Much Kneaded Pizza Rant

Pizza. A word we’d wager that every American knows. A word most likely every kid over the age of five knows and has had a slice. It is also a word that both unifies and divides. There are pizza purists who insist on a traditional Neapolitan crust topped with handmade mozzarella, sliced San Marzano tomatoes, and freshly-picked basil baked to bubbly brown perfection. There are those who prefer the saucy indulgence of a deep dish pie over-filled with a plethora of ingredients. Then there are the adventurous types who revel in combining exotic ingredients in Wolfgang Puck-fusion fashion, and let’s not forget the gluttons that feel inclined to dump everything in the refrigerator on their disc of dough (and then douse it with hot sauce).

Additional deliberations ensue as to the method of consumption: knife-and-fork versus hand-to-mouth, folding versus flat, and the on-going cold-for-breakfast debate which rages perpetually in our house as Dom and Nic think it is absolute bliss (and will attempt varying methods to outmaneuver one another for the last sliver) while Sonny and I find it disgusting and offensive to the olfactory nerves prior to the noon hour.

Lately we have noticed a renaissance in the trend to “improve” the pizza experience. New no-knead dough recipes, upside-down deep dish pans, and grilling domes are among the latest fads. Sur la Table is currently featuring a new pizza cone set complete with dough shape cutter, edge crimper and baking cones. Pizza cones? Really? The proportions would be all wrong, too much goopy product at the top and all dough at the bottom. Why mess with a good thing? If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!

What is wrong with regular pizza? While we have been known, on occasion, to stray from the basic Italian ingredients (salad shrimp, red onion and smoked gouda/gyro meat, feta and olives), generally pizza in our house consists of a basic pizza crust, pomodoro sauce and standard toppings. Pizza has never been a vehicle for other meals. If we want tacos, we make tacos; not taco pizza. The same is true for cheeseburgers, barbeque, and kung pao chicken.

We have been making pizza for over 20 years using the same now-memorized dough recipe with simple fresh ingredients. We make the dough in the morning or early afternoon, punch it down after an hour or two and it is ready for dinner. When the weather is cold and fresh veggies are few, perhaps a pie with sliced potatoes, a little bacon and cheese will suffice. When the weather is warm, cooking the pizza on the grill keeps the house cool. When there are fresh peppers in the garden, those are tossed on the top with some pomodoro sauce and a smattering of Parmesan for Dom’s childhood favorite Brier Hill-style pizza. 

Pizza night should be fun and relaxing; not a stressful event. Do as much as you can ahead like chopping veggies, slicing pepperoni, and grating cheeses. And, don’t worry about the flour on the floor, you can vacuum tomorrow.

Need to Knead Dough

• 1 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast (or one packet)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups bread flour (all-purpose works just fine too)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Add sugar to the warm water to dissolve. Water should be warm to the touch; not hot. Hot water will “kill the yeast.” Add the yeast to the sugar water to proof. If the yeast does not start to bubble within five minutes, discard the yeast and start over with cooler water.

Mix together dry ingredients and add slowly to yeast mixture. Knead dough until smooth and elastic before transferring to a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. If you have a Kitchen Aid or other stand mixer with a dough hook, let the dough “knead” in the machine for 3-5 minutes. However, don’t underestimate the therapeutic power of kneading. It can be a very cathartic activity.

“Wetter” dough is better, so add more water as needed to get a moist consistency. The dough should not be sticky to the touch but should not be too firm or dense either. It should feel like touching a baby’s cheek.

Let the dough rise for at least one hour or until the dough doubles in size. If you are making the dough well in advance, punch the dough down by removing plastic wrap and “poking” the dough with all five fingers of one hand several times. Replace the plastic wrap and let dough rise again until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. When you are ready to use the dough, roll into your pizza shape by rolling and stretching and then let it rest for 10 minutes or so.

