With cacio e Pepe and carbonara, you might need starchy water + extra heat to make it all come together. None of my pans have enough heat capacity to make it happen, so I typically use low heat when I’m mixing.
That’s the only way I’ve been able to make it consistently.
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
Ooh, nice. I was a bit frustrated after it turned out pretty well the first time but then was a mess the two times after that, but I guess I'll have to try this version some time soon.
Made some mac and cheese since I had some leftover milk and pecorino romano. Ended up being probably 40% pecorino romano and 60% cheddar. Tastes almost too rich. Also, it's easy to forget just how much 1lb of uncooked pasta ends up being when cooked.
I've tried carbonara and cacio e pepe many times and I can never get the sauce to really come together nicely.
I found babish's video very helpful in figuring that out. Also, it helps if I don't use a huge pot of water for my pasta. I use like half the water I used to and the added starch really helps when you add pasta water to the sauce. I've watched Kenji boil pasta in a large skillet and that seems like a good method too, though I've never tried it.
Boiling the pasta in a pan definitely works and the water is starchy as all hell. The problem is in getting the sauce emulsion. I've always ended up with the (to quote the recipe) "spaghetti with clumps of cheese that refuse to melt" version. Which is still very tasty actually but not at all creamy in texture like you are apparently supposed to get.
How fresh is your cheese? I use powdered stuff that's usually dried out so it takes a while for me to get past the clump stage. It takes considerably more time than what's quoted in this recipe to make the sauce but it does eventually come out after a lot of the water has boiled off.
Powdered stuff often has added dextrose which can throw things off.
I've tried carbonara and cacio e pepe many times and I can never get the sauce to really come together nicely.
I found babish's video very helpful in figuring that out. Also, it helps if I don't use a huge pot of water for my pasta. I use like half the water I used to and the added starch really helps when you add pasta water to the sauce. I've watched Kenji boil pasta in a large skillet and that seems like a good method too, though I've never tried it.
Boiling the pasta in a pan definitely works and the water is starchy as all hell. The problem is in getting the sauce emulsion. I've always ended up with the (to quote the recipe) "spaghetti with clumps of cheese that refuse to melt" version. Which is still very tasty actually but not at all creamy in texture like you are apparently supposed to get.
How fresh is your cheese? I use powdered stuff that's usually dried out so it takes a while for me to get past the clump stage. It takes considerably more time than what's quoted in this recipe to make the sauce but it does eventually come out after a lot of the water has boiled off.
Powdered stuff often has added dextrose which can throw things off.
Trying to use pre-shredded cheese to make a sauce or the like is always a bad idea because of the anti-clumping agents they put in it.
So I made my first attempt at chicken stock the other day, and I think I goofed by cooking it too long.
Made it overnight in a slow cooker, which at around 1am when I finally got to sleep was smelling amazing. When I actually got to it in the morning though, the joyous scent had disappeared and the liquid was left tasting a bit... flavourless, even after cooking down.
So I made my first attempt at chicken stock the other day, and I think I goofed by cooking it too long.
Made it overnight in a slow cooker, which at around 1am when I finally got to sleep was smelling amazing. When I actually got to it in the morning though, the joyous scent had disappeared and the liquid was left tasting a bit... flavourless, even after cooking down.
Is it possible to boil away the flavours?!
Yep. Aromatic compounds can go quite quickly once you start boiling the stock. I’ve done this myself more than once, also using a slow cooker. Even on low, mine will eventually end up on an almost rolling boil.
The only thing I’ve tried to stop this is only cooking the meat/bones then adding the vegetables/herbs in the last maybe 1-1.5 hours.
Steam - Synthetic Violence | XBOX Live - Cannonfuse | PSN - CastleBravo | Twitch - SoggybiscuitPA
+1
Options
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
So I've come into possession of some quail eggs. Anybody know anything good to do with these? Make a tiny, action figure sized omelette?
I've tried carbonara and cacio e pepe many times and I can never get the sauce to really come together nicely.
I found babish's video very helpful in figuring that out. Also, it helps if I don't use a huge pot of water for my pasta. I use like half the water I used to and the added starch really helps when you add pasta water to the sauce. I've watched Kenji boil pasta in a large skillet and that seems like a good method too, though I've never tried it.
Boiling the pasta in a pan definitely works and the water is starchy as all hell. The problem is in getting the sauce emulsion. I've always ended up with the (to quote the recipe) "spaghetti with clumps of cheese that refuse to melt" version. Which is still very tasty actually but not at all creamy in texture like you are apparently supposed to get.
