#pizzacake

No, this isn't about one of those fancy birthday cakes that look like toys, TARDISes or pizzas. This is about a birthday cake made of pizzas, a terrifying and fascinating invention by Boston Pizza featured on their Pizza Game Changers website. Mine doesn't have as many layers and isn't as regular (although I planned to make it quite regular using an actual cake form, but I didn't account for the proofing and growing and stuff), but, mind you, this is a result of the first attempt.

When I first saw Boston Pizza's Pizza Cake I asked the many pizza-crazed pizza-loving pizza-maniacs I know who's birthday is coming first and decided to make it for that occasion. The day came on Saturday and since I'm a woman of my word, here's my pizza cake.

I used Jamie's pizza dough recipe, which allowed me to make four small pizzas and a ring to bind them (had some dough left). No need to get into details about the sauce and decoration - I tried not to use too much topping so that the layers don't collapse under the weight.

I baked every pizza separately for a few minutes, a bit shorter that I would bake a single pizza, also making the base a bit thicker than I normally would. The one that goes on the bottom was baked for the shortest time, as it's the one most exposed in the final stage. Then I stacked the pizzas and wrapped them in the leftover dough. If I wasn't in such a hurry I'd let it proof for a while in that state, before putting it back in the oven. Also, the next time I think I'll use some mozzarella to bind the pizzas and the dough around them. Anyway, this is what came out.

It doesn't look great inside, because I used rather flat toppings, that don't support the layers on top, unlike it was apparently done (?) in the original idea. Also, transporting it included some running and about 1,5 hour passed between taking it out from the oven and slicing it so it dropped a bit.

Still, I'm pretty proud of it and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Disclaimer: this post may be a bit chaotic, sorry for that, the spring has really gotten to my brain

Coconut Lime Mussels

Friday night I made Coconut Lime Mussels from this recipe at epicurious.com, turned out pretty well, my mussel-loving friend said they were amazing (she took the photo). I'm still on the road to get convinced to shellfish.

Thanks to Marta I also discovered the Vivino app, which we used extensively that evening. So cool!

seasonal: mom's apple pie / szarlotka

This may be the first Polish recipe I'm posting here, but Autumn is a very Polish time of the year. Somehow we learned to take advantage of this gloomy time of year like no other folk. Perhaps it's because of the very special time on the beginning of the season, when everything is golden and the forests and orchards are crazy rich with stuff.

This is a recipe for apple pie for how my Mom makes it. I've never heard anyone NOT saying they've never had better. I certainly haven't.

the filling:

• 2,5 sour apples (if possible of the Antonovka variety)
• ground cinnamon
• sugar

You can make the filling in advance, not too long ahead, of course. Peel the apples, remove the seeds, dice and cook them with some sugar and cinnamon - I can't tell you how much exactly - it all depends on the apples and your taste. Just remember not to make them too sweet - the dough will be sweet enough and the hint of sourness is quite important for this to be a perfect apple pie. Also remember not to cook the apples for too long - try to have most of them remaining in firm bits - remember they're still going to the oven and it's not called apple mush, now, is it?

the crust

• 800g flour
• 250g butter (one brick)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg-yolk
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar (vanillin will do, if you REALLY can't get your hands on the real deal)
• 1 sachet baking soda
• 1 cup of sour cream (yoghurt will do, if you want the illusion of it being lighter
• sugar (I'd say start with half-cup and continue from there until you're satisfied)

Sieve the flour through into a heap and make a small hole in the middle. Add the rest of the ingredients, chop it roughly with a large knife (or using a pastry blender, if you have one, I don't, but I'd love one, you know?) and then work it into a nice, smooth ball, checking the sweetness every once in a while and adding sugar if needed.

oven: 220C / 430F / gas mark 7

Divide the dough in two and roll out the first half onto a baking sheet fitting the baking tray you're going to use. Bake this first layer for about 15 minutes. Thanks to this the bottom crust won't get soggy and stuff. In that time roll out the second half of dough (once again - onto a fitted baking sheet). Take the first layer out from the oven (it should be golden, but not too dark) and evenly spread out the filling onto it. Cover it carefully with the second layer, remove the baking sheet and bake for another 15 minutes (or until the colour seems right).

