Pizza and Pizza bread as a the bread for your appetizers- also a chat about Yeast

Liz one of Zok's family members is the person that first got us to make our own pizza.  Well, her and the fact that the one pizza shop we really liked 'perfect pizza' closed. Swedish pizza needs its own post...I'll just mention two things, they don't slice it and banana is always a topping option.

It is possible we eat too much pizza. 

We use good steel pizza pans that we got from a catering store.

They work well and just need to be seasoned (heated up with oil a couple of times before the first use).  I don't clean them with soap, I use a brush to get off anything that it stuck, wipe them down with more oil, and heat them up to get the water to dry quickly and avoid rust, and that is that.

We use corn pizza base (for the gluten intolerant) and the flour pizza base to use as our appetizer bread for dips.  Either plain or with garlic on top (diced fresh garlic in Zok's case, and garlic salt in mine).

We also jar up the tomato sauce ourselves, and Zok just adds in the spices to make the sauce.  We vary on this a bit, I like to add a pinch of sugar and vegeta seasoning (it is like a veg. soup seasoning) Zok adds bay leaves and fresh herbs.

Here is our pizza base recipe: (2 large or 3 smaller tins)
We like our pizza crust thick

Add to your mixing bowl the following:
500 g of plain flour
4 tsp. sugar (we use caster)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Whisk these dry ingredients to blend

(You can of course knead the dough by hand, however doing the pizza base is what inspired Zok to get a mixer)

250- 300 ml. warm water
8 g. of dry yeast (instant dry yeast)*
 (Zok says all the stuff you read about "activating" your yeast- well basically this is a chemical reaction and will happen naturally-but go to the notes section on yeast here)
Combine the yeast and water in a mixing cup and stir and you'll will get a smelly, cloudy mixture.

Put your mixer bowl onto low and add about half of your yeast mixture.
Okay here is where Zok gets a bit esoteric - he sometimes uses a bit more warm water, sometimes he doesn't use all his original mixture, and sometimes he needs to add flour.
It is true if you are making a lot of baked items, scones, bisquits (american), pizza base you will just be able to tell that it is correct.
I think these inconsistencies come from the times Zok doesn't bother to measure out his ingredients.

Finally,
Lightly grease a glass bowl with a wee bit of oil.
When your mixture is ready (after about 5 minutes)
Grab out your dough, ball it up a bit, coat the dough slightly within the bowl,
The dough should be soft and pliable and you can pat it down a bit at the bottom of the bowl.
Cover your bowl with a tea towel and allow to rise for about an hour.
Zok says if you leave it too long the center will collapse a bit.

Zok then rolls out the dough with a rolling pin, on his baking board that is lightly coated with more flour. This is after dividing the dough into the portions he wants.

I like to pinch my pizza edges like a pie because I don't want any of my cheese to escape.
I also 'pre-bake' my base, so I coat my with rosemary infused olive oil, and sprinkle it with fresh herbs like Italian parsley or whatever looks good-and some garlic salt.  I let it get a bit golden and then I put on my sauce and toppings and cook it until the cheese is melted.
Zok of course puts so many items on his pizza including hot sauce and this makes no sense to my tried and true 1-3 toppings rule.

*****

Let's talk about yeast.
We were hesitant about the yeast, all the fuss about activating the yeast with sugar, and the different types of yeast.  Plus the yeasts we can buy are different country to country.

Currently we are into buying fresh yeast, which we have found at one store in town.  We also had to prove to ourselves what a 'activated' yeast looked like.
So here you see live yeast- 5 days past it's use by date compared to dry yeast.
The difference is marked.  
Basically we've decided that when in doubt, get new yeast.  If you doubt your fresh yeast but have dry go for the dry.  The baking process is too time consuming to be let down by your yeast!
Fresh is preferable when you can get it, but as you see here, dry was the correct option.

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin (birthday) Muffins

Ingredients:

10 tablesppons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp.

3 c all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp course salt (we use sea salt)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (we fresh grind)

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/3 c buttermilk

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree (we roasted and pureed pumpkin because we can't find canned in Sweden or Australia)

*Cut the pumpkin into pieces, sprinkle with water, bake for 15 minutes on each side, and then puree in your mixer or with your hand mixer

 

3/4 c. light (or just soft) brown sugar

2 large eggs 

Sugar coating:

1/4 c. caster sugar

2 tbl. ground cinnamon

1/4 c. unsalted butter melted

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees f (175 degrees c).

