Food

This post compiles most of the meals that I’ve prepared in the last week and a half, in chronological order.

Meal 1: Obligatory Pizza Post (OPP)


To celebrate our new pizza peel and Home Depot stone-tile-cum-pizza-stone, I made pizza dough, using an approximation of Alton Brown’s dough recipe, doubled. Because I don’t have a bread machine, I had to mix and knead the dough by hand, which with a large granite surface is surprisingly easy.

A day later, after a trip to the farmer’s market, we had the necessary ingredients: provolone, tomatoes, fresh garlic, crimini mushrooms. I like mozzarella too, but it didn’t look that good, and was expensive.

To make things more interesting, I threw together some meatballs with pepper, salt, bread crumbs, egg, parsley and red pepper. Fresh herbs and onion would have been nice too.



When these were almost done, in went the mushrooms, which look irresistible as they fry in a pool of beef fat.

As you can see, I need to work on my pizza tossing and forming technique. This was, in fact, the first time that I’d used a peel and stone, which despite their many advantages are not as indispensible as some would have you believe. A very hot oven and a pan are more than adequate for small pizzas, when used properly.


The pizzas were composed of sliced tomato, garlic, provolone, meatball, mushroom, basil and olive oil, and topped with red pepper and grana padano.



The asymmetry doesn't bother me in itself, but still, a less-than-ideally formed pie. The second attempt was clearly better.



Although I prefer a thinner, crispier crust, this dough produced a good base for the pizza: substantial without being too chewy. Frankly, I think that fresh tomatoes are a poor substitute for sauce, except when used for specific preparations, like a good margherita-style pie. Not wanting to break open a six-pound can of San Marzano tomatoes, however, my options were limited. I also missed the mozzarella. Overall, a delicious though significantly flawed preliminary effort.

Meal 2: Beef Stir-Fry


As with the pizza, the second meal described here was thrown together in a somewhat haphazard fashion. We had recently been given some Chinese ingredients – soy sauce, black vinegar, fermented soy beans – and had the usual staples – onion, garlic, ginger, chiles, etc – lying around. More than enough for a straightforward stir-fry, which is exactly what this was. Accompanied by steamed basmati rice flavored with a hint of sesame seed oil.

Ingredients:

Corn oil and Sesame seed oil
Garlic, Ginger, Chinese Chiles, Star Anise, Cumin, Onion, Green Pepper
Ground Beef, Crimini Mushrooms and Celery
Sichuan Peppercorn, Five Spice, MSG and Sugar
Fermented Bean Paste, Black Vinegar and Soy Sauce


Meal 3: Beef and Pork Rib Ragu with Sauteed Mushrooms


The ragu was the most premeditated of this week’s meals; in fact, the only one for which the protein – pork rib tips – was deliberately selected. Unfortunately, the fresh herbs available at the Hispanic supermarket nearby were limited to cilantro and a variety of mints. To their credit, a full array of dried herbs, including the bay leaves, oregano and thyme that I wanted were sold in large containers by weight, probably representing a value something like 1000% better than the absurdly packaged and priced offerings from McCormick and its ilk.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Onion, Garlic, Thyme, Crushed Red Pepper, Oregano and Parsley
Salt and Pepper
About equal portions of Ground Beef and Pork Rib Tips
Carrot and Celery
Bay Leaves
Red Wine, Chicken Stock and Water
Tomato Paste
Milk
Grana Padano

Process:

Brown pork rib tips in olive oil. Remove. Add more olive oil. Add beef, onions, garlic, herbs and seasoning. Saute. Add carrot and celery. Continue sauté. Add liquids, tomato paste, rib tips and bay leaves. Simmer, then reduce heat to lowest level and cover. Go back to work for approximately 4 hours. More time can only make the flavors better, but make sure you have added enough liquid. Even with a lid, liquids will get incorporated and some will escape as the hours go on. I thought I had added enough water to be present for the final reduction when I got back from work. In fact, the liquid was nearly gone, and the bottom of the pan was beginning to develop a crust, which I reincorporated with some more red wine. Finish with milk, grated nutmeg (optional) and cheese and a touch of olive oil, if the pork and beef fat don’t seem sufficient. Eat with a hearty pasta – we only had penne, although this particular penne worked quite well – as well as more cheese and freshly ground black pepper. I also added crimini mushrooms, simply sauteed in olive oil.

Adding the cheese:

Bringing it together:Mushrooms are delicious.
Mmmmmm

Result:

For me, one of the most satisfying dishes of all: rich, delicious, filling and deep. This particular ragu fed two large men for two dinners and two lunches a piece. It improves substantially in the refrigerator, if you can wait.


Meal 4: Chicken Curry a la Tikka Masala with Indian-style Eggplant and Plantain Stir-fry, Salad

(Forgive the flash)

A hastily thrown together meal, featuring microwave defrosted chicken breast and a farmer’s market eggplant whose time had come. The good thing about Indian curries is that they can be, and usually are, composed almost entirely of dry goods – onions, garlic, ginger, chile, spices – things that you can have on hand at any given time. This dish is meant to be reminiscent of the popular creamy tomato curry known as Tikka Masala, without the tikka, of course. The creaminess comes from a combination of 2% milk, dessicated coconut, almond butter, and macadamia nuts ground to a paste with a pestle.

Ingredients for Chicken Curry:

Oil
Tadka (For this dish: Cumin Seeds, Garlic, Ginger, Mustard Seed/Urad dal mix, Red Chiles)
Turmeric, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Cinnamon stick, Cloves, Coriander and Garam Masala
Onion
Chicken
Tomato Paste
Milk and Water
Dessicated Coconut, Almond Butter and Macadamia Nut Paste

Ingredients for Stir-fry:

Oil
Garlic, Ginger and Fenugreek Seeds
Coriander, Turmeric and Garam Masala
Eggplant
Green Plantain

Process:

For Curry: heat oil and add cumin seeds. Fry briefly, then add rest of tadka. Fry for a minute, then add the rest of the spices and onion. Fry for a couple minutes, then add chunks of chicken. Fry for a couple minutes, then add milk, water, coconut and tomato paste. Simmer, then finish with nut pastes.

It should look like this:


For stir-fry: heat oil in a wok. Fry garlic, ginger and fenugreek seeds. Add other spices, then eggplant and plantain.

Something like this:


Serve curry and stir-fry with steamed basmati rice.


Some beautiful tomato never hurts

Result:

The curry was delicious, even more so the next day. The stir-fry was good, but the plantains were not cooked properly. I imagine they would be better if first boiled, fried for longer, or possibly just cut up much smaller. I like the subtle flavor they bring, and I see potential in their texture. In this attempt, however, they were sort of firm and crumbly. The accompanying salad is composed of beautifully ripe tomatoes, spring greens, pine nuts, grana padano, salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic. Not a traditional accompaniment to curry, but quite good.


Feel free to try this at home.

King Boletus