Dinner 2016 (Part 11)

[Dejah]

Our second meal with friends, we had mussels steamed in coconut milk, Kaffir lime leaves, and lemongrass, paella, and avocado salad rolls.
Dessert was Ambrosia Delight: a base of graham crumbs, a layer of bananas, coconut cream pudding stirred with cream cheese and Madarin oranges, topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut flakes.
Forgot about pictures until "leftovers" stage...

                                 

                                           

                            

[HungryChris]

Char grilled oysters, and steamer clams.

HC

[BeeZee]

Had some squash taking up fridge space which will shortly be needed for turkey day, so I cut up and roasted several squash: delicata, red kuri, mini golden acorn. We had half of the red kuri and acorn squash with dinner (grill pan cooked tuna steak, quinoa). The rest went into deep freeze. My husband opined that he was very aware he ate something healthy for dinner. Hey, we are saving up for the stuffing and such on Thurs!

[shain]

11 hours ago, TicTac said:

Curious to hear more about your pizza cooking technique, Shai.

Sure, I'll be glad to tell. Is there anything specific you are interested about?  

In general, It's a straight dough made with bread flour and 64% hydration, a little sugar and some olive oil. Kneaded well and rested for 1-3 nights. 

As for shaping, I try to mostly use semolina, as I find excess flour makes the crust a little leathery, while the semolina doesn't absorb the moisture, and gets crunchy in the oven, but a little flour is unavailable. I keep some flour in a salt shaker for use in baking, it is very handy to dust the surface and the dough. 

For baking, I have a plate of steel, 1/4 thick (regular, not stainless, since it's cheaper), which I bought for less then 15$ from a metal shop, and seasoned so it won't rust. 

I pre heat it for 45 minutes as hot as my oven will go, then switch to broiler and slide in the pizza on a parchment. I find that it doesn't hurt the pizza, and I don't like otherwise risking it sticking to the peel. 

That's about it. 

Edited November 21, 2016 by shain (log)

[sartoric]

Thanks for the details @shain. I want to try these, love google, but can't quite get my head around hydration with baked products. Could you please estimate quantities of bread flour and water for this non baker ? 

[Anna N]

32 minutes ago, sartoric said:

Thanks for the details @shain. I want to try these, love google, but can't quite get my head around hydration with baked products. Could you please estimate quantities of bread flour and water for this non baker ? 

Perhaps even a full recipe?   That crust does look amazing!

[shain]

11 hours ago, sartoric said:

Thanks for the details @shain. I want to try these, love google, but can't quite get my head around hydration with baked products. Could you please estimate quantities of bread flour and water for this non baker ? 

 

10 hours ago, Anna N said:

Perhaps even a full recipe?   That crust does look amazing!

Thank you! 

 

EDIT: I moved the recipe here: 

 

Edited November 21, 2016 by shain (log)

[chromedome]

18 hours ago, shain said:

Haha, I think I managed to find the perfect recipe for you: Okra, chickpeas, lentils and eggplant.

 

It lacks a certain something. Maybe use it as the filling for a stuffed green pepper?

 

[Anna N]

11 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 

It lacks a certain something. Maybe use it as the filling for a stuffed green pepper?

 

[liuzhou]

 

Cubed pork tenderloin marinated overnight in olive oil and lemon juice with garlic, crushed coriander seeds, chopped chili, salt and pepper. Stir fried.

 

Tomato and red onion salad. Rice.

 

 

[TicTac]

8 hours ago, shain said:

Sure, I'll be glad to tell. Is there anything specific you are interested about?  

In general, It's a straight dough made with bread flour and 64% hydration, a little sugar and some olive oil. Kneaded well and rested for 1-3 nights. 

As for shaping, I try to mostly use semolina, as I find excess flour makes the crust a little leathery, while the semolina doesn't absorb the moisture, and gets crunchy in the oven, but a little flour is unavailable. I keep some flour in a salt shaker for use in baking, it is very handy to dust the surface and the dough. 

For baking, I have a plate of steel, 1/4 thick (regular, not stainless, since it's cheaper), which I bought for less then 15$ from a metal shop, and seasoned so it won't rust. 

I pre heat it for 45 minutes as hot as my oven will go, then switch to broiler and slide in the pizza on a parchment. I find that it doesn't hurt the pizza, and I don't like otherwise risking it sticking to the peel. 

That's about it. 

 

 

Toda - Shai.

 

Mostly curious in the actual baking methods.

 

I have for some time now been interested in getting a piece of steel for my oven (I have a gas wolf range) as currently I just bake my pies on a baking tray (not pre-heated) which is not ideal.

 

Do you put the steel under the broiler to heat, or full blast, heat - then turn to broil and bake under the broiler?

 

Very interesting technique if that is the case, as I would think the top would burn before the rest cooked...

 

What type of steel specifically should I be getting were I to purchase one?  How did you season it so it doesnt rust?

 

 

[shain]

39 minutes ago, TicTac said:

 

Toda - Shai.

 

Mostly curious in the actual baking methods.

 

I have for some time now been interested in getting a piece of steel for my oven (I have a gas wolf range) as currently I just bake my pies on a baking tray (not pre-heated) which is not ideal.

