get eaten in one afternoon. I only have it when going to a restaurant, ordering a salad, and getting it brought to me on the side.

So when Jan brought home a wedge of blue cheese from Fresh & Easy, explaining that it was marked way down due to its impending expiration date, I had an idea. I combined the blue cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and garlic chives from the garden. It passed the taste-taste with a carrot stick, so I put it in the refrigerator to marinate a few hours before dinner.

When it was time to serve, it was still too thick to serve as a dressing, so I added milk to it, even though the recipes I borrowed from online didn’t call for any. Reviews were mixed: Jan said it was still too “blob-ey,” maybe something I could improve with some more milk, or by putting the dressing in the food processor. There is still some of the cheese wedge left, so I may try again. But on another note, the filet mignon (also nearing expiration date and marked way down at the store) was delicious.