To serve, sprinkle generously with confectioner's sugar and cut into even, square pieces. I never tried adding anything to it (no ice cream, whipped cream, nothing) - I think it's perfect on its own.

There's a profoundly sad story about how I learned to make this apple pie. I watched my mother make it for 19 years, but never touched it apart from stealing the raw dough (which is DELICIOUS). Until the day our horse died. Harcerz wasn't just any horse. He was about 34 years old (we could never agree on that and someone lost his papers) and he spent most of that time with my Mom. I grew up with him. In my life I saw more of him than anybody else (except, perhaps, my Mom). My first words were about him (and apples - for him). He was a nasty old monster, better than a couple of dobermans if let loose in the yard, but he loved me and he'd never harm me.

Anyway. The day I made my first apple pie. He was dying, we did everything we could, the vet was there for half a day already and my mother was faced with one of the most difficult decisions in her life. I moved out of the way, back to the house, through the kitchen entrance, as usual when coming back from the stable. And there, in the kitchen, I found a pastry board with all the ingredients on it, unmixed, waiting to be worked. I knew there's no way my Mom will be able to do anything with it and I figured this was a perfect way to get my mind off things just a little.

For most my life we made the apple pie with the apples from the Antonovka tree next to the stable. I used to climb that tree and pick apples for Harcerz. If I stopped, for example to eat one apple myself, he'd pull my shoelaces in a warning - do your job or fall down, your choice.

the heat is on - miami mojito

The weekend isn't over yet, nor is is hot weather, so why not treat yourself to the best summer refreshment - mojito. I found a great recipe few years ago and the reactions I get every time I make it are positive, to say the least. For me, this is the ultimate picnic drink, but I'll explain that in a moment.

Here's the video I got it from:

I always use brown sugar and I'm not really sure how they came up with using white here, whatever. Thanks to the blending, the flavours are really intensive and the grated lime skin really adds something special.

What I usually do is prepare the base and pour it into a plastic bottle and tell someone else to bring soda water and plastic cups wherever we're meeting. Then we're just mixing it with the water in the cup, each to their own linking. It's really convenient and much better than just drinking beer in a park.

Just to make it easier, here are the ingredients for a 0,7l bottle of rum:

• a large handful of fresh spearmint leaves (believe me, peppermint won't work here)
• 1,5 cup brown sugar (more like demerara, muscovado won't do at all, also, you may think that's a lot - it's not)
• 0,75 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• a generous tablespoon of freshly grated lime peel
• loads and loads of ice
• a 0,7l bottle of golden or white rum (never dark)
• a 1,5l bottle of soda water

first time for everything: mussels in white wine

I guess I finally found a reason to have a social life - cooking for more people is quite fun. It's also a good excuse to make things that serve more than two and don't reheat well. Mussels - one of such dishes.

I don't actually eat seafood at all. Apart that one time I made deep fried mussels for someone. But these came out pretty well, I ate a few and did not want to throw up or even follow it with something to kill the taste. They're good for a dinner party, because you can prep everything in advance and just throw everything in a pan when the time comes.

Ingredients:

• a large knob of butter
• few cloves of garlic
• two shallots
• one chili pepper
• two celery stalks
• a handful of parsley
• a glass of dry white wine
• 1,5-2 kg cleaned mussels
• salt, pepper

Chop everything finely (except for the butter, wine and mussels, of course). Start with melting the butter and cooking the challots and celery until translucent. Add the garlic and chili, cook for a moment and add the mussels, parsley and wine, season. Cook under cover for a few minutes, shaking from time to time, so that everything mixes well. If the pot isn't large enough, use a second one - transferring the mussels back and forth once should do the trick. Take the lid off, cook for a few more minutes, discard the mussels that didn't open, serve with fresh baguette, make people happy.