 

Do you put the steel under the broiler to heat, or full blast, heat - then turn to broil and bake under the broiler?

 

Very interesting technique if that is the case, as I would think the top would burn before the rest cooked...

 

What type of steel specifically should I be getting were I to purchase one?  How did you season it so it doesnt rust?

 

 

 

My oven is electric, so take any tip with a grain of salt. 

I use regular bake setting to preheat. I do turn on convection, as it seems to allow the oven to heat faster. I do believe preheating using the broiler might be better, but I don't like keeping it on too long in my electric oven. The idea is however, to get the plate as hot as it can get. 

 

Steel is a great heat conductor compared to stone, and therefore the bottom bakes in time, however, it does require reating between bakes. Using a thicker plate will improve this. 

Some of pizzas are not as charred on the bottom, as I'd like them to be, but they are always baked through, and I find the faster cooking top more significant in the final result. Skipping the parchment might also help a little. 

 

Get a plate 1/4-1/2 inch thick, as wide as can fit in your oven. Make sure that you can manipulate it easily enough. 

Stainless steel is great, since it doesn't require seasoning, but it is expensive. Any other type of steel or iron plate will be fine and cheaper. Ask however you get it from to smooth the corners and adges a little. 

If it is not stainless, season it as it it was a cast iron pan. There are good guides online. But in summery, you clean it well, removing all rust. Wash a thin layer of oil all around, then bake on high heat, you can do this while it heats to bake a pizza (but don't skip the parchment at this stage). Then, in the next few bakes, wash with a little oil after you finish baking, while it's very hot. 

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2016 by shain (log)

[cyalexa]

17 minutes ago, shain said:

Skipping the parchment might also help a little. 

 

There is a compromise: half way thru the bake slide the peel under the partially cooked pie, lift it a bit and remove the parchment. I use a this opportunity to rotate my pie 180 degrees so I get a more even bake. I don't know if it matters but I am using stone and don't use the broiler as my bottoms don't get brown that quickly. 

[TicTac]

All great ideas - thanks folks!

 

Now to locate some raw stainless steel!

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Grilled lamb chops, mushrooms and zucchini, roasted half cherry tomatoes from Taste & Technique, and pasta with winter squash.  A little demiglaze on the lamb.  It was so tender.

[mgaretz]

Sweet and sour cabbage borscht.  This is a borscht that does not use any beets.  It's basically tomato, beef, carrots, onion and cabbage.  I made a big batch of this last month when chuck was on sale, split it up into meal-sized portions, vacuum packed and froze.  Served with salad.

 

 

[shain]

1 hour ago, cyalexa said:

 

There is a compromise: half way thru the bake slide the peel under the partially cooked pie, lift it a bit and remove the parchment. I use a this opportunity to rotate my pie 180 degrees so I get a more even bake. I don't know if it matters but I am using stone and don't use the broiler as my bottoms don't get brown that quickly. 

 

Yes, I thought about it, my oven seems to bake even enough, so I don't rotate my pizzas, and I think that opening the oven just to pull the parchment might cause heat loss. I would do it if I would have opened the door anyway, as you do. 

[Anna N]

@shain,

thanks ever so much for the pizza recipe. I have just one question -- are you using all purpose or high gluten i.e.,  bread flour?

[shain]

48 minutes ago, Anna N said:

@shain,

thanks ever so much for the pizza recipe. I have just one question -- are you using all purpose or high gluten i.e.,  bread flour?

 

Bead flour

[sartoric]

Stir fried chilli pork with pineapple and hokkien noodles.

 

 

[kayb]

3 hours ago, TicTac said:

All great ideas - thanks folks!

 

Now to locate some raw stainless steel!

 

 

A purely theoretical suggestion, as I don't use either a stone or a steel in my oven, mostly because I don't make that much pizza: If you are going to get a steel cut to size at a machine shop (probably your cheapest alternative, should you have a machine shop within easy shouting distance), you might want to get a couple of hand-holds cut in the front side. I would expect a steel of that size, 1/4 to 1/2 inches thick, to be fairly heavy, and handholds would sure make it easier to handle when you took it out or put it in.

 

It's been my experience that most folks who own/run small machine shops are generally open to you coming in and saying, "Hey, I need something this wide and this deep, shaped like this. My father made me a cutting board shaped like a pig, and wound up having a cottage industry of people who wanted one like it. 

[rotuts]

@sartoric  

 

nice

 

Id like to hear or read a bit more about the Bag on the R

 

that's  the pork ?

 

and its dans le bags for ..................

 

Ive got a lot of bags my self

 

looking for something to do ............

[Captain]

My dinner done on the Kettle BBQ

Roast lamb legs, Spuds, Pumpkin and Yorkshire pudding

I forgot about the Greenery..

[sartoric]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@sartoric  

 

nice

 

Id like to hear or read a bit more about the Bag on the R

 

that's  the pork ?

 

and its dans le bags for ..................

 

Ive got a lot of bags my self

 

looking for something to do ............

The bag came out of the freezer with the pork in it. After defrosting, I sliced the pork, and put it back in the bag with gochujang, soy and fresh ground pepper for an hour or so. Too easy !

[Anna N]

 

Sous Vide pork chop  and a simple salad.