Pizza Night

 Viv and I have always loved making pizza at home.  Sort of like our version(s) of fried rice, pizza is often a "clean out the fridge" type of concoction.

Often, I make dough in my bread machine, but this time, I bought the dough that you can buy in the Publix bakery.  One thing I've found about their dough, though, is I let it sit out at room temp for hours.  Otherwise, it's practically impossible to roll, stretch, pat out, etc.  It just doesn't cooperate if it's too cold/cool.

Tonight, we wanted to use up some of the vegetables that we have on hand. We went with onion, roasted red pepper, olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, garlic, bacon bits and some blue cheese crumbles (on my side.)

Pizza Pre-Bake

Get in our bellies!

One thing I do when I make pizza at home is, as you can see, I pat the dough out onto a jelly roll pan. I spray it well with either PAM or sprayable olive oil, pat the dough out, then pre-bake it at 500 degrees for about 5 minutes. It's good to poke some holes in the dough with a fork or knife.  This helps get the underside of the crust crisp, as well as, firming up the top side before you start with your toppings.  Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, and there you have it.  I'm not pretending that this is just like a pizzeria, but for home pizza, it is pretty damn good!  

Semi-Homemade Pizza Tonight

 

Remember that show? Sandra Lee with her semi-homemade dinners?  I loved it, except for her "table scapes." They were all inspired by Holly Hobby or something. 

Anyway...I am a pizza fanatic. New York, Detroit, thin crust, veggie, meat lovers, weird combos, you name it. While I love going out for a cheesy heart attack pie as much as the next guy, sometimes just making one at home for a quick dinner is what the doctor ordered.

So, yesterday I discovered I had half of a chicken breast half. What can you do with that? I decided on BBQ pizza. I've been known to say that I really don't think chicken has any place on a pizza, but I can make exceptions from time to time. 

The semi-homemade part is a pre-baked pizza crust. Most stores carry Boboli. These are good, but I prefer Mama Mary's Thin & Crispy. A) they are thin & crispy B) they come in a 2-pack and C) they cost less than Boboli. Here's what I did:

Ready for the oven

Ingredients

3 oz (or so) chicken breast

BBQ sauce of your choice

shredded cheddar mixed with shredded monterrey jack

3 slices store-bought fully cooked bacon, chopped

red onion, thinly sliced

fresh cilantro

1.  Cook chicken however you like then shred it. Mix it with a little of your bbq sauce.

2.  Cover your crust with a bbq sauce. Bottled bbq sauces tend to be rather sweet, so I use a thin coat here so that the sauce isn't overwhelming.

3.  Top with a mixture of cheddar & monterrey jack.

4.  Top that with your shredded chicken, bacon and onion.

Right out of the oven. Time for finishing touches

5.  Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes. Top with roughly chopped fresh cilantro and give it a drizzle of bbq sauce. 

Ready to eat!

So many of us are in need of quick weeknight dinners, especially on those days of after-school soccer, ballet, or karate practices. Keep some of these pizza crusts in your pantry, and whip up your own pie in no time. Remember, it's like my "kitchen sink" fried rice: try out any combo of ingredients that you find in your kitchen.

Pandemic Eats

 

 

The great COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, 2021...

It's been forever since I've written here. You would think after the world coming to a grinding halt, then slowly reopening, reawakening, rejoining society that I'd have nothing but time to write. But, living in these weird times has been harder than one might think. Many people in this country, and around the world for that matter, have lost jobs. They have lost family members and friends, lost retirement savings, lost hope. Many have gained anxiety, depression, fear of being sick. Many have been lined up at community food banks, even people who never thought they would be there. Thanks to schools providing meals to kids, selfless donations, food banks, churches and simply neighbors helping neighbors, people have been able to eat.

Living in isolation may have one silver lining. People are cooking again. We all know cooking at home is the way to go. Some people may think they aren't very good at it, but they've had lots of time to practice now. Cooking at home is less expensive than eating out or fast food. Since restaurants were almost made extinct, we all pitched in to support them by ordering take out whenever feasible. We were glad to do it. But, people are still cooking again. When you do it yourself, you can control ingredients, salt, fat, cost and variety. That American families have returned to home cooking and the dinner table is a good, accidental side effect of the pandemic.

Despite all that has been lost, the remaining challenges ahead and the healing that needs to be done, we must look for the positives and embrace them. Get your cast iron skillet out and Bon Appetit friends!

In the style of the Shepherd

Around here, the little Akre crew can dig on some Mexican food. As children of the 70's, Neil and I are nostalgically fond of the good ol' American Tex-Mex ground beef taco with crunchy shell, cheddar, onion, tomato, lettuce, etc., you get my drift.  Make no mistake, I still make these kind of tacos every time we have one of those busy weeknights. I.LOVE.TACOS.


