Pepperoni Stromboli (An Ironic Chef Recipe)

Description:
I Love Pepperoni. This is my version of the Pepperoni Sandwich.



Ingredients:
1 pizza dough
3 cups of flour
2 1/2 tsp of yeast
1 tbs of sugar
2 tsp of salt
1 1/8 cups of water
1-2 tbs of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together in the mixer then allow the machine to knead the dough for 10 minutes. Spray a bowl with vegetable spray, place dough in bowl and the spray the top of the dough with the spray. Cover and let rise till double in size.
When ready to use, gently remove the dough from the bowl, gently stertch the dough to about the size of the sheet pan you will be using. By gentle, don't knock all the air out of the dough.
Sliced pepperoni, try not to use enough to blow a heart valve.
Tomato sauce.
1/2 lb of shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Hot Pepper Flakes, Garlic and Oregano to taste.

Directions:
Pepperoni Stromboli.
Stack on the pepperoni in nice rows.


Add lots of Mozzarella Cheese.</span">



Just a little bit of sauce, A bit of hot pepper flakes, garlic and oregano.


Roll jelly roll style.


Pinch seam to seal.


Place on a baking sheet seam side down.


Score for venting.


Fresh baked, mmmmmmm the smell is out of this world.



Now this is a Pepperoni Stromboli.

Bishops And Seminarians Dinner

My son, wife and I went to a dinner last night for Seminarians. We had a very pleasant evening with good company.
The meal started with a nice salad. next came a baked Ziti for an appetizer. Of course baked Ziti is one of my favorites. Along with the baked Ziti we had nice bread for sopping up the sauce. The main course was a chicken Francaise, with fresh green beans and grilled potato wedges with skins on them. The potatoes skeered me but the chicken and green beans were very well prepared. For dessert we had cake. It was a very moist white cake with a pudding filling and a butter cream frosting. I don't generally like coffee when out but we were served coffee that actually tasted very good.
We had a very nice evening with pleasant conversation. Myself, I am just being nice. I was bored out of my gourd. The room was filled with Seminarians and Priest. I'm glad they had a sense of humor and I was allowed to be a smart ass without offending anyone.

I shouldn't say this but being one that judges men by their hand shake, I must have shaken 50 different hands last night and not a one had any back bone behind it. I'm trying really hard to be polite, lol.

Baklava

Description:
I met my sister's Mother In Law this weekend. Marie is 85 years old and came from Greece to The US in 1945. What a sweetheart.
She loves to make Baklava and her's is the best I have ever tasted. I talked with her for what seemed hours and she was so flattered that I asked her to share her recipe. When I returned to the hotel that night I jotted down her recipe and had a chance for her to review it before I came home.
My daughter and I will be making this this evening.

Ingredients:
Ingredients;

Filling
4 cups walnuts, finely chopped. 1 lb of ground. ( Pecans can be used too)
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 lb Phylo Dough
2 cups of sweet butter, melted

Syrup:
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
lemon or orange rind
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon


Directions:
Directions

Combine walnuts, sugar and spice.

In a baking pan, layer 7 Phylo sheets, buttering between each layer as it is stacked. Put a layer of the nut mixture. Repeat 4 times. Top with remaining Phylo sheets, buttering each sheet. You should make sure to have the same amount of Phylo sheets for the top as you did for the bottom. (Count how many sheets of Phylo dough there are and divide them for top, bottom and filling layers to see how many sheets you want to use between each filling layer) While layering, keep unused sheets of the dough covered with a damp towel.
Using a sharp knife, trim the edges. Perforate Baklava into square shapes with a fork. Try not to stick fork through the bottom layers.

Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool.

Pour hot syrup over Baklava (Not boiling hot).
Combine all ingredients for syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Pour syrup, that has been cooled for about 5 minutes, over the cooled Baklava.

After pouring syrup over the Baklava, wrap well with plastic wrap and allow to set for at least 2 days.

Saying Good Bye

My father passed away back in April and the family wanted the service and his remains buried on Father's Day which was this past Sunday.

I mentioned in my past blog about plans for a family reunion being shot to hell on the Saturday before in my last blog. The Reunion was to be held at my father's home but I think that due to problems with a niece and her friends shacked up in the house and issues revolving around the situation there, were the main reason for the cancellation of those plans.

