The 2011 Pizza Expo was awesome! come on 2012

And yes I really am that excited about 2012! I have to say that this years expo was great I met so many people when doing my cooking demos and the seminars. I cannot thank Pizza today Magazine enough, Pete Lachapelle, Linda Kieth, Bill Oakly, Patty Crone I mean there were so many different PTM staffers that stepped up! hey Bruce great to meet you and I cant wait to do it again next year! so really THANK YOU PIZZA TODAY MAGAZINE! for yet another great pizza expo.

Happy New Year! and my only resolution----really!

My only resolution is to write MORE! I love writing and have not done enough of it, so thats it I will start today with some great wood fired pizza recipes and pics tonight! and if you have any suggestions then now is the time to let me know all about them.

The new Seasons Pizzeria Sports Bar and Grill will be open soon and I cannot wait! we have been working very hard on completing and yesterday we finished the Kitchen flooring now its all about the finishing touches so a couple more weeks and we will be there! ready to open.

I hope you all have a very happy new year and I will see you soon at the new restaurant! and back here for some great food talk and recipes

Chef Glenn

Home made Applesauce!

Applesauce? sure I have a jar right here, no wait I have about twenty jars! because I just made a huge batch of fresh (right off the tree) all natural applesauce.
You might think "all that work for applesauce" and well you would be right, but I have enough home made applesauce to last until May! full of flavor, all natural and really easy to make, heres how ya do it.
I have a Gala apple tree that is about 50 years old and it produces a crisp sweet apple and as you can see they are just beautiful.


I use a apple slicer and then just cut out the seeds with a pairing knife. this is one of three pots I cooked down and yes the skins are left on for the cooking time because they have so much flavor and nutrition. I usually cook my apples at a low heat for about 8 hours
Then I put them through my All Clad food mill to take the skins off and any seeds that might have slipped through the cracks :)





I hope you have noticed that I have not said anything about adding sugar, cinnamon or lemon to keep the color light? that's because if you cook the apples down for the proper length of time then you do not have to add a thing!
Take a look at the color of the apples now and then again at the end, you will see the differences.







The finished product ! ready to be canned (remember to can at the proper temp about 140 is safe.
The slow cooking process concentrates the apples so much that you will end up with apple juice concentrate, I love to mix it with club soda for a awesome all natural sparkling apple juice.
The natural sugar will give you a sweet tart taste with just a hint of Cinnamon, and you didn't add a thing, you just used fresh apples and added some love.
Merry Christmas

Cirigliano Forni has arrived!!!!

Remember when you were a kid? lets say Christmas time remember how excited you were to see what Santa brought you!!!!!
Well its frickin Christmas time in Nor Cal and I just got my present.

The Cirigliano Forni is the best Italian Pizza oven you can bake in and it will be fired up soon in the new Seasons Pizzeria Sports Bar and Grill and I could not be more excited.

I Baked my first pizza in the Cirigliano Forni in June of 07 at the Citta Di Napoli original Margherita Pizza competition in Naples Italy, it
was a great time, I was part of the World Pizza Champions team that went to compete. When you are in a culinary competition in a different county it tends to rattle your cage a little to say the least, hoping you do it right, don't burn the pizza (even though the oven is 900 degrees) but all the jitters go away once you slide that pizza off the peel onto the deck, you immediately see the dough begin to rise! scramble for the small peel to turn the pizza before it's charcoal and watch it cook in a matter of 9o seconds, yes you heard me right, 90 seconds and you have pizza perfection!

Fast forward to November 2010 and I have my first Cirigliano Forni delivered to the new restaurant and yes I have already fired it and baked on it and of course the pizza was incredible, cant wait to get the place open and let everyone taste pure Italian perfection.

I want to thank the Marra Bros and Jeff Calwell of ERS Euro Restaurant Solutions for the great oven, they are true professionals and of course being raised in Italy they definitely know there business and have import only the best ovens and tools you can buy. Great products are only as good as the people that sell them and support them and I can tell you from knowing the Marra Bros and Jeff for the past four years that if you ever have any problems you can count on them to resolve them, Thanks guys, I appreciate your friendship, see you in Vegas! http://eurorestaurantsolutions.com/
Check out their site, tell them the World Pizza Champions sent you
Chef Glenn

Savory and Sweet, time to mix it up!

The Holidays bring out the best in all Chefs, we really get a chance to mix it up and have fun with our recipes and this one is no different.
Cream cheese spreads are fun to make and easy too. Toasted Bagels in the morning with with cranberry cream cheese, Apples and Cinnamon, crackers in the afternoon with Sundried Tomato Pesto Cheese, Roasted Garlic or my favorite Cilantro Serrano.
I will start with the Sundried Tomato Pesto.
Start by taking 4 cups of sun dried tomatoes and grinding them using your small grind die so that the tomatoes come out finely ground and mix easily infusing the Cream Cheese with flavor!