At this point you can cook the dough as flat bread by placing it on a pizza stone in your oven or on your grill and browning both sides. When done, brush the pizza with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

If using toppings, spoon cooled sauce on the dough and gently spread across the pie and add a light layer of toppings over the top. If you are cooking your pizza on a stone rather than a pizza pan, use a peel (a big firm piece of cardboard works well also,) to slide the pizza onto your pizza stone.

Cook for about 10 minutes and then check the bottom of the crust to be sure that it is not getting too brown. Add any additional toppings, fresh basil and cheeses at this time, and cook until toppings are bubbling and crust is toasty brown. Remove pie from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so before cutting. Why? If you cut it immediately after removing from the oven, all your sauce, toppings and sauce will slide right off and onto your pan, making serving it a royal pain in the backside.

Romeo Secret: You may have noticed that there is no oil in our pizza dough. This keeps it from burning in the oven as easily. If you plan to cook your dough on the grill (like we do in the summer,) you will want to add ½ cup of olive oil to the yeast water mixture before you add the dry ingredients to form your dough.

Technique of the Week: Proofing

I was comparing our recipe and techniques for pizza dough with a friend when she suddenly asked me why I bothered to proof my yeast before making the dough. I confess that I was caught off guard by this question. It is something I’ve done since I first started baking bread never realizing that it was optional. I would hate to go through all the trouble and waste of making the dough only to end up with a dud!

Proofing the yeast helps to hydrate active dry yeast and test to ensure the yeast is viable.  This process should be done before adding carbohydrates (flour) to the yeast. When proofing yeast, I usually measure out the amount of warm water (or milk for brioche) called for in the recipe, add the sugar (up to 1 tablespoon) called for and stir to dissolve the sugar a bit. Yeast is happiest at about 75°-80°, so the water should feel barely warm or lukewarm to the touch. Resist the urge to use warmer water else you risk killing the yeast. I then sprinkle the yeast over the top of the liquid and give it a quick stir.

Letting the yeast sit in the sugar water for a few minutes, you should begin to see the dry granules release the active yeast inside. The yeast will then start feeding on the sugar and a frothy foam will appear on the surface of the liquid. This is caused by the carbon dioxide being released. This spume is proof that the yeast is active and ready to be added to the other ingredients to form your bread dough.

Do WOP Chopped

The term “Wop” has long been used in America and has evolved into a derogatory ethnic slur for people of Italian origin or descent. The term has been erroneously explained to mean “Without Papers” by those who resented Italian immigrants and later by Italians themselves. Coincidentally, the initials W.O.P. were used to signify Warrants, Orders, Passes which was a term used by the United States Government to represent documents from the old country.

However, the expression ”Wop” likely derived from the Neapolitan word “guappo” used by Italian immigrants to describe native men who try too hard to act brave, play cool, and impress the girls. Originally, the Guapperia was a criminal organization (similar to the Sicilian “Mafiosi”) from the Campania province of Italy where Naples is located. 

Since the 1930s, New Orleans restaurateurs have employed the term to describe a salad consisting of iceberg lettuce tossed with anchovies and Italian olive salad; the same olive salad used in the ever-popular muffuletta sandwich.

Our version is a take on the classic Wop salad with a modern day twist. Chopped salads are on more and more menus of late, and for good reason. Fresh salad ingredients are chopped into bite-sized pieces, so every bite has several ingredients.

There are no real secrets to creating a good chopped salad. They start with fresh ingredients that are chopped in uniform, pieces and either composed or tossed, depending on the style of the salad. Chopped salads can generally be made well in advance of serving and the ingredients can be served together or separately so the diner can build his or her own dish.

Italian Olive Salad Recipe

• 1 cup large pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup cauliflower florets, steamed
• 1/4 cup carrots, chopped and steamed
• 1/4 cup celery, chopped and steamed
• 1/4 cup cocktail onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon oregano

Place a large pot with a steamer basket or colander fit inside. Fill the pot with enough water to just reach the bottom of the colander or steamer basket. Once the water comes to a boil, place cauliflower, chopped carrots and celery in the steamer basket and cover loosely. Allow vegetables to steam for about 5-6 minutes until just tender.

