So, in my quest for NJ pizza, I've been making my own. I've tried about six or seven times; three rounds, six pizzas this weekend alone. I like the flavor of the dough, but I'm wondering. I'd like thin-- I'm talking paper thin, like this:
http://www.peteandeldas.com/pic6.html.
Right now, mine is thin, but not as papery/blistery as I'd like. Any advice?

I take it you have a pizza stone or unglazed tiles in your oven, correct? You will also need to crank up your oven to as hot as it can get and let the stone come to temp for at least an hour.

And even this won't get you quite as blistered a crust as you'll see from a pizzeria. Their ovens get a LOT hotter than home ovens...

How long are you letting the dough rise for?

Last night's dinner was ropa vieja (shredded beef with peppers and onions) over saffron rice, with a side of roasted butternut squash. The ropa was decent but needed more depth of flavor. Especially since I literally have pounds of it left.

I do, but my oven isn't great. I'll try it on 500 for over an hour. Thanks.

Tonight:

Pollo Al Limono (1)
Ravanelli Glassani
[both from my new Silver Spoon cookbook]
Creamy Polenta

Nuits-Saint-Georges Les Saint-Georges Domaine Robert Cevillon 1996

Tomorrow:
Lasagna [from the back of a pasta box]

Leftovers from last night's feast at Corduroy. Thank you Rissa, Ferhat & Chef!

Saturday -- Roast Chicken sauteed green beans and butternut squash soup.

Last night -- Arugula and pear salad. Braised Short Ribs

A bottle of Cotes du Rhone that I had forgotten in the bottom of my wine rack which I discovered only when I was digging through the basement looking for some painting supplies. It's very convenient to have wine right next to your work table.

The joy of finding a forgotten bottle more than made up for the mediocrity of the wine itself.

Chicken Roasted with Lemons and Garlic (from Nigella Lawson's "Forever Summer")
Minnesota Wild Rice* - made a pilaf of sorts with some sauteed onions and mushrooms - white, horse, and an unknown variety - WF didn't have a sign for them, so I wound up getting a free 'sample'.
Carrot Cake frozen custard from the Godmom...mmmm.

* when I was a kid I hated wild rice and my dad would try to get me to eat it by telling me it was "just like candy" . Who knew that all these years later I would LOVE the stuff and find it hard to stop eating it?

A bacon, poached egg and cheese salad (which really would work better with romaine like at Eve)



And in honor of Fat Tuesday, a shrimp, sausage and chicken gumbo



The king's cake didn't quite work out, so we made some chocolate chip cookies to use for homemade chipwiches

Classic weeknight chow for Mr. Xochitl and me tonight: Hamburgers and Old Bay seasoned tots, upscaled with shiraz/cabernet for me, Dirty Tanqueray martini for him. I'm too preoccupied with what I'm going to make to fulfill the weeklong chocolate cake craving to think of much else.

Dinner party for seven tonight

Hors d'euvres:
Medjool dates stuffed with homemade lavender chevre with Maldon salt and Meyer lemon oil
Piquillo peppers with feta
White bean spread
D'Artagnan chorizo
Manchego and homemade membrillo
Olives
Jicama

Amuse: demitasse of carrot ginger soup

2005 Yalumba Y Series Viognier

First:
Duck Twice: applewood smoked duck breast, confit of duck leg, fennel and fig slaw, duck cracklings

2003 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Entree:
Braised short ribs of beef
Polenta
Roasted cippolini onions
Brussels sprout, Sunnyside Organics baby turnip and carrot

2002 Turkey Flat Butcher's Block GSM
2002 Two Hands Brave Faces

Loudon lettuce and mache salad
Cheeses:
Fields of Grace Farm camembert, raw milk cheddar
Spanish cow and sheepmilk blue (? name)

Dessert:
Flourless chocolate cake
Raspberry and blackberry coulis
Creme chantilly

R.L. Buller Muscat

Espresso

Zora, that description is making me drool in my oatmeal this morning.

Saturday Night

Appetizer: Carmelized cantelope with sous vide pork belly topped with a Caribean thyme sauce.

