A Pizza Lovers Dream - Making Pizza Crust "Crispy"

!±8± A Pizza Lovers Dream - Making Pizza Crust "Crispy"

From time to time the one thing that home pizza makers want to accomplish when baking pizza is a nice crispy, crunchy pizza crust.

It's quite difficult for a pizza lover to resist the crispy texture of flavorful pizza crust layered with a blend of savory toppings.

A common question asked by newbies and veteran home pizza makers alike, is simply this, "How can I make my pizza crust crispy"? Today is your lucky day because I'm going to give you a couple of ways to achieve crispier pizza crust.

One of the most important aspects of making good pizza at home relates to oven temperatures. Oven temperatures vary when using typical home ovens. Though some home pizza makers have access to brick ovens or more elaborate forms of home ovens, many pizza lovers do not. These types of ovens are fantastic for pizza baking but the typical conventional oven found in most home kitchens require a slightly different approach.

Generally, typical conventional ovens do not compare, in terms of temperature generation with commercial ovens found in professional pizza parlors. Don't worry pizza lovers, there's still hope for home pizza makers.

Due to the "temperature factor", there are a number of things you must consider when preparing your pizza dough and baking your pizza pies at home, especially if you want a pie that's delightfully crispy, crunchy and irresistible.

The first consideration is water content when mixing the pizza dough. If you use olive oil as a fundamental ingredient for your pizza dough, consider using slightly less olive oil and replace this with a little more warm water. Adding a little more water to your mix of pizza dough will contribute to a crispier and flaky crust.

In addition, it's a good idea to roll your dough to a "paper thin" thickness. You can do this by "rolling out" your pizza dough directly onto the pizza peel. Of course before doing this, sprinkle cornmeal on the pizza peel to insure an easy transfer to the baking surface you plan to use.

Next, you'll want to use one of two techniques for baking your pizza to make sure your completed pizza boasts that delicious crispy pizza crust that we all crave. You'll want to choose a suitable "baking platform" or "baking surface".

Try one of the two techniques below for baking your pizza pies:

1- Use a "pizza stone"

or

2 - Use a "pizza screen"

If you decide to use a pizza stone, make sure you give the stone plenty of time to heat before transferring the pizza from the pizza peel to the stone. You'll want to follow the instructions provided with the pizza stone very accurately.

The transfer from pizza peel to pizza stone will be much easier if you lightly cover your pizza peel with cornmeal. This makes the transfer process from pizza peel to pizza stone a breeze.

When using a pizza stone, the goal is to have the ingredients of the pizza complete the cooking process about the same time the crust "completely" browns. Depending on your specific oven, temperatures, 425 to 450 should suffice. Of course you'll have to experiment with cooking times for your specific oven.

Be careful not to remove the pizza to early, as this is a common mistake. Allow plenty of time for the crust to brown, without burning the cheese. If need be, CAREFULLY take a peak underneath the pie to check your crust if you like. Remember, ovens are extremely hot!

The second way to achieve a nice crispy crust is to use a pizza screen. Though this can be a bit messy, this baking platform produces wonderful crispy pizza crust. The porous nature of a pizza screen allows heat to pass through the screen directly to the bottom of the pizza.

This helps with the moisture absorption process. Direct heat helps reduce the moisture content within the pizza dough and adds to the crispy nature and texture of pizza crust. Mmmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it...

Pizza screens are fairly cheap, and that's great because they get a bit "clogged" with toasted cheese and ingredients after several uses. Clean them thoroughly after each use to extend the life of your screen. Besides, you'll forget about the mess when you slide that first slice of crispy pizza into your mouth, I promise.

Try these techniques to improve your pizza making adventures and remember to save me a slice!

A Pizza Lovers Dream - Making Pizza Crust "Crispy"

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Buffet Food Party Planning - Use Bulk Foods for an Affordable and Easy Party

!±8± Buffet Food Party Planning - Use Bulk Foods for an Affordable and Easy Party

With produce, meats, flowers, and spirits under one roof, bulk-store markets make food party planning for last-minute holiday party planning a cinch!

