tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29893768784737057582024-03-01T20:07:35.181-05:00Jon In AlbanyI have no idea what I'm doing. Give me some time to figure it out.Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.comBlogger513125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-88905457487470696442023-12-30T20:17:00.002-05:002024-01-01T17:06:59.270-05:00Ending 2023 on a high note<p>My wife asked if there was anything I wanted to do over the holiday break. If the weather cooperates, I'd want to make pizza. For the most part, the weather cooperated today. Was a little windier
than I like. This temp with no wind is actually nice pizza making
weather. Add a good breeze like today and it can get chilly.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkHgmNhVM8YRXGKz-Dv1KRlz-XyLa_924ABfFfJQTDOXKxobcjWpOmKXFUlC1dFrVHKSqAaSa60krrLfwTug-yWAJYsJoE-JPB7UC4Xw27skewufznS_4k2kxPFczQ8A_1KvzL_rnQcBa259Bg2X6Sb2XOtYzbUYSGZkXUfz-uZDSjY2MXhi2SIyLbZs/s1748/20231230_161758.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1345" data-original-width="1748" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZkHgmNhVM8YRXGKz-Dv1KRlz-XyLa_924ABfFfJQTDOXKxobcjWpOmKXFUlC1dFrVHKSqAaSa60krrLfwTug-yWAJYsJoE-JPB7UC4Xw27skewufznS_4k2kxPFczQ8A_1KvzL_rnQcBa259Bg2X6Sb2XOtYzbUYSGZkXUfz-uZDSjY2MXhi2SIyLbZs/w400-h308/20231230_161758.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Anyhow, I made pizza today. Nothing major. Didn't invite anyone over. No special plans. Just relaxed pizza making. Tried a dough experiment that worked so-so. Like most research, that dough procedure requires more research to be conclusive.</p><p>I delivered a few around the neighborhood. A meat lovers to the lady who sometimes lets our dog out during the day. One of my original deliveries across the street was out of town. I texted the relatively new neighbors to see if they were around. It had looked like they were away for a few days. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdk-uX6me0YmZKNpboCkdSlzNETzPFUrTwB41eF9rEZWl_G-IurkggCRaqmLoKVM-JpgVkEU0Pm2O5yb-hugC_8ae1MxdCxLYqp-UU-1vDnHJl9OmnDDSGbrPRGJYm-K_QZ7dDKel7DpntFPpdOTKcMNpNxi-JnMXtCA8nN1vM4WSU7UQKdqSb0VVlHg/s1369/text1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1369" data-original-width="1079" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdk-uX6me0YmZKNpboCkdSlzNETzPFUrTwB41eF9rEZWl_G-IurkggCRaqmLoKVM-JpgVkEU0Pm2O5yb-hugC_8ae1MxdCxLYqp-UU-1vDnHJl9OmnDDSGbrPRGJYm-K_QZ7dDKel7DpntFPpdOTKcMNpNxi-JnMXtCA8nN1vM4WSU7UQKdqSb0VVlHg/w315-h400/text1.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>They were around and excited for some pizza. I've written about them before. The kids are really cute. How cute? I've put pineapple on pizza for them. That's how cute. Since I had extra dough, I made them two pizzas - a Hawaiian and a pepperoni - and walked them across the street. I got a cute chorus of "Thank you!" from the girls as I left. A few minutes later I got follow up text and one of the girls (she's Kindergarten/1st grade age) paid me a nice compliment.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbVFmNkAsNjLkKDZeIavcfmA6ztNllaGl6tWeAgxUVDDZx9H_6aNom7jjwZ73m_tSfu7r-Tc1bH6V7uGKwwoeripEPbPH1q2I8iZQPb5jSEAdwOCB0aPsRI4AGUjm4ORzZCE3r9M5RLLdATmaLGf_NKer_MWYIgAMQOxFr1upgybmMnUNZhwfM21Pg1k/s1589/Screenshot_20231230_200425_Messages.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1589" data-original-width="1069" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrbVFmNkAsNjLkKDZeIavcfmA6ztNllaGl6tWeAgxUVDDZx9H_6aNom7jjwZ73m_tSfu7r-Tc1bH6V7uGKwwoeripEPbPH1q2I8iZQPb5jSEAdwOCB0aPsRI4AGUjm4ORzZCE3r9M5RLLdATmaLGf_NKer_MWYIgAMQOxFr1upgybmMnUNZhwfM21Pg1k/w269-h400/Screenshot_20231230_200425_Messages.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><p>"How come this pizza is so good!" </p><p>She's invited back.</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-23959184257952156362023-03-16T22:13:00.003-04:002023-03-17T20:56:46.919-04:00Intense Milk<p>My oldest daughter was home this week for spring break from college. She brought home some <a href="https://www.intensemilk.com/" target="_blank">Intense Milk</a>. It is sold from some dedicated Intense Milk only vending machines and also available in some campus shops. It has been a while since the 4 of us went on a Fussy Little Blog tour and ranked something, so I made up some score cards and we had a tasting. On the ballot:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hqnMBg7uOaRRNuUiY2nBHsvylq38gWQ0GHBX0HzTIP8On7eywCc2A2mPSXvX1sM9gjQ6KXKYtTWrkMdfUKoXOqbp5AfepISi6xl_VYvVI-PvNBDT9m0ElaIiAIdRj8LMboM6TFzmqf2GYRqqfoFDWaHqcBDNFZys1YXaDkFpZ-8KKXXWW8vuWpYe/s2314/Intense%20Milk.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1736" data-original-width="2314" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hqnMBg7uOaRRNuUiY2nBHsvylq38gWQ0GHBX0HzTIP8On7eywCc2A2mPSXvX1sM9gjQ6KXKYtTWrkMdfUKoXOqbp5AfepISi6xl_VYvVI-PvNBDT9m0ElaIiAIdRj8LMboM6TFzmqf2GYRqqfoFDWaHqcBDNFZys1YXaDkFpZ-8KKXXWW8vuWpYe/w400-h300/Intense%20Milk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Vanilla: Weighing in at 490 calories per container.</p><p>Strawberry: This lowfat version weighs in at 330 calories per container.</p><p>Chocolate: Also lowfat and the lightest at 320 calories per container.</p><p>Mint Chip: Eerily green and weighing in at 490 calories per container.</p><p>On the plus side, these all have a good amount of calcium.</p><p>I went with the tasting order of Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate and Mint Chip. The idea was to go from mild flavors towards bolder tastes like a wine tasting. I put too much thought into this. Here are some tasting notes:</p><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Vanilla</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jon: Tastes like melted ice cream but a little chalky</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amy: Smooth like melted ice cream</div><div style="text-align: left;">Allison: Tastes like vanilla ice cream, very sweet</div><div style="text-align: left;">Casey: No comment</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Low Fat Strawberry</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jon: Looks like pepto, tastes like vanilla with strawberry chemical</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amy: Sweet, has an after taste</div><div style="text-align: left;">Allison: tastes like strawberry milk, i never liked strawberry milk that much</div><div style="text-align: left;">Casey: Elementary school strawberry milk flashbacks</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Low Fat Chocolate</u></b><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jon: Kind of like melted chocolate soft serve. Little metallic and the end</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amy: Could use more chocolate</div><div style="text-align: left;">Allison: Pretty good, I can seen how it is more chocolate ice cream than just chocolate milk</div><div style="text-align: left;">Casey: Powdered chocolate milk vibe</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><u>Mint Chip</u></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jon: Decent mint chocolate flavor</div><div style="text-align: left;">Amy: Nice flavor</div><div style="text-align: left;">Allison: Tastes like mint chip ice cream. Can I take points off for how atrocious it looks?</div><div style="text-align: left;">Casey: No comment</div><p>The report coming back from campus is that Chocolate is the O.G. flavor (that means Original Gangster, mom) and probably the most popular on campus. The scores-<br /></p><p>Parents: We had identical scorecards. Strawberry left off the podium, Chocolate taking the bronze. Vanilla with the silver and in a twist that surprised no one more than me, the very green Mint Chip takes home the gold.</p><p>Young Adults: They came close to agreeing. Both had Strawberry in last place, Chocolate and Mint Chip in for silver or bronze (Allison preferred Chocolate and Casey gave the edge to Mint Chip), and Vanilla on top of their podium with gold. </p><p>And there you have it. </p><p>Stewart's flavored milks are better.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-89809336269769548592023-03-04T15:29:00.001-05:002023-03-04T15:29:38.964-05:00Am I wrong or is this shop owner?<p>So this shop is located in the space where another pizza shop used to be. The original shop was here for decades, and about 20 years ago, maybe a little more, built a new, bigger space about a 1/4 mile away. Since then, I thought a few other mostly to-go places (pizzas and others) have been in this space. Maybe it was just this one with different owners. I was unaware the current version of the pizza shop was there.<br /><br />Bill Dowd has a blog with local events, opening and closings, that kind of stuff. Earlier today I saw that the current tenant of this space has the store up for sale and clicked on the link. They are doing a starter only/"natural" yeast concept. Here's what the owner (with a bachelors in Nutrition Science) said:<br /><br /><i>"We are huge fans of all things wild and this includes yeast. Pizza Buono uses wild yeast exclusively to leaven our dough. While commercial yeast is often all GMO, single strain yeast that relies on added sugars for its rise, wild yeast feeds on the wheat protein -- aka the gluten -- in the flour, reducing it to a very nutritious, digestible form. Wild yeast culture can be unpredictable and costly, which is why most pizzerias do not use it, but we believe the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. We also use King Arthur Flour exclusively -- no bleach, no bromate, no GMOs."</i><br /><br />1. I don't know about ALL commercial yeast, but the one I see most places using is SAF Instant which is labeled as non gmo. I think past version of it had something GMO in the citric acid. So maybe at one time anyhow. Lesaffre (the company that makes SAF Instant) also makes a compressed yeast that is also listed as GMO free.<br /><br />2. Every yeast I have used will work without added sugar. I haven't put sugar in my pizza dough for years. The times I've used a starter, there was no added sugar either. Yeast doesn't need added sugar. Not for nothing, if you're making booze, you just need to properly cook corn in water and add yeast. If you add sugar, you'll get more alcohol, but you don't need the sugar to get alcohol. No "all grain" whiskey has added sugar.<br /></p><p>3. This is the first time I recall hearing yeast ate gluten. Not a food scientist, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Starches/sugars sure, but protein/gluten? Don't think so. No one is adding gluten to wine so the yeast can eat, and the gluten free pizza dough I make without any added sugar literally has no gluten and the yeast makes it rise.</p><p>4. Not the first place I've seen the digestibility comment. I personally think it is more about properly fermented dough than strain of yeast, but at least that is open to debate. This seems more anecdotal than test based.</p><p>5. Can't argue with unpredictable, expensive and most commercial pizzerias do not rely solely on a starter. So I guess the owner is not completely wrong.</p><p>Part of me wants to drive out and try what they are selling, but I'm not sure it is worth the trip. I'm guessing it would make me mad. Probably about 15 minute drive away. Here's the link to the original post<br /></p><p><a href="https://dowdnotesonnapkins.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-niskayuna-wild-yeast-pizzeria-goes-up.html?view=classic">https://dowdnotesonnapkins.blogspot.com/2023/03/a-niskayuna-wild-yeast-pizzeria-goes-up.html?view=classic</a><br /><br />And here's the menu. </p><p><a href="https://www.pizzabuonomenu.com">https://www.pizzabuonomenu.com</a>/ <br /></p><p>I'm guessing it is a broad use of the word Neapolitan. The one undercarriage photo online I found showed they are using screens, you know, like classic Neapolitan wood fired pizza <sarcasm font needed>. For just $259,900, the store can be yours.