He's Cooking...John's Pizza

All the men in our family cook, not all of them like to cook,  but for survival purposes most learned basic things to stay alive.  My brother is the exception, he loves to cook.  Not only does he love to cook but he often surprises us with unique twists in common recipes we (us girls) would have never tried.  He is the quintessential adventurous cook.  Not all of his dishes sound appealing to me, I was really not prepared to eat pineapple on my pizza (before it was popular) but after trying it, I was hooked.   He expanded our food palette and made us shake our heads at the same time.  

This is one of those recipes.  Who doesn't love a good slice of pizza?  I love the New York style pizza, nothing like it.  While in Chicago I learned to love Chicago Style.  This is neither of those.  I've named it John and Sweet Baby Rays Chicken Pizza.  I've never tried it because of my vegetarian eating status, but everyone who has swears it is the best. 

I am going to let John explain it via an email he sent, here we go...

Sissy,

honest to god I have no idea what the ingredients were. Usually I'm wingin' it when I cook. Couldn't tell you the dough recipe if my life depended on it. The toppings I would guess are cubed breast meat, fried up in just enough oil so they don't stick. Slivered onion,white, red, yellow, whatever tickles your fancy. Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, I like the original, but you pick your poison, and mozzarella cheese. If you need more info just call. I can help with the dough, or where to get dough but it's too much typing. And if you have pix of me go right ahead, can't deprive the world of that sort of thing. 

Ha Ha love ya, John


Thanks John!

Here is a recipe I have used before for pizza dough. It is a good all around dough, good for thin or thick crust and I love the addition of honey instead of sugar. It is from the textbook: "On Cooking" by Sarah R. Labensky and Alan M. Hause

  


Pizza Dough

1 Tbsp active dry yeast
2 oz. warm water
14 oz bread flour
6 oz cool water
1 tsp salt
1 oz olive oil
1 Tbsp honey

   

 

• In a large bowl, stir the yeast into the warm water until it dissolves. Stir in the flour
• Stir in the remaining ingredients. 
• Knead dough until it is smooth, around 5 minutes.
• Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover. Keep in a warm place and allow to rise for 30 minutes. 
• Punch down the dough. Lightly flour the counter and roll dough into a circle. You can make one large pizza or several individual size pizzas
• Add your toppings and bake at 400 degrees until golden and crispy, around 10 to 12 minutes. 
• The dough may be kept for later use in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. 

 John's Toppings

Chicken breast, cubed and fried

onion, slivered

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce

Mozzarella Cheese

Cheddar Cheese

• Spread BBQ sauce onto your prepared pizza round.
• Add your toppings and top with cheese.
• Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until bubbly, around 15 minutes.

 Enjoy :)

Kathleen's Kitchen ~ Breakfast Burritos from the Rez

In the past I have blogged about cooking with one of my sisters in her home in Wyoming.  Sissy is a teacher. Before moving to Wyoming she taught in one of the most remote areas of Arizona, the Navajo Indian Reservation in the north eastern part of the state.  Before going to visit her we would call to see if it rained or snowed recently.  The roads to Pinon were all dirt and turned into a bog after a rain, making the road almost impassable.  She has many amazing stories from the reservation.  Here is a letter she sent me last year, you can feel a little of the isolation that is part of life on the Rez. 

Hello Sis!

I have a breakfast burrito recipe for you. This slightly modified recipe came from my experience teaching on the Navajo Reservation fifteen years ago. Living in Pinon meant being 40 miles away from the nearest stoplight,  bank or  hamburger place. I didn't miss the light or the bank so much, but the lack of fast food was definitely an issue for me.

One of the librarians at school, Francine, ran a canteen out of her office. Her stash included granola bars, candy bars, grab bags of chips and cans of soda. For bellagonas far from a convenience store, Francine was a life saver. She made breakfast burritos that she sold out of a little insulated lunchbox too. These warm egg and potato bundles became a morning ritual for me.

There are many things I enjoyed on the Rez, but Francine's Breakfast Burritos I still make when I want something warm and satisfying for breakfast.


Francine's Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

one peeled medium potato
an eighth of a cup chopped fresh onion
two eggs
two flour tortillas
salt, pepper, season salt


Directions:

• Grate the potato using a processor or a cheese grater.
•  Season potato and onions then fry in a bit of oil until cooked completely and slightly browned. Set aside.
•  In a skillet, cook the eggs scrambled style. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
•  Heat the tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds.
•  Use eggs, along with the potato and onion mixture, as filling for the burritos. Place half of the filling on each of the tortillas. Wrap diaper style. 
• Serve with hot sauce or salsa.

Makes two burritos.

I love the simplicity of this recipe Sis.  I couldn't resist the urge to heat it up a little with some Indian Spice.  I added mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a couple of curry leaves and a few chopped chillies to the oil before I fried the potato and then sprinkle a little fresh chopped cilantro to the mixture of potatoes and eggs before rolling the burritos.

Enjoy :)

Chitti Garelu ~ Little Vada Snack

Chitti Garelu are little snacks or appetizers.  Chitti in Telugu means little or small.  I have made these with moong dal, a bean native to India.  Moong beans are pretty versatile and used in many different cuisines.  They can be sprouted (bean sprouts) and added to salads or used in a stir fry.   My sister, a teacher in Wyoming, told me that she uses them in science projects and can't imagine eating them.  Everything is relevant to your vantage point.  Aside from being fried these are a healthy, crunchy, little  snack that is high in protein and filling.

Vijay told me that these are sometimes made with the leftover vada dough, I haven't ever had leftover dough.  With a little planning you could make enough dough ahead of time to have both vada and snacks later. 

I posted the recipe for Pesara Garelu earlier, this will be the same recipe to make the dough.  Find it here:  Pesara Garelu or Moong Dal Vada

This is the list of ingredients you will need:

2 cups moong dal                                                                                     

1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped                           Seasoning                                    

6 Thai chilies,finely chopped                                  1 Tbsp Olive oil                                                

2 tsp tamarind paste                                              1 tsp cumin seeds

2 Tbsp ginger/garlic paste                                      1 sprig fresh curry leaves

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1 tsp salt (to taste)

Oil for frying

 

Moong Dal after soaking for 6 hours

 

• Soak the moong dal for a least 3 hours, I usually soak it for about 6 hours.  *One thing that I have found is a real time saver is to soak separately 1 1/2 cups split, peeled moong dal and 1/2 cup unpeeled whole moong dal.  This eliminates the need to peel the moong dal and I have found no difference in the taste of the finished product.

 

Ground Dough

• Drain water from peeled split moong dal.  Grind (use grinder or blender) it first until it is coarse in texture.  Add the drained whole moong dal and grind slightly.  You will want to see some small pieces and the green skin in the dough.  This gives it a nice crunch.  It is tempting to add water, Don't!  I have learned from experience that this will make the dough too soft to hold together.

•  Add tamarind paste and ginger garlic paste to the dough, grind just until mixed into the dough. 

 

• Heat the olive oil; add ingredients in the seasoning.  Fry until the curry leaves are crisp.

 

•  Stir onion, chillies, cilantro and fried seasoning into the dough.

• Form the dough into small pieces, not too big so that they will cook thoroughly and  stay crunchy.

• After frying, while still warm sprinkle with chaat masala.

Enjoy :)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all the kind of Christmas memories are made of.  Peace to you.