He's not the best speaker, but Chef Tom Colicchio made some good points on the Hill the other day. Check it out on YouTube:
YouTube - EdLaborDemocrats's Channel
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Goat Cheese, Swiss Chard and Basil Pizza
So what do you do when you have a ton of greens in your fridge (because you've been slacking on the CSA thing this week) and you're supposed to get more veggies tomorrow?
Make pizza!
Andy and I threw this pizza together tonight in about 30 minutes, including the baking time (but not the dough rising time). It was awesome...seriously awesome, but I'm a huge fan of goat cheese, and this pizza has it!
If you have the time, definitely make this pizza crust. It turns out really well every time I make it and anyone that eats it, loves it. You can do it with bread flour or all-purpose flour (or a mix, which is what I used today) and you can mix your yeast in with the flour without proofing it (for the Active Dry type), as long as your water is hot enough. It's a very forgiving dough, and it tastes great!
Ingredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour, or bread flour, or a combination of both
2 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
1 to 1.5 tsp. salt (Mr. Bittman's recipe calls for 2 tsp. salt, I think even 1.5 tsp. is a bit too salty for my taste)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. very warm (100 - 110 F) water
Instructions
1. Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in your food processor. Pulse a few times to mix it up.
2. Turn the food processor on and add the olive oil and the 1 c. of water.
3. After about 30 second the dough should form into a ball that's slightly sticky. If it's too dry, add a tsp. of water and process a bit more. If it's too wet (unlikely), add a tsp. of flour at a time and process.
4. Once your dough has formed a slightly sticky ball, dump it out of the processor onto a lightly floured board or countertop. Need a few strokes until it's a smooth ball.
5. VERY LIGHTLY oil a small mixing bowl and put the dough in, then cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit until it doubles in size. In the summer heat, it took about an hour. In the winter, I leave it under a hot light and it still takes about an hour or an hour and a half. If you're doing this in the morning, you can let it rise in the fridge all day.
When you're ready to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 450 F. Oil a cookie sheet (or prepare a pizza stone, if you're feeling fancy). Slowly start stretching or rolling the dough until you have a good size (you could make two small pizzas or one large). I usually stretch it until it fits my cookie sheet pretty much to the edges. Put your cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes. You don't want to completely bake the dough, but you do want to get it solid enough that the toppings aren't going to burn before your dough is done.
Make pizza!
Andy and I threw this pizza together tonight in about 30 minutes, including the baking time (but not the dough rising time). It was awesome...seriously awesome, but I'm a huge fan of goat cheese, and this pizza has it!
If you have the time, definitely make this pizza crust. It turns out really well every time I make it and anyone that eats it, loves it. You can do it with bread flour or all-purpose flour (or a mix, which is what I used today) and you can mix your yeast in with the flour without proofing it (for the Active Dry type), as long as your water is hot enough. It's a very forgiving dough, and it tastes great!
Goat Cheese, Swiss Chard and Basil Pizza
by Me (with a little - or a lot - of help from Mark Bittman for the pizza dough)
by Me (with a little - or a lot - of help from Mark Bittman for the pizza dough)
Ingredients:
1 recipe of par-baked pizza dough (see below) on a cookie sheet
1 bunch of swiss chard
1 4 oz. container of goat cheese crumbles (that's right, I bought the grocery store container of pre-crumbled goat cheese. No Greenmarket for me, I was tired.)
A few basil leaves
Olive oil
Instructions:
1. Cut the leaves away from the stem on the chard. Chop the stems into 1" (or so) pieces. Slice the leaves into really thick ribbons.
2. Heat about 2 tbs. olive oil in a large skillet. Put the stems in and saute for about a minute or two. Add the leaves and cook just until they're wilted. Take the pan off the heat (and turn the heat off).
3. Spread olive oil on your pizza crust. Don't put on so much that it pools, or your crust will get soggy. Just use a pastry brush, your fingers, or a paper towel to spread it on your dough.
4. Spread the chard evenly over the dough, spread the basil, then spread out the goat cheese crumbles. I wish I would've taken a picture of this before we put it in the oven - it was so pretty!
5. Put it back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Goat cheese doesn't really melt, but you're looking for the crust to finish getting golden, and for the goat cheese to get a bit brown.
6. Eat. For dessert, check out A Long Bakes Knight. Yes, shameless self-promotion.
by Mark BittmanIngredients:
3 c. all-purpose flour, or bread flour, or a combination of both
2 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
1 to 1.5 tsp. salt (Mr. Bittman's recipe calls for 2 tsp. salt, I think even 1.5 tsp. is a bit too salty for my taste)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1 c. very warm (100 - 110 F) water
Instructions
1. Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in your food processor. Pulse a few times to mix it up.
2. Turn the food processor on and add the olive oil and the 1 c. of water.
3. After about 30 second the dough should form into a ball that's slightly sticky. If it's too dry, add a tsp. of water and process a bit more. If it's too wet (unlikely), add a tsp. of flour at a time and process.
4. Once your dough has formed a slightly sticky ball, dump it out of the processor onto a lightly floured board or countertop. Need a few strokes until it's a smooth ball.
5. VERY LIGHTLY oil a small mixing bowl and put the dough in, then cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit until it doubles in size. In the summer heat, it took about an hour. In the winter, I leave it under a hot light and it still takes about an hour or an hour and a half. If you're doing this in the morning, you can let it rise in the fridge all day.
When you're ready to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 450 F. Oil a cookie sheet (or prepare a pizza stone, if you're feeling fancy). Slowly start stretching or rolling the dough until you have a good size (you could make two small pizzas or one large). I usually stretch it until it fits my cookie sheet pretty much to the edges. Put your cookie sheet in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes. You don't want to completely bake the dough, but you do want to get it solid enough that the toppings aren't going to burn before your dough is done.
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