Give pizza chants!

I'm back from a trip the Red River Gorge in Kentucky.  The hiking and camping are wonderful, and the scenery is second to none.  Spectacular cliffs, caves, arches and picturesque streams make for a great weekend getaway.  As with most of my travels, the local cuisine is an important facet of the trip.  No visit to the RRG is complete without a stop at Miguel's Pizza at the Red.  Miguel's began as a climber's hangout; now it's a hippie paradise where you can camp in the yard for a few bucks, barter gear for granola, and eat some of the finest pizza I've ever had.  The ingredient list is a mile long, and can be had in any combination you want.  There are four sauces, a dozen meats, dozens of veggies, cheeses, pastas... and other stuff.  Without further ado, here are two pies, made to order.

My pie.  Pepperoni, banana peppers, feta cheese, and pineapple.  Delicious. 

Her pie. Chicken, BBQ sauce, onions, jalapenos,  and avacado.  Also delicious, but spicy!

Here's some random pics of the trip, just to prove I didn't drive two hours for pizza... though I would.

My RRG map has seen better days...

Jetboil, making coffee.  Buy one of these.  It's worth it's weight in gold.

My newest camp knife, the ESEE-3.  It's small, but very capable.

The trail.  This is why I hike.  For some, no explanation is required.  For others, no explanation will do.

We would hike down and make camp on the valley floor knowing the morning hike back up would be grueling in the 90° heat.  Thankfully Miguel's pizza awaited us.  

Real men DO eat quiche.

Note the elegance of the paper plate.

Quiche is one of those dishes that everyone loves, but few people seem to make. I think it's the commitment to eating the whole thing once it's made.  Most folks want a piece, not a six day mission.  The truth is, quiche is very versatile.  It can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or as a snack in between.  The dish offers you lots of options as well.  Eggs act as a great backdrop to a variety of flavors from meats, vegetables and spices.  Today I've made a pair of simple spinach and feta cheese quiche, only because I didn't have any appropriate breakfast meat.  Some crumbled bacon would have hit the spot...


The basic recipe is simple.  You can make your own pie crust, and it will taste better, but for simplicity I bought frozen crusts.  Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Dock and blind bake the crusts for 7-8 minutes or until they turn a light golden brown.  If you don't bake the crusts beforehand, they will be soft and doughy.  Bad news.  


For filling two standard crusts, I used:

• six whole Xl eggs, or eight large eggs
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (I like Bulgarian, for it's salt content)
• some shredded colby-jack for the top

Beat the eggs and cream until combined and lightly frothy.  In another bowl, toss the spinach and feta to combine and season with fresh ground pepper.  Turn the oven down to 350°F and spread the spinach mixture evenly into the crusts.  Pour the egg mixture over the top and shake/poke/prod to assure all the spinach is submerged.  Sprinkle the tops with shredded cheese.  Bake until the center doesn't jiggle, about 30 minutes, longer for deep dish crusts.  Allow to cool and set for at least 20 minutes.  Serve warm with some balsamic glaze.  The rest can be covered with plastic wrap and will last for a week or so in the fridge.  It's a great way to start the day with a fast but delicious breakfast, or something to savor at a late Sunday brunch.

Stay tuned for some amazing Mexican food, thoughts on spring, and plenty of video from the range, brought to you by the iPhone and lots of ammunition!

Grilled for details

This dinner was great.  Flowers and wine help mark a special occasions, but I find that food has more influence on memory than those things (that I also bought.)  Grilled beef flank steak with asparagus and garlic cheese toast, paired with my new favorite  Pinot noir, an Oregon wine from Cloudline Cellars.  My favorite meat, prepared in the method that best highlights it's flavor and texture.  The beef was marinated in a Kalbi sauce, which has it's roots in Korean cuisine.  It's sweet and tangy, without overwhelming the natural flavor of the beef.

A note on cutlery; I hate these steak knives.  The front portion is serrated and all it does is grab and hold meat fibers.  I'm on the lookout for plain edged replacement knives that are sharp.  Expect a review when I find what I'm looking for.

