Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan Reviewed at Serious Eats

Donna Currie has been posting a series of reviews of different pizza cooking surfaces. Today she posted her review of the Lodge Pro Logic Cast-Iron 14-Inch Pizza Pan. Co-blogger Rebecca gave me one for Hanukkah/Christmas/Solstice/Kwanzaa/New Year 2010. That's what I've been making all of my Pizza del Mese on. But Ms. Currie uses the pan in an unexpected way. She preheats the pan in the oven and then throws the prepared pizza upon it. So she complains that the pizza surface is small . . . because you have to throw your gooing pizza onto a flaming hot circle of iron. She also said she got some char on the underside of the pizza, which I've never experienced. I wonder if she'd have better success using it like I do, kinda following the description of how to cook a pizza using a pizza pan from Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough in Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! She did say

The crust was about as good as it gets.

May's Au Lait Du Mois: Mascarpone Cheese

 

I strained the leftover 'creme' fraiche to make the cheese. It turned out well and I used the results to make pasta with peas and prosciutto.

 

I've been happy with my cheeses, but I have to say that I haven't tasted much difference in the soft cheeses that we've made. One day, when we want a lot of cheese, I'll have to make a few and compare them next to each other.

"April's" Au Lait du Mois: "Creme" Fraiche

 

I couldn't find any non ultra-pasteurized half and half so I decided to try this with whole milk. It turned out fine, although the texture was a little grainy. We used the creme fraiche on baked potatoes.

 

May's Au Lait du Mois: Mascarpone

This post breaks the first rule of blogging: Show, don't tell. The camera was just too far from my grasp in the few moments I had to make May's Au Lait Du Mois, so you'll just have to suffer with a photo-less post. Trust me when I say, it looked like cream cheese, but tasted sweeter and less tangy

Not only do I have no pictures for you, but the recipe is a bit of a cop out on the heels of Creme Fraiche. Really you just make Creme Fraiche and then ladle it into a colander lined with butter muslin to drain for 6 to 10 hours in the fridge. That's it.

The booklet that comes with Ricki Carroll's Gourmet Home Dairy Kit contains a recipe for Mascarpone Cheesecake, which inspired me to make Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes with my mascarpone. They were delectable.

Previous Au Lait du Mois:

• January's Au Lait du Mois: Yogurt
  
• Yogotherm Yogurt
  
• Yogurt Update
  
• February's Au Lait du Mois: Fromage Blanc
  
• Fromage Blanc Take Two
  
• March's Au Lait Du Mois: Paneer (Panir)
  
• March's Au Lait du Mois: Panir (Paneer)
  
• April's Au Lait du Mois: Creme Fraiche
  

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April's Pizza del Mese: Alsatian Tarte Flambe

After the first two slices, this Alsatian Tarte Flambe (how much fun is that to say?) was my official taste tester's favorite pizza so far.


The bacon flavor was intense, but nicely balanced by the sweetness of the sweated onions and the creme fraiche. By the last bite of the fourth slice, it was deemed a little too rich. I mistakenly thought this was in the section on Appetizer Pizzas in Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. My official taste tester took that as a totally valid explanation for the richness. Like this would be perfect on a buffet, but you shouldn't make a meal of it . . . unless you're in the mood for bacon and richness and lingering guilt.

The Alsatian Tarte Flambe is actually in the section on International Pizzas (duh, Alsatian?). And I'm not sure how the Flambe gets in there. Doesn't that usually mean it's served flaming? I don't know. Also, the recipe called for dry white wine or dry vermouth. We're not really drinkers (Did you hear something? Yes, everyone who reads my blog who knew me prior to around 2006 just said, "WHAT?!?"), so the only wine we have in the house is leftover from dinner parties. We've had two open bottles rattling in the door of our refrigerator long enough that I thought it might be possible that they'd turned into vinegar. But no. Unfortunately none of the leftover wine was white (think about that the next time you bring a bottle of red to a dinner party . . . at least at my house). So I used a pinot noir of spurious origins that had been sitting in my refrigerator for a really, really long time. It turned out not to be vinegar. It did turn the onion mixture slightly pink, but the final product didn't look excessively pink. I think it would have been less sweet had I used the prescribed vino, but I liked how this turned out. So if your all out of dry white wine or dry vermouth, don't let that stop you from whipping up an Alsatian Tarte Flambe.

