Recipes - This And That (miscellaneous Recipes)

Winchester

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I have a couple recipes I use for pizza dough; here is one from Allrecipes.com:

Pizza Dough   (makes 2 12-14 inch pizzas)

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
 

Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
 

Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky.
 

Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your
toppings on the dough, and bake immediately.

If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
 

Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
________________________________________________________________________

My favorite is from Peter Reinhart, author of American Pie and The Bread Baker's Apprentice. It's a little convoluted, but it makes a great crust. You've probably read in several of my posts that when we want pizza, I usually take a dough ball out of the freezer and put it into the fridge the night before we make pizza. The dough ball is from this recipe; I use this recipe a lot. It also works beautifully for grilled pizza. I've used it for calzones and for stromboli, too. You can also add some herbs to the recipe, if you want.

PIZZA AMERICANA DOUGH (Peter Reinhart)                      

5 c. (22½ oz.) unbleached high-gluten flour or bread flour      

2 tsp. instant yeast

¼ c. olive or vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. sugar or honey                                                  

1 c. whole or low-fat milk (I use skim)
3 tsp. table salt OR 3½ tsp. kosher salt                                                            

¾ c. room temperature water

                                                                                                                             
With a large metal spoon, stir together all the ingredients in a 4-quart bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer until combined. If mixing with an electric mixer, fit it with the dough hook and mix on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until all the flour gathers to form a coarse ball. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then mix again on medium-low speed for an additional 3 minutes, or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and sticks just a little to the bottom. If the dough is too soft and sticky to hold its shape, mix in more flour by the tablespoonful; if it is too stiff or dry, mix in more water by the tablespoon. You want the dough to pass the windowpane test (see below).
           

(If mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the spoon into room-temperature water and use it much like a dough hook, working the dough vigorously into a coarse ball as you rotate the bowl with your other hand. As all the flour is incorporated into the ball, about 4 minutes, the dough will begin to strengthen; when this occurs, let the dough rest for 5 minutes and then resume mixing an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until the dough is slightly sticky, soft, and supple. If the dough is too soft and sticky to hold its shape, mix in more flour by the tablespoon; if it is too stiff or dry, mix in more water by the tablespoon. You want the dough to pass the windowpane test.) 
           

Immediately divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Round each piece into a ball and brush or rub each ball with olive oil or vegetable oil. Place each ball inside its own zippered freezer bag. Let the balls sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then put them in the refrigerator overnight or freeze any pieces you will not be using the next day. (If you are making the pizzas on the same day, let the dough balls sit at room temperature in the bags for 1 hour, remove them from the bags, punch them down, reshape them into balls, return them to the bags, and refrigerate them for at least 2 hours.)
           

The next day (or later the same day, if you prefer), remove the balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to roll them out to take off the chill and to relax the gluten. At this point, you can hold any balls you don't want to use right away in the refrigerator for another day, or you can freeze the balls up to 3 months.
 

The windowpane test:  Use the windowpane test to determine when your dough has been sufficiently mixed. This is done by snipping off a piece of dough from the larger all and gently tugging and turning it, stretching it out until it forms a paper-thin, translucent membrane somewhere near the center. If the dough does not form this membrane or windowpane, it probably needs another minute or two of mixing. Remember to rotate the piece of dough as you tug. Even properly developed dough will rip if you stretch it in only one direction. This windowpane is a signal that the gluten protein has properly bonded in the dough.) 
 
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Winchester

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PICKLED EGGS                                                                 

1 can sliced beets

½ to 1 onion, sliced thinly                                                                       

1 bay leaf, crumbled                                            

½ can vinegar                                                                                                         

1 cup sugar (to taste for sweet and sour)      

Hard-boiled eggs (8 eggs)

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Layer desired amount of shelled hard-boiled eggs in a jar. Pour some of the beet mixture over the eggs. Add another layer of eggs and repeat with beet mixture until mixture is all.
 

doomsdave

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Yeah, yeah, okay, maybe I overdid it with the name.

But, the name fits, as you'll see.

Back in the 1990s I was in law school and one of my classmates was a Chinese gentleman, from mainland China and his wife, and they rented a house in Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles.

