Sep 26

Insalata Caprese – Simple tomato, mozzarella and basil salad

Insalata Caprese or just caprese, is one of those dishes that most people will have eaten and enjoyed, but not really known what it was, other than tomato, mozzarella and basil salad. The salad originates from the island of Capri, to the South of the Gulf of Naples, in the Campania region of Italy, where mozzarella comes from. Another name, sometimes given to this dish, is Insalata tricolore after the 3 colours of the Italian flag. This salad is usually served as an antipasto (appetizer), rather than a main salad or side dish.

Insalata Caprese Ingredients

Insalata Caprese Ingredients

Usually caprese is a composed salad, where the ingredients, fresh tomato, fresh mozzarella di bufala and fresh basil are arranged on a plate with salt and a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil drizzled over the top. But sometimes I like to throw ‘caution to the wind’ and make a ‘ripped’ salad with a smashed basil dressing. Using the basil this way, increases the intenseness of the aroma. After making fresh homemade mozzarella this weekend, Insalata Caprese was one of the first dishes I made with it.

How to make a rustic Insalata Caprese

Ingredients

  • 3 or 4 small balls of fresh mozzarella (I used mozzarella fior di latte, since that is what I made)
  • 2 large tomatoes
  • a large handful of fresh basil leaves
  • a pinch of salt
  • a large glug of extra virgin olive oil
  • 0.5 tsp of white wine vinegar

Method

  1. In a mortar, crush the basil leaves together with the salt using the pestle.

    Basil and salt in a mortar

    Basil and salt in a mortar

  2. Add a good glug of olive oil and the vinegar. Mix to combine.

    Fresh basil dressing

    Fresh basil dressing

  3. Slice the tomatoes thinly and drop on to a large plate randomly.
  4. Rip the mozzarella and drop on to the plate randomly.
  5. Drizzle the basil dressing over the tomatoes and cheese
  6. Add some more basil leaves and olive oil as a garnish, and season with a little more salt.

    Insalata Caprese

    A Rustic Insalata Caprese

Alternatively, rather than making the basil dressing, carefully arrange slices of tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves alternately on the plate.

An arranged Insalata Caprese

An arranged Insalata Caprese

Having this salad with homemade mozzarella made it even more tasty than normal. If I could only get a hold of some garden grown tomatoes and basil to go with it, I would be satisfied.

Sep 25

Feeding My Coffee Fix Southwest Kansas

There are towns across the United States that have not been deemed “worthy” of a Starbucks, but there are still coffee shops located in these towns providing the caffeine addict their fix through lattes, cappuccinos, espressos and mochas. In southwest Kansas, there are independently owned coffee shops that are a testament to the capital spirit and the need for coffee other than what is poured out of a stained coffee pot.

Whereas Starbuck’s, the “McDonalds” of coffee is uniform and precise making the experience sadly mechanical; each one of these coffee shops imparts the unique personality and vision that the owner had long before the first espresso was steamed. These coffee shops bring vitality and culture to these towns which are better known for their roots in agriculture and working the land.

 

Cup of Jones (Dodge City, KS)

Cup of Jones (Dodge City, KS)

Cup of Jones (Dodge City, KS)

With a smile on my face I can say that “controlled chaos” reigns supreme at Cup of Jones. It really is not that chaotic, but the over the top energy of the owner creates a frenetic pace as one of the employees prepares your order. In addition to serving a why array of coffee options, Cup of Jones also provides a nice selection of pastries, salads, sandwiches, wraps, soups and desserts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Their Southwest Chicken Salad is really good and is large enough for a meal. In addition to the food and coffee, there is some nice art available for sale by local artists. Mocha made with Espresso and steamed Chocolate Milk.

 

Smokehoss (Meade, KS)

Smokehoss: Jerky – Coffee – Bistro (Meade, KS)

Smokehoss: Jerky – Coffee – Bistro (Meade, KS)

Not only do they make your coffee the way that you like it, but they also smoke their own meats and produce their own beef jerky in addition to making some awesome sandwiches (Reuben Sandwich Review). If I can ever convince myself to eat something other than the Reuben Sandwich, I am sure that i am going to be just impressed with their smoked barbeque sandwiches.Smokehoss really impressed me. Not so much because of the coffee, but the owners attempt to be a little bit of everything (catering and on-line beef jerky to name a few) in Meade, KS. Mocha made with Espresso, Italian Chocolate Syrup, Chocolate Flavoring and Steamed Milk.

