Baking Double Crust Stuffed Pizza Pie

Posted on 19 September 2013 by christao408

Between clients and visiting guests, these have been busy days. Still, I manage to find some time to get into the kitchen and cook. This evening it was an attempt at double-crust stuffed pizza pie.

Unlike “deep dish” pizzas, which are single-crust pizzas with a very thick layer of toppings, a double crust stuffed pizza has the first layer of crust topped with all the normal pizza toppings minus the sauce, wrapped with a second layer of crust. The sauce, a bit drier and chunkier than normal, is put over the top crust and then the pie is baked. I first tried this style of pizza in the San Francisco Bay Area at Zachary’s and Little Star.

In addition to making my own crust, using Tipo 00 flour from Italy and some rosemary from my garden, I made my own sauce, cooked some spinach, and cooked some mushrooms, draining them so there wouldn’t be too much extra liquid.

After placing the bottom layer of dough in a cake tin, I added alternating layers of the ingredients: cheese, spinach, mushrooms, and pepperoni.

This video shows me adding the second crust, tucking it in, and adding the sauce. The only part of the pizza that was a problem was too much crust along the sides. In the future, I think I would cut the top dough to fit and just pinch the seams closed instead of having an overlap and folding the pieces together.

The end result was beautiful. The crusts were crisp, the interior ingredients were a cheesy mass, and the slightly spicy sauce cut through the richness of the fillings.

Sunday Brunch

Posted on 7 September 2013 by christao408

Last Sunday we had four couples over for brunch. It had been about two months since I last had guests over and was missing the sounds of a full house. Normally, because of our small dining table, we limit guests to four. However, you don’t get the opportunities to introduce groups of friends who have never met when you have so few guests, so I invited a larger crowd.

In a moment of OCD, I actually printed the menu and tied it above the kitchen counter so guests could see what they were serving themselves. (Buffet style service today.) To save your eyesight, here’s the menu:

“Make Your Own” Parfait Bar – Fresh tropical fruits, homemade almond maple granola, local whole milk yoghurt, and Northern Thai honey.
Crostini – Made from Maison Jean Philippe baguettes drizzled with annatto seed and garlic infused extra virgin olive oil, served with fromage blanc from Yogi.
Salad – Imported black quinoa and chickpeas mixed with bell peppers, rocket, capers, raisins, and toasted almonds, dressed with black sesame tahini, lemon juice, and honey.
Main – Baked organic eggs Mediterranean style with spinach, Kalmatta olives, onions, feta and mozzarella cheese, and green onions. Drizzled with annatto seed and garlic infused extra virgin olive oil.
Bread – Whole wheat, toasted oat, walnut, and date muffins served with Swedish whipped honey.
Dessert – Choice of American cherry tart or American blackberry tart, served with Disaronno infused whipped cream and nutmeg garnish.

Main counter with the parfait bar, crostini, muffins, and tarts from left to right.

Second counter with the quinoa and chickpea salad and baked egg dishes. I had originally bought aluminum tins (tacky, I know, but easy clean-up) but didn’t look at the package count so had to cave in and use ramekins anyhow.

The quinoa and chickpea salad. The market was out of regular tahini so I had to use an organic black sesame spread (think peanut butter made from sesame seeds) which required a lot of lemon juice to overcome the sweetness of the honey in the spread. The result was tasty, though, and very healthful.

The muffins, although a little stunted, were tasty. With mostly whole wheat flour and lots of toasted oats, they were fairly healthful. Plenty of chopped dates added minerals, nutrients, and fiber. Oh, and a little sprinkle of sugar on top? Well, who can resist?

One of the two tarts. One of my guests had not so subtly suggested I bake a cherry pie for dessert so I took him up on it. Decided to do a tart, though, so I could use puff pastry from the store. Unfortunately, while it looks impressive, the brand of pastry uses shortening instead of butter so I found it a bit tough. Looks nice, though!

The conversation was wonderful and some friends who had never met each other before finally had a chance to connect. Of course, some who did not know each other, knew of each other. It is a small world here, even smaller when you are in my condo!

Nut-Crusted Chicken Cutlets

Posted on 2 August 2013 by christao408

One of my little pleasures in life is watching America’s Test Kitchen. While goofy and geeky (perhaps that’s why I like it), the team behind the show delivers interesting and informative recipes that make it easy to improve your cooking. Recently, I tried recreating their recipe for nut-crusted chicken cutlets and was very happy with the results.

