The Food Thread

[3irty1]

We need a solid cooking thread. A place to hunt down ingredients, ask for/post recipes, ask questions, post cookbook/equipment reviews, give/get advice,and even review restaurants. Hopefully some of you with decent cameras can even put up some food porn for us.

[3irty1]

I'll go first. Every summer Ocean Spray has a big recipe contest. I'm going to post three original recipes that I entered into last years contest. Cranberries are a big ingredient here in Wisconsin but many people haven't found great ways to incorporate them into their cuisine.

CRANBERRY-ROOTBEER FLAN LECHE
The idea in this one was to make cranberries the star by putting them in a rich dessert with flavors that compliment like rootbeer and pistacios. Rootbeer and cranberry is a rare combo but shouldn't be. I felt this was my strongest dish last year.

Ingredients:
1 12 fl oz can Evaporated Milk
1 14 oz can sweetened condenced Milk
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 T vanilla extract

5 graham crackers (20 segments)
1/4 c Ocean Spray Craisins, chopped
2 T roasted pistacios, shelled and crushed (optional)
4 T melted butter

12oz Root beer
7 oz Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce

Technique:
For Flan Leche
Beat milks, eggs, yolks, and vanilla together to form a smooth mixture. Strain into 4 oz molds. Place molds inside hotel pan. Fill pan with water until water level is nearly even with custard level inside molds. Bake at 300 until inserted tester comes out clean (~40 minutes). Refridgerate molds.

For Craisin crust
Crush, chop, or grind crackers into crumbs. Combine with craisins and pistacios. Sprinkle mixture evenly over set custards. Coat evenly with melted butter. Return to refridgeration.

For Cranberry Rootbeer sauce
Bring rootbeer to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and wisk cranberry sauce into rootbeer. Reduce until a thick syrup. Keep warm for plating.

To serve invert and unmold flan onto plate. Drizzle warm syrup on and around flan making sure to cover the top. Recipe serves 6.

GRILLED CRANBERRY POLENTA WITH SOURCREAM AND SALMON ROE
I would make this for the crew of our salmon seining boat in Alaska. Your roe won't be as fresh as mine was but this is still an elegant snack or breakfast and really looks beautiful on the plate. You can skip the juice cocktail step, it does make the dish better but not by much. its real purpose is to meet the contest requirements.

Ingredients:
6 c water
1 T Salt
2 c coarsely ground yellow cornmeal
1/2c unsalted butter
1/2c Craisins
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/2c sour cream
1 c Ocean Spray cranberry juice cocktail
2 oz Salmon Roe

Technique:

For Grilled Cranberry Jalapeno Polenta
Bring 6 cups of water to boil. Add Salt and bring to a simmer. Add polenta while stiring continuously until polenta is thick. (~ 20 minutes) Stir in half of the butter until melted. Add Craisins and Jalapenos. Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan. Cover pan and refridgerate at least 4 hours. When loaf is set, remove from pan and slice into 3/8 inch slices. Carefully butter each slice and Grill until golden and lightly chared around edges.

For Sour Cream Topping
Bring Juice cocktail to a boil. Reduce until a thick syrup. Drizzle syrup lightly into bowl containing sour cream. Mix very lightly to leave swirls. Reserve some syrup for garnish.

To Serve
Leave swirl of cranberry syrup on plate. Shingle two slices of cranberry polenta. Top with dollap of sour cream topping and salmon roe garnish. ~6 servings

CRANBERRY FILLED JALAPENO "BARQUETTES"
Barquettes are French boat-shaped cookies which is what the jalapeno halves reminded me of when developing this recipe. Plus it sounds fancy. You can skip the juice cocktail in this one, its really only in there to meet the contest requirements. Its better without it honestly but I wanted to post the recipe as it was.

Ingredients:
15 whole jalapeno peppers of even size and shape
3 T Ocean Spray Craisins, chopped
3 T red onion, finely diced
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c Ocean Spray cranberry juice cocktail
15 slices of bacon

banana leaf garnish

Technique:
Lay bacon on sheet pan and bake at 275 F until cooked but still floppy. Bring cranberry juice cocktail to a boil. Reduce until thick and syrupy. Trim and discard stems of peppers. Slice each pepper down the middle lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrape the seeds and membranes of each pepper to yield 30 jalapeno "barquettes." Combine Cream cheese with chopped craisins and red onion. Fold in juice reduction lightly to leave swirls. Fill barquettes with cream cheese mixture. Wrap each barquette with a half slice of parcooked bacon. If desired further crisp bacon using propane torch, leaving jalapeno as raw as possible.

