Wolfgang Puck is famous for a lot of great food, but if you had to choose the one item for which he would be most well known, it would be his pizzas.  This is his signature pizza dough recipe.

Once you have the dough made, check out his recipes for spicy chicken pizza, and pizza with smoked salmon and caviar.

Update: Fixed the broken link to the spicy chicken pizza.

Margy at Powell River Books has posted a great looking Mushroom and Crab Casserole Recipe that I need to try out.  It looks fantastic.  BTW, if you have some time, check out her blog which is about life on a floating cabin on the Powell River in British Columbia.

This comes from a cookbook that belongs to my son Mark and is based on the movie Ratatouille.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 salt
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender in the order listed and blend until smooth.  Remove the lid and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.  Briefly blend the mixture again.  Set the covered blender in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or even overnight.
2. When it is time to cook the crepes, use a paper town to spread about 1 teaspoon of butter or vegetable oil in the bottom of a 8 or 9 inch shallow frying pan and place over medium heat. Blend the batter again to smooth in.
3. For the first crepe, pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into a measuring cup to gauge how much to use.  For the rest of the crepes, pour approximately that much batter right from the blender.  Cook each crepe.
4. Pour the batter into your heated pan, well to one side.  Immediately tilt and swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom.  This should take about 5 seconds.
5. Cook the crepe on the first side for about 45 seconds, the quickly  flip it with a spatula and cool the other side for about half as long.
6. Swiftly invert the pan so the cooked crepe will fall into a large plate.  Rub a little butter or cooking spray on the pan before cooking the next crepe.

The cookbook has been a favourite of Mark’s for years and was a great introduction of him to cooking with a minimum of intervention and help from me.  If you can find a used copy and have younger kids, I would pick up a copy.

Jordon was complaining about my Quesadillas being soggy the other day and he had a good point.  I looked around and saw how to make them crispy.  Several other sites said that I can get a similar effect by baking them in the over and brushing them down with oil and baking them at 450 degrees F. until they are slightly brown.

I had never heard of potato borscht until earlier this year when a friend told me about it.  Instead of beets it uses potatoes and is a Russian favourite.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 head cabbage, shredded
• 1 quart. water
• 4 or 5 potatoes, diced
• 4 or 5 carrots, sliced
• 1 quart. water
• 1 pint. sour cream
• 2 teaspoon. dried dill weed
• Salt & fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Slice onion and shred cabbage. In a large cooking pot, cook onion and cabbage until tender in 1 quart water. Salt and pepper as desired.
2. In another pot, cook carrots and potatoes in 1 quart salted and peppered water. When tender, drain this cooking water into the cabbage/onion pot.
3. Mash potatoes and carrots with sour cream and dill weed. Add sour cream mixture to cabbage/onion broth slowly, stirring well. Correct seasonings to taste.

Over at Serious Eats, Kenji Lopez-Alt shows how you can cut your onion caramelization time from 45 minutes to about 15 or 20 minutes.

Before we can figure out how to improve our end results, it's important to understand exactly what's going on when an onion browns. First, the onions begin by sweating. As they slowly heat up, moisture from their interior (they are roughly 75% water by weight) begins to evaporate, forcing its way out of the onion's cells, and causing them to rupture in the process. This breakdown of the cells is what causes onions to soften during the initial stages of cooking.

Of course the end result of all of this is an onion dip recipe that you can be proud to serve on Super Bowl Sunday.

via

A gentleman’s agreement between him and a friend kept him out of Ontario.

They crossed the line and put a restaurant in Calgary, so the agreement went dead. They broke the line first, so we felt we could come into the East. And they’re friends of mine. But there wasn’t really anything stopping us before. [When the agreement was made] it was sort of an over-two-cocktails decision.

Now, I think we’ll be moving into other markets like Ottawa and London. I hope within the next two years we’re going to try something in Quebec too because Quebec is a very good market.

While I like how our kitchen at the lake has come together, you may not be thrilled with yours and if you are working in a small space, check out this list of ideas from Apartment Therapy.

From the Globe and Mail

As the wine flows, it undergoes turbulence, accelerating its contact with air. Oxygen can enhance a wine’s aroma and also, especially in the case of reds, soften astringent tannins. The wine will taste more complex and smoother. Even young bottles can benefit, especially those sealed under screw cap. If you don’t own an aerator… you can accomplish much the same effect with a decanter or any pitcher. Empty the bottle into the vessel, then pour it from the decanter into glasses. Or, if you don’t have a decanter, swirl the wine in your glass.