<br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwojIMugG17fbTcao36XcUJojPWZ5Lp9S4Bnwp1lwxrnCRYm92MN8jPr-uJFlcaib5tR_evcDi8vblltlZqpn1pWT5UtFkS0bqWWPaSGRLAMhj3oJXhP3gRhF61lI2Gvq4Hf1_npvLZXRUrGr1WSZNCAFpfu5ZoxDi3l71xQSDYyq7eRFMUMkqReeh/s1000/o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwojIMugG17fbTcao36XcUJojPWZ5Lp9S4Bnwp1lwxrnCRYm92MN8jPr-uJFlcaib5tR_evcDi8vblltlZqpn1pWT5UtFkS0bqWWPaSGRLAMhj3oJXhP3gRhF61lI2Gvq4Hf1_npvLZXRUrGr1WSZNCAFpfu5ZoxDi3l71xQSDYyq7eRFMUMkqReeh/w400-h300/o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"> Photo from 2019 taken by Frances L. found on Yelp<br /></p><p> </p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-87229831573684741962022-11-27T16:59:00.002-05:002022-11-27T16:59:13.355-05:00Pizza Memories<p>After Thanksgiving, I brought my mother back to Connecticut. After I pulled out and started the return trip home I had an idea. The road I take goes pretty close to a restaurant in Stratford. When I was a kid, the people running this place made the pizza that is my personal Pizza Cognition Theory pizza and are really the inspiration to the wood fired oven in the back yard. The obsession started there. The current restaurant is fancier than the original location. Pizzas are only to go which would be fine tonight.<br /></p><p>I pulled over, looked up the number on the phone and ordered two pizzas. A cheese and one with bacon. My plan was to pick up the pizzas, then keep driving and stop in a VFW parking lot, eat and then continue on my way home. I got there and paid as the pizzas were coming out of the oven. The tops looked good and had that hypnotic cheese boil going on.</p><p>Off I went, basically adding no extra travel time to the trip. Perfect.</p><p>Well, the lights were all off at the VFW so I drove right past it in the dark. No worries, there was a gas station a little ways up. I'll eat in the lot there, and then run in for a drink.</p><p>The pizzas were so disappointing. Like, crushingly disappointing.</p><p>I've had the pizza in the back and considered it kind of a hollow shell of it's past. It was never bad pizza and there were always a few bites that brought back memories of pizzas from long ago. Not this time. The crust had nothing in common with the historic pie. It was under salted and under fermented. The sauce was flat. The flourish of was oregano missing and even the cheese melt was different. And the worst part, was that the bake was completely unbalanced. The top was done but the undercarriage of the crust was blond and missing any browning or char the old pizzas used to have.</p><p>I wonder if the new oven isn't as good. I'm tempted to try a pizza from the original location. The photos don't look promising, but you never know. It is a Brazilian-Italian place now. Interesting combo. But I think I'm done trying to relive my pizza memories here. If I return, it will be for something else on the menu....but probably still a pizza to go. There's always a little bit of hope left.<br /></p><p>Also, while I'm whining here:</p><p>A Margherita pizza is a Margherita pizza. There is no such thing as a Margherita pizza with or without something. Been seeing things like a Margherita pizza with pepperoni or a Margherita pizza without basil. These are no longer Margherita pizzas.</p><p>Just like pouring a beer in a wine glass doesn't make it wine, roasting any cut of beef doesn't make that roast Prime Rib. <br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-45334686078216449062022-11-09T23:18:00.000-05:002022-11-09T23:18:02.460-05:00Signs<p>I don't get the upside of putting a sign for a politician in your yard. Is it supposed to change someone's mind as they walk or drive by? Is it just for name recognition? Why?</p><p>I've only had a political sign in the yard once. The few times I've been asked to put a sign up, I just say I live at the end of a dead end street. No one but me will see the sign. But the time I put a sign up, one of my neighbors was running, it was his sign, one house over had the opponent's sign and he wanted one of his near the opponent's sign. I avoided the awkwardness and said sure.</p><p>I voted for the opponent.</p><p>That was some time ago. Years before Trump's Republican party. These days I would have dealt with the awkwardness and said something like, "I suspect it will be a full generation before I even consider voting for you or any other Republican." And based on some political conversations in the time since, I don't think he'd ask again, to spare himself the awkward conversation. <br /></p><p>On the Saturday before election day, a different house put up some signs. I already knew they probably leaned right. But there's a level of leaning right and then there's thinking that election conspiracy, anti-LGBTQ, anti women's health Lee Zeldin is a good choice level of leaning right.</p><p>I was left with questions.</p><p>Why even bother, there isn't much traffic past this driveway and the election is in 3 days?</p><p>Really?</p><p>You know voting for him is a vote against your daughter having decent healthcare in the future, right?</p><p>You've got signs for Zeldin and Velella, but skipped Liz Joy. She's too bat shit crazy for you but the other pair are OK? </p><p>The "Don't say gay" bill would lead to a lot of really, really bad, cruel things. You're good with that?<br /></p><p>I was disappointed in my neighbors. Maybe I'm over reacting. Sure doesn't feel that way though. On the positive side, Zeldin and Velella both lost. No idea if the signs had any impact on the neighborhood vote, but they didn't work overall. <br /></p><p>I get not being thrilled with Hochul. I'm not. The campaign donation followed by a big contract is sketchy at best. The football stadium is stupid. I guess that's her expensive bridge. Hopefully she doesn't name it after her father. Her election bid was one October screw up away from a loss. I saw something on elections recently that made a lot sense. Basically it said elections are like public transportation. You pick the candidate that is going to get you the closest to where you want to go. I don't want to go anywhere with Lee Zeldin. <br /></p><p>Saw this from a Canadian election observer. It's got to be tough to watch. It ain't exactly fun being a part of the mess either.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGYQeiB2OF1w7EtKfnWjmld-mtGgpCekclo0wfftBKYlLdR1WQnpuLYPo9vK2mr55F0EYJb3HPLbVQrWqqgJyRdJzpBoiE9CLYrU17Wr4OKVkEghpz2Wey9PbTHEbyGLGqgwmVdqpGoEMOGJR1N_WGC3CVt5mQzNxLf7kkOT3d2_Fiu3dlldZxv8Y/s720/election.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="720" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGYQeiB2OF1w7EtKfnWjmld-mtGgpCekclo0wfftBKYlLdR1WQnpuLYPo9vK2mr55F0EYJb3HPLbVQrWqqgJyRdJzpBoiE9CLYrU17Wr4OKVkEghpz2Wey9PbTHEbyGLGqgwmVdqpGoEMOGJR1N_WGC3CVt5mQzNxLf7kkOT3d2_Fiu3dlldZxv8Y/w400-h376/election.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-8220798952961985842022-06-01T11:29:00.002-04:002022-06-01T11:31:33.251-04:00Road Trip to Queens<p>Not quite a month ago, I had to go on an overnight for work. I'm still leery of being out a lot. Ordering take out and not dining in, masks and all that. So obviously when faced with an overnight trip to Queens, I pulled up map and tried to correlate places I could stay and pizza shops I wanted to try.</p><p>The list of pizza places I'm curious about in Queens isn't huge. I'm sure there is more worthwhile pizza than the list. But in no particular order, the places I'd like to try are:</p><p>Lucia Pizza, Flushing</p><p>Amore Pizza, Flushing</p><p>Philomena's, Sunnyside</p><p>Louie's Pizza, Elmherst</p><p>Brother's Pizza, Flushing</p><p>Rizzo's Fine Pizza, Astoria</p><p>Margherita, Jamaica</p><p>Rosario's, Astoria</p><p>Bellucci's Pizzeria, Astoria</p><p>There's already another story behind the Bellucci's that I posted about a year ago. The original Bellucci's was opening at the end of <a href="https://joninalbanyblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/untitled-pizza-movie.html" target="_blank">Untitled Pizza Movie</a>. But there was a falling out and Andrew Bellucci left and has since reopened another pizza place a few blocks away from the first. Anyhow, the shop currently being run by Andrew Bellucci wasn't open that night and this list of pizza places is pretty spread out. I decided to pick the one I wanted to try the most and get a hotel fairly close with a parking option.</p><p>I found a hotel with a parking spot about a mile away from Philomena's. It looked like it would work well. A nice walk there and back plus I was pretty close to where I had to be in the morning. Checked into the hotel, hung out for a bit in the room and set off on my straight shot walk up Queen's Boulevard to Philomena's. The weather was nice and the walk was good. It was nice to be out of the car.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZQHHhtFxMgLDWbUSuy4x6F1zyWOElHsDmWEEiVzsValyHL0SB3iB93oOMjlZZUuW1p3nn_LNC1kovpubU40EzjhPMOZ4YuqB2V6AGHw9ypXZnFmljfQgOdx-IdYgJYi9meZt0ykmgjyVVqwIQgSTCf4ZJUZ6_yqcvwrw2_0wFs6JX1OgKndqvng2/s2272/philomenas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZQHHhtFxMgLDWbUSuy4x6F1zyWOElHsDmWEEiVzsValyHL0SB3iB93oOMjlZZUuW1p3nn_LNC1kovpubU40EzjhPMOZ4YuqB2V6AGHw9ypXZnFmljfQgOdx-IdYgJYi9meZt0ykmgjyVVqwIQgSTCf4ZJUZ6_yqcvwrw2_0wFs6JX1OgKndqvng2/w400-h300/philomenas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>When I got there, I came close to ordering one of everything of the slice offerings and a root beer. While they were reheating, I asked the guy making pizzas if he was Dave. He said he was. I let him know Scott from Boston says, "Hi," Scott is a pizza shop owner in the Boston area and a pizza consultant and incredibly knowledgeable about pizza on the forum and by all accounts incredibly nice. So we briefly talked and then my slices were ready so I headed to a bench outside the shop to eat.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsImMwJJ3rQ9UvuAfxFnhRSUF9iMF1EdpRhcQtQlJ8bpkp1UO7rQ9KOWKEAmdnWmY6xdBYRB-NcOiNB7B_qopJ4QtaxkRK6dQZntenRjs_JMCOeD6Aot8aKmMLe5ZGFZDD8xnP6Wd5FLaDSN9iVaOHpkX_qPps7LMbCqLkaQFcp6musOTwllaPsLwF/s4032/slices1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsImMwJJ3rQ9UvuAfxFnhRSUF9iMF1EdpRhcQtQlJ8bpkp1UO7rQ9KOWKEAmdnWmY6xdBYRB-NcOiNB7B_qopJ4QtaxkRK6dQZntenRjs_JMCOeD6Aot8aKmMLe5ZGFZDD8xnP6Wd5FLaDSN9iVaOHpkX_qPps7LMbCqLkaQFcp6musOTwllaPsLwF/w400-h300/slices1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Everything was good. This is pizza made by someone who cares. I think the 2 squares probably could have used a little more top heat during the reheat, but the place is solid. I wouldn't call it destination pizza. If you're nearby, definitely go. I don't think I would be heading out to make a special trip for Philomena's.</p><p>With nothing really on the agenda for the rest of the night. I people watched for a little bit to let the 4 slices settle and went in to try some other offerings. I considered ordering a square, but decided that was just too much pizza and picked a small sausage and broccoli rabe pizza to go and was told it would be about 20 minutes. No worries, plenty of time to kill.</p><p>A few doors away from Philomena's is a White Castle. I have had microwaved White Castle Sliders but never had the real deal. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiInF5iLZ35GRMhOBJv_-qZhdDetYL7y-QVKmfOvOp80vdG4_LGYq8iQy2F3cF1RmLLk_TIduyjBP1Z1EC7n5yAGUdeFlFzgipOQUSjhqj73CqbDF_dXMZ6KjNpGLF-dq0NNi1-aQ0Pyu1hJNO9zZM5rdlIOxBlp7TE9VEwA4-l51xcTZHgkbS1i-m/s2176/white%20castle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="2176" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiInF5iLZ35GRMhOBJv_-qZhdDetYL7y-QVKmfOvOp80vdG4_LGYq8iQy2F3cF1RmLLk_TIduyjBP1Z1EC7n5yAGUdeFlFzgipOQUSjhqj73CqbDF_dXMZ6KjNpGLF-dq0NNi1-aQ0Pyu1hJNO9zZM5rdlIOxBlp7TE9VEwA4-l51xcTZHgkbS1i-m/w400-h300/white%20castle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>So I walked over there and ordered a slider. It felt like I was the first person in history to have ever ordered a single slider. I had already eaten 4 slices and had just basically ordered 4 more but it still felt weird. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3bomUFuYos01gY360ISSI7zq5EAumBDw1oaze95wTNJWcEdCqLbbLWSuqS5tt2pMUMZUgZaM7XExs4A03VFNwLO84RS4kMj4Ckq9dfDCAQlzedLCzQaZy2KUAmgTA2mWwCEeBp8Dj_So6NSOx34ffpaWbqUDCTLYGLMnBeTIQzwoIwD8EC-FR2hi/s4032/slider.