Monday, April 30, 2012

Piggyback the Tip


Don't Drink Your Ingredients
(Piggbacking: Don't Pick At It)

IF YOU PICK AT YOUR DRINK YOUR INGREDIENTS WHILE PREPARING YOUR MEAL YOU WON'T BE HUNGRY WHEN IT COMES TIME TO EAT IT  YOU MAY GET SHITFACED If your recipe calls for any sort of booze, watch the temptation to imbibe.  

The Dessert I'm making for tomorrow can easily suck as it requires Tequila.  

I like Tequila.  

This recipe took WAAAAAY longer than it should have and the end result is up in the air.  I honestly think it is going to come out great, but I am also about to drunk dial old girlfriends.  And I'm gay.


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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Dammit

I Tried To Butter You Up

EVEN A KNOW-IT-ALL LIKE ME CAN SCREW UP And I totally do and I TOTALLY OWN UP TO IT.
My co-worker and friend Janine pointed out a recipe error of Paula Dean proportion--an apt description on a couple of levels.  On the Brownie Walnut Pie recipe I had in there that one should use 8 OZ of butter for the crust instead of 8 tablespoons. For the uninformed, that is double.

I still do not know if it was a total disaster but as she described a puddle of butter in the center while cooking, I can only image it sis not turn out well.

My apologies to anyone who did not have a success with this recipe---but only if it was the butter that screwed it up.  If not, you only have yourself to blame.


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Friday, April 27, 2012

Gram's Pizza Bread à la Me
(White with Prosciutto and Spinach)



**This recipe requires a day's prep with this recipe*.  Don't rush it!

Ingredients:
pizza dough (my recipe* or from store/pizza shop)
2 tablespoons olive oil and extra for rubbing
5 cloves garlic crushed with a garlic press
oregano
baby spinach (fresh this time, no cheats: no frozen)
prosciutto thinly sliced (just get a ton if you are going to snack on it later)
black pepper
1 1/2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella
pecorino romano

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Take your dough--whether you used the recipe I did* or you bought yours at a pizza shop or store (which would make you lazy and impatient------"Hello, kettle?  You're black") and get it to a floured work space. 

[If you used the recipe I gave, use one of the pieces you made. If you are in NYC and went to a pizza shop, get one small piece of dough.  If in Rochester, go to a Pontillo's and get dough for a medium pie or a large and cut in half (duh).]

Flatten the dough with flat hand and spread out.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin (and for those who have worked with pizza, give it a toss or two).  Roll again until it's flattened some and around a foot in diameter and 1/2" thick.

Pour about olive oil onto the center of your sphere and spread toward the edges with your hand.  Add the garlic to the oil and spread that evenly onto the slicked surface. Sprinkle liberally with oregano, black pepper and romano.

Spread whole pieces of spinach evenly and overlapping on the dough, spreading almost to the edges.  Repeat the same process with the prosciutto and sprinkle with romano and half of your mozzarella.

Starting with any end, start rolling it up like you would a poster, blueprint or treasure map.  Keep it nice 'n tight or it will unravel or grow too much while cooking.  It may have a hump in the middle like a snake working something down-that's fine.  Transfer your roll to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil slicked with vegetable spray (like PAM).  Slick up your rolled loaf with olive oil, especially the edges to almost seal 'em and poke a slit in the middle to allow for some of the moisture to escape while cooking.  Put tray in the oven on the lowest of the racks and cook for 30-35 minutes. 

(It may take longer based on a number of things--oven heat, dough quality, roll technique--so you will want to watch it so the outside doesn't cook too hard but also that the inside isn't overly doughy.  Take it out when you think it's done and let cool for like 5-10 minutes and cut right in half so you have two loafs.  Check the inside coils.  If the middle is overly soft or uncooked, pop back in the oven.)

Tip:  If you need to continually put back in the oven due to doughy insides and fear over cooking the outside, slice it up into many pieces (like you would any loaf of bread) and lay 'em out overlapping each other and throw them back in the oven and cook till you're satisfied.  There's no shame in this, it will still taste great and in some cases give it a great crunch.