Allow vegetables to cool before combining all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.  You can store any leftover olive salad in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

Chopped Wop Salad

• 1 medium head of Iceberg lettuce
• ½ cup Italian olive salad with oil (see recipe above)
• 1 tablespoon non-pareil capers, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 2-oz can of anchovy filets, drained (reserve oil)
• 4-5 green onions, chopped (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Remove the outer leaves of the head of Iceberg lettuce and then remove the core. If you will be using the whole head of lettuce, the easiest way to remove the core is to slam the base of the head firmly on your countertop. The core will dislodge easily. Simply pull it out and discard. Then cut the lettuce into bite size pieces and drop into your salad bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together olive salad, capers, lemon juice and anchovy oil and mix together well. Then toss the olive mixture with the chopped lettuce in the salad bowl adding salt and pepper to taste. Don’t be afraid to use your hands to toss all the ingredients together. Add more olive oil if needed to fully coat the lettuce.

Fold salad out onto your serving dish and arrange anchovy filets over the top and garnish with chopped green onions if desired. Remember that the salt will begin to leach water from the vegetables making the lettuce limp, so don’t wait too long to serve (unless of course you like it a little limp and marinated.) To give it a bit more "Wop authenticity," we add a few pepperoncini on the side as a garnish.

Technique of the Week: Chopping

Chopping is the technique of cutting ingredients into small pieces of an even size. The cubes do not have to be perfectly equal, but should approximate the same size which ensures that they cook evenly. Chopping can be done roughly or finely: roughly means pieces of food about ½ inches, whereas finely means much smaller pieces.

You should always use a knife that you are comfortable with. Practice on soft foods like cheese, melon or bread and get a feel for how the knife works before you try chopping harder foods like onions or potatoes.

The midsection of the knife is used for most chopping tasks, such as cutting tomatoes or apples into wedges, and carrots into rounds. Use the heel (closest to the knife handle) to chop herbs, remembering to keep the fingers of your guiding hand slightly curled under to prevent cutting them.

To ensure the vegetables don't wobble around on the board while cutting, first cut them to form a flat-bottomed base. For instance, when cutting an onion, cut it lengthwise in half then lay it cut-side down. When cutting a potato or carrot, cut off a thin slice from one side then lay the flat cut-side down to finish cubing the vegetables.

When chopping an onion, first use the tip of the knife to cut evenly spaced slices into the onion, leaving the onion attached at the root end. Then turn the onion 90 degrees, and use the midsection of the knife to cut crosswise through the slices to form small cubes.

Lastly, always use a sharpened knife. Dull knives will not only make chopping more difficult, but can easily slip and cause injuries. If your cutting board tends to slide while you are chopping, place a damp towel underneath the board to keep it in place.

Corned Beef Rehashed

After enjoying a corned beef feast to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, the question becomes what to do with the leftovers. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the classic Reuben sandwich: corned beef stacked on rye bread layered with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut topped with Thousand Island dressing and griddled to perfection.

Another option is a traditional hash (also known as "stovies" in Scotland,) a dish consisting of a base of mashed or chopped potato and leftover meat; usually roast beef. Growing up this was a staple of our diets with canned corned beef as the meat of choice. It was hearty, filling comfort food that was also easy on the checkbook. This version has an extra zing from the addition of horseradish and Worcestershire sauce.

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 ½ cups corned beef, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• Hot sauce to taste
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Eggs for frying, if desired

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add potatoes. Cook potatoes, turning often for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown.

Add garlic, oregano, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine. Stir in corned beef and toss to distribute evenly. Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Once combined, spread the hash evenly over the pan and firmly press down with a spatula. Cover pan with the lid and cook until browned and heated completely throughout.

