Saturday – Cooking and dining with family

Saturday was family day. My in-laws came over on Saturday to our place for lunch and my mom and sisters came down from Melaka to visit us and join us for lunch. I cooked mutton rendang curry - which is my first attempt at cooking a mutton dish - for I don't consume red-meat. And I got positive feedback on the dish. I also made deep-fried ladies-fingers with yogurt - it was a hit!

You know, it's a high-pressure venture for me to be cooking for my in-laws for the first time - my mother-in-law is a great cook and my father-in-law is a food critic. And to receive a good feedback on my cooking skills from them, I am definitely beaming in pride. Alright, alright, enough of me bragging here. But I definitely felt that all the effort put into cooking the rendang curry was worth it! And my sister kept complimenting me for the mutton.

We invited my aunty, uncle, and cousins over for dinner at our place. I made pizzas for dinner.

We had a great day (despite the tiredness) - a great family get-together - sharing jokes, laughter and fun. I was really happy to have my family over at our place. My dad joined us for dinner later at about 9 p.m.

A Mini Party

Last Saturday, after Balok Beach, we organized a mini party for Alfred's close buddies. He wanted to throw a thanksgiving party and invite some of his friends over. 5 of his friends came over and we had a fantastic party. I made pizza and Alfred made vegetarian lasagna and raita.

I used the same recipe that I posted last time for the pizza dough and it turned out just great (his friends thought we bought the pizzas, hehe). Pizza topping varieties: Hawaiian chicken pizza; tuna with pineapple pizza; mushroom with 3-cheese pizza (for us, since we were vegetarian for 1 week). And we had guests bringing over doughnuts - J. Co and Krispy Creme - 2 big boxes (I could only take so much and told myself 'enough') - a sinful indulgence for desserts.

And the party came to an end with tear-shedding-laughter from Russell Peter's performance.

Pizza Adventure - Part 4

Last night, I made pizza - and this time the dough is softer and easier to handle - compared to the last time. I didn't include too much flour this time when kneading the dough - I guess that must be the reason for the softer and fluffier texture of the dough. I let the dough to proof for about 3 hours - and by the time I came back the dough has more than tripled its volume. For the topping, I used tomatoes, button mushrooms, red capsicum, carrots, and halapeno peppers. Bake in a preheated 230 degrees Celcius oven for 15-20 minutes until you see the pizza crust is browning. The texture of the pizza crust was exactly how I wanted it :)

Pizza Adventure - Part 3

Today I made pizza dough again. I've let 3/4 of the dough to proof overnight in the fridge. When you let the dough to proof overnight in the fridge, it definitely tastes better. This time I added chopped pineapples and capsicum for the topping. My grandfather made sure he stayed back to try the pizza.

2-in-1 benefit of making the pizza dough - a freshly baked pizza crust and a upper body workout from kneading the dough :)

Tomorrow will be a feast of pizzas, muffin and carrot halwa ;)

Pizza Adventure - Part 2

I have been reading about the art of making a tasty and crunchy pizza crust. There are so many differing opinions and views about what constitutes a good crunchy delicious crust. I found one where the writer mentioned that it's not necessary to let the dough to rise - and that will produce a nice crunchy thin crust. And I also read it somewhere that salt kills yeast - but there are recipes which suggest mixing salt with yeast. I have been noting all the tips and secret ingredients - and am determined to try 'em all out - and decide for myself which one produces the best crust ever!

Today I tried making the dough using a different recipe. I've rolled out a quarter of the batch of dough I made today in a baking tray without letting it to proof (I did leave the dough at room temperature for about 15 mins or so since it was 'not behaving' when I rolled it out). For the remaining 3/4 of the dough, I've set it aside to proof in the fridge overnight.

The recipe as follows:

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough:

Step A: Proof Your Yeast

1) In a medium-sized bowl, add 2 tsp of yeast.

2) Add 2 tsp of sugar.

3) Add 1/2 cup of warm water (heated to about 37-41 degrees Celcius).

4) Mix the mixture until everything is combined.

5) Set aside for about 10 mins before adding it to the dough.

You can make the dough the day before and proof it in the fridge overnight; or in this case I straight away used some of the dough and kept the rest in the fridge.

Step B: Making the Dough

6) Add 4 cups of flour in a big bowl.

7) Add 1 tsp of salt to the bowl.

8) Add 1/4 cup of olive oil.

9) Add the activated yeast mixture to the bowl.

10) Add a cup of warm water and mix everything with a fork to get the flour absorbed.

11) Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and turn the dough out and knead it.

12) Knead for about 10 mins or so or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

13) You can put the dough in the fridge and let it proof overnight or use it straightaway.

You can release some of the air bubbles trapped in the dough by dorking it (poking the dough with fork). The first time when I made the dough, I think I didn't give the dough enough kneading since the texture wasn't smooth.

The batch of pizza I made today is different from the first time: this time I added 2 tsps sugar to the dough; and I didn't let the dough to proof; I used cheddar cheese as the topping; gave the dough more kneading; and I added warm water to the flour and salt mixture. This is definitely a better tasting crust than the first one.

Tomorrow, I will be taking out the 3/4 of the dough which I left to proof in the fridge overnight and compare it with the one I made today. More updates tomorrow...

Thin-Crusted Pizza

After dining at Bianco in Damansara, I have been craving to try my hand at baking thin-crust pizzas. So, this weekend I set myself to indulge in pizza baking and eating, of course. I made the dough from scratch and it was fun! With lots of mess to clean up afterwards, though. Of course I need more practice in tossing the pizza like a master-chef, hehe. And I am determined to go through all the practices that it takes to perfect the skills of making pizzas.

There were many recipes for the dough and that gives me more reasons to make pizzas frequently to experiment the best recipe for the crust. The outcome - turned out well I guess. But I still need lots of practice to make it better - especially with the oven temperature-control as well as more time for the dough to proof (allow dough to rise) - it would have been better if the dough is left to proof overnight in the refrigerator. The toppings for the pizza - eggplant, mozarella, mushrooms, and basil leaves. My sister enjoyed it :)