To serve arrange five barquettes onto a plate lined with banana leaf. Can also be individually served as an amuse bouche.

[GrnBay007]

Cranberries are a big ingredient here in Wisconsin but many people haven't found great ways to incorporate them into their cuisine.

A co-worker of mine goes to some Cranberry Fest every year somewhere in Wisconsin. She loves it.

[GrnBay007]

I have a request...

A very long time ago there was a recipe or food thread and I think what I'm looking for was in it but haven't found the thread since I have no idea what it was called. I'm looking for an awesome homemade pizza sauce and I want to make a crust that is similar to the one at Pizzaria Uno in Platteville, WI.

[3irty1]

I had a friend who worked at pizzaria uno in platteville, I sent him an email for you. He sent me back the following recipe:

1 c Warm tap water (110−115 F)
1 t Active dry yeast
3 1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Coarse ground cornmeal
1 t Salt
1/4 c shortening

I assume that makes two pies.

When I see a pizza recipe the first thing I do is estimate how wet it is. That is the ratio of four (or in this case flour+cornmeal) to water (or in this case water+fat). This is about 100:54-57 flour:water or a baker's percentage of 54-57%. For reference the pizza dough I routinely make is 65%. This is a relatively dry dough but that is acceptable for a thicker crust. For a place like Uno's that employs mostly kids, its common to see fat of some kind in the dough whether veg, olive, or shortening. This idiot-proofs it somewhat as the dough will never be too sticky and even over kneaded dough spiked with shortening will come out tender. The cornmeal is to add some artificial crunch to the dough that could come off as doughy or heavy with that shortening in it.

You are best off forming this dough into a pizza-hut type crust rather than one that is really thin. This kind of crust is well suited for a home kitchen oven as it will turn out at lower temperatures in the 450F degree range.


The trick to making top sauce though is the tomatoes not surprisingly. For 10 months out of the year, canned > fresh. Really. Those canned tomatoes were lovingly picked at their peak, briefly steamed and peeled and packed away for you. Those fresh tomatoes that taste like nothing were picked green and colored with ethylene gas. Also the type of tomato matters. By far the most popular among top pizza chefs is the san marzano plum tomato. Its similar to a roma with a distinct pear shape and considered the best sauce tomato in the world. Find them canned. Once you have those your sauce is merely a puree of raw tomato flesh, evoo, salt, seasonings including oregano, and maybe some sweetener like honey or sugar. Why do you leave the tomatoes raw? Because its going to cook on the pie.

I want to eat pizza all the time so I need the process to be convenient. Unless I make a big batch of sauce a can it, I rarely make my own. I find most canned sauces acceptable. I personally deviate from the pizza purists in that I simply can't eat pizza anymore without siriacha. I add it right to the sauce. When you consider that its a chili garlic condiment, its not out of place here or in much Italian cuisine. Another thing I like to do is blend parmesan into my sauce. It turns it a beautiful orange, allows me to get cheese in every bite when using slices of fresh buffalo mozz. You can't just blend cheese into tomatoes or the cheese will form tiny rubbery balls from the tomatoes acid so the cheese must first be blended into cream. Do I do all of this? No I add a couple of spoonfuls of Alfredo sauce.

[Little Whiskey]

You are best off forming this dough into a pizza-hut type crust rather than one that is really thin. This kind of crust is well suited for a home kitchen oven as it will turn out at lower temperatures in the 450F degree range.

I've never been to Pizzeria Uno in Platville, but I've been to other Uno's before. I assume they are all the same? isn't the crust more like a chicago deep dish? Could i make this type of crust in my home oven?

[Partial]

They have a pizzeria uno in the Platte? I don't think that was there when I was there. Cool.

When did you get so into cooking. I'm all about it, that's awesome!

I'll post some pizza stuff later. Pizza is my favorite thing to cook and I've done a lot of experimentation over the past two years or so since I got a pizza stone. I've evolved from a thick crust guy to a thin crust guy.

