Pizza Bianca

Description:
This is a pizza with a different kind of crust. There is in my opinion a little more work involved than a traditional crust but the finish results make it well worth it.the ingredients have to be followed really closely or you could have a major mess on your hands with a gooey dough attacking you. Just a bit of humor from the farside.

Ingredients:
See below

Directions:
Bianca Dough
                                                      Rested and Forked
                                                     Starting to bake
                                                      After 15 minutes
                                                               Done
Pizza Bianca

The Pizza Bianca has a different kind of crust. It's much like that of a Foccia. It's a type of crispy flat type bread baked with lots of olive oil and can have toppings like sauteed onions. If you have never had Foccia you don't know what you are missing. It is very light and airy and has a very fine thin outer layer of crispness. You get a nice crunch in every bite.

The ingredients for the Bianca dough is as follows.

3 cups of flour
1 2/3 cups of water
1 1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
5 tablespoons of olive oil

To make the dough.

In a mixer bowl add the flour, salt and water and mix for 5 minutes making sure to clean the sides of the bowl several times. Mix and make sure there is no dry flour left in the bowl. let the mixture set for about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the mix and then let the machine knead it for about 6 minutes. Scrape down the bowl sides and bottom several times. The best way I found to tell if the water and flour mixture is right was to allow the dough to knead for several minutes. This is a very wet dough. The dough should pull from the sides of the bowl. Mine was a little wet so I added 1 more tablespoon of flour and I had what I needed.
Coat the bottom of a bowl with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Coat your hands and a spatula too. When ever you have to handle this dough oil your hands. Do not dust or add more flour. Olive oil is your friend here. With your hands and the spatula, place the dough into the bowl turning it and coating it well with the olive oil. Cover the bowl tightly and allow it to rise to 3 times it's size. 2 1/2 hours.
During the last hour of rising preheat the oven with a stone on the center rack to 450*.
After the dough has risen, brush a 13"x18" backing sheet with a rim on it with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. With oiled hands remove the dough from the bowl to the baking sheet. Work from the center out and gently push the dough to the outside edges. If it keeps springing back, let the dough rest for a few minutes and then push again. After the dough is shaped allow it to rest again for about 10 minutes. The dough will get very bubbly. After the dough has rested poke the surface of the dough with a fork across the surface about 40 times. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add sauce and toppings and bake for 10 minutes or so more until the cheese is a nice golden brown.

Enjoy, IC

Pasta And Bean Soup/Pasta Fagoli

Description:
I just happened to mention Pasta Fagoli yesterday and I think I need to make an introduction regarding what it is. I would think that if anyone could enjoy a bean soup then they just might enjoy this dish. It is indeed a comfort food for a cold day.


Pasta Fazoli, From Mac’s Kitchen

Ingredients:
6 Italian Sausage Links

2 stalks of diced celery diced
1 Large onion diced 1 Tsp of Oregano
1 Medium Carrot cubed
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
12 oz can of white beans 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic
1/2 pounds of Ditalini Pasta salt to taste
1 1/2 quarts of water
pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste
1 teaspoon of basil

2 cups of chicken stock


Directions:
Cook sausage, set aside to cool, Bring water to a simmer in a large soup type heavy pot, add tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper, and can of beans. Cut sausage into bite size pieces and add to broth, sauté vegetables in the sausage drippings and then add to broth. Simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer the better. While soup is simmering brown the dry pasta in the remainder of the sausage drippings, add some vegetable or olive oil if needed to coat pasta. After the pasta is evenly browned cook according to directions but take off a couple of minutes so that pasta is under done. Slowly add pasta to the soup and continue to simmer for about another 5 minutes. Before serving add Parmesan cheese and mix into soup. After soup is served add another grate of Parmesan cheese.

Some times, but not very often we use chick peas instead of white beans and use little shell pasta instead of the Ditalini. This changes the name of the soup to Pasta Chichati. I am not sure of the spelling of the name.

And yes, a loaf or 2 of fresh hot buttered bread is a must for this meal.

Enjoy, IC

Barbecued Chicken With A Coffee BBQ Sauce

Description:
I would like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July. I know that on the 4th of July most of us like to barbecue and this morning at about 6:30am I was told that my oldest daughter had requested a barbecued chicken dish that I grill up. For a little background, this daughter doesn’t usually have a taste for chicken but for some reason this version that I developed became a hit with my family when I first made it about 3 weeks ago.


