Deep Dish Part Deux

Deep Dish Deux

So I gave the Deep Dish another shot and had much better results, but still have a little room for improvement. I bought a Deep Dish Pan, tweaked the recipe a little bit, and did not cook it quite as long. Crust turned out a lot better this time, but needs a little more flavor and needs to taste a little more “buttery.” I reduced the amount of sausage to two links and its was the perfect amount. For cheese I used the 7 ounces of provolone again, but also added about 4-5 ounces of mozzarella as well, which turned about to be a pretty good mix. Also had pepperoni, green pepper, and mushroom in there. Sauce stayed the same. Here’s the dough formula…

Flour (100%): 206.47 g | 7.28 oz | 0.46 lbs

Water (47%): 97.04 g | 3.42 oz | 0.21 lbs

IDY (.4%): 0.83 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.27 tsp | 0.09 tbsp

Salt (1%): 2.06 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.43 tsp | 0.14 tbsp

Olive Oil (5%): 10.32 g | 0.36 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.29 tsp | 0.76 tbsp

Corn Oil (18%): 37.16 g | 1.31 oz | 0.08 lbs | 8.26 tsp | 2.75 tbsp

Butter/Margarine (1%): 2.06 g | 0.07 oz | 0 lbs | 0.44 tsp | 0.15 tbsp

Total (172.4%): 355.95 g | 12.56 oz | 0.78 lbs | TF = 0.126875

AP= 80%= 165

Semolina= 20%= 41

Next time I will increase the salt a little, increase the butter, and decrease the corn oil. I think I’ll also use less semolina next time.

On a related note, I picked up by Deep Dish Pan from a restaurant supply store. I highly recommend going to one some time. Wide variety of products at good prices and most are open to the general public. The one in Cincinnati is www.wasserstrom.com

Green Bean and Mushroom Saute

Green Bean and Mushroom Sauté

Here’s a nice little side that I like to make. Goes pretty well with just about anything.

Ingredients

Green Beans

Diced Onion

Sliced Mushrooms

Cherry tomatoes

Garlic

Chicken Stock

Olive oil

Lemon Juice

Salt and Pepper

Procedure

1. Blanch the green beans for about five minutes in lightly salted boiling water then put them in ice water to cool.
2. Sauté the onions for a couple minutes, then add the mushrooms for a couple minutes, then the green beans for a couple minutes, then the garlic and halved cherry tomatoes and sauté for about another 30 secs, don’t want to sauté the tomatoes for too long or they will turn to mush.
3. Add about ¼ cup or so of chicken stock and continue to let the mix simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Finish with a squeeze of lemon at the end and some chopped parsley.
5. Voila! Green bean and mushroom sauté.

POZOLE ROJO WITH HOMEMADE FLOUR TORILLAS

This pulled pork and hominy stew from Mexico is one of my favorites. I order a turkey version from a local joint here in Indy called "Yats." No need to worry for you out of towners because this version is better than any pozole I've ordered out. Pulled this recipe from my go to cook book: "The Best New Recipe" by Cook's Illustrated. It turned out excellent! I recommend a nice margarita to wash it all down. This was also my first attempt at making homemade flour tortillas. I watch a lot of PBS these days, and Rick Bayless has a superb mexican cooking show. He made his with pork lard, but much to my dismay I couldn't find any at the store, so I had to substitute crisco. Once I find some lard I will cook them again and post the recipe. (fyi: they were still very tasty using crisco, but I'm predicting they will be out of this world with pork lard)

POZOLE ROJO

STEW:

1 Bone-in Picnic Shoulder Roast (about 5 lbs.)
Salt / Pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium-large onions, chopped coarse
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 oz. dried ancho chiles (about 3 large)
1 ½ cups boiling water
3 (15-oz) cans white or yellow hominy, drained and rinsed

GARNISHES:

Lime
Romaine Lettuce, sliced into thin strips
Radishes, sliced thin
Onion, minced
Cilantro
Hot Sauce

Serve with flour or corn torillas, warmed

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Move oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Trim the thick skin and excess fat from the meat and cut along the muscles to divide the roast into large pieces of various sizes; reserve the bones. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper.
2) Heat oil in large ovenproof Dutch oven over medium heat; add the onions and some salt. Cook until onions have softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3) Add the meat and bones and stir often until it is no longer pink on the outside, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, broth, and some salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. With a large spoon, skim off any scum. Cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
4) Meanwhile, remove the stems and seeds from the ancho chiles; soak the chiles in a medium bowl with the boiling water until soft, about 20 minutes. Puree the chiles and soaking liquied in a blender until smooth. Pour the puree through into a bowl.
5) Remove the pot from the oven and remove the meat and bones to a cutting board. Stir in the hominy and the ancho chile puree. Cover and bring the stew to a simmer on top of the stove over medium-low heat. Cook until the hominy is hot and the flavors meld, about 30 minutes.
6) When the meat is cool, shred it using your fingers or the tines of 2 forks; discard the bones. Stir the shredded meat and simmer until the meat is hot. Adjust the seasoning. Ladle the stew into individual bowls and serve immediately with the garnishes.