Notes:
This recipe is based on a true story is based on my grandmother's (Gram's) pepperoni bread recipe that we've enjoyed, well, forever.  She's 90 so I think that a lot more people have enjoyed this that I can imagine.  I also do her version with pepperoni as well as tons of other creations and topping combinations with white, red or pink sauce...vodka too.

Tweaks:
The thing I tweaked was pepperoni and mozzarella removal for the spinach and prosciutto.


Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Pizza Dough
(For home--not at Pontillo's)


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour (and extra for dusting)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 
olive oil
Preheat the oven to nothin'-----you aren't cooking yet.  That's tomorrow.  

Put water into a small bowl and add yeast.  Stir with your (clean) hand until it has all melted into the water.  In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together.  Add the yeasty water to the flour mixture and mash together until a dough starts to form.  (If too dry, add some water--if too wet, you're screwed and should go back to the store, buy more yeast and start over.  I'm kidding, just add more flour.)

 
De-bowl your dough and place on a floured work space.  Knead the dough until your form is a ball that is smooth--when in doubt, keep kneading it.  You'll know what smooth is when you get there as it really does become an almost perfect ball.   My family members know the fold technique where, beyond the kneading, you almost tuck it into itself over and over.

Drizzle the inside of a bowl with your oil and put your dough ball in there covered by a damp kitchen towel.  Store it in a safe, dry place.  It will rise and [nearly] double in size after a couple of hours.  When it has, take it out to your work space and relieve it of any air that has gathered. (Just press down on it.)

Cut into 3 equal size pieces and tuck 'em again into 3 balls (at this point each will become a near-flawless, perfectly smooth orb is in your hands). Put them in 3 oiled bowls and cover (again) with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for an hour.  Remove the towel and wrap in plastic wrap and throw in fridge over night and wait till tomorrow.

Notes:
This recipe was made directly from an existing recipe---really nothing is changed here.  Though I know backwards and forwards how to make pizza dough from years of working at our family pizza shops, I only know how to make enough dough in a rip your arm off size mixer and have never made a small amount.  This is a first time thing, so I knead to be gentle--see what i did there?

Tweaks:
The only thing I tweaked was the fancy wording or overly specific things in the recipe.  I think I used sea salt.  It may not be fine sea salt but, truth be told, it coulda been crushed sidewalk salt--I don't really care.  Salt is salt and that's just "fine" by me. 
I also have our family fold technique mentioned in the above steps.

Cheats:
This whole post is a pretty much a cheat against the nature of this bog.  One big (credit-given) hack of a cheat because I didn't even try to make this one my own.

No Verdict on this one as the final recipe will yield a success or failure.

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Rigatoni
with Marinara, Pesto and Ricotta
(The Effortless Kind)



Kneel to the King:  I started making this dish years ago after having something similar at our favorite pub down the street, The Half King.

Ingredients:
1 lb rigatoni
marinara (use whatever you like-homemade or bottled (if you wanna anger Ma))
pesto *recipe here or used jarred.
part-skim ricotta
2 tablespoons pecorino romano cheese
salt
cinnamon


Easy Explanation: I am using already prepared marinara as well as the pesto that I made a couple of weeks back for my Simple Sandwich recipe and froze. I took it out last night to thaw so that today I could just make an easy meal.

Boil water and add salt to a large pot for your pasta.  Prepare your pasta, al dente, as instructed on your box.  While the pasta cooks, heat up your marinara (I had my marinara left over) If you want it fresh and new, prepare ahead for this recipe before you boil your water.  Take your pesto (jarred or pre-prepared) out of the fridge to allow to come to room-temperature.

When the pasta is done, strain and spritz with a little cold water to make the rigatoni (a little) firm.  Toss, still in the colander, with the romano 'till all are covered with cheese and plate, dish or bowl it.  Cover first with the red sauce, then the pesto and top it off with a spoonful of ricotta.  My family's regional background has sweetness in it's blood, so we always add some cinnamon to our cheeses.  My bf likes it in certain dishes, but not this one so I didn't mix the cheese or anything, I just sprinkled mine with a dusting of flavor.


Notes:
This recipe is one of mine. It is super simple...and uses ingredients that may already be in the house. 
I did use that Pesto I made a while back and froze--it was still amazing!
And btw, when you allow the heat of the sauce to essentially melt the ricotta into the pesto, uhh, so good!.