We headed for UpState NY on Saturday morning. I had reserved a couple hotel rooms for my family. We arrived at the hotel around 2:00 in the afternoon and checked in. The hotel, an Econo Lodge was nothing like what they showed online. What a dive. The rooms smelled so bad of mold. Doors had missing trim, holes in the walls and outlets hanging out of holes by the wires. In our room the bathroom door had been busted in at one time and the door had a big broken section in the middle of it and the jamb was literally busted apart. The door catch section of the jamb was missing a piece about 16" in length and the door wouldn't stay closed. We went to my sisters house and returned later in the night to find that the hotel was actual being used by Mexicans. The place was operating like efficiency apartments and as many Mexicans that could squeeze into the rooms were utilizing the place.

My wife and I decided to go to an Italian bakery and to pick up some pastries and some fresh baked bread for my sister for dinner. We were in Albany NY and in the vicinity where my wife grew up. We headed out for a bakery in the phone book that my wife's family had frequently used. On the way there the front brakes on our Voyager decided to start grinding. Aaaargh. I didn't bring tools with me. Bad brakes made all the driving we had to do while we were up there rather difficult. I ended up changing the brakes and one rotor when we got back. The Italian Bakery, We walked into the place and it was nothing like it use to be. The entire area is no longer a good neighborhood. I don't know what went on in that place. They didn't sell pastries anymore. We retreated very quickly.

The dinner at my sisters house went very well. It was nice to see her, her kids, husband and mother inlaw. We had a nice dinner and conversation. Later talking with my sister and her husband I learned that my father had for many years, kept the remains of one of our Uncles in a card board box. He had left a request that our Uncle's remains be buried with him. I have talked with my sister almost every other day since my father died. My son was doing the grave side service. Not once did my sister ever mention anything about our Uncle. I was shocked.

Of course I have a way of taking things with a bit of humor. I figured a hole was being dug and it seemed that my family would take advantage and throw as many bodies (remains) as possible into it. I jokingly referred to the service as a twofer from that point on. We informed our son so that he could include my Uncle in the service. I'm glad he did because if he hadn't no one would have even known that his remains were being laid to rest too. I felt bad because my Aunt, the sister of both brothers being laid to rest was attending the service. She was taking it really hard.

My father's home is being used by a niece. A bad situation all the way around. I am glad I went with instinct and checked into a hotel. Bad hotel or not. If I hadn't I would probably be in jail now. A cousin had stayed there for a few nights. She went ballistic because of the partying going on there. Fighting over drugs and money. Drinking and driving. The shacking up between everyone. I guess  Friday night my niece and her boy friend went drunk driving to a bar after a fight with everyone, got into an accident with another car in the bar parking lot, the boyfriend was arrested for warrants and parole violations..... This wasn't my home.

My brother wants to move into the house. He will not do that with our niece there. She is in her 30's.  I have told the family that my brother should be there and the niece has to go. It's a situation that they are going to have to work out. I do not want my father's home used as a flop house. Bills and taxes need to be paid and that isn't being taken care of by the idiots that have tried to squat there.

I am glad to be home. Even if it is in New Jersey.

Going Home For The Weekend

We are going to Up State New York for the weekend. My family had decided to have my Fathers Burial and Memorial Service tomorrow. Father's Day.

We had planned to have a family reunion this afternoon with a cook out. I was looking forward to it and seeing family that I haven't seen in years. With the weather conditions and problems with non cooperating family members, I think the towel was thrown in yesterday at the last moment and the reunion isn't taking place.

We will be heading up but as far as this evenings plans go, it may just be a dinner at my sisters house. After dinner it's off to a hotel for the night. We were going to spend the night at my fathers house but unfortunately I have a 30 year old niece living there and her boy friend is shacking up with her while her 4 kids from different fathers live with her mother. It's a situation I am sure I would say something about but feel to keep the peace and to keep the weekend about my father, it's just best to go else where. As everyone knows, I don't think very often before opening my mouth.

Unfortunately, this weekend will to me, be saying good bye to what I have always called home. I am not looking forward to it.

Is this place working today? I would swear the same thing is on here that was here this morning.

Good Night Everyone.

You all are driving me nutz with this silly note feature.