Pizza done right

Twenty or thirty seconds in the microwave removes much of the grease from pepperoni slices.
Thank you to Cook's Illustrated for the tip.


Dough from Capone Foods "00" pizza flour with sauce made from milled Roma tomatoes. A little salt and fresh oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme and rosemary or some Penzey's Italian Herb Mix adds authentic flavor. Rao's tomatoes are the best canned tomatoes. Fresh mozzarella is topped with a sautéd mixture of mushrooms, shallots and minced Small Farm garlic. Pepperoni and Canadian Bacon or ham are last to go on before the pizza goes into a hot oven.

A Birthday Request for Alton's Fried Chicken

GB&D

We stayed pretty close to Alton Brown's Fried Chicken recipe mixing paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt with the flour to dredge the chicken before frying in organic non-hydrogenated all vegetable shortening at 325 degrees F.

Doesn't take long and it beats the heck out of KFC.

Use good chicken such as Bell & Evans.

Technique does not make up for using supermarket previously frozen chicken.

Beef Stir Fry

First of all, you do not need a wok for a stir-fry and unless you have a burner specifically engineered for use with a wok, a conventional stovetop will never heat a wok to proper temperatures for stir frying.

First in the sauté pan: cubed beef tenderloin into hot tea oil. Once browned, out of the heat and into a bowl with minced ginger in soy sauce. Set aside.

Into the sauté pan go the onions, bell peppers, carrots and scallions. Next, minced garlic followed quickly by bok choi, mushrooms and a cup of chicken broth.

Make a slurry from a tablespoon of cornstarch and a couple tablespoons of water and mix into stir-fry. Add some soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste. Both contain enough salt that the dish probably does not need any more seasoning.

Add the cooked beef in ginger and soy sauce back in to the mix. Some cubed chicken tenderloins went into this mixture as well(optional). The sauce should be thickened by now. Turn the heat off and add the scallion greens and crunchy bits.

Stir and serve over jasmine rice with steamed shu mai for a tasty dinner.

Eggless Onion Rings

Sweet Vidalia Onions dipped in milk and dredged in a mixture of AP flour, paprika, salt, and garlic powder. Fry in canola oil at 375 degrees F for just a couple of minutes until GB&D.
Cool on a rack for just a minute or two before serving.

A Birthday Request for Alton's Fried Chicken

GB&D

We stayed pretty close to Alton Brown's Fried Chicken recipe mixing paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper and salt with the flour to dredge the chicken before frying in organic non-hydrogenated all vegetable shortening at 325 degrees F.

Doesn't take long and it beats the heck out of KFC.

Happy Birthday Brookester!

Yes, there is cake too, but this is apple season and some Cortland apples found their way into a mixture of sugar and freshly ground nutmeg. Birthday Pie!