Alsatian Tarte Flambe adapted from Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil to apply to the cooking surface of Lodge Pro Logic Cast-Iron 14-Inch Pizza Pan
  
• One recipe Classic Pizza Dough (see recipe in January's Pizza del Mese)
  
• 6 oz. bacon strips
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved through the stem, then thinly sliced
  
• 1/4 C dry white wine or whatever wine you have left over from your last dinner party in the fridge (I used a pinot noir of questionable origin)
  
• 1 C creme fraiche
  
• 1/4 t grated or ground nutmeg
  
• 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

• Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450.
  
• Apply a thin coating of vegetable oil to the surface of the cast iron pizza pan. Lay the dough at its center and dimple the dough with your fingertips. Then pull and press the dough until it forms a 14-inch circle on the pizza pan.
  
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon strips and cook until
  somewhat browned but still limp, 3 to 4 minutes. (They will cook more on top of the pie.) Transfer to a plate.
  
• Add the onions to the bacon fat in the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally,
  until wilted, soft, and quite fragrant, about 8 minutes.
  
• Pour in the wine and raise the heat to medium-high. As the wine simmers,
  scrape up any browned bits on the skillet's bottom. Continue cooking at a full
  simmer until the liquid in the skillet is a thick glaze over the onions, about
  4 minutes.
  
• Spread the creme fraiche over the prepared crust, keeping a 1/2-inch border at
  the edge. Chop the bacon and sprinkle it over the pie.
  
• Use a rubber spatula to spoon and spread the softened onions and their glaze
  over the pizza, again keeping that border intact. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and
  pepper.
  
• Place the pie on its pizza pan in the oven on the middle rack. Check it about every three minutes for the first nine minutes to pop any air bubbles that may blow up at its edge or across its surface. Bake until the crust's edge is golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes.
  
• Transfer the pizza pan to a wire rack to cool for 3 minutes. Remove the pie from the pan, transferring it directly to the wire rack to cool completely. Transfer the pie to a cutting board to slice the pizza into wedges to serve.

Previous Pizza del Mese: January's Pizza del Mese: Pizza Margherita February's Pizza del Mese: Mushroom Pizza March's Pizza del Mese: Broccoli and Tomato Sauce Pizza

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April's Au Lait du Mois: Creme Fraiche

Another tardy Au Lait du Mois. I know. But this one really did get made in April. As it goes from start to finish in just a little over 12 hours, that was easy enough to accomplish on April 30th.

I didn't use raw milk this time. Instead I used organic pasteurized half and half. I picked up two pints (a.k.a. a quart) at Trader Joe's.

I used a cup of my fresh creme fraiche (is that redundant?) to make my Pizza del Mese, an Alsatian Tarte Flambe. But I'll talk more about that tomorrow.

Creme Fraiche adapted from Ricki Carroll's Gourmet Home Dairy Kit
Ingredients:

• 1 qt. light cream or half and half


• 1 packet Creme Fraiche direct set culture

Implements:

• 2 qt. pot with lid


• Dairy Thermometer


• Slotted spoon


• Yogotherm yogurt incubator

Procedure:

• Pour the light cream or half and half into a 2 qt. pot and affix the thermometer in a readable position.


• Heat the light cream or half and half to 86 degrees.


• Pour the light cream or half and half into the Yogotherm.


• Sprinkle 1 packet of the creme fraiche direct set culture over the top of the light cream or half and half. Wait about a minute to let the culture bloom. Then stir the culture into the light cream or half and half.


• Cover and allow to set for up to 12 hours. I let mine set for 20 hours and it seemed a bit thick, but otherwise perfectly cool. It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Previous Au Lait du Mois:

• January's Au Lait du Mois: Yogurt
  
• Yogotherm Yogurt
  
• Yogurt Update
  
• February's Au Lait du Mois: Fromage Blanc
  
• Fromage Blanc Take Two
  
• March's Au Lait Du Mois: Paneer (Panir)
  
• March's Au Lait du Mois: Panir (Paneer)
  

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We Went Outside!