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC3bomUFuYos01gY360ISSI7zq5EAumBDw1oaze95wTNJWcEdCqLbbLWSuqS5tt2pMUMZUgZaM7XExs4A03VFNwLO84RS4kMj4Ckq9dfDCAQlzedLCzQaZy2KUAmgTA2mWwCEeBp8Dj_So6NSOx34ffpaWbqUDCTLYGLMnBeTIQzwoIwD8EC-FR2hi/s320/slider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The White Castle slider tasted like a cross between meatloaf and sloppy Joe. I ate about half of it. I think this might be a thing you had to have growing up to love. It's not for me. Or maybe I ordered wrong. Anyhow, I headed back to Philomena's for my pizza. Once there, I was waiting for my pizza and Dave called me back to where he was working to talk pizza a little more. He told me about his dough and the changes he makes. Right now he is using a poolish and the dough that day was 4 days old. You can definitely taste the poolish. There is kind of a mild, fermented, not quite sourdough flavor in the background of the dough. It was fun talking dough and about the places Dave worked before going out on his own (he started with wood fired pizza).</p><p>When my pizza was done, Dave's assistant let him know that he had made the wrong pizza. There is the broccoli rabe and sausage combination, but there is also a vegan combination with a chickpea base and broccoli rabe with garlic. He had made the vegan one. I said it wasn't a problem but he wasn't having that, so he made the sausage/rabe pizza I had ordered and gave me both.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKMEImvSMh01d-pNna8JxVyahaP6SNlmpaNpcZAVrMkci3Cs8pLoZkU-esMr_5kCCA3j3wsz47i22e-psPO_t4hb5l3VS_Ol8M-a8osyFXUel4r-3AoMUJ9AH20N9EUR6ErfQX5hz308oJLGPK-Do7PicN9qyUR9683zaRHNIaJJn_ENr-Lx4I0we/s3625/chick%20pea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2719" data-original-width="3625" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKMEImvSMh01d-pNna8JxVyahaP6SNlmpaNpcZAVrMkci3Cs8pLoZkU-esMr_5kCCA3j3wsz47i22e-psPO_t4hb5l3VS_Ol8M-a8osyFXUel4r-3AoMUJ9AH20N9EUR6ErfQX5hz308oJLGPK-Do7PicN9qyUR9683zaRHNIaJJn_ENr-Lx4I0we/s320/chick%20pea.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Chickpea with broccoli rabe and garlic</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrdX7OVNLFVw5aSauYppIb1zwQAq7eMwsPONKR_LLC5W44K7KnIqhrvwqe65I0W0OWXZR1Jw7s_t0c8U20cvkGf3LBoPGc6Dbcg0EkiUP7KcDOfJRnRnKuD8PN88qOUhQuJtaDcBCl-yJfcF_HGYTYcoW6iqWQ8faKODCmn3dU6OdvSXgrlHXSruK/s3361/sausage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2520" data-original-width="3361" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrdX7OVNLFVw5aSauYppIb1zwQAq7eMwsPONKR_LLC5W44K7KnIqhrvwqe65I0W0OWXZR1Jw7s_t0c8U20cvkGf3LBoPGc6Dbcg0EkiUP7KcDOfJRnRnKuD8PN88qOUhQuJtaDcBCl-yJfcF_HGYTYcoW6iqWQ8faKODCmn3dU6OdvSXgrlHXSruK/s320/sausage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sausage with broccoli rabe</div><p>I went outside and wanted to try the pizzas while they were still hot. They were both good. My only complaint would be that the rough chop on the broccoli rabe was a little too rough and the pieces were uncomfortably lard to eat. The chick pea topping was delicious. Truth be told, the vegan combination was better than the sausage combination. The chickpeas had a coarse grind to them and weren't smooth like a hummus. They were well seasoned and combined with the garlic and broccoli rabe it was my favorite of everything I had tried at Philomena's and before I fell asleep, all the pizza was gone and I didn't really eat the next day.</p><p>So Philomena's is good pizza and worth visiting if you are nearby. I still think about that chickpea topping and how I could copy it. But I wouldn't give Philomena's a destination, drive a few hours just to get it, kind of a rating. In fairness, that is an incredibly short list and two of the places making up probably half of the list that comes to mind would also require a time machine.</p><p><br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-11767144836442804742022-02-27T15:02:00.000-05:002022-02-27T15:02:26.291-05:00Winter Pizza Challenge and a confession<p>The winter pizza challenge was to revisit one of your Signature pizzas. I had made what I call the Fancy Pants Mushroom pizza back in <a href="https://joninalbanyblog.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-fancy-pants-mushroom.html" target="_blank">November of 2019</a>. The pizza has a base of creme fraiche (fancy pants sour cream), mushrooms sauteed in olive oil with garlic and a splash of wine. Usually some oregano in there. I've been prepping some topping in the oven during the preheat (a sheet pan of bacon cooks surprisingly quickly and well in there) and I had seen something on roasting mushrooms figured I'd give it a try.</p><p>Monday was President's Day so a day off from work. Temps were also in the 40s. I lit the oven a little after 10. Fun fact - starting a fire in a wood oven with a weed burner is oddly satisfying. It's weird, a stick light feel soulless compared to a match, but the weed burner is fun. Don't need any newspaper. <br /></p><p>Anyhow, for this go around of the Fancy Pants Mushroom, I roasted the mushrooms in the oven and added the seasoning and other ingredients later.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWpeEoQstbIpLT0jve7Do2qBdH0vDaoCJJ5nGTp1X_jp1bORwyPEFwdjQnY0iiLotYl9HUzdQUkXbd96P8kz0TENUHzg2qg-EJa7mgrGe1dkgdFJ9CEvv-6yGXXkRPIfMPG7GlqZxNRC2fIuBC2h4YLjnGBYY_35s4ar0Flr2YBu8XrmUjBIWWXSoS=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWpeEoQstbIpLT0jve7Do2qBdH0vDaoCJJ5nGTp1X_jp1bORwyPEFwdjQnY0iiLotYl9HUzdQUkXbd96P8kz0TENUHzg2qg-EJa7mgrGe1dkgdFJ9CEvv-6yGXXkRPIfMPG7GlqZxNRC2fIuBC2h4YLjnGBYY_35s4ar0Flr2YBu8XrmUjBIWWXSoS=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p>The dough was a little under fermented and I didn't like the cheese, </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">The line at Restaurant Depot was insane and I was only getting cheese so I stopped at Shop Rite for some other toppings and grabbed their house mozzarella. Good news, the cheese was on sale. Bad news, it grated funny, was bland, melted a weird shade of white and will not be purchased again. But I did also pick up some <a href="https://joninalbanyblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-shop-rite-visit.html" target="_blank">Seabrook Farms creamed spinach</a>. I kind of wonder how that would do on a pizza. <br /></p><p>the mushroom were ok, but there is more flavor to them when sauteed. The garlic gets a little softer too. Next time, I think I will try adding the garlic and a splash of wine to the sheet plan when the mushrooms come out of the oven. There should be enough heat left to incorporate them. I supposed I could just slide the pan I use in the oven too. In the end, I'm pretty sure I was the only one nit-picking the dough, cheese, and flavor of the mushrooms. Something, something, own worst critic...</p><p>I also tried a new go at the gluten free pizza. I used a blend of gluten free flours, water, yeast, salt and some olive oil. The mixture all combined kind of comes out like spackle. I think an offset spatula would help spread it in a Detroit style pan. So after about 24 hours in the fridge, the dough was spread in the pan, then there was a 4 hour room temp rise. I par baked the dough with just a little bit of cheese around the edges so stop the dough from shrinking. Cooled that off and then topped it just before a final bake. Went half cheese, half mushroom. It came out pretty good. I think this is the gluten free pizza path of the future. I've got 2, dedicated gluten free pans for this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU1_lfq0PKiOwKzuNZ_i-4WOkdQa6XNfkp71hGbvv4B2Ed69OKCXfNYJ3aIq8huE4N2PgGykM8_6kbMFAX70fxY6B5ucN3ioCMDX1897gV9URAcP-hQYQn294ly7qM1yq0UeXEWsgyo6pA8sgrG0p_E-Hp35kf9lJa-qZtth__xgGYKWcXSwiTDs_2=s680" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU1_lfq0PKiOwKzuNZ_i-4WOkdQa6XNfkp71hGbvv4B2Ed69OKCXfNYJ3aIq8huE4N2PgGykM8_6kbMFAX70fxY6B5ucN3ioCMDX1897gV9URAcP-hQYQn294ly7qM1yq0UeXEWsgyo6pA8sgrG0p_E-Hp35kf9lJa-qZtth__xgGYKWcXSwiTDs_2=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p>All in all, that was a good day. So the confession: I've never put pineapple on a pizza. I can't think of a time when I have liked cooked pineapple. Anyhow, when we were meeting the new neighbors, it turns out one of their little kids likes pineapple on pizza. I thought I'd try to make the best pineapple pizza she ever had. The plan was:</p><p>1. Take some fresh pineapple (I will not put canned pineapple on a pizza)</p><p>2. Glaze/caramelize it with a little brown sugar</p><p>3. Make a Hawaiian pizza (even though that topping combination was created in Canada by a Greek immigrant with no ties to Hawaii) with the pineapple and some good, real ham<br /></p><p>4. Walk it across the street</p><p>5. Sip an adult beverage and think about what I had done</p><p>But none of this happened.The neighbors were out of town during the school break and we had the pineapple with dinner on Tuesday night. My pineapple-less streak received a stay. Not sure how long the stay will be. My wife noted that all it took to get me thinking about pineapple on pizza was a little kid making the request. A few adults have brought it up in the past and I kind of pushed it off.<br /></p><p>What can I say? I've got a soft spot for little kids that like my pizza. It's not like I'm going to eat pineapple on pizza myself.</p><p>Unless it looks and smells really good. </p><p>Then maybe. I doubt it. Probably not. But maybe.<br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-42304480900654324422021-11-08T12:56:00.001-05:002021-11-11T20:15:06.950-05:00Pierogi DayYesterday was pierogi day and I do love a good pierogi day. I've posted about pierogi making but I don't think I ever wrote about the origins of the day.
Every year, Christmas Eve is at my wife's Aunt Carol's house. There is an absurd amount of food, a lot of fun and games including a holiday themed bingo game with bingo card that date back to the 90s. One of the main foods besides the shrimp and ham are a ton of pierogi.<div><br /></div><div>Well, after I officially married into the family in 2000, being the food nut that I am, I asked for a pierogi making lesson. We picked a day and my wife and I went over to make that year's holiday pierogi. Well, it turns out that I'm pretty good at rolling them out and my wife is pretty good at filling them. The four us (Uncle Lou was there too) started at about 8 in the morning and were done before noon. Aunt Carol was stunned. Normally this was just the two of them cooking which means Aunt Carol doing just about everything and then Uncle Lou boils the pierogi. They used to start at like 7 in the morning and finish around dinner time, sore and cranky with their basement kitchen trashed, and barely on speaking terms.</div><div><br /></div><div>So from there, we started coming over to make the annual Christmas pierogi. And then my brother in law and sister in law moved back home from North Carolina and the party grew. And then the kids started coming and the event grew even bigger. Aunt Carol has written records for the most pierogi out of one batch of dough and she keeps track of how many we make each year. The number fluctuates with how stuffed they get but also, the blocks of farmer's cheese used to come in all sizes, it's just a straight 3 pound block now. Many hands makes it go quick. They get stuffed almost as fast as the circles get cut, the next batch of dough is usually ready to go before it is needed, and two pots of water are boiling them as they get made. We usually start a little after 10 and are done making pierogi about 2 hours later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two years ago, my nephew took an interest in rolling out the dough and cutting the circles. Last year, for the first time in a long time, there was no pierogi making party. Carol and Lou made a batch and delivered them on Christmas eve to all the families that would have normally been at their house. This year, I brought a bench scraper and my nephew was even more into it. I think my job as official Dough Roller may be in jeopardy. Official Dough Roller Supervisor is probably a pretty good gig.
