My mom introduced me to WCR (Women’s Chefs and Restauranteurs) 2 years ago when she took me as her guest to the Annual Conference in Pasadena. WCR is an organization of women in the food industry (chefs, restaurant owners, writers, farmers, sommeliers, bartenders, front of the house people) who support each other in this mainly male-dominated industry. This was at the very early stages of me starting a blog and becoming the foodie that I am now. That initial conference was a big turning point in my desire to learn to cook and bake. I was so inspired by the caliber of women in the food industry around me and also by their desire to help the next generation. This was a real case of women helping women and I was awestruck.
When I initially was planning my trip to Los Angeles and Paris with my mom, we saw that the 20th Anniversary Conference was going to butt right up to the end of our trip. We debated coming or not, were we crazy trying to fly directly from Paris into the conference? But in the end, we decided to do it. This year’s conference was a knock out. From the sponsors (KitchenAid, Bon Appetit, La Brea Bakery, Tabasco, Newman’s Own, Agnus Beef, etc.) to the chefs in attendance (Cat Cora, Elizabeth Falkner, Joyce Goldstein, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken), this was a spectacular event. The two-day event was filled with general sessions and also 3 break-out sessions (I learned about California Cuisine, Hakka and Peruvian Cooking and If There Is A CookBook In Me).
There was a fabulous Gala dinner Thursday night held at the Ferry building.
The food was all prepared by women chefs and the menu was designed and created by different women chefs in the area. It was SUPERB! Five courses – a beet salad, fish crudo, short ribs, a cheese dish that tasted like smore’s and a chocolate cake.
The second day ended with a celebrity chef competition. Three celeb chefs (Cat Cora, Lee Anne Wong and Amanda Freitag) coached three teams of chefs in a “Chopped”- like competition. SO fun to watch live.
Overall, it was a wonderful event to be a part of and I am so lucky to be a member of such a renowned group of women in the industry.
And it’s not over yet. Today my mom and I are joining a small group of WCR members on a tour of Napa! xoxo
This is the best pizza dough we’ve ever made. It’s soft, yet has a crunch. It’s easy to make (I haven’t screwed it up yet!) and easy to store (we have pizza dough for days in the freezer). It makes enough for two pizzas (great for company or when you and your fiancee disagree on what type of pizza to make). It’s just the best.
The trickiest part about pizza dough, well any dough, to me is the yeast. Has it expired? Is it working? What’s it doing there? So let me break it down for you. Old yeast (past expiration) won’t work. It won’t bubble and you will be able to see it isn’t doing what it’s supposed to. When you add good/new yeast with warm water and a little sugar, after 10 minutes it will bubble. Bubbles are good. The perfect water temperature to mix with your yeast is 110 degrees Farenheit. If you don’t have a thermoeter handy, it’s like testing a baby’s bottle on your wrist (if it’s hot for your wrist, it will kil the yeast). I usually tend to err a little bit on the colder side because I get scared. The good news if it’s a little too cold, the yeast will still bubble, it will just take a little longer.
Storage of pizza dough is easy. I wrap it in saran and stick it in a freezer ziploc. When it’s time for me to cook with it I take it out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature before using.
The Best Pizza Dough
Makes 2 large pizza doughs
Ingredients:
1 packet yeast (1/4th oz)
1 1/3 cup warm water (around 110 degrees F)
1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (original recipe had 1 3/4 cups white flour and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour)
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
In a bowl of a stand mixer. combine the yeast, warm water and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes until yeast bubbles. (If your water is not warm enough it may take a few more minutes.)
Once yeast has bubbled, add in flour and salt and begin to mix using the dough hook attached to the stand mixer at level 2 (don’t go higher than that). As dough begins to come together (30-45 seconds), drizzle olive oil into the mixer. Continue to mix until dough is well combined and is neither too sticky or too dry, about 2 minutes.
Remove dough from bowl and rub with olive oil. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a dish towel and leave in a dry place for at least one hour or until dough doubles in size. (I place mine inside an unwarmed oven.)
Once the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and cut it in two. At this point the dough is ready to be used. If you are using it in a few hours, tightly wrap it in saran wrap and place it in the fridge. If you are going to freeze it, wrap it tightly in saran wrap, place in a freezer ziploc and place it in the freezer.
Making food for a party is hard. How do you time everything so it stays warm and is ready at the right time? How do you know how much food to make per person? How do you plan a whole day of shopping, prepping and cooking? It takes practice (and lots of calls to my mom asking her to help me). One of the first party food recipes my mom ever taught me was for these spinach balls. Not only is this recipe easy, but you can prep the balls days before and freeze them or the morning of and keep them in the fridge until you are ready to heat them up. It makes planning and timing a whole lot easier.
The secret to making these balls is to squeeze the spinach so it is completely dry. Any water will make the balls fall apart. I took frozen spinach, defrosted it, strained it and then dried it with almost a half roll of paper towels into it was a shriveled up ball. This is exactly how it should look. The end result is a tasty, cheesy spinach ball that is a perfect finger food for a party. One of my favorites!
The cold weather gear has been packed (and repacked and repacked again). The suitcase is 49.9 pounds (.1 under my limit). The homecoming outfit has been tried on and changed more times than I know. And now it’s just waiting. Waiting for my flight and for him to land and for us to be together again.
In the meantime, I was thinking of some of my favorite dishes to make for Q’s homecoming. I want something with one pan, easy ingredients and that is quick since we are working with limited cooking supplies. This favorite last-minute weeknight dinner comes to mind.
This baked shrimp dish comes together easily with items I usually keep around (we buy the diced tomatoes in bulk at Costco). Ten minutes on the stove and 12 minutes in the oven. This is a delicious 30-minute meal. I love the simplicity of the flavors and the variety of ways you can serve it (rice, orzo, bread, whatever you have on hand). I cannot wait to cook it up for my man this week!
Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta
This dish tastes best served over orzo or brown rice or with a side of crusty bread to sop up the juices.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
Two 14.5 ounce cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 cup finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
1 1/4 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomato juices thicken.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, dill, and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and the cheese melts, about 12 minutes.
Hi, I'm Koko Stanley! Welcome to my little blog about cooking, baking, my life as a fiancee to an Army officer (Quincy aka Q) and living in Alaska. I love food, being in the kitchen, shopping, neon colors, pot luck dinners with my girlfriends and dogs. I'd love to hear from you! Email me: Koko@kokolikes.com / Twitter: @Kokolikes