I use a small blender (it’s a bullet or something) to blender chunks of the cheese with the starchy water until smooth. The consistency is perfect
Pork Tri-tip, cauliflower mash, and snap peas slightly stir fried engage! This pandemic forcing us into a more local, farmer-first produce/meat purchasing kind of family has really informed the fuck out of our menu, and I am living for it. I'd prefer that everyone not die and businesses not close, but this shit will persist through!
re: quail eggs: great on non-fish sushi, like roe.....wrap some sushi rice in nori and place a quail egg right on top - delicious (assuming you trust all your providers)
Straygatsby on
+2
Options
Rear Admiral ChocoI wanna be an owl, Jerry!Owl York CityRegistered Userregular
edited May 2020
Today I did Hokkaido-style dinner rolls and spaghetti penne and meatballs, kudos to youtube food nerds Joshua Weissman and Adam Ragusea respectively
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
I went and got texmex takeout last week. They gave me an entire bag of chips and this tiny little thing of queso to go with it. Unsatisfied, I bought some cilantro and decided to make texmex salsa. Into a blender went a can of rotel, half a can of whole plum tomatoes (with half the juice), half an onion, the juice of half a lime, 2 cloves of garlic, a generous pinch of cumin, and a handful of cilantro. I pulsed the blender until everything was chunky puree.
I ended up with more salsa then I had chips. Today I decided that I'm going to make a couple of texmex pizzas. I started pizza dough which will become the pizzas tomorrow. For the dough I started with the recipe on the King Arthur flour website. Instead of just using salt, I made a seasoning mix to kick it up a notch. The mix consisted of parmesan cheese (grated on a microplane so you get those super thin shreds), a little cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of chipotle powder. I combined and kneeded in the stand mixer before forming a ball, covering the bowl with plastic and letting it sit on my desk, next to my PC for most of the day. I just reformed the ball and threw it in the fridge to proof overnight.
Tomorrow I'll make a pizza with half the dough, salsa for the sauce, extra sharp cheddar, some pan roasted frozen corn, diced onion, and maybe some black beans.
I like the idea of adding spices to the dough, I'll have to try that ouy that.
I've been making a lot of pizzas recently. I mostly use the serious eats NY style pizza dough recipe. It seems to work pretty well. For sauces, I tried just straight crushed tomatoes last time with a sprinkling of garlic powder. I liked it. I'll probably do that most of the time going forward. I generally put only a little sauce on my pizza, so the extra effort of making it doesn't seem worth it.
0
Options
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
I like the idea of adding spices to the dough, I'll have to try that out.
I've been making a lot of pizzas recently. I mostly use the serious eats NY style pizza dough recipe. It seems to work pretty well. For sauces, I tried just straight crushed tomatoes last time with a sprinkling of garlic powder. I liked it. I'll probably do that most of the time going forward. I generally put only a little sauce on my pizza, so the extra effort of making it doesn't seem worth it.
I kept seeing recipes calling for this dough flavoring. I adapted my flavoring from the ingredients in the King Arthur brand. About all mine is missing is the exotic preservatives and anti-caking agents. Since I'm using it right away, a little cornstarch was enough to keep it from clumping.
I like to make a no-cook blender sauce for regular pizza. It's basically a can of whole plum tomatoes with most of the juice, a clove of garlic and some oregano, blended smooth and refrigerated for a couple of hours.
Basically 1 can of tomato, oregano and the proper amount of garlic for anything (ie - a fuckton). Few small bits and then bring to a simmer. Super tasty and makes enough for a lot of pizzas and lasts for quite a while in the fridge.
0
Options
Rear Admiral ChocoI wanna be an owl, Jerry!Owl York CityRegistered Userregular
I made pizza again yesterday because of course I did, still ain't tired of it
I added a bunch of notes and as accurate a list of ingredients as I could
Crust Notes
I fucked around with my last dough and used 2.5 tablespoons of ghee instead of 2 tbsp olive oil
It's pretty good after 24 hours in the fridge! Didn't make it today, but we'll see what it's like after 72 hours tomorrow - I anticipate good things but we'll see, it might be falling apart faster than the oil dough
What I notice right off the bat is the bread has kind of a softer bite to it but is still decently snappy, and I can taste the faintest whisper of the butter flavour which I'm finding I prefer over olive oil
It's a pretty subtle difference but I do think I'll probably keep doing it this way, flavour is marginally better but stretching it is just a little bit trickier as it seems to rip a bit more readily, not bad enough to be a problem for me though
I usually stretch my dough right out on my 14" pan but it resisted me a bit this time so I'm going to watch how this develops - could have needed more kneading, could be the ghee, but I still got a roughly 12" pizza which is just fine
Sauce Notes
So I've been making most of my pizza lately with storebought canned sauce since I knew I wouldn't always feel up to making it homemade
This will likely change given the last batch of sauce I threw together like a whirlwind through the kitchen last second when I realized I had no sauce and no time to run out and get more
I basically smashed my tomatoes, put tomato paste in to hurry the thickening (probably a little overboard but it was still totally tasty to my palate), added seasonings I knew I'd like and kept tasting til it felt right, it's almost a little jammy, probably a little on the thick side
This sauce was so appealing and simple to make but I still think it needs a little bit of know-how and confidence in the kitchen since I think that of any dish that depends on tasting as you go
