The Doctor Is In

One of my favorite things to make is pizza. It’s quick, easy, and freaking delicious. The most difficult part is making the dough but, it’s so simple even the most inept chef can come out looking like a pro. I’ll walk you through a simple dough recipe using basic ingredients you can find at any market and then show you some tips on baking a tasty pie.

Dough-rae-me

You can roll over to foodnetwork.com, search for pizza dough, and get about 1,000 results. They’ll tell you to use three different kinds of flour, water, special salt, honey, sugar, cornmeal….way too complicated. We’re not trying to make pizza to serve at a $500 per plate fundraiser are we? No. We’re making pizza at home. I have tried several of these recipes and guess what? One isn’t that different from the other. Basically you are going to need water, flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. That’s it.  Here are the rough measures:

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 ounce of active dry yeast (one envelope)
• 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for coating
• 2 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting

This recipe makes 4 personal thin crust pizzas or two hand tossed pizzas.

First, warm the water in the microwave for about 20 seconds. It should be warm but not scalding hot. While the water is warming place the salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl. When the water is warm, pour it over the sugar and salt. Quickly, pour the yeast on top of the water without stirring and let stand for 7-10 minutes. This process basically wakes up the yeast and gets it ready for the flour. You’ll notice that 5 minutes in, the yeast will now be foamy and fragrant. This is good. It should look something like this:

Once you get to this point you can add the two tablespoons of olive oil and whisk around once or twice. Now, add one cup of the flour and stir with a spatula or spoon. Once it’s combined add the second cup of flour and stir to combine. At this point you can ditch the spatula or spoon and get right in there with your hands. We’re trying to have fun aren’t we?

A lot of recipes will call for a stand mixer with a dough hook or some other fancy contraption. Really all you need is your two hands. After about a minute of hand mixing you should see something like this:

It’s not pretty but it’s a good sign you’re on the right track. If after combining the flour into the water/yeast/sugar mixture it appears too dry or too sticky, feel free to add more water (dry) or flour (sticky). After kneading the dough in the bowl for 4-5 minutes you should have a ball that is smooth, well combined, and not overly sticky.

Continuing, coat a fresh bowl with olive oil, transfer your ball of dough into it, roll the dough around to coat in the oil, and cover with a damp towel (or cover in plastic wrap). It’s now time for the dough to rise. Generally I wait an hour but you can let it go longer if you like. Also, keep it in a warm place. 70 degrees or warmer is better. Once the dough has risen you can work with it right away or seal in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. It’ll last for 3-4 days.

This whole process should take no more than 20 minutes with roughly half of it involving you waiting. Not too shabby eh?

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

The two photos below show the dough pre and post rise. This was just over an hour. See the difference? It doubled in size and is light an fluffy as opposed to dense.

Use the hour of rise time wisely. Generally I crack open a beer before getting started on heating the oven and prepping the toppings. Tonight I chose Sierra Nevada Torpedo. Hoppy and good. It went well with the pizza.

Next, I put my pizza stone in the oven and cranked up the heat to 550 degrees. I use a $15 round pizza stone you can buy at Target or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Again, nothing fancy here. There are debates about using ceramic tiles, rectangular vs. round, and a whole bunch of other stuff. This is probably the one area where I feel doing your research and paying for quality will payoff. Honestly, I don’t have a car and the Bed, Bath, and Beyond near my house had the $15 pizza stone so I bought it. Someday I’ll go for something better but, my $15 stone does the job just fine.

You’ll have to figure out the placement on your own. I have a small apartment oven that provides heat from the bottom so I aim a little low. If I had a better oven I’d probably place it square in the middle. Oh and all that grit on the stone? Pizza Love. It’s scraped clean but previous cooking experiments have left it stained. Not to worry. Heat for 45 minutes to an hour before putting the pizza in.

Ingredients

At this point your dough is rising and your stone is heating in the oven. You’ll have this time to gather your ingredients for your pizza. I’m of the mindset that you should put whatever you want on your pizza. My only suggestion is choose ingredients that aren’t too wet. This will cause your pizza to ooze thus staining your pizza stone and causing unwanted smoke.  For this recipe I chose simple crushed tomato, fresh mozzarella, Sopressa, and fresh basil. That’s it.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye Like A Big Pizza Pie

Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a floured surface and divide into two (hand tossed) or four (thin crust) portions. For this demo I did hand tossed. Ball up one portion of the dough and flatten with you hands or rolling pin remembering not to overwork the dough. When done you should have a circle about 8 inches across (more or less).

Now that the dough is ready, layer your ingredients onto the dough and get it ready for the oven.

Place the pizza onto the stone and cook for 8-10 minutes but keep an eye on it. Once the cheese is bubbly and brown and the dough get’s a dark  golden brown it’s ready.

Behold!!

