Tag: pork
Spicy Sausage and Ricotta Pizza
Spicy Sausage and Ricotta Pizza
Italian sausage is my favorite meat topping on a pizza. The big debate with sausage is whether you put it raw on a pizza or cooked. I’ve seen both, and here’s my opinion: I prefer the sausage to be cooked. The reason why is that I don’t want any more excess grease on my pizza than needed. By cooking the sausage, you can drain the grease beforehand. This pizza happens to be exceptionally spicy with the addition of calabrese chilies, with the ricotta acting as a “cooling” component.
Equipment
- pizza pan or pizza stone
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough recipe or half for thin crust
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded
- 8 oz Italian sausage cooked
- 4 tbsp Calabrese chiles finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta
Instructions
- Roll out your pizza dough to your desired thickness. Evenly spread out the tomato sauce, leaving a 1/4” edge to the crust. Top with mozzarella. Evenly distribute the sausage, calabrese chilies, and cherry tomatoes. Drop tsp-sized dollops of ricotta all over the pizza.
- Bake in a preheated 475° oven for 12-15 minutes.
Pizza Dough
For the last 8 months, I’ve been trying to perfect the perfect standard pizza dough. Through lots of trial and error, I think I may have done it. This recipe is basic and straightforward, yielding what I consider a really good medium thickness crust for a 14” pizza. If you divide the dough into two, you will have 2 – 12” thin crust pizzas. Once assembled, these pizzas bake at 475° for 12-15 minutes depending on the crust thickness and the type of pan or pizza stone you use. This dough can keep in the refrigerator for 3 days and can also be frozen.
Equipment
- upright standing mixer with dough hook attachment
- plastic wrap
- rolling pin optional
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 cups flour plus extra
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Mix together the yeast and sugar. Dissolve in the warm water and let activate until bubbly; about 5 minutes.
- Mix the flour and salt in an upright standing mixer for 30 seconds on low. Pour in the yeast mixture and olive oil.
- Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead for 5 minutes. At this point, the dough will pull away completely from the side of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for about 30 minutes.
- Gently flour a clean surface. Place the dough in the center of the floured surface and lightly flour the top.
- Using either your hands or a rolling pin, stretch out the dough to your desired thickness.
Shrimp and Pork Belly Negiyaki
If using pork belly, lay the slices across the pancake once you pour the batter in the pan.
Mini Corndogs
Mini Corndogs
There’s no comparison to freshly made corndogs. The frozen varieties just don’t cut it for me. While the ones you get at a fair or carnival are good, they can be better made at home since you get to control the type of hotdog of your preference. Most of the hotdogs used when you get a corndog, fresh or frozen, are sub-par. I personally like a natural casing hotdog such as Ambassador or Honest hotdogs brands. The one issue with making corndogs at home is that they have to be mini corndogs instead of a full sized one. A full sized corndog will require a lot of oil and a contraption that holds multiple sticks at a time to drop them in while deep frying.
Equipment
- toothpicks
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour plus more for dredging
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 12 oz hotdogs cut into 2” pieces
- vegetable oil for frying
- ketchup and mustard for serving
Instructions
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together in separate bowls.
- Mix the wet into the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- Cut the hot dogs into 2” pieces. Stick a toothpick into each hotdog.
- Lightly dredge the hotdogs into flour.
- Pour 3” of oil into a medium sized pot over medium high heat. Allow the oil to get to 360°. Dip a hotdog into the cornmeal batter.
- Drop a corn dog into the oil one at a time. Make sure to not overcrowd the pot.
- Fry the corndogs for 3-4 minutes, making sure that they are evenly cooked. Drain on paper towels and remove the toothpicks.
- Serve the mini corndogs with ketchup and mustard.
Pork Cordon Bleu
Pork Cordon Bleu
I grew up eating the frozen chicken cordon bleu that you can find at just about every grocery store. As an adult, I think the store bought ones are horseshit; so I learned how to make them homemade. I happened to have an extra chunk of boneless pork loin and decided to turn it into a cordon bleu, instead of using chicken. To no surprise, it was really, really, tasty. While deep frying it would drastically cut the cooking time, I baked it in the oven for 45 minutes. Your arteries will thank you later.
Equipment
- food mallet
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless pork loin cut into 2-8oz chops; trimmed of fat
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 slices deli Black Forest ham thinly sliced
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Hammer each of the pork loin chops to 1/4” thick. Season each side with salt and pepper.
- Place 2 slices of ham, followed by 2 slices of Swiss cheese on one side of the pork loin.
- Fold the pork loin over the ham and cheese; tucking in the sides.
- Assemble the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Dredge the cordon bleu in flour, then egg wash, and finally breadcrumbs.
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the cordon bleu on a baking sheet lined in parchment paper.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes; flipping half way through.
