Plums

Summertime is primetime for fruit, especially plums, which can't usually be found in grocery stores the rest of the year (unlike other imported fruit). But be warned, they can be juicy, so quarter them before you take a bite!

Pizza

Okay, I admit it. I'm picky about pizza. At least, I'm picky about homemade pizza. Especially if it's coming out of my kitchen. Actually, I generally don't like homemade pizza, and I can tell you why: homemade crust. Pizza shouldn't taste like it was made on a loaf of bread, or we'd all be making French bread pizza (which I don't like). So, you need a good dough recipe and a good baking method. Here's the dough recipe:

Pizza Dough

2 t. instant yeast (1 packet will work well, or just keep a jar in the freezer)
1 T. sugar
1 c. moderately warm water (if you haven't made bread much, measure the temperature; it should be between 105 and 115 degrees F - quite warm but not hot enough to burn after 3 seconds)
3 c. bread flour (yes, you can substitute all-purpose, but you shouldn't)
1 T. olive oil
2 t. Kosher salt

This works easiest with a stand mixer, but you can also do all this by hand.

Combine the yeast and sugar in your mixer bowl, then add the water. Let the yeast bloom - this should take about 5 minutes - and it should look dissolved and a bit bubbly. Then add the rest of the ingredients, starting with 2 1/2 c. of flour, and, using a dough hook, turn on the mixer to medium. Watch the dough and add a bit more flour as necessary until the dough isn't too sticky anymore, up to 1 c. more. You'll want this to knead for 7-10 minutes with the mixer, or by hand for 15-20 (turn on some music). To test the dough for proper consistency, flatten a small amount and stretch it. If it breaks easily, it needs to knead longer. If it just gets nice and thin, forming a windowpane, you're good. Let rest and rise until double.


So, that's the dough recipe, which is a good place to start. Now, let's move on a bit, shall we?

I nearly forgot another important aspect: the sauce. I have a difficult time finding a good pizza sauce, so I made my own. This has sometimes not worked well in the past, but this time I think I got it right. Good pizza sauce is a little sweet and fairly smooth. Here's my version:

The Sauce

1 medium onion, roughly chopped (I like the sweet varieties)
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 T. olive oil
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
4 T. double-concentrated tomato paste (this comes in a tube and is very handy)
8 basil leaves
4 sprigs oregano, leaves removed
2 t. dried Italian seasoning
3 T. sugar, or to taste
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

In a blender, puree the onion, garlic, and fresh herbs with 1/3 c. of the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, then add the puree, a pinch of salt, and stir. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the rest of the tomato sauce, the puree, and the Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until reduced to a medium consistency. Add the sugar, salt, and pepper to taste, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature before using.



Feel free to adjust that recipe, but it's just about right the way it is.

So, we've got the pizza dough rising and the sauce done. Now we need to discuss the baking method. As I wrote about earlier, the best method for baking inside is to use baking stones, and mine come from Lowes or Home Depot. They're unglazed natural tiles, they're about an inch thick, so the heat is very constant, and they're about $2 each, so they fit any budget. Well, almost any budget. Just throw some parchment paper on top of them, and they're an ideal baking surface. Even for cookies, if you prefer cookies baked on a stone. It would be very nice to have a pizza peal handy, but a large wooden cutting board will work as well. The baking stones need to preheat in the oven for about an hour to make sure they are heated all the way through (and to ensure proper baking of your pizza), so keep this in mind. Here, then, is everything you need to do to have good pizza at home.

Pizza

Begin making your pizza dough. Once you get to the rising stage, place your baking stones in the oven and turn the oven on to 525° F. Next, make the sauce. Once the sauce begins simmering, you can start turning your attention to the toppings. Grate the mozzarella cheese (I like low-moisture for pizzas, unless this is going to be one of the only toppings and you're pairing it with fresh basil), caramelize the onions (slice them thinly, then sauté over medium heat with 1-2 T. olive oil and a pinch of salt for 20 minutes), fry up the Italian sausage, drain the pineapple or mandarin oranges, or whatever you need to do to get your toppings ready.

Once the dough has risen and your pizza sauce is cooling, divide the dough into 3 pieces. Place a piece of parchment paper on your peel or cutting board. Flatten the first piece using your hands until fairly thin (it should be about 14" by 8"), then add your toppings. Be generous with sauce, but don't overdo it on the cheese. This is important in a good pizza. Sauce, most of the cheese, toppings, then a small scattering more of cheese makes a good pizza. Unless your only topping is pepperoni, then the pepperoni should be on top.

Slide the pizza and parchment paper on top of the stones and bake until brown and bubbly, about 8-10 minutes.

You can use one of the thirds as delicious breadsticks. Brush the dough with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake. It looks like this in the oven:

And it tastes delicious. As does the pizza!

