Here is a list of recipes I like...
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Home made Pizza
This makes enough for my family of five to have a large personal sized pizza each (approx 170g of dough per).
Instructions:
Dough:
Bloom the yeast, not strictly necessary but I like to do this step to kickstart the fermentation.
Heat the water to 100°F and 110°F (38°C to 43°C), add 1 tbsp of brown sugar to the water, stir to dissolve, add yeast
Wait five minutes to see foam. At this point if you don't see activity in your yeast, you can ... wait longer, try again, or get new yeast.
In a stand mixer add the flour, add the salt to the flour, give it a quick mix. Turn on the mixer and slowly add the water + yeast.
If you are leaving this in the fridge for a few days, the dough just needs to come together so that all the flour can hydrate.
If you are using your dough same day, let the mixer work for 10 minutes, do not worry about over kneading.
If you don't have a stand mixer, just get the flour and water together, you can use a bowl, you can make a well.
If by hand the same rules apply, if you are letting this rest/ferment in the fridge for days, it just needs to come together.
If you want to use the dough same day, knead it for at least 10 minutes.
If its going in the fridge, but the whole mass, in a stretch wrapped (not sealed) container, be sure to leave room for it to at least double!
Check on it every day, with a wet hand pull the side of the mass out and flap it on top, do this all the way around (all four sides).
On the day you use it, at least an hour ahead of time, roll it into portions, e.g. 170g balls, and set aside at room temperature.
tl;dr - mix it all together and wait, or don't.
Sauce:
Blend the tomatoes, garlic, and herbs smooth.
Toppings:
If you are using fresh mozzarella, slice it ahead of time and allow it to drain.
Other cheeses, grate ahead of time. A regular or large size of a box grater. Pre-grated isn't the best, but, if that's what you got USE IT! :)
Assembly:
Right before cooking, lay out some bench flour (flour on the table or counter) and push into the middle of the ball with flat fingers
Be sure to leave a hoola-hoop or "crown" ring of un-pushed-down dough around the perimeter.
I like to lay my shaped dough on a piece of parchment, this will make your pizza easier to launch (slide into the oven)
and can be easily removed one or two minutes into cooking.
Add sauce. A heaping tablespoon or two depending on how you like it. Use a spoon, held flat or level to push the sauce in a
circular motion all over the interior of the pizza. The majority of the sauce should be on the outer edge near the crust, if the
interior is shy thats ok as the crust rises it will "push" the sauce and toppings back into the middle.
If you are using other toppings, like vegetables, it is worth pre-cooking them to lower their water content.
Other toping ideas are, pineapple, garlic confit mushrooms, pan fried broccoli, or whatever you like!
Cooking:
Set your oven to max, remember to load the pizza stone while the oven is still cold, Allow oven to preheat.
Slide the pizza on to the stone, I use parchment baking paper to form and top the pizza, and it slides into the oven easily.
Bake at max for approx 8 minutes. After one or two minutes, slide the paper out from under the pizza.
Once the pizza is out of the oven let it rest for a few minutes on a baking rack, like for cookies...
so that the crispy dough on the bottom doesn't steam, and the molten cheese slightly sets.
Slice and enjoy!
Ranch Dressing
Instructions: Pretty much put it all in a bowl and whisk to combine. After it's mixed I like to put it in a mason jar.
Notes: This is absolutely at its best by the next day at the earliest.
Sous Vide Crème Brûlée
Instructions: Separate yolks. Save the whites for egg white omelettes, or meringues. Beat egg yolks and sugar until light in colour and fluffy.
Mix in the cream and vanilla then stir with a whisk (don't whip we don't want too much air we arent making whipped cream). Strain the mix with a fine mesh strainer.
Add the mix to 125 ML mason jars. Add lids and finger tighten. Just so the threads catch, do not over tighten as we want the expansion from heating to be able to bubble out.
Sous vide at 176°F for an hour. Chill immediately by taking the jars out of the sous vide bath (take this opportunity to re-tighten the lids)
and plunging into another container of cold tap water. Refrigerate overnight. Before serving, add a tbsp of plain white sugar to the top, the lids will be hard to take off,
roll the sugar around so it completely covers the top, then TORCH IT!.