The Beef Wellington experiment finale (so far)

Beef Wellington is one of my favourite meals to make - it's relatively easy to make and the effects are absolutely stunning. But I knew, while simplicity is key, I can still make it better.
I went through all recipes for Beef Wellington from Gordon Ramsay I could find and combined the most interesting elements while also adjusting it to what's available in Poland. So, here it is:

• a good beef fillet of around 0,5kg / 1lb
• some olive oil
• 150g / 5oz champignons
• 1tsp butter
• 1 sprig fresh thyme (not too big, they're really aromatic)
• a bottle of dry white wine, refrigerated (come on, who'd want to drink warm white wine?)
• 7 slices prosciutto
• 250 g / 0,5 lb pack puff pastry, thawed if frozen - and this is important - you can only use butter based puff pastry - margarine just won't to, believe me, I tried
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water
• freshly ground pepper
• coarse sea salt

oven: 220C/fan 200C/gas 7

Open the wine bottle and pour yourself a glass - you need to see if it's right, don't you? Then start with the mushrooms - clean them, cut them and throw them in a food processor - you'll want them chopped in little pieces, but not blended. Melt some butter on a pan and throw in the mushrooms, add the thyme sprig and a splash of wine. Now that you don't need the wine anymore you can drink the rest. If there's someone in your kitchen that doesn't get in your way - share.
Now, the thing about the thyme sprig is, it will add a hell lot of aroma - you don't want it too big, as it will simply kill the flavour of the mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms until they loose all the liquid (remember to move them around every once in a while, so that they don't stick to the pan and/or burn).

When ready, take out the thyme sprig, put the mushrooms in a bowl and just wipe the pan with a paper towel - I'm not a fan of doing the dishes, so I try to use as little things as possible when cooking. It's your home, not a restaurant, it's mostly about your convenience and fun. Now comes a quite important step - you have to "close" the beef, so that it doesn't "leak" later - if it does, it's not only going to lose a lot of flavour, but also the pastry will be soggy and no-one want's that. So heat up some olive oil on the pan and throw in the fillet, just sear it quickly on every side, so that you don't see any redness lurking on the surface, set it aside and season it with freshly ground pepper and sea salt.

This is when we're getting to the assembly. For that you will need cling film and a lot of patience if, like me, you are utterly terified of using cling film. So, unroll some cling film, let's say 2x longer than the meat you have. Place the prosciutto slices on the cling film, so that they slightly overlap. Eat the last one or feed it to your non-annoying companion. Then spread the mushrooms on the ham and put the meat on those layers. Now gently wrap it all up - remember not to overlap cling film with the rest - it has to be the outer layer. Then grab the excess foil on the sides and twist it as strong as possible - this is important for shaping the thing evenly, and regular shapes seem to be key to impressive presentation. Put the meat in the refridgerator and go watch an episode of some show.

If at this point you have a thawed margarine-based puff pastry laying in front of you, throw it out and go buy one made on butter. Don't worry about the meat in your fridge, it can stay there until tomorrow if it has to. Now that you have proper puff pastry, roll it out on the table and prepare another sheet of cling film. Strip the meat from the foil and put it in the middle of the puff pastry. Use the egg wash on all the sides of the pastry then wrap the meat in it as if you would wrap a present. Cut the excess pastry away (but not too much, as it won't hold when it grows in the oven). Now repeat what you did with the cling film before - wrap, squeeze tightly and put in the fridge.

At this point you can do whatever - you can leave the prepared wellington in the fridge until next evening, or just for one hour, as you wish. When you take it out just paint it with the remaining egg wash and put it in the pre-heatet oven for about half an hour. Take it out, let it rest for 15 minutes, amaze your guests. The last time (picture above) I served it with this amazing salad from Sass and Veracity and it worked great together.

Recipe notes:

• use butter based puff pastry, never margarine - unless you're vegan there's no reason to poison yourself with that stuff, but if you were vegan you wouldn't be reading this recipe, would you?
• don't add too much thyme to the mushrooms as it will dominate the whole thing
• I've read recipes for a 1kg (2lbs) piece of meat - don't do that, it doesn't make much sense - if you want to serve more people just make two smaller wellingtons, like I did recently (fed 6 and had a small bit for breakfast)