The Best Pizza I've Ever Made (So Far)

I am currently obsessed with making pizza dough/homemade pizza. Ever since I perfected a no-yeast dough, I've been trying a new yeast variety about once a month. I tend to be impatient, so I've tried the quick-rising varieties, and they just don't measure up. I also tend to attack my dough (I'm apparently quite aggressive), which also doesn't make for a crisp, airy, tasty crust.

But, I finally got it just right, after researching several sources across the interwebs - and confiding in some pizza-making friends. Besides not over-kneading, the other thing I learned that is crucial for a good, crispy, delicious pizza crust is a super hot oven.

Here's how I did it.

The Best Pizza Dough

Yields: 1 large crust (or 2 small crusts)

Adapted from FoodNetwork.com

-1 package active dry yeast

-1 cup warm water

-Pinch sugar

-1 1/2 teaspoons salt

-1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating the bowl + brushing the crust

-2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

-Cornmeal, as needed, for pan

Directions:

1.) In a large bowl, combine yeast with water and sugar and stir well to combine. Set aside until foamy, about 5-7 minutes. 

2.) Add the salt, olive oil, and half of the flour to the yeast mixture and mix well to combine. Add all remaining flour except 1/2 cup and mix well with your hands, working to incorporate the flour little by little. The dough should be slightly sticky to the touch. 

3.) Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for at least 5-7 minutes, adding enough additional flour as necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough that is not sticky. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled, medium-sized bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, usually at least 1 hour.

4.) Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. (At this point, if you're making two smaller pizzas, divide dough into two portions and form into balls. Then, place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 15 minutes). Transfer dough to a sheet of wax paper that's been lightly floured (so it doesn't stick to your countertop) and begin to shape as desired. 

5.) Before stretching your dough to the final shape and thickness you're looking for, let it rest for 5 minutes. Then, finish rolling and shaping the dough (it should be rolled out to a 1/8-inch thickness). Transfer dough to a baking sheet or pizza peel that's been sprinkled with cornmeal and brush with olive oil (so toppings don't make the crust mushy). Then, top with toppings of choice. (I topped mine with pizza sauce, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and, after it was done baking, I topped it with some arugula). 

6.) Transfer to the preheated oven and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes (depending on the toppings and the thickness of the crust). Remove from the oven with a metal spatula and serve immediately.

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The end result was an airy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside pizza crust that held its own underneath all of the toppings I piled on top of it. (I also once topped this crust with cheese, mushrooms, and truffle oil - so good). 

Although the steps and wait times may seem like a lot, this dough was super easy to make - and really didn't require too much labor, besides the kneading. I have used the dough hook in my mixer for the kneading part, and that also worked just fine, if you don't feel like standing over the counter for 5-7 minutes.

I still need to work on rolling out my dough - my pizzas are always misshapen and a little too thick on the ends - but hey, that just means I need to make (and eat) more pizza, right? ;)

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

How to Make Homemade Ravioli

Remember that time I learned how to make egg pasta? Well, it wasn't until recently I became a little obsessed with it.

Z and I got a manual pasta machine as an engagement gift, and we've been saying - for over a year now - that we can't wait to use it. So, this past Saturday - when we finally had no plans and nowhere to be - we made our own egg pasta.

We made linguine to freeze and eat later (and, a few days later, I made more linguine), but for dinner on Saturday, we decided to make ravioli. I winged the filling - some ricotta, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, salt, and pepper - but the delicate pasta made the meal. 

For starters, here's the super easy recipe for the egg pasta base:

Fresh Egg Pasta

Recipe from Sweet Thing Food

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-3 large eggs, beaten

-Water, as needed

Directions:

1.) Pulse flour in food processor to aerate it. Add eggs and process until the dough forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds. (If dough resembles small pebbles, add water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. If dough sticks to the side of the work bowl, add 1 tablespoon flour at a time and process).

2.) Turn the dough and small bits onto a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let relax for 15 minutes.

