ChiliDude's Profile
Pizza with egg topping?
I have made pizze (plural Italian), but never with an egg on one. If you wish to server it with an egg on each piece, it made be prudent to roll out the dough to be rectangular to be sliced into squares. My late mother-in-law baked rectangular pizze. It may also be easier to fry the eggs on a cooktop instead of putting them on a pizza as it bakes. Fry the eggs so that they can be added to the pizza just before it is ready to come out of the oven to let the eggs cook to the doneness you desire.
In bocca al lupo e mangia bene (if you need translation it is 'Good luck and eat well.')
Pizza Nissa Socca, the missing recipe
Very interesting! One of the things I like about the recipe is the thin crust. What I dislike most about commercial 'le pizzerie' (plural in Italian) is the breadiness of the crust. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950's before the explosion of corporate pizzerie, and the family owned places made thin crust pizza.
My cookbook challenge! (long...)
BTW, I have more than 200 cookbooks and pamphlets that I've collected in over 50 years. The only recipe that I followed to the letter was for chopped chicken livers in Joan Nathan's 'Jewish Cooking in America.' I have several chili cookbooks just because I like to read them. My favorite cookbook is the apron which I wear when experimenting in the kitchen. It reads "I don't need a recipe...I'M ITALIAN."
My cookbook challenge! (long...)
Should this be "cookbook buying addiction" instead of "cookbook buying addition?"
I'll go along with this statement in your opening paragraph of your lengthy thesis, "I was always an improvisational cook, preferring to grab a bit of this and that." But I still belong to the "What if...?" school of cooking specializing in "Cuisine Impromptu."
Yesterday's lunch was soup made with surimi (that fake crab leg stuff made with pollock) and tofu plus onion, celery, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, puree of ghost peppers and sweet red bell peppers, 5 spice seasoning, turmeric, ramen noodles and water. It worked well. I just grabbed what was available. The noodle flavor pack was discarded due the high salt content.
I fell asleep while reading your opus.
Is it safe to keep fresh herbs, garlic in olive oil?
Garlic-in-oil is a mixture of oil and garlic, either whole, chopped or minced. When you make it at home and use it right away, it is a safe product. It is also safe if you keep it refrigerated on a continuous basis, and use it within a week.
The trouble starts if you store homemade garlic-in-oil at room temperature, or if you keep it in the fridge for too long. These actions could allow growth of the spores that cause botulism, resulting in the production of toxin in the food.
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/food-aliment/garlic-ail-eng.php
please join my I HATE MAYO CLUB..LOL.. anyone welcome..even if you like it rop
So what makes Japanese mayo different from the stuff sold in the USA?
please join my I HATE MAYO CLUB..LOL.. anyone welcome..even if you like it rop
I like mayo except in one case. When I order an Italian hoagie at a sandwich shop, I am asked if I want 'oil or mayo?' Oil is Italian, mayo is French. I want oil and I think it is heresy to put mayo on a hoagie. I recently learned how to avoid the stupid question when I order a hoagie I say 'I want oil on my Italian hoagie.' Giving the oil clue before the sandwich order works well
For those of you who do not live in the Delaware Valley area and are not familiar with the 'hoagie', a hoagie is the Italian version of a sub, hero, etc.
pork enchiladas - green sauce or red sauce?
In New Mexico one may opt for green. I'm on the East Coast. I always opt for red. Either one can produce the desired heat.
I think the state question of NM is "Red or Green?"
Baked chicken in BBQ sauce
Bake first, drain fat, add BBQ sauce a few minutes before the meat is done and continue baking. Adding the BBQ sauce at the beginning will cause all the liquid in the sauce to evaporate, and may produce dry meat.
Making heartier tomato soup
I make a minestrone with soaked dried beans and barley plus aromatic vegetables. If you want 'creamy', roast some sweet potatoes, remove the skins, and mash them with a fork. Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the cooked beans before preparing the puree.
I know that it is redundant to suggest removing the skins, but I eat the skin when I have a roasted sweet potato when it is a side with some meat and another vegetable.
any recipe for pork sizzler steaks?