Butter and flour your muffin tin.  Mix together your dry ingredients with a wisk- or with your wisk attachment in your mixer (large bowl as you will add in your liquids)

In a small bowl whisk together your buttermilk and your pumpkin puree

First in your mixer- beat teh butter and brown sugar until fluffy add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of bowl as needed (don't over mix- or your muffins will get more dense and less fluffy)

Still with mixer on low add in your flour mixture slowly and alternate adding in your pumpkin mixture and beat on low to combine.

Then take your batter and pour into your prepped muffin tin

Cook about 30 minutes and/or until a toothpick comes out clean

Take your combined sugar and cinnamon aka cinnamon sugar and after your muffins have cooled for about 10 minutes on their wire rack you can brush a muffin with melted butter and toss them in your cinnamon sugar to coat.

Note: I think this recipe was Martha's fault.

Pretty in Pink Birthday Cake

Be careful what you ask for while standing in our kitchen.

This is how I came to have this cake on my birthday one year.

The cake was so sweet that I was the only one who ate any...

 

I think that the combination of the sweet frosting and the white ganache is why the cake was so sweet.

It was lovely to look at though and my inner 7 year old self could have eaten more, well if she didn't try to never touch the cake and keep it forever because this cake looks like the, cake a princess would have for breakfast.

 

Zok said the cake was easy but then, we are talking about Zok who has no trouble wandering the neighborhood until he found a likely rose bush...

 

This is a kitchenaid book recipe:

Serves 12

Prep: 40 minutes

Cook: 30 minutes

Chill: 3 hours

 

Ingrediants:

175 g softened butter

175 g sugar

1 tsp cardamom

3 eggs

175 g self-raising flour

25 g ground almonds

2 tbsp rosewater

1 quantity White chocolate ganache*

flavored with the seeds of 1 vanilla pod

 

Rose icing:

2 large egg whites only

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

125 ml rose syrup

125 g sugar

a few drops of red food colouring

50 g edible silver balls (these were my favorite when I was smaller)

50 g coarsely chopped crystallized rose petals

petals from 1-2 pink roses

-you need cooling racks and your cake tins

 

This cake is meant to be eaten the day of- hence being a birthday cake- due to the fresh dairy ingrediants 

 

Preheat oven to 180 c. Lightly grease and line two 18 cm tins with grease proof paper

Cream the butter, sugar and ground cardamom in the mixer bowl with teh flat beater on speed 4 unitl pale and fluffy

Gradually mix in the beaten eggs

adding a tablesppon of flour and beating well after each addition

 

Add the remaining flour and ground almonds and mix briefly

Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to give a soft dropping consistency

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins and smooth the top

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cake has risen, is golden brown and springy to the touch

Cool slightly then turn them out onto your wire cooling racks

Sprinkle the rosewater evenly over both cakes and leave to cool, finally peel off the greaseproof paper

 

Make the white chocolate ganache, leave to cool and then chill for 3 hours or until the ganache has a spreadable consistency

 

Spread the ganache on one cake and press the second cake on top of the other

Make your rose icing- 

Whisk your first 3 ingredients in the mixer bowl with the wire whisk attachment on speed 8 until soft peaks form

Gradually add the rose syrup, sugar and red food colouring until the meringue is still and glossy

fold in the rose liqueur and spread the icing all over the cake, creating swirls and peaks to make your cake pretty

Sprinkle the silver balls, and both the fresh and crystallized rose petals over the icing

Note: you can of course use a different mixer 

*Ganache

Zok uses ganache often instead of normal icing

This is for soft speadable ganache- more chocolate makes a more truffle like (or if you are Zok this is his idea of american pudding...)

150g chocolate (70%)

100 ml double cream

 Grate the chocolate with a course grater 

(or use the rotor vegetable slicer/shredder on speed 4 of your mixer)

Place your shredded chocolate in a heatproof bowl 

(We have trouble finding chocolate of the high grade in blocks, so sometimes Zok uses the large chip style, doesn't grate those, and just waits the added time for them to melt down)

Bring the cream to a boil on low heat

Pour onto the chocolate and leave it for long enough for the chocolate to melt

Then leave to cool and you have your ganache to spread out

 

 

 

 

 

Coconut Rice and Pineapple Mint Salad

This is my favorite dish that I've talked Zok into making.
I can't express in print how much I love it, but if you know me, you can probably imagine me going on about it.

