Pizza Is Life

[igor_kavinski]

I just sit around all day in task paralysis LOL

That could very well describe me. Except I'm not too bothered about it. Anything of any consequence will get done no matter what. If it didn't happen, most likely because it wasn't really necessary.

 

[bigboxes]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/1myv5m1/honk_if_you_love_pepperoni

 

[JM Aggie08]

Beautiful. I LOVE finishing with oregano (+oregano in the sauce).

 

[JM Aggie08]

Looking at your sauce recipe, mine is very similar.

1 can of Bianco di Napoli (yellow label w/ basil), 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp garlic powder, glug of olive oil. Vitamix that shit.

 

[Muse]

This and last week's weekend pizzas.

Last week's was UGLY! But sooooooo delicious! Homemade dough and sauce, tons of toppings including, a first for me, some cut-up just picked vine ripened tomato.

This week's was Costco plain vanilla (actually 4 kinds of cheese, IIRC) and their sauce, dolled up. The dark rectangular things on this week's (bottom picture of the two below) are a deep red organic beet. Nice touch. Very very delicious pizza! Wasn't going to buy more of those Costco plain frozen pizzas but they didn't have the frozen truffle pizzas I saw there a couple months ago which I wanted to try out and the plain ones were on sale for $9.99 for 4, so got 'em instead!

I put fresh chopped basil on both these after removal from oven.

 

[Kaido]

Wasn't going to buy more of those Costco plain frozen pizzas

tbh they make a great "emergency food" freezer option lol. The best deal locally is $10 a Dominos, so 4 for $10 is AMAZING, haha!

 

[Muse]

tbh they make a great "emergency food" freezer option lol. The best deal locally is $10 a Dominos, so 4 for $10 is AMAZING, haha!

Last night's was hell of tasty. I ate 5 slices, have 3 left over in the fridge. Gonna scarf those tonight (after toaster oven) with a salad.

I never hit the pizza joints.

 

[bigboxes]

This week's submission was not as popular. It was, however, a lot more work than normal. I also spent more $$ than normal to make it. For the first time, I made (from scratch) salsa verde, pico de gallo and a chipotle cream sauce... primarily for this pizza. So, three new recipes and they all turned out great. Check out my pizza. I've included the recipes for everything in the post. This was a request of another Reddit user that they made a couple of months ago in reply to one of my pizza submissions. I made sure to give him props for the idea!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/1n4vae4/mexican_pizza_baby

 

[Muse]

This week's submission was not as popular. It was, however, a lot more work than normal. I also spent more $$ than normal to make it. For the first time, I made (from scratch) salsa verde, pico de gallo and a chipotle cream sauce... primarily for this pizza. So, three new recipes and they all turned out great. Check out my pizza. I've included the recipes for everything in the post. This was a request of another Reddit user that they made a couple of months ago in reply to one of my pizza submissions. I made sure to give him props for the idea!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pizza/comments/1n4vae4/mexican_pizza_baby

Looks real good to me. "Variety is the spice of life." Not the greatest quotation ever but IMO certainly one to remember, which is sayin' a lot!

 

[bigboxes]

Looks real good to me. "Variety is the spice of life." Not the greatest quotation ever but IMO certainly one to remember, which is sayin' a lot!

Thanks for the kindness. I used the salsa and chipotle cream sauce yesterday, along with some chicken, and made enchiladas. Best ever!

 

[Muse]

Thanks for the kindness. I used the salsa and chipotle cream sauce yesterday, along with some chicken, and made enchiladas. Best ever!

Haven't made enchiladas in ages. I have made tamale pies too. I make a tomato hot sauce with jalepenos (citric acid and a bit of salt are the remaining ingredients), it's my favorite tomato canning option these days. Made 5 quarts so far this year, but have I guess gallons in jars already! Seems to keep indefinitely.

 

[DigDog]

i made an amazing chili, but it's the mexican chili that those Texas Is Best people get so angry about. (it's got beans in it)
i also made some pommes dauphine but i'm really disappointed in the results.

 

[Muse]

i made an amazing chili, but it's the mexican chili that those Texas Is Best people get so angry about. (it's got beans in it)
i also made some pommes dauphine but i'm really disappointed in the results.

Recipe?

 

[DigDog]

Recipe?

1. kidney beans (dried), just over half a kilo.
They need to be soaked overnight. During cooking, about 2/3 of the beans go in, up to an hour before the rest. "overcooked" i.e. completely mashed beans have a better taste, but you also need some other beans to keep a bit of "bite" for texture.
If you were really anal about it, you could first fry some, separately, to ensure you get caramelization, but i didn't think it was necessary. I didn't "tighten" the sauce much this time, which i may do if i'm making Pasta & Fagioli sauce instead, or Cassoulet.
Don't retain any of the water.

