Monday, July 27, 2009

A Continuation of the Summer Pizza Quest





Well I grilled a couple of more pizzas tonight with better results than last time. I am using a pretty modest BBQ and I am having to adjust the heat for the grilled pizza. I am using Peter Reinhart's recipes for grilled pizza dough. It is: 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of instant yeast, 3 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 3/4 cul room temperature water.

Instructions:
1.
With a large metal spoon, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, yeast 1-1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and the water 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 the dough forms a coarse ball and clears the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Add more flour or water by the tablespoonful as needed. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then mix again on medium-low speed for an additional 2 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, supple and tacky but not sticky. 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 as you rotate the bowl with your other hand. Continue mixing for about 4 minutes, or until the dough forms a coarse ball adding more flour or water by the tablespoonful as needed. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then transfer to a lightly floured counter. Dust the top with flour to absorb the surface moisture, then knead the bough by hand for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the dough is smooth, supple and tacky but not sticky.
2.
Immediately divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Gently round each piece into a ball and brush or rub each ball with olive oil. Place each ball inside its own zippered freezer bag. Using the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil over the ball in each bag and seal the bags closed. Let the balls sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then refrigerate the balls for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
3.
Remove the dough 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 up to 3 days, or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

What I made tonight was a veggie pizza and a meat pizza. For the veggie pizza I pre-cooked broccoli, mushroom, onions, green pepper, red peppers, and seasoned with salt, pepper and a hint of garlic powder. For the meat pizza I pre-cooked some bacon, hamburger, onions, red peppers, and mushrooms.

On both pizzas I spread some pizza sauce, then some four cheese pizza cheese and then topped with the prepared toppings.

A note: The dough is quite good but I think the next time I will keep the exact recipe but add two tablespoons of honey to give the dough a sweeter taste.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

A Pizza Summer

After reading "American Pie" by Peter Reinhart, I have begun my own quest for the perfect home made pizza. I tried my first attempt at grilled pizza last night. I will post the recipe for the dough when I have perfected it. The dough lacked a little sweetness. But it was paper thin and crisp. I tried one veggie pizza and a sausage and bacon pizza. Both were superior to most restaurant pizzas and I am sure with a little more experimenting I will nail the perfect pizza. If you want a good read get Peter Reinhart's book. In addition to great recipes and ideas for pizza, Reinhart's account for his search for the perfect pizza is also quite entertaining.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Arrogant Chef Gourmet Pizza

I have been playing around with various dough recipes and toppings. This veggie pizza is quite tasty. What I really need is a better oven. Basically for the toppings I am using onions, mushrooms, green peppers, red pepper,  sliced green olives, my homemade pizza sauce, (make your own or buy store bought),  jalapeno peppers, and to make things simple Kraft Four Cheese Shredded Mix.



The Arrogant Chef Gourmet Thin Crust Pizza

1 cup hot water
1Tbsp honey
1.5 Tbsp Yeast
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour (more or less) (You can also add dried herbs to the flour for a flavored crust)
Olive oil
Should make 2 pizzas

Dissolve honey in the hot water
Add yeast - let it froth (about 5 minutes)

Sift in the flour and salt, (dried herbs if desired) work until mixed
Place dough in oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let rise about 30 minutes Divide into 2 balls.

Spread thinly on an oiled pizza stone brush lightly with olive oil (for best results use a pizza stone), garnish with sauce only, herbs (you can experiment with different herbs).That is part of the fun.
Bake in hot oven (500 F) for 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and add toppings as desired. To begin try veggie pizza with chopped onions, strips of green peppers, thinly sliced mushrooms, tomato slices and sliced olives (you can get pizza olives in the grocery store.)

Return to oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the crust begins to turn golden. Be careful not to overcook or the crust will be tough rather than crunchy. Remove from oven and let sit for a couple of minutes before cutting

If you wish to use meat, cook the meat first. That would include bacon, steak, chicken, sausage etc. Remember that with gourmet pizza less is more. Usually include no more than 2 or three toppings with the cheese. Also experiment with different cheeses.

Have a pizza making contest party. The possibilities are endless.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Mussels Italian

I will be trying out a new recipe. This recipe is courtesy of Sylvain. It is mussels smothered in a tomato sauce with hot italian sausages, green and red peppers and white wine. I will post the recipe after I try it out.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

A Wonderful Recipe

Well we just finished eating our seafood fettuccini and really it was a ten. Actually my wife said it was better than the dish from her favourite restaurant. For the seafood I used 4 cloves of garlic minced, 1 onion finely chopped, 1 tsbp olive oil, 1 lb of fresh shrimp peeled and tails removed, 1 lb sea scallops and 3/4 cup of dry white wine.

For the sauce I used 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 2 cloves of garlic minced, 2 cups of heavy cream, 1/4 tsp of pepper, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.

First make the sauce. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add the garlic, cream, pepper and bring mixture to a simmer stirring often. Add the parmesan cheese and simmer of 8-10 minutes or until sauce is thickened and smooth. When sauce has thickened add the mozzarella and stir until smooth.

While you are making the sauce cook the seafood. Saute the garlic and onion, and stir in the shrimp, cook for 1-2 minutes, stir in the scallops (must be sea scallops) then add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta. You should try to get fresh fettuccini and cook for about 4 minutes.

Mix the sauce with the seafood mixture, drain the pasta and add to to the seafood mixture and mix thoroughly. Enjoy. This recipe has been rated 10/10

The Arrogant Chef Seafood Fettuccini

My wife likes the seafood fettuccini at a local restaurant. She has challenged me to make my own version. I scoured the Internet but was unable to find a single recipe that sounded great. I will paste together a number of ideas from various recipes and give it a go. Stay tuned for the results.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

A New Way With Chicken

When I was a kid, many years ago, I remember coming home to the wonderful aroma of roast chicken. My father, a cook, just had a knack for making roast chicken a truly gourmet experience. Today we find a whole new world of chicken: chicken wings, thighs, breasts, all prepared in a wide variety of ways. I am still a little amazed at the price of wings, and thighs. No one ate these when I was a kid. Of course now, wings, those wonderful , sticky, hot pieces of chicken that go so well with a cold beer are the rage. Actually I have spent hours, days, weeks, weekends trying to come up with the ultimate wings recipe. I will post this wonder later this month.

Recently I came across a recipe for boneless, skinless thighs in the September 2007 edition of Fine Cooking -a must magazine for all amateur chefs. I will post the recipe on http://www.thearrogantchef.com/ later this year.

I wanted to come up with a side dish to complement the recipe. For now I am calling it Asian Zucchini Rice.

3 zucchini chopped
3 leeks thinly sliced (white parts only)
8oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup soy sauce (not soya)
1 tsbp asian sesame oil
1 tsbp olive oil
2-3 cups cooked white rice

1. Cook the rice
2. While the rice is cooking add oil to a large saute pan and saute zucchini, leeks and mushrooms until they are tender. About half way through add soy sauce, and sesame oil (salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add cooked rice and mix thoroughly and let simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.