From start to finish the entire project took about 1 hour and 30 minutes but most of it was waiting around. I’ve made this dinner for family and friends and it’s always a hit. Gathering eclectic ingredients, good drinks, and good friends will make your pizza night one to remember.

Did you miss me? I have now lived in DC for nearly a year and I have to say I am really enjoying it so far.  Over the past several months I have been acclimating myself to my surroundings. There are many great concert venues, restaurants, bars, and museums in the area that can keep one quite busy.  I have found that there are also several blogs in DC that relate to local color so, I’m not quite sure what to do just yet.   In the meantime, I’ll keep you up to date on what I think is fun and exciting in this city.

This brings me to the happenings this week.  Beer Week anyone? What is now becoming an annual tradition, or so I’m told, DC hosts a beer week each summer.  Several brewers and restaurants participate to offer a wide selection of beers to sample throughout the week along with food pairings.  Some events are free while others cost a few sheckles. I kick off the week’s activities with a visit to Cafe St. Ex for the Brooklyn Brewery tasting for Beer Week.

Unfortunately, my schedule is quite packed this week already so I won’t make it to too many other events. Brew at the Zoo, I will miss thee.  Perhaps I can booze with the Orangutans on Halloween? Perhaps.  I will however be able to tell you much more about DC tourism by week’s end.  Monuments and museums here I come.

It’s good to be back.

Nutritious. Delicious. A Well Balanced Meal.

As Los Angeles eating institutions go, Father’s Office has the hamburger market cornered. What can be so special about a hamburger you say? Well then you have never had one at Father’s Office.

There is a reason why there are no substitutions or modifications to their menu items. Simply put, the items are perfectly crafted to maximize flavor. Now you may read some reviews that the burger is sub-par. People who complain about the burger quote In ‘n’ Out as having a superior burger. Well if you want all beef patties with special sauce served with lettuce and tomato on a sesame seed bun, I’ll direct you to the nearest fast food establishment. This place is not for you. If your palate is sophisticated enough to handle caramelized onions, arugula, sirloin, and bleu cheese, step up to the bar.

One of the down sides of the Santa Monica location is that it is tiny and gets very crowded. Chances are you will wait in a line to get in, stand around to wait for a table (first come first serve), then after figuring out there are no waiters, order at the bar. The new location in Culver City (on Helms Ave.) has a patio that has more seating than the entire Santa Monica location alone. All ordering still takes place at the bar and tables are on a first come first serve basis.  Overall the Culver City location maintains all the unique charms of the Santa Monica location but alleviates the crammed nature.

The sweet potato french fries are still served in a miniature shopping cart with a side of their special sauce. Don’t even think of asking for ketchup. Remember no substitutions.

Having around 36 beers on tap Father’s Office has one of the better selections in LA. What is also great about the bartenders is that they actually know something about what they are serving. Tell them what you are in the mood for or what you are eating and they’ll have a couple of recommendations for you in a snap. Don’t be afraid to ask for a sample tasting either. They are more than happy to oblige your request.

The burger is anything but average. Served on a baguette style bread (flaky and chewing but still soft) topped with caramelized onions, bleu cheese, and arugula. I like my meat on the medium rare side (as pictured) but they will take orders up to ‘well’. If you want something more juicy take it on the rarer side. Nothing is worse than dry meat.

If you are looking for ordinary this place won’t be for you. If you are interested in a great selection of beers, friendly bartenders, and original cuisine, head over to Father’s Office. Just keep your head on a swivel to grab a prime table.

The Stone Brewery

As Ferris Bueller once said “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and take a look around once in a while you might miss it”, I intend to kick it into a lower gear for the next few weeks and get back to being Bobby G. Since the last time I posted I’ve been enjoying Los Angeles very much. So much in fact I haven’t had much time to write or do pretty much anything else. I have gathered some good stories and been to some wonderful places in the past few weeks so we’ll start with The Stone Brewery.  

Located in sleepy Escondido, California, the Stone Brewery is home to some of the best Pale Ale’s available in the good old USA. Premium Shih and I decided to head down there a couple of weeks ago to check out the operation, sample some beers, and learn a little more about brewing. Above you can see the wonderful beer cooler located in their company store (I apologize if the pictures are a little blurry….we had been drinking after all).

Not only is Stone Brewery home to their brewing operation but they also have a bistro on site with a great selection of food and beverages. After signing up at the company store for our tour we headed into the bistro to grab a couple of pints and grab a snack. One of the great things about the bistro is that they have a wide selection of beers from around the world. It was very nice surprise to see that they embraced beer outside of their own. Each beer on the menu was accompanied by the location it was brewed at as well as the percent alcohol by volume. We sampled the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale and a barley wine to get a little bit of bang for our buck.

After enjoying our pints and grubbing on some beer battered mashed potatoes we headed into our tour.

 

Going in, I did not expect this to be a ‘mom and pop’ type of brewery, however; I was surprised at the magnitude of their facility. If my memory serves me correct (which it probably does not) at full capacity they can produce around 500,000 barrels of beer each year although they currently run at about half of that. 