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</div>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-71435447068508795602021-09-13T09:26:00.000-04:002021-09-13T09:26:23.542-04:00Pizza Sauce Evolution<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sauce I use for my wood oven pizza has been evolving slowly over the years. I specify wood oven, because when I make Detroit style that is thicker than the wood oven pizza. The pizza sauce has gone from almost always being Pastene Kitchen Ready ground peeled tomatoes to various Stanislaus once I was able to get inside a Restaurant Depot. Stanislaus only make those really big #10 cans of tomatoes. But in their product line, I went from 7-11 which are a crushed tomato, to Tomato Magic which is the same as 7-11 except the tomatoes are peeled, to Alta Cucina which are whole peeled tomatoes in a packing liquid. With the crushed tomatoes, I sometimes used them right out of the can and sometimes I combined out of the can with some run through a food mill. I had been running these whole tomatoes through a food mill and including the packing liquid which is something I just assumed pizza places would do. Through all this, the sauce is just tomato and some sea salt. I like to add oregano on top of the cheese. As the cheese greases off a little and starts to boil, that oregano cooks into and seasons the pizza.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw an interview with Angelo Womack, he worked at Roberta's when it was just starting out and is now a pizza consultant, and in the interview he mentioned that if you were using the packing liquid from the can of Alta Cucina's the sauce wasn't everything that it could be. So the last time I made pizza, I used only the whole tomatoes and I liked the sauce. But was it really that different?</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had forgotten about wanting to look into this a little further and remembered when opening the can. I was trying to be a little scientific but was making it up as I went. I tired breaking down the can into parts. I'm using grams but they are really just ballpark numbers since there is some tomato left in the can, in bowls, on the food mill, on the counter...there will be rounding errors.</span><span style="font-size: 12.48px;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I ran all the whole tomatoes through the food mill using the coarse plate.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pulp left behind in the food mill: 244 grams</span></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMC_z3vRbb_U1KNYWu5td6rIycm-T6KgBXCwh0YqqWLbTq1g-Bh5BkUcYFJajq8krcZ_0BSwlk3mKgrd3tzZFgfnLrXZ-17FWDOPzscPRK5eztZQRpPHMmPeQy9MjS8WDrk-H7msGZ00/s2048/pulp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMC_z3vRbb_U1KNYWu5td6rIycm-T6KgBXCwh0YqqWLbTq1g-Bh5BkUcYFJajq8krcZ_0BSwlk3mKgrd3tzZFgfnLrXZ-17FWDOPzscPRK5eztZQRpPHMmPeQy9MjS8WDrk-H7msGZ00/w400-h300/pulp.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Packing liquid remaining in the can: 876 grams</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMt1GmicfBOyi5XpTZaQEcxqIwnNzi3fYngGIaPxQ2B4PcGFTUBXwCRS0A8cB7Jn3-opIHlOAlKTWKGyI9Z0NZ_Yn-v6kQekVsjRcCBxJ1-vrR-dhKUPqhwsCs_1EyCVUHBpG5IgcrZ8/s2048/canning+Liquid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMt1GmicfBOyi5XpTZaQEcxqIwnNzi3fYngGIaPxQ2B4PcGFTUBXwCRS0A8cB7Jn3-opIHlOAlKTWKGyI9Z0NZ_Yn-v6kQekVsjRcCBxJ1-vrR-dhKUPqhwsCs_1EyCVUHBpG5IgcrZ8/w400-h300/canning+Liquid.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tomato sauce that came through the mill: 1614 grams</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjp_3Ddt9NdVdTN9K4Zb_VtHN_pt038wvQF6V0JVqm799acaMd31q0fv04SpFnPIf4NUVmEUCX2ZcsJg7nQcWEi8BZ0RxLQMfjX6y9i9cbNQQ-TQ4W1xGE_8JCyFVsHzwvisAGQ1XNAU/s2048/20210912_140916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOjp_3Ddt9NdVdTN9K4Zb_VtHN_pt038wvQF6V0JVqm799acaMd31q0fv04SpFnPIf4NUVmEUCX2ZcsJg7nQcWEi8BZ0RxLQMfjX6y9i9cbNQQ-TQ4W1xGE_8JCyFVsHzwvisAGQ1XNAU/w400-h300/20210912_140916.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Totaled up that's 2735 grams. The can says 2.89 kg, or 2890 grams making 155 grams of gone AWOL. I tasted everything. The pulp left behind is awful. Really terrible. Don't eat that. The canning liquid is fine, nothing really special about it. That is until you taste the milled tomatoes, then the canning liquid is definitely lacking. The milled tomatoes are bright and fresh tasting with a tartness on the finish that just isn't in the canning liquid.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I made a blend of the milled tomatoes and the canning liquid to estimate what I'd have if I had just run the whole can through the food mill. I'm not sure this is the right way to estimate the proportions. If I had just pulsed a stick blender in the can, I'd have the pulp in there too. In any case, I made a blend of milled and liquid. There was no way around it, the canning liquid dulled the flavor of the sauce. I added some salt. It helped but not enough. I brought in my wife as a second taster. She agreed. The milled tomatoes by themselves were better. I'd argue that using just the milled tomatoes was like using a different ingredient. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I'm already a little nuts with the pizza, moving forward I plan to only use the milled tomatoes. That amount will get me through a typical wood oven bake with a little left over. Maybe I'll combine the leftover with the canning liquid to make a pasta sauce later in the week. For how often I fire up the oven and the cost of a can of Alta Cucina was under $5 the last time I bought a case, it isn't a big deal or really wasteful.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where the experiment falls short: I didn't try comparing the two sauces on a pizza. Cooking could change it. I was just so surprised at how different the two sauces were and how much more I liked the milled tomatoes only, I used that sauce in the bake. Since it is just me making pizzas in a relatively small wood oven, side to side comparisons in the past haven't been true side by sides. The two pizzas would probably come out over 10 minutes apart, the oven conditions are constantly changing and it is generally difficult to create an "all other things being equal" kind of condition by myself in the backyard. This could also be less apparent in a more seasoned sauce. Also, if you are going for a sauce with a specific flavor profile, this might not help. I'm guessing most pizza shops either aren't milling the tomatoes (though some definitely do) and are using a combination of canned tomatoes. Maybe like 2 cans of crushed and 1 can of something thinner. When I took that class years ago at DeFazio's, they were using 2 different Stanislaus products with some water in a batch of sauce. There's more than just salt in their sauce too.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, a very interesting taste test. Glad I remembered. It changed the way I will be making sauce moving forward. But the sauce is always evolving. The next change probably isn't too far off. </span></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-36874491615356713742021-08-21T00:29:00.002-04:002021-08-21T00:29:56.733-04:00El Presidente<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I came really close to not saying anything about this, but pizza...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports was in the area this week doing his pizza reviews at a handful of local places.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">As someone not into sports, all I know about Barstool is the bad stuff that looks to be pretty well documented...sexism, anti LGBTQ, harassment. This is a quote from a 2017 Sports Illustrated article by Richard Deitsch and Chris Chavez on ESPN cancelling its partnership with Barstool after 1 episode:</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0a1529; font-family: pt-serif-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">At a certain point over the last week, Skipper became more aware of the historical content of Barstool Sports away from the popular </span><em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a1529; font-family: pt-serif-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Pardon My Take</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #0a1529; font-family: pt-serif-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"> podcast, and specifically, the ugly comments made by Barstool founder and president Dave Portnoy in 2014 about </span><a href="http://people.com/sports/espn-host-sam-ponder-slams-barstool-sports-sexist-essay-calling-her-slut/" rel="noopener" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: pt-serif-pro, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.6em; outline: 0px; transition: all 0.25s ease 0s;" target="_blank">ESPN <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Sunday NFL Countdown</em> host Sam Ponder.</a></p><p>I will mention that during the pandemic, Barstool did good work helping out restaurants, but let's just say Dave Portnoy is not in the running to replace Alex Trebek either.</p><p>A good way to gauge if a reviewer's tastes are in line with your own is to compare their notes to yours on a visit to the same place. The first Barstool pizza review I saw was for Mama's Too! in New York City. It was the 300th review and Portnoy did it wearing a "Jew Crew" t-shirt. He was unimpressed and gave it a score of 6.8. This review went up in February of 2018. Mama's Too! was one of the places I visited on a pizza tour with some people from the pizza forum. The place stole the day. It was amazing. It looks like Dave Portnoy and I do not have the same tastes in pizza. Turns out I wasn't the only one impressed by Mama's Too! because in November of 2018, Mama's Too! was given a star by Pete Wells in the New York Times.</p><p>From the Time's review:</p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 20px;">It is as if Frank Tuttolomondo, the owner and pie architect of this informal but very serious pizzeria on the Upper West Side, has learned how to genetically modify pizza.</span></p><p>From the bits of the local reviews I watched, Portnoy burnt the hell out of his mouth on a slice early in this pizza tour so who knows if he could actually taste anything and each place I saw scored higher than Mama's Too! including one that is pretty close to my house. Trust me, if there was pizza as good as Mama's Too! close to my house, I'd be there regularly.</p><p>On top of all the problematic behavior, I don't think Portnoy's pizza reviews are that good either. His highest score locally (DeFazio's in Troy, not close to the house) would also be one of my higher scores locally, but overall, I think the Barstool pizza ratings are more a reflection of Portnoy's current mood as he hams it up for a camera than a real pizza ranking.</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-91242798175676764552021-06-17T16:50:00.001-04:002021-06-18T15:32:12.375-04:00Pizzamaking.com<p>Might have some new people poking in from Chuck Miller's blog. I had a nice conversation with him not too long ago and I think that goes online this weekend.</p><p>First things first: I was a little nervous during the our talk - looking at a recording camera and speaking is not one of my strengths - so I'm going to mention a few things that I got wrong. Try to set the record straight. </p><p>The biggest and dumbest mistake was saying this blog started in 1998. It was 2008. What's a decade, really? I was going off a vague memory of looking at things online back in an apartment before I was married, but that memory is of a barbecue ListServ-forum-ish thing from back in the day. So this space was inspired by Michael Ruhlman's blog and the names I couldn't remember: Chef Bob Del Grosso and Chef Mike Pardus who had a blog called The Hunger Artist. Before them, I didn't know what a blog was.<br /></p><p>The slightly less big and dumb mistake was not clarifying that I am not really a pizza expert. Enthusiast is a better word. That's not to say I don't know a good amount about pizza, but many know more than me. So they would be experts and I'm an enthusiast. Pizza nerd works too.<br /></p><p>The last thing that comes to mind is another name I couldn't come up with on the spot. We were talking about local entrepreneurs and the name I couldn't come up with was Cory Nelson. He's the founder of Troy Kitchen and then Cloud Food Hall in Albany. I would bet that whatever project he decides to do next, it will be creative and worth checking out.</p><p>Hopefully I caught all my glaring mistakes. On to a blog post....</p><p>If you are stopping by from Chuck's blog looking for pizza making tips, I would encourage you to join the pizza forum - www.pizzamaking.com. It is free, but you do have to send in an introductory post that might take a bit for a moderator to approve (weeds out robots and spammers, plus it is nice to say hello). After that, you have free reign on the forum. </p><p>Pizzas are divided into styles, recipes and techniques abound, plus it is a very friendly community. I've had the opportunity to meet a few forum members in person and they did not disappoint. There's some talk of a New Haven pizza crawl sometime this summer. Going to try to make it if I can. Screen names become familiar and the people behind become "friends." You cheer for their pizza successes, worry about them when they are ill, and miss them when they aren't around.</p><p>There used to be a thing on the screen that let you know how many hours you had been logged onto the forum. It's still there, but you have to dig for it now. Anyhow, I remember posting about the first pizzas I made after joining the forum and the clock showed a little more than 10 hours of poking around the forum. This was back in February of 2013 baked using a homemade pizza steel at my former house where the oven went to 550.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Srjsyg3SrKmmdXbz2oysvkHvThIZMoMIX_X3jss364h79Q2gugurekAUXLDJDqWq6F6MwkoAJSJvv0ZY-yKlEQtFy57g8A5BQnCUCV87s-o55q0uY7dSjk3B9s3dAVo-ROk4_aRIrCI/s653/Fist+Pie+on+steel1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="653" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Srjsyg3SrKmmdXbz2oysvkHvThIZMoMIX_X3jss364h79Q2gugurekAUXLDJDqWq6F6MwkoAJSJvv0ZY-yKlEQtFy57g8A5BQnCUCV87s-o55q0uY7dSjk3B9s3dAVo-ROk4_aRIrCI/w400-h300/Fist+Pie+on+steel1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWpaCuaxUisS5ojYifJTBCIsTHQDKTiU1cCU-6vLkHeATp7fuSHyps3UE4iMSakYvX6GyU_loVecE2OJ0nVHZphOfBM3ZTdAaVyTGTyQwSpQF4iaa8PmaM6RFJRWKsT1NWKncJIWuxS0/s653/first+pie+on+steel2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="653" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWpaCuaxUisS5ojYifJTBCIsTHQDKTiU1cCU-6vLkHeATp7fuSHyps3UE4iMSakYvX6GyU_loVecE2OJ0nVHZphOfBM3ZTdAaVyTGTyQwSpQF4iaa8PmaM6RFJRWKsT1NWKncJIWuxS0/w400-h300/first+pie+on+steel2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>The stats say I have spent 72 days, 2 hours and 13 minutes looking at the forum as I type. Here's a fairly recent pizza out of the wood oven.