My friend Jeannie was like 'Oh yeah, I made that the other day'. But I don't think most people I know would casually make coconut rice.
But if you HAVEN'T made coconut rice, I am telling you - right now- that you should. I really think the combination of these two dishes together is what really makes the flavor great.

This recipe is for 4 people.

Steamed Coconut Rice
500 g (1 lb) long-grain white rice (we used basmati)
1 1/2 cups (375 ml/12 fl oz) coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt

Pour 2 cups (500 ml/16 fl oz) of water into a wok. Place a large sheet of baking paper in the base of a large bamboo steamer and spread the rice in the base of the steamer. Bring the water to a boil, sit the steamer over the wok (it should not touch the water) and put the lid on the steamer. Steam the rice for 35 minutes, turning the rice over halfway through the cooking time, and replenishing the water, if necessary.
Gently heat the coconut milk, with the salt, in a medium-sized pan. Add the steamed rice, bring to a boil and stir well. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and remove from the heat. Set aside for 45 minutes, or until the coconut milk is absorbed.
Spread the rice back into the paper-lined steaming bamboo basket and cover. Check that there is water in the wok and them steam for another 30 minutes.

Mixed Vegetable Salad
300 g (9 1/2 oz) fresh chopped pineapple pieces
1 cucumber, chopped
250 g (8 oz) cherry tomatoes, halved
155g (5 oz) green beens finely sliced
1/3 cup (80 ml) rice wine vinegar
2 tbl lime juice
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
30 g (1 oz) mint leaves to garnish

In a bowl combine the pineapple, cucumber, tomatoes, beans and toss well, cover and refrigerate until chilled. Stir the vinegar, lime juice, chillies, sugar and salt in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Arrange the chilled salad on a serving platter, drizzle half the dressing over the top and garnish with the mint leaves.
Serve immediately with the remaining dressing on the side.

*We usually pair this dish with a cold Sake.

Let's talk about cook books

Zok and I are firm believers in books.

We are both self taught in the kitchen.  Zok had to battle against a culture that does not allow for men in the kitchen, and I against my early propensity towards eating take out, and using the kitchen cupboards as space for my shoes.

Zok likes cook books with photos so he can compare his creations to the ones in the book.  This is exactly how he got hooked onto cooking.

When I still lived in Bellingham, I was busy between University classes and working at the 3B so Zok decided to cook.

He used a small book I had called 'Pasta Harvest' by Janet Fletcher.

His first recipe was 'Baked Conchiglione with spinach-ricotta filling.  This recipe is still a standard 'go-to' recipe when visitors come over.  

I think the most valuable cookbooks are instructional about the basics.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison has very few photos but most of what you could want to know about the basics.

Each time of bean, how to cook them, how much a cup will yield when cooked and so on.

The index is also really good.  I like to use the index when I am faced with an odd assortment of items in my pantry that need to be used up before they spoil.
If you are not a person that cooks much, but would like to, I recommend a book such as Deborah Madison's, it is an investment but you'll only need that one book for quite awhile.  If you are looking for inspiration I would recommend the style Zok likes, cheap and easy.

Here is the pasta recipe. Zok always uses fresh spinach and wilts it with great care.  His favorite pasta is rustichella d'abruzzo.  This is a dry pasta but found in speciality Italian markets.

1/2 pound spinach leaves, thick stems removed (this will usually mean you are buying about 3/4 pound untrimmed)
2 garlic gloves minced
1/2 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese (about one cup)
1/2 pound whole milk mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten (medium egg)
1 tablesppon finely minced fresh basil
20 jumbo conchiglione shells 
2 tbl olive oil
1/2 cup freshly graed pecorino romano cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F (175 C) Wash spinach and with cold water.
Transfer spinach to large skillet with just a bit of water clinging to it (Zok takes it from the bowl of water with tongs and wilts them quickly about 3 minutes)
Puts them aside, and washes the lot in cold water again, squeezing them dry by hand and then transferring them to the chopping board to chop finely.

(This is about the time I open a bottle of wine and sit on the counter top, while listening for the door bell to ring- this early glass of wine is responsible for my never getting a decent photo of the finished dish)

Cook shells in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain them when they are about a minute shy of being done (remember they will cook a bit more in the oven) Transfer shells to a bowl and toss them iwth olive oil to keep them from sticking together.

Put half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a shallow baking dish just large enough to hold the shells in one layer.
Fill each shell.
Arrange your shells nicely and spoon the remaining sauce over and around the shells.
Top with pecorino cheese.
You can cover with foil or just bake open (Zok likes the crispy edges so he bakes his open).
Cook for about 30-40 minutes depending on your oven.
Serve directly.