While you are at it, you may as well learn how to taste wine properly.

I have been working on the right pizza dough recipe for years and a couple of years ago I adapted a recipes from Better Crocker’s 40th Anniversary Cookbook that is for traditional white bread.  After tinkering with it for several months, the family declared that I had found the right combination.  

Ingredients

• 6-7 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 2 packages regular or quick-acting active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F.)

Directions

1. Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast in a  large bowl.  Add warm water.  Beat on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.  Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently.  Stir in remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, making dough easy to handle.
2. Knead for 5 minutes. 
3. Place tablespoon of cooking oil in bottom of large bowl.  Place dough in and flip over.  Let rise for 1 hour.
4. After an hour, punch down, divide into three equal parts and roll out for pizza dough.
5. Dough will make three pizzas (depending on how thick you want your crust.
6. Sprinkle teaspoon of corn meal in on pizza pan before putting dough on pizza stone or pizza pan.
7. Place pizza sauce, desired toppings, and cheese.
8. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. (and if using pizza stone, preheat stone)  Cook for 10-12 minutes, depending on thickness of dough and toppings.

Jordon absolutely hated scalloped potatoes for most of his life until he was forced to eat some made by the cooks of the Salvation Army Community Services (where he works) and has come to enjoy them. 

Ingredients

• 8 ounces of softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 lb. red potatoes (about 9), thinly sliced
• 6 ounces of smoked ham, chopped
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to taste.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Mix cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, and broth in large bowl until well blended.  Add potatoes, ham, 1 3/4 cups Cheddar and peas; stir gently to evenly coat all ingredients.
3. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining Cheddar.
4. Bake 1 hour or until casserole is heated through and potatoes are tender.

Makes 15 servings

by Chef Mollie Ahlstrand and found in The Oprah Magazine Cookbook.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil.
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound button or wild mushrooms (such as porcini, cremini, shiitake) with stems removed, chopped)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 tsp. salt.
• 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 24 small (1/2 in thick) slices of country-style bread (preferably ciabatta) toasted.
• 1 pound fresh salted buffalo mozzarella, cut into 24 slices.
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees.  In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add chopped mushrooms and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.  Pour in wine; increase heat to high and cook, stirring, until liquid evaporates, about 5 minutes.  Mix in salt and pepper.
2. Arrange break on a large country-style bread baking sheet.  Top each piece with a slice of mozzarella.  Bake 5 to 7 minutes, until cheese is melted.
3. Top crostini with mushroom mixture; sprinkle with parsley.  Serve warm.

Makes six servings.

Check out the list from Apartment Therapy.

Ingredients

• 14 oz. fresh chow mein noodles
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. grated gingerroot
• 4 cups chopped broccoli
• 4 oz snow peas, trimmed
• 1 sweet yellow pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 green onion, sliced

Directions

1. In large saucepan of boiling water, cook noodles until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain well and set aside in colander.
2. Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk together oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil. Thinly slice chicken crosswise; add to bowl, tossing to coat.
3. In large wok or skillet, heat 1 tbsp. of the vegetable oil over high heat; stir-fry chicken mixture for 2 minutes. Transfer to plate.
4. Add remaining oil to pan; reduce heat to medium. Add onion, garlic and ginger; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add broccoli, snow peas, yellow pepper and 2 tbsp. (25 mL) water; cover and steam for 3 minutes. Add noodles and stock; stir-fry until hot. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pan; add bean sprouts and toss to combine. Serve sprinkled with green onion.

We had some friends over last night for New Year’s Eve and here was some of the food.  The dip in the bottom left corner of the photo is from the Freeway Coffee in Hamilton.  Click here for the recipe.

To start of the New Year and the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network (although it won’t launch in Canada until March 1st), here is a recipe from The Oprah Magazine Cookbook.

Ingredients

• 6 large eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 tsp. Tarragon (or Dijon) mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1 shot shallot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. capers
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan filled three quarter with water to a boil.  Add eggs and cook 9 minutes (center of yolk will be slightly creamy).  Carefully pour off hot water and rinse eggs with cold running water to cool.  Peel eggs and roughly chop.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper, Add remaining ingredients.  Gently fold in eggs.