pdc’s Profile

Recent Comments

See more comments by pdc »

Recent Posts

From Talk

To Picco or not Picco

See more posts by pdc »

Recent Favorites

pdc hasn't favorited a post yet.

Recent Polls

pdc hasn't answered any polls yet.

Recent Quizzes

pdc hasn't taken any quizzes yet.

Recent Comments | Response to Comments

From Serious Eats

Weekend Book Giveaway: 'The Elements of Cooking'

Seasoning! No matter how amazing the quality of the product is, you need to season it properly to make it taste good.

From Serious Eats

What's Your Favorite Thanksgiving Food?

Stuffing. But only the stuffing that's cooked inside the bird where it gets all nice and moist. Otherwise, most stuffing's I've had tend to be too dry.

From Serious Eats

What's Your Go-To Weekday Breakfast?

It's amazing that I can't eat the same thing for dinner within a 2 week span, but I can eat the same damn breakfast every single day. A bowl of cereal, always a combination of two different varieties. Currently, I'm working on Kashi Cinnamon Harvest along with Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes and Wild Blueberry Clusters with soy milk. A glass of OJ always goes along with it. From start to finish, probably 5 minutes, with no major appliances or sharp utensils involved.

From Serious Eats: New York

Dean's Pizzeria: Semi-Serious

These types of places drive me nuts! I appreciate that they're at least trying to put out a good product, but while I can't speak for Dean's specifically, there are similar places up in the Boston area who are cut from the same cloth. They've been started not from a passion for the pie, but from a business plan. They're developed from the start to be rolled out as franchises, and they're very successful. They provide a decent place for a family to go for dinner, where the kids are happy because they're having pizza, and the parents can enjoy a nice glass of wine or a beer with their seemingly upscale and hand-crafted pie. But the pizza lacks soul! Like you said, there's no one with his blood, sweat, and tears in every piece of dough, agonizing over every single pie. It's passionless. My heart sinks every time I drive by the place, knowing how much better it could be.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

This technique has been my salvation for the past few months. Lots of debate about it on the Pizzamaking.com forums, but the results are undeniable. I found a 15 inch cast iron pan on Amazon, which allows me to make normal 12 inch pies. I've found that if the crust doesn't get crisp enough on the bottom by the time the top is charred, sliding it into a heated skillet on a high flame will take care of it. No matter how good your dough is, short of hacking your oven to bake on the cleaning cycle, nothing else gets close to the true texture of a Neapolitan pie. Nice and puffy, charred, and tender inside. A couple of photos of my results are here.

From Serious Eats: New York

Sandwiches That Will Change Your Life

The fresh mozzarella/tomato/basil and the tuna/red onion/olives/lemon/arugula sandwiches at Pane Bianco in Phoenix. Jaw droppingly great bread from the wood-fired oven and perfect ingredients.

From Serious Eats

First Annual Serious Eats Food Rorschach Test

1) Ben & Jerry's - Because I can spell it.

2) Skippy - It just sounds more fun

3) Bagel - Preferably a still-warm everything bagel from H&H

4) Regular Cream Cheese - You can't get a good schmear with the whipped.

5) Sauerkraut

6) Dark Chocolate - Although milk chocolate certainly has its place.

7) Salted Butter

8) Corned Beef

9) French Fries - Please make them hand cut double fried.

10) Espresso

11) Crispy - But leave a little bit of the chewy fat left.

12) Dark Meat

From Serious Eats

Best Ice Cream in America's Best Ice Cream Town?

It is indeed a classic. I'm sure Christina's burnt sugar is a takeoff on it. Toscanini's is actually selling it, along with a few other flavors in local markets, including Formaggio Kitchen, and I believe Whole Foods as well.

From Serious Eats

Best Ice Cream in America's Best Ice Cream Town?

Christina's has them beat with it's variety and uniqueness of flavors. Adzuki bean, mexican chocolate, burnt sugar, saffron, carrot cake, fresh mint, khulfi... the list goes on and on. Plus, it's the perfect way to end the night after a meal at East Coast Grill, right next door.

From Serious Eats

LIVE: The James Beard Awards

Ed-

Thanks for the fine report. The fact that Suzanne Goin had her wedding at Pizzeria Bianco is one of the coolest things to learn. I wish I had thought of that. Chris is a master and a true artist and one of the most interesting guys I've ever met. From your book, it's obvious that you share my appreciation for his work, and I wish that I could make it out to Phoenix more than once a year to taste his pies. As you learned the hard way, Boston pizza is lacking to say the least. Keep up the good work. Your blog is a great read.

Regards,

Pete

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

I tried this and I had a few problems I'm hoping someone can correct...
1. My pan got WAY hot on the burner and turned ashen in the middle. The burner coil coating flaked off when I removed the pan to put it under the broiler. Maybe I left it on too long (25 minutes or so)?
2. The dough was really difficult to manage being so thin and flimsy. It was hard to maneuver accurately, and dealing with such extreme heat, I decided to put the pie on the upside down skillet before placing it under the broiler. It cooked while I was holding it.
3. 1 minute 35 seconds under the broiler was maybe too long as the bottom turned to coal.
4. Have to say, all this aside, that was one delicious pie. Willing to try again with a few adjustments, provided I didn't ruin my pan or my stove coil.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

Cast iron pans are a great way to get a good pizza. Very tasty. In fact, I made a how to video on this very subject!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrELqxz45w

Enjoy!