Pizza. Finally.

A truly random act of dinner.  We we're having people over later and pizza is always a crowd pleaser.  Today you finally get my crust recipe. Often promised, never delivered, frequently made, never documented.  Until now.  The master recipe is pretty basic but like all breads, you have a good bit of latitude with what you put in it.  I usually add dried herbs to my crust and today it was basil and oregano.  I also rolled out one of the crusts in whole wheat flour to add some crunch and body.  Anyway, here's the basic idea.


1 cup warm water

2T honey

2 ½t active dry yeast

¼ cup olive oil

3 cups bread flour
2t salt

Dissolve the honey in the water and warm to 105°F in the microwave.  Pour the water into the warmed mixing bowl of your mixer and add the yeast.  Gently mix to coat most of the grains.

Using the dough hook, slowly stir the water/yeast mixture.  Add a cup of the flour and mix to create a slurry.  Add the olive oil.  If you were adding herbs, now is the time.  Slowly add the rest of the flour and the salt until you've created a dough ball that wipes the bowl clean.  Knead for at least 5 minutes longer, a bit more for AP flour.  Remove the dough and form into a smooth ball.  Coat the ball with a little oil and place it in a covered bowl in a warm, draft free place to rise, about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Pre-heat your oven and stone to 500°F for at least 20 minutes before baking.  Pizza is best cooked in a hot oven.  It's crispier, not to mention done faster. Pizza cooked at low temps will over-rise, dry out, and be doughy inside.

I showed my basic crust rolling method in another post down the page a bit. Roll out the dough on a floured surface and toss/spin/stretch to create a crust.  Thinner=bigger.  Let the crust rest for 5 minutes before topping.  Give it a final stretch and transfer to your peel.  Some cornmeal on the peel will prevent sticking.

Sauce and top your pizza.  I sauce, then a light layer of cheese, then toppings, then more cheese.  Today it was chicken italian sausage and bell peppers on one, and pepperoni, peppers, and green olives on the one pictured.

Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake until the crust looks done, and the cheese just begins to brown.  It should take just 10 minutes or so in a good hot oven.  When it's done, slide it out with your peel and onto a cutting board.  Resist the temptation to cut on the peel.  It's too soft for that abuse and the inevitable gouges from the pizza cutter will make sliding pizzas around more challenging. Not good.

Let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting, and a few minutes after.  You can burn your mouth on delivery pizza, and that's been out of the oven for at least fifteen minutes... Think about that.

Alright.  After all that, I need a few slices.  Big pies mean leftovers, if you're lucky!

Under Construction

Hi there.  I've been away, out there doing what people do... work, play, cooking, eating and the rest.  I'm happy to see my blog still gets traffic, even with no newish content.  I will remedy that with some slight changes I have in the works.  The in depth posts with recipes will remain, joined by a few different versions of "drive-by" content.  Among the new segments is a little something I like to call Random Acts of Dinner: A plate of food with a short backstory.

I aim to post on a weekly basis, the same way network TV reels people in.  

Never be too proud to copy a good idea.  

I'll leave you with the first Random Act of Dinner, played tonight by a gorgeous skillet of chicken and country vegetables.  The biscuits are just out of the frame. Delicious.

faux dough to go.

I've mentioned my pizza crust recipe a few times now; when looking at pizza on the road, and my pretzel recipe as an extension. I promised the day would come when I would share my crust with you.  Today is not that day.  Instead this post was triggered by some recent  conversations I've had with people who would love to try their hand at yeast doughs, but are apprehensive about all the work.  This handy shortcut is for you.

Head on down to the freezer case at your local supermarket.  Look around a bit until you find the breads, and you'll find bags of little frozen dinner rolls.  Be sure to buy dough balls and not pre-baked "brown-n-serve" rolls.  I've only seen this dough in white, or original.  I'm on the lookout for a whole wheat version of the same product; until then I roll the white dough out in wheat flour to add some flavor and some body to the finished goods.

