Pasta

A few years ago I had a pasta day at my house, again this was in California with my three sisters and sister in law.  I bought two very large bowls for the occasion and borrowed my mom's pasta rolling machine.  We spent hours kneading pasta dough, rolling, and finally cutting the pasta.  We made it using all purpose flour, and eggs.  I loved getting together with my sisters and sister in law to make food and all our children playing together.  I have many fond memories with family and food.  I finally got back to making pasta now that I have my own pasta machine, using different recipes and different ingredients.  This recipe would be considered the way your Italian grandmother would make pasta.  Homemade pasta is very delicious, and if you have the ingredients and tools it is fun to make.  In my case I have access to the two flours that make tender delicious pasta, Semolina and 00 flours.  In California I had to special order 00 flour.  A little Italian foodie lesson for you.   In Italy they designate flour based on grades such as 0 00, and so on.  00 flour is similar in texture and grain size to cake flour here in America.  Italians use a blend of 00 flour for making those yummy thin crust pizzas found in Naples and also for pasta they combine it with Semolina. Semolina is similar to a fine grain cornmeal.  My favorite Mediterranean grocery store nearby sells 00 Tipo and Semolina, but you can use all purpose flour.  This afternoon before picking up my son from preschool, I began my pasta making.

Beautiful pasta, this should be on your plate.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 1 2/3 cup of Semolina and 00 Tipo flour combined (all purpose
flour also works), 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt to taste.

 I use a bowl.  My Italian grandmother would be shaking her head saying it must be done on a marble top, not a bowl.  I don't have an Italian grandmother, but I do have a little OCD and that reminds me, goodness I don't want that on my counter.  Make a well in the flour and salt mixture and crack open some eggs in the well and also the olive oil.  Using a fork beat the eggs and oil together.  Begin to incorporate flour a little at a time.  I wore latex gloves and began to mix it by hand, then knead it for five minutes.  I have more eggs than the recipe, as I'm sure everyone reading has noticed.   I tripled the recipe (seven people in my family).  Also the recipe should yield about 18 ounces of fresh pasta.

 Divide dough into portions.   Remember I said I made a large batch of pasta, more than the recipe so don't be alarmed.  Rub dough with olive oil and place in a Ziploc bag.  Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes, this will help loosen all that gluten you just created and create a tender pasta.

 I got back from picking up my son now it's time to get rolling, ha ha, sorry pasta humor.  Using a
 little 00 flour, I took out a piece of dough and flattened it with my hands so I could feed it
through the pasta roller.  The dough is very tender to the touch.

 Roll the dough at the widest setting 7, then work your way smaller, rolling it on the other
settings until 3 and this is the perfect thickness in my opinion.

 Flour the sheets, I cut mine in half.

 I cut the pasta with the linguini setting.

Congratulations you have homemade linguini.   Boil up a large pot of liberally salted water and
cook for 30 seconds.  My children are happy with plain buttered noodles but you are more
than welcome to use my previous recipe for marinara sauce and plate up some yummy
Italian goodness.

Enjoy!

Faux Grilled Pizza

Before living in Queens, my family lived in Southern California.  I am a native of Southern California, as are my children.  We had what many Easterners probably think is a typical backyard with a patio, grill, pool, and swing set.  We had a wonderful gas grill.   It was hooked up to a natural gas hub on the back of our house.  I loved my grill.   I did the grilling at my house.  When we moved here, I wanted grilled pizza, but my third floor apartment here in Queens doesn't really accommodate a grill.  I searched the internet and found a great alternative to grilling.  I used a cast iron griddle/grill pan and my oven broiler.  For this pizza test I also used Alton Brown's quick pizza dough specially made for grilling.  I had to change his recipe.   I know I do that a lot, but it was necessary, since my pantry didn't have what his recipe called for.  You will need bread flour, Kosher salt, instant yeast, Molasses, warm water, and olive oil.

Do you need to step up your pizza for Friday night pizza and a movie?

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 16 ounces bread flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast,
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt, 10 ounces warm water (warmed up in microwave for 20 seconds),
2 tablespoons Olive Oil, and 2 teaspoons Molasses.

 Mix salt, yeast, and flour in bowl of mixer with dough hook.

 Mix molasses, warm water, and olive oil, then pour into bowl with flour mixture.
Mix on low until combined then increase speed to medium and mix for 15 minutes.

