Various Flatbreads

 Flatbread satisfy the need for a quick but satisfying meal. They could be anything from pizza to a Tarte flambe to focaccia. They're easy to make and the toppings can be as elaborate or as simple as you make them.

Flatbreads are one of the oldest foods in the  world , first coming into existence around 12,400 BCE in what is now modern Jordan.Back then they were just a mix of flour and water, usually grilled on  a hot surface such as a heated stone.Flabread comes in different shapes depending on where you're in. It's naan in India, pita in the Middle East and focaccia in Italy. A simple quick flatbread involves flour water and surprisingly yogurt. Some recipes call for this last. Some don't. A really simple recipe just has water and flour  along with sugar and salt. Most of them don't have yeast, however the Greek version does have.This is what makes the Greek bread have that light fluffiness that goes well with souvlaki. As with any yeasty dough it has to sit and rise for about an hour to an hour and a half.Naan is a bit different  with the addition of the melted butter or ghee along with milk. Pita is truest in form to the original flatbread.There's - only the most basic of ingredients. It ;s an easy make and a great alternative to regular bread.

WHat do you put on flatbread? Pita screams for za'atar - that zingy Middle Eastern spice blend that consists of thyme, marjoram and oregano, mixed with toasted sesame, salt and sumac. This is mixed with olive oil and either drizzled (or slathered) over warmed pita.Shawarma , which can be grilled chicken or beef is also good on it Thee meat is grilled in a spice blend call shawarma spice which has cumin, turmeric  garlic and paprika in it. Lamb can also be cooked this way too. As for Greek flatbread nothing beats souvlaki . This last is meat cooked in a mix of  oregano, paprika and rosemary. Of course there is lemon toto to give the dish some zest. Italian flatbread or focaccia is best known and there are so many debates as to what to top it with. A simple topping is olive oil and black or green olives. Yet for a tastier mix try topping one with sundried tomatoes and marinated onions.. Meats and fish like pepperoni and anchovies can be added for more substance and flavor too.

Flabreads with toppings are nice alternatives to sandwiches and pizzas. Bake them and top them with tasty veggies and meats. They're a perfect lunch or dinner.

A Food Star Trims Down

 Action Bronson is a renaissance man of sorts. He's a chef, TV host and rapper. He was also vastly overweight which was posing a problem for him. However he took it upon himself to become healthy - with the same gusto he reserved for eating. Now Action has become an action hero, thanks to exercise and dieting.

Jon Caramanca, who usually write for the entertainment section of The New York Times write about Chef Bronson in today's New York Times Food section. Action Bronson is a kind of Anthony Bourdain for Gen Xers and Millenials. Before he lost 130 pounds Chef Bronson looked like ZZ Top's version of Henry VIII. He was obese with a long, frizzy red beard, creating all sorts of dishes (and swearing like a rapper). This thirty seven year old, born Ariyan Arslani in Flushing Queens was the host of F$%* This Is Delicious along with being a trained chef. Yes, he ate on his show,(which is not for the faint of heart). He also brought that home, getting take out indiscriminately and not paying attention to his health.It also infiltrated his home life where his fiancee, Valeria, a licensed master social worker criticized him . He got so big he was denied health insurance. His clothes, a very big 3XL and 4XL were becoming tight. He had trouble breathing at night along with problems in the bathroom.

Something had to be done. The ultra rich sandwiches he is known for making had to be gone. Bacchanal eating had to be a thing of the past. Luckily  he had become fascinated with body building as a teen ager. He went to gyms. Now it was time to go back to them. Chef Bronson drinks smoothies or branched chain amino acid supplements. During lock down, when everyone else indulged, he ate extra lean meals. There was grilled chicken and sweet potato along with green juices and protein shakes. He has slackened up a bit, which was good for his fiancee. She was worried that he was being too strident  and too conscious of what he was eating. For a recent taping of Delicious Chef Bronson took a  sip of liquid chocolate mousse, then headed to the his car where he retrieved a gorilla faced kettle bell and starts swinging it in the street. In another episode he did three hundred squats in between tasting focaccia and lahmucan,a kind of Turkish ground beef pizza He also owns a line of olive oils with Grove & Vine, the perfect ingredient for healthy eating.

Action Bronson is taking action in creating a healthier lifestyle for himself. He has become a good role model for his fans that maybe have over indulged themselves. He has learned to eat well and eat healthy.

A Harvest of Cookbooks Part Two

Baking is one of the mainstays of the fall kitchen, whether for holidays or just dessert. There's nothing like whipping up a cake or pie. Luckily there is a whole range of new cookbooks that center on the different sweets and treats that are hot off the presses right now.

The New York Times Food section reviewed an entire array of them yesterday. The savory ones were written about yesterday  and they covered  a wide range of interesting cuisines from East African to Ina Garten's comfort food recipes. Contributors to the New York Times Food section also reviewed these baking themed cookbooks.Julia Moskin, Pete Wells, Melissa Clark and Kim Severson along with Emily Weinstein and Margaux Laskey critiqued all sorts . Pie lovers will go mad for Pie For Everyone : Recipes and Stories From Petee's  Pie, New York's Best Pie Shop (Abrams) is by Petra Paradez who owns the pie shop. She is a whiz at creating pies and tarts for all sorts of pie lovers, from the vegans to the buttery crust lover. She even has a way of sneaking more butter into her crusts for  a melt in your mouth bite. Chef Paradez includes a classic and almost forgotten New York favorite, the chestnut filled Nesselrode pie. Another book that features classic recipes is The Good Book Of Southern Baking :A Revival of Biscuits, Cakes and Cornbread, (Lorena Jones) features the chef of New Orlean's famed Willa Jean, Kelly Fields. She elevates classic recipes such as angel food cake flecked with two kinds of shaved chocolate and airy pancakes made with egg whites.