This pan make superb brownies.

Once thawed, you'll find this dough is versatile. Today we're going to make pizza, but you could just as easily roll out pretzels, make danish, fried elephant ears, etc.  Start by taking a few balls of dough from the freezer; I used eight to make a medium pizza.  Put them in a covered nonstick container to thaw and rise.  I put mine in an 8"x8" silicone pan, cover, and walk away for two hours or so.  When the dough is soft and slightly enlarged, push all the dough balls together trying to avoid creating trapped air.  Kneed lightly long enough to create one ball from many, then roll out a pizza crust thinned to your liking.

I bake on a stone that requires a good pre-heat to do its job.  Before I start to mess with the dough, I turn my oven on to 500°F and let it come up to temperature.  Once it beeps, I'll let the stone soak in the heat for at least ten minutes before I bake.  If you're oven/stone isn't hot enough, your crust won't get crispy on the bottom.

The ever-popular process shot.

Give your crust a final stretch on the peel and add a dollop of sauce.  Spread the sauce evenly, leaving as much crust as you please.  I top with a layer of cheese, pepperoni, and some more cheese.  The crust gets brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with my blend of herbs and spices.  When that's all done, slide your pie off the peel and onto the stone.  

Bake until it's done. Wait. Slice. Eat.

Range days

The weather has improved here in Cincinnati, and I'd like to thank Punxsutawney Phil for promising an early spring.  The nice weather allowed for a pleasant trip to the range to familiarize ourselves with some newer guns, and reacquaint ourselves with some old favorites.  Safety is paramount, so all basic precautions were taken. The Four Rules were followed.  We run a "hot range", meaning all firearms are presumed to be loaded at al times.  This promotes a safer environment than a so-called "cold range" where all guns are unloaded until brought to bear on the firing line.  Supposedly unloaded guns injure lots of folks, so none of mine are unloaded.  Here's a look at our day in pictures and video.  

The author, with my AR carbine.

Pretzel logic.

Massive pretzels from the other day.  That wire rack is 9'x12"

I mentioned pretzel sandwiches the other day, and boy were they delicious.  It's worth mentioning that I made an ingredient change that makes a huge difference in my opinion.  I've replaced the brown sugar from my original recipe with a malted barley syrup.  

The syrup provides food for the yeast as well as an unmistakable flavor, and makes for a nice earth-tone dough.  A few other tweaks worth noting: I've tried bread flour, AP flour, and whole wheat flour.  The bread flour makes the dough too hard to work, with no benefits.  Similarly, whole wheat flour alone makes dough harder to work than steel cable thanks to massive amounts of gluten.  The best solution I've found is to use AP flour with a small portion of wheat for flavor, color, and texture. Here's the updated recipe. (The procedure is unchanged)


1 cup warm water (plus some more to bring your dough together.)
1/3 cup malted barley syrup (ish.  hard to measure because it's thick and sticky)

2 ½t active dry yeast

1 stick melted butter

4 1/2 cups AP flour
2t salt

1/2 cup wheat flour

COARSE kosher salt for the tops (far better than even regular kosher salt)

The recipe volume has been increased for a few reasons. First, my Kitchenaid mixer does a better job kneading a slightly bigger dough ball. Secondly, I can make bigger pretzels and more of them. After all, it's just as easy to make more if you're already making some.  Who doesn't like that?  If you're in the fence about trying pretzel making, you really should give it a shot.  It's not hard, you just need to roll up your sleeves and set aside an hour or two.  It's totally worth it.

Spring update

There's a lot going on around here lately, which has had an effect on my blog publishing schedule.  Sorry for that.  Huge thanks to all my regular readers, and to those that wander by for a glimpse.  The next weeks will bring yardwork, range time, plenty of cooking, and other business as 2011 rolls along...


In upcoming posts, I'll have a range report with pics and video, some thoughts on sisters, my master pizza crust recipe, and my "doorway" analogy.  I also intend to deliver on some promises from past posts, including more on pocketknives.


