Gameday Recipe: Guido’s Burrito Fritto
Football season is just around the corner so I thought I would whip out some new gameday recipes. I’ll lead off with this recipe straight out the Waco’s Little Italy neighborhood. . . if Waco had a Little Italy. Guido’s Burrito Fritto is simply a chimichanga filled with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese with marina dipping sauce.
| Guido’s Burrito Fritto |
- 4 8″ flour tortillas
- 1 TBL flour
- 1 TBL water
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
- 32 pepperoni slices
- 1 cup of your favorite marinara
- Heat each tortilla on a griddle or in the microwave. Cover with warm moist towel until you are ready for them.
- In a small bowl combine the water and flour to make a paste.
- On the bottom third of a tortilla place two ounces of cheese and eight peperoni slices.
- Fold into burrito (step by step diagram HERE).
- With a brush, paint the seems of your burrito with the flour paste. This should seal the burrito so it does not leak.
- Freeze for at least one hour.
- Deep fry at 350 degrees for 4 minutes, turning if nessecary.
You can stuff these with any or all of your favorite pizza toppings.
Recipe: Corned Beef and Cabbage. . . Pizza!
The folks over at Food Network Magazine chatted me up the other day and said, “Hey, Stu, you want some St. Paddy’s Day recipes?” To which I responded, “Heh, yeah!” Check this one out for Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza. You read that right pizza. Read on!
| Corned Beef and Cabbage Pizza! |
For the dough:
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, or 2 3/4 cups plus 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
For the toppings:
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 3 cups sliced green cabbage
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pickling spices, tied securely in cheesecloth
- 1 large potato, peeled and thinly sliced
- Freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 6 ounces sliced corned beef
- Make the dough: Whisk 1 cup warm water (105 degrees) with the sugar in a bowl; scatter the yeast over the top and set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in the olive oil.
- Whisk the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to make a rough, shaggy dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (Add more flour to prevent sticking, if necessary.) Form the dough into a ball; place in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the toppings: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage, season with salt and cook until just soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pickling spices and just enough water to cover. Simmer over low heat, covered, until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the cabbage and set aside (discard spices).
- Place a pizza stone in the oven, if you have one, and preheat to 500 degrees. Toss the potato with 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet until golden, about 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one into a 14-inch round (keep the remaining dough covered). Place the round on a floured pizza peel (if baking on a stone) or a large oiled pizza pan; drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Scatter half of each of the cheeses, corned beef, cabbage and potatoes on top. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully slip the pizza onto the hot stone, if using, or place the pan in the oven. Cook until golden and crispy, 10 to 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
Photograph by Yunhee Kim
Review: Crave with Troy Johnson
Let’s set the stage. Here is how the Food Network web site describes its new food/travel series Crave with Troy Johnson:
Hosted by food critic and journalist Troy Johnson, Crave takes viewers on a cross-country journey for the most perfect versions of the foods he craves. Enthralled by the culinary wonders surrounding him, Troy will travel anywhere and try anything in pursuit of his obsession. Whether it’s pizza and pork or fried chicken and ice cream, Troy is on a quest to discover foods that make his mouth water while taking viewers on his nation-wide expedition to indulge in his food fascinations.
For those unfamiliar with Johnson he started off life as a music journalist but somewhere along the way became a food critic. Having found his niche his star began to take off. In 2007 he became the 
senior editor of Modern Luxury’s Riviera magazine. It wasn’t long after that the accolades came rolling in. He has since branched out into broadcast media as a regular guest as a food and drink expert for KPBS radio in San Diego.
Food Network broke Troy in slowly by having him guest on shows like The Best Thing I Ever Ate before handing him the keys to Chelsea Market. And no doubt the Network is banking on Crave to help fill the void caused by the court ordered stoppage of Diners, Drive-in & Dives. Although the suit was settled last week and taping should resume soon it may be a while before new episodes hit the air. Thus the nine episode deal for Crave.
His every-man style should make for a perfect host for a show like Crave. And as a writer, Johnson knows the value of research. Check out this gem he once gave a web site, “The Romans invented the cheese wheel and used to roll them along with everything else when they were doing battle. They think this is why the Romans were able to kick everyone’s asses in Europe. Since cheese doesn’t spoil very easily, they always had a hunk of protein-and-fat-jammed energy source tucked up their man-skirts. Other armies’ food would spoil, leaving them weak and hungry. The cheese-eating Romans kicked their ass.”
So now you know the back story, it’s time for my take on what Johnson calls a, “series of unauthorized biographies of our favorite foods.” The first thing that comes across is just how natural Johnson is on camera. Not bad for a guy who has spent most of his career expressing himself in the written word. It is not an easy transition to make. His schtick of dropping one-liners steeped in pop culture or obscure historical references is reminiscent of Dennis Miller or Robin Williams.
As far as the show itself, Crave has many of the best elements of previous food/travel shows like Unwrapped, The Secret Life Of and yes Triple D. It will also appeal to fans of nerdy (for lack of a better word) shows like Food Detectives and the recently mothballed Good Eats. That is where Johnson’s pension for meticulous research pays off for the viewer. He covers each episode’s theme from both a historical and a scientific perspective. And best of all he does it with an irreverent (dare I say raunchy) sense of humor not scene on the Food Network since Anthony Bourdain.
I really liked Crave a lot. I like the host and I like the way they handle the subject matter. Visually it is shot well and seems to flow extremely well. I kept thinking, “A commercial already?”
Crave airs Mondays at 8:30pm/7:30c on the Food Network.