William and Rose were both students at my law school. I was their roommate, and, I think their pet American. Tried not to embarrass them too much, and I tried not to let them embarrass me too much. Must have worked, because I lived with them for about 6 years.

Both of my roommates' parents came to live with us for a year apiece, on visas.

The guy's parents were from Guangjo aka Canton, and they spoke no English. But they were nice and polite, and did tai chi in the driveway in the morning, cultivate a Chinese veggie garden in the backyard with Chinese veggies, and, every day, cook their own food, one of which was this dish. So, damn good. My mom and dad agreed, as they licked their plates . . . .

INGREDIENTS FOR ONE PERSON
4 eggs, scrambled
4-6 bunches of scallions, chives, or Chinese chives, chopped
1 - 6 oz. of any cooked protein you want to add, I recommend bacon, ham, smoked sausage, tasso, cooked shrimp, cooked fish, cooked chicken . . .
Soy sauce
Pepper sauce (if you like)

yeah, that's it.

PROCEDURE
mix scrambled eggs with chopped scallions, etc., along with the protein, put in about a teaspoon of soy sauce. You should have what looks like a bowl of green glop, glued together with the eggs, studded with the protein pieces, with a bit of dark from the soy sauce, and red from pepper sauce, if used.

Heat pan or wok, with just a little bit of oil, like maybe 1 tsp.

Toss glop into hot oil, and cook till done to taste. It ends up like this green cake, with egg binder, studded with the protein.

Serve with white rice.

So good.

Cats love it too.

Right Great Great Grandma?

 

Furballsmom

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….along with great great grandma :redheartpump::redheartpump: I totally agree - this is a darn good breakfast!!

Mine wasn't turning out quite as described so I added some (frozen just after being picked last fall) parsley, some shredded cheddar, and turkey bacon was the meat of choice.
Yummo :salam: :clap2: !!
 

LTS3

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My Mom used to make something like that. She mainly used leftover freezer burned overcooked tasteless ham and didn't season the egg mixture so the omelet was never good to eat. Sometimes that would be all we had for dinner. A 4 egg omelet split among 3 hungry kids :dunno:
 

doomsdave

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My Mom used to make something like that. She mainly used leftover freezer burned overcooked tasteless ham and didn't season the egg mixture so the omelet was never good to eat. Sometimes that would be all we had for dinner. A 4 egg omelet split among 3 hungry kids :dunno:
Ouch, sorry to hear.

THis is much better.

The green onions really rock it . . . .
 

Willowy

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Green onions make everything better! Soy sauce, too, if used in moderation. It's the umami :D.

My Mom used to make something like that. She mainly used leftover freezer burned overcooked tasteless ham and didn't season the egg mixture so the omelet was never good to eat. Sometimes that would be all we had for dinner. A 4 egg omelet split among 3 hungry kids :dunno:
I knew an older lady who liked telling stories about her kids. One story is that they ate SO much, that she had to cook a dozen eggs every morning. OK, so she had 7 kids plus herself and her husband. That's only 1 1/4 eggs each. My niece and nephew can slam back a 4-egg omelet all on their own and still eat more. I hope her kids had a lot of other stuff to eat too. . .
 

doomsdave

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You might remember Lawry's Seasoned salt, and I sure do, and I was shocked to find that it had more sodium than regular salt. How they managed that I don't know. I've heard they used various glutamates, etc. that have sodium in them.

Could Zsa Zsa be wrong? And Tiffany H.
But, you can make your own. That All-American part is a bit of a spasm of jingoism. Use this stuff and have a spasm on the tongue. I sprinkle it on fish, chicken pork chops, corn-on-the-cob, popcorn. Among other things.

ESSENTIAL AGREEMENTS

1 part mild paprika
1 part hot paprika
1 part black pepper (or 1/2 part black pepper powder)
1 part garlic powder

Onion salt to taste. Maybe 1 part? Or half a part? I use about half.

ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS

1 part coriander powder
1/3 part cumin powder
1/3 part turmeric (that yellow stuff from India)
1 part cardamom powder
1 part cinnamon powder
Any other powdered or ground herb or spice, to taste.