 Remove dough from bowl.  Remove small piece and flatten in your hand and do the windowpane
test as in stretch dough and try to see through it, but if it tears, it doesn't pass the test.  The test
helps you to make sure the dough has good gluten structure and won't tear.  If the dough tears
as you flatten and stretch to see through the dough, mix with stand mixer and dough hook for a
 couple more minutes.  Stretch dough and form a ball, then place dough in oiled lidded container.
Allow to rest until doubled (about an hour). 

 Separate dough into six equal portions and roll into tight balls, place on parchment paper and cover with towel or plastic wrap.  Allow dough to rest for 45 minutes.

 Preheat cast iron griddle/grill on highest setting of stove top for 20 minutes.  Turn on exhaust fan,
open windows, or any thing to help circulate the air well.  After preheating, place in oven close to
top of oven and turn on broiler.  Place a wadded up piece of aluminum between oven door and
oven frame to prop door open slightly, this will keep the broiler from shutting off.

Stretch one of the dough balls on your knuckles or use a rolling pin.  Place dough on a
pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal or use an upside down cookie sheet.  The pizza should be
smaller than your cast iron griddle/grill, remember that. 

Slide pizza onto the cast iron griddle/grill and cook for 1 minute 35 seconds.  You read right, 

1 minute 35 seconds.  Isn't that awesome.   That means you can have pizza as quick as a brick

 oven pizza place can cook it.  I made four pizzas for my family very quickly.

Look at that beautiful pizza.   It was delicious too.

Enjoy!

French Toast

I learned that French Toast could be amazing, verging on bread pudding amazing.  To make amazing French toast, you will need some good bread, (I used my not your average white bread from yesterday), half and half, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Yes you can make French Toast with these ingredients, and it is yummy.

Do you like French toast?

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 4 egg yolks, loaf of bread, 2 cups half and half, 1 tablespoon sugar
(I used Turbinado), and 2 teaspoons Vanilla.

 Mix the ingredients together.

 I put my sliced bread in two sheet pans and poured the milk mixture on them and turned the bread
over after a couple of minutes.  I let the bread soak up the milk mixture for five minutes.

 Place bread on a rack placed in sheet pan and allow them to drain for another five minutes.

 Preheat griddle to medium low.

 Brush griddle with your choice of grease or spray with oil.  Cook French Toast until 

golden brown and flip and repeat.

Enjoy!

Stephanie's Food For Thought: Sea Salt

My sister Adrienne mentioned to me, since I was on a soap box about unrefined sugar, maybe I should also consider salt and what is done during its refining process.  She pointed out a post by Chef Brad found here.   I like Chef Brad, he has a cooking show on the BYU Channel and he is the self proclaimed grain guy.  He also has a great blog found here.  He talks about salt and says:

"1~Check to see if there is a list of minerals on the back. Good salt is filled with minerals. Bad salt will say just salt. 

  2~The color will tell a lot.  Pure white salt is probably processed to death and pure white salt is devoid of minerals.

  3~Check out the source.  Remember even healthy companies use marketing to deceive the public.

 So just because the company says its a good one, be careful.

  4~Good salt is not dirt cheap. Bad salt is."

I was at my local Mediterranean themed grocery store and found the above salt.   It is imported from Italy and has minerals listed in the ingredients.  A little side note about my little Mediterranean grocery store, above the cash registers it is painted to look like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and I think Asians now own the store.  My husband served a mission in Italy and has been to the place where this salt is mined, go figure.  This salt was $3.  If you go to Chef Brad's salt post you will see he lists several salts he recommends.   I have had Real Salt, and I like it, but I have to order it online where I live now. I remember watching a cooking show with Michael Chiarello.   He said never trust a salt that is white. 

Marinara Sauce

Several years ago, when we were still living in our very first home and had no money because it was going to our mortgage (cheap mortgage compared to our current rent), we made our first batch of marinara sauce and canned it to give as Christmas gifts.  Ever since then I have made it and taught my sisters how to make it.   They have taught the ladies in their church how to make it, and well you get the idea.  It was a gift that I even received requests for, and then we moved and I thought I didn't have any place to put jars of anything.  Truth is, I went into withdrawal over my jars of homemade goodness, and it was difficult to find mason jars.  I did find jars and decided since I forgot to buy crushed tomatoes today, it was time to use the #10 can of San Marzano tomatoes in my cupboard.  My recipe for sauce has evolved based on the ingredients available to me.  I now live in a very Italian neighborhood where my local Costco sells San Marzano tomatoes. For those of you who didn't know, those are the tomatoes that Italy is known for.  These tomatoes are grown in the special volcanic soil of Italy and have an inherent sweetness.  That means I can make sauce and it doesn't require any added sweetness.  I haven't ever added sweeteners, but I have heard of it being done.  My sauce recipe is seriously simple, but you can add to it if you want.  This is a pantry recipe, as in I used what I had on hand.  The ingredients are: #10 Can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, 12 cloves of peeled garlic, 3 tablespoons olive oil, coarse sea salt.