The recipe tackles the common pitfalls of nut-crusted chicken: flavorless chicken and bland, burnt, soggy, or oily crust. There are several tricks they suggest. One of the most interesting is to use panko (Japanese style breadcrumbs) which do a better job of remaining crisp. They also suggest browning the butter in a skillet and then toasting the nuts and breadcrumbs so they begin to caramelize before you ever bread the chicken cutlets.

They further suggest salting the chicken and letting it rest for about thirty minutes before preparing the dish. This creates a dry brine, sealing in the chicken’s moisture. Finally, instead of frying in oil, you bake the breaded cutlets on a wire rack set above a baking sheet. This allows hot air to circulate, cooking and crisping the chicken on all sides without adding any more oil to the dish.

The end result was fantastic – one of the first times I’ve had a breaded chicken cutlet that was actually moist and flavorful. The crust was crisp and buttery but not greasy or heavy. Definitely a good technique and one I will repeat!

The show is produced by the publishers of Cooks Illustrated magazine. They don’t accept advertising so all their evaluations of recipes, ingredients, and equipment are made based on quality alone. Their approach to recipes is to figure out how to achieve great results consistently, eliminating the pitfalls that plague some dishes.

The thing I like best about the show is that it is one of the few cooking shows on television that is actually about cooking. So much of what we see these days is about food and eating but not that much about the technique of preparing the food. It is a refreshing return to how cooking shows started out.

Cooking Khao Soi with Chow

Posted on 27 July 2013 by christao408

One of my favorite Thai dishes is khao soi, the curried noodles that hail from Northern Thailand. With a variety of textures and loads of rich broth, it makes a satisfying meal. Recently, my Bangkok Glutton friend Chow arranged for her aunt to share their family’s recipe for khao soi with us.

We returned to Chow’s kitchen to try our hand at recreating the recipe. While the results were good, it is safe to say that we are going to need a lot more practice before Chow’s aunt has anything to fear from our competition!

Khao soi is made with egg noodles. There are a variety of types, but if you have an Asian market in your city, any fresh egg noodles will do. The noodles are split into two batches: one that is blanched in boiling water and the other that is fried to make a crunchy garnish.

The fried noodles are easier to make than I expected, not requiring much oil at all. The resulting crispy noodles are addictive. Hard to not eat them before finishing the rest of the cooking!

The base of the khao soi is a yellow curry combined with a fried mixture of ginger and shallots. You can use any yellow curry paste available at your local Asian market. The better the quality paste, the better the flavor, of course.

Like many curries, coconut milk is added to create richness. You can use a “lite” coconut milk or add some broth to thin it out. For the meat, you can use any type of meat you like. Beef and chicken are more traditional but pork or firm tofu would be fine. The flavor of the curry might overwhelm shellfish, though.

Like all noodle dishes in Thailand, proper khao soi is served with a variety of condiments. Here, you have dried chili flakes, chopped green onions and coriander, fresh shallots, chili oil, minced pickled cabbage (rinse off some sauerkraut as an easy substitute), and fresh lime.

The end result looked fantastic and tasted good. Getting the proper balance of flavors – fish sauce and sugar need to be added to taste – is where the secret of a true khao soi master lies. Again, Chow’s aunt has nothing to worry about!

French Fries – Cold Oil Method

Posted on 29 October 2009 by christao408

There are certain cooking techniques with which I am not very familiar. Deep frying is one of them. Part of this is because all I have is a small condo kitchen. There is not a nice outdoor kitchen for “heavy duty” cooking, the type that imparts a lingering smell in your furniture, carpets and draperies. Lack of familiarity doesn’t quiet my curiosity, though. In fact, it heightens it.

That is why, when Cook’s Illustrated published a recipe for “Easier French Fries” using a cold oil method in the July/August 2009 issue, I was intrigued and eager to try it.

Conventional wisdom holds that to make good french fries you need to rinse the cut potatoes to remove excesses starch and then fry them twice, once at a lower temperature to cook the potatoes and a second, more brief dousing in the oil to form a crisp crust.

