Iota's Profile
Pizza Hounds -- Favorite Canned Tomatoes for Neapolitan-style Pizza?
Boxed Pomi lists as its ingredients, tomatoes. That's it. They taste pretty good for canned tomatoes, but usually need salt because they don't have salt added.
Limoncello- WTF???
I think it could be the limoncello. Since it is from Costco, it may just be some thoughtlessly mass-manufactured product that cuts corners by using artificial flavorings and amped up sugar to cover the chemical-flavor. You may want to try to make it yourself, it's commonly made in Italy at home.
TOMATO SAUCE
Could be a simple rule of thumb to ensure a long enough cook time, especially when dealing with canned tomatoes.
On the other hand, a sauce made from fresh summer tomatoes, say, peeled and run through a food mill, can be perfect with a very brief cook time (just until thickened) to keep that fresh brightness of fresh tomatoes.
what to do with celery root?
Homemade celery salt, per Fergus Henderson:
1.5 c Coarse Sea Salt
1lb Peeled, grated celeriac
Mix salt and celeriac together in a plastic container. Refrigerate for 2 days. Lay out on baking pan and bake for 2-3 hours at 200F until dried out and crispy. Check the mixture from time to time to ensure that there is no singeing. Grind dried mixture in either food processor or mortar and pestle.
Henderson suggests using on boiled eggs.
Munchies for work Xmas party?
I say get a baguette (or two), some goat cheese, olive oil, and prosciutto (thinly sliced). Slice the baguette into 1/2in to and inch slices, brush each slice on one side with the olive oil, place under the broiler oiled side up until toasted a nice deep gold. Spread goat cheese on each piece (it's helpful to let it get to room-ish temperature). I like to then put a healthy pinch of coarsely crushed black pepper on each piece (I'm a black pepper fanatic, though). Take your slices of prosciutto and either tear or cut it into roughly baguette-size pieces and place on the top of each. Cheers!
Pizza = Crack
For my taste, I would cook the pizza longer to develop the crust more, and to do this, I would totally avoid using paper towel on the mozzarella. The water content retards the browning and burning of the cheese, allowing for the crust to get a lovely, deep tone. Better yet is to do the pizza on the grill, which takes a modified method of browning one side of the dough, flipping the dough, topping the browned side and finishing on the grill.
Why did my Pyrex baking dish explode?
http://consumerist.com/consumer/pyrex/why-pyrex-bowls-explode-232474.php
My roast potatoes stink!
I think roasting potatoes is more to do with technique than a recipe per se. If you want crispy potatoes, the essential thing is to make sure you roast them in a single layer, say loosely spread on a sheet pan, at fairly high heat, say, 375-400. Also, I think it important to make sure you've cut them into a proper size to ensure that they aren't overly thick and also ensure that there is more surface area for crispy, brown goodness. Typically, I'll do mine one of three way, thin long wedge, 1.5 in cubes or long french fry-like cuts. Then, it's a matter of seasoning to your liking. I coat mine in oil (usually veggie or peanut, olive oil tends to take somewhat of a harsh flavor from the heat and browning), add generous amounts of salt and pepper, and then either dried oregano/marjoram or chopped fresh rosemary. You can't really go wrong, just cook to crispness and check for done-ness with a fork. Good luck!