Shopping at warehouse stores like Costco, Sam's, and BJs make holiday party planning easy, affordable, and fun. Buy a few yummy foods in larger quantities. Plan for about 8-12 different items. Grab some beautiful blooms from the floral display, and a case of good wine from the liquor section and you are on your way to a real celebration! This can be a great strategy whether you have lots of time to plan your party or if it's a spur of the moment gathering.

This kind of food party planning is great for large groups in particular. A buffet party for 70 people doesn't have to be a chore if you break it down into groups and make an allowance for at least four trips to the table for the men and three for the ladies. The object is to have plenty for all these trips, and bulk food stores are a blessing for buffet food party planning.

What to Buy?

Look for variety in ingredients, food textures, hot and cold items, and flavors. You don't want to have a table full of dips or have every food item have dill or eggs in it. A good "formula" for a buffet is 1-2 seafood items, 1-2 meats, one meat or seafood salad, a cheese and cracker assortment - one soft cheese, one hard cheese, and one blue cheese, one fruit - whole or cut goes will with the cheese assortment, one dip or spread with crackers, one dip with chips, one dip with cold crudités, bread that goes with the meat and meat or seafood salad, devilled eggs, 2-3 heat and serve type puff canapés, and an assortment of sweets - cookies, mini-brownies, candy, and dried fruit. Choose your items so about ½ are hot foods and ½ are cold foods. Choose items that don't require more than bake and serve for the greatest ease. If you plan to make some of the items yourself, choose recipes with few ingredients - hot dips, grilled lamb chops, mini sausages in a sauce, meatballs in a special sauce, chicken tenders marinated and skewered can all be simple items to prepare. Just be sure you buy enough. Plan an average of 12-14 canapés or "bites" per guest if your buffet party is taking the place of dinner.

Dress Up Your Buffet and Make it Look Inviting

Make the presentation of the food special - don't use the containers the foods come packaged in - even if they are already plated for service. Re-plate all of your purchased items on holiday service ware or just some of your own nice buffet sized service ware. Stay away from plastic, unless it's really nice. To make your buffet look professional and interesting spend a little on garnishes for the buffet plates and create levels with stacks of books or sturdy boxes under the buffet tablecloth. Footed cake plates can come in handy for buffet food party planning also. Put some fresh flowers or foliage that fits with your holiday in a large pitcher or vase and place it on the buffet to add to the color and beauty. Pick up some colorful cocktail napkins, nice holiday canapé plates, and glassware to reduce the clean-up process to a toss in a garbage bag.

Serve Up Some Cheer!

To keep things simple and affordable, choose one regular beer, one lite beer, one red wine, and one white wine. To make it even simpler, make a signature holiday punch or drink with no more than 3 ingredients. Be sure to have an assortment of soft drinks for the designated drivers also. Sparkling cider can be kind of special for those who have offered to abstain from alcohol for the evening.

Plan for an average of three 6-8 ounce beverages per guest.

Whip Up Something Elegant But Easy

Here are a couple of different and tasty recipe ideas that take little to no effort.

Lamb Chop Appetizer

Purchase mini lamb chops in bulk to make a savory, plate-free appetizer for guests. Season chops with salt and pepper and chopped rosemary, then grill or broil. Serve with small napkins.

Brie Bites

Purchase mini quiche cups. Put a small chunk of Brie cheese in each cup and top it with a dollop of your favorite preserve - cherry or pear are my favorites. Top the preserves with a few chopped almond pieces and bake at 350 F. until the cheese is soft, warm, and melted - about 8-10 minutes. Serve hot - and delicious!

Buffet food party planning is a breeze when you rely on the convenience and variety you can find at the bulk warehouse stores. There's nothing like a huge table, laden with plenty of food to make guests feel like there is a serious holiday party underway!