That is a lot of work. Frankly, I’ll just walk down to McDonald’s instead of going through that much work. As the author of the CI article explained it, they broke with conventional wisdom and achieved exceptional results along with a few added benefits.

Their first break with tradition was to abandon the Russet potato, which they found to be too dry and starchy for this single-fry method. They chose instead the Yukon Gold, which is waxier in texture. Our local markets don’t identify the different potato types by name but I picked up some that looked like Yukons. Squaring the sides, I cut them into batons about 3/8″ wide. No peeling beforehand and no rinsing after.

Next, place the potatoes in a Dutch oven or other heavy, deep pan along with the oil. Peanut oil was recommended but as that wasn’t readily available here, I used canola oil. I also added a few tablespoons of duck fat left over from a previous cooking project. A little duck fat or bacon fat will add more flavor to the fries. How do I know this? Because they add flavor to anything!

This cold oil method is attributed to a recipe from Jeffrey Steingarten, a food write whose approach to food (and life) and style of writing appeals to me. It was attributed to the method of Michelin-starred chef Joel Robuchon.

This is where the process really breaks all the rules. You put the pan on the stove top and turn the heat to high until the oil is boiling. During this time you do not stir the fries at all. After the boiling starts you continue to cook for about fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are limp but the exteriors are starting to firm up.

It is only at this point that you start to stir the fries, gently unsticking any that have caught on the bottom of the pan or each other. After the fries are golden and crisp you can pull them out and drain them on paper towels, paper bags, newspapers, or whatever else is handy.

The resulting fries were very tasty, if just a little overcooked. But who is going to complain when you have freshly made french fries sitting in front of you?

I mentioned that the author of this method discovered a few unexpected benefits. Not only does this cold oil method result in a lot less splatter and, subsequently, a lot less “fried food” smell inundating your house, it also results in fries that absorb a lot less fat. Based on some scientific analysis, the CI lab found that fries cooked by the cold oil method contained about one-third less fat than the conventional twice-fried method: 13% versus 20%. When I went to pour the oil back into the bottle, I was surprised to discover that it refilled the bottle nearly to the top. Only a few tablespoons had been lost in the entire process!

Now, I don’t know that I’ll be making french fries again anytime soon. But I’m glad I gave them a try.

Thailand Thanksgiving 2008

Posted on 30 November 2008 by christao408

Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was, by most measures, the most successful party we’ve hosted here in Thailand. The last minutes weren’t a frenzied rush to the table, clean-up wasn’t such a hassle, and the food was very good.

I started Friday about 6 pm and prepped until just after midnight, focusing mostly on the stuffing and getting dry ingredients measured out for Saturday’s baking. All about that in the previous entry.

Saturday I started about 8 am and worked through my list one item at a time. The morning was spent baking pecan pies and squash rolls. After making four dozen rolls I still had dough left over, so I played with it, making a braid, some mini rolls in a muffin tine, and a pretzel.

This time around, I tried brushing the rolls with a milk and egg wash. Ultimately, I think they are butter wish just some butter on top. Also, I think I overbaked them a little. They were not as light as the test batch I did earlier in the week. The pecan pies were gorgeous and not too sweet. I love the recipe.

Our guest list continued to fluctuate. Ultimately, of the original guest list, we lost four because of the airport closure, gained two because of some new friends that entered the group, and then lost three at the last minute because of various complications.

Trying to plan for an ever-changing number of guests is a pain. I ended up making a lot of extra food, which I realize is the case for Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure how much stuffing I really need.

Fearing that the 16-lbs turkey would not be sufficient (remember, it looked like we were going to be up to 20 guests at one point), I bought an additional turkey breast, dry brined it and roasted it Saturday morning.

Despite dry brining it only about 30 hours, it turned out very salty throughout. Not sure whether I used the wrong type of salt or more than I should have but, while not inedible, it left me drinking a lot of water.

For the sweet potatoes, I went with the toasted spice rub. They turned out well, again I had way too many prepared, but I think they were a little over-cooked and mushy.

Things that were very positive:

Setting up tables and chairs downstairs by the pool. The weather was perfect – about 80 degrees and a light breeze – and having a company provide all the dishes, etc. (and taking them away afterwards to be cleaned) made all the difference in the world. Having people outside the house kept the gathering from feeling crowded. Our house is really at its best with six guests, no more.

