The Cookbook

[George K]

@Mik thanks for that link.

Lots of good stuff there, some of which Mrs. George might like. She doesn't like "saucy" things.

I know, I know, Cicero girl....

[Mik]

Thought you might like it. I see a lot of the food blogs, but not many that I think are pretty great.

[89th]

As requested in this thread: https://nodebb.the-new-coffee-room.club/post/183097

Our pizza process:

Ingredients:

• Dough - Buy from Trader Joes, looks like this. It can can keep in fridge for a few days, otherwise put in freezer. I have found keeping it in fridge right before rolling it out makes it easiest to work with. For years I would let it come to room temperature first.
• Sauce - We use this sauce. Used to buy it in-store but haven't found it in Minnesota, so we just buy it in 6 packs on Amazon.
• Flour - Used when rolling out the dough
• Cornmeal - Used to keep pizza from sticking to pizza peel
• Cheese - We use normal shredded mozz, but you can mix it up
• Olive oil - Brush on crust to make it crispier
• Other toppings - Such as spinach, pepperoni, red pepper flakes, sliced pepper, ok that's a lot of pepper... onion, etc. You know what you like.

Tools

• Rolling pin
• Pizza peel (like this)
• Pizza stone (like this)

Process

1. Preheat oven to 500, place pizza stone in the oven
2. Roll out dough using flour, flip once or twice as needed until desired width
3. Place light coating of cornmeal on pizza peel (this will keep dough from sticking and will make sliding it onto the hot pizza stone easy)
4. Manually transfer dough onto pizza peel
5. Add sauce, then cheese, then toppings, then a little cheese on top. Whatever you want.
6. Brush olive oil on crust
7. Reduce oven to 460 (no need to wait for it to get there)
8. TIP: Do a few practice "slide/shake" of the pizza on the peel to make sure it slides enough to be able to transfer onto the stone. Suggest doing this over the sink since cornmeal will fall off a bit
9. Transfer pizza by sliding it onto the hot pizza stone while it's in the oven.
10. Usually about 11-13 minutes should do the trick

TL;DR Version

• Preheat to 500
• Roll out dough from Trader Joes
• Transfer to pizza peel
• Add toppings
• Reduce oven to 460
• Slide pizza from peel to stone
• Bake for 11-13 min

Final note. The temperature and time are not exact. I have done everything from 425 to keeping it at 500. Sometimes it takes 11 minutes, sometimes 15.

[Mik]

Made the Pierogi sausage thing last night. Very good.

[jon-nyc]

That's what she said.

[Mik]

Anybody like cole slaw? This is an excellent easy dressing recipe. Takes like two minutes and the lemon juice makes it really fresh. I used cider vinegar.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240784/easy-coleslaw-dressing/

[89th]

@Mik said in The Cookbook:

Anybody like cole slaw? This is an excellent easy dressing recipe. Takes like two minutes and the lemon juice makes it really fresh. I used cider vinegar.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240784/easy-coleslaw-dressing/

Oh I used to make that often. Man it really was very good. I should start doing it again.

[Mik]

I made it for pork belly tacos, but think I like it better just by itself. Tacos turned out great.

[89th]

@Mik said in The Cookbook:

I made it for pork belly tacos, but think I like it better just by itself. Tacos turned out great.

Mmm that looks good.

[Mik]

It's fall, so comfort food rules. I'm making my beloved mother in law's equally beloved Chicken Casserole. The recipe is in here somewhere. I'll just post it again, in her handwriting.

[Mik]

Pretty much perfect Shrimp Scampi.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/classic-shrimp-scampi-8849846

[Mik]

I feel like chicken tonight...

With a side dish of herbed angel hair pasta.

https://www.alisoneroman.com/recipes/vinegar-chicken-with-crushed-olive-dressing

[George K]

@Mik looks wonderful. Mrs. George is not a fan of green olives, so I might do without. OTOH, when serving, I'll just not give her any LOL.

[Mik]

Try black olives? I don’t think it would make a lot of difference.

Turned out really good.

[Aqua Letifer]

Chicken and veggies were all local. Spices used were Hungarian sweet paprika, black pepper and parsley. Broth was 50/50 Japanese rice lager and organic broth from the store.