Greek Chicken
Instructions: Mix everything! Dice several boneless skinless chicken breasts, or even some thighs.
This is a great marinade, go at least a half an hour, or even overnight in the fridge.
This makes great chicken skewers on the BBQ, but could easily be oven broiled.
I like it in a pita, with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and tzatziki.
Tzatziki
Instructions: Grate the cucumber, add a pinch of salt, let sit for a minute.
Wring out the water from the cucumber, add it to a bowl.
Mix in the yogurt, dill, and grate the garlic. Mix well and enjoy!
Chipotle Lime Hummus
Instructions: In the blender/food processor whip the tahini, olive oil, lime juice, chipotle, garlic, salt and pepper first, once whipped and light in colour
then add chickpeas and whip on high for 30 sec, scrape down sides and back on high for another 30.
Add back some of the water from the pressure cooker while blending to achieve the desired consistency.
* For "regular" hummus just leave out the chipotles and use lemon instead of lime.
Sesame noodles
Instructions: Add sesame paste to bowl, add oils first and whip till combined. Add the soy vinegar and mayo and again whip untill combined.
Slowly add the water, this will lighten the mix and make it smooth. Whip until completely homogenous. Use to dress your favourite noodles.
Vol au Vents
Instructions: Cook the puff pastry rounds per package directions.
Dice the veg. Sautee the veg. Add cubed chicken. Cook.
Make a roux, transition to a veloute (add stock to roux), add cream.
Put the veg and the veloute together and allow to combine. Fill the pastries and enjoy!
Piri Piri marinade
Instructions: Mix to a paste, rub on a chicken!
Translated Original Pao de queijo
cook at 355f for ~35 minutes
Mushroom Risotto
Instructions:
Stage 1 garlic mushrooms
add a third of the butter to a hot pan (melt but do not brown the butter)
slice the mushrooms, and add to pan, cool until the liquid the mushrooms release is dried out.
When there is little to no liquid add the garlic, we want to cook the garlic but not brown or toast it.
Stage 2 risotto
add a third of the butter and melt
add finely minced shallot and sweat (do not colour)
add raw dry rice and "parch" each grain of rice should be mostly translucent with a white core, no browning at all
add the wine and stir until mostly dry, dragging the spoon/spatula through the pan should leave a trail that slowly fills back in
add the mushroom stock just less that a cup at a time, stirring frequently, waiting until you can drag a trail each time
Stage 3 finishing
when you have the last cup of stock left, taste the rice to see if its done, it should be firm but not crunchy, add the last bit of stock if you need to
add the previously cooked garlic mushrooms
off the heat add the last third of the butter and the cheese finely grated
aim for something a little looser in the pan, the cheese will thicken it up, it will continue to tighten up in the pan before serving
Curry Chicken Salad in Endive
Instructions:
I poached 1 boneless skinless chicken breast. I used a little less than half an apple.
I plumped the raisins in the poaching liquid with the chicken.
Chop all the ingredients as small as you can. Mix well, taste and adjust for seasoning
Put approx 1 tbsp inside each separated endive leaf. Like a "cup" or a little boat.
Finish with a dollop of sour cream on top and enjoy.
Basic Mac-n-Cheese
Instructions:
Add pasta to boiling water. Follow package directions. I prefer "well done" for this rather than al dente.
Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour to melted butter and whisk to a paste,
let the paste sizzle until it goes from a raw dough smell to a toasted smell,
but do not let it get too brown, a little blonde / tan is ok.
Dump in the milk while whisking, once in whisk vigorously to dissolve or distribute the paste into the milk.
Let the milk heat up, whisk or stir frequently, allow it to come to a gentle boil, keep it at a low boil for a full minute.
Remove from the heat, and let sit for one minute. Add shredded cheese in three or four batches while whisking.
Whisk cheese sauce until it is a homogenous colour, no lumps, no streaks. Add pasta and cheese sauce together, and mix well.