It wouldn't hurt to add onions, sub the garlic blend for actual fresh garlic, basil, and oregano, but I was really happy with how this came out
I stored it all in a strawberry jam jar I'd just emptied and recognize it in the fridge by the crusted tomatoes around the lid that I barely bothered to wipe off
Cheese Notes
You can probably use any grated parmesan product but if you can spare the money parmigiano reggiano cheese is absolutely worth it
I spent stupid money - $13 on half a pound of 22-24 month aged parm at a specialty shop in a high cost of living city - but I could have gotten it for half that at Costco and even at that cost it was basically $1.14 for how much cheese I use on a given pizza which I can live with
The mozzarella I use is branded Galbani Pizza Mozzarella or Saputo Mozzarellissima but honestly the key for me here is finding a cheese with 20% milk fat, 52% moisture, you got that and you'll get similar results
Ingredients & Miscellaneous Notes
I noted the ingredients down in MyFitnessPal which I listed below since I've been eating so much pizza that I should probably be keeping track of the damage
I'd describe the recipe but really just watch Adam Ragusea's video on this and it'll show you everything comprehensively, I've practiced this one by far more than any other and I really like it, I know I've probably linked it a bunch already
DOUGH
2.5 cups warm water (Best results between 90-100 F)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2.5 tbsp ghee OR 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
5 cups bread flour (base amount, expect to work a little more in depending on ambient moisture)
0.25 cup bread flour (you might not need this but I work it in when I'm counting calories just in case)
2 tbsp olive oil (should cover what you leave the dough in to rest, you'll leave some behind when you pull the dough but I include it for estimation's sake)
This makes enough dough to split into 4 roughly 12-inch pizzas if you got your stretching down
Each dough ball is an estimated 940 calories including the extra olive oil it rests in
SAUCE
1 28-oz can San Marzano-style tomatoes (you can honestly probably get away with any 28-oz canned tomato in about any style, but I like these the best so far)
1 5.5-oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
0.5 tbsp garlic herb seasoning blend*
1 tbsp sugar*
1 tsp kosher salt*
1 tsp ground black pepper*
Slowly crush the hell out of the tomatoes with your bare hands, you want it all finely crushed but you don't wanna paint the walls, get it in a saucepan and don't bother draining
Just throw all the rest of the shit in with the crushed tomatoes and stir it until it's fairly uniform or at least as uniform as a mildly chunky sauce will be, stir occasionally and keep an eye on it til it's the consistency you like
*NOTE! Seasoning amounts are loose estimates!! I eyeballed this stuff and just kept throwing more sugar, pinching salt, and grinding pepper into the sauce as I went in tiny amounts as I kept it cooking - start here but taste and adjust as you go!
Whole recipe is an estimated 600 calories - I really don't recall the exact amount I used, it was like 5 heaped tablespoons but I want to say this will be enough to sauce 5 or 6 pizzas so even if you just glom all of it over 4 that's 150 calories per pizza which ain't bad so far as I'm concerned
I'll probably revisit this later, actually measure by weight what it all cooked down to and how much I use in a given pizza but I'm happy enough assuming overly generous portions for the sake of shooting under my calorie limits
Grate the parmesan through the finest holes your grater has and do the mozzarella on the big round shreds, you really likely don't need me to tell you this though
Get your hands high up over the pizza when you sprinkle the cheese over - especially the parm - I swear you'll get more even coverage
The cheeses combined should work out to 360 calories (~80 parm, ~280 mozz) which I will add up and divide with other components below:
Total = 1450 cal/pizza = 181.25 cal/slice
(assuming cut into eight)
Honestly not bad as far as I'm concerned, I'll eat half and I have a hard time feeling bad about a 725 calorie dinner
If I want anything else I cut it as absolutely thinly as I can, I run my knife through my cheapy Ikea ASPEKT sharpener every time I cut my toppings
I'd estimate my cuts are 1/4" to 1/8" but in any case just go as super thin as you can manage, you can always overlap if you want more stuff but I want to make sure the toppings don't screw with the cooking too much
+7
Options
That_GuyI don't wanna be that guyRegistered Userregular
edited May 2020
Texmex pizza was mildly successful tonight. I started by preheating the oven to 550 with my makeshift pizza stone (actually a sandstone paver I got super cheap from Lowes) for an hour. I baked directly on the stone, just using the pan as a peele.
As for scoring and notes, I'd give myself a 9/10 on the crust. It was, hands down, the best crust I've ever made. Full of flavor but the seasoning mix didn't overpower anything. It had a good bit of chew but was still tender. As sloppy as they were, I could actually fold the slices. Toward the outside, it was super crisp The salsa was 8/10. It could have been less liquidy. Maybe if I'd drained some of the liquid with a fine mesh strainer. The cheese was more like a 7/10. Extra sharp cheddar does not melt quite as perfectly as mozzarella. Next time I'll either use a bled or a mild cheddar. Toppings were my biggest failing. 3/10 I was going to pan roast the corn but totally forgot to do that. The onion was less cooked then I wanted. I also didn't drain enough of the juice off the beans before I used them as topping. Next time I'll roast the corn, soften the onions, and maybe throw the beans in the pan to put a little color on. More than anything, I want to drive off as much moisture as I can BEFORE it goes on the pie. Appearance, 7/10. It's rustic. I need to have all my shit in front of me so I can work quicker and the dough doesn't stick to the "peele," I could probably stand to get a proper wooden peele at some point.
