Been thinking about making stuffed peppers for a while and even though the dish kind of says 'winter,' bell peppers are abundant, beautiful and cheap right now, so I figured this was as good a time as any. My favorite version of these was made by my paternal grandmother and unfortunately, the recipe died with her, so this is my best guess on how to recreate what she used to make . . .


Mise En Place & Kurosaki Shizuku R2 Gyuto, 210mm
Avocado oil, cooked long grain rice, eggs, bay leaves, ground beef & pork, bell peppers, granulated sugar, black pepper, Hungarian sweet paprika, passata, homegrown tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, carrot, microplaned garlic, AP flour, celery and assorted onions. Note: no Vegeta.

First, sweat the veg until tender. Let that cool. While that's happening, start the sauce (roux first) and prepare the peppers for stuffing. Once the sweated veg are cool, assemble the stuffing (meat, sweated veg, eggs, salt (1% by weight), pepper, paprika). Cook a bit of that in a pan to check for seasoning, etc. Adjust if necessary. When the sauce has come to a simmer, stuff the peppers with the filing and place them back in the sauce. In this case, I used a 14-quart dutch oven for all the steps, so into that vessel the stuffed peppers went . . .


Peppers, Stuffed
I tried to slightly under-fill these because they were bound to expand during cooking. Also, I'd removed/held a bit of the sauce to pour over the peppers in the next step . . .


Hats On!
Once the stuffed peppers were placed, I put their hats back on them and draped them with the portion of the sauce I'd held back. After that, I covered the dutch oven, moved it from the stove top to the oven and baked the peppers at 350F for about 90 minutes.

Once the peppers had softened nicely and the filling had cooked through, I removed and held the stuffed peppers, moved the dutch oven back to the stove top, and reduced the cooking medium a bit, throwing in the excess filling that wouldn't fit into the peppers in the form of some little meatballs. Over low heat for another half hour or so, the sauce had reduced suitably and the meatballs were done. Time to eat . . .


Plated Up
Hat in front, a couple of meatballs aside. With some roasted broccoli & lemon.

Not exactly how my Grandma's version used to taste but pretty close. And there are a few tweaks I'd make going forward that would probably take it further away from that than closer to it (like maybe adding some wine to the sauce, which she'd never do) but that really doesn't matter. In the end, I'll never make this dish without thinking about her, and remembering when she used to make it for us. That's what really matters.

Happy Monday!

=R=

My old friend RAB gifted me a bag of Matthews Cotswold Organic Pizza Flour. He loves it and I was excited to give it a go in 65% hydration dough with a 72-hour cold ferment . . .


Homegrown Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella & Hand-Sliced Pepperoni
I'm not usually a fan of sliced tomato on pizza but if the tomatoes are good -- and these most certainly were -- it turns out to be a great topping.


Slice
If I'd taken the time to stretch this more carefully, the crown would have risen more profoundly. But it was late and I was in a hurry, so that didn't happen this time around. Still, the crust was light and tender. And I have to say that I could really discern a flavor difference with this flour, compared to the KA stuff I usually use. I'll probably have to grab some of it for myself soon.

=R=

Finishing up the remaining ~600g of the Cotswold flour 65% hydration dough (now 5-day fridge fermented) with a big-boy, 16-inch thin crust pizza . . .


Veg Pizza
Fresh mozzarella, red onion, garlic-sauteed red Leysa peppers and broccoli.


Slice
Nice lift here and great flavor. I had a bit of trouble managing this larger pizza. It's slightly bigger than my stone, my peel and my largest cooling rack.

=R=

There are some things I make all the time. There are things I make rarely. And there are things I feel like I make all the time that, apparently, I don't really make all the time. Case in point is the infamous ribless roast from Costco. Looking back, I don't think I've made one since July of 2024, which I find hard to believe because I do feel like I make them a lot. In any case, with some beef-loving friends coming over last night, it seemed like the perfect thing to make for them . . .


Ribless Roast
Trussed it, then salted it for ~24 hours in the fridge. After that, touched up the seasoning, lightly oiled it and baked it at 200F for several hours until the internal temp was 127F. After that, a brief convection-roast blast at 450F.

After the roast sat for about 15 minutes, it was time to carve it and serve . . .


