Christmas Anyone?

Are you thinking about Christmas yet?  I’m having one of those rare lucid moments when I realize that if I start doing something about it now, I might have accomplished Christmas by the time it gets here.  I’d like to make something for people.  I’m not sure what.  Have any of you got any clever plans for gifts this year?

What to do?

Pollo al Diavolo

In honor of Halloween, I thought I’d whip up a little Devil’s Chicken.  This is basically a Mario Batali recipe that I’ve changed a little (very little).  I’ve made it a couple of times and it’s really fantastic. 

You start with a whole chicken or a split one, depending on what you have.  You could do this with chicken pieces, too.  Simply adjust the cooking time a little.  I sprinkle my chicken with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and cayenne on both sides.  Rub it in a little and let it rest for at least a half hour, overnight in the fridge wouldn’t hurt anything either.

I line a pan with foil and roast the chicken on a rack at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, skin side up.  Take it out and coat it with a mixture of 1/4 cup of freshly ground pepper (yes, I said 1/4 cup), 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard and a tablespoon of olive oil.  This seems like overkill on the black pepper, but it turns out great.  Roast for another 30 minutes or so, until the juices run clear when it’s pierced with a fork.  The pepper will form a crust on the already crispy skin of the chicken. 

This is perfectly good as it is.  But, old Mario suggests making a spicy oil to drizzle over the chicken.  I love this oil.  The smoked Spanish paprika gives it a little sweetness, along with the smoke.  You combine a cup of olive oil, 4 jalapenos, seeded and diced, 1 tablespoon hot pepper flakes and 2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika.  Cook this over medium heat.  He says, until the oil reaches 175 degrees.  I actually did test the temp.  Then you’re supposed to let it sit overnight.  Sure.  If you’ve planned ahead, that would be optimum.  I let it sit for a couple of hours, strained out the solids and put it in a jar.  It’s very tasty.  When I get more organized, I’ll make it again and let it sit overnight with all the stuff in it and drain out the solids the next day.  The oil really adds a lot to an already tasty chicken dish.  Once you’ve made it, you can keep it in the fridge for several weeks.  3 weeks out on the counter.

Halloween… perfect time for a little Devil’s Chicken and a good scary movie.  We’re going to give ”Drag Me to Hell” a shot tonight.  If it’s not good, who cares?  It’s Halloween!

Fairy Fire Pepper Jelly

You gotta love that name…  Here’s my artful photo.

My friend Tony sent it to my from Georgia.  This is seriously good stuff.  Another photo, just in case that one wasn’t enough…

Isn’t that the prettiest jelly ever?

I Don’t Bake

I’ve just had the most harrowing experience.  I told myself that I would make some kind of sweet food this weekend.  Since I’m intimidated by full-on dessert, I decided on a sour cream coffee cake.  (Hold on.  I gotta go turn the pan.)

(Well, that made me nervous, too.)  Anyway, doesn’t sound like a big deal, does it?  For me…  it is.  I take down the 400 pound Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  What a beauty.  I’ve probably had it 10 years and used it about 10 times, 6 of those for whipped cream.  I’m telling you, that thing whips the hell out of some cream.  I can do that.  What I can’t do is mix up a batter.  I made the topping and a chocolate cinnamon swirl mix.  That was easy.

Then came the batter.  (Oops, forgot to set the timer for another 20 minutes before I have to turn the pan again.  Does it seem weird that I’m opening the oven and fooling with this pan so much?  Seems weird to me.)  Back to the batter.  Sounded really simple.  Not.  The high point was when I coated my coffee maker, the floor, the counter, the stove top and a knife block holding about 15 knives with a shower of flour.  Let’s just say I don’t really know how to use this mixer.  Why can’t the recipe say, “turn it up gradually” or “8 is a little high for adding flour”?  My boxer, Maxine, helped out by licking up most of the flour on the floor.  I guess it would be uncool to hand down the coffee maker, huh? 

I’m doomed.  I’m sure I over-mixed the stuff.  The recipe said something about pouring the batter.  The batter I made ain’t pouring.  Spreading, maybe.  No pouring.  Maybe I should have tried scones or something.

So, now it’s cooking.  Why did I decide to do this?  Why don’t I just leave the baking to Hubbard? 

You know, when I bought the big mixer, Hub said, “But, you don’t bake.”  My justification was that it would inspire me to bake.  Why do I make up this crap?  I should have just said that I wanted it and I was going to buy it no matter whether I used it or not.  That, he might have believed.  He doesn’t even use it.  Hubbard uses a handheld mixer. 

