Entourage.

So,  I started watching the first season of Entourage the other day. I had watched a couple of episodes in college and liked it well enough… but let me tell you, before I knew it I was done with the season. Wow. What a great show!

It has style, attitude, and great writers. Granted, they are basically writing about their friends, but so what?

I believe I will try to get all caught up, and check out the new season!

The Cast of Entourage

This is my own recipe, using chunks and pieces from others… Thanks Zea for the initial dough recipe!

Makes one loaf of stromboli, serving roughly 3-4 people.

Dough Ingredients:

3/4 Cup of Hot Water

4 teaspoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of yeast

2 cups of flour

1/8 teaspoon of salt

4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Garlic Powder (optional)

Filling Ingredients:

1-2 packages of pepperoni OR 1 package of sausage

1/2 package of sliced mozerella cheese

1/2 package of sliced provolone cheese OR 1/2 package of sliced cheese of your choice

Extra Ingredients:

Marinara Sauce

Crushed Red Peppers

1. Prepare the dough

1. Put 3/4 of a cup of hot water into a bowl.
2. Mix in 3 teaspoons of sugar into the hot water.
3. Mix in 1 teaspoon of yeast into the hot water.
4. Allow to foam for about 10 minutes.
5. Put 1.75-2 cups of flour into a large bowl.
6. Mix in 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
   1. Option: Mix in generous amount of garlic powder.
7. After it is well mixed, slowly pour in the yeast/sugar-water mixture while mixing it in with the fork.
8. As it begins to form into one massive bog, switch from using the fork to using your hands, make sure they are well covered with flour, because it gets messy.
9. When it is formed into a ball, begin kneading it. Do so until most of the excess flour is kneaded in. You can also add flour as needed, especially if you started out with less flour to begin with.
10. Pour (or “drizzle”) a bit of olive oil on the kneaded ball of dough, covering the outside…
11. Let the dough sit out in its container for 1 hour.
    1. Alternate: Warm oven to 125 degrees.
12. Cover the container with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge overnight.
    1. Alternate: Put dough in an oven safe container and place tin foil over it, sealing the edges with your fingers.
13. Take the dough out a couple hours before you are ready to continue.
    1. Alternate: Leave in 30-45 minutes until dough is doubled in size.

2. Prepare the Stromboli

1. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees.
2. Take a large baking sheet (with sides) and sprinkle flour all over it.
3. Take the large ball of dough and place it in the middle.
4. Pound out the ball of dough until it roughly covers the sheet, or creates a rectangular shape.
5. Place your layers of topping over the dough, alternating between meat and cheese.
   1. Suggested: Pepperoni / Mozerella / Pepperoni / Provolone
6. Taking one of the long sides, roll the dough/toppings into a single long peice.
7. Close the ends to hold the toppings in. You can do this by taking the dough at the ends and folding it under, or just pressing it together.
8. Pour some olive oil in your hands, and spread over the dough until it is covered.
9. Cut through the top layer of dough in diagonal slices at 3-4 inch intervals.
10. Sprinkle with seasoning on top. [I like Garlic/Red Pepper]
11. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.
12. Serve with marinara sauce.

So I heard this song on the radio today, and I couldn’t wait until the weekend to post it… its totally addicting. Has the flavor of Reliant K, one of my favorite bands back in high school and freshman year of college… love the sound… It just makes you feel like you’re floating somewhere!

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
¼ pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ cup sugar
¾ cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1 ½ t. vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature, lightly beaten
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2 inch chunks or regular old bittersweet chocolate chips.

1) Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

2) Using a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars on low speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

3) Add the vanilla and egg and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

4) On low speed, add the flour mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until they are just incorporated. If using a hand mixer, use a wooden spoon to stir them in. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour.

5) Preheat oven to 350. Adjust racks to lower and upper thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Spoon the dough using a cookie scooper 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. (makes about 23 3-inch round cookies)

6) Bake for 11-13 minutes [it’s 10 in my oven] or until golden brown around the edges, turning the sheets front to back and switching racks halfway through.

Remove the sheet from the oven and carefully slide the parchment or Silpats directly onto a work surface. When cookies are set, remove them to a cooling rack.

Grabbed from http://wordstoeatby.blogspot.com/2004/12/best-homemade-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

This week’s song of the week is addicting, and pleasantly naughty. Well not naughty in that sexual kind of way, more like angel vs. devil kind of way.