Pie Crust

This is a great, simply pie crust.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup oil
2 Tbsp cold water

1. Preheat oven to 450 deg Fahrenheit.
2. Put the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Using a fork, stir the oil into the dry ingredients until well combined.  Sprinkle the water over the mixture and stir to make a dough.
3. Spray a 9-inch pie pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Pick up the dough and shape it into a ball.  Flatten the ball between your palms until it is about 1 inch thick.  Place it in the center of the prepared pie plate.  Using your fingers, pat the dough in a uniform thickness onto the bottom and up the side of the pie plate.
4. Around the top rim of the plate, pinch the pastry between your thumb and index fingers to make a fluted edge.
5. Using the same fork, prick the bottom and sides of the crust at 1-inch intervals to prevent puffing during baking.
6. Bake in preheated oven 8 to 12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Recipe taken from
Wolf, D. ed. (1990.) The Family Circle Encyclopedia of Cooking. Lexicon Publications, Inc.: New York.

Zabaione

This dessert has a very sophisticated taste and look to it.  Enjoy!

6 egg yolks
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup sweet Marsala wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream

SERVES 4

1. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in the topp of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.  When the mixture is tepid, add the Marsala and whisk for another 5 minutes, or until it has thickened.
2. Whip the cream until soft peaks form.  Gently fold in the egg yolk mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.

Recipe taken from
Braimbridge, S. & Glynn, J. (2002.) The food of Italy: A journey for food lovers. British Columbia, Canada:  Whitecap Books.

Spaghetti Aglio E Olio

This is an arm-licking good sauce.  When we ate this meal, I noticed that my then-12-month-old son had bite marks on his arm.  As he ate with his hands, the sauce would drip down his arm.  To get every last bite, he sucked the runaway sauce off his arm, inadvertently biting himself.  Enjoy!

1 lb Spaghetti
1/3 cup olive oil
5 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
Grated Parmesan Cheese

SERVES 4

1. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over very low heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and gently fry for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic has softened but not browned.  Remove the frying pan from the heat.
3. Lightly drain the spaghetti.  Don't shake it dry in the colander, as you need it to retain a little of the cooking water.  Return the frying pan to the heat, add the spaghetti and parsley and toss to coat.  Taste for seasoning and serve at once with the grated Parmesan.

Recipe taken from
Braimbridge, S. & Glynn, J. (2002.) The food of Italy: A journey for food lovers. Whitecap Books: British Columbia, Canada.

Putting The Pizza Together

I spent about an hour researching multiple pizza-making recipes prior to attempting my first one.  Some cooks use pizza stones, some swear by certain types of Italian cheeses, and some spent most of their posts discussing the perfect oven location and distance from heat.  However, I don't really have the energy to measure my oven or the extra cash to try a pizza stone just to see if it will give me a better pizza.  The only tools I use are good cheese shredders, a generic pizza pan, aluminum foil, and a pizza slicer.

My opinion of homemade pizza had become so negative because people often used cheddar cheese, bland store-bought sauces, and generic store-bought crusts.  Although I don't go through the trouble of a pizza stone and measuring my oven, I use only quality ingredients and stay true to Italian cheeses.  The tomato topping adds great flavor and keeps the pizza juicy without the extra oils and grease used at restaurants.

Pizza crust recipe
Pizza sauce recipe
Olive Oil
Pizza spices
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese (pre-shredded or in a block)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (pre-shredded or in a block)
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes (drained)
Toppings of your choice (we like canned mushrooms and sometime deli pepperoni)

1. From pizza crust recipe: bring dough to room temperature.  Lay out pizza pan, set aluminum foil sheet on top, lightly smear on olive oil, and dust with corn meal.  Smooth out crust to about 12" circle with raised edges.
2. Pre-heat oven to 425 deg Fahrenheit.
3. Brush middle of dough with 1/2 Tbsp olive oil.  In a small bowl, mix 1 Tbsp olive oil with 2 tsp pizza spices.  Brush raised crust with spiced oil.
4. Cover pizza with 3/4 cup Parmesan and 3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese.
5. In a separate layer, spread toppings across pizza.  If you use Italian sausage or any other home-cooked meat, be sure to cool to room temperature before placing pizza.
6. Put another topping of about 1/4 cup Parmesan and 1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese.
7. Put pizza in pre-heated oven.  Cook until crust browns.  It takes about 15 minutes in my oven with a convection fan.
8. Enjoy!

Pizza Sauce

This is a tasty pizza sauce to accompany my homemade crust.  I had purchased pre-made sauces prior to this, but I was disappointed with their bland flavors and high prices.  This sauce was taken from The Taste of Home website, is easy to make, and is inexpensive.  One batch makes enough for 8 pizzas, and it freezes beautifully.  I do not recommend this sauce as a pasta sauce due to its super sweet flavor.  However, it is an excellent complement to pizza toppings.