Entree: Mullard Magret duck breast with a guava port wine reduction and skirt steak with bacon both done sous vide, asparagas with a walnut vinagarette and risotto with mushrooms.

Salad: Superb

Desert: Vacuum bagged watermelon heart topped with rasberry sorbet and finished with whipped cream flavored with Chambord.

Cholesteral fest:

Puree of mushroom soup

Onglet w/shallot sauce
Frites galore
Something green

Epoisse, Pyrannees Raw Sheep's Milk Tomme (I was staring absently at the cheese counter at the Glover Park WF when the the cheese lady said, "you know, not everything we have is on display." The Tomme was excellent. The Epoisse, far too ripe for the timid, had apparently been hidden away until a customer with the proper deranged gleam in their eye approached the counter. It was pornographic, oozing unctuously across the plate and filling the room with a lusty, unforgettable aroma. It wasn't better than sex...it was almost exactly the same. And it may be even better now, for having sat out overnight and smeared across a stale baguette as I type).

Chocolate Mousse

Scallops with golden beets, blood oranges, beet greens and an orange beurre blanc.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak
Sweet Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts

Dry-Aged Ribeye steak
Sage and Garlic flavored mashed potatoes
Brussels sprouts with almonds

The last of a castlemagno, now loaded with blue.
The last of an Ubriaco dell'amarone, still sweet yet a little tinge of sharpness
Some runny rochetta
Rosemary bread
Ridge Mazzoni Home Ranch 1998
Marolo Grappa di Moscato

Sandia Sunsets: silver tequila, lemon juice, and Chambord (specialty cocktail of the House of Xochitl)

Marinated London Broil
Smashed potatoes with chives
Garlicky sauteed kale
Sage focaccia

Annual Oscar mezze fest -
Hummos
Whipped feta
Ground lamb in puff pastry shell
Clean out the produce drawer pseudo-Greek salad
Plenty of pita.

Avacado salad with lavendar balsamic vinegar

Risotto with spinach and proscuitto

Smart Water '06

same tonight with the addition of some yogurt marinated chicken.

Room service "prime rib" special. I was swayed by the promise of a prime steakhouse in the lobby. What was I thinking?!!?

Last night I made a pan roasted pork tenderloin with “American Risotto” and garnished with thin slices of scallions. The tenderloin was rubbed with an herb and spice mixture then seared in a cast iron fajita pan and finished in the oven to a delightful 145 degrees. The herb and spice rub included whole Sarawak white pepper, Tellicherry black pepper, pink pepper, yellow mustard, fennel seeds, juniper berries, and celery seeds, ground and then mixed with a mélange of granulated garlic, kosher salt, and dried rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano.
The “American Risotto” was a macaroni and cheese using Riso pasta to instead of macaroni. In the bowls it looked like a plate of risotto, hence the name. The cheese I used was a Carr Valley Cheese Company Aged Cheddar 10 year. Carr Valley makes some of the best cheese in the upper Midwest, and it showed in this preparation.
This was served with the last bottle of California Red wine I have in my collection. It was a 2003 Martinelli Pinot Noir Reserve. It was a California fruit bomb of a wine, in the past there has been enough acid in this wine to counter all of the jammy fruit. However, last night’s bottle was just a little too, but not syrupy like an Aussie Shiraz have a tendency to be. On its own, the very forward fruit would have been a little over the top for me, but it held up well against spice rub and the richness of the pasta.

Made a delicious bone-in picnic shoulder last night with the Puerto Rican-Style Pork Roast recipe from How to Cook Everything. Gave it 24 hours in the fridge with the wet (very wet!) rub: onion, garlic, oregano, vinegar, oil, S&P. It was probably ready after 3.5 hours but I let it go for four, uncovered the last half-hour to get the roasty brownness. Next time I might jab into it with a knife to get the rub flavor deeper in, but all told, a pretty simple and delicious prep. The hardest thing was removing the skin, but I didn't want to waste all that rub on a part of the pig I wasn't going to eat.

Served up with long-cooked green beans and bacon. De-licious.

You saved all that skin, right? I'll come over and pick it up tonight...

I'm only being somewhat facetious, but why would you choose that cut if you weren't going to eat the skin? The chewy, crispy skin really makes that cut, in my opinion...