Cheats:
Though not technically cheats, as this is my recipe and my shortcuts (existing marinara and pesto) were made by me, others can cheat by using jarred sauces.

Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy.

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Just the Tip

Let Things Rise All The Way Before You Play With Them


IT'S WORTH THE WAIT [WHEN WORKING WITH DOUGH] I always have to tell myself to relax and slow down.  Rushing a recipe is a bad thing especially when working with dough.  Dough has to rise properly to have the right consistency, malleability and taste. Let is settle properly and let it gestate as long as is appropriate.

Relevancy: I have a new recipe that I really REALLY want to do, but it involves pizza dough and I want to make it from scratch. I have to make it tonight and wait 'till tomorrow to use it otherwise it won't spread right or hold it's shape.  Spreading it well is very important.


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Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Update: Consensus



Verdict: Success
I heard back from some of the Fashion GPS crew and it seems it was a hit.  If it was 1/2 as good as licking the beaters, then it had to be fantastic.  Easy and a more than satisfying yield.

Definitely Neighbor-worthy.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Just the Tip

Don't Wear Your Gym Clothes While You Cook--People Will think You're Homeless and REALLY Fond of Your Ass


MARK! YOU'RE NOT A STREET URCHIN Don't make the same mistake I've (apparently) been making for years.  Don't wear clothes you just cooked in to the gym or anywhere in public for that matter.  Your fellow gym bunnies, or in my case your neighbors, will think you're gross.

I used to think people were checking me out in the gym (and this may be partially true, don't get me wrong) but they may just be thinking "wow, that guy is filthy".  I gasp at the fact that they may have been thinking it since we moved into this building almost 6 years ago!  When you're as hyper and spastic in the kitchen as I am you (should) know there is crap all over your clothes after you cook or bake.  An apron only covers so much of your body.  I may have to start wearing a hazmat suit if I don't want to have a change of clothes between work and gym outfits.

Flour and my own handy work are THE worst offenders.  My friend Shireen pointed this out to me over a decade ago when we worked at my Uncle's Italian restaurant, Ciao! and I never grew out of it apparently.  I tend to wipe my hands hands on my ass instead of my apron.  This leaves perfect hand prints on my butt.  Unfortunately it doesn't even look like someone else couldn't keep their hands off of me--it is crystal clear they are my own hands.  I noticed that I have not broken the habit this morning at the gym. 

Sad.  I am proud of my ass but not that into it.


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Friday, April 20, 2012

Just the Tip

Trust is Great, But I Don't Trust You


KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE WHEN SHARING A DISH Not just for the food you make, but whether or not your recipient is likely to return your plate, pan or container (or whatever). 

When in doubt, use something like a foil pan for something you know you are taking out of your home.  This is also true if you are scared of something special breaking or getting scratched at someone else's hand--you won't have to worry.

It helps keep you from being douchey and cleaning your own dish at your friend's house (if you're leaving from a party or something) just 'cause you want it to come with you----yes, I'm that guy.

Plastic Chinese takeout containers are ESSENTIAL in my house.  Not just for leftovers in the house but for sending people away with treats or dropping food gifts outside neighbors' doors.  I could care less if I ever see them again-the containers, not my neighbors.  I know they will use them again for something else.  It is green enough to make up for the less green approach of using disposable foil vs a reusable pan and trusting people.

My bf's mother is the QUEEN of leftovers and sharing food and always trusts you with her tupperware.  She is such a good cook that she knows that you will bring her's back so she can fill it up again on your next visit.  She's smart....no tupperware=no food.



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Thursday, April 19, 2012

Brownie Walnut Pie



Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter cut up into small pieces
3 oz unsweetened semi-sweet chocolate chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar light brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts broken up
walnuts for decoration


Biscotti Crust:
8 biscotti coarsely broken
8 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and diced
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar light brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Blend the biscotti, butter and sugar in a food processor until the crumbs are moist and stick together when pressed. Firmly press the crumb mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a pie dish, building up a high rim. Bake the crust until golden and feels firm to the touch for about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely.

Whisk the butter and the chocolate over low heat in a heavy medium saucepan until the chocolate is almost melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk until the chocolate is fully melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour and salt with a flexible rubber spatula. Stir in the nut pieces. Scrape the batter into the prepared Biscotti Crumb Crust. Decorate with walnuts.

Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the outer 2 to 3 inches are slightly puffed and dry looking and the center is set, 35 minutes.  Cool the pie completely on a rack.


Notes:
This recipe was made for my friends at Fashion GPS who will determine its fate as a success or failure.

Tweaks:
The only things I tweaked were the sugar and the chocolate.  I already have 3 kinds of sugar in my cabinet and dark brown sugar is not one of them.  I refuse to buy more. 
And I couldn’t find unsweetened chocolate.

Cheats:
This whole post is a pretty much a cheat against the nature of this bog.  One big (credit-given) hack of a cheat because I (practically) didn’t change a thing (except that I added the über crucial Ghirardelli choco-star in the middle).

Verdict:TBD

Verdict: Success

Definitely Neighbor-worthy

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Italian Spinach Meatloaf
with Healthy Tweaking

                                                     *shown with mashed potatoes and gravy


Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion 1 shallot
4 garlic cloves crushed diced
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon 1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoons 2 teaspoons crushed hot red pepper
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
2 lbs ground lean beef 1lb lean ground turkey meat
1 lb Italian style sweet sausage Italian style turkey sausage (hot or sweet) de-cased
3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs homemade whole wheat bread crumbs (recipe to follow)
3 eggs 2 eggs, 1 egg white beaten
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
+ 1 teaspoon black pepper  
+ jalapeño (optional depending on if you like heat.  If you like a lot, do not remove seeds)       

Pre-eat your oven to 350°

Whole wheat bread crumbs:
3-4 slices of whole wheat bread
1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 teaspoons paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon 2-3 pinches of salt
1/2 teaspoon 2-3 pinches of black pepper.

Place your bread in a food processor and, well, process until fine crumbs are achieved.  Lay these out on a foil lined cookie sheet and cook on the top rack of your oven for about 10 minutes. (You can tell when they look just crunchy to be done-and not burnt.)


Meatloaf:
Heat olive oil in frying pan on range on High. Add shallot, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, hot red pepper. Lower heat to Low and cook until onion is clear. Add the spinach and break up with wooden spoon for like 5 minutes.  Allow to cool some.
Put beef and sausage in a large bowl and add in spinach mixture, bread crumbs, eggs, cheese and salt/pepper; mix well with hands. Make a mound out of your meat (like a squished loaf of bread-duh-and cover with bbq sauce and some hot sauce.  Cook 1 1/2 hours.
I add gravy to the slices when I plate.


Notes:
I love this dish and it is really simple to make.  I have been making it for years and found it at cooks.com. And because it takes so long to cook, you can make your sides while it finishes and/or take a nap, gym, laundry, etc…


Tweaks:
Substituted turkey meat for both the beef and sausage in the recipe.  The turkey burger has fewer calories, less fat, and a bit more protein.
Removed one egg yolk—it won’t be missed
Added black pepper and added to the amount of red pepper for this recipe.
Substituted shallot in place of an onion—it’s got more of a pop.
Made my own breadcrumbs.
I cut the thyme in half---it can come across too strong if you use too much.

Cheats:
I did not make my own gravy-I used a packet...lame, I know but this was made LATE and I was too tired to wow.



Verdict: Success

Tried and true, this recipe is still Neighbor-worthy.


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Just the Tip

Don't Be Wasteful/Waistful--Be Socially, Economically and Aesthetically Responsible

MAKE ENOUGH TO FILL YOUR PLATE, NOT YOUR FRIDGE Making too much food when you cook is bad for a number of reasons.  The first, and quite possibly the most important (at least it seems to be at our place), is that when you make too much food, it ends up being wasted.

Even when you (and by 'you', I am totally referring to me too) pull the "I'll eat it later" or "I'll bring it to work for lunch tomorrow" excuse, you know it's going to sit in the fridge, taking up room -paying no rent- only to end up in the garbage chute.  It is such a shame.  A) It's like throwing out money and B) That whole "starving kids in Africa" line is still true and these days you can just as easily refer to the starving kids down the street.  If you're above actually sharing your unwanted food with the struggling neighbors (here or in Africa), don't have enough of it to throw out.