Ingredients:
I start with a large bowl and add about 1 gallon of cold water and a ½ cup of salt. I then place either 4 boneless breast or 2 bone in breast into the salted water brine. If the chicken doesn’t want to stay under I fill a zipper bag with water in it over the pieces and that usually does the trick. I let this chicken soak over night or if time matters at least for one hour. This brine works really well for making the chicken very moist and seeing how it is breast meat it really helps.

For my spice rub the unusual themed ingredient coffee comes into play. I know this sounds weird but the results come with a very pleasing taste. I take 2 tablespoons of fresh coffee grounds, ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a dash of garlic powder, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper and a pinch or so of white sugar and mix every thing together well.

Directions:
Fourth Of July 2008, Barbecued Chicken, Themed Ingredient- Coffee.


The thing about doing anything with chicken around here is that the only chicken parts I can get away with using is the breast meat. I prefer bone in but have found that even skinless and boneless chicken breast work well with this recipe.

Here goes.

After I remove the chicken from the brine I dry it very well with paper towels and lay them on a sheet pan. I then sprinkle the coffee spice rub over the chicken, turn and get the other side and then rub it in really well.

At this point I get the grill going. I take a few hickory chips that have been soaked in water and wrap them in foil. I poke a few holes into the foil to release some smoke. I set the charcoal to one side of the grill to make a hot side.

After the chicken has sat for about 1 hour with the coffee rub in the fridge I let it come back up to room temperature. Before I place it on the cooler side of the grill I first place my foil pack of wood chips on the coals, I then take a paper towel with vegetable oil on it and brush the grill so that the chicken doesn’t stick. I then place the chicken onto the grill and close the grill. I set the vent hole over the chicken to draw the smoke up over the chicken. I like to get the temperature of the grill up to about 300 degrees for this step in making the chicken. I want it to smoke for about 20 minutes to ½ hour. If I were to do a whole chicken I would split it in half and then slow smoke it for about 1 hour. For good heat control try to remember that for every charcoal briquette you use you get about 15 degrees of heat.

Now while the breast smoke I make my coffee themed barbecue sauce. I take 1 cup of brewed coffee( I normal size espresso can save you some work here) and place it in a sauce pan, I then add ¼ cup of brown sugar, ½ cup of catsup, ¼ cup of honey, a splash of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ a medium onion minced really fine and a garlic clove minced very fine, a pinch or so of salt. I Then over a low heat bring this mixture to a simmer and then reduce it down to a rather thick syrup.

After the breast have been on the grill smoking for about 20 minutes to a ½ hour it’s time for grilling and giving them a good barbecued chicken effect. I brush the tops of the breast with barbecue sause and set them over the coals sauce side down. I then brush the other side. I stay by the grill for this because one thing I really hate is to taste burnt food and with all the sugar in the barbecue sauce burning can happen really fast. I let the breast sit for maybe a minute or so and then turn. I recoat and flip again several times. I get a nice glaze on the chicken and if I am concerned with the thickness of the breast and for doneness I just stick my meat thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and hopefully it comes close to 160 degrees. If not I just keep flipping and glazing. Not every breast will finish at the same time unless I am using boneless breast that are all about the same thickness. After I remove the breast from the grill I place them onto a clean sheet pan and cover with foil to let them rest. While resting the internal temperature of the breast actually climbs to 165 degrees plus. Extremely safe for eating I would think.

To serve the chicken I like to cut the pieces from the breast as thin as possible and serve with some of the barbecue sauce drizzled over it. When I fist made this chicken I had images of having coffee grinds all stuck in my teeth and the bitter taste. Not at all. I asked my wife and kids how they liked the chicken and if they could tell what secret spice I had used. Now my wife downs several coffee pots of coffee every day and she couldn’t tell that it was coffee until I told her and then it was so recognizable to her. I was truly shocked at how well the flavors of coffee and chicken work so well together.

I have to thank the barbecue guru on the PBS network for steering me into the direction of coming up with this recipe on my own. He gave me the idea with a dish that he had done so I worked with it and to me that is what cooking is all about. Taking chances, learning and tasting something new and getting out of the bored hum drum life of eating the same thing day after day and week after week.

Just a note; In the past week NY City passed a law banning trans fatty acids. People are up in arms about it. Just my opinion here; I remember the good old days when you went out for French fries they where cooked in fat. They were sooooooo good. One day that changed and the restaurants like McDonalds started using Hydrogenated Oils for deep- frying. Margarine became a staple in people homes. People should do some research regarding what these things are. Margarine, lol, is only a few molecules off from being plastic. I am thinking that some day high fructose corn syrup will go out, as should the trans fatty acids. I am very happy that some day soon the really good French fries from long ago may be making a return.