If you are serving with fried eggs, cook eggs sunny-side-up in a separate pan and slide onto hash. Serve with a toasted slice of rye bread for a delicious, filling meal any time of day!

π Cracking Pie

Pi (π) is an irrational number, which means that its value cannot be expressed exactly as a fraction; its decimal representation never ends and never repeats. Pi is also a transcendental number meaning that no finite sequence of algebraic operations can determine its value.

Scientists have studied the properties of pi for the last four centuries. In October 2011, Alexander Yee and Shigeru Kondo computed π to 10 trillion digits, while the contributors of “Cracking Pi,” are exploring the nature of pi and its relationship to gravity. “Cracking Pi” is an in-depth study of randomness using the unique methodology known as "action at a distance.

For those of us who do not have advanced degrees in Physics or Game Theory, perhaps a better way to celebrate our fascination with the world’s most popular mathematical concept is with a delicious pie… a crack pie that is.

Based on the best-selling dessert from New York’s famous Momofuku Milk Bar, this rich, sweet and salty pie with its oat cookie crust is truly like crack to an addict. Because Dom’s favorite cookie is oatmeal raisin, we added cinnamon and raisins to ours.

Oatmeal Cookie Crumble:

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats*
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon (generous) salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line in cookie sheet with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.

Oatmeal Pie Crust:
1 batch oatmeal cookie crumble
3 tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons brown sugar

Using your hands, crumble the oat cookie into large bowl and then add butter and brown sugar.  Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.

Crack filling:

• ¼ cup raisins (optional)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar mixed with cinnamon (for dusting)

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Arrange raisins in a layer on the bottom of the pie shell.

Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour filling into crust over raisins. Bake pie for 30 minutes (filling should be beginning to bubble,) and then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Continue to bake pie about 20 minutes longer until the filling is brown in spots and set around the edges. The center should still move slightly when pie dish is gently shaken. Cool the pie for 2 hours in pie dish on rack. The filling will fully set as it cools. Chill the pie uncovered before serving or overnight. Dust with powdered cinnamon sugar before serving.

*You can use quick oats as a substitute for old-fashioned oats. Old-fashioned oats will give you a chewier texture, and quick oats will result in a more homogenous consistency with slightly less chew, but will still have the same flavor. It's really personal preference which one you like better for baking.

Technique of the Week: Creaming (Butter)

Creaming butter is one of the most basic techniques in baking. Most cakes and cookies require that the butter be well creamed to achieve a fluffy end result. Well creamed butter is especially important in baking cakes.

To cream butter properly, the butter should be room temperature. Do not over soften or melt the butter or it will be oily and it will not “cream” correctly. Creaming of butter can be done with a wooden spoon, a handheld beater or a stand beater. Butter is usually creamed with sugar first because it has fine granules that cut through the butter and add air, creating little bubbles. These air bubbles help cakes to rise and maintain a light texture. The more air pockets you start with, the more loft you will get from the batter, regardless of the amount of baking powder or baking soda you add. Once heated, the air in the pockets expands, helping the dough/batter to rise.

Begin by beating the butter on low speed briefly and add in the sugar and continue beating on low speed to combine. When the sugar is evenly distributed, increase speed to medium and continue beating. When the granulated sugar is first added, the texture of the butter will look sandy but after a minute or two the sugar seems to dissolve into the butter. The color of butter will start to pale. Stop the beater occasionally and use a spatula to scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to incorporate any stray sugar and butter. Finally, when butter is properly creamed, the color will be off-white, the texture is thick and creamy and the volume will have increased noticeably. At this point, do not continue to cream the butter or it may soften and all efforts will be wasted.

If liquids are added too quickly, the creamed mix will curdle and separate. For this reason, add one egg and mix in slowly followed by 1 tablespoon of flour. Continue adding all the eggs (and alternately a tablespoon of flour) and beat well. The eggs will allow even more air to be whipped in (think meringue here).

