2011 - Week 50 Cooking Results
Lamb Sausage Pizza
A little lamb sausage from the good people at Hedgeapple Farm (I used some earlier in the week with the omelet) and the rest of the roasted red peppers. This time around I used a fixed amount of tomato paste to thicken up the sauce. And I really think that this is an issue with the whole peeled tomatoes that I am using. While I prefer to use Muir Glen, that gets a bit expensive over time. So I ended up using a much cheaper version. These clearly have more liquid in the tomato. So to address this, I started puncturing each tomato and squeezing out more of the water from them, so I end up with less liquid. And this gets me most of the way there. However even with that, you still end up with a little to much water. So if you look at the bottom left corner of the pizza, you can see where it has leaked off the side and this usually gets under the pizza and that segment (which can spread wide, as steam does) and you are left with this soggy segment of bottom crust.
Ideally, I like the crust with a crisp outer part and then a nice chew to it. Having the soggy bottom really can ruin the ideal experience. So, you try to counter act this by making sure the pizza has some what of a raised crust edge. But even with that, you can never be quite sure how much the dough will rise or fall in the oven or if something will be squeezed creating a crevice to allow for a leak. When I think about this, it makes me interested in doing a video to watch it. Though I certainly don't have the setup to do so.
This time around I added 3 tablespoons of tomato paste to the base sauce recipe that I've been using, and it provides almost enough. This could just be a matter of squeezing a bit more liquid out of the sauce. I don't want to cook it down, because at the level that it is a no cook sauce which makes for less dishes. So this makes a good baseline, it's not too thick, but still has good taste.
The combination of the lamb sausage and roasted red peppers is a good one, though I don't know how much the red peppers added to it, but it does beak up the coloring and gives people the impression that vegetables are actually used in the house. I'm curious as to what spices they used in the lamb.
Mini burgers with Wickle Pickle relish
Clearly much simpler, then last week because I didn't have to run around and make the relish. They also had quite a bit more heat to them, which I like, though my body doesn't like this as much as the rest of me does. I perhaps added a bit to much relish, because the burgers themselves became a little broken, but it could've also been the semi-crowded pan and the spatula I was using. These did turn out well taste wise, though I think I've done similar versions with turkey.
Garlicky Potato Soup with Parmesan Toasts (RC Cook's Country December 2011 / January 2012)
This was simple, and a good way to get rid of the last of the potatoes. Good taste, quick to make and gives me a though on how to do something else. So the recipe calls for steaming the potato, which gets them mostly cooked, and my thought here, is at that point you can take the mostly-done potatoes and then cover then with salt, pepper, and well, butter and then fry them in a pan to make a breakfast style potato dish. I also served these with some chocolate caramel tarts from La Mie (delicious).
Fluffy Dinner-Style Omelet (p30 Cook's Country December 2011 / January 2012) with Lamb Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper
Another method for making omelets. Another Style, more lift more process. But it turned out pretty well. I did make this perhaps a bit more done then it should've been (cutting board wasn't ready). But I did like the combination of lamb sausage, roasted red pepper and chevre.
Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloin (RC Cook's Country December 2011 / January 2012)
The glaze came together very well, and I think tasted very good. It was a nice simple meal and certainly a chance bring pork back to the table. A good plate of food.