Fun cookbooks also are here as well. Snacking Cakes : Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings (Clarkston Potter) by Yossy Arefi a contributor to the Sunday Times T magazine, is the perfect book for any one who loves a good hunk of cake. The book is full of such mouth watering recipes as gingerbread and powdered sugar doughnut cakes. For more adventurous bakers there is A Good Bake : The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cakes Cookies, Pies Breads at Home (Knopf) by Melissa Weller,a former chemical engineer and Carolynn Carreno.Ms, Weller shows how to make a sugar cookie top extra crackly and how to make toppings stay on focaccia. Advanced home bakers will love reading through Claire Saffitz's Dessert Person : Recipes and Guidance for Baking With Confidence (Clarkson Potter) Ms. Saffitz' is a pastry chef who has contributed to The NY TImes along with being contributing editor to Bon Appetit  magazine. She has detailed recipes with step by step how to recipes on almond butter banana bread and salted halvah blondies. Fans of San Francisco's 20th Century Cafe will love Baking at the 20th Century Cafe: Iconic  European desserts From Linzer Torte to Honey Cake (Artisan). Author Michelle Polzine puts' fresh spins on staid classics and allows home bakers to try their hand at elegant cookies and sweet and savory strudels.

Fall is the season for baking. Any of the cookbooks can give the recipes perfect for the cooler months ahead. They have a plethora of treats and desserts for home bakers looking for something new to create.

My Big Focaccia Adventure

What do you do with a box of pancake mix?Turn it into a centuries old recipe. That's exactly what I did with my box of Trader Joe's Baking Mix.Pancakes aren't really our thing so I looked on the box , poring over the different recipes. Most called for flour  which I didn't want. One stood out - the focaccia .it looked easy enough and didn't have too many ingredients. What the hey - I decided to give it a shot.

First thing  - get a big bowl.I use the one, my Mom's  - the once I use to mix my frostings.

This was the perfect bowl to mix all of the below

Trader Joe's focaccia recipe calls for two cups of the mix, teaspoons of garlic powder and freshly cut rosemary along with yeast and olive oil. It does ask for basil which I omitted.Fresh basil can have a medicinal taste which can permeate bread.

This is the chopped rosemary

mixed with the garlic powder.

Added to  them is the mix and the yeast.

The wet ingredients are 3/4 cup of warm water and three tablespoons of good olive oil.

Using a wooden spoon, beat one hundred strokes.

The dough is really sticky and gooey.. 

Now it's time to rub olive oil in a cake pan which was too small.

Using the wooden spoon, spoon the dough into a nine inch (I used an eight and a half ) sized one and wrap in plastic wrap. The dough has to rise for half an hour in a warm place.  I used my range..

Except there was a slight problem. The dough threatened to rise over the edges. Quick change to a deep dish pie pan

Before baking I sprinkled more rosemary sprigs on top of the focaccia.

It was then baked for twenty minutes in a 425 degree F oven.

The beautiful finished product.

How was the texture and taste? The tetxure was very crumbly but the flavor was rich and redolent with rosemary.

I paired a slice with salami for a tasty and easy Saturday night dinner

Would I make it again? Maybe - but I'd cut down on the oil. and possibly add sliced olives.

It was a fun experiment , especially since I 've always wanted to make this classic Italian bread.Try it. It's a gateway recipe for more complex loaves.

EZ Pizza EZ Fun

I discovered a neat new pizza palace by me yesterday. It’s different than all the million of other pizza places in my area for three reasons. One it offers individual serving pizzas, two there’s a huge choice of toppings and three it has whole wheat crusts. The name is EZ Pizza and it’s just starting on it’s way to be coming a chain here .

Individual pizzas are nothing new. Roman trattorias have been offering them for decades. I had my first experience with one there. However EZ Pizza gives a different spin on this Neopolitan classic with homemade focaccio in three styles, whole wheat (excellent), classic and thin crust. The owner and founder Mark Albunia put the second new twist by offering pizza lovers a choice of fifty toppings plus four cheeses. You can get anything from banana peppers to anchovies to pineapple on yours or a million different combinations. I just had my pizza with extra sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was sheer perfection! Another good point of it is that your pizza only takes three minutes to bake up You can get it with a customized salad or a choice of soup. Their prices aren’t bad at all.

EZ Pizza also does interesting combos such as their Mexican style pizza. This is not for the faint hearted. it’s mesquite chicken, hot cherry pepper bacon bits and onion. There’s also Buffalo chicken complete with, chicken fiery hot sauce and bleu cheese Of course there is the calm, classic Pizza Margherita which has fresh basil or the bruschetta which as fresh chopped onion and tomato on it.

If you’re in the Lodi, Hasbrouck Heights or Pequannock, New Jersey area, stop for a customized pizza at EZ Pizza. This is pizza to your liking. it’s also one of the best pies around!