I’m working on my crust method and recipe, because this summer I, and a number of others, may build a cob oven in my backyard. Now, having a wood burning pizza oven in one’s back yard would require the occasional pizza party. In fact it would hardly be worth it to get the temperature up to bake one or two pies.
Naturally I’m not going to allow just any monkey to come over with some English muffins and tomato paste. So I need to get a repeatable (and foolproof) method of making the dough and the sauce for this endeavor.
I’ve been playing around with a no-knead pizza dough recipe, and things have been promising. With no-knead dough, you mix the ingredients and then allow them to sit for a minimum of 12 hours at room temperature. I’ve tried mixing the dough and allowing it to rise in the refrigerator for 24 – 36 hours. I’ve even left that same dough in the refrigerator for a week, and have had good results.
I’m also trying to figure out which dough will work best for my needs. I’ve got easy access to Italian “00” flour and have had good results with it. I bought some bread flour the other day ad will try that out in a week or two.
I’m pretty happy with a simple uncooked sauce that I got from a book called American Pie . I am also playing around with some toppings.
I’ve used Spanish Chorizo…
Which is very good if you use the right chorizo (this particular one is not the correct chorizo – but it was OK anyway)
A Blutwurst Pizza …
Any semi-regular reader of this blog knew that this was bound to happen. Just as any one who has ever tried Blutwurst knows that this is not something that needs to be repeated. It wasn't horrible, but the texture is weird, and the flavor is not strong enough to compete with the sauce.
I also made a “breakfast pizza”, including an egg…
and underneath the egg and cheese there also lurked …
That’s right boys and girls, it’s SPAM!
Not just Spam, but Tabasco Spam! Nobody else was interested in trying that one, so I had to eat it myself. I am a lucky man!
Overall, I’d have to say that the chorizo pizza was a keeper. The Spam and Blutwurst pizzas? Not so much.
This week I decided to make something that I had been thinking about for a long time, but for some reason or other never got around to actually doing. Friday I gathered the ingredients together (and had to go to three stores to do so).
Saturday, was a bleak and rainy day in the Rheingau. The perfect day to make a batch of Kimchi!
I started off with a head of Napa cabbage and cut it into quarters. Salted it and placed it in brine. It was weighted down by two water-filled wine bottles.
After about 4-½ hours it was sufficiently wilted and looked like this.
I took it out of the brine, rinsed it and let it drain. Meanwhile I had mixed up this unholy concoction of onion, radish, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and lots of red pepper into a paste-like substance.
The paste was then spread between each leaf of the wilted cabbage quarters.
The pasted quarters were then folded over and unceremoniously stuffed into a plastic container that once held peanut butter filled pretzels.
Although the original purpose of this container was a noble one, it now has a new lease on life. And its new purpose is a sacred one.
I want to wait about a week or so for the Kimchi to ferment before trying it. This will not be a problem as I will be out of town next week for work. And then, I’m taking a four day weekend in Bologna, Italy.
When I get back I should be in Kimchi Heaven!
…and yes entire apartment stinks!
6 comments:
Why not bring these two great flavors together.....Kimchi pizza (over spam).
When you go to Bologna next week, don't forget it is pronounced "baloney".
PMG
PMG - Don't think that idea has not crossed my mind already.
Tony,
Are you going to bury your "kimchi pot" in your back yard while it ferments?
Do you think the fact that your kimchi is in a plastic jug instead of a clay pot will have an adverse effect on the taste?
The kids and I made a spam pizza once when they were little. It was pretty good. Didn't have any tabasco spam. We finished it off just before the Vikings invaded.
W.
Wilhelm,
I don't think my landlord, or neighbors, would like it very much if I buried this stuff in my yard. And there is not that much of it, so I've got room in the fridge for it.
The only taste that will probably be affected by it being in plastic, is the taste of everything else in that refrigerator. I'm more worried about the kimchi harming the other stuff in there than I am about the kimchi being harmed.
W stole my thunder -
With kimchi, I thought you were supposed to bury that stuff.
Eat it for breakfast then take the bus to work in the morning (make sure you breathe in everyone's face) . . .
-Steven.
Steven,
You bury it for storage during the winter months. Or at least you would if you were so inclined (or in Korea without refrigeration). Luckily for me there's a grocery nearby, and a fridge even closer.
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