MetropoChris » Entrees

Wordy Thirty Dinner Party

Chris Perez — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:32:47 +0000

Christy turned 30 last month and we held a novel-themed “Wordy Thirty” party.

We brainstormed for quite a bit to come up with the menu and decorations shown in today’s post on TheKitchn.

I put links to the recipes we used in the post, which you can also find on my site here in the entrees, desserts, and drinks sections. Those darn Turkish delights took for-eeeever but they came out amazing. My personal favorite was the yummy Plum cake though, which is something I think we’ll be making again and again. Mmmm….cake.

Pizza Napoletana – Inspired by Eat, Pray, Love

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:00:21 +0000

“So Sofie and I have come to Pizzeria da Michele, and these pies we have just ordered–one for each of us–are making us lose our minds. I love my pizza so much, in fact that I have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me, in return….Holy of holies! Thin, doughy, strong, gummy, yummy, chewy, salty pizza paradise. On top, there is a sweet tomato sauce that foams up all bubbly and creamy when it melts the fresh buffalo mozzarella, and the one sprig of basil in the middle of the whole deal somehow infuses the entire pizza with herbal radiance, much the same way one shimmering movie star in the middle of the party brings a contact of high glamour to everyone around her.”

For the dough we went with Peter Reinhart’s recipe. It can be found here on 101 Cookbooks. It’s a thorough, lengthy ready but worth it for the perfect, prized pizza dough this narrative deserves.

For the sauce, we went with Forno Bravo’s recipe because I desperately want one of their pizza ovens in my backyard. Here’s the form of the recipe we made for the Wordy Thirty event.

Smashed Tomato Sauce Ingredients:

1 can (28 oz) San Marzano tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons of fresh basil
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil – don’t forget to swirl excellent extra virgin olive oil on your pizza right before you put it in the oven

Directions:
Smash the canned tomatoes in saucepan or bowl with wooden spoon or potato masher.
Don’t use a food processor or hand mixer, as those will break the seeds and give your sauce a bitter flavor.
Combine smashed tomatoes and rest of the ingredients in a large saucepan at medium-high heat.
Stir together and bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.

Pizza Ingredients:

ball of fresh mozzarella
fresh basil sprigs

Directions:
Preheat a grill to as high as it can go with clay tiles sitting on the racks (our got to about 600 degrees).
Roll out the prepared dough, and then put onto the tiles on the grill (a pizza peel comes in handy here).
Let that sit for 3-5 minutes, checking it with tongs every now and then to get the crust the desired burnt crispiness.
Flip the pizza dough and then quickly add the sauce.
Twist off small bits of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle around the pizza.
Let cook for an additional 3-5 minutes before taking off grill.
Top with a sprig of basil – placed right in the center just like the book describes.
Bring the pizza table-side for all to enjoy.

Marmalade Sandwiches – Inspired by Paddington Bear

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:34 +0000

Paddington Bear loves marmalade and keeps a marmalade sandwich hidden under his hat in case of emergencies!

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a quote for Paddington the bear. But we all knew from our childhood memories his love of the marmalade sandwich.

For this recipe we simply cut the crust off sliced white bread and spread an orange marmalade across.
We then arranged them on a platter for all to enjoy.

If you have time, try making your own marmalade. This bitter orange variety posted on TheKitchn sounds marvelous.

Fried Green Tomatoes – Inspired by the book of same name

Chris Perez — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:08 +0000

“The food in the South is as important as food anywhere because it defines a person’s culture.”

For the Fried Green Tomatoes we use a recipe from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 C cornmeal
5 medium green tomatoes, in 1/4-3/8″ slices
1/2 vegetable oil or bacon fat
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 sprigs cilantro or chinese parsley (optional)

Directions:
Sprinkle cornmeal on a piece of wax paper or a large flat plate.
Dip each tomato slice into cornmeal and pat gently until cornmeal covers the surface;
turn slice over and coat the other side.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add tomato slices and fry in one layer, without crowding, for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot, garnished with sprigs of cilantro

Belgian Waffle Weekend Recipe

Chris Perez — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:36:18 +0000

There’s a new tradition I want to start at the Ceberry Household, and its called Belgian Waffle weekends.

Why?

Because we have a fancy Belgian Waffle Maker and after making this recipe, which is done the traditional way with yeast, you’ll want more waffle in your life too.

Here we go a-wafflin’…

Weekend Waffle Recipe (adapted from Mark Bittman)

½ tsp instant yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
Olive Oil for brushing on waffle iron

Grab a large mixing bowl and add all the dry ingredients. Then stir in the milk, butter, and vanilla. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature. When you unwrap the batter the next morning, you’ll be greeted to this puff-master delight. Yum!

Now separate the eggs. Stir the yolks in the batter and beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until you have soft peaks.

Gently fold the egg whites into the batter mixture until just combined.

Now preheat your waffle maker. We use a KitchenAid Pro Double Waffle Maker and it’s La Bomba.

I brush on some olive oil on the grates before pouring the batter, and set my waffle iron timer to about 4.5 minutes. Once the iron is ready, pour in enough batter to nearly just cover the top of the grates. Then flip and let your waffle iron go to work.

If all goes well, you should be greeted to a golden, crisp, disc of deliciousness.

Put him in a warm oven, while you make the rest of his friends and your Waffle Weekend is well underway.

Now throw on some fresh berries, and whipped cream (don’t mind if I do) and enjoy! Waking up the spouse and/or the kids to enjoy with you is optional.