Long Weekend Cooking

We are having incredible weather for the long weekend. Last night I BBQ'd some ribs, fried up some wings in duck fat and had a little slaw.

Pizza Dough

I love making pizza. I am really trying to find a really good dough recipe. I tried this out tonight. The dough was thicker than my usual thin crust dough and was quite tasty. Take a look at the recipe. If you think I should be doing something different let me know.

Thick Pizza Dough
Recipe

Ingredients2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1.In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.

2.Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3.Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

4.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5.Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Christmas Morning Wife Saver

I make this every Christmas day but this could be made anytime for a brunch. It is delicious and can be made the night before. I decided to post this after someone on the FB Serious Eats Water Cooler posted about brunches.

Make this the day before and pop it in the oven in the morning.
16 slices of white bread crusts removed
16 slices of Canadian Back Bacon or Ham
16 slices of sharp cheddar cheese
6 eggs
½ tsp of salt
½ tsp of pepper
1 tsp of dry mustard
¼ cup of minced onion
¼ cup of green pepper finely chopped
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 ½ cup of whole milk
dash of Tabasco Sauce
¼ pound of butter
Corn Flakes

In a 9X13 buttered glass baking dish, put 8 pieces of bread. Add pieces to cover the dish completely. Cover bread with slices of bacon sliced thinly. Lay slices of cheddar cheese on top of bacon and then cover with slices of bread to make it like a sandwich. In a bowl beat eggs, salt, and pepper.
To the egg mixture add dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire Sauce milk and Tabasco. Pour over the sandwich. Cover and let stand in the fridge overnight. In the morning melt ¼ pound of the butter and pour over the top. Cover with Corn Flakes and bake for 1 hour at 350F. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

BBQ Ribs

Last year I switched over from a propane to a charcoal BBQ. So far I have been very happy with my new charcoal BBQ. Last night I made ribs for the first time using charcoal. I was quite happy with the results. I got a pretty good char on the ribs, perhaps a little too much. I will have to watch them a little more carefully next time. The sauce which is simply 2 bottles of Diane's Original BBQ sauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1/2 a cup of water, and two teaspoons of instant coffee granules, is super tasty. For the rub I use paprika, salt, pepper, and chili powder. This rub gives the ribs a fantastic taste. I usually begin my ribs in the oven for about 4-5 hours at about 250F. I rub them, put them in a large foil pan, pour in about 2 1/2 bottles of beer then cover with foil. Once they are ready, I then transfer them to the BBQ and begin basting with the sauce until ready.

Fries Cooked in Duck Fat

I have always loved french fries. I remember when I was younger the chip truck would ring its bell as it came down the street and I would beg my parents to give me 75 cents for an extra large fry. Well times have changed and chip trucks no longer ring their bells on their streets.

If you want an extraordinary french fry experience, try making your own fries, fried up in rendered duck fat. I guarantee you will will never go back to chip truck fries.

Just buy some rendered duck fat, get a deep frying pan, bring the duck fat up to frying temperature. Hand cut a couple of russet potatoes and fry away. The taste is amazing. For you health watch people, duck fat is a very healthy fat. It is much healthier than butter. The only fat better is pure olive oil. French fries without the guilt: Priceless.

Parmesan Pork Tenderloin

Here is another super easy recipe that tastes great.

Parmesan Pork Tenderloin

INGREDIENTS
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 small zucchini or summer squash, thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. Cut tenderloin crosswise into 12 slices, approximately 3/4-inch thick. Place each slice on its cut surface and flatten with heel of hand to 1/2-inch thickness. Combine crumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; dredge pork slices to coat.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in nonstick pan. Saute pork for 2 to 3 minutes per side; remove and keep warm. Add onion, garlic and zucchini or squash to skillet and saute 5 minutes or until tender.

When You Can't BBQ Your Steak Try This

Sometimes it is just too cold out to BBQ but I have found a pretty good alternative for cooking steaks. First, I marinate them in olive oil over night in the fridge and then I take them out and let them come to room temperature. I then get a fry pan good and hot and sear the steaks. I do flip them more than once. I picked that tip up from http://www.seriouseats.com/. I also season with seasoned salt. My favourite is Lowry's. Here is a photo of last night's supper.