Next, add the dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients like water or milk. When adding the dry and liquid ingredients, it is important to mix as little as possible while getting the ingredients combined. The less you mix, the less gluten is developed, resulting in a tenderer final product. Adding flour before adding the liquid helps to coat the flour with fat, further inhibiting gluten production. If you add liquid first, and then add flour, you will end up with a chewier final product since more gluten will be activated. The batter can get very thick, as in cookie dough, or fluffy like cake batter. Rarely does the creaming method produce a batter that is truly wet and pourable.

Once all ingredients are combined, bake according to recipe instructions. You should be able to see the difference in a well-made batter in the final product.

Hungry Bracketologist's Chili

Ah yes, it is the month of March and everyone knows what that means: March Madness! And, Selection Sunday just wouldn’t be the same without steaming bowls of chili while you watch with bated breath as college basketball's top 68 teams are announced for the upcoming NCAA Men's College Basketball tournament bracket. Chili is a definite crowd-pleaser and is easy to serve. You can cook up a huge pot in advance and keep it warm on the stove, so that bracketologists can imbibe all evening long.

Chili is probably the most hyped dish in America, but that is understandable. It is hearty, comforting, full-flavored and satisfying. I can’t think of a single person that doesn’t like chili in some form or fashion. In fact, most folks are highly opinionated about their chili preparation which may explain the vast number of chili competitions still held in the U.S. even when it would seem that every possible variation has been created.

Chili was originally popularized by brightly-dressed Mexican women known as "Chili Queens" who built wood fires to reheat cauldrons of chili in downtown San Antonio during the 1880s. The aroma was a potent sales pitch and mariachi street musicians provided ambiance to the dining experience. People from other parts of the country were introduced to chili at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago where the San Antonio Chili Stand sold bowlfuls of the Texas concoction.

Of course, our chili recipe is by far the best you will ever try. The combination of spices, the addition of cocoa powder and beer and the finishing touch of cornmeal create a spectacular blend of flavors that are sure to please all of your senses. (A mere demonstration of the personal conviction that most cooks have about their own cherished chili recipe!) Anyway, this is our favorite formula for the world’s most popular Super Bowl dish!

• 2 ½ lb. lean chuck, ground
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 cup diced tomatoes (canned is fine*)
• 1 cup beef broth or water
• 1 12-oz. bottle of beer
• 2-3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 Tablespoons cumin, ground
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons oregano leaves
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon coriander, ground
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• 2 15-oz. cans of kidney beans
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornmeal or corn flour

Heat a large heavy saucepot over high heat, reduce heat to medium and add half of the ground beef. Cook the meat until well browned then drain the fat and set aside. Add the remaining ground beef to the skillet, brown and again drain reserving about 2 tablespoons of the pan juices.

Add the garlic and onion to the reserved liquids in the pot and cook until tender and the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, broth, beer, dry ingredients (except cornmeal) and hot sauce and mix well. Add the browned meat back to the pot and stir to combine all ingredients.

Bring the chili to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 2 hours. The chili can be removed to a crockpot or a large oven-safe dutch oven and allowed to cook in a 250 degree F oven for the same amount of time.

If you are making the meal ahead, the chili can be allowed to cool and brought back to temperature. Allowing the chili to cool actually lets the ingredients marry and enhances their flavors.

Place the cornmeal in a non-stick pan and gently toast the meal for about 2 minutes.You can visibly see the cornmeal darken. Remove from the heat and set aside.

About 30 minutes before serving, sprinkle the toasted cornmeal over the top of the chili and stir to incorporate fully. Replace cover and cook for 20-30 minutes more until ready to serve. Serve in your favorite bowls and top with grated cheese and chopped green onions for a hearty meal that is sure to warm the soul and inspire accurate bracket predictions!

* As you can see we used Red Gold® tomatoes. They sent us a variety pack of 6 cans of their tomatoes for us to sample which we used in this recipe. As you can see from the picture they added a gorgeous red color to the dish and a tangy sweetness that would stand up to any San Marzano tomato product on the market.

