Heart Ache Pizza

Ingredients:
1 whole recipe dough
4 slices of bacon
2 baking potatoes
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (more or less)
12 oz mozzarella (more or less)
12 oz cheddar cheese (more or less)
enough Alfredo sauce to coat, (no more than 1 cup I believe)

Method:
Preheat 450*F. Grease pizza pan.

Slice the potatoes into thin, thin disks. Then slice into thin sticks. Like for hashbrowns. Saute until done (20-30 minutes on medium heat) with salt and pepper.

Lightly (or not) coat the pizza crust in Alfredo sauce. Top (in this order) Parmesan cheese (dusting would be the way you describe it), mozzarella cheese, potatoes, cheddar cheese, crumpled bacon and another dusting of Parmesan cheese for good luck.

Bake between 10-20 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Let sit for 5-10 minutes for consumption to fully enjoy the pizza and to let the cheese set.

Notes:
Very filling. Pairs welly with Chimay Blue.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups semolina flour
2 cups bread flour
generous pinch of salt (1/4 tsp)
1-1/2 cup warm water
3 tbsp sugar (or 1/4 cup honey)
1 package yeast (1/4oz, I think)
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:
1.) Combine sugar, warm water and yeast. Bloom 15-20 minutes. Add Oil
2.) Combine flours and salt. Mix.
3.) Bring yeast water to flour mixture and mix and knead. Add flour/water if sticky/dry.
4.) Overnight let it rest (best) or let it rest 1 hour (still very good)

Notes:
This dough is more than enough to divide into 3 whole 16" thin crust pizzas. Bake at 450*F and it should be ready in 9-15 minutes. For most pizzas.

Hybrid Theory

I have designed this cookie based on Southern United States flavor profiles. Currently being tested.

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 tbsp vanilla sugar (or regular, I guess. Cheapass)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest
1 1/2 teaspoons Frangelico, or brandy or Vanilla Extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Giradellhi, works well for all)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
TU ground? black pepper

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, the yolk, orange zest, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and cranberries. Pepper it to taste

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Brush on maple syrup. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 7 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Cookies with Honey and Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tbsp vanilla sugar (or regular)
2 tbsp honey
2-4 tbsp grade maple syrup (3-4 grade A or 2-3 grade B)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Giradellhi, works well for all)
1/2 cup milk chocolate
1/2 cup 60% cacao.

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add honey and maple syrup followed by the egg, the yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Brush on maple syrup. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 7 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Chewy Cookie Base, from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Blinchiki cheese filling

Absolutely delicious. A full recipe of this fills two recipes worth of crepes praline. Generally 2-3 per person is enough, and you can easily produce about 15 with two recipes of crepes.

Ingredients:
8oz cream cheese
8oz sour cream
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar

Mix together.

Filling:
Cook only one side of the praline crepes.
Place large dollop on cooked side off center towards you. Fold over the dollop away from you. Bring the other side towards you and fold the sides in.

Heat skillet on medium with a pat of butter. Brown the all around, about 5 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar, honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, or sour cream.

Creme Anglaise di Saronno

So, I've started my dessert rotation and for my first dessert I'm making a lava cake with a creme anglaise (krem ahnGLEZ.)

Ingredients:
2 tbls sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla extract or, for better, 1/2 vanilla bean split lengthwise
1/4 cup Amaretto

Egg yolk mix: sugar, salt, and yolks; well blended
Bring milk just to boiling with vanilla and Amaretto
Temper egg mix
Bring whole mix to 180 degrees
Cool

Honey Ginger Chicken Stir-fry

Probably one of my best recipes to date I made this when I wanted to create General Tso's Chicken, but decided to add honey and eventually it morphed into something else entirely.

Ingredients:
2 Chicken breasts, cut into bit sized pieces
1 head of broccoli, bit sized
2 green leaves, shredded (Swiss chard preferred)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger, fresh
1 half head of red cabbage, julienned
1 cup bourbon
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
enough honey
1 chili pepper, seeded and sliced

Method:
Place cut up chicken in bowl and cover with enough honey to coat and mix with peppers. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

Heat wok on high heat until hot.
Add 2 tbsp of high heat oil (peanut, vegetable, canola)
Add ginger and garlic.
After 30 seconds add vegetables and rapidly cook for 5-7 minutes.
Add chicken and honey and cook until done (5-7 minutes usually... depending on how thinly cut)
Add fish sauce and dark soy.
Remove from heat and add bourbon (to avoid flames). Then return to heat for 5 minutes.
Reduce to low and let thicken or plate immediately and drizzle the thin sauce over the plate.

Serving:
Pasta, rice, quinoa, or add more veggies and plate as is.

Louisianna Thai Barbecue Sauce

I braised ribs in this and then reduced this into a sauce for those ribs.

Ingredients:
1 cup of bourbon
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp balsamic caramel
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated ginger
pinch of kosher salt

Method:
combine, bring to simmer, reduce heat and stir occasionally until thickened into barbecue sauce

Mayan Moroccan Rub

I always wanted to use cocoa and cinnamon with pork barbecue rubs. So I made it.

Original:
8 parts Brown Sugar
3 parts Kosher Salt
1 parts Chile powder
1 parts Cinnamon + Cocoa Powder + Cloves + Nutmeg

Might adjust to:
8 parts Brown Sugar
3 parts Kosher Salt
1 parts Chile powder
1 parts Cinnamon
1 parts Cocoa Powder
1 parts Cloves + Nutmeg

Italian Stirfry

I made this when Emily bought me some squid ink pasta and really wanted to cook it with mussels. This isn't the original (I forgot it) but this hypothetically should be better. Some lemon would do nicely added towards the end.


Ingredients:
1 bag of mussels
1 lb calamari, tubes cut into rings. Tentacles cut from bases
1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
1 chili, sliced and seeded
1 cup bourbon or brandy
3 cloves garlic, chopped and crushed
2 tbsp grated ginger
3 mint leaves, bruised
Red Wine vinegar
1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup olive oil
Pasta

Method:
Toss broccoli in red wine vinegar, enough to coat. Set aside.

In a large pot, bring a gallon of very salty water to boil. When boiling add pasta cook as directed.
Drain when al dente.

In another large pot steam mussels with mint, white wine, and olive oil on low heat until they open.
Drain when all are open.

Bring a wok to high heat, add a little bit of high heat oil (vegetable, peanut, canola)

Stirfry:
For 30 secs heat garlic, ginger and chili
Cook broccoli for 5-7 minutes
Cook calamari until opaque, and tentacles curled.
Add bourbon, cook for 5 minutes.
Cut heat.
Add mussels and pasta. Toss to coat.

Note:
Timing is weird. Generally you should start the mussels when you start the broccoli and the pasta when the calamari is done.