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASUhQgf6J-4-ynKXgHh3NqetDe0Y6HSygbfy2Ap-un8oR3Yh39Y1i6N0Z-ciyjzNloSwkwbFkaufWnufVMvetW1v3YoJ0YjiK7wS98yDwh0c85a9V0tvclWbwDx3tbZUB4vYFgH4zYg0/s2048/mushroom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiASUhQgf6J-4-ynKXgHh3NqetDe0Y6HSygbfy2Ap-un8oR3Yh39Y1i6N0Z-ciyjzNloSwkwbFkaufWnufVMvetW1v3YoJ0YjiK7wS98yDwh0c85a9V0tvclWbwDx3tbZUB4vYFgH4zYg0/w400-h300/mushroom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Practice helps. A lot.</p><p>So if you want to get into pizza making, join the forum and poke around. Also a kitchen scale really helps too and you don't need a mixer. Many say hands are better for small batches anyhow. There's even a "fork mixer" that tries to mimic hands working dough.</p><p>Thanks, Chuck. It was fun talking to you. <br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-61076680451360627082021-05-30T23:57:00.002-04:002021-05-30T23:57:58.333-04:00May 2021 Pizza Challenge<p>The pizza challenge was to use some kind of green pepper. Any kind.</p><p>The first pizza combo that came to mind was one I hadn't made in a while. So one Friday night I made dough thinking that I might get a chance on Sunday. Plans changed and Sunday was out. Oh well. Figured I'd make bread or stromboli with most of the dough. Some might get wasted. No big deal really. It is a little bit of a waste of flour, but not much. On Monday, I came up with an idea. I'm working from home. I could walk out, start a fire and be back at the laptop in a few minutes. Pop out once in a while to toss a log in the oven. Easy peasy.</p><p>Well, it turns out prepping the pizza toppings after work is a little bit of a rushed hassle. But what really through me off my game and turned this impromptu bake into an exercise in frustration was nature. More specifically, bugs.</p><p>I didn't notice anything during my quick oven visit to light the fire. It turns out carpenter bees have been drilling holes in my roof. There was some kind of ant with wings and I think a hornet was acting like a real estate agent checking out a spot for a nest. And in the back corner of the roof, I could heard a repeated clicking. I think it was carpenter ants eating. So, for the entire bake I was thinking I was going to have to take down a lot of the roof (which was a serious pain in the ass to build) and this threw me off my game. The dough didn't feel right. The stretches weren't right. The launches weren't right (I made a lot of ovals that night).</p><p>Yes, I know that a slice of pizza cut from an oval will still taste good. In my online Twitter complaints I was reminded of a Todd English quote: never trust a round pizza. But it was frustrating, I wasn't having fun. Instead I was getting kind of pissed. There were two high points of the bake. The first was trying out a new vegan pizza, a puttanesca. That had sauce, garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, Kalamata olives, capers and an olive oil drizzle. A light sprinkle of pecorino might be nice or maybe some anchovy, but those would take away the vegan status. Next go around, I'd replace the crushed red pepper flakes and olive oil with a chili oil. Overall, this was still a tasty pizza and it will find its way into a regular rotation. My vegan neighbor liked it too.</p><p>The second high point was the pizza challenge pizza. The is a TXCraig1 special. Mozzarella cheese (used both fresh and low moisture), sausage, dried cranberries that have been rehydrated in rum and jalapeno with a hot honey drizzle post bake. This was the roundest pie of the night. Still not quite round, but the dough stretching was not firing on all cylinders.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ14QCwi__ibuEnIHMOJt7-Q1LbgQuC_tZrn7zrxCD_Z0SWy6Ev-UcH2Vr10ANiZC3Y5DJ9xDMr65Q3BuE2Pyk5O3FzBMN456SHedmnAvkWPeto96Fle9m78xoix46vzErCD7gD7-Fa8U/s903/20210517_204121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="677" data-original-width="903" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ14QCwi__ibuEnIHMOJt7-Q1LbgQuC_tZrn7zrxCD_Z0SWy6Ev-UcH2Vr10ANiZC3Y5DJ9xDMr65Q3BuE2Pyk5O3FzBMN456SHedmnAvkWPeto96Fle9m78xoix46vzErCD7gD7-Fa8U/w400-h300/20210517_204121.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Not only is this a tasty pizza, but the chef gets a nice glass of cranberry infused rum after everything is all cleaned up. I needed it that Monday. Called an exterminator on Tuesday.</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-73665614349801996232021-05-10T21:07:00.001-04:002021-05-10T21:07:14.852-04:00Pizza is fleeting<p>There's a pizza guy I stumbled across on Instagram. He has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCShXzjt8G2Q7QVGVH1cDoMA" target="_blank">youtube channel</a> and sometimes I check out what he's doing there. It's mainly a more in depth look at what he does on Instagram. He goes by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/santabarbarabaker/?hl=en" target="_blank">SantaBarabaraBaker</a> and he makes some really nice looking pizzas.</p><p>When I first started watching him he was using a pizza steel in his kitchen. He has since moved up to an outdoor, propane Ooni oven. I think he has the Koda 16 model. Would you believe his name is also pretty close to mine? It's Jonathon. His overall enthusiasm for pizza is contagious.</p><p>Well, one of his Instagram posts mentioned that he had been interviewed for a podcast titled "What's Good Dough?" which, if you are into podcasts, is available everywhere. Over the past 2 two days, I was able to sneak in listening to the podcast while walking the dog.</p><div style="text-align: left;">In one part of the podcast, he said, "Pizza is fleeting," and I totally get where he is coming from.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">The dough will never be <i>exactly</i> like the way it is right at that moment.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The oven will never be <i>exactly </i>the same as it is for a specific bake</div><div style="text-align: left;">The toppings will never be <i>exactly </i>the same, especially produce.</div><div style="text-align: left;">Hell, there is even variation between cans of tomatoes. they will never be <i>exactly </i>the same either.</div><div style="text-align: left;">That moment, that pizza is unique. <br /></div><p>In June 2018, we had a birthday party for my daughter. In my mind, those were the best pizzas I have ever made. Everything clicked. The dough was just right, I was giving them just the right amount of time at room temperature before stretching. The sauce was great. Stretching was a breeze. Launching the pizzas in the oven was smooth, all clean launches, nothing stuck. And the flavor, it was the best crust I ever made<br /></p><p>Since June of 2018, I have tried to replicate that crust. I've come close. And even if everything were exactly the same, I'm not sure I would believe it was. The day and the event may have elevated those pies in my mind to better than they actually were. But that particular bake, even though duplicating it is unobtainable, that's the bake I chase every time.</p><p>Because pizza is fleeting.<br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-87749532223991635302021-05-05T12:11:00.000-04:002021-05-05T12:11:59.809-04:00April 2021 Monthly Pizza Challenge<p>Running a little late here. Wasn't sure what I was going to do for this, had some yardwork projects going on (trying to grow grass but I think I am mainly giving grass seed to birds), not sure about a the timing of a wood oven bake...anyhow, managed to do the challenge just under the wire for dinner on April 30th. Seems fitting to be posting about it a week into May.</p><p>The Challenge: Celebration! Add an ingredient that elevates your pizza to something for a special occasion.</p><p>Wasn't quite sure what to do. I've been seeing a lot of different, fancier cured meats on pizza and remembered a mortadella-pistachio combination I saw for a Neapolitan pizza some time ago. A little google search and I was able to track down the pizza I was trying to remember from <a href="https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/02/marc-vetris-mortadella-pizza.html" target="_blank">Serious Eats.</a></p><p>Took a break from re-watching Letterkenny to make some dough Thursday night. Had the kids take the panned dough out of the fridge when they got home from school to give it a chance to warm up a bit. Heated up the oven and prepped some toppings and we were off..</p><p>The Celebration pie was mortadella under the cheese with crushed pistachio/olive oil stripes. If I make this again, I think I'd try it with a light brushing of dijon mustard under the mortadella. All in all, it was pretty tasty.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTZQ66AIIRYW1DbWaxWyu0U9xty4SrFSCirR5_yCIZzrmroVBs-J2EfqxlmccLLFiC9JJbfhIbnRv54hU2sJOzmwR1O-dsKt8VqHbtrzVAhbWYYo-QG_BftTtfWf_XTpHR9QAB0pKXoE/s916/april1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="916" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTZQ66AIIRYW1DbWaxWyu0U9xty4SrFSCirR5_yCIZzrmroVBs-J2EfqxlmccLLFiC9JJbfhIbnRv54hU2sJOzmwR1O-dsKt8VqHbtrzVAhbWYYo-QG_BftTtfWf_XTpHR9QAB0pKXoE/w400-h315/april1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexKkz33-xEjW_UV-9NtUTvJDPoJ72XLAwqKfEJ-OCv-OTOoU3Nmwyvd639vnpQsdT1fSO02Y2Mga0yGO4r39nsYM78_fz9nDuKr1IEMdhU89PCq2yjUlsRYf8iuD_rCHT_BqDPc8HrBI/s834/april2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="834" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiexKkz33-xEjW_UV-9NtUTvJDPoJ72XLAwqKfEJ-OCv-OTOoU3Nmwyvd639vnpQsdT1fSO02Y2Mga0yGO4r39nsYM78_fz9nDuKr1IEMdhU89PCq2yjUlsRYf8iuD_rCHT_BqDPc8HrBI/w400-h264/april2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN0nHJgQqd-_Q1NYz0R_OL7TK1F19z7OA8dQN_GgJwfXaAyoJJUALbwlOAF6TfBoBGkH69F_GSg7UJcPeFLO258zanbirKe92xn273PHqEz_My9trzi16WIRBqeFvLm8l1hH2xFRTIHs/s640/april3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="579" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUN0nHJgQqd-_Q1NYz0R_OL7TK1F19z7OA8dQN_GgJwfXaAyoJJUALbwlOAF6TfBoBGkH69F_GSg7UJcPeFLO258zanbirKe92xn273PHqEz_My9trzi16WIRBqeFvLm8l1hH2xFRTIHs/w363-h400/april3.jpg" width="363" /></a></div><br /><p>I have 4 of this size pan, so I figured since I got to pick one topping, everyone else could pick how they wanted one topped. We had bacon, olive and a mushroom too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnmYh3f5huv8rNF422bB18KqMrFBix_SaBuK4lapFvTBzW4zsS-0is1KU_jtcTjd0yjsj0WYTQt8DkkfTOSPULmNuNfYE4MKs6b9n5YuXwXKfFKXAo6mmHCb4STd84Ay7jwAqfNghMIE/s931/april4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="931" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnmYh3f5huv8rNF422bB18KqMrFBix_SaBuK4lapFvTBzW4zsS-0is1KU_jtcTjd0yjsj0WYTQt8DkkfTOSPULmNuNfYE4MKs6b9n5YuXwXKfFKXAo6mmHCb4STd84Ay7jwAqfNghMIE/w400-h325/april4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>You could do much worse for dinner on a Friday night. On to planning the May Challenge.</p><p><br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-6253587748888208962021-03-31T09:41:00.001-04:002021-04-05T11:15:40.199-04:00March 2021 Monthly Pizza Challenge<p>The monthly challenge on the Pizza Forum (pizzamaking.com) was "smoked."</p><p>Over the holidays, one of my neighbors got a pellet smoker. He's been making some really good stuff in there. We had already been talking about collaborating on a pastrami (pastrami is so damn good) and even discussed a few pizza ideas. So when the challenge came up, I texted him and we made some plans.</p><p>First up was going to burnt ends. Since the Detroit style pizza I have been working on only takes about 5 hours from idea to baking in the inside-the-house-oven, it was a prefect match for the absurdly windy March we have been having. I made the dough and he dropped off a bag of smoke brisket burnt end pieces. For that pizza, I've got the dough topped with a colby-jack/mozzarella/muenster cheese blend. I put on 6 jalapeno slices so there would be one in each piece of pizza. When the pizza came out of the oven, I added a barbecue sauce drizzle and depending on the eater, a little pickled red onion I made. Personally, I think red onion really perked it up. Made one for me and another for my neighbor.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFX_Fm-jJcN3zLV2JKSBkE4lwIePpsdw_FmAMgJtZkUcPriGj-GTtpLGMABJ1uSmQNN7qDLYW8NwBwfwv2ApP2Z9Xl6UzU_hpUvwhB6ALUgXNj5MMXcn8_ehB9eHp8k9yooEYnHeXtgE/s2048/burnt+ends+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFX_Fm-jJcN3zLV2JKSBkE4lwIePpsdw_FmAMgJtZkUcPriGj-GTtpLGMABJ1uSmQNN7qDLYW8NwBwfwv2ApP2Z9Xl6UzU_hpUvwhB6ALUgXNj5MMXcn8_ehB9eHp8k9yooEYnHeXtgE/w400-h300/burnt+ends+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA_TW9rGYwXp6noEYrdiDVVqlFO1yOhTXGh1T7D27-HWWvWvKX-0Q7aNZWCl14lLn9xv9cZV_DgiiGj-v7LSMiCcDjv7e2Gg9dwChD8I6CvtPu6j7DyTJ4Yl30WzNW2zSuA1mz1jwjOM/s2048/burnt+ends+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA_TW9rGYwXp6noEYrdiDVVqlFO1yOhTXGh1T7D27-HWWvWvKX-0Q7aNZWCl14lLn9xv9cZV_DgiiGj-v7LSMiCcDjv7e2Gg9dwChD8I6CvtPu6j7DyTJ4Yl30WzNW2zSuA1mz1jwjOM/w400-h300/burnt+ends+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />A little later in the month, we collaborated on a pulled pork pizza. For that, it looked like the weather was cooperating and I was planning to fire up the wood oven for a zoom birthday party (pizzas were made at 5 locations in New York, Connecticut and Wisconsin, it was a fun time). Well, I was expecting a cup or two of smoked pork. He brought me 6 or 7 pounds. And cole slaw. And buns. This is a rough neighborhood.<div><br /></div><div>I ended up making a pretty similar pizza using a different dough and the wood oven. Little bbq sauce on the dough, no Muenster in this cheese blend just colby-jack and mozzarella, some jalapeno, a post bake bbq sauce drizzle and the pickled onion. This came out pretty good too. Made one for my neighbor (also brought them a cheese) and another pulled pork pizza later for me.