I probably should have saved the skin and the fat attached to it, but I was awfully daunted, this being my first time out with this exact cut. I'd read something about "scoring the skin" so I tried to do that and my knife didn't even make a dent. It was like leather, and I was afraid it would be just like leather after it was cooked too.

Even without the skin, the outside was utter crusty deliciousness.

Do you have a boning knife? You just need to use some force to get the tip through the tough skin and then it is pretty easy to cut after that.

Next time make small, but deep cuts in the meat and stuff the spice rub inside. Or if you are feeling particularly adventurous next time; skin it, debone it, coat it with the spice rub, roll it up and wrap it with the skin, and finally tie it up. Roast slow and low, then enjoy.

My last meal before starting a low iodine diet...sushi!

Tuna, salmon, yellowtail, & unagi nigiri.
Flying fish roe and spicy tuna cups and unagi maki.
Salad with miso dressing.
All from Momo Taro in Cabin John. And Ben & Jerry's coffee ice cream.

Best part of the meal was watching Ian (age 3) licking flying fish roe off his chopsticks.

When I read the first line I was going to say I disagree with you, however, I wholeheartedly agree with the later suggestion. Skinning a shoulder is quite easy, and there is nothing like homemade cracklin'. I have never made a shoulder any other way other than smoking it slow and low, and with this method the skin simply gets in the way. I usually slice the skin with fat attached and pan fry it. What does not make it directly into my mouth goes into the pulled pork for a delightful crunch.

With a farmer's market bounty about to rot in my fridge, I gorged on a veggie platter last night--steamed beets, cabbage, and broccoli, liberally slathered with butter and salt. And a piece of toast. And grapes for dessert. (But the grapes were from Safeway, not the farmer, so they were not good.)

I think it must be the weather warming, but that SO hit the spot.

Had a friend over for dinner. In a truly manic moment I made:

Amuse: Broccoli soup with chive-cayenne oil


First: Sauteed shrimp with vegetable "pasta" -- thin strips of zuchinni, yellow squash and red peppers


Entree: Spinach souffle with smoked gouda


Dessert(s): Chocolate ginger cake with a chocolate ganache; shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate

Friend bought over a nice Sauvignon Blanc: Domaine des Chezelles

(I realize these are not the best pictures in the world, but I was so proud of this dinner. Bear with me as I learn to use this camera.)

Curry shrimp with potatoes and onions over lo mein at Maria's with a side of milk tea and condensed milk & jam on toast.

Comfort food, HK diner style. Ahhhhhhhh.

Last night: grilled rack of lamb and artichoke risotto

Tonight: grilled duck breasts with dijon beurre blanc, salt-roasted fingerling potatoes, and grilled asparagus

5.25 pounds smoked pork shoulder
2 pounds sausage
3 pounds chicken
30 sandwich rolls
a bundt cake
a pan of brownies
8 cups Asian coleslaw

14 dinner guests turn into 0 when a water main breaks and we lose water 3 hours before dinner. Fortunately, my guests were bringing most of the side dishes so I at least could fit what I made back into my fridge.

Last night: grilled ham, steamed rice, buttermilk chive biscuits, and mixed greens with pears, blue cheese, and balsamic/garlic vinaigrette.

Tonight was New Mexican food night: red chile posole with pork, tortillas from New Mexico, chips and salsa, and Sandia Sunsets. Also tres leches cake (not New Mexican), which was rather gummy: it either didn't soak long enough or was completely impervious to the milk mixture.

Chicken paprikash from Cooking Light, with buttered egg noodles. Meh. Needs more... something.

More of the fat that was eliminated to make it "light" -- like lard or chicken or goose fat, perhaps? Those are the traditional fats used in Central European cooking. Maybe more garlic and onion, too-- it seems to me that those kind of "light" recipes start with a basic assumption that their readers/users not only want low calorie-low fat recipes, they don't care for intense or spicy flavors.

There was actually plenty of garlic and onion -- it just tasted too much like chicken in marinara sauce to me. I don't doubt goose fat would make it better, but I think the real secret may be ordering some honest-to-goodness hot Hungarian paprika, and maybe doubling the amount of caraway.