2. 500g of pork mince, fatty, and a chorizo ring.
I KNOW Texas style is with beef, but my pork&beans is normally with bacon, so i wanted to keep the pig-fat flavour.
Fry the mince in a pan. Ideally the pan will be very hot and wide - i have this AWESOME Tefal Titanium Excellence 32cm (huge) pan https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9415122 that i adore - and you want to "crumble" the mince so that the strands remain separate rather than clumping together. When the meat starts showing a bit of browning .. you'll probably have moisture leaching out as well. I remove it from the pan, fan it out on a plate, and give it a light dusting of normal flour. Then let the pan get searing again and return the mince to the pan.
This should create a "crust" on all the mince, and result in golden-yellow crispy bits of bacon-like meat. It should also reduce the chewiness that you get if you just let it keep cooking.

3. at least 2 very large onions, up to 4/5 smaller onions, white or yellow. Shredded fine, and then sauteed in the pan with the fond from the pork. Add water, salt and brown sugar if necessary, we want caramelization aplenty. Add small cubes of chorizo at the end and stick the pork back inside.

4. toasted cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons. Get them really hot and crush them.

I also added; a teaspoon of kashmiri chili powder, 2 teaspoons of paprika, a teaspoon of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegeta_(condiment), half a teaspoon of MSG. 2-3 cloves of garlic, AND 50g OF FRESH CORIANDER.

5. secret ingredient: a good tablespoon of 100% cocoa powder. If you've never tried this in chili, you're missing out.

6. three scotch bonnet chilies with seeds, plus a fourth scotch bonnet (seeds removed & put in the pot) which i finely shredded, and as per instructions of https://www.youtube.com/@feedandteach is kept out until the food is ready, then added in with just 5 minutes of cooking time to spare.

7. two pints of normal (homemade) chicken stock.
Half kilo of chicken wings, add to the pot without oil or anything else. Flame at maximum, leave them alone to get char marks, then occasionally move them. Once they are well browned all around, add celery, onion, carrot, parsley stalks or leaves, 1 fresh bay leaf (fresh is !!! better), 3 juniper berries, teaspoon fennel seeds, half teaspoon rosemary, 1 or 2 small anise pods, a large tablespoon of black peppercorns (yes, a LOT of peppercorns), a large tablespoon of pink peppercorns. Optional, a teaspoon of both chili powder and paprika.

******************
once the onions are fully wilted and sweet, add beans (2/3 of the total beans) and the meat / onions mixture to the pot. 2 tins of canned tomato (surprisingly, i find that Amazon has by far the best tomatoes for the price that i have ever tried, https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08T72ZKNW?th=1 ), the stock and the spices.
Cook for at least 40 minutes to over 1 hours, and then add the rest of the beans. Finish with the last chili.

I wouldn't say i want it "soupy" in texture, but i want it quite loose. To be eaten with a spoon, rather than a fork.

I use .. an Amazon stockpot, aluminium, cheap, FANTASTIC, can't get anything to stick to the bottom. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088RH168S

 

[Muse]

1. kidney beans (dried), just over half a kilo.
They need to be soaked overnight. During cooking, about 2/3 of the beans go in, up to an hour before the rest. "overcooked" i.e. completely mashed beans have a better taste, but you also need some other beans to keep a bit of "bite" for texture.
If you were really anal about it, you could first fry some, separately, to ensure you get caramelization, but i didn't think it was necessary. I didn't "tighten" the sauce much this time, which i may do if i'm making Pasta & Fagioli sauce instead, or Cassoulet.
Don't retain any of the water.

2. 500g of pork mince, fatty, and a chorizo ring.
I KNOW Texas style is with beef, but my pork&beans is normally with bacon, so i wanted to keep the pig-fat flavour.
Fry the mince in a pan. Ideally the pan will be very hot and wide - i have this AWESOME Tefal Titanium Excellence 32cm (huge) pan https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9415122 that i adore - and you want to "crumble" the mince so that the strands remain separate rather than clumping together. When the meat starts showing a bit of browning .. you'll probably have moisture leaching out as well. I remove it from the pan, fan it out on a plate, and give it a light dusting of normal flour. Then let the pan get searing again and return the mince to the pan.
This should create a "crust" on all the mince, and result in golden-yellow crispy bits of bacon-like meat. It should also reduce the chewiness that you get if you just let it keep cooking.

