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About
Crackers with Fresh Rosemary
There is one thing that I am really enjoying this summer and that is fresh rosemary. I have been using it in my breads, and beef, and it is an herb that is not only great in scent, but also in flavor. I thought I would try something new this week. As I sat back and watched my kids snack on pretty much anything that was in sight, there is something they kept coming back to; crackers. I checked my refrigerator to see what was in stock, and there was a variety of cheese, and what better than cheese and crackers. My goal was to make a cracker with fresh rosemary.
This proved to be really easy to make and overall takes about 30 minutes, from preparation to serving.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup of flour
- 2 tbsp rosemary
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp table salt
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/3 cup olive oil, and more to brush the top
- Sea salt
To a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. With a spoon, or whisk, blend the dry ingredients. Make a well, or hole into the center of the mix, and into that put the water and oil. Start to mix until it forms a dough.
Now, remove the dough from the bowl and onto a board, knead the dough a few times, not too rough on this one. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In the meantime, seperate the dough into 3 sections. To each ball, roll out into a 8 to 10 inch circle, square, or other fun shape. The shape does not really matter here because you will break them into rustic chips/cracker when they are finished cooking. Once you have the dough rolled out (go thin), brush to the top of the dough and lightly sprinkle sea salt on it. Place on your baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown. These are a great combination with cheese, especially a lighter cheese such as brie or camembert. Enjoy.
Grilled Pizza
As I have written about pizza in the past (here and here), the beautiful thing about the pizza is how diverse it can be. It can truly be anything you want it to be. In my pursuit of comfort and greatness, a not too long conversation with my colleague and food buddy, Kate asked if I had ever grilled a pizza. I had never cooked a pizza on the grill, as I always considered the grill to cook meats, vegetables, and fruits. I was proved wrong, and the grilled pizza not only had an excellent crisp to it, it also had a great flavor from the grill itself. This one is a true make and is something that will be considered a summer time favorite with the family.
You have choices for your dough:
- Make mine
- buy store bought
- buy from italian grocery/bakery/restaraunt
Get your ingredients together for your pizza. You know how you like it. Your sauce can be a red sauce, olive oil based, or a cream sauce, hence the diversity. Your toppings will include cheeses, vegetables, and possibly meats. My kids love the simple cheese and pepperoni pizza, and as they typically run the house, I let them win on this one.
The grilling part is surprisingly simple, however you probably do not want to turn your back on it. Begin by heating your grill, on high. In the meantime, as the grill comes to temperature, roll out your dough. I prefer mine as a thin crust, however you can do a thicker crust on the grill. When the dough is rolled out, brush with a bit of olive oil, the flip onto a pizza board, lightly covered with finely ground corn meal. Adjust and form your dough to the shape you desire (rectangle, circle, etc).
Now, head outside to your grill and slide the dough onto the grill. Grill your crust uncovered on the grill, lifting gently with tongs. They dough typically does not stick, but I recommend that you initially lift the dough, carefully, with tongs after a few minutes on the grill. Once the dough has began to crisp on the underside, brush more olive oil on the top, then flip over and cook for a couple of minutes, monitoring it so it does not burn. Now, you have to move quick here as you want your ingredients (sauce, cheeses, and other toppings) to melt and come to temperature without burning your crust. Add you sauce, cheese, and toppings, lower the heat, cover the grill, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the pizza from the grill, slice, and enjoy.
Fruit Smoothie
Lately I have been thinking about my daily intake of food and drink. Shockingly enough, I am doing ok on my portions of meat, and vegetables, however I have noticed that I was passing up fruit. Sure, I have use fruit such as mango in my corn and mango salsa, however that is not as nearly enough as I would like. So that got me thinking… what could I do to improve my intake of fruit? Simple. Have a fruit smoothie a day.
The thing I really like about the smoothie is that you can put pretty much whatever fruit you want in it. My visit to the store this week, led me to the fact that blueberries were on sale, as well as strawberries. We grow fresh raspberries in the back so there is no problem there. Now, I simply add in the rest. Let’s get started.
Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/2 cup of cleaned strawberries
- 1/2 cup of raspberries
- 1/2 cup of blueberries
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup of plain non-fat yogurt
- pinch of sugar
- 5 ice cubes
Add these ingredients to a blender and if you have an option for smoothie, use it, otherwise, blend until, well you know, smooth. After drinking one of these, you will feel full of energy and ready to continue the day. Question to you is, how do you make your smoothie?
Sisig - Reinvented
What a crazy sounding name for a dish; sisig. As many of you might not be aware, but my father-n-law is Filipino, and a great guy to boot. Rarely do I get to sample authentic Filipino food with him, however this past vacation to California allowed me to do just that. As my sister-n-law, Cindy, recently had her second child, we paid a visit to Oceanside, California, where family and friends gathered for the baby’s baptism. My father-n-law catered in local Filipino food from a restaurant consisting of pancit, mixed vegetables, whole fried fish, garlic fried rice, and sisig. While other guests arrived, they also brought with them dishes such as whole fried garlic shrimp, fruit, egg rolls stuffed with banana and honey glaze, and plenty more. One thing that stood out to me was not only the whole fried shrimp, but sisig.
As I came back for seconds, thirds, and fourths, my father-n-law and his brothers and cousins chuckled and laughed and asked ‘You like that?, Do you know what is in there?”. I had no idea what was in there and was hesitant to proceed in finding the answer. As a cook, I wanted to know. I found out that it was made primarly of pig parts including the ear, tongue, brain, heart, and liver. I must admit that I did get a small sign of nauseousness, however I quickly wiped the image of ears and brain from my mind. What I really enjoyed was the overall flavor of sisig. It packed a punch with ginger, garlic, vinegar, peppers, and lemon juice. It was truly a delight in my mouth, something I compared to the flavors of a thai larb salad.
I informed my Filipino elders that I would go back and reinvent sisig, and that I did. I was able to invite some local Filipinos over for my Friday Fish Fry last night, and as an appetizer, I served the sisig with cold beer. Both Sonny, Jen, and Mark said the flavor was spot on, and nearly ate the entire plate of sisig!
Ingredients:
- Pork Roast with fat; marinated with a bit of soy sauce, salt and pepper
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 cup of water
- Juice of one lime
- Half of a large onion, minced
- 2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 4 thai peppers, minced
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
- 3 tbs vinegar
- 1 glove of garlic, minced
To prepare the pork, I simply heated a large pot and added the olive oil. Keep in mind that when I sliced the pork roast, I kept some of the fat from the top of the roast to help with the texture that would replace the ears, snout, and other pig items. I then seared each side, and added a cup of water and slow cooked the pork for roughly 45 minutes. Once the pork was cooked, I removed it from the pot and set aside to let cool. In the meantime, in a bowl, I added the lime juice, garlic, ginger, vinegar, peppers, onion, and pepper. Once the pork is cooled, chop into very small pieces and mix into the bowl. I recommend you let this salad marinate overnight, or at least four hours. The outcome is a reinvented salad that packs a punch with fresh flavors. To my Filipino elders, thank you for the authentic sisig!