Overall I'd give myself a 7/10. Part of it was a sloppy mess but it was damn tasty.
I fucked around with my last dough and used 2.5 tablespoons of ghee instead of 2 tbsp olive oil
It's pretty good after 24 hours in the fridge! Didn't make it today, but we'll see what it's like after 72 hours tomorrow - I anticipate good things but we'll see, it might be falling apart faster than the oil dough
What I notice right off the bat is the bread has kind of a softer bite to it but is still decently snappy, and I can taste the faintest whisper of the butter flavour which I'm finding I prefer over olive oil
It's a pretty subtle difference but I do think I'll probably keep doing it this way, flavour is marginally better but stretching it is just a little bit trickier as it seems to rip a bit more readily, not bad enough to be a problem for me though
I usually stretch my dough right out on my 14" pan but it resisted me a bit this time so I'm going to watch how this develops - could have needed more kneading, could be the ghee, but I still got a roughly 12" pizza which is just fine
Sauce Notes
So I've been making most of my pizza lately with storebought canned sauce since I knew I wouldn't always feel up to making it homemade
This will likely change given the last batch of sauce I threw together like a whirlwind through the kitchen last second when I realized I had no sauce and no time to run out and get more
I basically smashed my tomatoes, put tomato paste in to hurry the thickening (probably a little overboard but it was still totally tasty to my palate), added seasonings I knew I'd like and kept tasting til it felt right, it's almost a little jammy, probably a little on the thick side
This sauce was so appealing and simple to make but I still think it needs a little bit of know-how and confidence in the kitchen since I think that of any dish that depends on tasting as you go
It wouldn't hurt to add onions, sub the garlic blend for actual fresh garlic, basil, and oregano, but I was really happy with how this came out
I stored it all in a strawberry jam jar I'd just emptied and recognize it in the fridge by the crusted tomatoes around the lid that I barely bothered to wipe off
Cheese Notes
You can probably use any grated parmesan product but if you can spare the money parmigiano reggiano cheese is absolutely worth it
I spent stupid money - $13 on half a pound of 22-24 month aged parm at a specialty shop in a high cost of living city - but I could have gotten it for half that at Costco and even at that cost it was basically $1.14 for how much cheese I use on a given pizza which I can live with
The mozzarella I use is branded Galbani Pizza Mozzarella or Saputo Mozzarellissima but honestly the key for me here is finding a cheese with 20% milk fat, 52% moisture, you got that and you'll get similar results
Ingredients & Miscellaneous Notes
I noted the ingredients down in MyFitnessPal which I listed below since I've been eating so much pizza that I should probably be keeping track of the damage
I'd describe the recipe but really just watch Adam Ragusea's video on this and it'll show you everything comprehensively, I've practiced this one by far more than any other and I really like it, I know I've probably linked it a bunch already
DOUGH
2.5 cups warm water (Best results between 90-100 F)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2.5 tbsp ghee OR 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
5 cups bread flour (base amount, expect to work a little more in depending on ambient moisture)
0.25 cup bread flour (you might not need this but I work it in when I'm counting calories just in case)
2 tbsp olive oil (should cover what you leave the dough in to rest, you'll leave some behind when you pull the dough but I include it for estimation's sake)
This makes enough dough to split into 4 roughly 12-inch pizzas if you got your stretching down
Each dough ball is an estimated 940 calories including the extra olive oil it rests in
SAUCE
1 28-oz can San Marzano-style tomatoes (you can honestly probably get away with any 28-oz canned tomato in about any style, but I like these the best so far)
1 5.5-oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
0.5 tbsp garlic herb seasoning blend*
1 tbsp sugar*
1 tsp kosher salt*
1 tsp ground black pepper*
Slowly crush the hell out of the tomatoes with your bare hands, you want it all finely crushed but you don't wanna paint the walls, get it in a saucepan and don't bother draining
Just throw all the rest of the shit in with the crushed tomatoes and stir it until it's fairly uniform or at least as uniform as a mildly chunky sauce will be, stir occasionally and keep an eye on it til it's the consistency you like
*NOTE! Seasoning amounts are loose estimates!! I eyeballed this stuff and just kept throwing more sugar, pinching salt, and grinding pepper into the sauce as I went in tiny amounts as I kept it cooking - start here but taste and adjust as you go!
