Memorable Quotes:

"A Bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect." Fernand Point

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Neopolitan Pizza Dough

 This recipe makes three 270 gram pizza balls. Fermination is a total of 24 hours at 70 degrees.


Ingredients:

506 grams caputo pizzeria flour

304 grams water (60% Hydration)

13 grams of fine sea salt

0.19 grams of instant yeast


Directions:

In a medium bowl, add first the water then the flour. The flour will float on top of the water. Add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other side. 

Using four fingers of one hand rotate the mixture in the bowl in a tight circle until the flour and water begin to combine. Continue to combine with your hand until a ball of dough is formed.  Let the ball of dough rest in a clean bowl for approximately 20-30 minutes to allow the dough to hydrate.

After the first rest, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Gather the dough into a ball. Let rest for 24 hours in an area where the temperature is approximately 70 degrees. Make sure to cover the bowl with cling wrap to keep the dough from drying out.

Approximately 6 hours before service, divide the dough into 3 balls. Place in dough box and rest until forming the pizza.

Senate Navy Bean Soup (Culinary SOS)








 






Ingredients:

2 cups of dry navy beans

12 cups water

1 meaty ham bone or 2-3 ham hocks

1/2 cup cooked mashed potatoes

3 onions, minced

4-5 stalks of celery, minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup minced parsely

Hot water

Salt

Freshly group pepper

Lemon sllices for garnish


Directions:

Soak beans overnight in water. Add ham bone and simmer until beans start to become tender, about 1 hour. Mix in mashed potatoes until smooth. Add onions, celery, garlic and parsley and simmer until beans are soft, about an hour.

Remove ham bone, then dice meat and return meat to soup. Thin with hot water if necessary (soup should be thick). Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with lemon slices. 

Friday, January 13, 2023

Black Bean and Cheese Burrito (NY Times Food Section)

 Ingredients:

1/4 cup safflower or canola oil

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a medium onion)

1/2 cup of finely chopped green bell pepper (1/2 pepper)

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 (15 oz) cans of black beans. 1/2 cup of bean liquid reserved and the rest drained)

1/2 cup of store-bought pico de gallo or salsa

1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

6 flour tortillas (9-10 inch diameter)

2 cups shredded montery jack cheese


Directions:

In a large nontick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until light golden and tender, about 8 minutes. Stir iin garlic until fragrant, 1 minute. add the black beans, pico de gallo, smoked paprika, cumin, reserved bean liquid and 1/2 cup of water, and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring and mashing occasionally with a potato masher or the back of a spoon, until liquid is absorbed and the mixture is thick, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Transfer refried beans to a bowl and wipe out skillet. 


Spread 1/2 cup of refried beans in the center of each tortilla and top each with 1/3 cup of cheese. Fold the short sides of the tortilla over the filling; fold the bottom of the tortilla up and over the filling and tightly roll.


In the skillet, or on a griddle, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium. Add burritos seam side down and cook until golden, turning occasionally, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving plater and repeat with remaining burritos.

Serve warm with sour cream and hot sauce on the side.


For an "enchilada" style, after browning the burritos transfer to an oven safe tray and top with enchilda sauce and additional cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is melted.