It’s Not The Gluten, It’s Your Gluttony

Pizza Crust Fantastico

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon honey
1 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup corn flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Pour warm water into a small bowl. Dissolve honey and yeast in water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, corn flour, salt, black pepper, oregano, basil and rosemary. Add the yeast mixture, tomato sauce and olive oil; stir well to combine.

When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) place pizza stone in oven if one is to be used.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into rounds, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll the rounds out to crust size. Spread crusts with desired pizza sauce from the center outward and cover with desired toppings. Bake on preheated pizza stone or on lightly oiled pizza pans until cheese is bubbly and golden, about 12 minutes.

The Sweetest Meat

Mock Eel

With scissors, cut shiitake mushroom caps into long spiral strips.  Or a sharp paring knife, or razor blade would work just as well, and only require slightly more skill than using scissors.

Heat peanut oil

Coat the shiitake strips with cornstarch and fry until golden. Let drain as you prepare the sauce.

Heat a wok over medium heat and add a dash of peanut oil.
Add some garlic & ginger, a teaspoon or so each, depending on your taste, minced, mashed, chopped, whatever your preference.  I like lots of garlic and only a bit of ginger.

(handy tip for peeling ginger…use a spoon to scrape the skin off – so much easier than trying to peel with a peeler or knife)

Add soy sauce, enough to almost cover the bottom of the pan, and brown sugar, maybe a teaspoon or so.
Add the shiitake strips and toss until well coated and most of the sauce is absorbed.

***

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

long Chinese eggplants, cubed, or sliced ( any eggplant will work. I leave the skin on)
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. of garlic chili sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

.. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, red wine vinegar,sugar, garlic chili sauce, cornstarch.
Set the sauce aside.
..
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Fry the eggplant, onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic, over med. high heat, stirring often, until it is tender and begins to brown, about 10 – 15 minutes.

Pour in the sauce, and cook and stir until the sauce is thick and the eggplant is evenly coated.

Serve immediately with Mock Eel.

Birthday Sex And The Bird

It’s my birthday. 12 days past Christmas. I’m going to cook my first turkey dinner today, by myself. The ocean is roaring in comfortable silence on the other side of town. The night before I picked up all the ingredients and brined the bird. Brining is simple and makes the meat very moist and tender. I dumped the 12 lb turkey into a double-bagged garbage bag, poured in about 24 cups of water and 2 cups of salt, then left it in the back entrance of our house overnight, which is always very cold. Maybe I left it in the snow in the backyard, actually. Good luck trying to put the beast back into the fridge, in any case…a cooler usually works best.

Plum-Glazed Roast Turkey Dinner with Spinach, Bacon and Cashew Stuffing and Roasted, Stuffed Onions

What God Tastes Like

Crème Brûlée Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 c Heavy cream
1/4 c White sugar
1 Pinch salt
1 tsp Vanilla
3 Egg yolks
4 tbps White sugar (finer the better)
Optional- Splash of Brandy to combined cream and yolk

Preheat oven to 150c

Combine cream, sugar, and salt over medium heat. Stir occasionally until steam rises (4-5 mins)
In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth.

Pour cream into yolks gradually and stir-option to add Brandy (highly recommended due to increased velvetiness).

Pour into ramekins.

Place ramekins into dish and pour boiling water into dish, about halfway up the sides of the ramekins
Bake 25-30 mins and refrigerate 4-6 hours.

Have mind blown.