Technique of the Week: Corning

Color us confused! In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, people will dye almost anything green from potatoes and pudding to beer. So what is the deal with the pink-hued brisket otherwise known as corned beef? And, what exactly is corning?

The exact origins of the corning technique have been lost to history; however, it most likely came about as a method for preserving meat by salt-curing. The term “corn” stems from Old English and is used to describe any small, hard granules or kernels. In the case of "corned beef," the word refers to the coarse granular salts that were used to cure the beef.

The Irish certainly cooked corned beef on occasion, but it was actually rashers (Irish bacon) and colcannon (cabbage and mashed potatoes) that was their annual tradition. While most Irish families did own cattle, they were kept to provide milk (and the butter and cheeses made from the milk.) Corned beef was considered a luxury product in Ireland, so it wasn’t until the Irish immigrated to the United States that they began to eat the corned beef dishes known today because it was inexpensive and readily available in America.

Corned beef actually features prominently in many cuisines, including the Jewish and Caribbean cuisines. Corned beef is also a main part of the German dish Labskaus, well known during World War II and still served today in restaurants on Germany's Northern coast.

You are probably thinking, “That is all wonderful background information, but exactly why is the meat pink?” In corning beef, most manufacturers add saltpeter (potassium nitrate) or sodium nitrite as a food additive because it prevents growth of the bacteria that causes botulism. It also alters the color of preserved fish and meats when it combines with the meat’s natural pigment in a series of normal chemical reactions.

2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 teaspoons sodium nitrite (saltpeter sub)
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups ice

1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed

Place the water into a large 6 to 8 quart stockpot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger. Cook over high heat until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the ice. Stir until the ice has melted. If necessary, place the brine into the refrigerator until it reaches a temperature of 45 degrees F.

Once it has cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add enough brine to fully cover the meat while still being able to seal the bag. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 10 days. Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and mix the brine. After 10 days, remove the brisket from the brine, rinse well under cool water and cook as desired.

Tunisian Tuna Salad Sandwiches

The Tunisian "sun cuisine" is based mainly on olive oil, spices, tomatoes, seafood and lamb. Tunisian fare gets its distinctive fieriness from their Mediterranean neighbors and the many civilizations which have ruled the land now known as Tunisia; Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Turkish, French, and the native Berber people.

Because tuna, eggs, and olives feature prominently in Tunisian dishes, they make good meals for meatless Fridays during the Lenten season in which Catholics abstain from eating meat as an act of penance. This tuna salad works especially well for lunches which can otherwise be quite challenging for kids who take their lunches to school during Lent!

While this version of tuna salad is significantly more involved than just adding chopped onions, celery and pickle relish to a can of tuna, but it is well worth every extra minute. The potatoes make the tuna salad creamy and the lemon gives it a good tang.

• 2 7-oz. cans of water-packed tuna
• 1 large Idaho potato, peeled, cubed (½-inch pieces)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4-5 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup capers, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon Lindsay black olives, sliced (optional)
• 2 large hard-boiled Safest-Choice eggs, sliced
• 2 tablespoons Harissa (Tunisian hot chili sauce)
• 2 crusty bâtards (short baguettes)
• Kosher salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cover the cubed potatoes with cold, salted water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, about 20 minutes, then drain and let cool.

Meanwhile, cover eggs with cold water in another small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 9 minutes. Drain the eggs and cool, remove shells, slice and set aside until ready to assemble sandwiches.

In a large bowl, combine the tuna, olives, capers, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix together with a fork. Gently fold in the potatoes without mashing them too badly.

Split the bâtard(s) in half lengthwise and toast under the broiler until light brown. Spread one side of the bread with harissa and then layer the tuna salad on top and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Place egg slices on top and close the sandwiches. Cut each sandwich in half crosswise and serve with crispy chips and some homemade pickles.