Mostly Wholesome

Crafting Kitchen Confidence

Matt

Rosemary Squash Fusilli

Corinne and I bought a fat ugly peanut pumpkin (AKA Galeux d’Eysines) early in October that pureed down to like 3.5 gallon sized Ziploc bags worth of pumpkin. That’s a lot of pumpkin by most standards, even for pumpkin lovers. Corinne isn’t a pumpkin lover and I have historically LOVED one piece of pumpkin pie, one piece of pumpkin bread, and maybe one pumpkin spice latte per season before getting over it.

Much like our one-eared cat or favorite busted up coffee mug; this peanut pumpkin was ugly, rejected, and instantly won over my heart. I knew it was destined for deliciousness. The folks at Whole Foods didn’t even know what it was, how to charge for it at first, or why I could possibly want such a hideous warty monster, which was oddly satisfying for me…

Anyway – even though we made all that puree to experiment with various breads, cakes, and other sweets – this little pasta dish proved to be our absolute favorite use of the squash. It is creamy without being heavy, flavorful without being overwhelming, and filling without making you lethargic. It’s like the perfect comfort food for when you don’t have a couch to immediately crash on afterwards.

I definitely recommend sticking with the fusilli pasta style (although I suspect tagliatelle would also work well), because those little corkscrews do a magical job at capturing all that creamy squashy goodness in every bite. As for the sausage, it is completely optional and this would make a very hearty vegetarian dish, I personally enjoy the added texture and flavor.

Buttercrust Deep Dish Pizza

I won’t call this a Lou Malnati’s copycat recipe to hopefully save Corinne and I from the perpetual recipe battle found online about this topic. But this is a Lou’s copycat recipe. And we think it’s pretty damn tasty.

I slightly modified a recipe found in the comments section of a question posed on the Serious Eats website about a good buttercrust recipe. In my research on the subject (which consisted of reading the comments section of recipe posts and watching the Lou Malnati’s ingredient series on Youtube) I came across a couple of myth’s that I am going to venture to address:

  1. Corn Oil = Cheap Alternative to Olive Oil
    Most folks online seem to be confident that several Chicago establishments use corn oil in their dough. It also seems like many believe that this is for cost reasons. I would have assumed the same had it not been for one comment (source pending) that I saw mentioning that the corn oil actually helps impart that buttery nuttiness that makes buttercrust a buttercrust. I decided to give it a gamble and used a mixture of fats – 3 Tbsp corn oil, 2 tsp good olive oil, greased the pan with butter – voila.
  2. Fresh Mozzarella = Good Mozzarella
    This is one I learned while trying to make Nepoletana pizza a few years ago. That dream died after realizing my crappy little Milwaukee apartment’s oven simply didn’t have the heat to melt fresh mozzarella properly. To be fair, fresh mozzarella is AMAZING, but it is not the only amazing type of mozzarella. The aged alternative, firm and creamy, is the way to go for any pizza. Lou’s sources their cheese from an artisan in Wisconsin, I source mine from a cheese monger in Eastern Market, you can source yours from anywhere you find mozzarella you like – just don’t use the fresh stuff!
  3. Cornmeal = Crunchy Golden Crust
    I don’t blame anyone for thinking that cornmeal would be used for a golden color and extra crispy crust – after all, corn bread is both of those things in a big way. BUT, I think it is safe to say no cornmeal is required or recommended for Chicago deep dish. Use All Purpose flour (I use White Lily, being the blind follower of Kenji that I am), and if you miss the golden color, toss in a pinch of turmeric or yellow food coloring.

I wouldn’t call my research intensive with any seriousness, but it was apparently enough to pull off a pie that made this Chicago suburbanite feel a little closer to the Midwest on this aptly stifling but gorgeous summer night.

Steak Sandwich

I used to eat far too much steak. Like, making the Wisconsin supper clubs of my youth realllll nervous when I walked into their Bottomless Filet Mignon Sunday Special. I am no stranger to pushing the limits of human consumption and wrestling with the meat sweats an hour later. I’m glad to say I am *mostly* past that part of my life and can control how much steak I inhale.

When I say *mostly*, I say that because the introduction of the sous vide to my life has been a real tasty adventure. I basically just Google “Kenji Sous Vide [Insert Delicious Food]” (since Kenji Lopez-Alt has pretty much sous vide everything, and anything he hasn’t, the team at Chef Steps has) and follow his instructions. When it comes to the steak for this recipe, I actually veered away from Kenji and followed Vincent Meli’s instructions. That being said, you can cook the steak anyway you like!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Pile Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Why are lemon poppy seed muffins a thing? I mean honestly, what do poppy seeds actually add to anything? Have you ever taken a teaspoon or so of poppy seeds and tasted them just to test the flavor? It isn’t really a pleasant experience.