3. at least 2 very large onions, up to 4/5 smaller onions, white or yellow. Shredded fine, and then sauteed in the pan with the fond from the pork. Add water, salt and brown sugar if necessary, we want caramelization aplenty. Add small cubes of chorizo at the end and stick the pork back inside.

4. toasted cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons. Get them really hot and crush them.

I also added; a teaspoon of kashmiri chili powder, 2 teaspoons of paprika, a teaspoon of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegeta_(condiment), half a teaspoon of MSG. 2-3 cloves of garlic.

5. secret ingredient: a good tablespoon of 100% cocoa powder. If you've never tried this in chili, you're missing out.

6. three scotch bonnet chilies with seeds, plus a fourth scotch bonnet (seeds removed & put in the pot) which i finely shredded, and as per instructions of https://www.youtube.com/@feedandteach is kept out until the food is ready, then added in with just 5 minutes of cooking time to spare.

7. two pints of normal (homemade) chicken stock.
Half kilo of chicken wings, add to the pot without oil or anything else. Flame at maximum, leave them alone to get char marks, then occasionally move them. Once they are well browned all around, add celery, onion, carrot, parsley stalks or leaves, 1 fresh bay leaf (fresh is !!! better), 3 juniper berries, teaspoon fennel seeds, half teaspoon rosemary, 1 or 2 small anise pods, a large tablespoon of black peppercorns (yes, a LOT of peppercorns), a large tablespoon of pink peppercorns. Optional, a teaspoon of both chili powder and paprika.

******************
once the onions are fully wilted and sweet, add beans (2/3 of the total beans) and the meat / onions mixture to the pot. 2 tins of canned tomato (surprisingly, i find that Amazon has by far the best tomatoes for the price that i have ever tried, https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08T72ZKNW?th=1 ), the stock and the spices.
Cook for at least 40 minutes to over 1 hours, and then add the rest of the beans. Finish with the last chili.

I wouldn't say i want it "soupy" in texture, but i want it quite loose. To be eaten with a spoon, rather than a fork.

I use .. an Amazon stockpot, aluminium, cheap, FANTASTIC, can't get anything to stick to the bottom. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088RH168S

My goodness! Well, if I do this I'll use my favorite cocoa (Droste) and New Mexico chili powder (my favorite too).

Finding all that stuff might be a challenge here, maybe have to have substitutions.

I do have a few aluminum pots but rarely cook in them. I usually go for stainless steel or cast iron.

And, at least this time of year, I'd use my vine ripened tomatoes which are abundant currently in my yard.

 

[DigDog]

My goodness! Well, if I do this I'll use my favorite cocoa (Droste) and New Mexico chili powder (my favorite too).

Finding all that stuff might be a challenge here, maybe have to have substitutions.

I do have a few aluminum pots but rarely cook in them. I usually go for stainless steel or cast iron.

And, at least this time of year, I'd use my vine ripened tomatoes which are abundant currently in my yard.

i'm sorry

Droste chocolate maker faces the end after 162 years - DutchNews.nl

Dutch chocolate maker Droste is on the verge of going out of business thanks to the impact of coronavirus on airport sales, high cocoa prices, and rising energy costs. A takeover by Belgian company Pauwels Engineering, which also owns chocolate bar brand Koetjesreep, was mooted this summer but...

www.dutchnews.nl

anything would do, as long as it's as close as you can to 100% pure bitter cocoa powder.

The rest of the ingredients are really basic supermarket stuff, there should be no problem sourcing them.
red kidney beans, dry - spice rack jars
fennel seeds, dry - spice rack jars
aniseed pods, dry - spice rack jars
onions, carrots, celery, fresh
scotch bonnet or another habanero-type chili
any other chili powder to boost the body of the chili
paprika, dry - - spice rack jars or bags from the asian store
any chorizo from the supermarket
pork mince
i forgot, i put in about 50g worth of fresh coriander !!!
a fresh bay leaf. Not so easy to find, some supermarket sell them fresh. Dry will do in a pinch, use 2 and remove them after cooking.
juniper berries, dry - spice rack jars
chicken wings or thighs
cumin seeds - spice rack jars, or from the asian store. substitute for cumin powder if you really can't find them, a heaped tablespoon.

 

[sandorski]

Been using Great Northern beans instead of Kidney/Black. Much more smoother/creamy texture.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

In terms of restaurant pizza, I live right above a branch of a local Portland, OR pizza joint.
(It actually shares the same space as the apartment building.)

Bellagio's Pizza. Quite good for the price.