Stick around for more!  I'll leave you with a stock photo of tonight's dinner, pretzel sandwiches.  I have dough rising as we speak, so it's time to get rolling!

Chocolate Part II

This is an ode to my favorite candybars.  You already know from Chocolate Part 1 that I greatly prefer European chocolate to Big American chocolate.  I've got only one use for a Hershey bar, and it's for making smores.  A Hershey bar won't melt and make a mess, and that's it.  The playing field gets much more crowded when you start to add things to the candybar, often relegating the actual chocolate to a background singer.  So here are some favorites, in no particular order.

Set your sights

After a bit of a break, I'm back to finish up Shooting 101.  We have two items left to cover and today I have some thoughts on Sight Picture.  As I said in The Four Rules, it's rather easy to miss targets even at close range if you don't align the sights properly.  In addition to proper sight alignment, there are a few things you need to know about sight focus.


In the context of handguns, most sight systems consist of a square post front and a corresponding square notch in the rear.  You'll hear them referred to as "iron" sights or "open" sights, meaning a non optical (no lenses, etc.) system.  The shape and width of iron sights vary depending on manufacturer and purpose, with competition target sights being thinner than sights for fast, defensive use.  Regardless, the proper sight picture is achieved when the front sight is centered in the rear notch, and the top of the front sight post is even with the top of the rear sight.  How this sight alignment is superimposed on the target is actually more complicated that you might think.

The Great Circle Route

It's that time of year; just after the holidays when we take the opportunity to return to old stomping grounds. I was born and raised in Michigan, and it's trips like these that make me miss it. Michigan is truly a winter wonderland for those with the proper mindset, determination, and extra gloves. The circle tour took us from Cincinnati to Traverse City to Muskegon and back, with two obligatory stops in Kalamazoo for the greatest mexican food I've ever had. Here is a quick look at the adventure, in pictures.

It's time to beat feet.

Today's subject is shooting stance. There are a few accepted methods to be discussed, but before we get there it's important to note that our focus thus far has been on defensive handgunning. The wise say no one rises to the occasion, rather we all sink to our level of training. What you practice at the range will probably go out the window if you ever find yourself in a situation that you might have to shoot your way out of. Technique will be the last thing on your mind, which is why we practice skills to the point that we don't think about what we're doing. We just do it. So let's do it.

Get a Grip.

Welcome to shooting 101. We're going to talk about the basics of handgunning and there's a few points to cover: stance, grip, sight picture, and trigger control. Today's post is about proper grip. Like golf, bowling and a host of other sports, grip is important.  There's no substitute for hands-on experience, so I won't bore you with expansive descriptions of other's methods. Instead we'll look at some pictures and video and use these as a basis for practice.

The Four Rules.

I've got more gun stuff coming up soon, and it's going to be good and simple. Like any other Martial Art, shooting as a discipline requires technique and practice, which become skill through repetition. My thoughts on technique begin where they should, the basics. Before we get into any of that, let's talk about the rules.

1. All guns are always loaded. Even if they are not, treat them as if they are.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy. (Don't point it at anything you don't want to shoot.)
3. Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for most negligent discharges.
4. Identify your target, and what is behind it. Never shoot at anything that you have not positively identified.

People may paraphrase the words, but not the concepts. Some of the rules are easier to follow than others. Conditioning yourself to keep your finger off the trigger seems to be difficult for most people, probably because it instinctively rests there. It's far easier to remember to identify your target, while at the same time it seems easy for people to forget about their backstop. TV has long handicapped people by bathing us in false, unrealistic and often dangerous notions about firearms. Speaking directly to backstop; Hollywood suggests that good guys never miss, and bullets penetrate but never exit. The truth is quite different. It's easy to miss the target, even up close, if you don't align the sights correctly. With regards to penetration, I've seen rifle bullets easily penetrate all the way through 14” trees that targets had been tacked to. Seeing splinters where bullets have forcefully exited an otherwise solid mass is enough to give pause. 

