Cooking

[crumpart]

Re: vegetarian burgers.

I've eaten way too many burgers made of mashed up vegetables and beans in my lifetime, and as such, I am VERY FOND of the new guard.

I've tried the Beyond Burger, and that's probably my favourite, but it's also the most expensive.

Aldi here do a really excellent facsimile, and that's my second favourite (they're also doing some really excellent faux sausage rolls, which are our version of boxed mac'n'cheese, I don't want to cook comfort food).

The ones in the picture here were from Tesco here in Ireland, and the internet tells me they're Bird's Eye Green Cuisine Meat Free Burgers. They're pretty good but a little drier than the other two.

[fluffy]

Meanwhile my new cast-iron baking pan arrived today. I'm seasoning it now. Hopefully tonight's pizza will be even better than usual.

[fluffy]

I had a large, indulgent lunch so I decided to do a relatively healthy pizza for dinner... a pizza e olio, topped with antipasto (feta, olives, salami), a bit of fresh mozzarella and sarvecchio, and some slightly torn kale.

And the cast-iron baking pan worked wonderfully!

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[irwin]

That is a tasty looking ‘za. Our local grocery store has been out of my favorite flour blend for pizza dough (Bob’s Red Mill), but it’s just come back into stock this week. I will have to indulge in a pizza soon...

[fluffy]

I usually use King Arthur bread flour if I can find it, but most of my recent baking has just been with shitty all-purpose flour since that's all I could find. I'm almost out of the shitty AP though and will be able to switch back to King Arthur soon! Because there was ONE SINGLE BAG on the store shelves and I bought it a few weeks ago knowing I'd be using it eventually.

Really the shitty AP flour hasn't been terrible, even if the texture isn't quite right.

[irwin]

Interesting. I am pretty sure I’ve used the King Arthur blend for cookies, but I’ve never tried it for pizza. Perhaps I should do so.

[fluffy]

I haven't noticed an appreciable difference between King Arthur and the store brand for AP flour, which is what you'd want to use in cookies. I mostly go with them for bread flour because that's what my local store happens to carry for bread flour (like, as far as I can tell there's no store brand bread flour).

According to the website they do carry Gold Medal brand bread flour but I've never noticed it there. It's somewhat cheaper so maybe next time I need to refill my bread flour I'll try that, if it's in stock.

[crumpart]

Speaking of King Arthur flour, we don’t have that here, but I have been riffing off their tangy sourdough recipe to make an Australian style raisin bread and it’s so good.

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[jb]

Tacos! Ground chicken and whatnot. SORRY FOR THE SOUR CREAM, I now understand how controversial... uh... sour cream... is.

I didn’t even realize it’s Tuesday. Spice mix courtesy AllRecipes tho I admit to screwing up a ratio and then just tossing in whatever.

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[jb]

Strawb-berry shortcake!

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[Paco Del Stinko]

Looks acceptable, JB. Try slicing the berrys, put in a bowl with a wee bit of sugar, mash with a fork. Homemade shortcake, self whipped cream, done. Try with peaches, too.

Anyone makes that with canned berries, those pre-made spongey Twinkie cakes, and spray tube cream... I'm coming to kick your door down and learn ya right.

Peace and love,
Paco

[jb]

Yah I did all that except mashing the berries. Just sliced them and dosed them with sugar then let that sit for an hour or so.

My wife made the whipped cream with “help” from our 3-year-old.

The cakes are from scratchish with the sole cheat of using Bisquick. Basically biscuits with a bit more sugar in them. My wife said they reminded her of scones.

It was delicious. Light and refreshing, especially when you don’t put much sugar in the whipped cream.

Highly recommended and really quite easy.

Looks acceptable, JB. Try slicing the berrys, put in a bowl with a wee bit of sugar, mash with a fork. Homemade shortcake, self whipped cream, done. Try with peaches, too.

Anyone makes that with canned berries, those pre-made spongey Twinkie cakes, and spray tube cream... I'm coming to kick your door down and learn ya right.

Peace and love,
Paco

[Paco Del Stinko]

Awesome, JB. Love the whole fam participation part. I guess I'd just have to have some, if offered. Native strawberries are a delight up here in New England, they peak in June. When I was a little feller, a long, long, time ago, my nana would mash some in a custard dish and present. Very old timey, so there's where the snobniness comes from. Regardless, all, enjoy!

[crumpart]

I’m historically bad at pizza. Tonight I made my best pizza!

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[jb]

Oh man that pizza looks great. Today I made banana-chocolate-chip muffins.

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[Caravan Ray]

I had a large, indulgent lunch so I decided to do a relatively healthy pizza for dinner... a pizza e olio, topped with antipasto (feta, olives, salami), a bit of fresh mozzarella and sarvecchio, and some slightly torn kale.

And the cast-iron baking pan worked wonderfully!

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Where did you get the shovel thing? I want one of those. I make pizza every Friday night for my daughter. A deep dish Chicago style one. And a thin NY style one. I would love that shovel for the NY one. Getting the fresh dough onto the pizza stone currently involves contortions with several breadboards.

Do I google pizza shovel?

Oh - and the pizza looks awesome.

[Paco Del Stinko]

When I make pizza on a stone, I form the dough on parchment paper. Add toppings, slide right onto the stone. Grilling the dough is good too, minus the parchment, of course.

[crumpart]

I roll my dough out a little, then stretch it in the air and kind of drape it across the stone. When it’s on there I add all the toppings.

[irwin]

Where did you get the shovel thing? I want one of those. I make pizza every Friday night for my daughter. A deep dish Chicago style one. And a thin NY style one. I would love that shovel for the NY one. Getting the fresh dough onto the pizza stone currently involves contortions with several breadboards.

Do I google pizza shovel?

“pizza peel” is the magic phrase. Wood is the classic material, but metal ones can be easier to work with.

[fluffy]

Oops, I coulda sworn I replied to that. Yeah, get a pizza peel, you can get them at restaurant suppliers or off Amazon or whatever.

Also I use a cast-iron baking pan which I preheat along with the oven, which makes the crust way better than I ever got with a baking stone.

[Caravan Ray]

When I make pizza on a stone, I form the dough on parchment paper. Add toppings, slide right onto the stone. Grilling the dough is good too, minus the parchment, of course.

Yes. That is my method. But getting the floppy pizza onto the hot stone can be tricky. The ‘pizza peel’ looks just the ticket.

[fluffy]

I dust the peel with corn meal and assemble my pizza directly on it.