Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza in Chicago is an experience unto itself. Forget the bread-like pan pizzas that you can get from the chain pizza purveyors; only real Chicago-style pizza cuts it here!

So what is it? First there is the semantics; Chicago Pizza is either deep dish or stuffed pizza, based upon the Chicago restaurant you are visiting. At it's essence, deep-dish pizza is dough pulled up into a high-sided round pan, over olive oil and and cornmeal. The secret is that the dough, once pulled up the sides of the pan, is parbaked to give the dough greater spring. Then and only then are the toppings added, beginning with the cheese - healthy slices of mozzarella usually to cover the whole bottom of the pie. And now what is added is the tomato sauce, sausage, pepperoni, extra cheeses or veggies. Otherwise, you end up with a soggy pizza. Indeed the dough is almost fried in the oil and cornmeal coating, resulting in a crunch but thick crust. I think the crust is almost as good as the pie itself.

Stuffed pizza differs in that a second layer of dough is added to the pizza after the cheeses and toppings have been layered on. The second dough layer is then covered with tomato sauce and whatever else you have ordered. In the photo at the left you see a deep dish pizza from Uno's. The photo on the right is a stuffed pizza from Giordano's.

In either case, you end up with a savory, thick and gooey pizza that you must eat with a fork and knife. Brooklyn style roll-up pizza? Fugettabboutit! If you see anybody rolling the pizza up (and if you can, well you have a mouth way too big and worthy of a Guinness Record), forgive them, for they know not what they do!

When in Chicago, most people gravitate to Uno's or Due's (sister restaurants) downtown, Giordano's, Lou Malnati's. Gino's East, Edwardo's or Connie's Pizza, but wherever you go, you will be assured of a taste experience that is so Chicago - big, bold and brassy! And for you misplaced Chicagoans needing that fix, Giordano's and Lou Malnati's will even ship overnight via Fedex - for a hefty price of course. But better still, AJ's here is Tucson carries a Gino's East Deep Dish Pizza right in their frozen pizza section:



Whatever choice you make, including vacationing in the Windy City, Bon Appetit!

Shrimp In Paper

Yesterday I was looking for something to do with some shrimp that we had in the freezer for quite some time and remembered a recipe that I saw on Emeril Lagasse's new Fresh Food Fast television show a few weeks ago. It uses simple ingredients and we always have these things on hand in the vegetable crisper and in pantry, so the decision was easy. It’s easy, Asian inspired and goes great with a nice, light rice pilaf and a crisp white wine. It turned out great!

Ingredients (per serving)

1 tsp canola oil

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup julienned carrots

1 small shallot, peeled and chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

freshly ground black pepper

6 (16 to 20 count) shrimp, shelled, deveined

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Brush an 18 inch long sheet of parchment paper with the canola oil. Working on half the the paper, layer the broccoli, carrots, shallots and the the shrimp on the paper and drizzle with the sou sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Fold the parchment paper over until the ends meet and then fold the edges together repeatedly, 4 or 5 times, creasing it with each fold to make an airtight seal.

Place the pouch on a baking sheet and place on the center rack of ghe oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until the pouches (if multiple servings prepared) are puffed up. Remove from the pan and open carefully. There were will a considerable amount of hot steam escaping. Serve immediately.

Re-Discovering Beethoven

I have always loved the music of Beethoven; its power, energy, and level of sophistication amaze and mesmerize me. No matter how many times I hear it there is always something new to discover in a re-hearing of the 3rd Symphony for example, or some new perspective to be gained from the string quartets that one had not heard before.

Great music should be this way; each new hearing of a work should enable an active listener to pull back a new musical layer, or view the entire work from an entirely new angle. It is said that Beethoven probably conceived his works as a 3D structure. Indeed, in some of his writings on his music he talked of the breadth and depth of his compositions, which would suggest this three dimensional perspective.

I am currently in a re-discovery phase, which I go through from time to time. I was thinking on this idea of three-dimensional thinking, and have been re-reading Thayer’s Life of Beethoven. Concurrent with that I have given some thought to Beethoven’s third period, in which his music became far more introspective, personal and contrapuntal. Beethoven by then was almost completely deaf and seemingly more accepting of the situation (as opposed to the anguished time in his early thirties when he lived in fear of society discovering his deafness), had turned to the music of Handel and Bach for sources of inspiration as he completely revised his compositional style.

What set Beethoven aside from his great predecessors Haydn and Mozart was his utter unwillingness to repeat himself. It was as if he approached every new composition with the question “What have I done in this genre before and how can I make it fundamentally different?” That philosophy indeed did result in distinctive works that are very different from each other in many ways. Take a look at the 9 symphonies. Each exists in its own world, and is as individual as can be. Haydn and Mozart, who wrote 140 plus symphonies between them, achieved such symphonic individuality only in their very last symphonies.

So back to this thought of viewing Beethoven’s music as a three dimensional object. I was listening to his Grosse Fuge, Op 133 the other day. This work is truly one of the most perplexing of his late period, not at all understood by his contemporaries and probably still enigmatic to listeners even today. I’ve heard it several times, recognizing the musical language Beethoven employed was a direct link to the Romantic era and beyond, yet I’ve not fully appreciated all of those musical layers I mentioned earlier.