Another reason it's so bad is that you (people, or possibly you) tend to over eat when there is more food on your plate than you need to leave you sated.  Hello Fat Americans!  We're like dogs sometimes.  We should eat 'till you're full not 'till it's gone.  That's where I get all play-on-words with the "waistful"...get it?

And sometimes it's not out of unhealthy appetites that keeps us eating 'till our plates are clear--it can be out of the desire not to be wasteful that we over stuff ourselves.  It's a vicious cycle.
Long and short of this tip: Only cook reasonable portions.  You won't feel like you overspent, overate and won't be sore on the eyes.


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Monday, April 16, 2012

1,000 HITS!

I'm Beyond Psyched. 

SOMETIMES YOU GET REWARDED WHEN YOU SHARE I brought some of the brownies into the office for my co-workers and when one of them checked out the blog, we saw that the milestone was passed.

In 25 days.  I've made the joke, either good word of mouth is helping propel this, or I have a really good stalker with a worn out refresh button--either way, I'm proud.Thanks so much everyone!
MPS



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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Write-in Recipe


Chocolate Crunch Brownie Sundae



This is my first post with a recipe that someone has sent to me to try out.  My friend Jen sent me a recipe for Chocolate Crunch Brownies.  In keeping with the theme of the blog, I tweaked it some and then turned into my own creation. 

Thanks Jen!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter 1/2 cup salted butter 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (I nuke mine ‘cause
  I’m not patient enough to wait for it to soften)
2 cups sugar
4 eggs beaten
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow crème caramel (or butterscotch if you prefer)
1 cup creamy crunchy peanut butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips  *see cheats
3 cups crisp rice cereal (Rise Krispies)
+ vanilla ice cream
+ chocolate syrup (cooled)
+ whipped cream
+ cinnamon
+ Nesquik (powder)
+ chocolate shavings***      
          

Pre-eat your oven to 350°

Mix your cocoa, flour and salt in a small bowl.  In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy.  Gradually add the dry mix to your butter mixture and continue blending until a smooth batter has formed.  Pour the batter into a 9 x13 greased baking dish and bake for 28 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack**

Spread the caramel on the surface of the room temperature brownies and warm a small sauce pan on Low heat on your range.  Put your chocolate and peanut butter and melt it, stirring constantly.  When liquefied (and nutty), add the Krispies and mix.  Spread the crunchy mixture over the caramel.  Put in the fridge to cool.

Cut your cooled brownies into whatever shape you want and plate them—if you’re a fancy-pants, decorate your plate too.  Scoop your ice cream (I used sugar free) onto your brownies.  Cover ice cream with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon & Nesquik and chocolate shavings.

Smile, then feel guilty---this is a bad thing for waistline watchers but good for sweet lovers.

Notes:
How dumb is it that [Nestle] Quik is now called Nesquik? Lame.
I cut some unhealthy corners but this is such a non-healthy thing that I can’t label anything a Healthy Tweak today.
***I made chocolate shavings from a chocolate Easter egg by using a mini cheese grater that I got at my cousins Jerry and Andrea’s wedding.


Tweaks:
I cut out 1/2 of the salted butter and substituted unsalted. 
I hate marshmallow anything---my brother David may not even read this blog anymore due to it even being mentioned in this post he hates it so much—so I substituted caramel (a fat-free one).
I used crunchy peanut-butter (I used “all natural” from Smart Balance) instead of creamy to further support the crunchy claim made by the title of the recipe.  Even Snap, Crackle and Pop need support sometimes.

Cheats:
*I only had about a cup of chocolate chips in my cabinet, so I broke up one of my leftover chocolate eggs that I got from my bf’s mother at Easter.  Filled the void perfectly.
**Refer to one of my Just the Tip posts for my wire rack cheat.



Verdict: Success

To call this recipe Neighbor-worthy, would be in an insult.  It is so much better than that.  They will all have to spend an extra week working this iff at the gym, but SO worth it.