Buffet Food Party Planning - Use Bulk Foods for an Affordable and Easy Party

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What You Need to Know About Vanilla Flavoring

!±8± What You Need to Know About Vanilla Flavoring

As many of us may be aware, Vanilla is the fruit of an orchid plant that commonly grows to reach the shape of a bean pod. Vanilla orchids are widely grown in tropic climates. The dark brown vanilla bean is usually 7 to 9 inches long, weighs about 5 grams, and yields about 1/2 teaspoon of seeds. It is said that one-quarter teaspoon should be enough to flavor a recipe for 4 to 5 people. Vanilla is used not in pastries, desserts, and baked goods and sea foods. It is also a popular ingredient for coffees, perfumes, cigars and pipe tobaccos.

Vanilla extract has been widely in use for more than a hundred years and they were originally strong and sweet and were primarily used to cure stomach upsets. Now Vanilla extracts are commercially available in convenience stores, supermarkets, fancy gourmet shops, and even online. Along with Vanilla extracts, additional products are also available - natural vanilla flavor, cookie vanilla, imitation vanilla, vanilla blend, double-fold vanilla, vanilla paste, vanilla powder, etc.

You will obviously be confused which product to buy and your preference may have to be what your family traditionally used for vanilla flavoring, the taste to which all your family members are accustomed.

It is interesting to know there are about 150 varieties of vanilla, though only two are most widely in demand--Bourbon and Tahitian. Vanilla extract is made by percolating chopped vanilla beans with ethyl alcohol and water. The process is usually kept cool to avoid excessive flavor loss. The extraction process takes about 48 hours after which the extracts will mellow in the tanks with the beans for a few weeks before being filtered into a holding tank where the amber-colored liquid extract remains till bottled.

The extract may also contain sugar, corn syrup, caramel, colors, or stabilizers. All additives must be specified on the bottle label when marketing commercially. As vanilla is naturally sweet, it isn't necessary to use additional sweeteners, though some companies use a small percentage of sugar as a stabilizer.

Vanilla extracts made with premium beans and little or no sugar offer a fresh clean flavor. Though these extracts may be expensive, the flavor is truly pleasant. Vanilla naturally ages by the time it goes from factory to your shelf. Some companies hold the extracts in their manufacturing area for up to a year to make certain the extract is well aged before they ship it out.

Vanilla extracts can be kept indefinitely as long as they are stored in a cool dark place such as a pantry or cupboard that is far removed from the stove or bright sun. Refrigeration is however not recommended.

People who prefer not to use an alcohol-based extract can substitute natural vanilla flavor available in specialty food stores and some supermarkets. Vanilla flavor is a mixture of pure vanilla extract and synthetic substances, most commonly, synthetic vanillin. There are a couple of common brands that contain a blend of natural and synthetic vanillas. If you are accustomed to a natural/synthetic blend, then this may taste very familiar to you and you will like it more than a pure extract.

You also have imitation vanilla that is a mixture made from synthetic substances, which imitate part of natural vanilla smell and flavor. The imitation vanilla is less expensive and affordable to many.

There are several varieties of vanilla powders commercially available in the market. Some are made from sucrose that has been ribbon-sprayed with vanilla extract, and others are a dextrose-vanilla extract mix. They are ideal for mixing with beverages if you want a slightly sweet addition that dissolves quickly. Please be careful because many of the vanilla powders from Europe are actually synthetic. You have to check the ingredients list to satisfy it is natural and not artificial.

What You Need to Know About Vanilla Flavoring

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Cheesy Appetizers - Baked Brie Appetizer

!±8± Cheesy Appetizers - Baked Brie Appetizer

So, Guests are coming and you want to bake some cheese. This is a good choice because most of your guests will like cheese. Serving baked Brie as an Appetizer is more about learning the simple technique than providing a standard recipe, although I will. If you learn how to simply bake brie, then you can take that skill, add to it a little love and imagination, and you could write a cookbook just on the variations of this modern classic.

