Naan Bread

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of getting together with some dear friends from grade school. The menu for the night was something unique that could please eveyone's pallet.

Naan Bread
Chicken Tikka Masala
Rice
Bread Pudding (made by Nikki)



For quite a long time Naan bread has interested me. The texture, the taste, and the fact that only fresh naan bread from a semi-authentic Indian restaurant would ever fulfill my craving. After careful research (a quick google search) I found a recipe with over 1000 positive reviews on Allrecipes.com

I tried cooking it two different ways. First, in a skillet on the stove top using olive oil and a nonstick pan. It looked great and tasted delicious (when you add the butter is tastes familiar maybe like a flat bread version of Little Caesars Crazy Bread) Then I thought I'd get creative and cook the rest in the oven on a pizza stone.

Both methods worked well - however the stove top cooking gave me more control (and I was able to keep a MUCH closer better eye on it)

Thanksgiving...

This year we had Thanksgiving dinner at the VA hospital. My Uncle Dave had a heart attack the Saturday before and was still in the hospital so we had to change plans a bit ... but we were still able to have full T-day dinner with all the trimings.

The turkey was a beautiful 19 pounder from Goose the Market - I used some cooks illustrated tricks including brining the turkey, drying it in the fridge (for a crispier skin) and a BUNCH of butter & herbs rubbed under the skin. Unfortunatly I didn't have a v-rack and during step 1 of  cooking the turkey breast side down the skin stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan and was pulled off when we flipped it -- but no worries I simply re coated the top with more herbs and prayed it wouldn't dry out.

Herbed Roast Turkey http://tiny.cc/ccturkey

The stuffing was Rachel Ray's Mushroom Stuffing. I started this the Wednesday night with the cubing and drying of the bread. To add some texture I used one white bread loaf and one higher end whole wheat loaf. This process takes some time - especially if you just pile all the bread in your large roasting pan. You will need to 'turn' the cubes every 30 mins or so until all pieces are dry like croutons. http://tiny.cc/raystuff

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And, no Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without Cranberry Sauce - and not that canned goo - but a sweet orange concoction using fresh cranberries & one orange. Again, a Rachel Ray recipe - http://tiny.cc/raycran

Photos of the Magical Grilled Pizza

 

Amazing thin crust pizza on the gas grill? - Cooksillustrated Late Summer Menu

This week Jordan and I cooked for some of our friends... unfortunately the pictures did not turn out... but no worries I will be making this dish again soon.

The menu includes:

• Grilled Tuscan Steak with Garlic Essence
• Stuffed Tomatoes with Goat Cheese (we used Blue Cheese), Olives, and Oregano
• Grilled Flatbread
• Fresh Peach Cobbler

The winner of the night was the amazing flat bread -- the dough was a curious Nickelodeon Gak-esc substance. It worried me and my guests until it magically turned into the most amazing flat bread ever.

Next time I want to try using one of those thin pizza cutting boards/handled things to slide the dough on the grill.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Wait Time: 90 mins (letting the peaches sit and the bread rise)
Cook Time: 60 min (Peaches first - then the tomatoes, then the steak and then the flat bread)

Late Summer Menu - http://tiny.cc/flatbread


Tips:

Flat Bread: Using all-purpose flour did not ruin the bread & add 1/3 cup whole wheat flour not the listed 1 TLBS. Be careful when putting the thin dough on the grill -- make sure you re-flour so you can gingerly flatten it back out once on the grill (try not to burn yourself)

Stuffed Tomato: Use more olive oil and perhaps use a cheese that melts better.