As discussed previously, to participate in the Children & Nature Network's Let's G.O. (Get Outside)! month, we attended the Spring Festival at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach.

There were two maypoles, one for little kidlets and one for older kidlets. But there were some older women who were sort of running the maypole activity that were REALLY serious about them doing it correctly. They kept stopping the music and the kids and trying to explain things. At first I thought it was just misguided attempts to control the chaos inherent in children. Then I settled on the more entertaining notion that these women were in fact witches and NEEDED these maypoles to be wrapped correctly for their own purposes, entertaining children was just a ruse.
In the center of this picture, the less shiny black things that look like leaves are actually a mourning cloak butterfly. The Wee Bairn and I joined a guided tour to the Monarch Waystation inside the Shipley Nature Center. The guide was awesome. He was great at spotting and identifying butterflies. He also was my kind of crotchety old retired teacher. He was all crabby about invasive species and "sanitary" landfills. I bet when he watches Jurassic Park he roots for the dinosaurs. I'd invite him on all of my nature hikes if I could.
Also on our tour we learned what those little white fluff balls that float around this time of year are: the seeds of black willow trees and mule fat.

Yup, a plant called "mule fat." We also learned about insect galls. Which led to this parenting moment observed:

10-year-old-ish daughter upon taking a DIGITAL picture of an insect gall: I got a great picture!
Mom to 10-year-old-ish daughter: Stop! I don't want pictures of ugly things. Why do you take pictures of ugly things? Stop taking pictures of that.

We learned that duck weed, an example of which is perched on the tip of our guide's finger, is the smallest flowering plant.
We also spotted a female hummingbird on the trail.
At the end of the tour we stopped by the Vermiculture Center to learn about worms. Here they're showing us a worm egg.
Watching over us as we learned about worms was a tree swallow sitting in its nesting box.

We also learned about the Nature Scene Investigator program run by Get Outdoors! OC (again with the exclamation points). We might have to look into this for B!ome Tour 20!!!

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CSA Basket . . . Lost Count

I'm showing off my roses with the CSA basket to make up for skipping enough basket posts that I've lost count. We're definitely into the spring quarter, so we've officially been getting baskets for a year now. This week's CSA basket contained: Romaine, Red Leaf Lettuce, Turnips, Radishes, Cauliflower, Leeks, Carrots, Beets, Chard, Fennel, Avocado, Snow Peas, Cabbage, Strawberries! Navel Oranges, Tangerines, Celery, Parsley, and Cilantro. I traded in the fennel and cabbage for more carrots and oranges. The Wee Bairn LOVES oranges.


I used the red leaf lettuce and snow peas in an Asian chicken salad for dinner.
So, if you don't already know, we have extremely limited backyard space. We compost, but we can fill up that little compost bin pretty quickly especially on CSA Basket Day. When I can on CSA Basket Day, I like to trim off all the greens I'm not going to use, like from the tops of carrots and radishes, and give them to Bridget for her donkey Boo Boo, pictured above on the right. I believe the horse helping Boo Boo with the composting is Yogi.
Bridget's chickens get in on the composting as well. Which makes me feel better about stealing so many of their eggs.

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Let's Get Outside!

The Children & Nature Network is making April Let's G.O. (Get Outside)! month.

The goal of Let’s G.O.! events is to bring together intergenerational groups of people to get outside together to be active, have fun and connect with nature.

The nearest event to us is a Spring Festival at the Shipley Nature Center in Huntington Beach. It's coming up this Saturday, April 30th, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

The Children & Nature Network is chaired by Richard Louv, the author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. I heard about this book long before the wee bairn was a glimmer in my eye and immediately filed it under things to be neurotic about once a parent. Neurosis or no, there's a lot of evidence to support the idea that children's health benefits from contact with the outdoors and nature (here's a PDF full of them).