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbDjUioULu3lzcxVExD3U4iafxmAFEBRBFj_Otk9WMTpQuFgHoLrI5p9goHDehpxaaKHOnsIhSot4LrjTiVAJcuDLOqn_u0xeM7DHyhija9KkVW-VDKjfJy6n_ksKWfAG59uHF3lqYqI/s2048/Pulled+Pork+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbDjUioULu3lzcxVExD3U4iafxmAFEBRBFj_Otk9WMTpQuFgHoLrI5p9goHDehpxaaKHOnsIhSot4LrjTiVAJcuDLOqn_u0xeM7DHyhija9KkVW-VDKjfJy6n_ksKWfAG59uHF3lqYqI/w400-h300/Pulled+Pork+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CqRf40qbukiengKOSrgBWy66IZnr3oA2slTl9Ej1gSr99r-dXw9N45DA2oWCN_7VszTLDbcsShRaiHDJy2ikXqa7e6WOb7bXR37dgLg6Gkffk6_NpJDsl_htYSBnmGZNPqihO72W9FA/s2048/Pulled+Pork2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CqRf40qbukiengKOSrgBWy66IZnr3oA2slTl9Ej1gSr99r-dXw9N45DA2oWCN_7VszTLDbcsShRaiHDJy2ikXqa7e6WOb7bXR37dgLg6Gkffk6_NpJDsl_htYSBnmGZNPqihO72W9FA/w400-h300/Pulled+Pork2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>When we were talking a few days later, he told me that just before I dropped the pizzas off, a family had arrived for a pulled pork dinner. So now they've got 2 pizza boxes there. The dad friend asks, "I thought you made pulled pork. You ordered pizzas too?" </div><div><br /></div><div>"Nah, those are from my neighbor."</div><div><br /></div><div>"But they're in boxes?!?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yeah, He really likes pizza."</div><div><br /></div><div>I think I liked the burnt end pizza a little more. Both we're really good and I definitely would turn down a slice of either right now. The beef was just more flavorful. We had a nice pulled pork dinner the next night, some with bbq sauce and some with a North Carolina vinegar sauce I threw together. There was enough leftover for me to freeze pizza topping sized portions of the pulled pork for future pizza bakes. </div>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-61747925510928302282021-03-10T15:27:00.000-05:002021-03-10T15:27:34.008-05:00Untitled Pizza Movie<p> I've been watching and enjoying the documentary Untitled Pizza Movie.</p><p>I first heard about it on the pizza form, because, really everything I hear about is on the pizza forum. I don't get out much (but no one does these days). The movie isn't just about pizza, it is more about life, people, addiction and redemption with a running pizza connection between everything.</p><p>One of the threads in the movie follows Andrew Bellucci for about 25 years. I've never spoken directly to Andrew but we have had a few interactions on the pizza forum. Not sure they are enough that he would remember my name, but maybe. The guy is clearly passionate about pizza. It has been such a big part of his. From a start at Two Boots, moving on to Three of Cups and wood fired and then the reopening of Lombardi's with a coal oven. There's a little hiccup in the story line when some earlier fraud/theft caught up to Andrew. All of this happened before I had ever heard of him.</p><p>When I first new of Andrew he was on the pizza forum talking pizza. He then went to Kuala Lumpur to open NY style pizza places and introducing the area to a slice. He built a very cool looking multi fuel oven at his place. It was neat to see the oven in the movie after seeing it on the forum. From there, Andrew worked at the Joe's near Times Square (if you want the recipe, it is on the forum) and then went to Michigan to open the Ann Arbor location.</p><p>There are ups, there are down and there is the currently <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/02/25/pizza-con-man-of-lombardis-fame-opens-nyc-slice-joint/" target="_blank">ongoing shot at redemption.</a> Back in December, Andrew opened Bellucci's in Astoria. Looks like business is booming. They've run out of dough at least once. And by run out of dough, it isn't that there wasn't dough in the shop. There wasn't enough properly fermented dough and he'd rather close then sell something less than ideal.</p><p>The photos of his pizzas look great. One of the topping combinations is a Vodka-Roni. It starts with just cheese and pepperoni on the dough. When the pizza is done, splashes of warm vodka sauce are blotched on Jackson Pollock style. The last time I made pizza, I gave it a shot with my own, quick n easy vodka sauce that doesn't actually have vodka.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5j1519afdqu1sDDBmo34-RZCMkunxi11RP54ElxST0W99xwDNgMoJemsAcAjA2_2PQ9YJx3Bl3FJNjglq05YkwpN1SFmm1fhwZnYBAVJq9mOM-NdnZnQrhIEq3YmQt_6YgfuyT7js9ng/s2048/vodka+roni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5j1519afdqu1sDDBmo34-RZCMkunxi11RP54ElxST0W99xwDNgMoJemsAcAjA2_2PQ9YJx3Bl3FJNjglq05YkwpN1SFmm1fhwZnYBAVJq9mOM-NdnZnQrhIEq3YmQt_6YgfuyT7js9ng/w400-h300/vodka+roni.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I think I've got to get the sauce a little thinner. Even so, this was delicious and I definitely want to try the original. I predict you will see this is more and more places just like Hot Honey went everywhere a few years ago.</p><p>Andrew's isn't the only story in the movie. There are also two childhood friends who grew up in the city. In the beginning, they look like they could be out of an old Billy Joel song. Like they might not have been friends with Brenda and Eddie - the popular steadys and the king and queen at the prom, but they knew who they were. It follows their lives as they go from inseparable to distant. One of my favorite moments so far is Leeds talking about a greasy, orange slice in the first episode. "The old orange slice. You remember that slice? It was orange, it was greasy, it was super thin. They handed it to you with both hands. It's a dying thing. I never seem to find that slice. Maybe technically it's not the greatest slice you ever had in your life you know, etcetera, etcetera, but it was an old friend. It was the slice of my childhood." This is basically the <a href="https://slice.seriouseats.com/2009/12/sam-siftons-pizza-cognition-theory.html" target="_blank">pizza cognition theory</a> a full decade before the pizza cognition theory.</p><p>For about another week, the Untitled Pizza Movie will be up at <a href="https://metrograph.com/live-screenings/untitled-pizza-movie-part-1-ice-cube-trays/">Metrograph</a>. It's a $5 monthly membership for access. I haven't watched the extras yet, but most episodes have interviews immediately after the screening. The last episode comes out tonight. The rumor is that the sreies is getting picked up by another distributor (3 letters, starts with H and ends with O is the rumor).</p><p>Anyhow, if you get a chance, give Untitled Pizza Movie a shot. I've been enjoying it.</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-56174036710764641352021-02-01T14:35:00.000-05:002021-02-01T14:35:05.095-05:00It Really Tweaks My Melon - Health Food Store Edition<p>It is time for the annual Best Of list from our local paper, The Times Union. Year's ago, Daniel formerly of FussyLittleBlog fought the good fight against the list. There were some pretty weak things in the list back then. Subway was voted best Sandwich shop with Panera in the #2 spot. A Japanese restaurant in the Best Chinese restaurant category, that kind of stuff.</p><p>In the past, I've written about about the TU food reviews that I've stopped reading, but I still try to keep up on the food scene comings and goings in the paper's Table Hopping blog and the weekly food section. I typically flip through the food/restaurant portion of the Best Of issue that will be coming out soon. But not this year, I'm done. Out. Not even going to hate read it. Right in to the recycle bin.</p><p>The list starts with a nomination period. That system might be a few years old. Every ad in Sunday's paper had a "Nominate Us" thing in it. This isn't about a local survey of businesses people love any more. The Best Of is now just product placement for advertisers. Last night I saw the one that really tweaked my melon. It was for Best Health Food Store. Honest Weight Co-Op versus Trader Joe's, a battle between the local store and a national chain.</p><p>I don't consider Honest Weight a health food store. It is a great store and I enjoy shopping there, but it isn't a health food store. I also like Trader Joe's and enjoy shopping there but, no way in hell is Trader Joe's a health food store. If our state's liquor laws were different, the local Trader "Not A Health Food Store" Joe's would have a wine section. Ever hear of Two Buck Chuck?</p><p>Simply having some things that would also be found in a health food store does not make you a health food store. You can get vitamins, lots of gluten free stuff and even my preferred brand of lactose free, soy free, gluten free, nut based "mozzarella cheese" for vegan pizzas in Target. Doesn't make Target a health food store. Neither is Walmart, Price Chopper, Hannaford, Wegman's, Whole Foods, Healthy Living Center, Trader Joe's or Honest Weight Co-Op.</p><p>What has happened is that the availability of items that typically could only be found in a health food store can be found in lots of places now. Earthly Delights in Schenectady was a health food store. Dean's in Westgate was another. When I first started making gluten free things, you had to go to a health food store or use mail order to get ingredients, That stuff is everywhere now. Sad truth is, we are running out of Health Food Stores. They are going extinct. Both Earthly Delights and Dean's are gone. Online shopping and expansive supermarkets have pretty much eliminated them. </p><p>So, yes, you can get some vitamins and lots of things in a Trader Joe's are organic. It's not a health food store. And yes, you can get those things plus I'd argue even more health food store style things at Honest Weight. It's not a health food store.</p><p>If you are going to have a Best Of category for health food stores, might as well actually rank the few remaining real ones. But chances are they never advertise in the Times Union.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>(Hi Mom!)</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-2257673308601066652020-12-09T11:26:00.000-05:002020-12-09T11:26:24.039-05:00YouTube, Simon & Garfunkel and fondue<p>I was screwing around online last night. Mostly watching music videos from the 80s and 90s. Then I watched a Springsteen video (an early 80s live version of Thunder Road). Off to the side in the you might also like column was a clip of Simon and Garfunkel Live in Central Park. I hadn't thought about that concert in forever.</p><p>The Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central Park was my my second concert. The first was Sha Na Na. I was a fan of their show and my parents took me when they had a concert nearby. For the Simon and Garfunkel show, I was 10 with older brothers and they brought me. We got to Central Park in the late afternoon. There were so many people there we couldn't see the stage, but we could hear the concert. So on a warm September night, me, my two brothers, my brother's friend and an estimated 500,000 other people listed to Simon and Garfunkel. It was pretty cool.</p><p>Years later, as a senior in high school, I was part of an exchange program with a school in France. One evening in a small town outside of Nimes, I was in the house of one of the French students that was also participating in the program. While we were talking before dinner, they were playing the album of the Simon and Garfunkel concert in Central Park. They listened to the concert regularly. In my best French, I told the story of being at the park for the concert. It was fun connection point to have with the family. </p><p>Part of the dinner at that house was the most amazing fondue I've ever had. Everything about it was amazing. The bread. I'll never know what cheeses where in the mix. Even if I did, I probably couldn't get them in the US. As the fondue got down to the last few tablespoons or so, they added something - a little local wine or maybe a liquor - and stirred it all up. That bite...that was the best bite of fondue I will probably ever have.</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-66388025244128129792020-11-07T00:39:00.001-05:002020-11-07T00:39:03.160-05:00Dough and Reminiscing<p>Made a batch of pizza dough. Weather looks like it will cooperate on Sunday so I am jumping at the opportunity to play with the oven. While I was dividing the dough, I started thinking about the first job I got after moving to the area at Bountiful Bread in Stuyvesant Plaza. It was smaller and on the other side of the plaza. I think a Cold Stone Creamery is there now. It wasn't open yet.</p><p>The interview I went to was with a baker named Sue who was running the place. I met her at the Mangia that used to be in Stuyvesant Plaza. Same group owned both places and a few others.We sat in a booth. Her on one side with lots of folders and binders and papers and me on the other with no real food service experience to offer. I had bused tables for a few months once. Anyhow, the first question she asked was, "Are you drunk?" A little confused I told her I wasn't. Apparently the last interviewee was drunk.</p><p>Sue went on to tell me about her vision for the bakery, the coffee and baked goods (Sue made some seriously kick ass flourless chocolate brownies), the fococcia, the breads, one was going to be a sourdough made with a really old starter from La Brea...</p><p>"The bakery in California?" I asked.</p><p>You've heard of it? You're hired.</p><p>Sue was great. We talked food. We talked cookbooks. She tried to teach me some baking and kitchen skills. She could knead and ball two doughs at the same time, one ball in each hand. And it was disturbing how much better each of those balls looked compared to the one I would use two hand and twice the time to shape.</p><p>For the life of me, I can not remember Sue's last name. I'd be curious to google her name and see what she is up to these days. Like an idiot, I just went to go see if there was anything on Bountiful Bread opening in the Table Hopping Blog. Pretty sure that started some 10 years later. I'm sure she is doing something good. I also wonder what Sue would think of my pizza making. I managed to get these dough balls divided, shaped, bagged and stored in under 15 minutes.</p><p></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzYnE8iVk6vY1Vr_ejTw1lFPeiKRVo_dZgV7dvmlmXCKwhUeUU9x2QCa4TcsrV7UGTVbdeijJT3dB2KLa7Qudvgtk544iw9bgPEuJ1JT8qWh6WvFH0e5gPESM5S4oql_NtsorH5QMTUw/s1008/20201106_235626%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="756" data-original-width="1008" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzYnE8iVk6vY1Vr_ejTw1lFPeiKRVo_dZgV7dvmlmXCKwhUeUU9x2QCa4TcsrV7UGTVbdeijJT3dB2KLa7Qudvgtk544iw9bgPEuJ1JT8qWh6WvFH0e5gPESM5S4oql_NtsorH5QMTUw/s320/20201106_235626%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Probably would have taken Sue 5. She could probably also get the picture to not be upside down.