The work is abtract, dense and a challenge even to modern performers. One must have wondered what musicians of the day thought about performing it. Donald Grout, in his History of Western Music, points to the first section of this work, along with a section of the finale of the 9th Symphony and portions of the Missa Solemnis, all representative works from this last period, which require almost a “miracle” for them to “sound” in performance.

Someone recently produced a computer driven animation of the Grosse Fuge and posted it on Youtube. As I watched the animation while listening to the music I realized how cool this treatment really was, because I could see as well as hear just how complex and yet sublime Beethoven’s late style was. It’s a shame the posting does not credit the outstanding performers or the recording used. Some of the commentary is from contemporaries of the composer:

Glimpses Of The Past

A few years ago a retired photographer in Green Valley, Arizona presented me with some black and white professional photos that he had taken of several jazz greats in the 1950's when they were at the height of their fame. Among the legends were shots Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Gene Krupa and Nat King Cole among others. Here are a few reproductions of the great work of Mr. Joseph Perillo:

Teacher Pride

I always seem to have the most motivated students in my vocal ensemble classes. They work hard, take great pride in their performances and are generally excellent self-starters. Take this week, for example. We developed a concept for a show featuring music from screen and stage mostly from the 1970's forward called "Showtime! - Memories Past and Present". Naturally we had to include music from Grease, the Disney shows, Rent and Glee.

So what did they do? After I taught them the basic music styles and concepts to make the performances valid, as well as the parts, the students went about designing their own dances and staging for the big medleys and basically ran their own rehearsals, including some at students' homes, on weekends. They also produced the show, working on their own costumes, props, and lighting designs.

All of this we incorporated into several after school rehearsals, with one student (who chiefly designed the choreography) serving as director. I envisioned this to be a student run project from the beginning and it worked very well. To be sure, there were a few spots that were under-rehearsed, but that is part and parcel with a school program in which time is at a premium. We were also dealing with the fact that their were two classes involved, and finding rehearsal time together was a real challenge with after school work schedules and sports practices. Still, they got it done, and raised a little cash too! So yes, I am very proud of them this Monday after!

What's next? Spring concert season begins, so I'll pick up the baton and start rehearsing madrigals with my vocalists. Fun!

Great Fried Chicken Recipe

Fried chicken is an all-time favorite of American cuisine and a staple of Southern cooking. Naturally it’s not diet food by its very nature, but if you can relegate a meal like this to special occasion dining only, than no harm, no foul (or should I say fowl?)

We have prepared fried chicken many times many times for our family, with varying degrees of success. Some of the batters have been good, some dry and some flavorless. So, as part of our never ending hunt for improved cooking experiences, we have looked all over for good fried chicken recipes and happened to stumble upon this one day on America’s Test Kitchen, a PBS cooking show. Yeah, it’s rich, but oh it's a keeper for us!

Here is the recipe as presented on the show, an episode entitled Southern Fare Revisited and on the show website:

A whole 4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, can be used instead of chicken parts. Skinless chicken pieces are also an acceptable substitute, but the meat will come out slightly drier. A Dutch oven with a 11 inch diameter can be used in place of the straight-sided sauté frier.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Table salt
Dash hot sauce
3 teaspoons of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings or a mix, with breasts cut in half), trimmed off excess fat
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Whisk 1 cup of buttermilk, teaspoon of salt, hot sauce, t teaspoon of black pepper. ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon paprika, and a pinch of cayenne in a large bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour up to overnight.

2. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, remaining 2 teaspoons of black pepper, ¾ teaspoon of paprika, and remaining cayenne together in a large bowl. Add the remaining ¼ cup of buttermilk to the flour mixture and combine with fingers until small clumps form. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mixture, pressing the mixture onto the chicken to form a thick, even coating. Place the dredged chicken on a large plate, skin side up.

3. Heat oil in an 11-inch diameter straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat to 375 degrees. Carefully place chicken pieces in the pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken and continue to cook the other side until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Bake chicken until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees for breasts and 175 degrees for legs and thighs, 15 to 20 minutes. Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces, so remove them from the rack as they reach the correct temperature. Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Another Dinner Riff

Now that Christmas is over and we have eaten enough leftovers I was a bit concerned tonight about what we should make for dinner. After all you can only have leftovers so many days and, ugh! Well you understand.

Looking through our fridge and pantry I discovered some uncooked chicken tenders in the freezer, so I thought a little bit on it and came up with this variation on Spanish Rice (yes we keep a lot of these spices around):

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken tender, cut into 1 inch cubes and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 green pepper, chopped fine
]/2 red pepper, chopped fine
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
3 or 4 sprigs chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup medium hot salsa
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat in a large pan and add the rice, cooking until it begins to brown. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate covered with a paper towel to drain. Add the cut chicken and cook until no longer pink, but do not over cook. Set this on the plate with the draining rice.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and saute the vegetables until the onions are clear, then add back the rice and chicken to the pan. Season this mixture with the salsa, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken stock, turn down the heat, cover and reduce until the stock is nearly absorbed. At the end toss in the cilantro.

The prep time is about 20 minutes and cooking will take 30 minutes. We served it with a crusty bread. I imagine it would work great with cold beer. We had none, so we settled for a glass of red wine.