Then I started following The Boy's Almanac, a blog by "two mothers constantly striving to maintain a wild, self-sufficient childhood for our boys and wanting to revive the old school methods of practical scouting, bypassing the modern organization and its discriminating baggage." I like that mission statement. And they're not sexist, they just don't have girls. The blog follows their adventures as they undertake the projects in The American Boy's Handy Book: What to Do and How to Do It, Centennial Edition. A bit advanced for a 16-month-old, but I'm thinking longer term.

In the shorter term, we've been contemplating a series of kidlet-centric adventures this summer with easy hikes for jogging strollers within an hour or so of Fullerton with the goal of introducing the wee bairn to as many different biomes as possible. Our friend Sarah Gilman even found us a book to help us on our way: Habitats Alive!

I wonder if all of these exclamation points get kids into nature more than book and event titles without exclamation points would. Get ready for B!ome Tour 20!!!

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Scantastic!

I celebrated Earth Day by recycling my deceased Brother printer and buying a Lexmark Prevail Pro705 printer/scanner/copier/faxer. My goal: paperlessness. I have read the User Manual (in PDF format on my computer screen . . . paperlessness here I come!) from virtual cover to virtual cover. Now I'm checking out the suggestions in the comments to two posts over at AskMeFi:

• Help me wrangle PDFs
• How can I best transfer all of my paper to the cloud and make it searchable?

I didn't even know what documents I am supposed to be keeping and which ones I can get rid of until I read this piece over at Consumer Reports. Please post comments here with any tips, tricks, advice, suggestions, comments, concerns, et cetera.

We Changed!

The Wee Bairn and I are now World Record holders. Well, I haven't heard if it's official or not, but we did participate in The Great Cloth Diaper Change at No Sugar Added this morning. The mom that entered before us had bicycled there with her tiny tot in the smallest little baby seat ever. There were so many parents wearing their babies and nursing their babies and just generally being as granola crunchy as you can be with babies. Made me feel better about the universe. It was PACKED! I'm guessing that was the case all over as I received a text from Terri in Durham, NC, around 9 a.m. our time that read "so.many.BABIES!"
Here we have the record breaking diaper. The Wee Bairn was a little unsure when I put her down, but then she turned to her right and saw a little 4-month-old baby girl and she turned to her left and saw a little 6-week-old baby boy and looked at me, smiled, and said, "Baby!"

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

Perusing my usual parenting blogs, I came across a post at Inhabitots about The Great Cloth Diaper Change on April 23, 2011. Basically, combine Earth Day, parenting, and the Guinness World Records, and you get the idea to change more wee bairns into a cloth diaper at the same time than ever before.

Whether you're part of the gDiaper Mommy Militia or simply a fan of GroVia (formerly GroBaby), FuzziBunz, bumGenius, or good ol' prefolds, please participate. Let's show folks that cloth diapers are a real option for today’s families. If you are all out of babies needing diapers or otherwise unable to participate directly, please consider supporting the Real Diaper Association, a non-profit organization that advocates for cloth diapering.

We'll be participating at our current favorite granola crunchy baby store: No Sugar Added in Claremont. FYI, we'll be changing from a GroBaby into an organic unbleached prefold with an organic Imse Vimse cover with a Snappi closure, which is my current most favored diapering solution. Let's save the planet one nappy at a time!

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March's Au Lait du Mois: Panir (Paneer)

Yes, yes, I know it's April. But I started the panir . . . O.K. I didn't even start the panir until April 1st. But I thought about it and bought all the ingredients in March. So it still counts as March's Au Lait du Mois.

Panir is super easy and requires no esoteric cheese making supplies (if you substitute any clean, smooth cloth for the butter muslin, which you could if you were butter muslin-less). So if you're contemplating the idea of cheese but you don't want to make any investment, start with panir. I don't even think you need a thermometer considering both Rebecca and I didn't follow the temperature guidelines in the recipe and still had successful panir. Just wait until the curds really start separating from the whey and glomming together and you're ready for the next step.

I didn't use raw milk this time. Instead I used organic creamline milk, which has been pasteurized but not homogenized. I picked up half a gallon at Trader Joe's.