*A nice thing about this dish is you can prep it early, and then only have your appetizers to make.  Or if your Zok the several side dishes and dessert...

Rhubarb Syrup

Here is how I made the rhubarb syrup.

 I was unsure about the color as I didn't know what type of rhubarb I was using (other than it came from our neighbor Rob's garden).

So the first batch is the reddest ends of each stalk (as pictured in the used maple syrup jug with red top) the other photo is the second batch using the green ends so you can see the color difference is noticeable.

When I looked on the internet I found too many conflicting recipes so I just treated the rhubarb as if I was making jam.

I cut the stalks into small pieces and put them into a large stainless steel pot.  I had roughly 4 cups of rhubarb so I used 3/4 cup of caster sugar. (you can always add more) and covered this with one cup of water.

I brought the mixture to a boil for about five minutes and then simmered for about twenty.

I took a large measuring cup, set a strainer on top, and for good measure I added some cheese cloth (the type that doesn't shed any material).

I alternated between mushing it through with a whisk, and doing other things around the house and just letting the liquid drip through on its own volition.

Because I was not storing the liquid for a long time, I did not process the jars.

I am going to do that this year to see how it keeps. 

I was not intending on keeping the now, somewhat pureed rhubarb left behind, but the first batch had a nice color, so I jarred it up to put on yogurt and ice-cream.

The second batch went into the compost for what Zok calls "the worm share".

Rhubarb is easy to grow, and each year there seems that the neighbors have more than they can cook so I have been venturing into using rhubarb as much as possible.

Rhubarb is an easy vegetable, and sometimes you get the bonus of a lovely pink color.  Zok makes pie filling from the end of year rhubarb, and we process the jars like we would an old-fashioned (Ball complete book of home preserving) jam.  We do not add anything more than the amount of sugar we want, and some lemon juice.

Then we take the jars and boil them as hot as possible for 10 minutes on the stove top to seal up the lids.

We don't expect to shelve them more than 12-16 months, and the coloring isn't an issue.

Clover Club Cocktail with Rhubarb Syrup

I altered the recipe for a Clover Club cocktail, substituting my rhubarb syrup for the grenadine syrup.

2 ounces gin

1 ounce lemon juice

1/2 ounce rhubarb syrup

1 tsp. egg white

Shaken in a cocktail shaker with crushed ice and strained into hollow stemmed, champagne glasses.

Of course you can omit the egg white.  This is what gives most old-fashioned drinks-fizzes and so on their texture or that foam you see in the photo that does not dissipate.

I only like eggs when they are disguised as cookies...or cocktails.

*I believe the trick to the best cocktail is fresh ingredients, and crushed ice.

Crushed ice in blended drinks makes for the longest lasting, smoothest finish on your tropical cocktails.  Crushed ice also makes for the coldest, and therefore longest lasting cocktails.  When the cocktail warms it will start to separate.

This is also a reason to make delicate cocktails in small amounts.

If you are having many people over than I would recommend going for something from the punch family or blended which can be made in large batches.

 

Appetizers: Dips; White Bean Dip

White Bean Dip

This recipe is really all about the roasted garlic.

This is the amount we make for six to eight people but of course there is never only one dip on the table.

1 cup of white beans soaked over night

Rinse your soaked beans, to make sure there are no funky beans.

Cover beans by about one inch of water (you can always add more water, more easily then reducing any extra water out)-

3-5 cloves of garlic whole.

Bring to a quick boil, then simmer them for about two hours, with the lid on during this time they will get soft and break down a bit.

While the beans are cooking:

take a whole head of garlic, cut the tip of the top off and lightly cover with about 2-3 tablespoons of water then

  caramelize (actually I should write 'sweeten' as you are not actually adding an sugar)  the head by baking it in the oven (we use an enclosed terracotta pot made for this purpose) at 175 c. for about 40-50 minutes.  (Zok will tell you that you can "smell" when the garlic is ready).
Then puree your garlic and beans together, sometimes I add a bit of lemon juice when I have a fresh lemon on hand, you can add water if you think the dip is too thick.

The trick to cooking beans quickly is to rapidly boil them.
While, I prefer the slow cook on beans to make beans for my burritos, and also for the recipe here, I will and do make beans quickly on short notice. I find that the flavor isn't as rich when I do a quick boil though.