But, as we have aged and evolved, we have been fortunate enough to actually experience Mexico and myriad really, good, authentic Mexican restaurants and Mexican people here in the U.S.  As time has gone by, our knowledge (by "our," I mean Americans in general) of true Mexican food has gradually been realized.  True Mexican style tacos are something relatively new to many Americans, as many of our brethren still flock to the standard Tex-Mex "Somebody's San Jose" and order crap like the "Speedy Gonzales" or the ubiquitous "Lunch #3."  

One of my favorites is Tacos al Pastor.  I've always wondered about the "al" part of this name, so I checked into the history of this dish.  From what I've read, this dish was actually introduced to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants.  It was inspired by schwarma, also one of my favorite dishes, so this is all starting to make sense.  If you are unfamiliar with "al Pastor," it is a mixture of marinated pork, onion and pineapple served in a warm corn tortilla and topped with finely diced onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.  

So, as you can probably deduce by now, I like making stuff at home.  I recently got a shipment of beautiful boneless, center cut pork chops.  Pastor time!  It is surprisingly easy to make and so worth the small amount of effort.

Guajillos:  I use these for enchilada sauce, my tamales and now for this!

 

Chop up those finishing touches for your tacos

Boneless pork & pineapple in marinade

 

Draining off marinade

 

Cookin' up that goodness!

Taco al Pastor with homemade refried beans

Tacos al Pastor
5 dried Guajillo chiles
1 chipotle pepper 
1 med onion, chopped
1 can pineapple chunks 
1/8 cup vinegar
1 Tbs minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1 lb (roughly) boneless pork, cut into small cubes
1 Tbs canola oil
Corn tortillas
Chopped cilantro
Chopped onion
Wedges of lime

1.  Boil about 1 cup water and soak chiles for about 10 min to soften.  Cool, then remove stems and seeds.

2.   Chop onion, strain pineapple and reserved the juice.

3.   Transfer guajillo peppers, chipotle pepper, half of the chopped onion, 1/2 of pineapple juice (save the rest for another use), vinegar, garlic and cumin in food processor.  Puree until smooth.

4.   Transfer mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil; cook until raw onion taste subsides, about 2 minutes.  If you want it spicier, add some adobe from the can of chipotles. Cool then combine in a ziploc bag with pork, remaining onion & pineapple.  Refrigerate and marinate at least 2 hours, up to 24. 

5.    Drain meat/pineapple mixture & discard marinade.  Heat a bit of oil in skillet.  Add pork and pineapple and cook until dark golden brown and cooked through, about 15 minutes. 

6.   Dry "fry" corn tortillas in skillet to soften.  Add meat, pineapple, finely chopped onion, cilantro and give it a good squeeze of lime.


I served our tacos with homemade refried beans. These are so simple, you'll wonder why we ever bothered buying them in a can.

1. Take a 30 oz. can of pintos and "lightly" drain them.
2. Heat about a Tbs oil and add a couple of garlic cloves.
3. When they are lightly brown, crush them up with a fork.  Or, if you prefer, just use minced garlic.  The point is to flavor the oil. 
4. Add beans, 1 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, salt to taste.
 5.  Cook about 5 min until beans are heated.  Mash with potato masher until consistency you like.  Squeeze in some lime juice, stir and enjoy! 



 

Tikka Masala Makes Ya Holla!

I've always been intrigued by how we have to teach our kids to enjoy other cuisines, such as Mexican, Indian, Japanese, etc. But, in Mexico and India and Japan, little kids are eating that food all day long.  You can't say it's too spicy or too weird for kids, because clearly, there are kids eating it.  I guess I have to conclude that somewhere in New Delhi there is a mom trying to introduce her kids to fried chicken and biscuits.  Right?  

I love Indian food.  I admit that I am far from being an expert.  I wish I were. But, thanks to Indian friends and clients, I know a thing or two.  I own an Indian cookbook, I know where my local Indian market is, I've made Biryani and Tikka Masala from scratch.  And since I love to cook, it's fun but make no mistake, cooking Indian takes time and lots of ingredients.  Mainly spices.  Lots and lots of spices.

Recently, I was cruising the aisles at Aldi and came across a brand of Indian "simmer sauces."  I got so excited; what a great way to have some Indian on a quick weeknight schedule.  And, the little one (not so little anymore...just had a birthday!) has been expressing interest in Indian food.  I bought Korma, Jalfrezi and Tikka Masala.  

It couldn't be simpler: cube up some chicken, saute it to brown, saute onions, sweet bell peppers, peas, whatever.  I added some chopped spinach to the most recent batch to add well, spinach, and color.  