I tried the whey lemonade as suggested in the booklet from the Gourmet Home Dairy Kit. Maybe if I had clearer whey it would have been more "refreshing." As it was, there was sort of a creamy background to the whey lemonade that did not really appeal to me. But it's certainly worth a try.

I made the curried panir potato rounds following the recipe in Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Ricki Carrol. An almost identical recipe appears in the booklet that comes with the Gourmet Home Dairy Kit. I made a smaller spice-free version for the wee bairn. She dug 'em. She also dug the panir straight. I served the curried panir potato rounds with Thai Yellow Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's as a dip. They were a big hit.

The directions for panir in Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Ricki Carrol are pretty different from the directions in the booklet that comes with the Gourmet Home Dairy Kit. Not sure which one was published first. I followed the pamphlet's directions, so that's what I adapted below.

Panir adapted from Ricki Carroll's Gourmet Home Dairy Kit
Ingredients:

• 1/2 gal. milk


• juice from 2 lemons


• salt to taste

Implements:

• 3 qt. pot with lid


• Dairy Thermometer


• Slotted spoon


• sieve


• bowl


• butter muslin

Procedure:

• Pour the milk into a 3 qt. pot and affix the thermometer in a readable position.


• Stir in the lemon juice.


• Heat the milk and lemon juice over medium heat and stir constantly until the curds separate from the whey. Ricki says this happens between 165 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Rebecca said it happened around 120 degrees and was overcooked by 165. My curd was as separated from the whey as it was going to get at about 145. I let it get up to 165 just to see if anything magical would happen and it didn't. So the best advice is keep an eye on the whey. Mine never got as clear as it did with the fromage blanc, but it was definitely more transparent than skim milk.


• Take the pot off the heat, cover with the lid, and let set for 15 minutes.


• Meanwhile, set a sieve over a bowl and line the sieve with butter muslin.


• Pour the contents of the pot into the muslin-lined sieve.



• Tie the four corners of the butter muslin together and hang it over the sink to drip. In the booklet that comes with the Gourmet Home Dairy Kit, it suggests that this might take about an hour. In the Ricki's book Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses, the recipe suggests hanging the cheese for 2 to 3 hours. As a busy, sleepless Mom, I hung mine for about 12 hours.


• If you're storing the cheese, you can put it in an airtight container in the fridge for about two weeks.

Curried Panir Potato Rounds adapted from Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Delicious Cheeses by Ricki Carrol
Ingredients:

• 6 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled, and mashed


• 1 t salt


• 1/4 t ground turmeric


• 1 lb. frozen peas, thawed and mashed


• 6 T lemon juice


• 1/2 t sugar


• 1/2 t salt (I know, I've got 1 t salt listed above . . . but trust me on this)


• 2 C (1 lb.) panir, cut into 1-inch cubes


• 3/4 C water


• 3/4 C flour


• 1 C fine dry unseasoned bread crumbs


• 1/2 t curry powder


• 1/2 T chopped fresh cilantro


• 1/2 t cumin powder

Procedure:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the potatoes, 1 t salt, and the turmeric. Cook over medium heat in a large, nonstick skillet, stirring often, for about 4 minutes. Remove to a bowl and reserve.


• In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the peas, lemon juice, 1/2 t salt, and the sugar, stirring often, for about 4 minutes. The juice from the pea mixture does a good job of loosening up any potato stuck to the bottom of the pan from the previous step. I think this helps make the pea mixture more sticky which is important later on. Remove from heat.


• Place a scoop of the potato mixture in the palm of your hand and flatten it into a 3- or 4-inch-diameter circle that is 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture to make 12 to 14 rounds.


• Put a panir cube in the center of each round. Fold the potato mixture over it. Roll until sealed and rounded. Press firmly to eliminate air pockets.


• Press the pea mixture around each of the potato rounds.


• Whisk together the water and flour to make a smooth, thick paste. Spread the bread crumbs in a shallow pan. Roll the balls in the flour paste, then in the bread crumbs. Set each panir potato round on a baking sheet lined with a non-stick mat or parchment paper.