Whether shooting at meat or paper, you're responsible for every bullet you fire, no exceptions.

In short, be safe, respect your tools, and stay tuned for shooting 101.

This curd go either whey.

Have you ever made your own cheese?


Neither have I.     Why would we? 


Cheese is available in countless varieties at the nearest grocery store... Though not every cheese is in the dairy case, as I recently found out. It started with some great Indian take-out that came home the other day. It was a vegiterian dish called paneer saag, made of curry spinach in cream with chunks of fried cheese. It was delicious, and prompted me to attempt it in my humble kitchen. I was going to make saag with chicken but decided at the last minute that paneer was easy enough after a friend lent me an Indian cookbook.

Fiesta Friday!

An inside joke becomes a weekly event

Ah, Fiesta Friday.  It's a weekly holiday around here.  You see, I love Mexican food.  It's easily my favorite foreign cuisine, if you can call it foreign.  If you consider how much of the Southwestern US used to be Mexico, or how much of the current US is de-facto Mexican territory it kind of blurs the lines a bit...  We'll leave politics aside for now.  Mention of the border war, with it's associated quagmire of talking points leaves a bad taste in my mouth.


This week's Fiesta Friday was a real treat.  The event was hosted by another couple so I had minimal work to do in the kitchen.  We were served a huge plate of ground turkey nachos to start, and they were wonderful.  The main course was a great looking casserole dish filled with chicken enchiladas.  Shredded chicken, corn, tomatoes and spices rolled in flour tortillas covered with sauce and cheese.  Along the way there were dishes of guacamole, salsa, queso dip, and mounds of chips.  Everything was delicious, but I was blown away by the our host's first attempt at traditional flan.  

Between the homemade caramel, the delicate egg custard, and the hint of kahlua, I was speechless.  In truth, I was speechless because I devoured the rest of the flan with a fork after I made quick work of the two portions I was actually served.  My apologies to anyone that wanted more; I was a force to be reckoned with.  I'm not sure how I managed to eat so much of everything... perhaps the bottles of Dos Equis amber lager I downed along the way provided the necessary lubrication.


My thanks again to our hosts!  You set the bar high, and I'll have to step it up when next we meet.  That brings me to today's recipe, one of my favorite dishes from my favorite cuisine. There's a small but well known Mexican restaurant in Kalamazoo called The Big Burrito and they offer two types of tacos.  The first taco is familiar to most; meat, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream...  The second is more traditional and not on the main menu.  (Delicious) research tells me that they are usually referred to Tacos de Carne Asada, but The BigB calls them Tacos Mexicanos. Out of respect I refer to my version as Tacos Mexicanos as well.  Here they are:

(stock photo. not my tacos, but close.  you get the idea)

1 lb flat iron steak (you need a marbled cut of steak, more on that later)
1 large yellow onion
3 limes
1 bunch cilantro
bundle of small corn tortillas


Chop the steak and onions into small chunks of similar size.  Toss'em into a large zip-top bag with the juice of one lime, 2t ground cumin, a heavy pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper, and 1T oil.  Seal well and knead the bag to thoroughly mix the contents.  Leave the bag on the counter to come to room temp; about an hour.  Chop the cilantro, slice the limes into wedges and set both aside.  Place a stack of tortillas between two plates or in your fancy tortilla warmer and heat to soften.  The microwave or a 200°F oven will do.

Now comes the HOT smoky part.  At The Big Burito, they have a big hot griddle (with a hood) for cooking.  HOT is key, because you want to sear the meat.  If you don't have enough heat, you get cooked food with no delicious brown crust.  My solution to this problem clearly isn't provided by the electric cooktop.  We need HEAT, get it?  The only solution is also the simplest one, a large cast iron skillet on the bbq grill.  All the smoke stays outside, and delicious food cooks fast.  Pre-heat the skillet on the grill until it a squirt of oil smokes in the pan.  Add the contents of the bag and watch for flare-ups.  Brown the goods and kill the heat.  Bring the pan back inside and start an assembly line.


