Tight A$$ Tuesdays: Homemade Pizza Dough and Pizza Bianca

Homemade pizza dough is one of those things - once you try it - no other pizza will do, and once you learn how easy it is - you'll be doing it with your eyes shut. When someone suggests ordering pizza for dinner, I dive for the bread flour and rolling pin just to spare myself from the soggy bases, and over-salted, plastic cheese toppings from the local pizzeria. Some people, in childish bouts of spite, will even challenge unsuspecting family members to get their soggy shop made pizza before the pretty homemade pizza is out of the oven. Trust me, they'll lose. I just know these things...

So, with the mercury dropping, get in there and knead some dough. Between the bingo wings workout and a roaring hot oven, you'll be as warm as toast in no time. The lower temperatures are also great for slow yeast development - you'll get so much more flavour if you can let the dough rise slowly. If you don't have the hours required for that, plonk the dough in a warm spot and watch it rise.

The smell of pizza dough is immediately soothing. A sprinkle of dried oregano combined with the fermenting yeast gives off an aroma to ease the mind. If you have the energy, make a double batch and freeze some of the dough before rising, or par-bake the rolled out base for a super quick meal or snack. If you freeze the dough, thaw it out in the fridge overnight in a greased bowl, letting it rise as it thaws.

The understated pizza above is the beauty known as Pizza Bianca. The toppings are nothing more than extra virgin olive oil, a good sea salt and fresh rosemary massaged into the base. I know, I know, it sounds so boring and plain, but think of pretzels, plain potato chips, or fresh focaccia. You can't argue with how those snacks rate in the moreish stakes.

The second pizza is as simple as smearing some fresh pesto over the base, layering some super thinly sliced potatos and some good streaky bacon. I got to use the last of my King Valley Free Range bacon. A quick flourish of grated parmesan and into the oven to crisp and brown. Seriously, that's about 2 minutes worth of effort.

Homemade Pizza Dough
(Makes 2 large pizzas)

3 cups plain flour (bread flour if you have it)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp yeast
1 cup water, at blood temp
1 tab dried oregano (optional)

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and bring together into a loose mass. If you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, get it going on a low speed for about 7-10 minutes. If kneading by hand, you'll need to knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough doesn't come together, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Dough should form a smooth, elastic ball, leaving the sides of the bowl clean. Press the dough with your finger to see if its ready. It will spring back quickly when it's done.

Take dough out of the bowl and drizzle in a little olive oil. Put the dough back in and turn to coat the ball evenly. Cover with cling wrap and leave in a warm spot for 2 hours or so, until doubled in size. The time it takes will depend on the temperature of your room.

Heat oven to highest heat setting. Punch the dough down and roll out to about 5mm. (It's proper to try to stretch the dough, rather than roll it - I usually roll it to the basic shape and then push it out with my fingertips to reach the edges of the tray.) At this point you can let it rise again (another hour), for a fuller flavoured dough, or you can put your toppings on and cook right away.

Cook for 5 minutes at full heat, then reduce to 190c for remainder of cooking time. About 12 minutes, or until browned and dough is cooked through in the centre.

Tight A$$ Tuesdays: Slow Cooked Osso Bucco

You know as soon as you combine hours of low-heat cooking and a cut of meat with a high bone to meat ratio, you're going to end up with meltingly tender meat and a sauce that becomes rich and creamy from the dissolved connective tissue and marrow.

That's exactly what happens with this dish. It takes around 5 minutes to prepare, and then you get to sit down with a warm Milo and a book for a couple of hours while you take in the smells that will inevitably filter through the house. It's cheap as chips to make, probably using around $7 worth of meat and will feed around 6 people with a side of mash, risotto or couscous. You can use the shank bones for traditional osso bucco, or apply the same method to chops, necks or any cut really. A handful of fresh herbs and lemon zest added at the end brings it to life and freshens it all up.

Slow Cooked Osso Bucco

1kg osso bucco
800g diced fresh or canned tomatoes
400g tomato puree or passata
2 onions, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stick celery, diced
big slurp of red or white wine (about 2 cups)
Handful of fresh herbs - i used parlsey, thyme, oregano and some chives
salt and pepper

Brown off the meat in batches and put in the bottom of a baking dish. Sweat the onions, carrot and celery until slightly browned, pour in over the meat. Add the tomatoes, passata, wine and herbs to the meat. Cook for 2-3 hours at 160c until meat is falling off the bone. Check the seasoning. Serve over couscous, risotto or a creamy mash.

Tight A$$ Tuesdays: Comfy Bacon Bone Soup

Mum used to make this continuously as soon as the temperature dropped below "sweltering" and then sometimes even when it didn't. Monday to Sunday - that's what we got. Although it was rather monotonous during those months, it was very good. This is yummy-for-my-tummy ultimate well-being food.

This little dude got caught in the act of eating my oregano. He escaped the pot but promptly became chook food. Out of the pan into the fire?

And bonus, you can make it with your eyes shut in a matter of minutes, it makes enough to feed several small countries, it's healthy and costs just a few dollars for countless meals. It gloops up considerably upon cooling, so you can thin it down with stock or water to make even more. I kid you not, the fridge will be full, the freezer packed and your belly distended once you give this a whirl. And, seriously, give this a go.

Bacon Bone Soup
(This makes enough to almost fill my 14L stockpot)

2 large onions, diced
4 carrots, diced
4 celery stems, diced
4 potatoes, diced
1.5kg bacon bones or smoked hocks
500g dried split peas, soup mix, barley, dried grains or whatever

In your stockpot, saute the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes over a low heat until lightly coloured and softened. Add the bacon bones and dried grains and enough water to completely cover all the bones or fill your pot to about 3/4, whichever is more. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally so it doesn't catch on the bottom. After a couple of hours, the meat should be falling off the bones, and the liquid thickened and rich. Season with salt and pepper and get into it with some buttered fresh bread or toast.

