During grilling season, I really don't like turning on my stove. I'd rather use my microwave. I love it for reheating leftovers, but we have more of a hate relationship when it comes time for cleaning.
Enter a mug of water.
Fill a mug of water to the top. Nuke it for five to ten minutes. It'll release a lovely steam that loosens all the baked on junk. Then, easily clean most of it away. No special bald-guy sponge required.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Eric's Amazing Steak Marinade
I don't grill. Well, I don't need to. I have a husband who is extremely skilled in grilling.
This is a marinade he's been using in recent weeks. It started as a recipe he pulled from the Internet and has grown and changed as he's been cooking us steaks.
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 medium sized steaks.
Combine all ingredients except steaks. (Don't obsess too much about measurements. Just don't go overboard on the soy sauce.) Mix well.
Marinade steaks in a bowl, container or resealable bag - whatever will help bring the steaks in as much contact as possible with the liquid for about 1 hour.
After an hour, transfer to the grill, cooking as desired.
This is a marinade he's been using in recent weeks. It started as a recipe he pulled from the Internet and has grown and changed as he's been cooking us steaks.
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Dijon-style prepared mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 medium sized steaks.
Combine all ingredients except steaks. (Don't obsess too much about measurements. Just don't go overboard on the soy sauce.) Mix well.
Marinade steaks in a bowl, container or resealable bag - whatever will help bring the steaks in as much contact as possible with the liquid for about 1 hour.
After an hour, transfer to the grill, cooking as desired.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Margherita Pizza
Tomorrow is opening day for the Twins. Tradition in our house dictates we have a floor picnic tomorrow during the game. Unfortunately, it's also on a Friday during Lent. No meat. *sigh*
So, despite it being out of season, we're going to do Margarita Pizza tomorrow.
Margarita is a not a traditional tomato-based American pizza, but instead a very sophisticated pizza with the clean flavors of olive oil and mozzarella cheese (use the good stuff...) and amazing bursts of basil throughout.
You either start with the World's Best Pizza Dough. (No really, it's the BEST) or One Hour Pizza Dough.
Then you'll need:
Olive Oil (a glug or two)
A pastry brush, grilling brush or, in a pinch, clean hands
Mozzarella cheese
A tomato or two roma tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced
Several fresh basil leaves (yes, fresh. Ok, you can't substitute, but I don't recommend it.)
Preheat your oven appropriately for your dough.
Roll the dough out into whatever thickness you enjoy.
Brush the dough with the olive oil. How much? Just enough so that your finger can slide. Not so much that you have an oil slick.
Top with mozzarella. As much or little as you like on your pizza.
Top with thin slices of tomato and sprinkle with a chiffonade of basil.
Bake as your dough recipe suggests.
How to "chiffonade" basil:
The idea of a chiffonade is to cut really thin strips. If you've tried, cutting a leaf into thin strips is hard. So, take the basil leaves and roll one around the other (envision rolling tobacco.) Once you have a rolled group of leaves, take a small knife and slice off a little of the leaves at a time. In the end, you'll end up with really tiny strips that you can sprinkle over your pizza. YUM!
So, despite it being out of season, we're going to do Margarita Pizza tomorrow.
Margarita is a not a traditional tomato-based American pizza, but instead a very sophisticated pizza with the clean flavors of olive oil and mozzarella cheese (use the good stuff...) and amazing bursts of basil throughout.
You either start with the World's Best Pizza Dough. (No really, it's the BEST) or One Hour Pizza Dough.
Then you'll need:
Olive Oil (a glug or two)
A pastry brush, grilling brush or, in a pinch, clean hands
Mozzarella cheese
A tomato or two roma tomatoes, seeded and thinly sliced
Several fresh basil leaves (yes, fresh. Ok, you can't substitute, but I don't recommend it.)
Preheat your oven appropriately for your dough.
Roll the dough out into whatever thickness you enjoy.
Brush the dough with the olive oil. How much? Just enough so that your finger can slide. Not so much that you have an oil slick.
Top with mozzarella. As much or little as you like on your pizza.
Top with thin slices of tomato and sprinkle with a chiffonade of basil.
Bake as your dough recipe suggests.
How to "chiffonade" basil:
The idea of a chiffonade is to cut really thin strips. If you've tried, cutting a leaf into thin strips is hard. So, take the basil leaves and roll one around the other (envision rolling tobacco.) Once you have a rolled group of leaves, take a small knife and slice off a little of the leaves at a time. In the end, you'll end up with really tiny strips that you can sprinkle over your pizza. YUM!
One hour pizza dough
This isn't my favorite pizza dough recipe. But, my favorite recipe takes 2-3 hours. It's simply not practical for a weeknight. So, if my kids want homemade pizza on a weeknight, I use this one. I can go from yeast to eating pizza in about an hour.
1 package (2 1/2 tsps) active dry or instant yeast
1 cup warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
2 tbsps olive oil (I recently used an Italian herb infused olive oil. YUM)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
pizza toppings
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Wait for the yeast to proof (bubble. If it doesn't bubble, it's dead, you need new yeast.) After the yeast proofs, add oil, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in enough of the rest of the flour to form a stiff dough. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with non-stick spray (if using a pizza stone, DO NOT spray.) Place dough on pan and push and roll out to your desired thickness. Pinch edges Poke all over with a fork to prevent bubbles.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Add toppings (let me recommend Margarita Pizza) Bake for 10-15 minutes more.
1 package (2 1/2 tsps) active dry or instant yeast
1 cup warm water (110 - 115 degrees)
2 tbsps olive oil (I recently used an Italian herb infused olive oil. YUM)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 - 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
pizza toppings
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Wait for the yeast to proof (bubble. If it doesn't bubble, it's dead, you need new yeast.) After the yeast proofs, add oil, salt and 1 1/2 cups flour. Beat the mixture until smooth. Stir in enough of the rest of the flour to form a stiff dough. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with non-stick spray (if using a pizza stone, DO NOT spray.) Place dough on pan and push and roll out to your desired thickness. Pinch edges Poke all over with a fork to prevent bubbles.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until browned. Add toppings (let me recommend Margarita Pizza) Bake for 10-15 minutes more.
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