NOTES

Mix all that powdered stuff together and sprinkle on what you want to season. About 1/5 the sodium of Lawry's. You can, of course, use more salt, if you're so inclined.

Garlic powder is a pain in the rear. Store it, and it lumps up, so you might have to re-grind it. But use it, it's worth the trouble.

Black pepper powder is POWERFUL, like gun powder, if you know what i mean. (Looks like it too.) Too much and you'll run screaming down the street.

Cumin is a strong seasoning, like Superman, use too much and that's all you'll taste, like being stuck with the late Aretha in a phone booth while she sings full blast.

Onion salt is really better. Regular salt works, but onion salt soars to high heights. At least for me.
 
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Winchester

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I just read that somewhere, about Lawry's. I've been using Penzey's now for years. Yours sound really good. But I'm not sure about "hot" paprika doomsdave doomsdave ? I have Hungarian sweet paprika, sharp paprika, and smoked paprika. What is hot? Something like cayenne? Could I use cayenne, do you think? I love cumin, but yeah, it's pretty strong; I use it in my vegetarian chili.

Years ago, Rick's mom gave me a coffee grinder. I don't grind coffee beans, but I do grind spices and the coffee grinder works beautifully for me to grind spices and herbs together.

Anybody remember Emeril Lagasse? He had Rustic Rub, one of his three basic essences; his show on Food Network was The Essence of Emeril. Anyway, I make my own version of Rustic Rub, using less than half the salt in his version and more of everything else. I make enough for about six months at a time, for me and for our son. And we use it often. Bam! :paperbag:
 

doomsdave

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I just read that somewhere, about Lawry's. I've been using Penzey's now for years. Yours sound really good. But I'm not sure about "hot" paprika doomsdave doomsdave ? I have Hungarian sweet paprika, sharp paprika, and smoked paprika. What is hot? Something like cayenne? Could I use cayenne, do you think? I love cumin, but yeah, it's pretty strong; I use it in my vegetarian chili.

Years ago, Rick's mom gave me a coffee grinder. I don't grind coffee beans, but I do grind spices and the coffee grinder works beautifully for me to grind spices and herbs together.

Anybody remember Emeril Lagasse? He had Rustic Rub, one of his three basic essences; his show on Food Network was The Essence of Emeril. Anyway, I make my own version of Rustic Rub, using less than half the salt in his version and more of everything else. I make enough for about six months at a time, for me and for our son. And we use it often. Bam! :paperbag:
Hmm interesting.

Maybe “sharp” and “hot” mean the same thing?

E784E0FC-5805-485B-8378-AEA8FC8EEBD7.jpeg
 

LTS3

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The chefs at Milk Street used jasmine rice for this recipe, which provided a welcomed sweet flavor. But long-grain white or basmati works, too. An excellent Thai fish sauce is essential, and while pork belly — a traditional ingredient for this dish — can be hard to find in the U.S. Pancetta works well as a substitute. It has the right amount of salt and fat. Plain bacon will do the job, too, but avoid smoked bacon.

Thai Fried Rice

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 4 cups cooked and chilled jasmine rice
  • 1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, or available bacon, chopped
  • 4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced, reserved separately
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
  • Sliced cucumber and lime wedges, to serve
Directions:

In a bowl, stir together the fish sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar. Set aside. Use your hands to break up the rice, so no clumps remain. Set aside.

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until just smoking. Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring, until just set. Transfer the eggs to a plate. Add the pancetta to the skillet and cook over medium until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate with the eggs.

Pour off all but one tablespoon of the fat from the skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites, shallot and garlic, then cook until softened, about 1 minute. Add the rice and cook, occasionally stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Stir the fish sauce mixture, then pour over the rice. Cook, stirring, until
well mixed. Stir in the pancetta and egg, breaking up the egg. Transfer to a large platter and sprinkle with cilantro and scallion greens. Serve with cucumber, lime wedges, and pickled chilies.

Visit 177MilkStreet.com for more recipes.
 

Mia6

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Please disregard this post
 
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