The Other Best Treat

I'll get right to it: it's vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce, the sauce being the key factor. I'm sure you were dying to know what I was referring to in my other post, and this is it.


Actually, the hot fudge sauce doesn't have to be generously oozing all over a bowl of delicious Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla ice cream (pictured above), though I admit I'm very partial to this form. A milkshake is also quite nice.

There's something unique about hot fudge sauce in the chocolate world. While I love a simple ganache, hot fudge is a bit silkier and more of a confectionary glaze. Its taste is unparalleled when matched with a good ice cream. And, of course, it doesn't have to be vanilla. It doesn't even have to be ice cream. After you've made hot fudge (and trying this recipe will convince you that it's easy and worth it to make your own), it's fantastic chilled and scooped up with a spoon. I've heard.

So, here you go.

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 c. heavy cream
2/3 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
2/3 c. baking cocoa
1/4 t. salt
1 1/3 c. Ghirardelli 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips
4 T. unsalted butter
1 t. vanilla

Stir the cream, corn syrup, sugar, cocoa, salt, and 2/3 c. chocolate chips in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring quite frequently. Remove from heat, then add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cool until slightly warm before serving. Refrigerate unused portion. Can be reheated in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, until proper consistency for serving. Or can be eaten straight out of the fridge.

Probably keeps safely for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but I wouldn't know.

Cheesecake

Can you believe I've never posted my recipe for cheesecake? Perhaps the most favorite of all of my desserts? Shocking, I know. I realized this when my sister Michele called me on the phone today to ask me a question about my recipe. I thought, "Oh, I'll just check that on my blog." Except it wasn't here. Until now. And now I have a picture from her results.

But before I dive into cheesecake, I better tell you what I had for dinner, because it was absolutely wonderful. And easy. I bought 2 Prime New York Strip steaks from the grocery store - the Albertsons, to be precise - as well as a loaf of Pugliese, some fresh local corn on the cob, and some Romaine. We threw some charcoal on the grill, some Kosher salt on the steak, some freshly smashed garlic and butter on the bread, and put it all together. Okay, not really all together. Mark grilled the bread and the steak (to perfection, I might add, with the steak just barely medium rare), while I boiled the corn for five minutes. I also cut up a tomato from my garden and tossed it with the Romaine. All in all, it was a delicious dinner, especially followed by a few bites of that strawberry ice cream I just told you about. In fact, I would say it was a perfect summer meal.

That was quite the little digression, so let's get back to the cheesecake. I like a dense cheesecake, New York Style, that is really smooth and creamy. I also don't like cheesecakes with sour cream in them. I don't like my cheesecakes to taste sour, just creamy. In fact, I'd love to try working with mascarpone sometime, but it would be hard to stray from this recipe, as I've discovered a cheesecake that is just exactly what I want. If you make it, you will discover that it is also just exactly what you want. Don't trust me on this. You'll have to test it to be sure.

I also prefer a graham cracker crust. No cinnamon.

Cheesecake

Makes one 9-inch cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 c. fine graham cracker crumbs (a food processor works great, or a rolling pin over a Ziploc bag)
6 T. melted butter
1/4 c. sugar

Filling:
2 lbs. Philadelphia cream cheese (don't use cheap brands, they're more sour)
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 T. flour
1 t. vanilla
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 c. heavy cream

Spray a 9-inch sprinform or cheesecake pan (mentioned in this blog) with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper on the bottom and most of the way up the sides. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees

For the crust, combine the ingredients and press into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. If you want to keep the crust crispier, you can brush it with a beaten egg white at this point. I don't bother with that, but you can.

In a stand mixer or with an electric beater, beat the cream cheese until nice and creamy. Add the sugar, flour, and vanilla, then beat until smooth, scraping down the sides partway through. Then, one at a time, add the eggs and egg yolks, scraping the sides down and thoroughly incorporating each before moving on to the next one. After completely mixing in the eggs, mix in the cream on a low setting, as you don't want to whip the cream.

Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and make sure one last time that the filling is consistent throughout, then pour into the crust. Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake for one hour more. Turn the oven off, prop the door open just barely with the handle of a wooden spoon, and leave the cheesecake in there for 30 minutes. Remove it to a rack and let it cool completely to room temperature before unmolding.

All of these precautions, if done carefully, should leave you without large cracks in the cheesecake, and will ensure that the filling has cooked slowly, creating a very smooth texture. Just like scrambled eggs, proteins in general are creamier the slower they are cooked. I like to make my cheesecake at least one day in advance, as this gives it plenty of time to cool completely to room temperature and then to be refrigerated. It can also be covered completely and frozen, and it freezes very well. I prefer to leave the cheesecake at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving, as the flavor comes across better.

And, by the way, a half recipe is just the right amount for a 6" cheesecake.