Brussels Sprout and Mascarpone Pizza

I hadn't made pizza in a while, but turned out a few great pies this week.  The key was getting the oven and pizza stone as hot as possible then turning the broiler on high right after putting the pizza in.

I'm still using an approximation of Alton Brown's dough recipe, although I consulted an Alice Waters recipe too this time.  This dough spent a few weeks in the freezer before getting used, which I don't think I'd ever done.  The flavor didn't suffer, but it was a little less pliable than usual.

For toppings, we had canned San Marzano tomatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, oregano and fresh parsley, sliced garlic, mozzarella, mascarpone and brussels sprouts tossed in some olive oil.  The pies were finished with parmesan.  The chunks of brussels sprout were blanched; loose leaves were raw.  Next time I might roast the chunks for a few minutes alone to get some more char.

In

And out.

And again

Before the shaved parmesan

Yes

The Goat of Angora: King of the Mountain

Rich, unctuous, tangy: cheese. It can take so many forms, and yet at its core, cheese has the power to put one into a state of rapture worthy of some of our most potent psychotropics. Not content to experience merely the end product, we recently endeavored to make our own variety of cheese. The end result was a rich but smooth goats milk cheese, laced with garlic and a make-shift Herbes de Provence.

The process is really quite simple. You start with one quart of goats milk, gently simmered until it reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the milk has reached temperature, turn off the heat and add 1/2 cup lemon juice. Let sit for about 15 minutes as the curds magically separate from the whey. Oh my!

After about 15 minutes, pour the slurry into a colander lined with cheese cloth. The whey will drip off, leaving the curds from which the cheese genesis can begin. If you'd like, reserve the whey by placing the colander/cheesecloth combo over a pot. Then, use the whey to whip up some ricotta. I, unfortunately, contaminated the whey with dish soap. My b.

Expectant cheese makers doing work. 

After a good bit of the whey has drained off, cinch the cheese cloth into a ball, tie it off, and hang it over the sink (or your whey pot, if you please).

After about two hours of watching Big Love, return to your ball and become mesmerized by its metamorphisis from humble milk to a subtle chevre.

Ultimately, we mixed this Manna with a mixture of thyme, lavender, basil, garlic, and sea salt. The result was sublime, whether spread on a baguette or dolloped liberally onto some fresh made gnocchi, as we opted to do. The end result was a an intensely creamy but well balanced sauce, perfect to complement the delicate potato dumplings.

This midday feast, made possible by the generosity of my culinarily inclined friends, was a welcome respite from the 2 feet of snow that had bound us to our humble abode.

More Pickles!

I pickled a pound of crimini mushrooms yesterday with a few porcinis, sage, thyme, parsley, tarragon, garlic, balsamic, olive oil and salt.  I don't have pictures though, so I'll post on those when they're ready to eat in a week or so.

Tonight I finally got around to making pickle pickles, dill pickles as it were.  Except I couldn't get dill heads, or even dill seeds, so really they are imitation kosher pickles, with tarragon standing in (adequately I hope) for the herbiness of the dill.

Here is the whole spread before assembly:

We have:

3 pounds pickling cucumbers, blossom ends removed
4 sprigs of tarragon
8 cloves of garlic, sliced
3 de arbol chiles, split lengthwise
1 tablespoon allspice
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1.5 teaspoons black peppercorns

Close up of the spices:

Assemble the ingredients in layers, kind of like this:

Finally, dissolve 1/2 cup (uniodized) salt in 3 quarts of water and pour the brine until the cucumbers are covered.  Fill a ziploc freezer bag with leftover brine and push the cucumbers down so they are all completely submerged.

Apparently they will be ready in about 2 weeks.  I will update on their progress before then.

I also pickled some more pears, this time of the Seckel variety, which is the traditional pickling pear in America.

One

Two

Three

I used the same recipe as last time, halving the quantities once again.  Really, this is a better size pear to pickle, although peeling them is a bitch.