Maybe there’s a book out there somewhere that is all about the stupid mistakes you’ll make if you don’t have any sense about baking.  I need that book.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.  Those tenderloin steaks I bought this morning will surely make me feel better when I have to trash this coffee cake.  Some success would really be helpful right now.  I hate it when stuff sucks.

******

Not looking very hopeful, is it?  Looks, I don’t know… brown.  It doesn’t smell burned.  That’s something.  30 minutes to cool and then I can see what’s going on inside…

*******

I don’t believe it it.  It looks normal.  It even tastes good.  It’s moist.  Maybe too moist by the time you get to the center of the thing.  But, who cares?  We’ll never eat it all anyway.  Wow.  

And you guys were worried it wouldn’t turn out well…

Fried Zucchini Blossoms

I need to buy these from Jimmy’s next they are in stock because the zucchini flowers I landed were a little on the small side.  I had some amazing stuffed zucchini blossoms in Rome and I haven’t got the slightest idea on how to duplicate that dish.  The ones I made were good, but they didn’t make me tearful or anything. 

I stuffed them with ricotta mixed with and egg, freshly grated Parmesan, fresh chopped basil and some salt and pepper.  You twist the flower petals together to hold the cheese inside.  Then I dipped them in a batter of beer, flour and egg that was about the consistency of heavy cream, a tempura like batter actually.  Then I fried them…

So, what does a zucchini flower taste like?  I tried one raw and it tasted like zucchini.  Imagine that.  Anyway, I read that other types of squash flowers are not so good and sometimes bitter.  I enjoyed this dish quite a bit and will definitely make it again.  It would be a fun antipasto for a dinner party.  Not the prettiest thing you ever saw, but when is fried cheese not good?

Pizza Again

I love to make pizza.  Today I tried a little experiement.  I usually go kind of light on the cheese.  Not today.  I was curious to see if the pizza would hold up to a bigger dose of fresh mozzarella.  I had a lot of Italian ingredients leftover from my birthday dinner.  Leftovers make great pizza toppings. 

I make a simple dough that has a good bit of olive oil in it.  I also use a pan that has little holes all over the bottom of it.  When we cook pizza on Hubbard’s Big Green Egg, we use a pizza stone.  When I cook it in the oven, I don’t.  The little holes in the bottom of the pan help to crisp up the crust.  The dough is one package of yeast dissolved in 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of warm water.  A cup and half of flour goes in a bowl, add 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the yeast water and bring it all together with a fork.  As soon as the stuff is incorporated enough to not be too sticky, put your hand in there and bring together all the little pieces.  Pick up the ball and knead the dough between your hands for about 5 minutes.  The warmth of your hands helps to get everything to meld.  Fold the dough in on itself and roll it as you knead.  Don’t fight the dough.  You just want it to be smooth and not streaky.  Put it in a bowl to rise for an hour, covered with a cloth. 

While it’s rising, chop up your stuff, cook your sausage or whatever you need to do to prepare the toppings.  You want to have everything ready to go before you roll out the pizza.  It seems to me that  once I start topping the pizza I need to get it into the hot oven as fast as possible, so it doesn’t make the dough get weird.  You’ve got all your stuff now…

I’m topping mine with the olive oil from some marinated mozzarella that is infused with rosemary, black pepper corns, red chili flakes and slices of garlic.  That’s going to be my “sauce”.  No marinara on this one.  Chopped salami, pepperoni and porchetta for meats.  Lots of fresh mozzarella.  Sliced tomatoes that I put on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper to remove some of the moisture before the slices go on the pizza.  Portabella mushroom, chopped and diced, roasted Hatch chili peppers.  After it comes out of the oven, it’ll be sprinkled with feshly grated Parmesan, a little dried oregano and fresh chopped basil.  That’s a lot of stuff, so we’ll see how it goes.

After rolling out the dough, this is my trick to get it on to the pizza pan.  Some people drape the dough over the rolling pin.  I’ve never really managed that one without stretching out the dough.  So, I just fold it up, dusting it with flour in between the layers of the folds, and then plop it on to the pan and unfold it.  Easy.

Top it with the oil and cheese mixture.

More cheese.

Meats.

Additional toppings.

Into a 425 degree preheated oven for 20 minutes.  This one could have even gone 25 minutes, since there was a lot of moisture from the fresh mozzarella.  Still, it turned out great.  The crust was able to support the toppings and it was delicious!

Don’t forget the Parmesan, oregano and basil.  It’s a done deal.

