Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

One of my favorite vegetables is cauliflower. It's very versatile, I use it as rice, raw in salads, boiled, roasted, everything goes with Cauliflower. 

These roasted cauliflower florets are a perfect side for a roasted chicken. 

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• salt
• shaved parmesan 
• (capers)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475℉ (250℃).

Place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet. Drizzle the cauliflower with olive oil, and season with the lemon pepper, cumin and salt. Place baking sheet in the oven and cook for 18-25 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. I like a good caramelization on the cauliflower, so I put them in the oven before the oven is preheated all the way.

Remove cauliflower from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan and some capers (if you have some). Serve immediately while still warm.

Enjoy!

The Danish Version:

Ristet Blomkål

Ingredienser:

• 1 medium blomkål, skåret i buketter
• olivenolie
• 1 tsk citronpeber
• ½ tsk spidskommen
• salt
• høvlet parmesan 
• kapers

Fremgangsmåde:

Varm ovnen op til 250℃.

Kom blomkålsbuketterne i et ovnfast fad i ét lag, eller læg dem spredt på en bareplade. Hæld olivenolien henover. Drys citronpeber, spidskommen of salt på, og vend det hele rundt så alle buketterne er dækkede. (dette kan også gøres i en frysepose før man kommer blomkålen i fadet/på pladen.

Kom blomkålen i ovnen og bag dem i ca 18-25 minutter, vend dem rundt undervejs, så de får en jævn farve. 

Tag blomkålen ud af ovnen og kom parmesan og kapers (hvis du har nogle) henover, og server den straks.

Velbekomme.

Maple Plank Salmon

Maple Plank Salmon

Have you ever grilled salmon on a plank? It's actually really easy, and it brings a lot of great flavor to the salmon. The most important thing is to soak the plank for one or two hours before grilling. You can soak the plank in water, cider, or even wine. 😃

I have had planks lying in the my kitchen cabinets for a very long time, I've totally forgot all about them. But on my last few runs to Whole Foods Market, I've wanted to try their Cedar Plank Salmon. But I opted to try making my own, Hawaiian inspired salmon.

Here is my take.

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 1 food-safe maple plank (you can use any kind of food-safe planks)
• 1 salmon fillet, or 2-3 portion sized
• salt & white pepper
• lemon juice

Topping:

• 2 thin slices fresh pineapple, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon curd
• ½ jalapeño, minced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ¼ cup macadamia nuts
• salt & white pepper
• sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Soak the plank in water for about two hours, making sure that it stay submerged.

Abut 15 minutes before you are ready to cook, preheat the grill/BBQ to 375-400℉ (190-200℃). You want to cook the salmon over direct heat.

Maple Plank Salmon ready for the grill/BBQ

Remove skin and bones from the fillet. You can let the skin stay on the fish, but I always remove it.
Drip some lemon juice over the fish, and season it with salt and white pepper. Place the fillet on the plank, and make the topping. If the filet has a thin tapered belly edge, tuck the edge under to get a more even thickness of the filet. This prevent the thin part to overcook. 

Mix the topping and spread it evenly over the fillet.

Cook for about 12-18 minutes with the lid closed, until the salmon is done (when the salmon is no longer translucent but uniformly pink in the center. Small fillets will cook more quickly than larger cuts. 

(Check the doneness by inserting a knife in the center and peek inside.)

You can reuse the planks until they become overly charred, cracked, or impossible to clean. 

Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken is one of the best ways to cook a chicken on the grill/BBQ. The chicken stays juicy, and you get the best crispy skin.

I use a poultry roaster instead of the beer can, since you do not know what’s in the color on the beer can, and if it will migrate into the roasting chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature 
• 2-4 tablespoons salt
• ½ teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 lemon
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 2 cloves garlic

Directions:

Preheat your grill/BBQ to medium high heat, the chicken need to be cooked at indirect heat, meaning no flames or coal directly under the bird. 

Zest the lemon, and add it to the butter together with the thyme.

Remove neck and giblets from chicken and discard them. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Rub chicken lightly with salt inside and put the chopped up lemon inside too. Put the spiced butter in between the skin and chicken breast and drumsticks. Set aside.

Pour the wine into the poultry roaster  and put the garlic in there too. place the chicken on the stand. Rub a good amount salt all over the chicken. Transfer the chicken to the grill/BBQ.

Cook the bird for 50-65 minutes or until the thigh juice runs clear, when poked with a sharp knife. Remove the bird from grill/BBQ and let rest for 10 minutes before carving. (The center temperature should be 165℉ (75℃).

Enjoy!

Pizza

Potato Gruyere Pizza

There are different way to roll out/form the pizza. Normally I just roll the dough out with a rolling pin but this dough is so soft and so easy to just spread out using your hands. Of course you can be a real pizza maker and toss it in the air, but I know my limitations.

When the dough is shaped I always sprinkle some cornflour on the pizza peel, this makes it easier to slide the pizza onto the grill safely and without dropping all the toppings.

I have a VillaWare Pizza Grill, it's basically a pizza stone on a stainless steel frame. But the stone is food certified, and the frame stops the pizza from sliding off, when taking it off. After getting this Pizza Grill, we have got the best pizza's ever. We even use the pizza grill to reheat leftover pizza, to get the crisp.

I bake my pizza at 600℉ (315℃) for about 7 minutes. 

I love simple pizze, I love you can taste all the ingredients.

Potato Gruyere Pizza

The potato gruyere pizza is a white pizza, with only potatoes, cheese, olive oil, rosemary and a sprinkle of salt. It's really simple to make. 

Wash 2-3 potatoes, and thinly slice them into a bowl with ice water.  Slice the cheese, and spread it on the pizza dough. Pad dry the potato slices and lay them on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with olive oil and chopped fresh rosemary. Bake the pizza on the grill for about 7 minutes on a pizza stone.   

Bacon, Gorgonzola and Onion Pizza

Another favorite is

Bacon, Gorgonzola and Onion Pizza

Pizza dough

Tomato sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• ¼ onion, peeled and cut into ¼-inch pieces

• 1 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced

• ½ can diced Italian tomatoes

• 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste

• thyme

• rosemary

• salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a small saucepan on medium heat. Add onions and garlic, cook until onions are soft, about 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and spices. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Let sauce simmer 5-10 minutes - the longer, the better taste. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Topping:

• onion, thinly slices

• 3-4 slices bacon

• 4 slices mozzarella, use a good one

• 2-4 tablespoons gorgonzola

Spread the cooled tomato sauce on the pizza, add the cheese and onions. Top it of with bacon.

Bakes for about 7 minutes.

Pizza Dough

Breakfast Pizza and a hungry Gizmo

We like to bake our own pizzas (ok, they are called pizze in plural). But to bake your own pizza, you need a good pizza dough. I have tried several through the years, but no one has given me a better crust than the one from kvalimad.dk

Kvalimad, has different options depending on how good you are to plan ahead, but I really like his start in the morning dough. 

10 hour pizza dough

Makes 4 thin crust pizze.

Ingredients:

• 625-650 g all-purpose flour
• 450 ml (17/8 cups) water 
• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons (14 g) salt
• 3 g live yeast or about ¼ teaspoon dry yeast

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water, if using dry yeast sprinkle a few pinches sugar in the water too. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough for about 5 minutes in a stand mixer. (Knead a little longer if kneading by hand). The dough should now be somewhat sticky and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 8 hours on the kitchen counter.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured workspace, fold the dough over 3-4 times and divide the dough into 4 rounds 

Sprinkle the rounds with flour and let them rise for another 2 hours, covered.

Now the dough is ready to use. 

The One Hour Dough

Makes 4 thin crust pizze.

This dough works, but it won't have the same crust and flavor, but it's still better than a frozen pizza from the grocery store.

Ingredients:

• 625-650 g all-purpose flour
• 450 ml (17/8 cups) water 
• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons (14 g) salt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 12 g live yeast or about 3 g dry yeast

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in half of the water in the bowl of the stand mixer. If using dry yeast sprinkle a few pinches sugar in the water too.

Bring the rest of the water to a boil. Add oil, salt and vinegar to the bowl with half of the flour. Mix in half of the hot water. Add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for about 10 minutes in the stand mixer. Put the hot water into the mixing bowl for the stand mixer. (Knead a little longer if kneading by hand). The dough should now be somewhat sticky and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes on the kitchen counter.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured workspace, fold the dough over 3-4 times and divide the dough into 4 rounds 

Sprinkle the rounds with flour and let them rise for another 30 minutes, covered.

Now the dough is ready to use. 

Source: Kvalimad.dk