Serve a scoop of meat and onions on doubled up tortillas. Top with cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime.  There's nothing like it.  The next time I cook them, I promise a "boots on the ground" report with pics.  Good thing it's less than a week away!

Mmm, tastes like chicken...

I promised poultry, so let's establish the pecking order. First, we'll talk about roasting a whole bird, then we'll make indian food with chicken parts you might be more comfortable buying, and finally a great recipe for turkey burgers. I'll warn you now; it's hard to argue with the cost and flavor of one of those rotisserie chickens you can buy from your local supermarket for around five bucks. I won't try to dissuade you from a fast meal of someone else's labor if you so choose. Nanny's can raise good kids too, but where's the satisfaction in that?

Disclaimer aside, lets get to it. I love roast chicken. The presentation is pleasing, and the smell that graces your kitchen would be nearly worth it alone. As leftovers, nothing makes better soup. With regards to sandwiches your chicken has a far more honest quality about it than packaged, processed cold-cuts from whichever plant keeps their Salmonella counts down long enough to ship product. This isn't meant to be the definitive procedure on chicken roasting; more my collection of finer points and variations from the sheer tonnage of information available in cookbooks and on the web. Here are some things I do that many others don't:

Blade: Trinity

Don’t worry, there will be no mention of tax-evading action stars or heart-throb vampires, though our subject has drawn it's share of blood. We will be talking about the world of cutlery, one of Man's oldest tools. I use edged tools in many aspects of life, and i've broken them down into three distinct arenas: Cooking, Camping, and Every Day Carry. (EDC) We'll explore all of these topics in good time, as well as steel types, designs, functions and more. Today's focus is on camping tools, specifically the hatchet.

Chocolate: Part one of many. Seriously. It's chocolate.

I've always had a sweet tooth. When I was a kid, candy was an important source of energy. Getting my hands on it was initially a bit tough; between my lack of funds and the fact that candy retailers lay on the far side of streets I wasn't permitted to cross, I had to rely on what mom brought into the house. Lucky for me, my mom has a thing for chocolate... 

Coconut: neither coco, nor nut. Discuss.

Oh, the raspberry zinger. One of my more colorful vices. Spongecake with crème filling, soaked in raspberry sauce, rolled in shaved coconut. I'm drawn to the coconut. They're better than their chocolate and vanilla siblings by a longshot. Not great for you, but like everything ok else in moderation. (brought to you by the high fructose corn syrup people) It's too bad the local bakery thrift store sells them at savage discounts. It's hard to avoid junk foods that aren't half as delicious.

So here's the thing about coconut. It has more appealing attributes than most things found in nature, and it goes right for the strong senses most tied to memory; smell and taste. As a foodstuff, it's delicious and nutritious. An Almond Joy candy bar? German chocolate cake? Coconut shrimp? Ok, maybe not the most nutritious examples but I've got a great recipe for that last one, knocked off from Blue Crustacean* that will make your palate dance. It's not just food though. Soap, lotion, shampoo, sunblock, air freshener? All better with a hint of coconut. Coconut rum? sí, por favor. Hell, I was bummed to be informed after-the-fact that my dentist could have offered me Piña colada numbing gel instead of that dreadful cherry. Speaking of coconuts, they're not really nuts. They're actually Drupes. Think fleshy fruits with a stone, like peaches, mangoes, cherries and plumbs... not that it matters when you're devouring a zinger, standing in the garage, so you can honestly say you didn't bring junk food into the house...

Sure, coconut may have more saturated fat than you should cross paths with on your average day, but mere fat pales in comparison to the dangers of coconut when in cahoots with Gravity. Falling coconuts kill 150 people every year; 10 times the number of people killed by sharks.**

*Named changed to protect those serving overpriced food with an attitude.

**Totally baseless internet statistic. Sharks want to eat you, coconuts predictably fall toward the center of the Earth. Get out of the way.