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Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, or �Pizza� As We Call It In New York

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The biggest problem with Chicago-style deep dish pizza, especially for a New Yorker, is that it�s called �pizza.� I�m not sure what else it could�ve, or should�ve been called, but when you grow eating thin-crust, and all of a sudden someone hands you a plate of this, with a fork, and calls it pizza, it�s quite the shock to the system. Having said that, for the home cook at least, this deep dish pizza is actually much easier to pull off than your classic thin-crust, which really benefits from a 700 F. pizza oven. Another advantage is that we don�t have to worry about too much, or too many toppings, which is usually the fatal flaw of a poorly made NY-style pizza. One key, besides the buttery, cornmeal-infused crust, is to be sure your sauce is very thick, and flavorful. Some Chicago pizzerias simply use seasoned, coarsely crushed tomatoes, but I prefer using a sauce, as long as it�s reduced at least as much as you see here. Your favorite will work, but just in case you don�t have one of ...
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The Denver Omelet � Denver, Colorado, Not Denver, France

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This Denver omelet was one of the first things I learned how to make professionally, during my brief, but exciting career as a short order cook in high school. So, it was a little disconcerting to learn when I arrived at culinary school that everything I had done was totally wrong. According to the chefs teaching me how to make a classic French omelet, my Denver omelet was overcooked, over-browned, and included too many ingredients.   It was made very clear that if I made that for my exam, I would fail, which was confusing since I thought they were really good, and the people at the diner where I�d worked seemed to agree. Over the years, I�ve come to appreciate both styles of omelet, and understand they really are two entirely different things. I�m not sure exactly why, but I seem to prefer the softer French version for breakfast, and this heartier American-style for lunch, or dinner. Maybe it�s the browning, or denser texture, but it really does make for a great �can�t figure out ...
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Chennai Chicken Wings � A Football Snack from the Land of Cricket

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I used to do a new chicken wing video every year before the Super Bowl, but that yearly ritual stopped when I sort of ran out of things to do with them. Being from Western New York State, where chicken wings are as much a religion, as they are a snack, I didn�t want these posts to become gratuitous and contrived. However, this year I was inspired to reestablish the tradition after enjoying an appetizer called �Chennai Chicken,� served at Dosa, which is one of my favorite Indian restaurants in San Francisco. Their version features thin strips of breast coasted with a ton of spice, and deep-fried to a gorgeous brick red.   It�s one of those dishes you can�t stop eating, no matter how badly your mouth is burning, and I thought it would make a great approach for a batch of Buffalo wings. Since they�d never published the recipe, I did a lot of guessing here, but think I got pretty close. One of the key ingredients is an Indian spice blend called garam masala, which isn�t too hard to fi...
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Ben Franklin Breakfast Bowl � One Founding Father�s Alternative to Fast Food

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I much prefer teaching to preaching, but this time I�m attempting to do both, with the hope that you might introduce this delicious breakfast bowl into your morning routine. I�m not sure if an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, but I do know that being in the drive-thru line every morning, doesn�t. We�ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which may or may not be true, but I�ve always found it to be the most difficult meal of the day.   There never seems to be enough time, and so it�s easy to get into a rut, resorting to questionable choices such as sugary cereal and milk, or fast-food breakfast sandwiches. As far as specific ingredient choices go, I like to use chilled Honey Crisp, or Fuji apples, and, as I mentioned in the clip, sheep�s milk is my preferred yogurt. Some say it�s easier to digest, and it contains higher amounts of linoleic acid, which apparently helps with fat loss, but I simply prefer the taste. Just be sure to use a plain y...
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Panettone (Italian Christmas Bread) � Hard to Make, Or At Least That�s What We�re Telling People

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I�ve never tried to make panettone before, mostly because of how notoriously difficult it is to make, or so I was told. Turns out that wasn�t the case, unless people are factoring in the time, as this does take three days to complete, but other than that, I thought it was a pretty straightforward bread recipe. I think bakers like us regular folks to believe everything is super hard to make, so as to elevate their standing in society; or, maybe this is difficult, and I just got lucky, but regardless, I was thrilled with how this came out. I may add a bit more vanilla next time, and possibly a few extra tablespoons of sugar, as it wasn�t quite as sweet as I imagined, but other than using all the fruit, I don�t think I�d change much else. Speaking of the dried fruit, there are so many other things you can include, such as nuts, and chocolate chips, just in case this seems too healthy. You'll find the panettone baking molds at places like Sur La Table, or other kitchenware stores at th...
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Lobster Thermidor � Not Your Parents� Thermidor

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I don�t remember that much about the lobster thermidor I ate in culinary school in the early eighties, other than not really being able to taste any lobster. Instead of the nice, light sauce I used here, the meat was hidden in a thick, eggy, cheese sludge, which looked great broiled to a bubbly, golden-brown, but wasn�t the best method if you actually wanted to know you were eating lobster. Lobster is sort of sweet, and rich tasting to begin with, so covering it in a super heavy sauce never made much sense, which is why I like this approach so much more. Our sauce is just heavy enough to coat the chunks of meat, without hiding it, and while we�re not adding handfuls of cheese, or a bunch of egg yolks, we�re still going to enjoy a fairly decadent dish. Not only is this great for a fancy dinner party because it looks and tastes great, but you can also do all the prep ahead of time, and then just pop them in the oven when you�re ready for service. If you go that route, they�re going to be...
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Chocolate Bark � Temper, Temper

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In addition to sharing an easy, and beautiful edible holiday gift idea, I wanted to make this chocolate bark so I could test a simplified technique for tempering chocolate without a thermometer. It sounded too good to be true, but worked fairly well, which is the problem. Is fairly good, okay?  Properly tempered chocolate will snap when broken, and retain that gorgeous glossy sheen. Poorly tempered chocolate is sort of dull grey, and the texture is soft, and waxy. This was somewhere in the middle. Using this method, you will get close to properly tempered chocolate, and you might get lucky, and actually end up with perfectly tempered chocolate, but in hindsight, since using a thermometer isn�t really hard, and the extra steps required not that strenuous, I�ll probably just do it the right way next time. In fact, I may do a future chocolate truffle video as an excuse to show you the �professional� method, but in the meantime, check out this great article I found on Allrecipes , as...
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