Now that I know the thinness I retract my suggestion given yesterday for the 'sizzler pork.' I now suggest that the 'sizzler' steaks be used for sandwiches similar to those called 'Italian steak sandwiches' or 'Cheese Steaks' in the Philly area. Google must have at least one website the describes the preparation of such a sandwich the next time you have pork of that thinness.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/philly-steak-sandwiches-recipe/index.html
any recipe for pork sizzler steaks?
Since I cannot fathom your definition of 'thin', what I'm about to suggest is for meat between 1/2" and 3/4" thick. First brine them for an hour in a solution of one quart of water, 4 tablespoons of sugar, and 3 tablespoons of Kosher or sea salt. Pat them dry before adding a dry rub of your choice. Then grill or broil them for a short period on both sides. Too long a period of heat exposure will dry them out. I suggest no longer than 4 minutes per side.
A Change from the ordinary...different salad ideas?
I had a salad for lunch today with some ingredients that need to be used before they were way past their prime. I never had this combination before today, and it is one that my wife would not consider eating. Let's call it 'weird salad for one', and it was delicious. None of the ingredients were measured. The ingredient list was...
Hand-torn Romaine lettuce
sliced black olives
sliced stuffed green olives
segments from 2 clementines
cubes of herbed Mediterranean medley cheddar cheese (which also contained olives)
1 sliced hard boiled egg
dressing of extra virgin olive oil & bottled lemon juice
I have a habit of combining ingredients of things that produce a dish that my wife would not consider eating. It's her choice to eschew my concoctions. I make my own breakfast and lunch every day because as retirees we have different times of arising in the morning. I'm up before or at 6 and cannot wait 4 hours to eat breakfast. We eat dinner together that she prepares most of the time.
Rice - How did you experience it today?
We make rice quite often so the method is not difficult to remember. Rice goes well with stir fries. My wife makes a beef stir fry which is served over cooked rice.
Rice - How did you experience it today?
Uncle Ben's Converted Rice for years and years. It still has some of the nutrients that plain white rice is missing. We never use quick cooking rice.
We cook it using a recipe originally published in the NYTimes half a century or so by Craig Claiborne with some variations. There are only 2 of us in our home now. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using a ceramic vessel with a lid, add about 2 tsp. olive oil and a 1/4" thick pat of butter, heat on cooktop until butter is melted. Add a 1/2 tsp. turmeric for color and antibiotic effect, a 1/4 tsp. of ground cayenne to the liquids. Stir in 1 cup of rice, stirring until rice is well coated, then add 1 and 1/3 cups of water and cover the vessel. Bring to a boil, then transfer the rice to the hot oven for 17 minutes. Remove the vessel and fluff the cooked rice with a fork. Serve!
We usually prepare rice this way when I make chicken paprikash. We use boneless chicken thighs to make the paprikash because thighs have a richer flavor than breast meat.
Vivi, ama, ridi e mangia bene (Live, love, laugh and eat well)! Buon appetito!
Mother's Day dinner am I overdoing the creaminess?
Go with your gut feeling. Don't complicate things. But where do you find fresh morels in Chicago. The last time I was blessed with fresh morels was more than 50 years ago while living in Champaign. A neighbor found them growing in the doorway of a dirt floor cellar where he was doing some work.
Since you mentioned Emilia Romagna, don't forget to get some nice thinly sliced prosciutto as part of the antipasto.
Vivi, ama, ridi e mangia bene!
Sugar Replacement
There's a paperback book entitled 'Substituting Ingredients' written by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Dole Klein, 1992. Both honey and molasses are suggested as substitutions. Replace 1 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of honey, or 1 and 1/4 cups of molasses. Reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 1/4 cup. Molasses, of course, is the result of refining sugar.
Honey is a monosaccharide. Granulated sugar is sucrose which is a disaccharide. Honey may be easier to digest.
What unusual ingredients have you used to make pasta sauce?
Roasted ripe red bell peppers, skin removed and made into a puree. The puree included some defrosted extremely incendiary chiles grown in last year's garden.
Traditional Ethnic Recipes
I've been married to my wife of Italian heritage for 52+ years, and I've seen enough pasta for 3 lifetimes. "I miei antenati non erano italiani (My ancestors were not Italian). That said, let's do risotto using a short grained rice like Arborio. Risotto is a good way to use leftover chicken, turkey, or fresh protein like shrimp or sausage.