The GF and I have spent time going to all of MKEs finest pizza establishments over the past few months. Hands down, our favorites were Mama DeMarinis in Bay View and Zaffiros on Farwell. The Olive Pit in the 5th ward was amazing as well. I was really underwhelmed by Balistraris. We did carry out for that pie, so that could have contributed to underwhelmed feeling. We still have to try the Calderone club, but I think we've hit up basically all of the consensus top 15 places besides that.

It really is too bad about Pizza Man. That was my favorite pie before it burned down. How many Pizza pubs fell victims to the streets?

[3irty1]

I've never been to Pizzeria Uno in Platville, but I've been to other Uno's before. I assume they are all the same? isn't the crust more like a chicago deep dish? Could i make this type of crust in my home oven?

The one in Platteville is unaffiliated I believe. People may know it better by the bar that its affiliated with "The Annex" which has kick ass long island ice teas.

The Uno's in platteville does pimp their Chicago style pizza but I've never seen a deep dish from them.

In general Chicago style pizza refers to Chicago style thin crust which differs from NY style thin crust in that their is more deviation from pure Neapolitan pizza. Chi style usually has more sauce, wider variety of toppings, and is generally cut into squares instead of slices.

[3irty1]

They have a pizzeria uno in the Platte? I don't think that was there when I was there. Cool.

When did you get so into cooking. I'm all about it, that's awesome!

I'll post some pizza stuff later. Pizza is my favorite thing to cook and I've done a lot of experimentation over the past two years or so since I got a pizza stone. I've evolved from a thick crust guy to a thin crust guy.

The GF and I have spent time going to all of MKEs finest pizza establishments over the past few months. Hands down, our favorites were Mama DeMarinis in Bay View and Zaffiros on Farwell. The Olive Pit in the 5th ward was amazing as well. I was really underwhelmed by Balistraris. We did carry out for that pie, so that could have contributed to underwhelmed feeling. We still have to try the Calderone club, but I think we've hit up basically all of the consensus top 15 places besides that.

It really is too bad about Pizza Man. That was my favorite pie before it burned down. How many Pizza pubs fell victims to the streets?

I cooked professionally in Galena while at Platteville. After Zaffiro's I stopped looking for good pizza in Milwaukee. If you want the BEST pizza in Milwaukee you'll have to come over. It'd be a hell of a write up but I may at one time post the full method by which I make pizza at home, from the sourdough starter down to the basil on top.

[MJZiggy]

I cooked professionally in Galena while at Platteville. After Zaffiro's I stopped looking for good pizza in Milwaukee. If you want the BEST pizza in Milwaukee you'll have to come over. It'd be a hell of a write up but I may at one time post the full method by which I make pizza at home, from the sourdough starter down to the basil on top.

Not to get off your pizza kick, but does Mimma's still have that amazing angel hair with fresh mozzarella? Good GOD that stuff was fabulous.

[3irty1]

Capelli D’Angelo ai Gamberi Pomodoro e Capperi. Right in my neighborhood.

[MJZiggy]

Used to be right in my neighborhood too. Anytime anyone visited, we always went to Mimmas. Now if you have a recipe for THAT....

[Little Whiskey]

In general Chicago style pizza refers to Chicago style thin crust

when i think of chicago style pizza i think more of a pie style crust where the sauce is on the top not the bottom.

[MJZiggy]

Ok, but if you guys keep this up, you're going to have to make me a pie with an impossibly thin crust...and mushrooms.

by the way, what are those really, really thin oriental noodles? The ones that look like angel hair pasta? I need to learn how to cook them and how to make that awesome brown sauce the old Chinese dude makes at my favorite hole in the wall. I also need to know how to make pho broth correctly. I know it has ginger and star of anise, but don't know the quantities, etc. And pho must be made with round steak. None of this chicken shit either.

[Little Whiskey]

got a hummus recipe?

[MJZiggy]

I thought hummus was mashed chickpeas with oil and garlic?

[Partial]

I cooked professionally in Galena while at Platteville. After Zaffiro's I stopped looking for good pizza in Milwaukee. If you want the BEST pizza in Milwaukee you'll have to come over. It'd be a hell of a write up but I may at one time post the full method by which I make pizza at home, from the sourdough starter down to the basil on top.