<br /></p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-25152733410117655582020-10-26T16:36:00.002-04:002020-10-26T16:36:56.053-04:00Home Made Bitters and Softball<p>Hi, Mom. No hidden message this time. Just a cryptic, super-secret code no one but you will will be able to decipher:</p><p><i>The vinegar is in the mail. </i></p><p>On to the post...</p><p>Homemade bitters is the answer to my Jean's Green's question. The goal is a mostly homemade Old Fashioned. I might try to turn some frozen cherries into my cocktail garnish too. To make the bitters, am am mostly following the recipe from <a href="https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/recipes/Orange-Bitters-Recipe-adapted-From-Chef-Brad-Thomas-Parsons" target="_blank">The Tasting Table</a>. I'm only making half a batch. The hardest part of the recipe besides fining the gentian root was getting the orange rinds. I wanted the be able to make thin slices so I didn't want to use the microplane I normally use for anything zest, I have a fruit zester somewhere. It wasn't in the drawer I thought it was in. The last time I used it was before I had a microplane and we lived in a different house. The little zester may be missing in action. I ended up using a sharp knife. It took some time, but my fingers smelled like orange and no stiches were needed. I put as much orange peel as I thought I needed for dried orange and put them in a low oven to dry out. The convection feature helped that along. </p><p>I got everything together and measured out what I needed.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp8PalOXkf_EYoELI9_Q0fgFtEuXp6h7v4lvLBmH0KEwMj7u1wWM1i7NbAQTqV0tk6M2f8kwz6gS17_s1FQd4v2s-IedXA1MmTqQcwQP0-nQzISwuu_YJ7A2uEx5lFHryieCT8JEajDQ/s2048/20201019_144822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1299" data-original-width="2048" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp8PalOXkf_EYoELI9_Q0fgFtEuXp6h7v4lvLBmH0KEwMj7u1wWM1i7NbAQTqV0tk6M2f8kwz6gS17_s1FQd4v2s-IedXA1MmTqQcwQP0-nQzISwuu_YJ7A2uEx5lFHryieCT8JEajDQ/w400-h254/20201019_144822.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Everything went into a mason jar with some booze. Probably not the best idea, but I used a combination of things so this exact recipe will never be duplicated. I added a splash of not made in Kentucky bourbon, some locally distilled Oligan "moonshine" and some vodka.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkPnzpcuD774_El44k5hYiLcOUzF3rFeYbFe7pQCan2PuJxOpad_jsNB766QCSikig81vEGpLvzpmOOZ_OJ6XZFj4eiFUg2Kb7ElYl6fe73p2RR0vB0p5DDAaYVMVzbTW3zPKCfeY1qI/s2048/20201019_150335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2036" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkPnzpcuD774_El44k5hYiLcOUzF3rFeYbFe7pQCan2PuJxOpad_jsNB766QCSikig81vEGpLvzpmOOZ_OJ6XZFj4eiFUg2Kb7ElYl6fe73p2RR0vB0p5DDAaYVMVzbTW3zPKCfeY1qI/w398-h400/20201019_150335.jpg" width="398" /></a></div><p>Also, this could be me being a little nuts, but I don't want a typical mason jar lid to be in contact with high proof alcohol. I envision the alcohol vapor melting whatever seals those lids during the canning process. I cut a circle out of a sheet of PFTE. From what I've read, this is better. Years ago, I tried making homemade lemoncello out of grain alcohol. I used a water bath to speed up the lemon extraction and that worked really well. I diluted it with a simple syrup but I don't think any amount of tinkering is going to make Everclear grain alcohol sippable. Anyhow, a jar of this sat in the basement forever and when I finally tossed it, the lid looked a little used. Maybe the key is not to use one of these lids with alcohol for several years. In ay event, I don't expect any issues with my new lid.</p><p>On to ranting...</p><p>There was a softball tournament this week. When I left the house on Sunday morning. I think it was 35 degrees. Not exactly softball weather. My daughter is on a new team this year. I like the coaches. I like the parents I've met. The players look like they have fun. Really, there's nothing like a tournament to remind you how non-competitive I am with sports.</p><p>There are some coaches that are constantly borderline cheating to gain an advantage, drill sergeants that think they are in charge of an army. I've seen coaches wave their arms like a ball was hit fair when everyone there including the umpires saw it land 10 feet foul. This guy actually said, "I had to try," when everyone was looking at him funny. No bud, you didn't. This weekend there was a play where our team was in the field. Ball comes in from the outfield and the other team has a runner just about at second base. The coach is yelling "Home! Home! Home!" at our defense. I think he was trying to get someone to throw the ball to home plate to advance his runner one base. It's the only thing I can think of that he was doing. What he really did was make a dozen people think he is a moron. I cannot imagine living a life where advancing a runner one base in a pretty meaningless tournament meant that much to me. Some of these guys will basically do a dance to give the batters and base runner a signal. You know what nice coaches do? There are a number of signal systems that can be explained in about 10 seconds. They use one of those. At one point this weekend, one of these dancing signal coaches very loudly and in a way everyone there could hear told his batter, "The pitcher just threw 4 balls in a row." He was trying to get into a teenager pitcher's head to knock her off her game. The batter took the next pitch, which was a strike. Serves the POS right. There was one time, the same guy called for a bunt with runners on 1st and 2nd. The batter bunted the ball but did it in a way that the ball hit her and she was called out. I actually heard this guy congratulate himself on a great play call, that failed. Anyhow, it is seeing that kind of coach that makes me thankful my daughter has never been on that kind of team or had that kind of coach.</p><p>The tournament was in Bethlehem and before the weekend, some serious COVID restrictions and protocols were sent out. Mask on when you leave your car, no shared equipment, no team water cooler, no shared food (often at these tournaments, parents get together and there are basically full team tailgates - none of that), two spectators per athlete and they should be parents/guardians...the list went on for a while. It was 2 pages.</p><p>For the most part, people followed the rules. The people who seemed to be breaking the mask rules were the Umpires. There was one umpire that would actually lower his mask to talk to someone and then put it back on when he walked away. I have found there are two kinds of softball umpires. Some umps (all female umps with one exception - she means well but is just an awful ump, if I understand the infield fly rule better than you, umping isn't your gig - and some guys) are there because they love the game and enjoy being a part of it. And there men who are probably miserable to be around most of the time and enjoy the power trip of being in charge of something. You'll never guess which ones followed the mask protocols.</p><p>And finally,</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2Fp-_7InNm9qimBoc1r-M3QDn74t9YXnOsyHO_k-aykQ3WxGIk_p7t_7dXThN5jb_-2QsH8NlZeU5cVUXpGZ9z7O2e1HAGvFCmxB5joBg0tTWURMq9-t187xBFWGNNlVS3Oy7FJSI1A/s577/4iqart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="577" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2Fp-_7InNm9qimBoc1r-M3QDn74t9YXnOsyHO_k-aykQ3WxGIk_p7t_7dXThN5jb_-2QsH8NlZeU5cVUXpGZ9z7O2e1HAGvFCmxB5joBg0tTWURMq9-t187xBFWGNNlVS3Oy7FJSI1A/s320/4iqart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-53658337608677110952020-10-15T17:16:00.001-04:002020-10-22T22:57:11.327-04:00Jean's Green's<p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>E</span></b></span>very so often, I get into a good cocktail conversation. It's probably not that common because I am mostly a "pour it in the glass and drink it" kind of guy. Not that long ago, I was having a conversation and it gave me the inspiration for yet another completely unnecessary project. So I started looking into it. A google search here and there, a little more reading and it looked doable but one herb needed to be bought online. I figured we've got the Honest Weight CoOp. They'll have it.</p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>S</span></b></span>o, it took a few weeks for me to finally get over there. I stocked up on a few things I needed (they've got a bulk chili powder that I like a lot for your rubs and other chili powder related needs). But I couldn't find what I was looking for in the bulk spices and figured I give the vitamins/supplement/essences section a look. I didn't see it there so I asked the person stocking shelves. Was happy to find out she at least had heard of what I was looking to find.</p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>T</span></b></span>here was a brief pause as she mentally went through her inventory and she told me they didn't have it, but Jean's Greens probably would. I thanked her and continued shopping my way through the CoOp.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUufNXvXH6oGpQWFZYc6g6GLqr1oK4EBrDo3g9v-r7Lj5-l5w7pDnQ-fx5DmqmYB1I5z3aRyofGoYCdwEUimNv4hEqvIFapxtDcQ1j_WMGrhN5aN2wXRWJ1MODM8H5NwmDpFjxskXiTFE/s2048/JeansGreens1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="2048" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUufNXvXH6oGpQWFZYc6g6GLqr1oK4EBrDo3g9v-r7Lj5-l5w7pDnQ-fx5DmqmYB1I5z3aRyofGoYCdwEUimNv4hEqvIFapxtDcQ1j_WMGrhN5aN2wXRWJ1MODM8H5NwmDpFjxskXiTFE/w400-h306/JeansGreens1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>H</span></b></span>onestly, I spent the rest of my visit looking at things that could be possible pizza toppings. I have gotten awful in a store. I did find that Honest Weight carries Miyokos vegan mozzarella which to date is the only vegan "cheese" I have liked on a pizza. Vegan mom (hi Mom) and vegan neighbor agree. In fact the vegan neighbor made a point to ask me what brand it was and her husband once said, "Don't tell her I liked it or she'll make me go vegan too." <p><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>E</span></b></span>ventually I made it out of the store and back to the car. I looked up Jean's Greens and found it to be a spice shop in West Sand Lake. Been there for 25 years. How have I not heard of this place? <a href="http://www.jeansgreens.com/" target="_blank">The website</a> makes it look like the kind of shop I would have loved to have roamed just a short lifetime ago. You can place orders online or by phone and they ship, or you can pick up and they will bring it outside to you. Super friendly people at Jean's. There are some other odds and ends mixed into the order, but most of my stupid project ingredients are here. </p><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span>R</span></b></span>eally looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Any guesses? I'll give you a hint (no google cheating): Gentian Root is the item not carried by the CoOp. They'd have a version of everything else here.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sRbJGLaIC476hVz_90SzmCTAeNNB9sGt7boTbVkXjZHuM7Tw4U4F-vhNPN9p6rKlQwIEQsGVRML_granmFH0UaKycyHv5WvzjRyJOm_DCDN0909WrwEXIDiVVK7o5UVuEj1hAPQ292Q/s2048/JeansGreens2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sRbJGLaIC476hVz_90SzmCTAeNNB9sGt7boTbVkXjZHuM7Tw4U4F-vhNPN9p6rKlQwIEQsGVRML_granmFH0UaKycyHv5WvzjRyJOm_DCDN0909WrwEXIDiVVK7o5UVuEj1hAPQ292Q/w400-h300/JeansGreens2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-36119279808764420202020-09-16T15:45:00.003-04:002020-09-18T00:21:07.671-04:00A Surprise From Stewart's<p>Things have been dragging lately. Work has been a drag. The weather getting cooler is a drag. School starting again is a drag. Everything has been a drag.</p><p>But then something surprisingly nice happened. Stewart's is discontinuing their house beer, Mountain Brew. That's not necessarily nice and if you are one of the people that likes it, this is just another thing falling into the drag category. To pay homage to the beer, the Stewart's Shops twitter account posted a link to memorial post featuring tweets praising the beer, tweets hating on the beer and then a handful of bizarre tweets mentioning the beer. You'll never guess <a href="https://www.stewartsshops.com/about-stewarts/in-loving-memory-stewarts-mountain-brew-beer/" target="_blank">where my tweet is.</a>..</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvHOfDJ-cl13exsDHJb4al9prfkFDeklHk0iiPaROpkGvyebFwpY9TClso-fE_BqB-6Yz5WdhKCYgRXJR5InXGfbM62ZvFGu-svg3hEMkk3IFi31sOU3yam2-jjqiMyQ_KXB-9oP17cY/s411/mine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="189" data-original-width="411" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJvHOfDJ-cl13exsDHJb4al9prfkFDeklHk0iiPaROpkGvyebFwpY9TClso-fE_BqB-6Yz5WdhKCYgRXJR5InXGfbM62ZvFGu-svg3hEMkk3IFi31sOU3yam2-jjqiMyQ_KXB-9oP17cY/w400-h183/mine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Now, I actually remember this exchange. There was a journalist that put up a tweet about one of their first articles from years ago being about a pack of wild dogs in Rensselaer. To that, Rich Azzopardi, replied that he would like to meet their tailor. (Little side note, Rich Azzopardi is pretty high up in the Cuomo administration and for the life of me I cannot figure out why he follows me, and occasionally retweets me.) Anyhow, following Rich's reference to the classic Warren Zevon song Werewolves of London, I wrote a tweet. The original line is, "I saw werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect." You may or may not remember Tom Cruise acting the lyric out in a great scene in The Color of Money. Oh well, I guess if you have to explain the joke...Rich got it. Whoever is handling the Stewart's social media did not.</p><p>Also in the Bizarre Section was this tweet with old twitter/blogging friends Albany Eats and RidiculousFood</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3bQwtIvr_n-me9s9S4bVjaDkx0lLzfKxnRkRNLOBGpFDUOimCkpgFbVt5MPpMvSKwbQKsgltweNSrtE8ljnc9gJVfd620U8nRq9qMd-KiEsgrKazo0P_GXeRW3VrFtF7oweoqo88c5A/s514/mine.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="514" height="101" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3bQwtIvr_n-me9s9S4bVjaDkx0lLzfKxnRkRNLOBGpFDUOimCkpgFbVt5MPpMvSKwbQKsgltweNSrtE8ljnc9gJVfd620U8nRq9qMd-KiEsgrKazo0P_GXeRW3VrFtF7oweoqo88c5A/w400-h101/mine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> A nice surprise in the afternoon.<p></p><p><br /></p><p>(hi mom)</p>Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-49855537037495647352020-05-11T17:32:00.000-04:002020-05-11T17:32:01.291-04:00A Tale of Two Pizza Experiences<br />