Home Made Ravioli

Description:
I have always wanted a good recipe for beefy Ravioli. I have made several through the years but I have always tried a meatball type mix and the filling after the raviolis are cooked have always been very dense. I finally came up with a good filling recipe and the Ravioli I made yesterday were excellent.



Ingredients:
For the filling

1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 packet of Beefy Lipton Onion Soup Mix. (they are called Beefy Ravioli, lol)
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
7 Saltine crackers soaked in 1/2 cup of water
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese.

Directions:
My Ravioli Making Adventure.



The trick I learned was to brown the ground beef first, which I did with the Beefy Onion Soup mix. I waited until all the moisture from the beef cook off and then allowed it to cool. I then mixed in the rest of the ingredients, draining off what ever water was left from the soaking crackers.I Mixed the filling very well and then refrigerated it over night.

Now I have always wanted to make Ravioli pleasing to the eye too. I do have a Ravioli Maker that goes onto my hand crank pasta maker but it doesn't allow for very much filling in a Ravioli at all so I have only used it a few times. I usually just lay out a sheet of pasta, put several dallops of filling onto it. Moisten around the filling with water and then set another sheet of pasta over it and seal the edges and then cut the Ravioli into squares. When boiling the Ravioli the seal is very pour. The filling usually leaks out into the pasta water. The Ravioli are always very rough in size and texture. I have tried Wanton wrappers which work out very well but I'm not making it from scratch.
I went online to see what I could find for Ravioli Makers. I came across molds that kind of resemble ice cube trays. They are metal and come in different designs for Raviolis. The prices ranged from around 26.00 to 69.00. Sorry, I'm not paying that much for an ice cube tray.

I decided to make my own version of a Ravioli Mold. I went to work and came out with a pretty good first attempt invention.

Before those though, My pasta dough is very simple, 3 cups of flour, 3 eggs. I Always use 1 egg for each cup of flour. Just a bit of olive oil. I combine these ingredients to form a crumbly mixture and then slowly add up to 1/4 cup of water to form a nice stiff dough. I then let the dough rest before rolling it out. I use my pasta roller for this. I have done it by hand but the pasta roller makes the process a whole lot quicker.

North Carolina

I have just spent the last two weeks in North Carolina putting doing a job for my Inlaws. They wanted a bathroom installed. A bathroom was an under statement. The bathroom in all actuality turned out to be a walk in closet, a bathroom sized room for a 6' vanity and then another room for a tub and toilet. I spent two weeks, 16 hour days every single day to get the job ready for painting. The rest is up to the plumber and electrician. The new rooms went into an attic so I have spent my time working in the dark with a work light. I took pictures. The metal framing was something new to the local contractors. They told me that they never heard of using this method for residential work.



After replacing the flooring the plumber had ripped up to install his plumbing I decided to frame the work with metal framing. The first wall I started to put up is on the end a shower is to be installed. The layout for the wall and the shower the plumbing was installed for was about 2' off. The head height in the shower due to the rafters for the roof would have been at about 5'4'.
I had to change the layout. Of course a toilet is to be installed next to the shower. The wrong layout and improper plumbing meant that the shower would be to close to the toilet. I changed the plans and decided to install a tub unit.


The first day I had the walls up and started the ceiling.


The second day I finished framing in the ceiling and had the electrician come and do his rough installation. This was on New Years Eve day. The electrician didn't want to come until the following Monday. When I asked him if that's how long it would take him to recover from New Years eve partying he showed up about an hour later.


Started insullating.


Framing in the ceiling meant incorporating hip rafters into the scheme of things and also the support post for the rafters.



After the electrician finished his rough, I hung the drywall and had it taped on New Years Day.
Carrying 30 some odd boards of drywall up two flights of stairs, around the landings and rails without doing any damage was an amazing feat. One of the reasons I framed everything in metal to be honest was to save time and muscle getting all the material up to where I needed it. The only area not drywalled at this point is where the tub has to be installed.

The rough plumbing. No copper. I'm not use to this at all.


While waiting for the plumber I had plenty of time to spackle.


The only light I had for 2 weeks.


I installed concrete board for the bathroom floors. I always glue down my Dura rock besides screwing it.


I ended up getting the tub kit myself to pressure the plumber to come and install it. I finished the drywall around the tub area and taped and spackled it right away with a quick drying spackle.