My Kitchen Aid Mixer with the grinder attachment is the perfect choice for this recipe, I like using the Christopher Ranch sun dried tomatoes they are a quality product and once you put them through the grinder your only a few steps away from a beautiful Pesto!














With your tomatoes ground you can now add the finishing ingredients, without cleaning the grinder I put in my whole peeled Garlic, again from Christopher Ranch, fresh clean and easy to use, about one cup Garlic and grind like you did the tomatoes, then add your fresh basil, about a cup of loose packed Basil and grind that right into the garlic bowl, I then take about a cup of tomatoes and send them through the grinder just to clean it out of all the great juices, now combine all and
now your ready to mix in your olive oil, and mix in about two cups of evoo into your mix, a pinch of sea Salt and Black Pepper and your done!

Now its time to mix it up! 8oz of cream cheese to 4tblsp of pesto, that's it just mix it up by hand or do larger batches with your Kitchen Aid, return your spread to the fridge and enjoy!

Remember that any left over Sun Dried Pesto can be stored in a mason jar, just cap it with olive oil and keep it out of the sunlight and it will last for future recipes

Cheers, Chef Glenn

Chicken Pot Pie, Comfort with flavor!

You have been eating them since you were a kid, and still you walk through Costco and there they are Marie Calenders Chicken Pot Pies! but there is nothing better than making them at home, fresh and they taste awesome.

I have broken down the recipe with pics and will walk you through it.

Pic 1: one quart of Chicken stock and 3 tblsp of butter, bring to a boil, 1/2 cup of flour and one cup cold water, mix together and add to boiling chicken stock, stirring until thick, reduce heat.



Pic 2: 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast, boil until cooked, then cube, two cups of chopped carrots, cooked until tender then drain, two cups corn and two cups peas, mix together











I use my baking ramekins for this recipe, so after my filling is done I line the ramekins with my pie crust, lightly press the dough into dish and leave about a 1/4 inch at the top so that you can pinch the top crust together after filling! Pie Crust
2cups all purpose flour,1 tsp salt, 2/3 cup chilled shortening, 2 tblsp chilled butter (combine the butter and shortening together) 4 tblsp water
blend 1/2 of the shortening mix into the flour with a fork or mixer on low speed, then add the water and mix by fork if you can, then add the rest of the shortening mix, a little more water if needed to bind the dough, chill for ten minutes then roll by hand until the dough sheet is about 1/8 inch thick, you can then cut the dough to a size that is easy to work with.

Once you have lined the ramekins with your dough then you can fill them with the chicken mixture, I like to fill them to the top because as they bake the crust will lift a little and the bubbling mixture will expand and spill out a little giving the dish a nice presentation. After you fill the ramekins place the top crust on and cut the dough to fit leaving about 1/4 inch around the dish.
Pinch the bottom and top crust together (just like a pie, and you are ready to bake! Almost :)



Take a sharp pairing knife and score the crust so that it can expand, heat your oven to 450 and place your ramekins on the middle rack and bake for approximately 12 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and bake another 12 minutes until golden brown








And here it is! the best Chicken pot pie you have ever tasted!
The best part of this dish is it is all natural, no additives and you control the salt and seasoning that you put in it, so its good for everyone.
This recipe makes 4 dishes and my kids can only eat about half of one so it goes far and is really filling. It really makes a great rainy day dinner, and it only cost about 12 dollars.
It takes about 30 minutes to prep and 24 to cook.

Now remember that you can use a nice beef stew meat and make the same dish with beef broth, just add a medium sized diced onion to the broth and simmer both the beef, onion and a tblsp of minced garlic before thickening and adding veggies.

Either way it is a hearty complete dinner and your family will love it, let me know what you think and if you have any questions just ask and I am happy to answer them! Oh and don't forget to (friend) this blog I love to know who's reading.

Cheers
Chef Glenn

Falls gone in a flash--------now what?

The title says it all, Falls gone and its windy wet and cold in Northern California, and the perfect time to start cooking those comfort foods we all love!

I think I am going to write a series on some really great comfort food recipes, do you knwo how much meatloaf we sell at the restaurant? yes I said meatloaf its one of our top sellers and a great comfort food served with mashed pots gravy and fresh steamed veggies! toss in a warm crunchy dinner roll and you have happy customers.

So we will start tomorrow with a classic chicken pot pie, that's right a chicken pot pie! this is a great one dish meal that brings all the taste of home together. I make a flaky crust and bake it together with the chicken, sauce and veggies and top it with a flaky buttery crust, bake it at 450 until the crust is golden brown and you have a one dish meal that is simply delicious.

I will have recipes and pics tomorrow

Chef Glenn