Pizza Dough, Wine and Body Paint

Make your own pizza parties are a regular occurrence here at KDP (see here).
I came across a new pizza dough recipe that claimed to be "no- knead, no-fuss".
That was kind of a lie.
To be fair, 4 glasses of wine tends to be my "this is too hard" threshold and that was greatly surpassed on this ladies night

No-Knead Pizza Dough from (Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery and pizza spot Co)
Makes six 10"-12" pizzas
Start at least 24 hours early!

7 1/2 c all purpose flour (plus more dough shaping)
4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp active dry yeast

-Whisk flour, salt and yeast in a medium bowl, with a wooden spoon.
-Add 3 cups of water, stir until well incorporated. Gently bring it together and form into a rough ball.
-Transfer to a large, clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature (I use the oven) for 18-24 hours.

-Transfer dough to a floured surface, break apart into 6 even portions. Working with 1 at a time, mold into a ball and set aside. Repeat with the 5 other balls. Let the dough rest, covered with plastic or a damp towel for about an hour.
-Working with 1 ball at a time (and lots of flour, it's really sticky), gently shape into a round 10"-12" disc with hands.
-Put things on the pizza. Be creative.

-If using a pizza stone- place the stone on the oven rack, preheat oven to 500 degrees F. When oven is ready, turn to broil. Place pizza round on the stone. Broil pizza, rotating halfway through, for 5-7 mins, until the bottom of the crust is crisp and the top is blistered.

-If using baking sheet- preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Put the pizza's on the baking sheet, bake for about 10 mins, until bottom is crisp and top is blistered. 

I liked this dough, despite the planning ahead. It's very soft and doughy and had I had more patience, I might have rolled it out to the correct size, shape and thickness. These pizza's ended up being blobs of dough/bread with yummy stuff on top. Which is a first world problem. 

The Best Part

For this party, we had:

Peanut Sauce, Pesto, Tomato Sauce and Olive Oil

Onions, Black Olives, Green Olives, Mushrooms, Basil, Oregano, Sprouts, Carrots, Cilantro, Peanuts, Tomatoes, Sundried Tomatoes, Artichoke Hearts and Spinach

Mozzarella, Parmesan and Feta

Dessert Pizza- fruit and goat cheese

And about 10 bottles of wine (hence the progressively bad photos, the overcrowded kitchen and the pizza triangles). 

Note: pizza toppings also make excellent hungover omelets for the next morning. 

I have vague memories of listening to Vertical Horizon and playing 10 fingers, neither of which are terribly blog worthy (sorry VH, you bring up too many awkward and emo flashbacks to 14 year old me). 

So I'm currently listening to Goyte's 2011 album, "Making Mirrors" 

I kind of love it, it's widely ranged and versatile. I go into the album expecting atmospheric, emotional easy listening, but am constantly side swiped by the 80s pop ballads. The album takes you on a journey and isn't 45 minutes of the same sound, which I find refreshing every once in a while. 

This is great. especially when you compare it to the following, from the same album:

Let's be honest here, sometimes the best break up songs don't send one running for the hammock, a PBR and Vic Chesnutt, Bon Iver and co. Sometimes you have to dance it out a little. 

Plus, I'm a little jealous of whoever had to do the body paint for the video. 

Finally, the answer to your public drinking dilemmas!

Ok, this isn't a recipe post. But I would argue it's BETTER.

Alaska readers will know that summer here is mainly comprised of 18+ hours of daylight, drinking too much on weeknights, and trying to find the right beverage to accomplish said drinking if it's nice enough to be outside.

Beer is obviously the beverage of choice, but you GUYS, look what someone invented:

Those are stackable, plastic wine glasses, PRE-FILLED with wine.

Apparently you can buy it here, but I haven't checked to see if they can make it up here yet. (Edit: Just checked, they totes do. I am going to be the classiest girl at the bonfire.)

Asparagus Slaw

Summer is just around the corner. 

I've never experienced a New York summer, but believe me, I've been warned and I live in fear. 

I'm prepping for the complete and utter rejection of any hot foods and building my cold foods list. 

I don't really like traditional coleslaw. too much mayo = no fun at all. 

But the food blogosphere is atwitter with new takes and updates on slaw. 

Here's my humble contribution

Asparagus Slaw

2 bunches asparagus

2 carrots

2 cucumbers

4 green onions, thinly sliced

3 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce

1 lemon, juiced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp parsley, minced

1 tsp raw honey 

2 tbsp unrefined sesame oil 

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

-Boil a pot of water, wash the asparagus and snap off the woody ends. Blanch the asparagus (drop in the boiling water for 5-10 secs, remove and put in a bowl of ice water.

-Julienne or shred the asparagus, carrots and cucumber. Add in onions, toss. 

-Prep the dressing- whisk the tahini, Braggs, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and honey. Whisk in oil. 

-Pour over the veges, toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let sit for 15-20 mins to get juicy. 

I really really liked this. There was just a tad too much juice, but that is the definition of a first world problem. 

Everyone (i.e. VH1 when it's on the TV at the gym) is talking about The Black Keys, so I finally broke down and gave their new-ish album, El Camino. 

They should be my jams. It's blues-rocky, it's dirty, dark and dance-able. 

But I'm really not digging them. 

Maybe I'm just too late to this bandwagon, maybe they remind me of Kings of Leon a little too much, maybe I've heard too many bands just like them, maybe I'm over the hipster caveman vibe (that's a lie, I'll never be over it) and maybe I'm not a air guitar kind of gal. 

How do you get your protein?

Yes, that pick up line is weak. I know. But you try and come up with one about hummus. 


One of the biggest things I've had to adjust to with living in New York is that the produce goes bad.
Seriously.
Fruits and vegetables in Alaska are flown in. Meaning they are picked early and chock-full of preservatives to make sure they survive the flight and grocery shelf time. I've sat on avocados for 2 weeks waiting for them to ripen.
That's not the case in NY.
It still surprises me when my bananas turn brown after 2 days.

I'm learning the art of using up rapidly fading produce, fast.
I'm learning the art of the kitchen sink salads, stir fries and....


(Kitchen Sink) Spinach Hummus

-2 c chickpeas (or 2 15 oz cans)
-Leftover Spinach (or leafy greens, roasted red pepper, roasted onions etc...)
-2 tbsp tahini
-1/2 c pine nuts- toasted if you have enough forethought
-6 cloves garlic- see above.
-Olive Oil
-Cumin, black pepper, salt, cayenne, paprika, chilies, sun dried tomatoes, feta, cilantro, caramelized onions, whatever your heart desires and needs to get used.



-(if you are starting with uncooked chickpeas- soak overnight, boil in water for about an hour, cool).
-Put everything in a food processor. Blend until smooth. I like to use cayenne and paprika to kick it up a notch. Use within 3 days or freeze.

Note- make sure the garlic cloves get blended in or face the wrath of your co-workers the next day when you eat a whole one.

I finally gave a listen to The Shins new album, Port of Morrow. 

Like everyone else, I was a fan of The Shins in college. I went to the capital of easy listening, where people slack lined, long boarded, smoked bowls in the arboretum (not a euphemism) and listened to Dave Matthews like it was their job.

This is posted on the un-named schools website. 

Unsurprisingly, The Shins were very popular and in an attempt to be "cool" I jumped on the bandwagon. I wanted to shun the bluegrass, folk and klezmer music upbringing (with some Sound of Music to nurture the budding theatre nerd) and "get with the picture." I wanted to talk about seeing The Shins at the Gorge during Sasquatch and discuss how excited we all were to go camp for 3 days, with 80,000 people to see them again next year. 

I desperately wanted to be a part of pop culture and The Shins were my gateway. 

Being at this meant you were cool. 

I gained clarity in leaving undergrad, embraced my "local-yokel," back-country, frontier-esque upbringing and let go of The Shins. They were just a little too twee, too emo and too indie for me. I shunned The Shins and embraced the bluegrass. 

So when I saw they had a new album (and I just figured out how to use Spotify), I decided to give them a second chance. 

Still not doing it for me. 

They sound exactly the same, in style and in each individual song. There's nothing new and I don't feel the urge to sing along and cry (because that's what everyone does with The Shins..right?). 

I'm sorry to any Shins fans. But seriously!? Seriously. 

But... If I ever decide to try and embrace the long-boarding, rock climbing and drinking on the dorm roof to avoid the RA's lifestyle again, I might give them a 3rd chance. 

In other news. I saw Andrew Bird, unplugged and live on WNYC's Soundcheck this past week. 

A. Dream fulfilled

B. Inner fan girls (all of them) are running rampant

C. I can die happy

D. In no way am I hip enough to meld into this audience base here. But I'm now okay with my "I'm not from here" persona. 

You can listen and watch the webcast here

KDP Reunion + Epic Blogsgiving

Connie and Mags visited for Thanksgiving!

And Monagle crashed in the spare bedroom while he looked a place of his own.
It was the reunion to end all reunions.

They'd never been to New York before.
They were scared of the subway.
They are still scared of New Yorkers.
They got lost pretty easily.
I don't know how life happened before Google Maps.

But...
We made a pumpkin pie at 2am.
My kitchen capacity was tested with 3 people. (Monagle doesn't cook... See Fig Newtons)
We cooked a lot.... A LOT.

Keep an eye out for T-day recipes/adventures.

2 am Pumpkin Pie

Roasted Pear and Cranberry Salad

Ninja Bread Men

Cranium + Wine= The reason why Hannah's not allowed to play board games 

There are more photos coming, as soon as I can raid Connie's camera. Look out for sidewalk sushi picnics, sleeping on public transportation, pumpkin hummus, gingerbread whales, waiting in line to see Harry Potter dance and sing and many empty bottles of wine.



This is pretty amazing:
The Recipe Project

If you love me, you'll buy me this book.
It's a band that's put together a book and CD.
They take top chef's recipes and sing them word for word.

There is something that is so right about a world that can create this.

Curry and an NPR sex tape.

I have no idea what Panang means but it's a safe assumption that it's Thai for "really fucking good."

Panang Curry Paste (Adapted from Bon Appetit)
note- you only need 2 Tbsp of this for the curry, so freeze it and use it later. Win Win. 

2 dried chilies de arbol, stemmed
2 dried guajillo chilies, stemmed
2 fresh lemon grass stalks, only the bottom 4 inches. Peel the tough outer later and slice.
3 Tbsp roasted peanuts
2 Tbsp galangal- fresh is best, but jared is okay too.
6 keffir lime leaves- again, fresh is best, but jarred/frozen works too
1 large shallot- chopped
4 garlic cloves- chopped
2 serrano chilies- fresh or dried, chopped.
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper

-Place the dried chilies (including the serrano, if dried) in  bowl of hot water, let sit for 15 mins. Drain.
-Throw everything in a food processor. Process until a paste forms- it takes a while.
-Save 2 Tbsp for the curry, freeze the rest. Handy homemakers tips!-use an ice cube tray for handy cubes!

Panang Vegetable Curry (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large shallots- sliced
2 Tbsp Panang Curry Paste- see above
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 1/2 c canned, unsweetened, lite coconut milk
1 1/2 c (at least) vegetable broth
8 keffir lime leaves- fresh, frozen or jared.
2 dried chilies de arbol
1 4-lb Kabocha squash- seeded, peeled and cut unto 8 wedges (or 2 acorn squashes, peeled, seeded and quartered).
1 small head of cauliflower- cored and broken into small florets
1 lb carrots- peeled and diced on a diagonal
2 red bell peppers- cut into small squares
1 potato- chopped
1 zucchini- sliced
1/4 c tamarind concentrate (or 2 Tbsp tamarind paste mixed with 2 Tbsp water)
1/2 c thinly slices basil
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 12 oz package firm tofu- drain, press for 15 minutes, marinate and then chop into cubes.
1/4 c chopped peanuts
Brown Rice

- Press the tofu for at least 15 minutes. Create the marinade of your choosing- I did soy sauce, tahini, ginger, garlic and siracha. Let sit for at least 1 hour.
-Heat oil in a heavy wide pot (very important!) over medium heat. Add shallots, curry paste and ginger. Stir until shallots soften. Add 1/3 c coconut milk, stir until browned, 4 mins. Add remaining coconut milk, 1 1/2 c vegetable stock, lime leaves and chilies. Stir to blend.
-Add squash, set on sides so that all pieces fit in a single layer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until squash is tender, 15-20 mins.
-Remove squash from pot, add throw the remaining vegetables in, return the squash to the pot, on top of the vegetables. Cook until tender, 10-15 mins. Take the squash out again, let rest on a plate.
-Stir in tamarind concentrate, half of the basil, lime juice and tofu. Cover and simmer until heated through, about 2 mins. Add more vege stock if too thick.
-Divide curry among bowls, top each with a wedge of squash.
- If you're feeling fancy (let's face it, you can't say no to fancy pants), sprinkle with basil and peanuts. Serve with rice.

Spinning:
This recipe was a little stressful, there are a lot of moving parts and I didn't have a ton of time to bring this masterpiece together.
In times like this, only one thing can calm me down, the dulcet tones of Ira Glass and This American Life
I can't explain it, listening to Mr. Glass automatically brings my heart rate down. I listen to it on the subway now.
I've been listening since I could comprehend language; hoping, scheming and praying that one day I'll have a story weird enough to be on that program.
Plus this allows me to plug the following awkward giggle.

Blogger Birthday!

Margaret just joined the rest of us in the "really f-ing old" club.
We drank, we ate, we danced...a lot.

Food included:
Pulled pork sandwiches (all I know about this is that Val had to get up at 5am to start smoking the pork. The things we do for Mags....)
Beer
Grilled tofu and vegetable kebabs
Beer
Gin and Tonics
An epic dessert spread, including red velvet cupcakes, lemon raspberry cupcakes and I made a pie!
Gin

Go big or go home here at KDP. Photo by Michael Partlow

Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Crust:
9 Graham crackers, crushed
1/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
6 Tbsp butter, melted

-Preheat oven to 325.
-Throw graham crackers, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a food processor, grind it all up.
-Put crumb mix in a bowl, add the butter and stir to blend.
-Pack the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9in pie/tart pan.
-Bake until golden brown, about 15 mins. Let cool

Filling:
8 large egg yolks
12 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 c whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
3/4 c butter, room temperature
1 c creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt

- Mix yolks and 6 Tbsp sugar in the bowl of a mixer/food processor. Beat at high speed until ribbons (I'm not sure what that means either) form, about 2 mins.
- Combine milk, the rest of the sugar and the vanilla bean (scrape the seeds into the milk, then add bean)  in a large saucepan, bring to a boil dissolving the sugar. Remove the bean.
-With the mixer running, add the hot milk to the yolk mixture, scrape it all back into the sauce pan. Clean the mixer bowl.
- Bring the custard to a boil, whisking constantly. When it boils, remove from heat and whisk vigorously for 1 minute. Admire your new whisking guns.
- Return custard to mixing bowl, mix on high until cool, about 4 minutes.
- Mix in the butter, 1 Tbsp at a time, add peanut butter, powdered sugar and salt. Beat to blend.
- Pour custard into the cooled crust, chill to set about 2-3 hours.

Honeycomb:
1 1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp baking soda

- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup and honey in a LARGE (very important) sauce pan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil. Cook without stirring, just swirling the pan until the sugar turns pale amber.
- Add the baking powder (heads up, it's going to foam like no other), quickly mix to blend and then pour over prepared sheet. Do this as fast as you can.
- Let sit until cool, about 20 mins.
- Hit candy with the handle of a knife to crack into pieces.

Topping: 
1/2 c bittersweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
Honeycomb
1/4 c roasted, salted peanuts

- Stir chocolate and butter in a bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water (double boiler style) until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle some of the chocolate over the peanut butter filling, making a circle in the middle.
- Pile the honeycomb and peanuts over the chocolate, drizzle the rest of the chocolate over.

- Show it off: make new friends, fix broken relationships, solve world peace. It's that good.
















Couple of things:
-It's really really sweet. Maybe a little too sweet for my taste. Next time I'm going to decrease the amount of sugar.
-Keep it in the fridge until right before you serve it. Otherwise it turns to soup and you must communally consume it with spoons. Like so:

Spinning:
Growing up, on every Saturday morning the sounds of Car Talk over powered every room in the house. My dad would (and still does) turn on every radio available, so he wouldn't miss one second of Click and Clack.
Even though I don't have an affinity or understanding of cars, I still continue that tradition of listening to Car Talk, on the rare occasion that I'm awake and moving that early. And no, I don't download the podcast, I'm old school with my Car Talk.