Whole recipe is an estimated 600 calories - I really don't recall the exact amount I used, it was like 5 heaped tablespoons but I want to say this will be enough to sauce 5 or 6 pizzas so even if you just glom all of it over 4 that's 150 calories per pizza which ain't bad so far as I'm concerned
I'll probably revisit this later, actually measure by weight what it all cooked down to and how much I use in a given pizza but I'm happy enough assuming overly generous portions for the sake of shooting under my calorie limits
Grate the parmesan through the finest holes your grater has and do the mozzarella on the big round shreds, you really likely don't need me to tell you this though
Get your hands high up over the pizza when you sprinkle the cheese over - especially the parm - I swear you'll get more even coverage
The cheeses combined should work out to 360 calories (~80 parm, ~280 mozz) which I will add up and divide with other components below:
Total = 1450 cal/pizza = 181.25 cal/slice
(assuming cut into eight)
Honestly not bad as far as I'm concerned, I'll eat half and I have a hard time feeling bad about a 725 calorie dinner
If I want anything else I cut it as absolutely thinly as I can, I run my knife through my cheapy Ikea ASPEKT sharpener every time I cut my toppings
I'd estimate my cuts are 1/4" to 1/8" but in any case just go as super thin as you can manage, you can always overlap if you want more stuff but I want to make sure the toppings don't screw with the cooking too much
Made the last of the ghee pizzas tonight, 4 days after I initially made this batch of dough
Overall it's still delicious but it definitely falls apart faster than the olive oil dough does, but it's not impossible to work with
I've been hearing the recipe I use for my dough lasts up to a week in the fridge, but I wouldn't let this ghee substitution age past 4 days as it starts to spider-web like crazy fairly soon in
With all that said I imagine my comments make it out to sound like a pain to work with, but it's still absolutely delicious and though knuckling it out does get risky, doing the gravity pinch works just fine so long as you're careful and generally have the practice to know how the dough handles
I love sinking my teeth into this pizza, it's got a really nice crisp crust and you can really hear it
I know. Vertical video. Sue me. Lock me in jail. Gut me like a goddamn fish!!
Anyway the crust is definitely still excellent regardless of the dough struggling to hold together - torn between doing the regular olive oil crust next time or maybe even splitting the fat evenly between olive oil and ghee to see what happens
Texmex pizza was mildly successful tonight. I started by preheating the oven to 550 with my makeshift pizza stone (actually a sandstone paver I got super cheap from Lowes) for an hour. I baked directly on the stone, just using the pan as a peele.
As for scoring and notes, I'd give myself a 9/10 on the crust. It was, hands down, the best crust I've ever made. Full of flavor but the seasoning mix didn't overpower anything. It had a good bit of chew but was still tender. As sloppy as they were, I could actually fold the slices. Toward the outside, it was super crisp The salsa was 8/10. It could have been less liquidy. Maybe if I'd drained some of the liquid with a fine mesh strainer. The cheese was more like a 7/10. Extra sharp cheddar does not melt quite as perfectly as mozzarella. Next time I'll either use a bled or a mild cheddar. Toppings were my biggest failing. 3/10 I was going to pan roast the corn but totally forgot to do that. The onion was less cooked then I wanted. I also didn't drain enough of the juice off the beans before I used them as topping. Next time I'll roast the corn, soften the onions, and maybe throw the beans in the pan to put a little color on. More than anything, I want to drive off as much moisture as I can BEFORE it goes on the pie. Appearance, 7/10. It's rustic. I need to have all my shit in front of me so I can work quicker and the dough doesn't stick to the "peele," I could probably stand to get a proper wooden peele at some point.
Overall I'd give myself a 7/10. Part of it was a sloppy mess but it was damn tasty.
I would eat the fuck out of that whole thing. Right now, no apologies, no regrets.
+2
Options
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
I've been going back and forth on attempts to make pasta al limon and cacio e pepe, since the procedure for both is fairly similar. Could never quite get the sauce to come together, though. Last night I had an epiphany; just because the fancy professional chef on youtube emulsifies the cheese into the sauce with the noodles already in it, doesn't mean you have to do that. So last night I took another stab at pasta al limon, this time I whisked the cheese and almost a cup of nice starchy pasta water into the lemon cream sauce before adding the noodles. That worked one million times better. Smooth, creamy, everything fully incorporated, it felt like a damn miracle. I made the sauce on the loose side so I could finish cooking the noodles in it, which worked perfectly. Thought I would share this for anyone else here that might be struggling to get cheese to emulsify in a dish like this.
Yeah I have always had the best results making/blending the sauce before adding it the pasta
+2
Options
AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
There is very little that has frustrated me in the kitchen so much as furiously stirring a pot full of hot saucy noodles trying to get the damn cheese to emulsify in. Last time I tried cacio e pepe all the peccorino welded to the bottom of the pan and the tongs I was using to stir. But then you watch J. Kenji López-Alt do it on YouTube and he makes it look like nothing. I think he might be a wizard.