• Bake for 14 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway through.


• Cut the cooked panir rounds in half. Spoon curry powder around them. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and cumin powder.

Previous Au Lait du Mois:

• January's Au Lait du Mois: Yogurt
  
• Yogotherm Yogurt
  
• Yogurt Update
  
• February's Au Lait du Mois: Fromage Blanc
  
• Fromage Blanc Take Two
  
• March's Au Lait Du Mois: Paneer (Panir)
  

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Go VCU!

 

 

I should have been grading, but this was more fun.

Two pizzas, both yummy

Sauteed leeks and ricotta cheese base, topped with parmesan and a little olive oil.






Tomato sauce base with sauteed mushrooms and spinach, topped with some mozzarella cheese. I got the mushrooms at the farmer's market - I'm not sure what kind they were, but they were seriously tasty.

I the made pizza dough the other night and put it in the refrigerator. I've made it before and it was good. It turned out better this time but I don't know what I did differently. It's possible that I used less flour since I was running low. I used the dough recipe from Peter Rainhart. I preheat my pizza stone in the oven and then I take it out and make the pizza on the stone so I don't have to do a transfer of the pizza once all the toppings are on it.

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Accidental trademarking

The one-sentence summary: "constituative" and "metability" are not words.

I've been reading an excellent book, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman. It is very much in line with the sort of study and analysis of games that I'm interested in.

But in the book, the authors describe three kinds of rules (as you can imagine, rules are an important feature of games). The three kinds of rules are constituative, operational, and implicit. And to me, the "constituative" rules are exactly those rules that I would call "constitutive".

Now, I wouldn't make a big deal about this if it were an incidental thing, but it's a big component in one of the big ideas of the book. And even then I wouldn't post about it if "constituative" were actually another spelling (or another word entirely). So I googled it.

Turns out that every use of "constituative" related to game rules is a reference to this book, either directly or indirectly. And I wondered, is the field of game studies going to use this and pretend it's a new word long enough that it actually becomes one?


"Constituative" is not a completely uncommon misspelling of "constitutive". (Google gets 6,650 hits, vs. 8,040,000 for constitutive.) But it's pretty clear it's a misspelling. There's a kind of gene that's called a "constituative promoter" (441 results), but the exact same definition appears for a "constitutive promoter" (217,000 results). One of the top hits for "constituative" is about a "constituative equation". But search Google for "constituative equation" (or "constitutive law") and Google won't just suggest the other spelling -- it just gives you the results for the conventional spelling.

When I looked up "constituative rule", and insisted that Google show you that and not "constitutive rule", seven of the ten front page results are related to game studies. The top one is the Google Books result for this very book. The other six either directly or indirectly refer to the book. Perhaps surprisingly, a search of "constitutive rule games" turns up several philosophical works, which use game rules as an example of "constitutive rules". But many games studies people are getting exposed to this idea through the Salen and Zimmerman book, and the spelling error is propagating. Eventually, it's possible that "constituative" will become an alternate spelling, used by game study people.

The viral spread of a new term is perhaps Betty K. Garner's intention: in her book Getting to "Got It!": Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn , she coins the word "metability", meaning "the ability to learn, create, and change". I personally hate this word, not least because "meta" gets used too much and usually wrongly (see this charming description of "meta"). Nonetheless, I understand the motivation.

There's a natural desire to condense your main point, the concept you want to convey to the world, into a little digestible morsel that your readers will remember, retain, and repeat. If you can encapsulate your idea into a word or little phrase, it could carry your little meme across the world, and perhaps across the ages.

But sometimes the dream of an immortal idiom runs ahead of the concept itself: I've often come up with clever acronyms for a concept that I'm just not willing to put the time and commitment into making a real thing. I once told a class to use SPEED (Solve Problems Each and Every Day). But this was a catchy phrase, not a system or an idea, and I never referred to it again. I'm sure no one else did, either.

Back to the original case, I'm pretty confident that Salen and Zimmerman had no intention of generating game studies-specific jargon by misspelling "constitutive". But in a small way (I daresay the field of game studies is fairly small, overall) I think this is happening. So I urge them to correct it, in the next edition.