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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Just the Tip

When You Live in Manhattan and Don't Own (or have room for) a Wire [Cooling] Rack


MAKE YOUR OWN If you have an oven and/or or a high end microwave, you have a rack.  If you are a human that eats, you have bowl.  And unless you are a grown-up frat boy, your bowls most likely match.  Take two same-sized bowls and spread them apart and lay the oven or microwave rack on top of them (not the one that you just baked with obviously-take it out of the oven before you pre-heat).  Make sure they are spaced out enough to safely support your rack and avoid the wobbles.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Bacon Wrapped Chicken
Stuffed with Gorgonzola and Jalapeño
with Healthy Tweaking


                                                                           *Pictured with smashed potato and salad



Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup toasted pecan, chopped
2 scallions sliced on the bias 1 small shallot chopped
several slices center cut bacon turkey bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
+1 small jalapeño chopped (If you don’t like too much spice, remove the seeds)
salt and pepper

Sauce:
2 tablespoons butter “fake” butter (I used Smart Balance Light)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup half and half or cream 1/2 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
salt and pepper
+ 1/4 cup dry white wine
+ 1 tablespoon white vinegar
+ 1 tablespoon dijon mustard


(This recipe is made for two people to have a serving and a half)

Heat your oven to 375°

Cut your chicken across the breast without severing it on one side (aka butterfly).  Spread the butterflied chicken pieces out on a workspace and cover with parchment paper.  Pound the chicken until flat and tender.  Season with salt and pepper on both sides.  Cover each face-up piece with the gorgonzola followed by shallot and jalapeño.

Roll the chicken up from one long side to the other and wrap the bacon around the chicken, securing with the bacon (and keeping the chicken rolled up) with toothpicks.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan on Medium-High heat.  Put the chicken in your pan and brown on all sides.  If you are on the more skilled side, feel free to remove the toothpicks while you go along to get a more even brown.  If not, that’s fine, just turn, turn, turn…

Remove (I recommend using metal tongs) chicken from pan and place in a baking dish and bake in oven for 15 minutes.

While the chicken finishes cooking put the same pan on the range on medium high and melt the “fake” butter and add the flour.  Whisk the flour/butter for about 30 seconds to a minute, making sure it doesn’t burn away.  Add the chicken stock, vinegar, wine and allow to thicken.  Finally, add the milk and mustard(s), mix and reduce heat to low until you are ready to use it.

When the chicken is done, cut it in half (careful for squirting—hot cheese) to show off the center.  Plate it and cover with your sauce.



Notes:
I use an old stand-by recipe by Rachel Ray that I’ve done for years and tweaked it to my liking.  I changed measurements from said recipe and added or swapped items.  I also adjusted timing which is not noted here.


Tweaks:
I cut out some things that are unnecessary (health-wise) or changed ‘em up for something different.
Instead of 1 full cup of blue cheese, I used only 1/2 cup of gorgonzola—a lot of cheese is not necessary when dealing with such powerful flavors.
Instead of regular bacon, I used turkey bacon.  The turkey bacon has fewer calories and less fat than regular bacon but note that it can have higher sodium-hence my choice to not use extra salt.  It's not missed though, thanks to the power of the gorgonzola.
I cut the stock in half for more flavor in the form of substituted white wine and vinegar.
We don't keep "real" butter in rotation at our place-though it's around from time to time when you can't skip the "fake" stuff,like in some baking....so I used Smart Balance(less cholesterol).
I am not a fan of scallions for this recipe as they often are too much a standout.  I prefer the sweeter, mellower shallot which works nicely with my addition of jalapeño which gives the chicken a kick.



Verdict: Success

This recipe is definitely deemed Neighbor-worthy.


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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

TV Dinner

Family Recipe


MY COUSIN DAVE PONTILLO WAS CO-PRODUCER AND SERVED AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE GREAT STEAK CHALLENGE 2 Airing Tuesday night (April 10th) at 9:00pm est on the Cooking Channel. 

The Great Steak Challenge brings together two of America's timeless and tastiest obsessions...Steak and wine! Ten amateur chefs from around the country go head-to-head at the beautiful Beringer vineyards in Napa Valley for $25,000 in prize money, all to see who has the best steak recipe, paired with a Beringer wine. Bobby and Jamie Deen host, along with a panel of experts, to crown America's best backyard griller!

View the trailer here.

Keep an eye out for David.  He's a talented, hard-working guy that comes from a great family, if I may say so myself.  Check it out and look for his future projects!