Bolsa For Lunch

I’ll tell you what’s good.  We finally made it over to Bolsa in Oak Cliff.  This place is the best.  The food was terrific.  The service was terrific.  The atmosphere is laid back and casual, while being over the top with the food.  The dishes we had weren’t overly fussy.  Just good basic stuff with high quality ingredients.  Their menu says “We use the best naturally-raised and organic ingredients we can find, and sourced from local growers, ranchers and fishermen throughout Texas whenever possible.”  Tastes like it!  We started with the bruschetta four ways…

Isn’t that pretty?  On top, Texas tomatoes, goat cheese & basil.  Next, Fuji apple, p’tit basque (sheep’s milk cheese) & toasted pine nuts.  Then, Prosciutto with medjool dates.  Last, the smoked salmon, creme fraiche & capers.  That last one might have been my favorite.  They were all outstanding.  Very fresh, with perfectly complimenting flavors.  Great starter.

For our main course we split a burger and flatbread.  Our flatbread was topped with Jimmy’s sausage, banana peppers and pepperoni.  Can you say yum?

The crust was cracker crisp and the thin layer of toppings was exactly enough.  The Burgandy beef burger with Vermont white cheddar was the best burger I can remember having in a very long time.  The beef was amazingly good, shockingly good even.  It was simple, straight forward cheese burger on a nice fluffy bun.  But, there was something special about it that I can’t quite put my finger on.  I could go for another one of those right now.  As a side note, I did take a picture.  A bad one.  You’ll just have to imagine it.   It looked like a really good burger. 

I started out with a glass of Chardonnay.  I didn’t even ask our waiter, Jason, what it was.  I enjoyed it a lot.  When I asked for another glass  Jason suggested that I try a different white wine , a blend.  He brought out a glass of St. Hallett Barossa 2006 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc, Poacher’s Blend.  I loved it!  I loved it so well that Hubbard bought a bottle for me to take home.  That’s another fun thing about Bolsa, it’s a combination market, cafe and wine bar.  We didn’t visit the market area, unfortunately.  I’ll be sure to check that out next time. 

We dropped a dime or two on lunch.  The burger was $11 and that’s as expensive as it got.  They do have a $10 lunch special that includes any sandwhich, a cup of soup or small mixed green salad and tea or a fountain drink.  That’s a great price.  Unfortunately, if you want burger, it’s not part of the lunch special.  They had six sandwiches on the menu that day.  So, you do have a variety to choose from.  The menu is changing constantly depending on what is available.  They’re famous for not having a freezer on site.  Bolsa serves what they buy.  They don’t save it for later.  Seasonal is the ticket.

Before we left, we just had to try dessert.  White chocolate rum tile, nilla wafers & brulee’d bananas.  Isn’t that beautiful?

It was creamy and crunchy at the same time.  Not overly sweet.  Just right.  Can you guess whether I’ll be going back to Bolsa?  Hell, I may go today!

Organic? Heritage? Free Range? Raise Your Own Turkey?

So, what do you do?  Get a big Butterball from Tom Thumb or go all out and drop few bucks on some special turkey?  Have you had a heritage turkey or organic or whatever they might be called?  Could you tell a big difference?  I’m curious and slightly confused!

All This for $10.95

At lunch, Sushi on McKinney offers a great bento box.  You get cold soba noodles (I’m crazy about the noodles), a piece of tuna sushi, salmon and a couple of pieces of California roll, a bowl of rice, two pieces of shrimp tempura on a pile of tempura fried onions with sauce, a little broccoli and a pile of teriyaki.  I had chicken.  Oh, and a salad or a bowl of miso soup to start.  I think this is a real deal for $10.95.

Hattie’s Tomato Bisque

I’ll tell you what, Hattie’s makes some seriously good tomato bisque.  In fact, it turned out to be the highlight of my brunch.  The Bloody Mary wasn’t too bad either. 

Sorry about the sloppy bowl.  I think I ended up with a bowl instead of a cup.  This was a lot of soup.  So delicious and creamy.  The little grilled cheese sandwich on the side of the bowl was a little cold.  Still, a tasty garnish. 

My Hangtown Scramble looked good.  Topped with what was described as bacon-wrapped fried oysters and hollandaise, how could it go wrong?  Well, the oysters seemed to be fried oyster croquettes wrapped in bacon.  There was definitely some kind of breading involved and I never could really identify an oyster.  It was fine.  But, frankly, it wasn’t what I thought I was ordering.

Looks good, though, doesn’t it?  Did I mention that they make really terrific Bloody Marys?