Aside from just being a mouthful of unpleasantly-textured desiccated seeds, they lack a distinct flavor. The bottle they come in classifies them as nutty, which makes sense as most nuts and seeds have an earthy flavor, but I can confidently say I have no interest in reaching for poppy seeds as a pumpkin seed alternative to snack on.

That all being said, if you take the poppy seeds out of lemon poppy seed muffins, you just have lemon muffins… and that just sounds like blasphemy to me (note to self: try new lemon muffin recipe soon!). These flecked golden muffin tops are, bar-none, my favorite product that is baked in some form of cake tin. Chocolate cake, blueberry muffins, salted caramel cupcakes – get in line – these lemon poppy seed muffins are all I need on my desert (or maybe it should be dessert?) island.

Lemon poppy seed muffins do require a couple of atypical ingredients and techniques, but that really should scare you off, because both the ingredients and techniques are AMAZING to put right to use in other places around the stove.

Learning to properly whip egg whites into peaks can allow you to make meringues or the fluffiest pancakes you’ve ever eaten. Having buttermilk on hand means you can make anything from fried chicken to buttermilk pancakes (I think I may be in the mood for some pancakes to compliment my muffins).

So, in short, don’t be intimidated by the extra steps and ingredients – they will all be put to good use and are well worth the time and monetary investment (which, by the way, is about 10 minutes and $3, respectively)!

Okay, now prepare yourself for the mystically delicious nature of the lemon poppy seed muffin, because they will be fresh out of your oven in less than an hour!

NOTE ON THE BAKING METHOD BELOW: I know, I know, 425 seems insane for muffins and baked goods, but trust us! This will help them rise better in the oven due to the extra-hot air pockets that will form inside the muffin while baking – giving you a nice round top instead of a flat sad muffin.

Caramelized Onion & Garlic Spread

I find that we work the absolute hardest for the most simple things in life. Finding time to set aside for family. Saving up to sit on a beach somewhere far away. Standing by a stove for 45 minutes to coddle some onions to sweet perfection.

This caramelized onion spread goes great on pretty much anything. I mean, it’s garlic, onion, and butter so the degree of deliciousness should be immediately obvious.

Corinne puts this on everything from sandwiches to quesadillas. I first made it to put on our Pulled Pork Open Face Sandwich – but whip it up all summer long for anything coming off the grill. It takes a lot of time to turn these onions caramel-y and perfect*, but it is well worth the wait!

Be patient and enjoy!

*As Tom Scocca’s investigative report clearly shows (despite the fact that the “how long does it take to caramelize onions?” Google search still lies to us with these 5-minute promises… Using Mr. Scocca’s article no less)

Pulled Pork Open Faced Sandwich

Pork has always quietly been one of my biggest loves. I like it any time of day, hot or cold, pulled or sliced, on a sandwich, in a soup, next to my eggs, you name it.

James Beard said “If I had to narrow my choice of meats down to one for the rest of my life, I am quite certain that meat would be pork.” It was this quote that led me to realize how deep my love for pork really runs. At first, I skeptically shook my head for a few moments (as I’m prone to do) – I mean, how is pork any different from other proteins? Surely beef and chicken are just as versatile…

Right?

Pulled Pork Open-Faced Sandwich

Absolutely! NOT! After considering a life without pork as compared to a life without any other meat, I realized that the man is undeniably right. Between sinfully fatty pork belly, to the staple sausage breakfast sandwich, to bacon and eggs, to porchetta, to delicately smoked and pulled pork… this delicacy gets me up in the morning and puts me right back to sleep at night. I tip my hat to those who don’t consume pork on account of their beliefs, you folks are a lot stronger than I will ever be.

While I can ramble about my love for pork for hours, you came here with a purpose. That purpose was a sexy looking pulled pork sandwich. Pulled pork is particularly high on my list of delicious things in the world. From the Hawaiian Kalua Pork prepared in a traditional imu to Mayan Conchita Pibil prepared in a pit to the perfectly smoky pork shoulder prepared sous vide in my very unexotic kitchen, it’s a warm blanket of happiness for me that beats out Mac N Cheese, Meatloaf, Soup, Sloppy Joes, Mashed Potatoes, and any other comfort foods any day of the week.

The sous vide pork shoulder in this recipe comes from Mr Kenji Lopez-Alt, the man who, as my father puts it, “wrote the book that Matthew wishes he could’ve written”. It isn’t an untrue statement, but that doesn’t mean I like hearing it… The BBQ sauce is from the same recipe, I always use Bone Suckin’ Sauce as the base.

I warn you, the following sandwich is pretty addictive and perfect to prepare for any BBQ event – just as long as you make enough caramelized onion spread. If you asked a friend if they would ever eat half an onion in one sitting, I’m pretty confident they would give you a resounding “What?! No!.” Now slide some buttery caramelized magic in front of them and watch them devour enough onion and garlic to ward off a legion of vampires.

And now, enough chit chat – let’s eat some damn pig.