Pantry Project, Day 2

Continuing with the pantry project, today we had tilapia Veracruz (I had to buy green olives), orzo, and broccoli with lemon and butter, with a nice 2007 Mirassou Pinot Grigio.

Tilapia Veracruz

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 T sliced green olives
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tilapia fillets, patted dry
2 tsp olive oil

Mix the tomatoes, olives, lemon juice and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

Season the tilapia with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat a skillet and add the olive oil. Saute the tilapia in the olive oil for 3 minutes on the first side. Flip the fish over and add the tomato mixture. Cook 4-5 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve over orzo (or brown rice) to absorb all the wonderful flavors of the sauce.

Serves 4 (or two generously.)

The Pantry Project

I was following links from some of my favorite food blogs when I came across an entry that described a shopping trip the author had taken in which she had spent well over $140 dollars and had very little to show for it. The experience caused her to think that she could live for quite a while from the contents of her pantry, supplemented with fresh fruits and veggies and perishables like milk and eggs.

Her blog entry got me to thinking, and to cleaning, reorganizing and logging the contents of my pantry, as well as my freezer. My own "pantry project" began today. I made a list of all the food I had on hand, and I got my husband on board with the idea. (There is a lot of rice-- brown rice, white rice, basmati rice, arborio rice-- pasta and other grains, and my hubby is really basically a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.) The combinations may get a little strange as we go, but that's the challenge part of the project, yes?

My pantry held all kinds of surprises, from two cans of artichoke hearts (one marinated, one not) to two cans of water chestnuts. (I also found a third can of artichoke hearts that had seepd out of the bottom of the can and turned black on the pantry shelf. Why can't they just put an understandable date code on the can so we can tell how old something is?)

That said, tonight we feasted on garlic/rosemary chicken legs, parmesan flavored couscous, and steamed peas with mushrooms. Not a bad start...

Meal Time Magic or Just Dumb Luck?

Eating dinner the other night, my husband said, "Oh, these flavors go really well together." Well, of course they do, I thought. Do you think this is all just luck?

When I am planning a meal, I play a litle sensory tape in my head of the foods hitting my tongue in combination, and decide whether the flavors go together. I've become pretty good at it, over time. Assuming there isn't an untried food or recipe in the mix I can usually know what vegetable to serve with what main dish and so on. I'm trying to get experienced enough with wines that I can pick out a wine the same way. Sometimes I'm right on, other times not so much. But, oh! The fun learning!

In college I majored in Nutrition (it was called "Dietetics" where I went) for two years before making the brilliant choice to change to Sociology. Eek! (Note to all college students who really don't have a clue what they want to be when they grow up: start out with an undergraduate degree in Business, then do graduate study in whatever real major you want.) I did learn a thing or two about food. Most importantly I learned that I didn't want to spend the rest of my working life in a hospital dietary department. I didn't have a clue that there were a few more useful options for a degree in Nutrition even then, and much more so now that the food awareness explosion has taken place.

Pizza!

OK, now, boys and girls...

Are we ready for the latest Daring Bakers Challenge?

Pizza!

Hand tossed pizza! Or, if you are like me, hand flung/twisted pizza. (I was a little tentative on the tossing part.)

The resulting pizzas, while quite tasty, were a little free-form, kind of like an amoeba. Not pretty. Definitely yummy, though. Not pretty. Yummy.

Here is the recipe and the directions:

Basic Pizza Dough-- Original recipe taken from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart.

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) unbleached high gluten bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled.

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 Tsp instant yeast

1/4 cup (2 ounces/60 g) olive oil or vegetable oil

1 3/4 cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) water, ice cold

1 Tbsp sugar

Semolina durum flour or corn meal for dusting pan or stone

Day 1

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).

2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough.

On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE:

If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.

The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.

4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE:

To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.

5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE:

If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.

6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly roll pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.

7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

NOTE:

You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE:

If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly roll pan. Do not preheat the pan.

10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly roll pan or a pizza peel with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE:

Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.

11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly roll pan or on the pizza peel making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

NOTE:

Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.

13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly roll pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.

NOTE:

After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly roll pan to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly roll pan.

14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

The choices of fillings were up to us. I baked two out of the 6 pizzas the recipe made (I froze the rest.) I topped one with pepperoni, Italian sausage, sauteed red peppers and mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. The other one, which hubby wasn't too sure about until he had a bite, I covered with homemade pesto, sliced artichoke hearts, sliced cooked chicken breasts, and feta cheese. Both were really good!

The dough was very easy to make. The forming/tossing/flinging though, not so much. Since I made two of the six pizzas and froze the other 4 balls of dough, I'll have another try or two at it. I hope I can get the spin of it. Maybe a glass or two of wine before tossing...?

I am actually a day late in posting this. (I could have sworn it said the 30th!)

Fried Green Tomatoes

The nights are getting really cold now. Our last tomato plant, a patio tomato in a large nursery pot growing on-- wait for it-- the patio, had some tomatoes left on it that hubby picked. The beams across the pergola top of the patio cover kept it from getting zapped by the frosts we've had lately, but we decided that the tomatoes that hadn't ripened yet were going to become fried green tomatoes.

I sliced them about 1/4 inch thick, sprinkled them with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, lightly dredged them in flour, dipped them in a beaten egg, then in cornmeal and sauteed them in a little canola oil. They were crispy on the outside, tender in the middle. And for some reason I'm not aware of, they had a slight lemony taste, which contrasted nicely with the crispy/salty cornmeal crust. I served them with chicken legs that had been rubbed with a garlic, olive oil, and rosemary mixture and baked. A great combination! Next time I think I'll add a little bit of paprika to the cornmeal and use ranch dressing as a dip.

Home Grown Garlic Is the Best

Bob planted the rest of the garlic last week. We have mostly our old standby New York White (AKA: Polish White) which makes up our main crop. But this year we expanded the varieties to include German Extra Hardy, which is a hardneck variety from Johnny's, as well as Killarney Red and Lorz that I bought locally from Susan West at the St Clairsville Farmers Market.

The cloves of the German Extra Hardy were very large, which is good from a cooking point of view, but large cloves mean less cloves per head, which produce less plants for next year. So it will be another year before I have really expanded my crop.

I think the German and Killarney Red are rocambole types which produce a garlic scape that can be picked green and sauteed like asparagus spears or made into yummy garlic scape pesto. I'm looking forward to that treat next year.

Daring Bakers Challenge- Chocolate Eclairs

Whew! Just made this Daring Bakers Challenge! I made the chocolate eclairs yesterday afternoon as a dessert for a cookout we had for some family members. I was going to make them today but there is no way I wanted 24 chocolate eclairs sitting in my refrigerator staring at me all weekend. They must have been good, since we ate 20 of them!

The recipe came from MeetaK at Whats for Lunch, Honey? (You can find the recipe there), and Tony Tahhan at Olive Juice. It's from Meeta's favorite sugar daddy Pierre Herme from the cookbook Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan.

The process involved making a chocolate sauce, and just using 7 Tbs of it in a chocolate glaze. The remaining sauce will be used for an ice cream topping-- Yum! Then I made a chocolate pastry cream (which is like a rich chocolate pudding) and pate a choux which forms the actual eclair base. Cool the eclairs, cut them open, apply the glaze to the tops, fill the bottoms with the pastry cream, squish them together to keep them from toppling over on the plate-- a very messy job--I kept having to lick and then wash my fingers. It's a tough job, but somebody had to do it! :)

They weren't all as pretty as the one I photographed, but they sure tasted good!