GWM Brats and other things around it

We had beer and cheddar and another kind that I can't remember what it was, and it was good like you would expect it to be.  We watched several things over the night (some parts were of the big game, Shannon wanted to watch the half time show and the commercials).  We mostly watched other things, then fast forwarded through the game.  Anyways, the food was good, though we ate entirely too much junk food.

Thin Crust Pizza (p8 January/February 2011 Cook's Illustrated) (I have to try this again, though I'm going to alter how I actually cook it) (Friday or Saturday)

I was extremely happy with how this came out.  After basically destroying a pizza stone, this made me feel better about myself.  We got a nice crisp crust that wasn't too thick or thin, and I was able to easy get it out of the oven in a baking sheet.  There were, however, a few mistakes I made.  I didn't drain the tomatoes for the tomato sauce.  I then adapted and quick put it in a pan to get it to reduce down to a more normal amount and be a bit thicker.  This was for the best, I allowed the Graziano sausage (cooked, about half a pound) to simmer in the sauce.  So to layer on top of the dough, I had pepperoni, parmesan, sauce (with the sausage in it), mozzarella, and more pepperoni.  This time I made sure that my cooking surface was sprayed well with cooking spray so the pizza could come off, and it worked otu pretty well.  I guess the last step of this would be to let the dough rest a bit when I stretch it out for the pan (used all the dough for the pan), so I can get it all the way to the corners, without feeling like I'm going to break it.  Also I would like to let it rise in the fridge longer.  after ~24 hours, it had such a nice flavor to it, it makes me wonder what it'll be like after 2 or 3 days.  I am pleased.

Double Pepperoni and Susage thin crust pizza.

Lamb and Sweet Onion Pitas with Orange-Cucumber Salad (p22 February/March 2011 Fine Cooking)

So here's my question.  Ground lamb produces a glorious tasting fat.  Why in the holy hell would you not sauté the onions in the lamb fat?  I mean seriously.  As I skimmed down the recipe I looked for why and really couldn't find any reason.  Maybe drain off some of the fat, sure, but to not use the fat is a sin against the lamb.  Someone that doesn't like the taste of lamb will probably not be making this anyways, so it doesn't make a ton of sense to me to not go all out on the lamb flavoring.  On the others die of that my oranges weren't that big, so segmenting them proved to be a bit difficult, but the salad then turned out pretty well.

Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Mustard-Dill Dipping Sauce (p23 February/March 2011 Fine Cooking)

So I went along, starting to make the stuff go to get the chicken to get it encrusted, only to realize that I had used the chicken breasts to make the vindaloo earlier in the week, so I quick ran out to Dahl's to get some more.  They turned out pretty well, Tasty, went well with the dipping sauce.  After eating it I knew I could smell the dill in the sauce but I really couldn't taste it that well.  And I pretty much used the entire baby dill and diced it up and put it in there.  But still pretty good.

Quick Chicken Vindaloo (p26 February/March 2011 Fine Cooking)

So I didn't realize that I wasn't using the right chicken (I used breasts instead of thighs) until another day.  It was nice and spicy, but not overly so, and turned out pretty well.  The kind of funny thing was the next day, I was having leftover Vindaloo in the break room, one of my co-workers heated up some Lamb Vindaloo (frozen meal).  Certainly not a super common occurrence, I suppose.

George's Crock Pot Barbacoa (posted on the GWM facebook feed) (Friday or Saturday)

This turned out really good.  It wasn't too much work, and it just simmered in the crock pot all day.  It turned from this:

Barbacoa (uncooked)

To this:

Barbacoa (cooked)

The only modification that I really made was to add 3 tablespoons of chili powder (from AllSpice).  For a vegetarian option, or additional topping, I made a nice mixture:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced

Warm oil on medium heat (I used a 10" stright sided pan), add onion Cook for 2 to 3 minutes add some spices:

• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 3/4th teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme

Cook another 3-5 minutes on medium until onion is mostly soft.  At this point I should've added a clove of garlic, but forgot.

• 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 14.5 oz can pinto beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 14.5 oz can black beans, drained, rinsed

Add tomatoes an scrape up any brown bits off the bottom.  Stir in until mixed, then added the beans ans mix them up.  Add a bit of liquid to make it easier to simmer and simmer uncovered until they are done (I did mine for around an hour or so).  And you get this:

Almost chili, but not really.and then you put together all the condiments

shredded cheese, sour cream, diced red peppers, diced onion, limes, cilantro, guacamole, tortilla shells, and mixed greensAnd you have a great dinner.  I was very happy with how this turned out, and I have to admit this was the first time I had broken out the crock pot in quite a long time.  I served dinner with The Velvet Devil Merlot.  Afterwards we watched Zombieland.  I had several white Russians (used Cedar Ridge's clear heart vodka) and Holly had a rum (cedar ridge) and Pepsi (throwback).