Having some friends come over early to help. Boon (in green, right) and Kobfa lent extra hands in the kitchen and as other guests arrived, Tawn wasn’t shy about getting their help with last minute arrangements.

Tawn’s aunt also came over to keep an eye on things and lend a hand. Since we were downstairs by the pool, we wanted to be able to keep the house open for people to get things and use the toilet. Having someone there ensured that possessions were safe and secure. Also, she helped washing dishes so we didn’t have as much of a mess to clean up at the end of the night.

Above, our poolside location. Below, table arrangement by Tawn.

Here’s the menu. Links go to the recipes.

Pear and Blue Cheese Salad

Traditional Roast Turkey with Gravy

Dry Brined Roasted Turkey Breast

Cornbread Chorizo Stuffing

Braintree Squash Rolls

Yams with Toasted Spice Rub

Italian-Style Cranberry Citrus Dressing

Southern-Style Creamed Peas

Fresh Green Beans with Bacon

Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Assorted Macarons

The pumpkin pie was made by Matt’s partner Si. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of either his pies or the pecan pies I made. They were tasty, though, so if you want his recipe I can track it down.

We had time for a group photo before we tucked in. Standing from left to right: Chairat, Francois, Doug, Matt, Markus, Suchai. Seated from left to right: Chris, Tawn, Boon, Kitty, Si, Tam, Kobfa. David arrived a bit later.

While guests started serving themselves, Markus assisted me with the turkey carving, a task made all the more difficult by a wobbly table and the wrong type of knife. I guess I should cave in and purchase a carving knife.

Below, Kitty and Doug confer, Matt spreads butter on his roll, and Si, Kobfa and Boon converse.

Below, the happy hosts with Kitty and Doug.

We started dinner about 4:30, which meant that even after a very leisurely meal and visit, we were wrapped up by 9:00. Even after cleaning up and driving Tawn’s aunt home, we were in bed by 11:00. Now that’s quite a feat on a party night!

T-day Trial Runs

Posted on 28 November 2008 by christao408

T-Day. For those of you in the United States, Thanksgiving has come and gone, nothing left except your promise to exercise a bit more this weekend and, of course, lots of leftover turkey.

Here in Thailand, though, we’re doing a delayed Thanksgiving since everyone has to work on the weekdays. Tawn and I expect about 16 guests over for dinner this evening. This number has changed a lot because of the airport seizures. Brian, Ken and Vic are all stuck outside the country. On the other hand, we have picked up one or two guests as visiting friends of invitees are stranded and cannot get home.

Throughout the week, I’ve been doing preparation work for Saturday’s dinner and testing out some new recipes, to decide what should make the final cut.

There is a recipe for roasted sweet potatoes with toasted spice rub that sounded interesting. On Tuesday, I made a big batch of the rub and tried it on some regular potatoes.

The rub is mostly coriander and fennel seed, with lots of chili powder, crushed chili pepper flakes, and a dash of cinnamon. The flavor was very nice although I think some cumin would add to it.

I also tried a recipe from my childhood: Baintree Squash Rolls. These yeast dinner rolls have roasted squash puree which adds a wonderful color and an addictive flavor. They are easy to make, especially in this warm country where yeast doughs rise without difficulty.

There really aren’t that many dishes from my childhood memory. While my mother cooked all the time, I don’t have a firm memory of that many of the dishes. West African Peanut Butter Soup is one. These squash rolls are another. Over Christmas I’ll have to talk with my sister and see what dishes she remembers. Maybe my memory just needs a poke and it will kick back in.

Our trial run dinner on Tuesday. This was just for me and Tawn and it tried out a cranberry sauce, the squash rolls, and the toasted spice rub on both regular potatoes and a pork steak.

The sauce, as you can see, was very watery. While making it, I kept thinking that there really was way too much liquid and I even ladled some out. It wasn’t until the following day, reviewing the recipe, that I realized it was watery because I had added only one package of cranberries instead of the three that was called for! The flavor was pretty good, although ratios were off because there weren’t enough cranberries.

My final midweek test was with pecan pies. Matt’s partner Si is baking fresh pumpkin pie for Saturday, which is just wonderful. I’m usually hesitant to let guests cook for my parties because most people just go to the store and buy something prepared. This, in my narrow definition of the word, isn’t “cooking”. But I have full faith that Matt and Si will show up with some wonderful desserts.

To provide some contrast and an alternative for anyone who doesn’t care for pumpkin (I didn’t as a child, but love it now), I started to think about pecan pie. I have two large bags of pecans from Costco that I trucked back from the US with me last visit. Need to use them up before the next visit so I can buy some more.

Pecan “tartlets” after being pried from the muffin tin.

Never having made a pecan pie before, I actually went out an purchased corn syrup, supporting the agricultural monoculture that is American farming. I thought that mini pecan tarts would be fun so I made three different sizes: small, medium and large, below. They tasted fine but the topping just bubbled over the small and medium tarts and made for a huge, sticky mess. It took a long time to get the pans scrubbed clean.

Test runs finished and my menu finalized, I started my preparations on Thursday. Cranberry sauce was first, a re-do that would this time more closely follow the instructions.

Villa Market now had fresh cranberries on its shelves, which had been missing over the past few weeks as I prepared my menu. Curious as to the difference between the two, I bought both fresh and frozen berries. The price (about US$7 for a 12 oz / 300 g container) was the same and I couldn’t tell any difference in taste, texture or quality.

The recipe starts with a simple syrup infused with vanilla, fresh squeezed orange juice is added along with the berries, salt and pepper. This is simmered until the berries start to pop then is taken off the heat. I don’t cook it for too long because I like my cranberry sauce to still have some recognizable berries in it. After taking it off the heat, I stirred in a little Dijon mustard. Sounds strange, right? The tangy flavor goes very well with the tart berries and the citrus-vanilla sweetness of the sauce.

Friday was final prep. After a day of working and completing some errands (our car battery died this week so we had to get a jump start from a taxi and go buy a new battery), Tawn and I stopped by the market for one final push.

The big item: homemade cornbread chorizo sausage stuffing. This is not a difficult process but it is time-consuming. First I have to make the cornbread, then I have to toast the cubed cornbread. I have to cook the sausage and de-fat it. Chop the veggies and cook them, then start combining everything.

The nice thing is that this can be prepared in advance, refrigerated, and then baked on Saturday noon. Trying a few bites after I was done, I have to say that this is probably the tastiest stuffing I’ve ever made. And I was able to find locally made chorizo!

After finishing the stuffing, I sifted the ingredients for the rolls and put them in ziploc bags, then made the pie dough and refrigerated it. Finally, before going to bed at 1:00 am, I took the turkey breast out of the bag where it had been dry brining, rinsed it off, patted it dry, and set it back in the refrigerator to finish drying out.

Because my oven isn’t as big as standard US ovens, I’m not cooking the whole turkey – that’s been ordered from Villa and for 1000 baht (about $30) they are baking it for me and making the gravy, too. But I am cooking a turkey breast myself, either so we have a little extra meat or because I feel guilty for not cooking the whole turkey. I’m not sure which it is.

So here it is, Saturday morning. Cool – about 74 degrees F – with a light breeze. Our pool-side dinner will be fantastic. I just have a lot of cooking to do.

As of this point, I need to finish the pies, make the rolls, roast the turkey breast, bake the stuffing, bake the sweet potatoes, make the salad dressing and go buy salad greens. There wasn’t enough room in the refrigerator for 16 people worth of salad greens.

This time tomorrow, I’ll tell you how it went.

Summer Bounty – Bacon Lettuce and Tomatoes

Posted on 21 August 2005 by christao408

The best part about living back in Kansas City is that I can get really good summer produce. Every Saturday I go to the Farmers Market in Overland Park and buy some yummy veggies and fruits. Right now is peak season for peaches and tomatoes – corn is pretty good, too. A few weeks ago it was all about the blackberries, but that’s over.

The Farmers Market is especially important because, due to heat and drought, my tomato plants never really bore much fruit. I am not ready to become a full-time farmer.

This afternoon I fixed my favorite summer meal – one that I’ve been eating almost daily for the past two weeks – a Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich! Once I move to Bangkok, I suppose that I’ll trade this in for a BBT – Bacon, Basil, and Tomato. There is a recipe in this month’s issue of Sunset magazine.

Artfully arranged, don’t you think?

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Category Archives: Cooking