If your cheese sauce is grainy it may have been too hot when the cheese was added.
Fresh Pasta from scratch
Instructions:
The ratio above is per-person for a main course.
Beat the eggs and slowly add flour until its all mixed in. Knead ball for about 10 minutes.
You're looking for a smooth ball that bounces back when poked. Let the ball rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge for at least 30 min.
Roll out the ball into sheets, as thin as possible. Roll sheets up, then slice into strips.
You can gather some strips into a "nest" and freeze it for later.
Boil pasta, it should start floating in about 2 minutes, then its done.
Chicken tinga
Elotes corn
Char over fire or singe corn in pan
Add sauce and serve ...
Top with ...
Gojuchang Beef
Brown beef and cook veg...
Simmer in sauce ...
Top with ...
Serve over rice...
Vietnamese slaw
Dressing
Gnocchi
From Chef Andy https://youtu.be/pGEF7Tme3Tk?si=FJR0lFlj3negxJmK
Method
1. First, take a fork and poke the potatoes 3 times on each side.
2. Next, cook your potatoes in the oven at 180c for 1 hour or until they are fully cooked.
3. Once they are cooked, take from the oven and cut in half and let them steam for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the cooked flesh from the potatoes and either put them through a ricer, mouli
or just mash them with a masher or fork (if you choose one of the last options be careful not to overwork the potato).
5. Weigh how much cooked potato you end up with so you know how much flour and egg to use.
6. Next, add your yolk and flour and cut into the potato flesh
7. Bring the dough together and knead for 60-90 seconds or until it just goes smooth - be careful not to overwork the dough.
8. Roll the dough into thumb size pieces and cut them with a dough cutter around 2-3 cm long.
9. In a large pot of salted boiling water blanch your gnocchi until they float to the surface.
Remove from the water and put them into a sauté pan with some foaming butter and your vegetables of choice.
Or, you can just remove them from the water and straight into some kind of meat ragu.
10. Enjoy!
Tabbouleh (thanks ChatGPT)
Prepare the Couscous:
Place the couscous in a large bowl.
Pour the boiling water over the couscous, cover, and let it sit for about 5 minutes,
or until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender. Fluff with a fork.
Chop the Herbs and Vegetables:
While the couscous is soaking, finely chop the parsley, mint, cilantro, tomatoes,
cucumber, and scallions.
Mix Everything Together:
Once the couscous is ready, its best to let the couscous cool, very hot couscous will wilt the herbs,
add the chopped parsley, mint, cilantro, tomatoes, cucumber, and scallions to the bowl.
Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the mixture. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Toss and Chill:
Toss everything together until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
Notes: I have tried this recipe using a more "rustic" chop on the herbs and my conclusion is
that it is well worth the time to chop the herbs as finely as possible.
Also I didn't like too much lemon.
Things I think are worth it.
- Take the stems off the parsley. You don't have to pick the leaves but take most of the stem off the bottom.
- Chop the herbs as fine as possible - a super sharp knife is a huge advantage here
(don't want green stain on the chopping board).
- Scooping out seeds and goop from the tomatoes.
- Peel and deseed the cucumber.
- Not too much lemon.
- Use the zest of the lemons and chop the zest to an ultra fine texture.
Chicken Stew (Crockpot)
Instructions:
Add all of the diced ingredients and add the stock. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 1-2 hours.
30 min before serving, thicken with a roux. I like to melt the butter and toast the flour,
then mix it into the crock pot. It could be thickend with a slurry if 1 tbsp corn starch as well.
Thoughts:
This is a basic recipe, add more of what you like and less of what you don't.
Try different herbs and spices. Try chicken thighs or other different meats.
Like using cubed beef and beef stock. Or even doubling the thickener.
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Instructions:
Boil the noodles according to the package direction. Sweat the onions.
Crush the crackers and melt the butter. Add the butter and the crackers then mix.
Drain the tuna. Combine the soup, onions, drained tuna, and boiled noodles.
Pack the mix into a casserole dish, top with the buttery crackers.
Bake at 350 to 400 for 30 to 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 or 10 minutes and serve.