Sunday, July 24, 2016

Margarita Redux on National Tequila Day

Well, when I wrote earlier this week about Margaritas, I had no idea National Tequila Day was this weekend, and since I wrote about it, I thought I'd make a Margarita pizza for fun and post the pics.
No secret recipe and I gave you the ingredients last post.
 Before


Marinating in olive oil and garlic

Fighting with the box of gluten-free flour



 In the oven

 Sous Chef Zeus decides to take a nap while the pizza cooks.


Slice it up, time to eat.

Until Next Time...
No video today, I'm too busy pouring a shot of tequila. Speaking of...
Tequilaly Yours,
Michael

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Margarita vs. Margarita

Let's have a Margarita!!

But wait, what am I talking about? Am I saying, "Let's have a drink" or "Let's eat a pizza" or maybe both? Maybe I'm saying, "Let's drink margaritas while eating a margarita pizza!"

Beginning on the most basic level, a margarita drink is a mixture of tequila, triple sec, and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the rim of the glass. You can have crushed ice, cubed ice, or some places will make it like a slushy. You can buy margarita mixes at the store if you don't feel like squeezing fresh, but to my tastes those pre-made mixtures are always too sweet.

Now that we have our drink, what about the pizza? The margarita pizza (sometimes spelled margherita) is a subclass of the Neopolitan pizza and in it's basic form it's made with tomato, sliced mozzarella (not shredded), basil, and extra virgin olive oil.

So why the similar names on two very different items? They share no ingredients. They don't have a similar food theme. One was not created to compliment the other.

It's no surprise that the answer lies in their origins.

The drink was born south of the US-Mexican border. At least five different areas claim it as their invention, and more than a few entertaining anecdotes are used as "proof" to back-up their claim, none seem any more credible than another. Experts though all tend to agree that the drink was probably invented sometime between 1900 and 1930.

The pizza can trace its origins back to Italy where its age is indeterminable but definitely older than the drink. The margarita pizza was the basis on which all other pizzas were based. For the true pizza scholar, this is the pizza you must try if you wish to call yourself a pizza connoisseur.

As I searched for anything else that might explain why these two completely separate items might share the same name, I could only think of one thing - I associate both of them with a beautiful day spent outdoors, relaxing and just enjoying the sun.

Think I can talk The Boss into joining me? Yeah, I think so too.

Until Next Time...
I leave you with two videos - a video on how to make a Margarita pizza (this man makes a beautiful pizza!!), and while that cooks mix yourself a tasty Margarita drink to pass the time.

Margaritaly Yours,
Michael

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Re-Organization

In my professional career my company has something called a "ReOrg." That means a few departments and professional duties have been shifted around to clarify goals and eliminate confusion and overlap.

When it comes to social media, sometimes people should do that too.

So I'm having a little ReOrg myself.

First, my Twitter account MichaelPeeples (@MichaelPeeples1) which is where I spend most of my time will only be devoted to my literary efforts. I'll no longer be posting food blog updates there or any food related tweets unless they relate somehow to the literary world. This is also the account that I will post my Classics & Cheese blog and webpage updates to. I will be dividing my time between this Twitter account and my other Twitter account.

Second, my Twitter account MeatyCheesyPizzaGuy (@MeatyPizzaGuy) will focus solely on the food industry and updates to this food blog. Before, this account was simply for goofing around, but now it seems more logical to focus this twitter account on food related issues since the username is food related.

Hopefully I haven't confused everyone by this ReOrg, and if you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line.

Until Next Time....
Here's a short video with pantry organizing ideas.
Organizationly Yours,
Michael

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Grilled Cornish Hens with Asparagus

I want to put more of my own recipes on this blog, sometimes though, some of the things I make don't really have a recipe other than "throw it on the grill." I take pictures of nearly everything I cook, but when I sit down here and try to write up some sort of instructions to follow or ingredients to include, my first thought usually is, "Well, duh! Folks know that already."

Maybe it's time I do that anyway. For instance, the other morning as I peeked into the deep freezer for something to thaw that wasn't pork or beef or standard chicken, I saw these Cornish Hens I had. Yes, granted, they're "chicken" but they're tiny chickens in a manner of speaking, and I suddenly had a vision of them on a plank on the grill, and Wah-Lah!, that night's dinner was born.

Sure, I surfed the web throughout the day looking for further ideas, but I was technically supposed to be working so I knew anything that required any real prep time was out of the question. I decided to stick with my original vision even though I knew I'd have nothing original for this blog.
It was quite simple. I thawed the Hens, soaked a plank in water, eventually spread some seasonings on the poultry, fired up the grill, and put the planked birds on indirect heat. Took about an hour, but can't say I really timed it. Near the end, I took some asparagus and laid them one the grill as well. If you like asparagus, it's a real good "go to" veggie for grilling with just about anything, i.e., steak or salmon especially.

Needless to say, dinner turned out great, and even though I have no real recipe to share, I thought at least I could slap a couple of pics up here for your inspiration.

Until Next Time...
Here's a real recipe for smoking Cornish Hens, but please don't tell The Boss or else she'll make me make it next time.
Cornishly Yours,
Michael