And anything that is cool enough to be on Arthur is solid in my book. 

Hobo Gourmet

Beach Parties!

When you live here, it's hard not to love them.




Hobo Moose/Vegetable packets on a campfire

Moose marinade:
3 Tbs Canola Oil
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs Soy sauce
1 Tbs Chili-garlic sauce
2 gloves of garlic- minced
1 tsp pepper

-Mix it all together in a bag, put the moose meat in. Let sit (this one was soaking for 36 hours).


Veges:
Potatoes, onions, spinach, zucchini, garlic, red peppers..

I put basil leaves, parsley, thyme, red pepper flakes and olive oil in with the veges.

To Prep:
Put meat/veges on a sheet of foil, cover with another sheet and make sure the edges are sealed/rolled up tight. Throw on the fire for a while, turning once. These went for 20-30 minutes, depending on how much attention I was paying.

Note- try not to breath in the aluminum oxide.
And tongs and hot pads are your friends.

Hobo in training

Spinning:

Here at KDP we do it right. Alex (other roommate of Val and Mags) has jerry-rigged a portable speaker system that attaches to his i-pod. There was the typical Daft Punk, Kayne, Gorillaz party mix.

In other music news, I'm currently obsessed with the new self-titled Bon Iver album, available on NPR First listen and dropping on June 21st. It's another one that's going in the "sit in a hammock and cry" mix, but it's good. Really good, even through the tears and gut punches.

There was also the ceremonial burning of the "Will Dance for Food" sign. I needed to clean out my car.

Apocalyptic Pizza Party

To celebrate our survival of the rapture (or to be partying with friends if the end of days actually happened) Mags and Val threw a grilled pizza party.
Here is a smattering of photos of the evening.
I brought fixings for Thai Chicken Pizza- recipes and such are below.


Toppings spread included: sausage, pepperoni, bacon (2 kinds), chicken, smoked salmon, caramelized onions, green and black olives, spinach, basil, cilantro, peppers, artichokes, mozzarella, feta, blue cheese, cheddar cheese...


With Alfredo, pesto, red sauce, peanut sauce, olive oil and BBQ sauce.

A small sampling of the creations

 We also brought fixing's for dessert pizza (go big or go home situation) i.e. grilled fruit, nutella, chocolate, toasted nuts and strawberries. Connie also made a banana pound cake that was then grilled and served under the fruit.
                                        

Mag's Pizza Dough
1 1/2c Flour

1/2c very warm water
1 Tbs oil
1 package yeast

Combine all ingredients and knead for 4 minutes.
Let rise for 10 mins, covered.
Roll out dough, oil both sides and put on grill. Grill one side, put your sauce/toppings on the grilled side then put it back on the grill.




Thai Chicken Pizza


Peanut Sauce
1/2 stick butter
2 cloves of garlic- minced
2 tsp dried red pepper (or more, depending on your heat preference)
1/2 c crunchy peanut butter
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 can chicken broth
1/4 c orange juice

- saute the butter, garlic and red pepper
- whisk in the peanut butter and soy sauce
- mix in the chicken broth and orange juice

Note- this makes more sauce then you'll need for the pizza. I ate the rest with a spoon, but I hear it's good on noodles.

The Pizza


You'll need:
Pizza dough
Diced Chicken
1 carrot- grated
3 green onions- chopped
1 red pepper- chopped
Mozzarella
Fresh Basil- minced
Fresh Cilantro- minced
Bean Sprouts
Chopped Peanuts

- Saute the chicken in the peanut sauce (or you could marinate it in the peanut sauce overnight, and then saute it. I didn't have the forethought)
- Spread the peanut sauce on the crust (grilled side)
- Put the chicken, mozzarella, onions, carrots and red pepper on the crust. Grill until crust is done and cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle the bean sprouts, basil, cilantro and peanuts over the pizza.


Music arena- there were some competing playlists between Alex and Val. The former's including Lady Gaga, TI and co. The latter's was a Pandora station of The Rapture.
It was an interesting mix.