The extended Pontillo clan (Pontillo/Fricano/Tepedino/Woodring/Spiecher) is not just responsible for a great family network to be part of, but also responsible for half of the burns on my forearms--from pizza ovens at the Pizza Shops we all worked at at one point or another (Pontillo's Pizzeria-Western NY's Finest-Since 1947).



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Monday, April 9, 2012


Dark Cherry-Red Velvet Roll-Up
Dark Cherry-Red Velvet Layer Cake
SALVAGE ATTEMPT




Ingredients:

Cake:
unsalted butter (for smearing)
1 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup dark cherry cola (I used Dr Brown’s)
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk *see buttermilk mixture cheat at bottom.
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon red food coloring
2 teaspoons 1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups 1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 confectioners sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 350º

Line a high-lipped cookie sheet with parchments paper.  (Unsalted) butter up the paper and the sides of the cookie sheet and dust with flour.  Lay out a kitchen towel (nothing soft like a bath towel or hand towel) on your workspace and dust with confectioner's sugar.
Cake:
Start with your cherry cola.  Put in a medium sauce pan and place on your range set on Med-High.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for like 20 minutes.  Let the soda reduce some.  You will need at least 1/2 a cup for this recipe.  Allow the cola to cool.

While the cola is cooling, whisk together your flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder and salt in a bowl.  In a bigger bowl whisk the granulated sugar, (cooled) cola, oil, food coloring, eggs, extracts and buttermilk mixture.  Slowly pour the dry bowl into the wet mixture bit by bit until the ingredients have mixed.

Pour the batter and spread evenly onto your parchment paper and put into your oven on the center rack.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Filling:
While cake bakes, whisk the cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and the extract in a big bowl.  In another bowl, beat the other 1/2 cup cream and the powdered sugar with a mixer until it ripples.  Slowly fold the mixer mixture into the other bowl, folding the cream cheese over gently. Throw in the fridge to chill.

When the cake is done baking, take out of the oven and place on a cooling rack**.

When cake has cooled, carefully flip it (and for people like me, seriously, carefully) onto the sugared towel and peel back the still buttery paper.  Slowly roll the cake and towel, from the short end, into a loose coil and set on the cooling rack to kind of get used to that shape.

After you've checked your e-mail or taken a nap, unroll the settled cake. Spread the filling over the cake surface and carefully reroll the cake. Put on a plate or platter and trim off the sides to clean it up and dust it up with confectioners' sugar for aesthetics.


SALVAGE ATTEMPT: If the cake has cracked at this point, keep cake as is and (as the cracks most likely occurred on the edges where the folds failed to sustain their curve) slice off the edges and dust it up with confectioners' sugar for aesthetics.  You will be left with a long plank with visible layers.  From here, slice width-wise into several pieces and you have portioned layer cake that still looks good (and if not screwed up due to tweaks or errors) and tastes just as good as the product the original recipe would have yielded.

Notes:
I pieced this together from different recipes and tweaked ‘em and made them what I thought would be appropriate.  I changed measurements from said recipes and added or swapped items.

Tweaks:
I cut back on the amount of soda and added time to the reduction.  Whenever I "reduce" anything, it always takes longer than as prescribed by others.
I chose to use less heavy cream than proposed in the recipes I saw--isn't this dessert indulgent enough? 

Cheats:
*I substituted a mixture of whole milk and lemon juice for buttermilk.  I HATE buying a product to only use a small portion of it.  I always have milk and lemon in the house.  1 cup whole milk + 1 tablespoon lemon yields buttermilk substitute after it has had a chance to curdle (about 15mins.)

**I live in Manhattan and don't have a freakin' cooling rack.  I take out the tray from my microwave and out it on top of two bowls. 

Personal Errors:
I forgot to measure out the buttermilk mixture after making it, so I actually used a whole cup instead of 1/3 of it.

Injuries:
I burned my palm talking the cake out of the oven.


ORIGINAL Verdict: Failure

The cake tore a bunch of times when rerolling toward the end.  Tasting happens on Easter, so we'll see...

Salvageable? Yes

Successful Salvage? Yes
(For both taste and presentation)


This recipe is not now deemed Neighbor-worthy Holiday Family-worthy.


Want to be on the mailing list or have a recipes to share? Contact me at themaniccheater@gmail.com.