Simmering away with Tikka Masala sauce

The first couple times I made it, I worried that the sauce might be a little spicy for the Vivver.  I portioned out enough for her and added some half & half to tone it down.  However, on our most recent dinner, she tasted it ahead of time and deemed it not too spicy, so I left it alone.  And since Aldi is the bomb-diggity that it is, they also sell really awesome packaged Naan bread that just takes minutes to warm in the oven.  It's like restaurant food on a Tuesday night!  

Our chicken Tikka Masala over Basmati rice and served with garlic naan

 And, now I have an 11 year old who is a fan and can't wait to actually go out to a real Indian restaurant and sample lots of good stuff!  My work here is done.  Not really, but you get my drift.  Next up?  New Peruvian restaurant in our neighborhood.  Anyone know anything about Peruvian food?

The best tuna recipe ever

I know this is rather monochromatic, but it was delicious!

Cooking tuna can be daunting.  Most people like it rare but I'm not one of those people. I like mine cooked just over rare, meaning still a little pink inside. This takes some practice but it's not impossible, to be sure.  What I've figured out is that if the tuna is about 1- 1 1/2 inches thick, I cook it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second.  There, that's it.  Now you have no reason to be afraid anymore. Go buy some tuna.

Now, if you want to have really spectacular, awesome, mind-blowing tuna, then here's what you need to do. I got this from the Internet, I think. This makes enough for the three of us.

1 Tbs white wine vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
2 Tbs minced shallot
1 1/2 tsp wasabi paste (don't let this spook you)
1 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 6 oz tuna steaks, about 1" thick

Simmer the vinegar, wine & shallots over medium heat until it reduces to a couple of Tablespoons.  Strain out the shallots & return liquid to the saucepan.  Add the wasabi & soy sauce.  Over low heat, add the butter one cube at a time, whisking it to emulsify. DON'T LET IT BOIL. When all the butter is incorporated, remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, rub olive oil on the tuna and season with salt & pepper. Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Place fish in the hot skillet and sear 3 minutes on first side, then 2 minutes on the flip side.  Of course, adjust this time if you like yours more rare or more done, although I wouldn't recommend going more toward done.

Serve with the wasabi butter spooned over the fish. 

You may want to serve pasta, potatoes or rice with this because the butter sauce is so fantastic. Most recently, we had this with wild rice and roasted cauliflower.  This sauce is dangerous, folks. I mean, you might find yourself wanting to just eat it with a spoon. I think it would also be wonderful with salmon or chicken.  And don't let the wasabi scare you off.  As it cooks, it mellows and just imparts a cool flavor.  It is NOT spicy at all.  So please don't let that ingredient prevent you from trying this dish.  I promise you that you'll love it!

Would love to hear your comments below after you try it. If you don't love this dish then I'll tap dance down Main Street wearing a rainbow afro. That's how confident I am that you'll love it.  Bon Appetit!

Zucchini+Broiler=Epic Win

I love squash.  Yellow,zucchini, acorn, butternut.  Spaghetti squash kinda freaks me out though, so there's one exception.  My dad always grew squash in our garden and I know how to cook it in various ways.  So imagine my surprise, all those years ago, to meet Neil and learn that he's not crazy about squash.  What the...?  How can you not like squash?

Well, turns out, if you grow up eating squash boiled to within an inch of its life, you don't really like squash when you grow up.

 So, over the years, I've occasionally tried out different preparations on him.  Some have gone over well. But some not so much...you turn your back on it and it'll soften up and get mushy in a heartbeat.  But, I keep trying because I love it and because it's good for us.  

As I planned dinner tonight, I was thinking green beans.  But we had green beans yesterday, which could very well get the "Day 2 Rejection" by the wunderkind.  Then I remembered the zucchini in the fridge. Hmmm.  What to do, what to do?  As I contemplated how to make tasty, non-mushy zukes, a thunderbolt hit me.  THE BROILER.  Yes, it's been staring me in the face all this time.  And the idea was formulated.

So, I sliced them kind of thick (this also slows down the mush time factor).  I placed them on the broiler pan and sprayed with Pam.  Broiled for a few, then flipped and sprinkled each slice with some parmesan.  Broily, broily and voila!  They looked acceptable.  Would they pass the test?  Well, test(s) really.  They had to make it past Neil and the wunderkind, who up until this point has been 50/50 on squash.  

I always make Viv's plate first so it can start cooling.  Before I'd finished making mine and Neil's, she was asking for more zucchini. ((What!/!))  Then, completely unsolicited, she said to me, 

"Mommy, these zucchini are great. I really like them.  And I like the way you put the cheese on top; it's kinda crunchy."

Wow!  What an endorsement.  Then, to top it all off, I sat across the table from my (tomorrow) Birthday Man and watched him polish off ALL of his zucchini and he looked happy about it.  This is what success feels like, my friends.  I have uncovered the secret to squash that my husband can enjoy.  As cliche as it is, this was an "epic" win.  Oh yeah, the cubed steak, rice and homemade gravy went over well too ;-)

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