There is very little that has frustrated me in the kitchen so much as furiously stirring a pot full of hot saucy noodles trying to get the damn cheese to emulsify in. Last time I tried cacio e pepe all the peccorino welded to the bottom of the pan and the tongs I was using to stir. But then you watch J. Kenji López-Alt do it on YouTube and he makes it look like nothing. I think he might be a wizard.
if it's anything like carbonara, you really need a splash of pasta water/oil in the mix and it's important to take it off the heat when stirring.
There is very little that has frustrated me in the kitchen so much as furiously stirring a pot full of hot saucy noodles trying to get the damn cheese to emulsify in. Last time I tried cacio e pepe all the peccorino welded to the bottom of the pan and the tongs I was using to stir. But then you watch J. Kenji López-Alt do it on YouTube and he makes it look like nothing. I think he might be a wizard.
if it's anything like carbonara, you really need a splash of pasta water/oil in the mix and it's important to take it off the heat when stirring.
I usually do everything in one pot for cacio e pepe. First I reserve the pasta water, and put aside the cooked spaghetti on a plate for a minute and start blooming the pepper in some olive oil in the pot. Once bloomed, I add the pasta back along with some pasta water and mix well to start the emulsification process. Then I'll add the cheese in about 2 batches stirring on low heat until fully emulsified into a sauce.
Carbonara I find a little more difficult to do in one pot, so I've taken to a modified one pot dish and use a stainless mixing bowl as a double boiler over the pasta water to temper the egg/pasta mixture. Just use tongs to pull the pasta out of the water into the stainless bowl with the base carbonara sauce, throw the bowl on top of the pasta pot, and stir. It's more foolproof, I've found, less chance for any cooked egg bits.
There is very little that has frustrated me in the kitchen so much as furiously stirring a pot full of hot saucy noodles trying to get the damn cheese to emulsify in. Last time I tried cacio e pepe all the peccorino welded to the bottom of the pan and the tongs I was using to stir. But then you watch J. Kenji López-Alt do it on YouTube and he makes it look like nothing. I think he might be a wizard.
Posts
That’s the only way I’ve been able to make it consistently.
Don’t heat it after that.
This has worked four times in a row
https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/09/foolproof-cacio-e-pepe/
Ooh, nice. I was a bit frustrated after it turned out pretty well the first time but then was a mess the two times after that, but I guess I'll have to try this version some time soon.
@Rear Admiral Choco
Thank you for the recipe. Made my first batch today. Next time will be cheesier but husband loved them.
Awesome! Did you do it how I laid out? I wasn't too exact with anything but it looks good!
That cheese seal looks perfect
If you want a more classic taco beef filling, I always really dug this recipe for spice mix
https://www.budgetbytes.com/taco-seasoning/
Made some mac and cheese since I had some leftover milk and pecorino romano. Ended up being probably 40% pecorino romano and 60% cheddar. Tastes almost too rich. Also, it's easy to forget just how much 1lb of uncooked pasta ends up being when cooked.
("After midnight" is "tomorrow", right?)
Powdered stuff often has added dextrose which can throw things off.
Trying to use pre-shredded cheese to make a sauce or the like is always a bad idea because of the anti-clumping agents they put in it.
Made it overnight in a slow cooker, which at around 1am when I finally got to sleep was smelling amazing. When I actually got to it in the morning though, the joyous scent had disappeared and the liquid was left tasting a bit... flavourless, even after cooking down.
Is it possible to boil away the flavours?!
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
Yep. Aromatic compounds can go quite quickly once you start boiling the stock. I’ve done this myself more than once, also using a slow cooker. Even on low, mine will eventually end up on an almost rolling boil.
The only thing I’ve tried to stop this is only cooking the meat/bones then adding the vegetables/herbs in the last maybe 1-1.5 hours.
I use a small blender (it’s a bullet or something) to blender chunks of the cheese with the starchy water until smooth. The consistency is perfect
they make amazingly rich soft-boiled or scrambled eggs.
Making miniature versions of egg dishes does seem to be one use for them: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/quail-egg-canape-smoked-salmon-avocado-pickled-cucumber-recipe.html and https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/11/baby-quail-egg-father-chicken-egg-in-a-hole.html for example.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
re: quail eggs: great on non-fish sushi, like roe.....wrap some sushi rice in nori and place a quail egg right on top - delicious (assuming you trust all your providers)
Video references:
I ended up with more salsa then I had chips. Today I decided that I'm going to make a couple of texmex pizzas. I started pizza dough which will become the pizzas tomorrow. For the dough I started with the recipe on the King Arthur flour website. Instead of just using salt, I made a seasoning mix to kick it up a notch. The mix consisted of parmesan cheese (grated on a microplane so you get those super thin shreds), a little cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and a dash of chipotle powder. I combined and kneeded in the stand mixer before forming a ball, covering the bowl with plastic and letting it sit on my desk, next to my PC for most of the day. I just reformed the ball and threw it in the fridge to proof overnight.
Tomorrow I'll make a pizza with half the dough, salsa for the sauce, extra sharp cheddar, some pan roasted frozen corn, diced onion, and maybe some black beans.
