Category: 222 Tips, Tricks and Tools

For Easy and Good level recipes, try not to confuse the budding chef with too much information. By the time they (or you) are ready for Better and Best level recipes, here are some extra recipes, tips and tricks to keep in mind.

Pizza Tips

– Pizzarias use a very hot oven – 800-900° – Use at least 500° at home

Types of Pizza

– New York flat – Very thin – “Saturday Night Fever pizza”
– Neopolitana is a thin crust, but with a little substance to it
– Siciliana – This is a thicker crust – not quite deep dish
– Chicago Style Pizza – Also known as deep dish. This is a very thick pizza

How to THROW a pie

– Flour your peel
– Start to flatten Dough
– Smash air out
– Flatten from outside in
– Leave some thickness in the middle to stretch
– Flip hand to hand
– Toss on fists . Thumbs up

Making your Pizza

– Put onto peel
– Put firm Wisconsin Mozzarella cheese down first
– Then sauce . Tomatoes, evoo, puree, salt
– Dot your pizza with sauce, don’t drown it
– Pecorino cheese . Make it snow
– Fresh Mozzarella on top
– Parmesan regiano cheese
– Drizzle EVOO over top

Cooking at home

– 500° – best with a pizza stone
Put the stone in first to preheat and become hot
– Cook 4-5 minutes
– OPTION: Then turn broiler 2-3 minutes
– Basil after oven and more evoo and more parm

Reheating Leftover Pizza

– Use a hot baking stone or skillet for crisp pie

Alt sauce

– Evoo in skillet
– Tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, oregano

ALT Cracker Crust – St Louis Pizza

– Flour
– Salt
– Baking Powder
– BLEND
– Add 2 TBL oil
– Bind with water – Adjust so that it just comes together
– – Better not enough than too much !!
– Create rounds and wrap in plastic – let rest in fridge 2 hours
– Crush canned whole (drained) tomatoes with basic for sauce – Use EVOO also
– Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil
– For cheese, use a chopped mix of provolone, cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan
– Roll out dough very flat
– A bit of sauce, cheese, toppings
– Use preheated pizza stone – Use parchment paper and slide off cookie sheet

Alt Chicago Style Deep-Dish Pizza

– – – The only difference to your standard pizza dough, is that you add a bit more yeast, and let it rise more than you might with a thin crust, and a bit of extra EVOO oil
– Water, oil, yeast, sugar, flour, cornmeal
– Finish on the counter on a bed of flour
– Let raise in the fridge overnight
– Finish rise next day on the counter
– Sliced peppers in hot cast iron skillet
– Brush with oil
– Salt and pepper
– Bit of sugar and vinegar near end
– Sliced sausage
– Oil iron pan again
– Dough in hot deep dish pan
– . Let set 1/2 hour to rise
– EVOO on dough
– Sauce to edge
– Cheese, pepperoni, cheeses, other toppings
– Peppers on it, sausage, salt
– Bake 20 minutes at 425 till browned
– uncover until the cheese starts to brown and things crisp up

For a Special Italian Treat, try Farinata

– Chickpea flour, water, oil and salt
Mix to the consistency of a thin pancake batter
Pour onto a RIMMED pizza pan
Put into oven
Top and eat when it’s hot

Stovetop Pizza

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO
In cast iron skillet (with cover) or dutch oven
– start with 1 tbl olive oil in bottom of pan
mix the following in the pan
– 1/2 cup AP flour
– 1/2 cup self-rising flour
– 1 tsp yeast
– 1 tbl honey
– 2/3 cup lukewarm water
– 1 tbl olive oil
– pinch of salt
Top with sauce, then your favorite toppings, and then cheese
Turn stovetop surface to medium heat
Cook 5 minutes with lid on and lid vents closed
Rotate lid to open vents (do not remove lid)
Cook another 10 minutes with lid vents open
Remove to cutting board, cut and serve

Rachel’s meatloaf

Hamburger pork combination or lamb if that sounds good
Breadcrumbs soaked in milk and then run out
One egg
Green onions, garlic, minced, parsley, Celery, salt, pepper, LEMON zest
Drizzle olive oil then mixed with hand’s. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes

Leftover Meatloaf Tricks

• Serve a warmed over slide with a fried egg on top for breakfast
• Dip a slice in egg wash and then panko bread crumnbs and fry in a skillet till browned
• Start on low heat – about 325º – and cook till internal temp reaches about 165º – glaze at about 15 minutes

The goal of a casserole is not to prepare a restaurant-quality showpiece, but is rather to feed the hungry and heartbroken.

