Christian Bowers of Bola Pizza
Knifes are like friends; if you don’t periodically give them your attention and love they can end up hurting you. Constant. Gentle. Sharpening.
These sharping stones are typical of a friend group; they set consists of coarse, mild and fine. And, one to keep all the others in line.
Five pounds of pressure. Constant angle.
I have been working on this recipe for a while. It started out simple, then expanded to a three day odyssey and now has returned to it’s rightful place: 30 minute meal. It gets eaten fast, so why not make it fast?
The brine, the pre-dredge, the fridge dry: all out the window. Chicken straight out of the cellophane into a dredge of wheat flour, rice flour, baking powder and S&P. Shake off the excess and lets go for a dip! Isn’t that what everyone says before they go for a swim?
Rice oil at 325F until chicken gets to 175 internal temp. Pull it, rest it. Heat the oil up to a GBD temp of 375F (Golden Brown Delicious). First fry cooks the chicken, second fry sets the crust.
I never used to wash my rice. I was wrong. I do now. It doesn’t clump as much when you wash the grains a few times under running water before cooking. I now also ignore the cook time on the instructions. My rice in the past has been mushy, so I started backing off the amount of water in the recipe and the cook time. Currently, my ratio is one-to-one rice to water. Ten minutes and it’s done. I should probably break down and buy one of those rice cookers everyone is talking about, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.
We smoke our Mozzarella in house. I made these make-shift cold smokers. They are bad ass. Also on this pie are caramelized onion. That is our basic Godmother pizza. We received some Tender Belly samples of their Pancetta. Freak’n awesome. Smashed some of that goodness on top of the Godmother. Swine Mother? Godswiner? Tasty? Hell, yes.
I grew up on this salad. We called it Taco Salad. I don’t think it deserves that name anymore. First of all, the original one I was fed had little to do with a good taco. Secondarily, this current version goes beyond a typical “taco”.
Ground meat, sure. But, Thunderheart Bison is the way to go, not 90/10 beef. Pinto beans and yellow onions. We are still in the stratosphere of taco, but anarchy awaits.
Sid Miller told me, “get your Jesus juice in Oklahoma”. Actually, he didn’t tell me that. But, I was was standing next to him one time and thought to myself, “why are all these loud guys so short?” Canola oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Smoked Hungarian Paprika, Chili Powder, Honey, S&P. Tastes almost as good as Kraft Catalina Dressing.
The foundation: cilantro stems and leaves, cherry tomatoes, romaine, iceberg, and hoping my mom doesn’t read this and think that her recipe from the 1980’s with crushed Doritos was better.
Brined and breaded. Mustard and egg and braised. I like to braise the vermouth leeks separately, so everyone can be pulled out at the appropriate time.
I don’t think you can put too much Thyme in this dish. Much underused herb. Easy to grow, it takes a beating in the Texas heat and soldiers on. Small, angry little leaves with an earthy, comforting flavor.
Exhibit A: the brine unleashed. Racked to promote full and even drying in the walk in.
Cast iron on low. Everyone is in a hurry in the kitchen. Slow is one secret weapon (along with mint).
Love leeks, but they are mud hounds. Wash and dry ahead of time.
Because, they won’t char properly if they are covered in water, just laying in the pan, steaming all pathetic like. We are not making onion soup. Physics class had a lot to offer us. We failed it.
Or, as Andy Ricker of Pok Pok calls it: Kai Kaphrao Khai Dao. Thai food has many names for the same dish, but that’s cool, doesn’t make them less tasty.