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Triangle Fire Centennial, Regulation and Labor Under Attack

Today marks the one hundredth anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory in New York City in which 146 garment workers died. Let's take the opportunity to remind ourselves why organized labor should have the ability to negotiate working conditions and why the government should have the power to regulate. As Robert Reich said in his biweekly commentary for Marketplace yesterday,

Those who argue that regulations kill jobs ignore an important fact: Lack of adequate regulation kills people.

He was starting from the failure of GE's reactors in Fukushima. Sadly, the logic that applied to a horrible tragedy one hundred years ago still bears repeating today.

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March's Au Lait Du Mois: Paneer (Panir)

 

I followed the directions exactly, heating two quarts of milk and the juice of two lemons until the temperature reached 165+ degrees. At about 120 degrees or so, it looked like what I thought was supposed to happen. I had big chunks of curd and the liquid was transparent. But, I was supposed to go hotter, so I kept stirring. At about 165 degrees, the curds got small and diffuse and the whey became cloudy again. But, I was too far in. So, I went ahead and poured it through the cheesecloth and drained it. I did end up getting a very firm cheese, but the whey was still cloudy. The cheese tasted good. Bob was willing to drink the whey, that I sweetened with a little sugar to make lemonade as suggested in the recipe book.

 

I used the panir to make butter panir masala. (It was a recipe I found on the web, but can no longer find.) Basically, you browned a red onion, pureed it with garlic, ginger and fresh chili. Then heated it with pureed tomatoes and turmeric, garam masala, coriander and chili powder and some water. Then stir in some yogurt and add the panir. It was tasty. I added some spinach and peas. The panir however disintegrated in the sauce.

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CSA Basket 25

Yes, I skipped posting about our previous two baskets. Life gets busy. But to make it up to you, this post contains not one but THREE pictures. Why? Because the baskets this week were BEAUTIFUL, a vision in red and green and ranunculuses (or is that ranunculi?). This week's basket contained: Ranunculus Flowers, Iceberg Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Cilantro, Turnips, Carrots, Potatoes, Beets, Mixed Radishes, Long Radishes, Navel Oranges, Fuji Apples, Kale, Kohlrabi, Kiwi, Strawberries, and Pears.


These are the baskets all lined up under the big ficus tree outside the Fullerton Arboretum waiting to be picked up.
Any radish recipes would be greatly appreciated.

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March's Pizza del Mese: Broccoli and Tomato Sauce Pizza

This is my third pizza employing the delectable Classic Pizza Sauce from January's Pizza Margherita. Like last month, I tried a whole different dough--Spelt Pizza Dough.

Here's a telling little bit of trivia. There are eight pizza dough recipes in Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Every pizza recipe recommends a dough to use and offers a backup. Only two of the dough recipes never appear as a "first choice" in a pizza recipe: the Gluten-free Pizza Dough and this month's Spelt Pizza Dough. The Spelt Pizza Dough, slightly sweet and nutty in flavor, is not going to be everyone's favorite, but it is a healthier alternative to the white flour doughs offered.

I didn't bother with the Window Pane Test because, according to Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, the spelt flour doesn't have the higher level of glutens present in doughs made with all-purpose or bread flour. The book also says that spelt is high in protein and the potato flour in the recipe gives the dough some elasticity. I'm beginning to catch on. Gluten is a type of protein present in wheat, but not all proteins present in wheat are gluten. Spelt is high in non-gluten proteins, so while it's good for you in the sense that it has a higher ratio of proteins to carbohydrates, spelt doughs lack elasticity, don't keep their shape as well, and, once baked, don't have as chewy texture.

Once baked, this spelt crust sort of breaks into pieces on contact. The downside: it totally would not come off the pizza pan in one piece, or even in a whole slice. The upside: if chewy doughs give your jaw trouble, this is a yummy, healthy alternative. I don't just mean the aged and TMJ sufferers. I think this is the perfect crust for a toddler's first pizza. And the healthy toppings on the Broccoli and Tomato Sauce Pizza would probably make this combination perfect overall for a toddler's first pizza. I haven't tried it out on my toddler yet, but I'm definitely going to.

Where the recipe calls for 3 oz. provolone, Muenster, or Havarti, shredded, I used Beemster with Mustard, a cow's milk cheese from Holland, which was recommended by the geniuses at The Cheese Cave. It is SO good. It sets off the spicy pizza sauce and roasted red pepper puree perfectly. Like last time, where the recipe calls for 1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, finely grated, I used Canestrato di Filiano, also from The Cheese Cave. The combination with the broccoli was so amazing you might not notice it's all on top of a healthy crust.


Broccoli and Tomato Sauce Pizza adapted from Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil to apply to the cooking surface of Lodge Pro Logic Cast-Iron 14-Inch Pizza Pan
  
• One recipe Spelt Pizza Dough (see recipe below)
  
• 1 large jar pimiento or roasted red pepper
  
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
  
• 3/4 C Classic Pizza Sauce (see recipe in January's Pizza del Mese: Pizza Margherita)
  
• 3 oz. mozzarella, shredded
  
• 3 oz. provolone, Muenster, or Havarti, shredded
  
• 2 C frozen broccoli florets or fresh florets, steamed
  
• 1 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, finely grated

Procedure

• Position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450.
  
• Apply a thin coating of vegetable oil to the surface of the cast iron pizza pan. Lay the dough at its center and dimple the dough with your fingertips. Then pull and press the dough until it forms a 14-inch circle on the pizza pan.
  
• Puree the pimiento with the red pepper flakes in a food processor until smooth.
  
• If using fresh broccoli florets, steam them over 1 inch of simmering water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Immediately transfer the florets to a colander set in the sink and refresh under cool water until room temperature.
  
• Ladle the pizza sauce into the middle of the dough, then use the back of the ladle to spread the sauce evenly. Evenly cover the sauce with the shredded mozzarella and provolone/Muenster/Havarti.
  
• Sprinkle the broccoli florets around the pie. Dot the pimiento puree over the top, using about 1 t for each dollop. Top with the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
  
• Place the pie on its pizza pan in the oven on the middle rack. Check it about every three minutes for the first nine minutes to pop any air bubbles that may blow up at its edge or across its surface. Bake until the cheese has melted and is bubbling and the crust's edge is golden brown, 14 to 18 minutes.
  
• Transfer the pizza pan to a wire rack to cool for 3 minutes. Remove the pie from the pan, transferring it directly to the wire rack to cool completely. Transfer the pie to a cutting board to slice the pizza into wedges to serve.

Spelt Pizza Dough adapted from Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It! by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough Ingredients

• 3/4 C lukewarm water (between 105 F and 115 F)
  
• 2 t honey
  
• 2 t active dry yeast
  
• 1/4 t salt
  
• 1 3/4 C plus 2 T spelt flour, plus additional as needed
  
• 2 T potato flour (not potato starch)
  
• 1 t olive oil, plus additional for greasing the bowl

Procedure

• Fill the bowl of a stand mixer with warm tap water, drain it, and dry it thoroughly. Stir the water, honey, yeast, and salt together in the bowl just until everything is dissolved. Set aside at room temperature for 5 minutes to make sure the mixture bubbles and foams. If it doesn't, either the yeast expired or the water was not the right temperature. Throw the mixture out and start again.
  
• Add the spelt flour, potato flour, and olive oil to the yeast mixture, attach the dough hook, and knead at medium speed until well combined and uniform, about 3 minutes.
  
• Wipe a clean, large bowl with a bit of olive oil on a paper towel. Place the dough in the prepared bowl, turning the dough so all sides are coated with oil, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Because spelt dough lacks many of the glutens found in all-purpose or bread flour, this dough can be very difficult to shape by tossing and stretching. Instead, place it on a lightly floured work surface, dust the top with spelt flour, and roll with a rolling pin to desired shape.

Previous Pizza del Mese: January's Pizza del Mese: Pizza Margherita February's Pizza del Mese: Mushroom Pizza

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