Our excellent tour guide gave us the quick and dirty lesson of brewing. Basically boil some water, add some barley and hops, and you got yourself some beer. I’ll spare you the whole story but it was very informative and a lot of fun.

Bourbon Casks Holding Delicious Anniversary Ale

Keg Maker

 

At the end of our tour we were taken back into the company store for our free tasting. We received 4 samples of beer (Pale Ale, Smoked Porter, IPA, and Arrogant Bastard Ale) as well as a 5th of our choice as a special treat. Premium Shih was not feeling the bitter beers so I got to do A LOT of tasting. Afterwards we each picked up a growler and headed back to Los Angeles. 

I had been wanting to take the tour for a long time and it was well worth the wait. The tour is free and so is the tasting. You basically get a free pint of beer just for walking in the door. I recommend getting there a couple of hours before your tour, sign up right away, and head into the bistro to have lunch and a couple of beers before your tour. They have a fun and laid back atmosphere in the bistro so killing a couple of hours was no problem.

In the next week or two I’ll give you a review of the new Father’s Office, located in Culver City, and bring you a review of my first night of the Summer at the Hollywood Bowl with Thievery Corporation. Until then I’ll be enjoying the start of the Summer!

 

 

I like to think of myself as a man of leisure with a penchant for finding great ways to drink beer. Typically you’ll find that most additions to beer come in the form of fruit (Corona and lime or Blue Moon and orange) although you do run across your Irish Car Bombs and other beer cocktails. 

The last weekend of my vacation presented many opportunities for said research. My friend Jeff was in town and with unusually warm weather we headed straight for Hermosa Beach. After building of up quite a thirst we headed on over to Hennessey’s Tavern for lunch on the patio.

After a couple of beers we were joined by two characters named Alex and Christina drinking one of the more interesting concoctions I have come across. Their order came to be what we dubbed the Nachorona.

 

The Nachorona is composed of 3 ingredients: an ice cold Corona, a wedge of lime, and most importantly Tabasco sauce.

To begin prepare your Corona in the normal fashion by squeezing the lime into the beer. Next, instead of inverting your beer to mix, add a few drops of Tabasco sauce and swish around to mix it together. To maximize your enjoyment drink from the side of the bottle where the Tabasco was poured in (you’ll see the trail). The result is nothing short of fantastic. It takes the light and refreshing taste of Corona and adds one heck of a kick.

After a few of these any sinus problems you may have had will be long gone and you will be all smiles enjoying the sunshine.

 

I have been in and around New Orleans for the better part of 4 months now for my job. One of the things that pretty much anyone who has been there can tell you, outside of the insanity that is Bourbon St., is that the food is excellent. New Orleans truly has their very own niche when it comes to regional foods. Known for their fresh seafood and endless variations on Cajun themed dishes, New Orleans has you covered for almost any type of food you could desire.

The signature sandwich of New Orleans is know as the Po’Boy. A Po’Boy is basically a sub sandwich or grinder. What makes it stand out from the norm is the use of Louisiana French Bread. If asked what is the most popular sandwich in New Orleans people will often respond The Po’Boy without hesitation.

Not to be overlooked however is the Muffuletta created at Central Grocery Co (923 Decatur St.). While less popular, the Muffuletta is just as much a part of New Orleans as is the Po’Boy. One afternoon during Mardi Gras, while my friend and I were walking on Decatur Street, we noticed a large line of people outside Central Grocery. We didn’t know what all the fuss was about at the time so we kept walking. I kept this in mind and after doing a little research I discovered that this was truly the best sandwich in New Orleans.

Tucked between a delicious round loaf of Italian bread the Muffuletta is a better sandwich than any Po’Boy I have tasted. Although it does not offer the variety of the Po’Boy, the Muffuletta brings consistency and great flavors which are truly unmatched. The sandwich is stacked with layers of Italian meats and cheeses followed with a topping of olive salad and olive oil. Below represents only a half order which easily filled me up and then some (about 10″ long and 6″ wide).

After devouring the sandwich it was easy to see why it is so popular. The Italian bread perfectly complimented the meats and cheeses while the topping of olive salad provided a tangy crunch to bring the whole sandwich together. Sometimes a bread that thick can overwhelm a sandwich however, because of the freshness, the bread was one of the best parts.

Washing it down with a cold Peroni was the perfect partner to the Muffuletta. Crisp and light, the Peroni cuts the zest from the olive salad clearing the palate for the next bite of the sandwich. Central Grocery is at heart an Italian grocer so you can find a great selection of imported beer, meats, cheeses, and other Italian favorites if you feel like taking home more than just a Muffuletta.

Next time you are in New Orleans stop by Central Grocery for a Muffuletta. While the Po’Boy gets all the press, this small piece of Italy in the heart of the French Quarter is well worth your time.