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USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

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Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Never made pizza dough before (despite the fact that I've made somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 pizzas, maybe more). Trying my hand at grilled pizza tonight.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

I don't know. I still like oven pizza just as much as grilled. It's just nice to know I have an option if it's hot out and craving pizza.

I definitely learned a lot in this first attempt. There's quite a bit I would do differently next time.

1. Less salt
2. Roll it out more
3. Shorter cook times
4. More perforations to prevent bubbles (I had a few but the fork prevented most)
5. Generally better prep work (for one, find a better way to transfer the pizzas between the house and the grill and vice versa)
6. Lower heat and move the coals slightly off center
7. Add toppings and sauce when the second side is cooking over the direct heat then move the pizza over to indirect. I ended up cooking both sides, removed the crusts from the heat, when all were done I added the toppings, and then threw it back on the grill at a lower heat to melt the cheese.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Made some fish cakes the other day. The original recipie called for catfish (cooked first via broiling), some seasonings, egg, mustard, breadcrumbs and onion. I altered it a bit by also coating the cakes in panko before frying them. For fish I wanted to go catch my own catfish. I have a small lake that normally I can pull good clean eating size catfish out of no problem. Of course the two times I go trying to catch some I come up empty. So instead of catfish I used...Asian carp. A friend got some bow fishing recently and gave me some. I figure I am right at the epicenter for Asian carp (Illinois) and here at SIU we in the Fisheries department have been telling people they are actually quite good to eat. I had never had it though. I broiled it up and flaked the fish away from the bones without too much trouble. The bones are really the only negative part but they are large enough you can just pull the flesh away from them. Anywho, the cakes came out great. The carp has a very mild flavor and since they filter feed plankton they dont really have any kind of muddy or off flavor to them at all. Only things I will change for next time: cut onion up a bit smaller and maybe add some diced peppers of some kind for a kick.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

XYZ said:
What recipe did you use for the dough?
Click to expand...
I use a breadmaker, on the (duh) Dough cycle. does most of the work - just roll it out. I made a huge pot of pizza sauce last year and canned it; just ran out. Hopefully the tomatoes will be ripe in a month or so.

My basic dough recipie - I have the misfortune to cook for a wife who loves her food bland, so feel free to experiment.
1 cup water
2 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/3 tsp salt
3 1/3 cups bread flour
2 tsp yeast

Edit - that's for 2 10-inch or so pizza crusts

bake or grill for 15 min. at 400 deg.
 
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Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

not that anyone asked, but I use this one - I double it and freeze it - it freezes well, but you have to make sure it is COMPLETELY wrapped in plastic, even in a freezer bag. I like a thin, crispy crust, so I roll it pretty thin.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

¾ C plus 2 tbsp water
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C bread flour or AP flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
Pizza herbs and spices - I use Italian seasoning and garlic powder, or pizza seasoning, and/or omit some of the salt and use Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle from Penzey's


Mix in bread machine in dough cycle. Divide into 6 balls, wrap in oiled plastic and freeze. To use, defrost in refrigerator overnight, then let rise at room temp for 1 hour.

To grill pizzas, roll out with a rolling pin, and coat both sides with olive oil. Grill dough on direct heat until brown and bubbly, then flip and grill on other side until brown and bubbly (usually 6-7 min each side). Add toppings and cook on indirect heat until cheese melts.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

How do you manage to get 6 minutes on a side without becoming charcoal? If I had left mine on for longer than a minute a side it would have been inedible.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Anyone have any thoughts on Santokus vs. French-style chef's knives? I got a small (5" or 6", can't remember) Santoku as a free gift for putting a certain amount of Calphalon stuff on the wedding registry, and I haven't decided yet whether or not I like it.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

jmh said:
Anyone have any thoughts on Santokus vs. French-style chef's knives? I got a small (5" or 6", can't remember) Santoku as a free gift for putting a certain amount of Calphalon stuff on the wedding registry, and I haven't decided yet whether or not I like it.
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Santokus have their place, especially for slicing delicate cuts of meat and vegetables. That said, my chef's knife has been indispensable, while my cheap santoku broke a while ago and I haven't seen a need to replace it yet. YMMV, and I'm not a professional by any means.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

My favorite local meat counter makes beef spiedini - their version is salami and mozzarella wrapped with thin-sliced beef and lightly breaded. Heart attack on a skewer, but very tasty.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

jmh said:
Anyone have any thoughts on Santokus vs. French-style chef's knives? I got a small (5" or 6", can't remember) Santoku as a free gift for putting a certain amount of Calphalon stuff on the wedding registry, and I haven't decided yet whether or not I like it.
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of my Santokus. I have a chef's knife but I don't use it nearly as often.
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

Someone gave me two gently used cast-iron skillets; what's the first thing I should cook in them?
 
Re: USCHO Cooks: Allez Cuisine!

ShirtlessBob said:
Someone gave me two gently used cast-iron skillets; what's the first thing I should cook in them?
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If you can afford it, just sear a decent steak and finish in the oven; seriously.

Otherwise, I'd say anything beef-related is a good start. The key is to cook meat in them as much as possible, to lock those flavors into the iron. I have not been in posession of a cast-iron skillet in some time :(, but a college roommate had one, and biscuit gravy never tasted so good after a few months of seasoning it.
 
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