For instance, I boiled both black beans and kidney beans recently to make chili.
I rinsed the beans, covered the 2 cups of beans with about 6 cups of water (enough so they would stick in anyway as I was just going to drain them and start again when I started my chili).

To compensate for the short time, I did boil them with:
3 Bay leaves
1 small onion chopped
2 gloves of garlic sliced
1 tsp of olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Sweet paprika sprinkled on top before serving

I did a high, fast boil for 10 minutes then a consistent slow boil for the rest of the hour.  Then I drained them (they were cooked but unbroken) and added them into my chili recipe as if they had been canned not fresh beans.

Orange Sorbet in the Orange Shells and tips about Lemon Sorbet

The hardest part of this recipe is scraping out the oranges and dividing out the fruit membranes.
I expect Zok to get over needing to put sorbet in its original shell pretty quickly.

Of course you need space in your freezer for the shells.  Otherwise you can just put your mixture into any sort of container and scoop it into your bowls when you are ready.

We used six oranges and had enough sorbet to fill five shells.

We used the ice-cream bowl/attachment for our kitchen aid to solidify and freeze the mixture.
Videos will tell you various ways you can mix up the mixture.
Zok would tell you that even if you have to hawk one of your children to pay for it, you need to have a KitchenAid.
All we did with the orange is use a bit of simple syrup to sweeten it, and not very much.

The second try we made lemon which was much trickier.  The taste was too strong, too sharp.  The problem wasn't with the sour or the sweet simply the strength.
The second time we made lemon, we diluted the mixture with soda water and the sorbet was much better.

Zok is really into making desserts but he also likes to make heavy meals, so the sorbet goes really nicely with the stuffed pasta shells.

Sorbet is really as simple to make as everyone says.

Pulled Pork- Not suitable for Vegetarians aka Colleen

The trick to this recipe is getting the temperature correct.  Therefore, you are best off, having a thermometer to know when your pork is ready.

Zok has been making pulled pork from 'pork shoulder'.

The first time, he marinated the meat in the refrigerator overnight as he wanted at least 12 hours of marinating.  He now insists that between 10-12 hours is needed.

We actually had somewhere to be (observing beer brewing which we will blog about here) so he set the oven to a low temperature and left the house with the pork cooking.  We knew we would only be gone 4 hours.  This first piece took six hours to get to the correct temperature.
However, He used this 6 hour gauge for the second piece, which was .5 kilo larger, yet it took less time to get to temperature.

The second time he put it in when we went to sleep, at midnight, thinking it would wake him around 7 a.m.  but the thermometer alarm woke him at 4:30 a.m. (I slept through this adventures unconcerned).

Here is the recipe which he put together by looking at blog posts, and epicurious.

2.3 Kilos of Pork Shoulder

Dry Rub:

2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp ground pepper

2 tbsp paprika

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. crushed dry (any type of hot) pepper

Mix your ingredients together in an air tight container.

Brine solution:

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 quarts cold water

3 bay leaves

3 tbsp of your dry rub mix

This is the amount he used to work with the 2 kilo (give or take a few grams)-
Zok bought pork shoulder that was boneless as we are currently in Sweden and boneless was the only option.  There are food halls in town that sell just meat, but no butcher shops like we would go to in Tasmania.
Also for the most part, even meat is imported.  We looked for Swedish pig meat but no pieces were over a kilo.  Zok used pieces that were about 2 kilos.

Rinse your meat and put it in a large container, Zok had made his dry rub and brine solution already and set them aside.  Therefore he picked a large bowl that the meat could marinate overnight in the refrigerator.  He made sure his brine solution completely covered the meat, covered it with plastic wrap.
Most recipes suggested 8 hours, Zok wanted at least 10 hours.

Whatever you decide, your next step s to take out the meat from the brine solution and pat away the excess moisture with paper towels.
Place your meat into a baking pan that is bigger than the piece of meat by a least an inch on each side and three inches from the top.
Now take the rest of your dry rub and sprinkle the pork all over, massaging the rub to thoroughly coating all sides.
*When you are through make sure to face the fatty part of the meat up in the pan.
Place the meat uncovered into your oven.

Zok set the over to110 Celsius and then let the meat reach 93 Celsius
(this would be about 230 F. oven temp. and 200 F. on the cooked meat)

Each time we have made this, we have also made beans, tortillas with all the trimmings.  This way there was plenty of food for the vegetarians, and corn tortillas for the gluten intolerant.
Seriously every meat eater has looked at me with pity in their eyes, and commented on how sad they felt for me.  I can't seem to explain how little I even think about meat.