the jklabs kitchen

BBQ Pork: The New Favorite

Jesse — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:08:29 +0000

I have never been that sure how to cook pork.

Last weekend, I accidentally grabbed a pound of pork stew meat, thinking it was beef. I was in a dilemma. In the absence of a slow cooker, what was I to do?

Luckily, I had a clay pot on hand. (Well, two, actually, but one is enough.)

After a quick search on the internet to check for rough temperature and times, I improvised the following recipe:

1 lb pork stew meat
some bbq sauce
1/2 a bottle of Fat Tire Amber Ale

Soak the clay pot in water for 15 minutes. Put all the ingredients in. Cook at 200º for 2.5 hours or so. Pull apart with forks.

When available, serve on a fresh roll. If I do say so myself: unbelievably delicious.

An Inverness brunch

Jesse — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 01:58:06 +0000

Eggs from Marin Sun Farms (Point Reyes Station, natural colors!), homemade bread, and the good company of a couple Bay Area friends.

Ah, California

Jesse — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:54:45 +0000

Pasta and veggies

Jesse — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:51:12 +0000

Step 1: go to Rome.

Step 2: buy fresh veggies and fresh pasta.

Step 3: cook and enjoy.

Go Steelers!

Jesse — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:37:47 +0000

Ok, I’m a few days late.

My friend Matt had a Super Bowl party. Having lived in Pittsburgh for some time, he decided he was going to attempt to replicate Primanti’s sandwiches for the occasion. Wanting to contribute part of my own Pittsburgh culinary experience, I thought I’d try making a pierogie pizza, in the spirit of the Church Brew Works’ potatoey offering.

This is a simple one: crust (using the not-really-five-minute method), instant mashed potatoes mixed with sauteed onions and cheddar, and cheese. Bake and enjoy.

(Easy) bread in context

Jesse — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:28:35 +0000

I hesitate to even reveal this secret, because it feels like cheating. It has only a tenuous connection to the grand history of breadmaking. The title of the book (and, by extension, the technique) sounds like a scam. But mostly: it’s just way too easy.

After buying a baking stone and pizza peel on Amazon, I kept clicking around, browsing the related items. A title jumped out at me: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Sounds impossible, right? Thankfully, there’s a preview on Amazon, and I skimmed through a few pages. They admin fairly early on that the math is a stretch, but it is a simplified process that produces great loaves of bread.

The basic idea? You don’t need to knead the dough, and you only need one timed rising. Mix everything together, let it rise for two hours, then stick it in the fridge. Any time over the next week and a half or so, cut off a chunk, shape it, let it rest for 40 minutes, then bake it. The end.

The following loaves were baked using this method, and they’re some of my personal favorites so far. As it sits in the fridge, the dough matures, gaining more sourdough-like qualities.

These are the early loaves. (I forgot to slash the first one, which is why it looks kinda funny.) I’ve made a few more, recently, and they’re a little easier on the eyes. Just to prove we don’t just eat bread and pizza, I’ve included photos of a few of the meals, too. Brady gets the credit for the beet and carrot salad.

Accidental fish pizza

Jesse — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:11:56 +0000

This pizza contains no fish. It did, however, stick to the pizza peel and contort itself on the way into the oven. Hilarity ensued.

Hand tossed pizzas, large and small

Jesse — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:28:10 +0000

This is a different, more convenient pizza dough recipe. Mix the ingredients, refrigerate the dough, leave it overnight (or a few days longer), then pull it out, let it sit for a couple hours, and make your pizza.

I definitely don’t have the hang of tossing the dough by hand, yet. (It’s more of a stretching than tossing thing at this point, anyway). Maybe with practice…

Blue Ribbon French Bread

Jesse — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:21:11 +0000

Catching up a bit…

Here’s some bread from last week – yet another from the New Complete Book of Breads. It’s a soft, chewy French loaf, great with butter. I made a couple pizza sandwiches with extra toppings (fresh mozzarella, sausage, tomato sauce, and spinach), and I think they were better than the pizzas.

First (real) pizza

Jesse — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 13:48:24 +0000

Here it is – the first pizza with the new baking stone and pizza peel.

The dough is from the Chez Panisse book. It uses a rye flour based starter, which gives it a nice complexity.

The toppings are sweet italian sausage, spinach, red onions, goat cheese, and a little bit of mozzarella.

I’m pretty happy with it overall, although I think I’ll try for a slightly thinner, crispier crust next time.