We’re back at home after the holiday rush, and mostly recovered from the various illnesses we contracted while visiting family. Here are some photos taken at home and at the zoo during the precious few hours I have away from my clerkships.
pizza bianca
Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.
Ingredients
| 3 | cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces) |
| 1 2/3 | cups water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature |
| 1 1/4 | teaspoons table salt |
| 1 1/2 | teaspoons instant yeast |
| 1 1/4 | teaspoons sugar |
| 5 | tablespoons extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 | teaspoon kosher salt |
| 2 | tablespoons fresh rosemary (whole leaves) |
Instructions
- Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)
- Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
- One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.
- Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- OPTIONAL: Add toppings, including tomato sauce, etc.
- Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.
Holiday Iowa Trip 2008
After a false start due to snowy weather in Seattle, we managed to make it to Iowa City for the Holidays (eventually).
Tomato soup–cream-less version
Serves 6 to 8. Published September 1, 2008. From Cook’s Illustrated.
If half of the soup fills your blender by more than two-thirds, process the soup in three batches. You can also use an immersion blender to process the soup directly in the pot. For an even smoother soup, pass the pureed mixture through a fine-mesh strainer before stirring in the chicken broth in step 2. Serve this soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for a Crowd or topped with Butter Croutons (see related recipes).
Ingredients
| 1/4 | cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for drizzling |
| 1 | medium onion , chopped medium (about 1 cup) |
| 3 | medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon) |
| Pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional) | |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 2 | (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice |
| 1 | tablespoon brown sugar |
| 3 | large slices good-quality sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces |
| 2 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
| 2 | tablespoons brandy (optional) |
| Table salt and ground black pepper | |
| 1/4 | cup chopped fresh chives |
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes (if using), and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice. Using potato masher, mash until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread; bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.
- Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy (if using). Return soup to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil.