« First-World Problems... | Main | Gun Thread: Second March Edition! »

Food Thread: Pepperoni And Pizza...A Match Made In Heaven?

Yup...I woke up in a cold sweat, with visions of Detroit style pizza swimming through my mind. Well, mostly a thick crust pizza with lots of pepperoni...it doesn't have to be that particular style. In fact, a classic "Sicilian" from a joint on Route 46 in Lodi might just hit the spot. They make a great one, with a ridiculous amount of crushed red pepper that on a thinner pizza would be overwhelming, but it works on a thick-crust Sicilian.

But let's be honest...the best part of that pepperoni is the tiny puddle of grease sitting in the little cup. It reminds me of the classic NY style that I ate in my youth. Yeah...a large pepperoni pie for $4.

The real reason I am fixated on pizza is that I have been baking a lot recently, and my sourdough starter is zipping along, all fat and happy and bubbly. I'm going to make some pizza dough with it...or maybe Ciabatta. But that requires stuff for an Italian sandwich. Oooh! Mortadella, pesto, some good Provolone (not the crappy mass-market kind), and a nice drizzle of good olive oil.

But what about Balsamic vinegar for the contrast?

Yes folks, this is what I obsess over!

******
Could ultra-processed foods be the new 'silent' killer?

Hundreds of novel ingredients never encountered by human physiology are now found in nearly 60 percent of the average adult's diet and nearly 70 percent of children's diets in the U.S. An emerging health hazard is the unprecedented consumption of these ultra-processed foods in the standard American diet. This may be the new 'silent' killer, as was unrecognized high blood pressure in previous decades. Physicians provide important insights in a battle where the entertainment industry, the food industry and public policy do not align with their patients' needs.

1. It's biomedical research, which is famously inaccurate and often unrepeatable.
2. Physicians have pissed away about 99% of the trust that Americans feel toward them because of their catastrophic lies about Covid and their embracing of the big-government policy on just about everything.

But...I think it is just common sense that "ultra-processed food," the stuff we used to call "junk food," probably isn't good for us. There are reasons other than thrift to make our own food from basic ingredients. It usually tastes better, it's probably more healthful, and it provides a respite from the hectic lives that most of us lead. Making dinner from raw ingredients separates us to a certain extent from a consumption-driven society. We aren't bombarded with ads to buy a raw chicken, some fresh vegetables, and some blueberries for dessert. And those few minutes of cooking time required to make a nice simple meal builds some resistance to the incessant hectoring that faster and easier and more convenient is the way to do everything.

What do you think?

******
I love chile-based sauces, and there is nothing about this dish that is bad, except maybe the fact that it doesn't have meat. I might add some carnitas, or even some unsmoked bacon.

Huevos Rabo de Mestiza (Poached Eggs in Tomato-Poblano Rajas Sauce)

But even as a vegetarian meal it sounds good.

******
I used to use this site a lot as I tried to understand what cuts of beef were good for various cooking methods. It's always a good idea to understand where on the animal your food comes from, even if you aren't a geek like me.

Here is the one I find most interesting: Cross-Section: Loin.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources are the folks who built this tool, and look! They also have one for pigs!

******
I have never heard chicken stew called by this name, but that doesn't mean that a regional twist isn't going to be good. Puerto Rican Pollo Guisado (Braised Chicken Stew) looks pretty damned tasty, although there is nothing particularly special about this recipe. It's just good technique with some nice spices.

Bu that's what most good cooking is! There is very little truly original cooking, but that's okay...there are so many techniques and ingredients available to us that we could cook literally for our entire lives and never repeat a dish.

******
This made me laugh!

I'm sure all of us have had some irrational (or rational in the case of some foods) hesitation when offered certain weird crap like sea urchin roe (YUM!) or Steak Tartare (YUM!) or sweetbreads (YUM!) or stinky cheese (YUM!) or jellyfish salad (um...sort of yum...sort of) or calf's brains (horrendous yuck!).

But isn't it exciting when our fears prove to be unjustified!

How about you maniacs? What was the food you were not thrilled to taste, but it turned out to be delicious?

******

[Hat Tip: Blake]

******
Well, I had some asparagus and it was pretty good, so..., and Flap Meat...whatever the hell that is...just send it, Broccolini that isn't $6/bunch, garlic...lots of garlic!, well-marbled hanger steaks and elk chops to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

Who are those poor deluded souls who shake their Manhattans? These are the same people who drink fine bourbon with coke, and probably shake red wine with ice too.

However, I will give dispensation to those who use maple syrup on Brussels Sprouts! I tried that and it worked nicely. I still prefer Agave, but still...

And yes, I used to demand fancy bourbon, but let's face it, $1,200 for a bottle of bourbon is just stupid, insulting, and a ghastly affront to most people's palates and wallets. I think the sweet spot is $40-$60 for excellent and interesting bottles, and bumping that to $100 gets you an incremental improvement in quality, but nothing mind-blowing. More than that and I think you are paying for hype and rarity, which may look good in your liquor cabinet, but doesn't translate to more quality in the bottle.