I've been making a lot of pizzas recently. I mostly use the serious eats NY style pizza dough recipe. It seems to work pretty well. For sauces, I tried just straight crushed tomatoes last time with a sprinkling of garlic powder. I liked it. I'll probably do that most of the time going forward. I generally put only a little sauce on my pizza, so the extra effort of making it doesn't seem worth it.
I kept seeing recipes calling for this dough flavoring. I adapted my flavoring from the ingredients in the King Arthur brand. About all mine is missing is the exotic preservatives and anti-caking agents. Since I'm using it right away, a little cornstarch was enough to keep it from clumping.
I like to make a no-cook blender sauce for regular pizza. It's basically a can of whole plum tomatoes with most of the juice, a clove of garlic and some oregano, blended smooth and refrigerated for a couple of hours.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/05/spicy-spring-sicilian-pizza-recipe.html
Basically 1 can of tomato, oregano and the proper amount of garlic for anything (ie - a fuckton). Few small bits and then bring to a simmer. Super tasty and makes enough for a lot of pizzas and lasts for quite a while in the fridge.
I added a bunch of notes and as accurate a list of ingredients as I could
Crust Notes
It's pretty good after 24 hours in the fridge! Didn't make it today, but we'll see what it's like after 72 hours tomorrow - I anticipate good things but we'll see, it might be falling apart faster than the oil dough
What I notice right off the bat is the bread has kind of a softer bite to it but is still decently snappy, and I can taste the faintest whisper of the butter flavour which I'm finding I prefer over olive oil
It's a pretty subtle difference but I do think I'll probably keep doing it this way, flavour is marginally better but stretching it is just a little bit trickier as it seems to rip a bit more readily, not bad enough to be a problem for me though
I usually stretch my dough right out on my 14" pan but it resisted me a bit this time so I'm going to watch how this develops - could have needed more kneading, could be the ghee, but I still got a roughly 12" pizza which is just fine
Sauce Notes
This will likely change given the last batch of sauce I threw together like a whirlwind through the kitchen last second when I realized I had no sauce and no time to run out and get more
I basically smashed my tomatoes, put tomato paste in to hurry the thickening (probably a little overboard but it was still totally tasty to my palate), added seasonings I knew I'd like and kept tasting til it felt right, it's almost a little jammy, probably a little on the thick side
This sauce was so appealing and simple to make but I still think it needs a little bit of know-how and confidence in the kitchen since I think that of any dish that depends on tasting as you go
It wouldn't hurt to add onions, sub the garlic blend for actual fresh garlic, basil, and oregano, but I was really happy with how this came out
I stored it all in a strawberry jam jar I'd just emptied and recognize it in the fridge by the crusted tomatoes around the lid that I barely bothered to wipe off
Cheese Notes
I spent stupid money - $13 on half a pound of 22-24 month aged parm at a specialty shop in a high cost of living city - but I could have gotten it for half that at Costco and even at that cost it was basically $1.14 for how much cheese I use on a given pizza which I can live with
The mozzarella I use is branded Galbani Pizza Mozzarella or Saputo Mozzarellissima but honestly the key for me here is finding a cheese with 20% milk fat, 52% moisture, you got that and you'll get similar results
Ingredients & Miscellaneous Notes
I'd describe the recipe but really just watch Adam Ragusea's video on this and it'll show you everything comprehensively, I've practiced this one by far more than any other and I really like it, I know I've probably linked it a bunch already
DOUGH
2.5 cups warm water (Best results between 90-100 F)
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2.5 tbsp ghee OR 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
5 cups bread flour (base amount, expect to work a little more in depending on ambient moisture)
0.25 cup bread flour (you might not need this but I work it in when I'm counting calories just in case)
2 tbsp olive oil (should cover what you leave the dough in to rest, you'll leave some behind when you pull the dough but I include it for estimation's sake)
This makes enough dough to split into 4 roughly 12-inch pizzas if you got your stretching down
Each dough ball is an estimated 940 calories including the extra olive oil it rests in
SAUCE
1 28-oz can San Marzano-style tomatoes (you can honestly probably get away with any 28-oz canned tomato in about any style, but I like these the best so far)
1 5.5-oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp olive oil
0.5 tbsp garlic herb seasoning blend*
1 tbsp sugar*
1 tsp kosher salt*
1 tsp ground black pepper*
Slowly crush the hell out of the tomatoes with your bare hands, you want it all finely crushed but you don't wanna paint the walls, get it in a saucepan and don't bother draining
Just throw all the rest of the shit in with the crushed tomatoes and stir it until it's fairly uniform or at least as uniform as a mildly chunky sauce will be, stir occasionally and keep an eye on it til it's the consistency you like
*NOTE! Seasoning amounts are loose estimates!! I eyeballed this stuff and just kept throwing more sugar, pinching salt, and grinding pepper into the sauce as I went in tiny amounts as I kept it cooking - start here but taste and adjust as you go!
Whole recipe is an estimated 600 calories - I really don't recall the exact amount I used, it was like 5 heaped tablespoons but I want to say this will be enough to sauce 5 or 6 pizzas so even if you just glom all of it over 4 that's 150 calories per pizza which ain't bad so far as I'm concerned
I'll probably revisit this later, actually measure by weight what it all cooked down to and how much I use in a given pizza but I'm happy enough assuming overly generous portions for the sake of shooting under my calorie limits
TOPPINGS
20 grams parmigiano reggiano cheese
100 grams mozzarella cheese (20% milk fat, 52% moisture)
Grate the parmesan through the finest holes your grater has and do the mozzarella on the big round shreds, you really likely don't need me to tell you this though
Get your hands high up over the pizza when you sprinkle the cheese over - especially the parm - I swear you'll get more even coverage
The cheeses combined should work out to 360 calories (~80 parm, ~280 mozz) which I will add up and divide with other components below:
Rough Calorie Breakdown
Oil = 240 calories
Sauce = 150 calories
Cheese = 360 calories
Total = 1450 cal/pizza = 181.25 cal/slice
(assuming cut into eight)
Honestly not bad as far as I'm concerned, I'll eat half and I have a hard time feeling bad about a 725 calorie dinner
If I want anything else I cut it as absolutely thinly as I can, I run my knife through my cheapy Ikea ASPEKT sharpener every time I cut my toppings
I'd estimate my cuts are 1/4" to 1/8" but in any case just go as super thin as you can manage, you can always overlap if you want more stuff but I want to make sure the toppings don't screw with the cooking too much
As for scoring and notes, I'd give myself a 9/10 on the crust. It was, hands down, the best crust I've ever made. Full of flavor but the seasoning mix didn't overpower anything. It had a good bit of chew but was still tender. As sloppy as they were, I could actually fold the slices. Toward the outside, it was super crisp The salsa was 8/10. It could have been less liquidy. Maybe if I'd drained some of the liquid with a fine mesh strainer. The cheese was more like a 7/10. Extra sharp cheddar does not melt quite as perfectly as mozzarella. Next time I'll either use a bled or a mild cheddar. Toppings were my biggest failing. 3/10 I was going to pan roast the corn but totally forgot to do that. The onion was less cooked then I wanted. I also didn't drain enough of the juice off the beans before I used them as topping. Next time I'll roast the corn, soften the onions, and maybe throw the beans in the pan to put a little color on. More than anything, I want to drive off as much moisture as I can BEFORE it goes on the pie. Appearance, 7/10. It's rustic. I need to have all my shit in front of me so I can work quicker and the dough doesn't stick to the "peele," I could probably stand to get a proper wooden peele at some point.
Overall I'd give myself a 7/10. Part of it was a sloppy mess but it was damn tasty.
Made the last of the ghee pizzas tonight, 4 days after I initially made this batch of dough
Overall it's still delicious but it definitely falls apart faster than the olive oil dough does, but it's not impossible to work with
I've been hearing the recipe I use for my dough lasts up to a week in the fridge, but I wouldn't let this ghee substitution age past 4 days as it starts to spider-web like crazy fairly soon in
With all that said I imagine my comments make it out to sound like a pain to work with, but it's still absolutely delicious and though knuckling it out does get risky, doing the gravity pinch works just fine so long as you're careful and generally have the practice to know how the dough handles
I love sinking my teeth into this pizza, it's got a really nice crisp crust and you can really hear it
I know. Vertical video. Sue me. Lock me in jail. Gut me like a goddamn fish!!
Anyway the crust is definitely still excellent regardless of the dough struggling to hold together - torn between doing the regular olive oil crust next time or maybe even splitting the fat evenly between olive oil and ghee to see what happens
I would eat the fuck out of that whole thing. Right now, no apologies, no regrets.
if it's anything like carbonara, you really need a splash of pasta water/oil in the mix and it's important to take it off the heat when stirring.
I usually do everything in one pot for cacio e pepe. First I reserve the pasta water, and put aside the cooked spaghetti on a plate for a minute and start blooming the pepper in some olive oil in the pot. Once bloomed, I add the pasta back along with some pasta water and mix well to start the emulsification process. Then I'll add the cheese in about 2 batches stirring on low heat until fully emulsified into a sauce.
Carbonara I find a little more difficult to do in one pot, so I've taken to a modified one pot dish and use a stainless mixing bowl as a double boiler over the pasta water to temper the egg/pasta mixture. Just use tongs to pull the pasta out of the water into the stainless bowl with the base carbonara sauce, throw the bowl on top of the pasta pot, and stir. It's more foolproof, I've found, less chance for any cooked egg bits.
I’m really not kidding.
This shit works
I use Google.
https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/216774/cooking-thread-burning-questions-and-searing-remarks#latest
If you look closely, he doesn't cast a shadow.
https://breadtopia.com/rye-chocolate-cherry-sourdough/