[George K]

The Godfather's Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large (28-ounce) cans tomatoes (whole, crushed or chopped)
1 10-ounce or 2 6-ounce cans tomato paste
3 to 4 Italian sausages, grilled and sliced
1 lb. cooked meatballs (use your favorite recipe)
Dry red wine
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot.
2. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.
3. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that a relatively smooth consistence is reached.
4. Add sausages and meatballs. Stir until the meat is coated.
5. Add a splash of red wine, then the sugar according to taste.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.
7. Serve by ladling over cooked pasta.

Tip: If you have normally have problems with gas after eating a sauce like this, you can reduce them by skimming the surface of acid (reddish-orange pools of foam will form on the surface).

Tip 2: If you're using canned whole tomatoes, draining them and then crushing them by hand will result in a chunky sauce. Canned crushed tomatoes will create a slightly thinner sauce, while canned chopped tomatoes will result in a thicker sauce.

Link to video

[Catseye3]

@George-K At the site, the intro to the recipe is worth reading.

Also, see the Comments re shaving the garlic.

[George K]

@Catseye3 said in The Cookbook:

@George-K At the site, the intro to the recipe is worth reading.

Also, see the Comments re shaving the garlic.

Yes. Didn't want to clutter the recipe. Great stuff.

Whenever I make spaghetti, however, I tend to "herb it up." I throw in Italian seasoning, oregano, sometimes cilantro as well.

And, you gotta have onions.

[Mik]

On the grill tonight - Unbelievable Chicken! This recipe gets great reviews.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/30522/unbelievable-chicken/

Ingredients
¼ cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons prepared coarse-ground mustard

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 lime, juiced

½ lemon, juiced

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

ground black pepper to taste

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Directions

In a large glass bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in the mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Place chicken on the prepared grill, and cook 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Discard marinade.

[George K]

Lousy gravy, mediocre turkey.

I had a bone-in split turkey breast I made last night. It was, meh, ok, but not something I'd make again.

1 turkey breast bone & skin on
½ stick unsalted butter room temperature
Zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon fresh parsley chopped
2 cloves garlic finely grated
¼ teaspoon salt & fresh pepper

Allow the turkey breast to sit at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking, a cold breast in a hot oven will cook unevenly and be tough. Pre-heat oven to 350 F and make the herb butter by combining the butter, lemon zest, parsley, grated garlic, salt, and a couple cracks of pepper in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside. Peel the turkey skin back, you may need to make a small cut with a knife, use your fingers to peel the skin off the meat to make room for the butter. Stuff the butter under the skin and distribute evenly. If you have room, you can add more butter and even rub it on the other parts of the turkey breast. Cover a sheet tray with tin foil and season the turkey breast with a generous amount of salt on both sides and a few cracks of pepper. Add a bit more salt than you think you need, trust me here.

Place a digital probe thermometer in the deepest part of the turkey breast, making sure not to hit the bone and roast in the oven until the temperature reaches 154 F, about 45-50 minutes. Turn the broiler to high and broil until the turkey skin is golden and crispy, about 3 minutes(you may have to move the oven rack up). Don’t walk away, watch the turkey to make sure it does not burn. Remove turkey breast from the oven and allow to rest with the thermometer in for 20 minutes under loose tin foil.

But what really got me is the gravy:

½ cup yellow onions chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup chicken stock
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Kosher salt & fresh pepper

While the turkey is cooking, make the gravy by pre-heating a medium size pot over medium heat along with 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the onions, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, a couple cracks of pepper, and cook for 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes then add one more tablespoon of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk well, cook for 5-6 minutes until the color of the flour is medium blond. You will need to whisk pretty much the whole time. Add the chicken stock, whisking well, and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until the gravy has a nice consistency. Add the lemon juice, another ¼ teaspoon salt, a couple cracks of pepper, and check for seasoning. You may need more salt or lemon juice. Keep in the pot until ready to serve and warm as needed, pass gravy through a strainer when ready to serve.

This was, by far, the worst gravy I'd even made. It was bland, and boring. Never again.