You gotta try Mama DeMarinis. It's a hole in the wall but it is fantastic! Oddly enough, there is another DeMarinis restaurant a block away that opened after a family squabble.

We'll have to do a pie exchange. I make a pretty tasty pizza too.

edit: Why is there a thumbs down in my post?

[Little Whiskey]

I thought hummus was mashed chickpeas with oil and garlic?

if only it were that easy.

[GrnBay007]

I had a friend who worked at pizzaria uno in platteville, I sent him an email for you. He sent me back the following recipe:

1 c Warm tap water (110−115 F)
1 t Active dry yeast
3 1/2 c Flour
1/2 c Coarse ground cornmeal
1 t Salt
1/4 c shortening

I assume that makes two pies.

When I see a pizza recipe the first thing I do is estimate how wet it is. That is the ratio of four (or in this case flour+cornmeal) to water (or in this case water+fat). This is about 100:54-57 flour:water or a baker's percentage of 54-57%. For reference the pizza dough I routinely make is 65%. This is a relatively dry dough but that is acceptable for a thicker crust. For a place like Uno's that employs mostly kids, its common to see fat of some kind in the dough whether veg, olive, or shortening. This idiot-proofs it somewhat as the dough will never be too sticky and even over kneaded dough spiked with shortening will come out tender. The cornmeal is to add some artificial crunch to the dough that could come off as doughy or heavy with that shortening in it.

You are best off forming this dough into a pizza-hut type crust rather than one that is really thin. This kind of crust is well suited for a home kitchen oven as it will turn out at lower temperatures in the 450F degree range.


The trick to making top sauce though is the tomatoes not surprisingly. For 10 months out of the year, canned > fresh. Really. Those canned tomatoes were lovingly picked at their peak, briefly steamed and peeled and packed away for you. Those fresh tomatoes that taste like nothing were picked green and colored with ethylene gas. Also the type of tomato matters. By far the most popular among top pizza chefs is the san marzano plum tomato. Its similar to a roma with a distinct pear shape and considered the best sauce tomato in the world. Find them canned. Once you have those your sauce is merely a puree of raw tomato flesh, evoo, salt, seasonings including oregano, and maybe some sweetener like honey or sugar. Why do you leave the tomatoes raw? Because its going to cook on the pie.

I want to eat pizza all the time so I need the process to be convenient. Unless I make a big batch of sauce a can it, I rarely make my own. I find most canned sauces acceptable. I personally deviate from the pizza purists in that I simply can't eat pizza anymore without siriacha. I add it right to the sauce. When you consider that its a chili garlic condiment, its not out of place here or in much Italian cuisine. Another thing I like to do is blend parmesan into my sauce. It turns it a beautiful orange, allows me to get cheese in every bite when using slices of fresh buffalo mozz. You can't just blend cheese into tomatoes or the cheese will form tiny rubbery balls from the tomatoes acid so the cheese must first be blended into cream. Do I do all of this? No I add a couple of spoonfuls of Alfredo sauce.

Wow, thanks for doing that!!

Ok, now I have a couple questions 1/4 c shortening. Is that a lot of fat for a pizza crust (or for 2 like you mentioned)? I've never made homemade pizza crust before. Would it be ok to substitute olive oil?

When you mentioned canned tomatoes. Are you talking about the store canned tomatoes or the REAL canned tomatoes? Dang I missed those real canned tomatoes my Mom always had year round. I canned them when I had a garden for the couple years I lived in the country. Now no garden, no canned tomatoes.

[MJZiggy]

Wow, thanks for doing that!!

Ok, now I have a couple questions 1/4 c shortening. Is that a lot of fat for a pizza crust (or for 2 like you mentioned)? I've never made homemade pizza crust before. Would it be ok to substitute olive oil?

When you mentioned canned tomatoes. Are you talking about the store canned tomatoes or the REAL canned tomatoes? Dang I missed those real canned tomatoes my Mom always had year round. I canned them when I had a garden for the couple years I lived in the country. Now no garden, no canned tomatoes.

If you lived closer... I have a ton of grape, cherry, roma and beefsteak tomatoes that I can't get rid of.