Baking Brie involves:

Wrapping the Brie in a dough Baking at about 350 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes, depending on the type of dough you use. Cooling for about ten minutes Serve with slices of toasted bread, slices of french bread or baguette,or crackers.

And you thought this would be tough. Now, on to variations.

The first variation and probably the most often served is BAKED BRIE WITH FRUIT AND NUTS. Here is how to make it.

First roll out your dough. Puff pastry is a good choice, as is a canned crescent roll product. You don't need to be too concerned with the shape of your dough at this point, only that it is large enough to completely cover the round of Brie that you will be baking in it.

Place your round of Brie, skin on, in the center of the pastry dough. You can now top the round with almost any fresh, frozen, canned,or jellied fruit. My mom loved apricot jam with the addition of a few dried apricots. I like raspberries so when available I use them fresh, or I use a raspberry whole berry jam. Be generous.

Now bring up the sides of your dough to cover your cheese and topping. You can fold the edges over and make a neat little package, but I like to gather the corners, pinching them together at the center, and letting the tails stick up. This will brown nicely if brushed with an egg wash and makes a delightful presentation if further garnished with a little of the fruit and some slivered almonds or other nut.

I like to use Filo dough because of the tender flaky crust it makes. Follow the same procedure except you must first prepare the crust. Be sure to keep the sheets of cough you aren't actually working with covered with a moist cloth when working. It will dry out within minutes. Lay out a sheet of Filo dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Brush it with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top and brush it with butter. Repeat this until you have built up several layers of dough. The more layers, the flakier it will be. When you have enough layers to suit you, you are ready to fill the dough with your brie and what-ever options you choose. Here are some more ideas for optional toppings. I have made all of these and they are all delicious.

APPLE PIE BRIE

Sprinkle every other sheet of Filo dough with about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sugar mix. Cut the round of brie in 1/2, like you would a cake layer. Lay half on the prepared dough. Spoon a couple of teaspoons of apple pie filling over the cheese. Place the other half of the cheese on top and add more pie filling. Pull the dough up and gather around the wheel of cheeses. You want the corners to flair out at the top, sort of like a gift basket wrapper. Usually a gentle twist will hold it together, but you could always tie it loosely with kitchen twine, removing it just before serving. Bake at 350 degrees 15 - 20 minutes or until filo crust is golden brown. Cool ten minutes. sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mix over the top just before serving.

BRANDIED CHERRY BRIE - My mom's all time favorite. (Must be the brandy)

One hour before you are ready to bake your brie, place 1/2 cup of dried cherries in a small pot. Add 1 cup brandy. Heat slowly until the liquid just begins to boil. You do not want a hard boil, just a low simmering boil. Cook for 5 minutes then remove from heat and let cool. Drain, reserving the liquid.

Now prepare your dough. Crescent roll pastry is a good choice for this one as it is a little thicker and will hold more of the juices in. Layer your cheese with the drained cherries. Wrap as normal. Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. While it is cooking, return the liquid from the cherries to the pot, adding water to make 1/2 cup. Using a whisk, stir in 1/2 teaspoon corn starch. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Turn off the heat. Let cool slightly but it should be served warm. I put it in a small bowl on the platter with the brie and sliced baguette. Include a small spoon and your guests can dribble the warm, cherry gravy,over the brie.

You can use almost any dried fruit with this method, but you may want to change your liquor preferences.

MEAT AND CHEESE

You can also choose to serve your brie with a meat rather than fruit. Try wrapping the wheel with prosciutto.

You can also use slices of pepperoni, honey ham, salami, roast beef. Whichever meat you choose usually will be a nice mix. I use a little horseradish with the roast beef. I just spread the top of the cheese and then put the meat on. Try layering a couple of thin slices of smoked salmon a teaspoon of capers, and a few rings of raw onion for an unusual twist.

Hope you try some of these. They are sure to be the hit of your next gathering.

Cheesy Appetizers - Baked Brie Appetizer

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