Notes: There is no strict recipe, if you don't eat pork, use some browned beef or chicken bones. Use any vegetables in any proportions, clear out the fridge and put it all in. Pasta and rice are good substitutes for the soup mix. Frozen peas etc are great additions to put in at the end. Try putting it all in your slow-cooker and forget about it for the day. You'll come home to dinner all done and the house smelling... soupy.

Pimp My Blank Canvas Biscuits (cookies)

This is one of those recipes that gets down on it's hands and knees and begs to be pimped. The unadulterated biscuit dough is quite perfect as it is. It's buttery, chewy, rich and sweet - but it's plain, which is fine sometimes, for some people. But who wouldn't want to, just sometimes, revert back to the days when the thought of wallowing in large tubs of mixed lollies was your idea of a successful adult life, and childishly smoosh every kind of sweet into one biscuit? (This is the part where you tell me that you used to dream about this too, and that I am in fact, not strange. Thanks.) What I'm saying is, they can be plain jane simple, sensible biccies, or you can go absolutely OTT with them. And if you're not as mentally unhinged as I, you could even be tasteful and classy and fall somewhere in the middle.

This recipe makes a lot. I make this much so I can cook some right away, then roll the rest of the dough into little logs and freeze for later. Then it's just a matter of thawing, slicing off rounds and cooking them. If you're not into that, just halve the recipe or be prepared to share them with the neighbours. Or double it and gorge on 120 biscuits yourself!

Blank Canvas Biscuits (Makes approx. 60)

250g butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 cups whatever mix ins you choose
 
Preheat oven to 180C. Grease or line biscuit trays with baking paper. Cream the butter, sugars and vanilla together until pale. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Stir in the flour and then bring the dough together with your hands, adding the mix ins at the same time. You can pretty much keep adding more and more mix ins until it just wont take anymore. Load them up!!

Shape the dough into balls with about 1tbs of mixture, or use a cookie scoop (larger melon baller or smaller ice-cream scoop) and place on the trays, allowing room for spreading.
Bake  for 10-12 minutes. Yes they still look pale and raw, but the bottoms should be a little coloured. This is the secret to chewy biscuits. If you like them crispy cook them a few minutes more. Cool on the trays for about 5 minutes, then onto a cooling rack.

Mix in Madness: Try M&Ms, Smarties, macadamia nuts, white chocolate, chocolate chips, boiled lollies, crystallised ginger, pecans, peanuts, sultanas, citrus zest, cinnamon or mixed spices, glace cherries, pistachios, coconut, chunks of fudge, mars bars, chocolate cookies, dried fruit, honeycomb, craisins, mini marshmallows, Maltesers, Skittles, sprinkles, peppermint crisps, mint slice, tim tams, oreos, hundreds and thousands, anything and everything!

Flavoured Butters - Savoury and Sweet

countryliving.com

There you are, staring down at the piece of raw meat on your bench and it's just laying there awaiting it's fate without the decency to even suggest what might be done with it. So many possibilities, but if you've left dinner until the last minute and have no idea what to do with it - give these little gems a go. If you have good quality meat, you'll need little more than some flavoured butter to kick it up a notch. You can trick up some butter ahead of time to have stored in the freezer ready to roll. Savoury butters are fantastic on a roast, steak, chicken, fish, pork, vegetables, sauces and anywhere you would usually use plain butter. Sweet butters are great on cakes, pancakes, toast, fresh homemade bread, muffins and to use in pastries, biscuit doughs etc.

The method for these is mostly all the same. Soften the butter, blend in the other ingredients with a fork or a mixer, put the butter onto some gladwrap and roll up into a log shape, twisting the ends to keep it tight. Store in the fridge for a few days or the freezer for a month or so. Just slice off medallions into single serves or melt it all down to garnish a whole dish.

Savoury Butters:
Roasted Capsicum & Basil Butter - 100g butter, 1 small roasted red capsicum peeled, 1 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs chopped basil, salt & pepper. Spread on crusty bread or focaccia, melt over a meaty fish or as a vegetable garnish.

Mai'tre D'Hotel Butter - 100g butter, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tbs lemon juice, 1/2 tbs parsley chopped. This is a classic French butter served with fish, meat and vegetables.

Caper & Anchovy Butter - 100g butter, 30g anchovies, few capers, dash lemon juice. Be sure to rinse the salt off the anchovies and capers. Use with grilled fish or cold white meat.

Trick it up some more: try thyme and lemon with fish, sundried tomato and olive on bruschetta, caremelised onion and balsamic or worcestershire and tabasco on steak, or a mixture of your favorite herbs to use on almost anything.

Sweet Butters:
Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Butter - 100g butter, 2 tbs brown sugar, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Great for making cinnamon toast, baked apples, brushing over tea cakes or melting over pancakes.

Ginger & Orange Butter -  100g butter, 1tbs orange juice, 1tsp orange rind, 1tbs crystallised ginger chopped finely. Awesome on fresh bread, scones, fruitcake and used as the butter in a fruit crumble.

Citron Butter - 100g butter, 1 tbs lemon/lime/orange/grapefruit juice and 1tsp of the juice, add icing sugar to taste. Perfect for pancakes, on top of an orange cake, etc.


More: Mix butter with ground almonds for making cakes and pastries or cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice for stewed fruit desserts.

Just think about your flavours and view it as a glorified seasoning. The combinations are infinite, and there isn't much out there that can't be made better with the addition of some creamy butter.