3.) Cut the dough into five even pieces and, using a manual pasta machine, roll out the dough (if you don't have a pasta machine, I've heard rolling out the dough with a rolling pin also works, but I have never tried it myself):

A. Cut about 1/5 of the dough from the ball and flatten it into a disk. Run the disk through the rollers set to the widest position (0); bring the ends of the dough toward the middle and press down to seal.

B. Feed the open side of the pasta dough through the rollers; repeat A and B.

C. Without folding again, run the pasta through the widest setting twice, or until the dough is smooth. If the dough is at all sticky, lightly dust with flour. Begin to roll the pasta thinner by putting it through the machine repeatedly, narrowing the setting each time.

D. Roll until the dough is thin and satiny, dusting with flour if sticky. You should be able to see the outline of your hand through the pasta. Lay the pasta on a clean kitchen towel and cover with a damp cloth; repeat with other pieces of dough. (I actually just let the pasta dry for 30 minutes, with no damp cloth, and it came out fine). 

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Once your pasta has dried for at least 30 minutes, you can begin to make the ravioli.

The first step: Brush a little bit of egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water) on each sheet of dough. Then, spoon about 1 tablespoon of your filling along a sheet of dough, leaving about 1 inch between each spoonful.

Then, lay another sheet of dough over the filling, pressing the dough around and in between each ball, so it sticks to the other sheet of dough underneath. 

Cut in-between each ball of filling to form the ravioli (I used a pizza cutter). Then, press down the sides of each ravioli square with a fork to seal each ravioli closed. 

Yes, there is one smaller ravioli than the rest of them. But it made a good taste tester! ;)

If eating the ravioli right away, boil in a pot of salted water for 1-2 minutes. Seriously, it's that fast. One word of advice, however: Boil the ravioli in water that's simmering over medium to high heat, versus very high heat. The dough is delicate enough that a rapid boil might cause the ravioli to open up.

If not eating right away, store ravioli in the fridge (either in a large Ziploc bag or air-tight container). If not eating for over a few days, store in the freezer. 

Serve with desired sauce (we smothered our ravioli in basil pesto). 

I know it may seem like a lot of steps, but making your own pasta - and even your own ravioli - is actually quite easy. The process definitely takes some time, but if you have it, it is so worth it. 

Have you ever made your own ravioli before? I'm excited to experiment with new pasta doughs and fillings!

Homemade Cream Cheese

If you are a fan of The EE on Facebook, you may have seen my post last Friday about making my own cream cheese. I had big plans to spend the afternoon creating my own creamy concoction...until I realized the first step in the process takes five seconds to do - and then 12 hours to set.

Regardless, by Sunday afternoon (I ended up starting on Saturday morning instead), Z and I had an impressive amount of homemade cream cheese to play with. And it took two easy steps over the course of 24 hours. The hardest part was the waiting.

I used this post as a guide, but it's a little too wordy for how easy making your own cream cheese really is. So, here's my version.

What you'll need:
-2 quarts light cream or half-and-half, at room temperature

-1 packet direct-set mesophilic starter (I got several packets at Modern Homebrew Emporium in Cambridge for under $6)

How to do it:
1.) Pour cream into a large bowl. Add packet of mesophilic starter and stir thoroughly. Cover, and let sit at room temperature for 12 hours. (72 degrees is an ideal temperature for this; if your house is warmer or colder, the time this mixture needs to sit may vary. When the cheese is ready, it should have the consistency of a smooth yogurt).
2.) Line a fine mesh strainer with cheese cloth. Once the cheese mixture is ready, pour it gently into the cheese cloth, then hang to dry for 9-12 hours, depending on how firm you like your cream cheese. To hang my cheese cloth, I simply tied the corners over my sink faucet and let it drain overnight.

Then, you'll have this:

Simply put the cream cheese in a Tupperware container in the fridge to help it firm up even more. Or, do as I did and split the cream cheese into several containers to make several different flavors. Z and I went to the farmers' market on Sunday and picked up scallions, so one of our containers became scallion cream cheese. The other? Jalapeno. We also saved a little bit of the plain for good measure.

The cream cheese should last in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, and this batch makes enough for a good 30+ servings.

In the words of Ina Garten...how easy is that?