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Another shout out to Mom. I think trying to provide her with a little something to read might breathe some life into this blog. No promises though.</div>
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I clearly have a
problem with pizza and here are the tales of pizza experiences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>A bit in the
past:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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Back in February
before the country shut down, we went to New York City for a show and then
headed to Connecticut to visit my mother (hi mom). I don’t know when, but
<a href="https://www.colonygrill.com/" target="_blank">Colony Grill</a> opened an outpost near her, so we headed over on a Friday night. I
had never been and from what I had heard about it was that Colony Grill was
one of the original places for a bar style pizza. They were also known for a hot
chili oil.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The place
was packed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I mean mobbed. Busier than the New Haven Pepe's on a summer Saturday night. The waiting area was shoulder to shoulder and it was going to be 45 minutes to
get a table for 5. Carryout boxes were constantly leaving the door. And bar pies
are small so people were leaving with mini towers of pizza boxes. My
expectations were getting higher. The crowd at this place was something out of
the fantasies of most restaurant owner. Groups of 2, 4, 10 or more. Bar area
jammed. Relatively fast table turnover. Plus, a good size crowd of people
willing to wait for their chance to get seated at a table.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hated the
pizza. <i>Really hated it</i>. Like getting mad the longer you think about it kind of hate.</div>
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Here are some of the pictures I took. They have a very similar look to Start Tavern in Jersey, but Star Tavern is better than this. The photos look a lot better than the pizza tastes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bacon</div>
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Cheese </div>
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Undercarriage</div>
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Veggie</div>
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The dough
was completely flavorless. It was like someone forgot to add the salt when the
dough was being made. They have a salad pizza which is a lovey tossed salad on
top of one of their pizzas with or without cheese. It would be better as just a
salad. </div>
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Salad Pie</div>
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I can not believe the business this place is doing. This is a place that
pizza nuts travel to try. It is straight up bad. And all those people leaving
with carryout…the edible shelf like on the pizzas is less than 30 minutes. We
took out leftovers home and they do not age well. I will give credit
where credit is due. The hot chili oil is good, nice flavor and heat to it, but the oil would excel on a better pizza,</div>
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Hot Oil Pie</div>
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And they serve beer in those
good mugs with the little nobby part for your thumb. I don't drink much beer but I like these mugs better than pint glasses.</div>
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During a
phone conversation with my mother I made a joke about getting some of their
pizza to go. My mother said, “I think I’ll go back there never.” Pretty much
sums it up. Five out of five of us are fine never returning...</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>A little
closer to the present:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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The pizza
community is pretty cool. I'm definitely on the outside looking in but you can see how the shared pizzeria experience between people working in the field forge great friendships. I originally joined Instagram to keep tabs on my kids’
accounts. I quickly found there is a pretty large pizza presence. And like any
other social media thing, once you find one there are more recommendations and
then you find a few people from the pizza forum and it just keeps snowballing
to include pizza makers in Italy and around the world. Plus, pizza people are some
of the greatest people in general.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the
people I followed when I signed up was <a href="https://www.instagram.com/scottspizzatours/?hl=en" target="_blank">Scott's Pizza Tours</a>. Scott Wiener is by
every account a guy with an incredible knowledge of pizza history and the Guinness World
Record for most pizza boxes. From following Scott, I was introduced to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezareport/?hl=en" target="_blank">The Za’Report</a> (Miriam) who is one of the guides for Scott’s Pizza Tours. Since the quarantine
started, Miriam has been making pizzas at home for first responders, out of work people and pretty much anyone wanting a pizza. She also does live pizza making things in her apartment in Brooklyn. They are entertaining to
watch and they regularly coincide with when I am making dinner. So I prop the
phone up and listen to her make pizza while I cook. It has been nice. She also occasionally
does “bedtime stories” where she talks about something pizza related. The
history of Queen Margherita and the origins of the Margherita pizza was great.
Making a long story longer….<o:p></o:p></div>
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Miriam
recently started working at the original Paulie Gee’s location in Greenpoint. A
pizza maker that trained her there Chris, aka <a href="https://www.instagram.com/trunkbeer/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank">trunkbeer</a> on Instagram, is
currently in Albany for the quarantine. Miriam told me he was looking for some
supplies (the Jon in Albany handle game me away) so I reached out to Chris to
point him towards a few local places he could try.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, Chris
now has a Ooni or Rockbox, not sure which, and a very pretty spiral mixer (I definitely
have mixer envy).and when the mood hits, he has contactless pizza pick up in
from of his house. The first few times I was too late to get a pizza. The
available pies can go pretty quick. My time slot was 12:30 on Thursday. Now
this is exciting, right. You’ve got a professional pizza maker personally
making you a pizza at a designated time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was nice
to meet Chris, even though we were both wearing masks. It was also nice to inhale
some fresh pizza. The basil smelled so good. The pizza, already good, is going to get better as
Chris continues to dial in the mixer and oven. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s started another Instagram account called
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/trunkpizza/" target="_blank">trunkpizza</a>. I'm guessing future pizza sign ups go through that account. Give both a follow if you want to try one of the Chris’ pizzas. You’ve
got a little time. He’s taking this week off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-84358783624923899022020-05-10T11:57:00.001-04:002020-05-10T11:57:17.569-04:00Happy Mother's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpzo5NSgfG2hYBSCkV0H4W7_e7i4B1XVXFiSLJLdOgZuSyDkO39_zyHMAzF99LIAhlizxvcq9sF3W3f3AxPdMd9ktLuVSo2Y1SKBVOnsQAQ-jyNlNy4AX5mkhwNrfWY61ecOXU_Oex04/s1600/20200510_114835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQpzo5NSgfG2hYBSCkV0H4W7_e7i4B1XVXFiSLJLdOgZuSyDkO39_zyHMAzF99LIAhlizxvcq9sF3W3f3AxPdMd9ktLuVSo2Y1SKBVOnsQAQ-jyNlNy4AX5mkhwNrfWY61ecOXU_Oex04/s400/20200510_114835.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere. This is my mother and her 3 sons in the mid to late 70's.Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2989376878473705758.post-32397239484284592482020-04-23T16:24:00.001-04:002020-04-23T20:28:36.623-04:00<br />
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HI MOM!</h2>
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She’s the main reader of what’s left of this blog and
currently stuck in a condo in Connecticut.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ll start with politics to get it out of the way: Ignoring the giant cheese doodle in the room and skipping right to Kentucky...</div>
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I am a big fan
of bourbon. I like a lot of whiskey styles, but bourbon might be my favorite. I enjoy
drinking it with friends at the curling club. I enjoy drinking it home. I don’t do
much cocktail drinking but a good Old Fashioned is growing on me (Lost and
Found as well as Kiernan’s Craft Tavern have good versions). The idea of me
going on a bourbon trail to visit distilleries in Kentucky isn’t a big stretch.
All that being said, here is my pledge: <i>If Mitch McConnell gets re-elected the
entire state of Kentucky is dead to me.</i> I’m done. No more bourbon. Definitely not
going on a distillery tour. No KFC (it’s
not good anyway). I think Reynolds Wraps are from Kentucky. Gone. Jif peanut butter is made in Kentucky. Choosy Mom's will avoid choosing anything from Kentucky. And I promise to pay extra for a flight even if the best priced airfare has a layover in Kentucky - in case you didn’t know, the Cincinnati airport
is actually in Kentucky. Seriously, fuck that guy and anyone who votes for him
in November.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If you’re still with me, great. If you are thinking about
leaving a disagreeing comment in support of Mitch, don’t bother. I won't be responding. This is not a discussion, this is a fact
(remember those?). If the schmuck gets reelected, Kentucky might as well sink
to the center of the earth as far as I’m concerned. As for the bourbon, there
is a lot of whiskey made outside of Kentucky. I’ll spend my time and money
exploring them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Back to your regularly scheduled blog post:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The March Pizza Challenge extended into April and was “What
do you do with leftover dough?” My uses for leftover dough are stretch it into a
log and bake it like a small loaf of bread (warm, fresh bread goes great with
dinner) or I flatten in out into a rectangle and make a Stromboli. Nothing too
creative. At some point, I should try making garlic knots.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like a lot of people, I recently tried my hand at sourdough.
Following Jennifer in Saratoga’s lead, I tried developing a starter using all
purpose flour. It looked like it was starting to work a little. Then I used
some flour that I milled from wheat berries (some time ago I bought an old mill
on E bay). The starter seemed to do a little better with the whole grain but
instead, I decided to discard the first attempt and try again, this time
starting with the fresh flour. Instead of discarding the original starter, I
tried to incorporate it into a pizza dough. Pretty sure I screwed up the math
since the dough ball I made was lighter than it should have been. In the end,
that dough ball over fermented but I tried to cook it anyway. It basically disintegrated
in the oven and made a huge mess on the oven floor -luckily it was the wood
oven and not in the house, still a mess but a lot easier to clean. You can see in the top of the picture I've already moved the coals over the mess to burn it off.</div>
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My first sourdough bread attempt came out better than the second. I need a better way for the dough to
rise. I don’t have one of those bread baskets. Maybe a floured cloth in a bowl
would work better than just a lightly oiled bowl. Might throw another loaf together tonight.</div>
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Pandemic Pizza- I’ve made two rounds of Pandemic pizza. Both
rounds with over 20 pizzas that are picked up or delivered to be enjoyed by family,
friends and neighbors. </div>
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Something gets lost in the push for quantity. There’s less enjoyment in the pizza making. It’s still fun and I plan to keep doing it, But adding the elements of speed and being ready for a set pick up time takes
something away. Also, the topping combinations get scaled back. I bought a big
bag of sliced pepperoni and it's fine, but not as good as a stick sliced by
hand. I need to find somewhere locally that will sell me Ezzo pepperoni. Or at
least the Hormel pre-sliced cup and char. I think they are coming out with one to
be sold in grocery stores.</div>
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In other pizza news, I listened to as much of PizzaZoom 2020
as I could. It was basically a parade of well known pizza people meeting
through Zoom and you could just eavesdrop in on the conversation. It was like
hanging out with them in a bar after closing. There were demos from both home
kitchens and restaurants. Parts were funny. Some stories were amazing – the back
story on Angelo’s Pizzeria in South Philly put that shop on my to-do. They also
make their own bread for their cheesesteaks which look and sound great. There
was a fun session with Chris Bianco. It is a combination of interesting and
entertaining to listen to him talk. Good stories plus a willingness to help other
pizza makers in the same way people helped him. He offered some excellent life
advice: Just don’t be an asshole. The 3 days of web conference cost $5 with all
the proceeds going to<a href="https://sliceouthunger.org/pandemicpizza" target="_blank"> Pizza vs. Pandemic</a> which is a new arm of Slice Out Hunger.
They get pizza to hospitals and first responders because if anyone deserves a good
slice of pizza right now, it is these people. </div>
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Also at the web conference, I saw a Dexter P177A pizza
cutter. I had to have one. I picked it up while getting some cheese and more
pizza boxes at restaurant depot. The difference between using a 4 inch pizza when
and the smaller 2.5 inch wheel I had been using is huge. I love my new pizza
cutter. To paraphrase Ferris Bueller, it is so choice. If you have the means, I
highly recommend picking one up. And the P177A is also significantly cheaper
than the Ferrari that Ferris was talking about. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jon in Albanyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05766493068147115690noreply@blogger.com5