Pizza Benedict

Friday night, as I was biking home from work wondering what to make for dinner, I took a mental inventory of what was in my fridge that I can make into a meal. I knew I had 1/3 bag of shredded mozzarella, a ball of buffalo mozzarella, ham, and some frozen bacon. I decided to make a quick pit stop at Trader Joe's* thinking I'd make a pizza, what better way to get rid of all that mozzarella cheese. I then thought about what flavors go with ham, and tomato sauce and ham didn't seem like it would go well together. So perhaps another sauce would work. I had a flashback to a brunch I had a couple months earlier at my neighborhood Café Aquarius--I had an Eggs Benedict Pizza.

I ended up making a hollandaise sauce (in lieu of tomato sauce), which started with with 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl. I brought some water to a low boil and put the bowl of butter and egg yolks in it, forming something of a double boiler. I whipped that well with a fork, and after a bit, added a bit of salt, pepper, and cayenne. Normally when making a hollandaise sauce, you want it to get to about 140 degrees, but since I was baking the pizza, it wasn't a concern.

Next step was rolling out the pizza dough. I used the Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb dough and let it rest first for about 20 minutes before working it to a nice rectangle that fit my cookie sheet.

I nuked a few slices of bacon in the microwave between paper towels. This is a great way to cook bacon and absorb some of the fat, and not make your house smell like bacon (which isn't always a bad thing) or cause a hot greasy mess on the stove. I also saved the 3 egg whites and lightly cooked them in a frying pan with olive oil and a dash of salt.

Assembly Time

1. Preheat oven to 450-degrees
2. So pizza dough is spread out on the cookie sheet (lightly greased). 
3. Spread the hollandaise sauce evenly.
4. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese lightly.
5. Cut a few slices of ham into strips or pieces, and distribute a layer.
6. Cut or break the bacon into pieces and distribute.
7. Place pieces of the cooked egg whites.
8. Slice the ball of buffalo mozzarella and lay over the pizza (or sprinkle more shredded mozzy).
9. Top with sliced grape-tomatoes.
10. Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the crust feels crusty and the cheese gets some color.

When its done, let it rest for a few minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Cut in whatever fun way you like and enjoy a wonderful breakfast pizza for dinner... or breakfast or lunch.

*Trader Joe's co-owner, Theo Albrecht, passed away at 88 years of age on Saturday, July 24, 2010. He was one of Forbes Magazine's 20 Richest People. Read more about Theo Albrecht's passing...

Thai Basil Chicken

On the menu today is Thai Basil Chicken, a relatively easy dish to make. This video will take you through the basic steps and I will also list the steps below. Here are the ingredients:

• 1 package of ground turkey or ground chicken or thinly sliced chicken (1.25 lb.)
• 1 large or 2 medium zucchinis
• 2-4 tomatoes (depending on size)
• 1 bunch of basil
• 1 onion
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 4-10 Thai chiles (or 3-6 Serrano chiles)
• 3-5 tbsp fish sauce
• 3-5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp cooking wine
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt to taste

Thai Basil Chicken from Ray Huang on Vimeo.

This recipe doesn't really require exact measurements, its hard to go wrong, and you can make adjustments based on your preference of spiciness, saltiness, fishiness, veginess, meatiness, and chunkiness.

1. Start cooking your rice.
2. Wash all the vegetables thoroughly.
3. Slice the zucchini, tomato, and onion into pieces that are about the same size. Not too big or you can't get all the elements in one bites.
4. Dice the garlic
5. Slice the Thai/Serrano chiles to your preference. I prefer thin slices for even spice distribution. Remove seeds if you're a wuss. You could also halve them lengthwise or throw them in whole.
6. Pluck the leaves of the basil stems.
7. Heat a wok or pot on high and add a light coat of oil.
8. Add the garlic followed by the onions and sauté for a couple minutes.
9. Add the ground turkey (or chicken) and break it up a bit.
10. Pour fish sauce, soy sauce, and cooking wine and sugar over the ground turkey, mix together. (I forgot to say I added sugar in the video!)
11. Add sliced chiles and brown the meat for a few minutes until nearly cooked through.
12. Add zucchini and tomatoes and mix in for a couple minutes.
13. Add basil leaves and mix in.
14. Taste it and see if it needs any adjustments to flavor. Sometimes a sprinkle of salt at the end is all it needs to bring out a lot of the flavor.
15. Turn off heat.

Serve it however you like. Either by spooning it over rice, or transfer to a serving plate for self-service.

Melona Ice Cream Bars

I was visiting my parents over the Independence Weekend and my mom handed me this frozen treat. Melon flavored ice bar. I've since also had it in strawberry flavor as well the original melon; mango, banana, red bean, and lime are also available, but I have not had them yet. It has a unique creamy texture rather than the iciness of a Popsicle, though it doesn't melt and drip nearly as quickly as a true ice cream bar.

According to Wikipedia, Melona is a South Korean product that launched in 1992 by Binggrae. It quickly became a top seller in the "Popsicle" category in South Korea.

Melona bars are available at 99 Ranch Markets and possibly other Asian specialty markets. If you can find them, I give them a very high "buy' rating. They come in boxes of 8, though they may be sold separately as well.

Just this evening I bought a box of Strawberry Melona and froze it for a little late night dessert. I was a bit disappointed though when I pulled one out of the box, that apparently it may have melted and refroze, leaving me with a chubby short bar (as it molded to the end of the wrapper). Perhaps there are still some shipping/logistical kinks they need to work out shipping them from Korea, or else someone at 99 Ranch forgot to freeze them right away. No worries, it still tasted great and had the same ultra-smooth texture. I may update this in the morning if I feel any ... repercussions.

San Marzano Pizza - Video

I recently got a new FLIP HD video camera, and on a whim, I decided to try my hand at making a little cooking video. The major challenge was holding the camera while prepping food. So pardon the shaky camera, I'm dealing with a lot of firsts: first time filming, first time editing video, and our first cooking show.

Its 13 minutes long, mainly because I ramble. If I had a camera man, or even a tripod, or multiple cameras, and the skills to properly edit a video,  I think we could be onto something. So enjoy my video.


San Marzano Pizza | iPityTheFood.com from Ray Huang on Vimeo.
Ray makes a Pizza with a San Marzano tomato sauce, salami, artichoke, basil, and mozzarella, on Trader Joe's fresh pizza dough.

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