Tofu, Spinach & Black Bean Tamales + Tamale Beginner Tips

#1: Tamales are not pretty to photograph. At least not the tamales I made.

#2: It took me a few tries to finally make edible, tasty, satiating tamales. See below for some tips on how to be more successful at your first go-round at tamale-making.

#3: Once you buy masa corn flour and corn husks, you will have them for quite a while. They were cheap to begin with at my local grocery store, so it wasn't a risky investment.

#4: It was this book that was behind my inspiration for all of this tamale-making. Z gave it to me a few months ago, and it really is a fantastic guide for tamale beginners.

I created this recipe by combining a few of the recipes in the Tamales 101: A Beginner's Guide to Making Traditional Tamales cookbook, while also using some items we already had in our kitchen to save a few bucks (I am a starving freelancer now, after all). The recipe is below, and I'll follow it with a few tips based off what I learned during my first few attempts at making tamales.

Tofu, Spinach & Black Bean Tamales

Yields: 8-10 tamales

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Masa Harina Masa (from Tamales 101): *I halved this recipe, and still had plenty of leftovers

Yields: 12 to 18 cups, or masa for 2 to 3 dozen tamales

-7 cups vegetable stock (or chicken, beef, or pork stock)

-12 cups masa harina (dry corn flour)

-2 cups butter, margarine, lard, or shortening (or a combination of these)

-1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Tamales:

-16 oz. extra firm tofu, cut into bite-sized cubes

-Cumin powder

-Chili powder

-Pinch of cayenne

-Salt and black pepper

-1/4 cup salsa (I used a spicy traditional salsa)

-1 tablespoon butter

-1 tablespoon flour

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

-1 green onion, diced

-1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

-8-10 dried corn husks, which have been soaked in hot water  - weighed down with a heavy pot or platter - for 45 minutes and then washed thoroughly to remove the silk and any dirt (I forgot this step, and we turned out OK...but I recommend soaking them just in case)

-3 cups Masa Harina Masa

-Shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups)

Directions:

Masa Harina Masa:

1.) In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the stock until warm. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, combine the stock and the masa harina. With the paddle attachment on medium speed, mix until the texture is like a firm pudding. Remove the mixture from the bowl and set aside. 

2.) Add the butter and salt to the mixer bowl and whip at high speed for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of the masa harina mixture and whip for 1 minute at medium speed. Repeat until all of the masa harina mixture has been added.

3.) Increase speed to high and continue mixing for 3-5 minutes, until the masa is a soft, thick paste.

Tamales:
1.) Place tofu cubes in a shallow dish (I used a pie plate), and season with cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Carefully mix in salsa, and cover dish with saran wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2.) Using a fork, combine the butter and flour on a plate until completely worked together. Set aside.
3.) In a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for only a few seconds. Decrease the heat to medium, add the spinach, salt, and pepper, and saute for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
4.) Add the beans and cook for an additional minute. Then, add the butter-flour mixture and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, to combine flavors. Set aside to cool.
5.) To assemble the tamales, spread 1/4 cup of masa on the smooth side of a corn husk. Place 2 tablespoons of the spinach mixture in the center of the masa and top with cheese (about 1 tablespoon per tamale). Finish using your methods of wrapping and tying. Repeat for the remaining tamales. Steam the tamales for 50 minutes.

Notes:
-I found the less masa I used per tamale, the better (1/4 cup might even be too much). Also, the more filling, the better, as long as the tamales can still be folded and stay folded.
-There are many ways to wrap and prepare the tamales, but this, I found, to be the easiest (and least intimidating) method: Spread the masa across the center of the corn husk, 1/4 inch from the flat end of the husk. Fold both sides of the husk in tightly to overlap. Fold the pointed end of the husk up to meet the flat end.
-This is the masa flour I used. Any prepared masa I had leftover, I kept in the freezer (it should keep for 1-2 months in the freezer).
-To reheat tamales, I covered mine in a damp paper towel and reheated them in the microwave. They aren't the best reheated, but they aren't terrible either.

Making tamales is definitely a process, but the end result is well worth the extra work and cooking/steaming time.

Have you ever made your own tamales before? If not, would you?