First Deep Dish

Deep Dish

So here is my first go at a deep dish. It was edible the crust was not so good. It looks really good in the pictures, but the texture was all wrong. Deep dish dough in theory is a lot easier than traditional pizza dough. You basically just mix all the salt, yeast, water, and 80% of the flour together, wait 20mins, then add in the remaining flour and the oil, mix to combine, and boom- Deep Dish Dough. Here is the dough formula I used.

Flour (100%): 204.01 g | 7.2 oz | 0.45 lbs

Water (48%): 97.92 g | 3.45 oz | 0.22 lbs

IDY (.4%): 0.82 g | 0.03 oz | 0 lbs | 0.27 tsp | 0.09 tbsp

Salt (.5%): 1.02 g | 0.04 oz | 0 lbs | 0.21 tsp | 0.07 tbsp

Olive Oil (5%): 10.2 g | 0.36 oz | 0.02 lbs | 2.27 tsp | 0.76 tbsp

Corn Oil (18%): 36.72 g | 1.3 oz | 0.08 lbs | 8.16 tsp | 2.72 tbsp

Total (171.9%): 350.69 g | 12.37 oz | 0.77 lbs | TF = 0.125

Semolina 20% = 41 g

AP 80% = 163 g

Per the instructions, 20% of the total flour was Semolina. This was enough dough to make one 9in pie, with the crust going 1.5in up the sides. I cold fermented mine in the fridge over night, and then gave it two hours at room temperature to come up to 60 degrees or so. I greased up a spring form pan and pushed the dough in.

First I layered the provolone. I used 7 ounces, and think that next time I will use that plus some mozzarella. Then went the sausage. The technique is basically to make a thin patty of raw mild Italian. I used 4 links and it was too much, next time I’ll try 3, or possibly 2. Next was a layer of pepperoni. Then some chopped green peppers and red onion. Topped that all off with some chunky sauce that was made from 1 can of 6 in 1 tomatoes, that I drained most of the water out of. I added some honey, garlic power, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and olive oil. The sauce actually turned out really well and was probably the best part of the pizza. Topped that with some grated parmesan and into a 450 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes. It was a good first effort, but still needs some work.

Sushi Fridays

Since Leeann is Catholic, she can't eat meat for the next few Fridays until Easter. So we have instituted "Sushi Fridays" in our house. Presented here you will find a spicy shrimp roll, crab and avocado roll, and a squid roll. I made a topping of toasted panko bread crumbs and eel sauce for a few of the rolls. Since we all know sushi and what goes in the rolls, I will only post the recipe for the eel sauce, which turned out great. The toasted panko bread crumbs were a very nice addition, providing a nice crunchy contrast to the rolls.

Eel Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup white sugar

Directions: Pour in a saucepan and reduce by half. Boom....eel sauce.

Pappa al Pomodoro: Tuscan Bread Soup with Mussels (Guest Post by Leeann)

Ingredients:
2 cans peeled San Marzano tomatoes – lightly crushed by hand
2 loaves ciabatta - crusts peeled off and very, very stale
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped jalepeno
1 big can chicken stock
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Splash of red wine
Lots of basil
Salt
Pepper
Parmesan – a chunk for grating and the rind for the soup (We omitted the grated parm because of my "Lenten promise.")

Preparation:
Have all your vegetables chopped and bread sliced into 1-inch cubes.

Heat about 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add onions, garlic and jalepeno. Cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender.

Add the tomatoes and remaining juice, salt and pepper, parm rind if you’re using one and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and let it cook for a half hour or so.

Add ciabatta cubes and let the bread soak up some tomato, then start adding your stock. It’ll need a lot so just sort of eye-ball it. Continue adding stock to your desired consistency. At this point, we added a healthy shot of red wine, along with a ton of basil, and seasoned again with salt and pepper. (Also added thyme and oregano.)

Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, then allow to simmer for a bit. Then toss in a pound of mussels, cover, and allow the mussels to open up, about 5 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and grate with some parmesan cheese if you didn't give up cheese for Lent (and regret it!). Top with some more basil and olive oil. Enjoy!

Who remembers these guys?

Guacachips!