Since it's my turn to provide dinner tonight and since it's 81 degrees right now and our apartment is stifling, dinner will be "salad;" i.e., lettuce, several kinds of canned veggies, and boiled shrimp, plus Salvadorean rolls from the Metro Market.

Last night...

Cream of watercress soup
Salad of roasted beets, microgreens with sherry vinegarette
Ravioli stuffed with dandelion greens and montrachet in brown butter
Rack of lamb persillade
Chocolate biscotti

Makes me wish I had 3 hours to cook dinner every night

The "2 Minute Sicilian Lifeguard Style Calamari" from the Babbo cookbook (calamari, israeli cous cous, capers, currants, pine nuts).



And rhubarb cakes, which were in the latest Saveur.

Last night: chicken chorizo burgers with chipotle ketchup and roasted tomatillo on English muffins, with a side of kale.

I have been directed by my wife to begin cooking out of the freezer, as we can barely close the door. So last night it was duck.
Pan Seared Duck Breast with Potato and Duck Confit Hash
The duck breast was simply seared and finished in the oven. The hash was a small dice of waxy potatoes, onions, red bell pepper, and shredded duck confit cooked in duck fat. It was a wonderful menagerie of flavors. I also served this with some blanched green beans, that were sautéed in more duck fat.

In a continued effort to eat threw the packed larder, last night I settled on Salmon, with a Citrus Dill Beurre Blanc. The salmon was seasoned with salt, and a dash of Penzy’s Tandoori seasoning, and then seared on a cast iron pan. The base of the Beurre Blanc was a combination of wine vinegar, white wine, lemon juice, onions (I was out of shallots), citrus rind (orange, lemon and lime), and fresh dill. The liquid was strained before I added the cream and butter. For the cream I used a small box of Latte Milano Panna which gave it great body. I also finished it with a teaspoon of coarse grained mustard and some additional fresh dill to replace what was strained. On the side I made a pasta dish using the Beurre Blanc, Penne and jullienes of red bell pepper. The dish was garnished with a bruoise of citrus rind.
I feared that there were too many flavors in the sauce and that it might become muddled. I was relieved that was not the case at all. It was a bright and not too rich, even with all of the cream and butter.

Last night: Spaghetti with chicken breast and sauce.

The chicken breast was lightly jerked, with some additional ground peper and garlic and olive oil and let marinade overnight. It was grilled before serving.

The sauce was a medley. I chopped up a pair of hot italian sausage links and fried them in some olive oil. When they were nice and crispy, they were taken out and some of the oil was drained into a saucepan. Also into the pan went a little bit of garlic and some Garam Masala spice. This was heated to fry the garlic up and once that was fried, some marinara sauce poured in, along with some Bombay Simmer Sauce. After a few minutes the sausage was added back into this and it was left to simmer and cook down a little while the pasta was made.

Pasta topped with a slice of chicken breast and sauce...kinda impromptu but bery tasty.

Tonight: Rays the Steaks with Shogun

welcome semper.

Enjoy Ray's

Had a couple of friends over last night. Took a couple of tries, but I finally got the mascarpone stuffed dates to come out the way I wanted them. After pitting, I first tried piping the mascarpone in with a pastry bag, but this didn't end up getting enough in there. I then slit the pitted date open on one side, flattened out the date with my fingers to make more room inside, and then reformed it, adding a dollop of mascarpone and sealing the date around it as best I could. Into a 450 oven for about 3 minutes, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a bit of coarse salt on. Easy and really delicious-- people are going to be eating these a lot at my house.

Then:

Italian seafood stew (mussels and head-on shrimp, which I got from Grand Mart for only $2.99 a pound (!) in a tomato-wine-basil broth)

Italian-style slow braised pork with sauteed brocoli rabe (took a pork shoulder, cut some slits in it and stuffed them with a garlic-chili pepper-fennel seed paste, browned it and threw it in to braise at 300 for about 4 hours).

Last night's dinner Chez Chen was pot roast a la Sthitch, with Worchestershire and Colman's dry mustard. If anything, even better than the last time I made it. Four hours in the oven, with parsnips, turnips, carrots, pearl onions, and garlic for the last hour. Beauty.