• Allow for drainage, or you could get a soggy bottom. There are meatloaf pans that have holes in them to let the grease drop to the bottom of the pan.
• A casserole should have kind of a creamy mouth feel to it, have a crunchy top (traditionally Ritz Crackers) and you should be able to identify the individual components within the casserole.
• Add a bit of cornstarch to your meat and it will gel some of the run-off.  Shredded Parmesan also does this.
• The advent of soup make it unnecessary to start with a bechemel sauce or veloute sauce.
• Many meatloaf recipes use stale bread crumbs. Try these options:
  – Use a fresh and hearty loaf such as French bread
  – Use dry oatmeal – not minute oats, but traditional rolled oats

So, as I was writing this, I thought Corn Bread or Cornbread? I let Google decide. 8 million people say Cornbread, while 72 million say Corn Bread. So, now we know.

Special Steps:

Cast Iron- clean w/salt, seasoning-repeat yourself, wash, heat to sizzle, rub w/veg oil, repeat 5 times. Repeat every time you use it, do not drip dry-heat on burner.

Sprinkle a little red chili flakes in your corn bread for a spicy southwest version.

Cut back on the liquid and use creamed corn

1. Save rind from Parmesan cheese, store in freezer, and add to soup for extra flavor.
2. For a quick cooking meats such as fish, sprinkle a bit of sugar over the top so that it will instantly caramelize when it hits the hot pan.
3. For a bit of a meaty mystery taste, add a little soy sauce or anchovy. Something with umami .
4. Season things to be served cold more aggressively. Use vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, lemon juice, etc. just before serving.
5. Don’t over cook things with a chocolate base. As soon you start to smell them consider taking them out of the oven, or turning the oven off.
6. Sautéed meat when it has been dried. If there is liquid, that will turn to steam and cook the meat, but will not brown it. This is called the Pallard reaction.
7. Herbs fall into two categories. Those added early, and those added late. Herbs that are added early are things such as rosemary, Thyme… Full flavored herbs. Herbs that are added near the end are things such as basil, parsley, cilantro, and chives.
8. If you are cooking something that uses butter or oil and other spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, etc., melt your butter and put the spices into the hot butter to more fully develop the flavor of the spices.
9. When sautéing chicken, heat your skillet up to about 450° before putting the meat into it.
10. When sautéing onions, use 1/2 tsp of baking soda to speed up the process.

SOFT CHEESES
Cover is light mold.
Mozzarella, provalone, or fontina cheese are fairly interchangeable

HARD CHEESES
Rind will be hard. It is actually not bad for you and can pack lots of flavor.  Use the crust of parmesan cheese rind to flavor and thicken your pasta sauce.  Remove it before serving.  Cheese is squeezed and compressed. Nutrition is about 14
times more than the milk used to make it.

Parmesean Cheese – Grate your own, don’t use the round green box either.

Eg: Cheddar, machengo, parmesean, gruyere

KEEP AND CARE OF CHEESE
Likes cool moist environment, but not COLD and not WET
Likes to breathe
Soft and medium in plastic container with a slice of apple.
Hard cheeses lightly wrapped in waxed paper secured with rubber band or aluminum foil.

MEDIUM CHEESES
Reddish or brown rind is more natural
Milk is pasturized at 145 degrees for 30 mintues
At 160 degrees for 15 seconds kills everything. Applies to most cheeses.
You can use dental floss to cut soft cheeses

FREEZING CHEESE
You can wrap cheese in Saran Wrap and then put it into a zipper lock bag. This will keep it for about three months.

GOOEY CHEESE
The melty stringy cheeses are those with a lower fat content.  That’s why low moisture, low fat mozzarella cheese is so great for pizza.  Mozzarella, provalone, or fontina cheese are fairly interchangeable

Chops- Bone like porterhouse, Pork tenderloin, Pork filet, Pork roast (fresh ham),
Smoked ham, pork ribs (baby backs most tender), dry rub, the same Chinese style ribs.

Ribs

$$ Spare ribs are meaty, rich and big – 3-4 ribs per guest

$$$ St. Louis cut ribs are just trimmed spare ribs – you pay extra for their work – Easy to eat, and they cook evenly

$$$$ Baby Back ribs are lean, tender and short – 6-7 ribs per guest

Chicken Breasts
Tight seal on package, keep on bottom shelf near back for up to 3 days.
Avoid cracked packaging & any pink discoloration spots.
Pooled juice in bottom of container can mean it’s been on the self for a while.
Check expiration date.

White skin = grain fed
Yellow skin = corn fed
Taste is the same.

Generally better to buy chicken with the bone in.

Cutting a whole chicken

Turn up side down, Crack breastbone w/knife, push down & lift out breastbone. Separate rib meat, follow down rib w/sharp knife – remove ribs. Use bones for stock.

Use bones for stock.

GARLIC
1. Crush with bottom of drinking glass, then remove peel
2. Head should be tight, and feel heavy for its size
3. Should have no splits, and is not sprouting
4. Store in cool dark place

GINGER:
1. Grate finely, then squeeze or Measure liquid from it.
Measures 1:1 (e.g. 1 tsp) in recipes