Pizza Monkey Bread

I adapted this recipe to make this meal.  All who ate it loved it!  A few things to note for the next time I make this recipe (and I will):

1. Make the dough pieces smaller
2. Use more sauce

I also plan to try out other versions including Mexican Monkey Bread and Middle Eastern Monkey Bread. I'll report back once those are done.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough

New York Style Pizza Sauce

Grated Mozzarella Cheese
Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the pizza dough into 1/2 inch squares.  You'll see the picture below mine are too big.  I will change that next time!

Grease a Bundt or angel food cake pan well.  Dip each dough piece into the pizza sauce and then place into the pan.  You may want to add a little more sauce to the pan after putting in the first layer if the sauce does not stick to your dough very well.  Now add a layer of cheeses. Repeat until you have no more dough.  

Place in oven and cook for about 50 minutes, until it doubles in volume.  Remove from oven and then remove from the pan immediately. I added some cheese to the top of the bread so it would look the monkey bread had been glazed.  Enjoy!

New York Style Pizza Sauce (Adapted from Serious Eats)

I adapted the recipe below from the Serious Eats New York Style Pizza Sauce recipe.

Ingredients:

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half

1 teaspoon sugar*

Instructions:

Blend tomatoes in a blender until slightly chunky.  Set aside.

Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion halves, and sugar*. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


* I did not need the sugar in my sauce as the tomatoes were not that acidic but some tomatoes may need it.

Pizza Dough - from Ratio by Michael Ruhlman

I have found that the Ratio cookbook's recipe is the best for me.  It requires a scale to make it as that is the whole point of the cookbook.  I would like to make it more multigrain but that will be a future project.

Ingredients:

20 ounces bread flour

12 ounces water

1 ounce olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon active or instant yeast

Instructions:

Set your mixing bowl on a scale, zero the scale and pour the flour in.  Zero the scale again and add the water.  Zero the scale again and add the oil.  Add the salt.  Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the water to allow it to dissolve. Fit the bowl into the mixer and, using the dough hook, mix on medium speed until the dough comes together.  Continue mixing until your dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  To test your dough, pull off a chunk and stretch it into a square.  If it's elastic enough to sallow you to achieve a translucent sheet of dough, it's ready.  If it tears before you can do this, continue mixing, either in the mixer or by hand, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Remove the mixing bowl from the machine, cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise to twice its size.  Push a finger into the dough.  The dough should give some resistance, but not spring back.  If it springs back, let it rest longer.  If you let your dough rise for too long, it will feel flabby and loose when you press a finger into it and will be less eager to rise when you bake it.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it to expel excess gas and redistribute the yeast.  Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.  Shape the dough into a square for cutting into small pieces (see below for more information).  Cover the dough with a dish towel and allow to rise, or proof, for about an hour.  Or cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a day; allow the bread to rise at room temperature for at least 1 1/2 hours before baking.

Carnitas

I made these for the first time today as topping for taco salad. Yummy and easy!
From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
2-2.5 lbs boneless pork shoulder
1 T. cumin
2 bay leaves
4-5 peeled and slightly crushed garlic cloves
1 onion, quartered
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a Dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat such that there is a small bubble. Cover and cook for about an hour. Remove the meat, onions and garlic with a slotted spoon. Cook the liquid down. Add the meat back to the pan and fry the meat so that you get some nice browned edges. Use in tacos, taco salad or as a main dish by itself.

Tofu-Carrot Pot Stickers

Using ideas from several pot sticker recipes, I made up this recipe using items from my refrigerator.  They were yummy.  Be sure to make the dipping sauce too!  Note that you can freeze these before cooking them.  Then, cook them just as described below although the cooking times will be longer.

Ingredients:
14 oz firm tofu, cut into small cubes
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1/4 onion, peeled and grated
1 T. toasted sesame oil
1 T. soy sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
gyoza wrappers or egg roll wrappers cut into quarters

Directions:
Mix the first six ingredients in a bowl with a potato masher.  Put a small amount of filling in the middle of each wrapper.  Using your finger, wet the outer edge of the wrapper and then fold over to make a triangle.  To cook, place a pan over medium-high heat.  Add about a tablespoon of oil.  When the oil is heated, add the pot stickers to the pan and cover for about 5 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of water, turn to medium heat and cover for 2 minutes.  Uncover and turn to high heat until all water has been evaporated.  Enjoy with the dipping sauce below.

Dipping Sauce:
Mix together soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and vinegar to taste.

Stove Top Mac and Cheese

I've made this entree so many times and have never used a recipe but I thought I'd write it down for posterity :)  My mom taught me how to make a roux for gravy when I was younger.  And, in the end, a roux can be used for many different types of sauces including cheese sauce.  If you want baked mac and cheese, all you need to do with this recipe is put it into an oven safe pan and sprinkle with your favorite toppings - bread crumbs, more cheese, etc.  You could also add other flavorings to the stove top version like bacon, red peppers, onion, garlic, the list goes on.

Unfortunately, I do not know exact measurements for this recipe as I just make it by adding the ingredients, watching how it goes together and then tasting it.

Ingredients:
Cooked pasta
Milk
Butter
All purpose flour
Grated cheese
Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of flour.  Allow the flour to cook a few minutes in the butter.  Continue to whisk to ensure that the flour does not burn.  Add 1 cup of warmed milk to start.  Continue to whisk to keep the sauce from becoming lumpy.  If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add more milk.  The cheese will make the sauce thicker so make it a little thinner than you might think it should be.  Add the cheese and Worcestershire sauce to taste.  Once the sauce is to you liking, add to the cooked pasta.  Voila - you have stove top mac and cheese.