It's my job to prepare the risotto in our empty nest. Ergo, I'm cooking for 2. The ingredients can vary from time to time.
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken or homemade turkey stock, preheated
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter + more butter at the end of the cooking time
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 bell pepper, any color, diced after stem and seeds are removed
1/2 cup dry vermouth, madeira or marsala
1 cup of Arborio rice
At least a couple of cups of shredded leftover cooked chicken, a couple dozen cooked shrimp, diced ham or sliced cured sausage (what Americans call pepperoni or diced Genoa salami)
A good amount of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
No salt or black pepper is added. Other ingredients are salty enough for us.
Preparation:
Have the stock preheated in a covered deep sauce pan before starting the process.
Add the olive oil and butter to a 3-quart stockpot (10" diameter 2" deep) at medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, celery and bell pepper to stock pot and allow the aromatics saute until the onion is translucent.
Add the rice to the pot and stir with a wooden spoon until it is coated with oil-butter mixture. Add the alcoholic liquid and stir the mixture. When the liquid is absorbed, add a ladle of heated stock and stir.
Each time the liquid is absorbed add another ladle full of stock. Repeat until all the preheated stock has been incorporated into the risotto.
Add whatever protein you've selected for the concoction and stir. Now add some more butter and grated cheese until the mixture looks creamy. Remove from the heat source and serve immediately.
Nota bene: The key to making good risotto is "pazienza, pazienza, pazienza" (patience, patience, patience).
In bocca al lupo e buon appetito! (Good luck and good appetite!)
Vivi, ama, ridi e mangia bene! (Live, love, laugh and eat well!),
ChiliDude
PS: I recently learned that wishing someone "Buona fortuna" (Good luck) is sarcastic like saying "Lotsa luck" to someone with a hare-brained idea.
Italian wedding soup--what else for dinner party?
We never heard of Italian wedding soup until we moved to the East Coast more than 40 years ago. My wife is of Italian heritage. We have never had wedding soup with pasta as an ingredient in the Philly area.
Lasagne (plural) can be prepared both with meat and without out. That way the vegetarians and vegans will not be left out.
I like the idea of antipasti with prosciutto, Genoa salami, soppressata, capocollo, aged provolone, chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano, olives, peperoncini, eccetera (Italian spelling).
Cheesecake made with ricotta would be a nice touch for 'La tavola di dolce.'
Instant parties
Breakfast pizze (plural) can also be quickly prepared. This may freak some people out, but I often take leftover pizza out of the fridge in the morning and eat it without heating it.
Instant parties
If you noticed, I suggested the Chinese and sandwich menus for lunch and/or dinner. We have Chinese carry-out specials for lunch as well as dinner in our area.
Instant parties
Frozen toaster waffles, syrup, eggs for a frittata or 2, and a 12-cup coffee maker and ground coffee if you're considering breakfast. A Chinese carry-out menu, a carry-out sandwich menu, a frozen dip that can be quickly thawed and crackers if you're considering lunch of dinner.
Recommendations for non-red meat AND low carb cookbook?
How To Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson. I have a copy...it's very handy and allows for innovation.
Look it up on Amazon...
Applesauce in savory dishes (other than a side for pork chops...). Any suggestions?
I suggest that you Google using 'savory recipes with applesauce' as keywords. I did just to reply to your post.
Gluten-free adventures with rice flour?
Although I do not have a problem with wheat flour, I got a copy of a quarterly magazine gratis called Delight gluten free at a doctor's office waiting room. There was a stack of the Spring 2012 issue. I took one out of curiosity, and found it quite interesting/. The issue was full of recipes and ads for products of which I was unaware. This post was submitted in case there are people who do not know of this publication.
What cut of beef should I buy to grind at home for burgers?
What in tarnation is 'flap meat?'
I just looked up on Wikipedia. The description reminds me of Steakums.
Deviled Eggs - Pasta or what?
I go along with piping assumptions. However, there's an ingredient missing from the recipe. Where's the ground chile (made from dried hot peppers) powder? There's not even mild paprika! Some form of capsicum needs to be included to mark it 'DEVILED.'