3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 can (28 oz) tomato puree
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning*
1 tsp dried basil*
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

* Instead of the Italian seasoning and dried basil, I used a grinder of pizza seasoning which I used again to season the crust.

1. In a large saucepan, saute garlic in oil until tender.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness.
4. Sauce may be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
5. Use approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup per pizza.

Recipe taken from
"Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe." Quick cooking. Taste of Home. Retrieved on February 6, 2010 from http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Homemade-Pizza-Sauce-2.

Pizza Crust

Everyone seems to have a pizza crust recipe.  This is a great recipe for 2 pizza crusts.  One pizza heartily serves 3-4 people, so I make dough in the morning then refrigerate 1/2 and freeze 1/2.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp sugar -- I use regular granulated sugar
2 tsp dried yeast or 1/2 oz fresh yeast
7 fl oz (split) lukewarm water
3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
cornmeal

1. Put the sugar and yeast in a small bowl and stir in 3 fl oz of water.  Leave in a draught-free spot to activate.  If the yeast does not bubble and foam in 5 minutes, discard it and start again.
2. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl or in a food processor fitted with a plastic blade.  Add the olive oil, remaining water and the yeast mixture.  Mix until the dough loosely clumps together.  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes, adding a little flour of a few drops of warm water if necessary, until you have a soft dough that is not sticky but is dry to the touch.
3. Rub the inside of a large bowl with olive oil.  Roll the ball of dough around in a bowl to coat it with oil, then cut a shallow cross on the top of the ball with a sharp knife.  Leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a tea towel or put in a plastic bag and leave in a draught-free spot for 1-1 1/2 hours until doubled in size (or leave in the fridge for 8 hours to rise slowly).  I preheat my gas oven to 170 then turn it off and put the bowl (uncovered) in my warm oven to let the dough rise quickly on these cold, winter days.  In the summer, I plan on placing the covered bowl outside to let it rise in the warm air.
4. Punch down the dough to its original size, then divide into two portions.  (At this stage the dough can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 hours, or frozen.  Bring back to room temperature before continuing).
5. Working with one portion at a time, push the dough out to make a thick circle.  Use the heels of your hands and work from the center off the circle outwards, to flatten the dough into a 12 inch circle with a slightly raised rim.  This is the time that I act as if I have a handlebar mustache and sing every Italian song in the book for my son.  (If you find it difficult to push the dough out by hand you can use a rolling pin.)  The pizza dough is now ready to use, as instructed in the recipe.  Cook on a lightly oiled tray, dusted with cornmeal, and get it into the oven as quickly as possible.

Recipe taken from
Braimbridge, S. & Glynn, J. (2002.) The food of Italy: A journey for food lovers. Whitecap Books: British Columbia, Canada.

Blog Redux - How I went from just a Stay-At-Home Dad to a gourmet chef

I am very specific about so much.  Some may say anal retentive.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  I realized that corners are cut so often in food to make it filling by taking away food value and adding junk.  When I was in high school, I regularly dined on hot dogs, Little Debbie cakes, and Pringles chips.  The rare times I ate salad, I drenched it in ranch or French dressing.  My wife is trying to figure out what happened to the man she married.  Now I eat plenty of salad, cook most of what I eat, and try to keep food as fresh and nutritious as possible.

I get bored easily, so I am constantly researching new culinary adventures.  The only real problem is that I live in a small town (of about 55,000 people), which makes it a challenge to find fresh, obscure food.  Besides that, I am enjoying leaning to cook gourmet.  The following are my goals in cooking:

• To use fresh, home-grown vegetables and fruits as much as possible.
  
• To refrain from recipes which begin, "Open a can of X soup."
• To prepare as much as possible from within my own kitchen.
• To go on culinary adventures even on a Tuesday night.
• To use all-natural and organic ingredients when prices and budgets allow.
• To cook as healthy as a particular night's recipe will allow -- but not to skimp on taste by using unnatural ingredients to attain lower sodium, fat, or anything else.
• To plan ahead by menu planning - thus stocking our cupboards with products that can be used throughout the week and saving money by following store sales.
  

At least once a week, I will write about my adventures in food.  This week was Italian week.  We had, among other foods, Perogies Alio e Olio (with olive oil and garlic), pizza with a homemade crust and homemade sauce, Tortellini in Brodo (broth), and home creamed spinach for Eggs A La Florentine.  Starting tomorrow, I'll post weekly menus then let you know some of the joys of my cooking.  Bon appetit!