 

Spencer Browne's (Liberal, KS)

Spencer Browne’s Coffee House (Liberal, KS)

Spencer Browne’s Coffee House (Liberal, KS)

Located on the corner of a strip mall (same strip mall as Billy’s Blue Duck BBQ), this place escaped my attention for many months until one day I stopped for a Mocha. They offer a wide array of pastries, sandwiches (Reuben Sandwich is on the menu) and salads. The service is fast and friendly. My only regret is that I did not try this location sooner considering how much time I have spent in Liberal, KS. I do know that Spencer Brown’s uses the same coffee roaster as Cup of Jones. Whether you order a coffee to go or to be enjoyed inside the coffee shop, you will be pleased with your choice. Mocha made with Chocolate Powder and Steamed Milk.

I have visited each of these locations, some of them more times than I can remember and each one of them is different. There are times when even in the same day, when I order my Mocha the overall result is different. Honestly, I am not sure how this is actually possible, but there is no denying that no two cups are the same. I am okay with this and would rather have a variety in the final outcome of the order than stand in line like lemmings feeding the corporate capital beast from Seattle.

WiFi Availability: Free WiFi is offered in all three locations.

 

 

Sep 24

Step by step photo guide to make fresh homemade mozzarella

Homemade mozzarella is not as complicated as it first seems, and of all the types of homemade cheese it is certainly one of the easiest to make, and with this simple step by step tutorial, you should be able to become a cheese maker in no time. First you will need to gather your cheese making supplies, which will be Whole milk – not Ultra Pasteurised, rennet and citric acid.

All in all this shouldn’t take you anymore than 30 minutes to make and probably less than 5 to devour. Follow the steps in this simple tutorial on how to make mozzarella, or for more details see the post – Homemade Mozzarella Recipe

Step by step guide to making homemade mozzarella

Step by step guide to making homemade mozzarella

 

Sep 24

Homemade Mozzarella is a dangerous thing

Update: Our recipe for Mozzarella was featured in the Cookbook – Top Up-voted Recipes from Reddit.
Knowing how to make make your own homemade mozzarella is up there with homemade bread, butter and aioli as some of the most dangerous things to know how to make in your kitchen. Not only is it really easy to make, it doesn’t last long enough on the table to worry about how to store them. In our modern world, mozzarella is so ubiquitous that it never crossed my mind that it would be easy to make and less than half the cost of store bought mozzarella.

Fresh Homemade Mozzarella

Fresh Homemade Mozzarella

You will need a gallon (3.8 litres) of full fat milk to make just about 1.3lbs (590g) of fresh mozzarella. I picked up a gallon of milk for $2.99 and the cheapest fresh mozzarella I could find was about $7 for a pound. Including the other ingredients, it still works out at less than half the price for making your own. Even if you bought a gallon of organic milk it would still be a little bit cheaper than standard mozzarella, and way less than organic mozzarella. Though cost wasn’t the real reason I decided to make my own mozzarella, it was for the challenge, but I was really surprised at how easy the process was. It took me less than 30 minutes to make, but now I now what I’m doing, I think it would take less than 15 minutes to make. This is going to be a really dangerous skill to know.

The only tricky thing to making cheese is finding the other ingredients, rennet and citric acid. Citric acid should be fairly easy to find, but I searched all over town for rennet and couldn’t find it anywhere. You may come across junket rennet, but it isn’t suitable for making cheese, only a type of dessert. Eventually I found a few on-line retailers that sold rennet and bought some Fromase Vegetarian Rennet tablets. Animal rennet is still available if you really want, but the vegetarian version works just as well. Depending on what brand of rennet you buy, will depend on how much you need for each batch of cheese, but the instructions should tell you how much to each per gallon of milk.

How to make Home-made Mozzarella

Total time: 30 mins
First gather all your ingredients and utensils.

Ingredients and utensils for making Mozzarella

Ingredients and utensils for making Mozzarella

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon (3.8 litres) of whole milk
  • 1.5 tsp of powdered citric acid, dissolved in 0.5 cup (120ml) of cold water
  • Rennet (I used half of one Fromase 50 rennet tablet), dissolved in 0.25 cup (60ml) of cold water

Method

  1. Add the citric acid liquid and the milk to a large pan.

    Milk and citric acid

    Milk and citric acid

  2. While stirring, slowly bring the temperature up to 95F (35C). The milk may curdle, don’t worry.

    Gently warm the milk to 95F

    Gently warm the milk to 95F

  3. Take the milk off the heat and add the rennet liquid. Stir for 30 seconds to combine and then leave for 5 mins.

    Curds beginning to form

    Curds beginning to form

  4. Cut the curds into small sections using a knife.

    Cut the curds

    Cut the curds

  5. Place a colander over a large bowl and using a slotted spoon lift out the curds into the colander. I’ve found it is best to allow the curds to drain for a while, otherwise the next stage of ‘cooking’ the curds may not work at all.

    Draining the curds

    Draining the curds

  6. From the bowl, pour the liquid (the whey) back into the pan. You can get rid of the whey, but there are lots of things you can do with it.

    Whey

    Whey

  7. Heat some water in another pan with lots of sea salt to around 175F (80C) . Place the colander back over the bowl. Pour some of the water over the cheese curds and start to work the cheese first with a spatula and then with your hands.

    Working the curds to make mozzarella

    Working the curds to make mozzarella

  8. The cheese will start to become plastic and stretchy. Keep moulding the mozzarella until it is smooth and shiny. It shouldn’t take too long. You can always pour some more hot water over the cheese to make it plastic again.

    The mozzarella starts to form

    The mozzarella starts to form

  9. Use your hands to bring the mozzarella together. At this stage you can use it as is or store it in some of the whey liquid in the refrigerator.

    Fresh Homemade Mozzarella

    Fresh Homemade Mozzarella

  10. Alternatively you can make it into a long sausage shape, wrap it in plastic wrap and tie off small pieces with string (see below). You can then pop off individual sized portions as needed.

    Individual Mozzarella balls

    Tying individual Mozzarella balls

Some notes:

  • Technically what I’ve made isn’t mozzarella, but ‘Fior di latte’, which is mozzarella type cheese made from cows milk. Proper mozzarella is ‘Mozzarella di Bufala’, which is made from water buffalo milk.
  • Some people say that you can’t make mozzarella from homogenized milk, but I think I’ve proved that you can. I think heating the milk to 95F, encourages the curd to form. However a lot more websites say that you can’t use Ultra Pasteurised milk.
  • A lot of proper cheese-makers use a double boiler or a pan in a sink of water to make cheese. I’m sure this is to prevent burning or scalding of the milk. However, I was very careful to increase the temperature of the pan very slowly and it seemed to work okay.
  • The smaller you cut the curds, the more whey will be expelled.

Sep 23

Grilled Reuben Sandwich – Brownies Diner (Brawley, CA)

Diner Style Reuben Sandwich

Diner Style Grilled Reuben Sandwich

My obsession for Reubens is a well known fact. Over time however, I have become discerning in my preference for how a Reuben Sandwich is prepared. Is the Reuben a Deli Style versus Diner Style? Is the rye bread toasted versus grilled with butter or oil? Is the rye bread marbled, seeded or seedless? What are the steps in which the Reuben Sandwich is constructed? Does a restaurant consistently make the Reuben the same way each and every time?

Brownies Diner in Brawley, CA is one of those old fashioned diners in a small town off of the beaten path of urban America that provides a large selection of iconic diner meals. Honestly, I have only ordered two other meals from the menu, both were very good, but I have eaten the Reuben Sandwich on numerous occasions. Brownies Diner prepares a classic rendition of a Diner Style Reuben Sandwich. There is ample amount of corned beef and the seeded rye bread is grilled with either butter or oil.

What I have discovered is that of all of the possible permutations of the Reuben Sandwich, the classic Diner Style with the bread grilled with butter or oil is my least favorite. I would prefer for the rye bread to be toasted and not grilled. In addition to this, the sauerkraut should be complimentary and not the dominant flavor. It was not the amount of sauerkraut that was used that made it too overpowering, but the fact that the sauerkraut had not been drained prior being added to the sandwich. None of these detraction’s from this one experience will stop me from ordering the Reuben at Brownies Diner. Instead, when I order the sandwich, I will just asked for the bread to be toasted, not grilled and for the sauerkraut to be well drained.

In my post: Reuben Sandwich Reviews, the Grilled Reuben Sandwich from Brownies Diner receives a Repeatable ranking.