I also installed another layer of plywood in the hallway and the walk in closet. I picvked the doors up from the Home Depot. They came pre trimmed. I have never ever bought a door that was trimmed inside and out. I attempted to remove the trim from one side with disatourous results. Thr trim was stapled on. I did learn that the door frames actually came apart behind the door stop. I felt like such an idiot.I rather liked the system. Late at night when I am trying to reach a goal I get to impatient and need to slow down and do a bit more investigating. I actually liked how these door frames differed from what I am used to and will use this idea here at home. I can't wait to see how the Home Depot here reacts to my demand of wanting these doors here.


Due to the time I went with a premixed tile adhesive. I usually use thinset that I mix myself but I wanted to get the tile in that day. The day the tub went in, by 10:00 that night I had the bathrooms tiled. I ran short of adhesive by about a gallon and had to send out for some more. This picture got me what I needed.


See.

I grouted the following morning and found that I was very dissapointed in the tile adhesive.Thinset starts setting in a few hours. The adhesive I used still had some movement in the tile.
Tiles installed and grouted and the doors are installed.
OOOOps, 1 out of order.
There were a few vents coming from a bathroom below so I through a shoe rack shelf over them. The carpet layer can run carpeting over it.

I finished the trim and caulking and spackle touch ups on Thursday. Finishing up the day at about 4:30 felt so wierd but I had the time that night to get all my tools and equipment loaded up and on the road home by 7:30am Friday.I left the painting to my father Inlaw. I had had enough.

So, that is what the last 2 weeks of my life consisted of. Now go smack the boredom from your head.

Road Trip

I'm going to take a road trip down to North Carolina to do a bathroom for my In Laws in the home they bought down there. We can use the money and I need the work.
I went onto Craigs List to find a cap for the back of my pick up. One of the draw backs of having a pick up is weather conditions and the cargo. I don't need to pull into a rest stop, come out and find all my tools are missing. I found one. It's green and I have mounted it already to my red truck, lol. I'll paint it when the weather warms up.
I will be taking my 13 year old daughter down with me and I must say, she is a whole lot more excited about the trip than I am. Maybe she will get a few extra days off from school.
Hopefully I can get most of the work done in the up coming week. I'll leave the painting for my father In Law. I'll have to hope everything works out well with the plumber and electrician. They are suppose to have the rough done already but the In Laws told me that they don't even have any walls up in the attic where they want the bathroom to be. Ahhhhh, the suspense.

The Christmas Gift

No, not nail clippings, Lol.

I thought things were going to be kind of bleak this year due to me being laid off back in November.  There definetly would not be 2 brand spanking new cars in the driveway Christmas morning. That would never happen any way but I have to poke fun of that stupid commercial on the TV. My employer called on Christmas Eve and we met, He had a 16 lb smoked boneless ham for me and a bonus that was totally unexpected and the best news ever that work will be coming up in about 3 weeks.

My wife and I finished our Christmas Shopping Christmas Eve afternoon.

My wife wanted to get me a gift, Something I have wanted for years. We started in one store where we knew the item should be but it turned out that it could only be had through ordering it. We decided to go to the dreaded Mall. We started at Sears. The gift was an attachment for a Kitchen Aid and Sears does sell them. Again no luck. We had to start going to each Department type store in the mall to search for the thing. I was ready to leave after Sears but my wife insisted we keep trying.I hate the mall because I can't stand being in crowds of people and the smell knock the air out of my lungs. The perfumes and the candle shops are just to much. I like candles but not every scent at one time. I would rather be exposed to the CS gas they made me breath in the Army than have to endure the scents in a mall

My wife took me through each department store for the attachment. We went in order to Sears, Macys and then to JC Pennys. Each store sold Kitchen Aids but none had the attachment we were looking for.

I thought we were done when we left JC pennys but as we exited the store my wife pointed to a Boskovs. I had never neven heard of the place. We went up the escalator to the kitchen appliances, over to the kitchen Aids and there it was, one box left. The gift was mine and the cost was about 20.00 less than any of the other stores wanted and it didn't have to be ordered. As a bonus, I also got a bench scraper for working with bread and pastry doughs. Mine went missing a few years ago and not one store we have gone into since has sold them.

I am very happy with my gifts. Oh, what was the gift? Did I forget to mention that? I did say it was an attachment for a Kitchen Aid.

I have always made homemade pasta by hand. I do have a hand crank roller that I use. actually a pasta roller with 2 cutters. 1 cutter for spaghetti noodles and one for fettuccine noodles. I  used the pasta roller on Christmas Eve night to make homemade lasagna noodles. What a difference time wise to make homemade pasta and I didn't have a flour mess from one end of the kitchen to the other.