Warming Inspiration

Living in a house that is over hundred years is totally not like the apartment building I lived that was of a similar age. The radiators in that dwelling might have hissed and pissed as it heated my place to a balmy, tropical 80-degrees. And, the windows had been replaced at some point that allowed that enveloping warmth to stay within. Now, I am completely exposed – the original lead glass windows, which are beautiful are poorly insulting even with the storm windows that have been laid over them as a supposedly thermal barrier. Hah! Fortunately, I finally figured out how the wood burning stove works that actually does warm up the place.

I am now in love with the glowing nightly fire if not so much with the daily scooping of wasted embers. Though this fire unit has made me think – besides taking the chill out of the air what else can it do? It is a stove after all, and I am committed to cooking on it and in it. A crispy potato galette will brown on its top but it is the idea that I have the potential for bread making. The conventional stove in the kitchen maxes out at 500-degree and the one touched into the wall of the living room revs in excess of 1,000-degrees. The radiator in my old place could have stood in as a proofer but never could I have imaged much more.

Pizza Pie Roll – yields 10-inch pie

1-packet dry yeast

½-teaspoon sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

4-cups all-purpose flour

2-teaspoons olive oil

1-medium onion - diced

5-cup roughly chopped leaves – such as beet, spinach, kale

4-garlic cloves – chopped

¼-pound smoked sausage - diced

2-cups packed basil leaves

¼-pound grated Parmesan cheese

¼-pound grated Asiago cheese

Freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large work bowl mix together 1-cup of warm water, yeast, sugar and 2-tablespoons of flour. Let the mixture sit for 10 to 15 minutes – there a bloom should occur indicating the yeast has activated. Then mix in the remaining flour and olive oil, and work into a dough mass. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes – alternatively, the dough can be made in a standing mixture fitted with a dough hook attachment.

Once the dough has been worked and feels smooth to the touch, lightly flour the dough and place in a bowl, and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough proof for an hour, and then gently knock down, and proof for a second hour.

While the dough is proofing heat a 10-inch pan over a high flame and add the onions and sausage. Cook for about 10-minutes then start adding the greens, in batches, to wilt. Once the greens are done mix the garlic. Transfer the greens mixture to a sieve, and allow it to cool completely. Once the greens has cooled mix in basil, Parmesan and Asiago cheeses.

Pre-heat the oven to 500-degrees.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out to about 20x16 inches. Spread the greens out over the dough leaving about an inch at the bottom without any filling. Roll the dough up into a log and then spiral to create a 10-inch round.

Place the pizza into a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, and place in the oven on a lower third rack. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes, Remove from the oven, and allow the pizza pie sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Dear old new friend

Ever since last spring I have been dedicated to three new but old pans. Last winter a cousin passed on, after a long-lived life and assisting in cleaning out the house I salvaged from the trash heap a trio of well-seasoned, family worked cast iron pans. My cousin and their family lived in the same house for the about 60 years, and I can only imagine how old the skillet, dutch oven and grill pan were. They are a testament to fact that cast iron, for me, are heirlooms to be cherished and passed along. They are so well seasoned, with a layer of carbon so set that I fear not it rusting, though I still never use more then a soft sponge and always dry it over a flame for there would be no greater loss than those years of dutifully preparing the family meals that are deeply enbedded within.

My cousin who onced owned these pans was one of the first foodie I had ever known. I remember back when I was in my late teens she came into New York from Atlanta for a culinary run. I was a bureougning foodie myself, and spent the day running around Manhattan with her on the hunt. I totally recall a small, floor to ceiling crammed stored in Chinatown where she was told a dragon and butterfly cookie-cutter could be found. In cleaning out the kitchen I was hoping to come across those detailed, delicate cutters perhaps her daughter found them and took them home with her. A cookbook collection spanned 5 decades and was rife with local self-published “Junior League” style contibutions that represents the anthropological development of the area and time – I scooped those up; even though I know I was never going to make a 7-up  Cake or Coca Cola Chicken.

I would never have thought that I would have ended up a chef, a hoarder of pre-loved rolling pins, apothecary jars and cast iron skillets. The history of food and cooking inspires, informs and releases me to create for future accumulators of the past.

Sautéed Radish, Turnip and Beets – yeilds 4 servings

2-shallots – thinly sliced

2-tablespoons olive oil

6 baby Japanese turnips - halved

4 radishes - halved

3 baby beets (preferably golden or candy stripped) - halved

2-garlic cloves – thinly sliced

¼-cup basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat an eight-inch cast iron skillet over a high heat, then add the shallots and olive oil. Cook the shallots until golden brown, then mix in the turnips, radishes, beets and garlic.

Sauté the vegeables for about 5 minutes, until just tender then lower the heat, and mix in the basil, salt and pepper.

Serve warm.