Plated Up
With some sauteed broccoli, garlic & rosemary roasted potatoes and a brown mushroom gravy.

=R=

Now, here's something I actually do cook all the time . . .


Charcoal-Grilled Chicken Thighs
Combination of a few homemade dry rubs.


Plated Up
Meat & 3 (leftover/reheated) Sides . . . sauteed broccoli, roasted potatoes and 2-bean combo.

Happy Monday!

You're on a roll, brother.

Jazzfood wrote:You're on a roll, brother.

Thanks! Just keeping busy and trying to stay out of trouble.

=R=

More pizza experimentation, this time with a new flour blend in the dough . . .


Pepperoni & Red Onion Pizza
Dough here was 42.5% bread flour (chewiness), 42.5% 00 flour (tenderness) and 15% golden whole wheat flour (flavor). 63% hydration, 3-day secondary fridge ferment (after a few hours ambient). Instant yeast was 0.6%. I normally use 0.5% but figured I should add a touch more to help offset the whole wheat flour. Loved the way the flours combined to create something that was crispy on the exterior with a chewy bite but was also flavorful, tender and light. I wish I were getting a bit more leoparding on the crown but my indoor oven just doesn't get hot enough for that.


Slice
For my preferences, I think it'll be tough to come up with a more satisfying flour blend but I do intend to try. I still have a bit more of this dough, which I hope to get to in the next couple of days.

=R=

You mean .6% and .5%

lougord99 wrote:You mean .6% and .5%

Yes.

=R=

Time for dinner . . .


Grilled Salmon
Overnight teriyaki marinade (mirin, shoyu, sake, sugar), then seasoned with my BBQ rub and 16-mesh black pepper. This took about 15 minutes covered on the indirect side.


Plated Up
With some roasted Burbank russets from 3SG (little guys but very flavorful) and a blob of the weekly slaw.

=R=

After many years of "I really should try that one day," I decided to give Bolognese a whirl . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke SKD Gyuto, 210mm
Yellow onion, red wine, 4x gelatinous pork stock, Parmigiano Reggiano rinds, celery, bay leaves/ground beef/ground pork, pancetta, nutmeg (grated in at the very end), carrot, crushed tomatoes, black pepper, milk/heavy cream, anchovies and salt. I didn't do a particularly deep dive on this but I was interested to learn that there's typically no garlic in Bolognese (or oregano or basil). It gets its richness and deep flavor from the long, slow cook and the combination of other ingredients. In the end, this spent a few hours on the stove top -- some at the beginning and some at the end -- and about 3.5 hours in a 350F oven.


Plated Up
Served this with pappardelle, and also some steamed broccoli (melted butter, gochugaru, lemon). Really liked the way this came out and because of how long it took, I'm really glad I made a very big batch. I expect it'll be great leftover during the week.

=R=

made Sohla El Wahlly's version of japanese curry (nyt). it was a little more involved than one might expect given that it calls for the japanese curry bricks, but it was an enjoyable result (we omitted the sugar she adds).

I've been meaning to try congee, decided to do it on a bachelor chow night. Butternut squash, leek, ginger and a half cup of rice all went into my rice cooker with 6 cups of chicken stock from the freezer (lots of gelatin, I remember this came from Costco rotisserie chickens) that I simmered with the leek tops, shredded carrot, shrimp shells and some wilted celery. Even starting with hot stock it took longer than the hour listed in The Wok. Added shrimp and crab, let them finish cooking, served with toasted pepitas, French's fried onions (subbing for fried shallot), scallions, cilantro and chili oil.

I enjoyed it, but I feel like I'd have liked the same things more if stir fried.
Lots left over, we'll see how it is reheated.

Another pizza with the 00/bread/golden whole wheat flour blend dough that I made last week. This was now at 8 days slow-fermenting in the fridge . . .


Pepperoni, Sausage & Red Onion
Whole milk mozzarella, Rao's pizza sauce. 16" free-form. ~12 minutes at 550F.


Slice
Great flavor, satisfying chew and still, after 8 days, pretty nice lift.

Happy Monday!

=R=

It had been about a year and half since I last made party ribs but when I saw baby backs at Costco, I was inspired to cook them again . . .


Party Ribs, Grilling
A combination of homemade rubs and some Hoisin-heavy glaze. All in all, these grilled, covered, for about 45 minutes before they reached the target temperature of ~200F. I waited until the last few minutes of the cook to apply the glaze.


Party Rib Platter
Served these with a few leftover/reheated restaurant sides, so no plate picture tonight. They were great. Well seasoned, crusty exterior, and juicy meat that tugged away cleanly from the bone with just the right amount of effort.

=R=

Looks fantastic

Jazzfood wrote:Looks fantastic

Thanks, my friend. Would love to make them for you some time.

=R=

Over here tonight, a back-to-basics stir-fry . . .


Mise En Place & Moritaka AS Nakiri, 165mm
Oyster sauce, granulated sugar (hiding behind the oyster sauce), scallion tops, broccoli florets, light sauce, dark soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, marinating chicken thigh meat (soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, white pepper, sugar, salt corn starch, sesame oil), sweet red Leysa peppers, scallion bottoms, avocado oil, Shaoxing cooking wine, chopped garlic, yellow onion, salt, dried heaven-facing chiles, corn starch and white pepper.


On The Platter
Chicken & Veg Stir Fry, and it felt damned good. Served this with some freshly machined jasmine rice.

Happy Monday!

=R=

Didn't intend to go vegan with this one. That part just happened. Once I laid out the ingredients, using evoo instead of butter or ghee set that course. But either way, I was really in the mood for dal . . .


Mise En Place & Moritaka AS Nakiri, 165mm
Everything but the water: Yellow onion, salt, chopped garlic, spiced/pressed tofu, celery, parsley, scallion bottoms, carrot, scallion tops, masoor dal, black pepper, evoo and fresh sage & rosemary springs from our garden.


Plated Up
With some freshly machined brown jasmine rice. These masoor dal from Rancho Gordo are terrific. There was a point where they were out of stock/wait-listed but I think they're back in stock now. This was a hearty and satisfying dish. Didn't miss the meat at all. So happy I made it this way.

=R=

Working with last night's leftovers . . .


Pan-Seared Salmon
Over leftover/reheated masoor dal. Plus a pan sauce (shallots, lemon juice, lemon zest, white wine, heavy cream and unsalted butter). Arugula and spring greens salad with homemade vinaigrette.

=R=

Over here, more pizza experimentation (with mixed results) . . .


Pepperoni & Red Onion Pizza
Dough here was 100% from Anson Mills flours. 85% Rustic Red Fife Bread Flour and 15% Artisan Whole Grain Wheat Flour. 48-hour fridge ferment and an afternoon at room temp, it rose fairly well. And it baked up fairly well. But in the end, while the flavor was great, it lacked gluten development and the texture was a bit on the mealy side, as you can see in this pic of the crown . . .


Pepperoni & Red Onion Pizza
Next time, I'll sub out the Red Fife in favor of some of their French White Bread Flour. Still, this was an interesting exercise and one that, thankfully, the family thought was delicious (in other words, no leftovers).

=R=

For us, some golden fried rice . . .


Mise En Place & Moritaka AS Nakiri, 165mm
Everything but the rice (leftover, jasmine): Avocado oil, scallion whites, carrot, scallion greens, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, frozen peas, eggs, white pepper, lap cheong, grocery charsiu (Jason BBQ), 16-20 shrimp, yellow onion and microplaned garlic.


Pork & Shrimp Fried Rice
So happy with the way it came out, and a relatively simple prep, too.

=R=

Made a quickie pad ka prao with a small, mixed pack of ground pork and beef that I found in the freezer . . .


Pad Ka Prao
Seasoned/frizzled egg. Leftover/reheated brown jasmine rice.

=R=

More pizza experimentation, this time with an 85/15 blend of Anson Mills French White Bread Flour and Anson Mills Rustic Red Fife Bread Flour. 65% hydration. 72-hour fridge ferment . . .


Pepperoni, Sausage & Red Onion Pizza


Slice
Great rise and great flavor. I really liked the overall combination here. Looking forward to more experimentation soon. I've a got a few more artisanal flours that I'm excited to try.

=R=

Hi Ronnie,

I'm thinking about experimenting with one of these artisanal flours for pizza. In this thread you've mentioned Anson Mills and Cotswold flour - would you start with one of these or a different brand (mill)?

- zorkmead