Look at those pretty jars, you need some on your counter.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 3 tablespoons olive oil, #10 Can of San Marzano peeled whole tomatoes, 10 cloves of peeled garlic.

Coarse sea salt, I got at our local market (again I live in a very Greek/Italian neighborhood).

 

 I buy the big bag of already peeled garlic from Costco and freeze it.  The cloves look a little 

different when thawed but still taste good and they don't go bad.  Put 12 cloves of garlic in a 

preheated Stainless Steel (or non-stick) pot with olive oil.

 After sauteing the garlic until lightly browned add the tomatoes and cook on medium until it 

begins to boil.  Once it has started to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for an hour.

 I used an immersion blender to crush the tomatoes and garlic, a potato masher would also work for this.  At this point, add salt to taste.  Ignore the next steps if you wish to freeze or refrigerate your sauce.

 I poured the sauce into 8 pint size jars, and screwed on the lids.

 Look how pretty they are all filled and lined up for pressure canning.

 I have an electric pressure cooker I used to can with.  I put the rack in the pot upside down and
poured an inch of water in the pot.  I was able to fit four pint size jars in the pot without them
touching each other or the pot. I set my pressure cooker to high and the timer to 15 minutes.  

 My sauce is complete, I can now rest knowing tomorrow morning when I won't be leaving my
home because of the snow storm, its okay, I have plenty of marinara sauce.  

Enjoy!

Not Your Average White Bread

I have been making homemade bread for a couple of weeks, but when my WonderMill accidentally stopped working, I had to buy flour.  I decided to buy bread flour, white plain bread flour.  Of course, since I don't want to make white bread according to the directions, I changed it up a little.  I used Coconut Oil instead of butter, and loved the results.  To make this incredible easy bread you will need warm water, bread flour, instant yeast, coconut oil, sugar, and Kosher salt.

Can you smell that wonderful bread?  No, well then we should change that.

 Ingredients for this recipe are: 3 cups lukewarm water, 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast, 1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt, 2 tablespoons sugar (I used honey in my first batch and recommend that
 over the sugar), 1/2 cup melted Coconut Oil, 7 cups bread flour.

 Add water (I microwave water for 30 seconds), yeast, salt, and sugar into stand mixer bowl.
Let foam and get happy.

 When the yeast is happy, drizzle in Coconut oil and flour.

 Mix with dough hook until the dough looks thoroughly combined.

 Rub Coconut Oil all over a large container (5 quart) that has a lid and put dough in container,
rubbing the sides to get oil on the dough.  Let dough rest for 2 hours with lid on, or until doubled.  If you have a cold counter, try using a heating pad under the container set to medium.

 This is dough that has grown up and is ready to move into bread pans, Woo Hoo!

 I have two 12 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans.  If you have 9x4x3 pans, you have enough dough to make
three 1 1/2 lb. loaves.  This dough can keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. so if you have
one pan no worries.  I halved my dough and kneaded it with more flour to make it easier to handle
 and put it in two Coconut Oil greased loaf pans. 

 Let dough rest in pans for 40 minutes or until doubled.  When rested, sprinkle with flour and use a serrated knife to slash the top, also brush top with Coconut Oil.  

Twenty minutes into the dough rest period turn on the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.  When dough is
done resting, pour 1 cup of hot water into an oven safe pan (broiler pan also works) on the bottom of your oven and place loaf pans in the middle of oven on rack.  Bake bread for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool on rack before slicing. 

Enjoy!

Stephanie's Kitchen Drawer: Pasta Machine

My mom has a pasta machine.   I don't remember seeing her use it.  I do remember borrowing it though.  When I moved away from my mom, I didn't get to borrow her pasta machine anymore.  I decided after trying to roll out pasta with a rolling pin, that I needed a pasta machine.  I purchased a pasta machine from Bed, Bath & Beyond near my apartment for $20.  Since we now eat homemade pasta and ramen noodles, it seemed like a very good investment.

You can also buy it from Amazon here.

Why use a machine instead of a rolling pin? Let me count the reasons for you.

1. Dough is rolled all the same thickness.

2. Pasta/noodles are all cut the same.

3. A lot easier than rolling it out.

4. Faster than rolling it out.

5. My patience isn't tested along with my muscles.

I have used my pasta machine to make tortillas, crackers, pasta, and ramen noodles.