Cooking: May 2007 Archives

When I was making the calzone, I remembered that its been forever since I have had stuffed shells. And that made me start Jonesing for some. I whipped together some whole milk ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, roasted garlic, roasted Poblano and Jalapeño peppers, caramelized onions, spinach, Italian sausage, and a couple of scrambled eggs. Stuffing the shells was not hard but it proved to be extremely messy. I poured my tomato sauce over the top and then topped it off with a layer of mozzarella cheese. I baked it at 350 minutes until it was bubbling and the cheese was melted.

Last time when making the calzone, I had way too much filling left over. But tonight was very close. So I was proud of myself.

I make a batch of dough for three pies on Saturday or Sunday. I store them in these ziplock containers in my refrigerator over the week. I very lightly oil the container so that the dough does not stick. The tops are only loosely tightened (to let any carbon dioxide escape). Then, when the weekend comes around, I am ready to make pizza.

About five or more hours before dinner, I take a container out of the refrigerator and put the ball out on a silpat sheet. The dough has not risen at all over the week. Now, the dough will warm up and start to rise. I occasionally flip it over so that both sides dry out evenly (the dough is very moist).

I will also cook down some pizza sauce. I open up a can of Cento's pizza sauce and cook it on a heat diffuser on the lowest gas setting. This cooks the sauce at a temperature of around 130. I also add Italian seasoning and chopped garlic. After two hours, I add another can and cook it for half an hour or so (I want a mix of both fresh and caramelized tomato sauce).

I finally got around to making a calzone, at least on purpose. I just winged it with the ingredients by mixing: whole milk ricotta, spinach, caramelized onions, caramelized garlic, mozzarella cheese, and a scrambled egg. It came out pretty good.

I made a bunch of gyozas today with the classic recipe: ground pork, cabbage, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and egg whites. The only problem was that I forgot just how boring and tiring the process of filling, crimping, and freezing 60 gyozas is.

But now that I am done, I am happy. Frozen gyozas make a quick meal. And they last a long time in the freezer.