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

I just saw this posting yesterday and tried it tonight. I used Mark Bittman's Basic Pizza Dough. I used 2 cups KA bread flour and 1 cup KA white whole wheat flour. I heated my cast iron skillet in the oven while it was preheating (I don't quite understand why you would put it on the stove and then put it in the oven). Then I slid my pizza in and my gosh! This was gorgeous. Thin in the middle with a nice thick brown crust. The bottom could hold its own and it was cooked so fast. I will never go back to cooking pizza on a cold pan again at a low heat!

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

Okay. I stumbled across this recipe because, in a weird half-dream, I thought about using cast iron to solve the eternal problem of home pizza makers. That being the problem of conventional home ovens never, ever getting hot enough to make truly excellent home pizza.

I've got a stone. I crank my tiny apartment oven as high as it can go. I take out the batteries in my smoke alarm and open every window. And I'm pretty sure I've suffered mild smoke inhalation on more than one occasion. Still, no matter these efforts, my pizza has ended up good, but not G-R-E-A-T. Charred. Bubbly. Chewy. That's what I'm looking for.

So anyway, while in a pizza mood this evening and with a ball of dough thawing on the counter, I thought about how well cast iron holds heat. A quick little Google search on "cast iron pizza" lead me straight to, and to my delight, Serious Eats. This confirmed the crazy idea in my head; if you guys had something on it, it had to work.

I followed Blumenthal's procedure and all I have to say is: FINALLY. CHARRED, BUBBLY, CHEWY, PERFECT PIZZERIA PIZZA IS FINALLY POSSIBLE AT HOME. Done. That's all she wrote. Finished.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

Just a note: you can buy griddles designed to cover two eyes of the stove at once. They are reversible, with grill marks on one side and a flat surface on the other. If you used one of these, you could do 2 8-inch pies at once!!! Search "cast iron griddle double reversible" on Amazon, and you'll see some good results. Many are also available for about $20 at Macy's and the like during specials. You can find them at ross and other discounters also.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

If you live in the Central or Western part of the U.S., you can always hit up a Papa Murphy's http://www.papamurphys.com/.

They specialize in Take 'N' Bake.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

Homemade dough is *not* a pain. I use Mark Bittman's recipe/technique (I found it in "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"), which uses a food processor to knead the dough. If you can measure ingredients and push the button on a food processor, you can have excellent dough in as little as an hour. The actual dough-making takes all of 5 minutes, then you just let it rise for an hour (or more, if you can spare it). Roll it out and throw it into the oven, and voila, a damn tasty, perfectly textured crust as thick or thin as you like it.

Try it and I swear you'll never want to buy a pre-made crust (or pizza) again. And it's at least as pain-free as the skillet/broiler finagling.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

I do this with the walmart deli pizza, and add a few things, amazing how good they are, thanks for the tip!

From Serious Eats

Best Ice Cream in America's Best Ice Cream Town?

Of course Steve's is a pale shadow--it was sold many years ago, and Steve Herrell moved his operation to Northampton, MA, where he's been beloved for many years. Moving back in on Boston is only right.

From Serious Eats

Pizza Hack: Broil Your Pies

I made this last night with very good results. Having a thin crust is imperative--because I didn't stretch it out enough, it was slightly doughy. Still delicious, though. AND quick.

From Serious Eats

Best Ice Cream in America's Best Ice Cream Town?

I live in LA and still dream of Christina's...

Christina's all the way!

From Serious Eats

Best Ice Cream in America's Best Ice Cream Town?

Come to the burbs, children. We have Kimballs, and Bedford Farms, Sullivans and Dairy Joy! You can work your way from one to the next on a tour that will make your eyes and your belly bulge out. But I have to say, Christina's rice pudding ice cream is one of my all time favorites. Once I can find a place to park my car.

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

That beagle looks pretty hefty, Ed. Now we know why....thanks for a great laugh though!

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

"Man's best friend helping out in the kitchen.........Priceless"

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

I need a dishwasher to keep my rat/jack russell terrier mix at bay. She will take the food right out of my hand if I'm not vigilant.

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

Ed,

I came late to this post, but I think our dogs must have been separated at birth. Coltrane, our lemon and white beagle, has a thing for walking on the dining room table to help clean the plates even prior to their removal. He's such a help that way.

Check out his profile here: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1015981578

As you can see, he's well-fed.

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

With a 3 legged found Beagle as the latest addition to our dog family, we have discovered that a passion for food is not reserved for the human family.Go for it, Brassie!

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

Ubu our Briard knows the word dishwasher. As soon as I say lets put the dishes in the dishwasher he comes running and waits for the door to open. Naturally he doesn't climb in like Brassie..........at 103 lbs the entire dishwasher would likely come to him! He does the prewash.

We acturally had another Briard that got her collar stuck on the lower rack and pulled it out, dishes and all crashing across the floor.

Gotta love these dogs!

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

I love it! and just think you're doing the environmentaly responsible thing too, cutting down on how long a cycle you have to run to get the dishes clean;) Thank you for making the day brighter!

From Serious Eats

Photo of the Day: Canine Prewash Cycle

Beagles are something else. Our Sophy was a glutton and not very bright (I'm sure Brass comes from a different, highly gifted, line). Sophy managed to scam our street-smart mutt, Morton, out of his breakfast day after day. She'd lumber upstairs after finishing hers, go to an open French door, bark excitedly, Morton would race up to defend her, and she'd descend to eat his food! Maybe she was bright after all and just conserved energy for the important things in life.

Recent Posts

From Talk

To Picco or not Picco

Recent Favorites

pdc hasn't favorited a post yet.

Polls

pdc hasn't answered any polls yet.

Quizzes

pdc hasn't taken any quizzes yet.

About pdc

Website:

Location:

About:

Favorite foods:

Last bite on earth: