Blog

Posted on

Roasted Dungeness Crab!

crab

Dungeness crab has been hard to come by this year, so when I finally decided to splurge on some, I wanted to do something special. In my mind, that of course means using the Wood Stone Home oven. Former Wood Stone Home chef Laura Dewell and I bought some live crabs at Taylor Shellfish in downtown Seattle and headed back to fire up her oven and put our heads together. I’ve always loved the Asian-style wok-roasted crab where live crabs are cut up, cleaned and cracked before roasting so that the meat soaks up all the yummy ginger, garlic, sesame oil and spices as the crab cooks. We weren’t in the mood for live crustacean dismemberment, so we compromised by par cooking them in boiling water for 8 minutes, then cleaning and cracking them. Into a cazuela they went with butter, lots of garlic, shallots, lemon juice, cracked pepper and fresh thyme leaves. We roasted them, covered in the hot Wood Stone for another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finger-lickin’ delectable! 

~Chef Ann

http://www.taylorshellfishfarms.com/

 

 

 

Posted on

Wood Stone Tuna

tuna

Knowing how well the Wood Stone home oven cooks steak, with a beautiful char on the outside while still medium rare on the inside, I decided to apply that to sushi-grade tuna. I just got a cast iron skillet smoking hot, seasoned the tuna and cooked it for about one minute on each side. Then I sliced it thin and put atop flatbread with some guacamole. I also made an hors d’oeuvre with tortilla chips and the guac. Next time I may try a wasabi mayonnaise… It was a definite crowd-pleaser!

-Chef Linda

Posted on

Tapas Party Videos

It’s the beginning of summer and a great time for casual entertaining and catching up with friends. Choose three or four easy tapas-style appetizers, ask a few friends to drop by, open some wine and gather around the Wood Stone Home oven for a relaxing and delicious evening. With salmon season in full swing, BBQ Spiced Salmon Bites with Chipotle Rémoulade might take center stage. Add in Prosciutto Wrapped Dates filled with Feta and Mint, Roasted Olives with Citrus and Herbs and Oven Roasted Padrón Peppers and you’ve got a party!

Check out our YouTube Playlist of Tapas Videos below:

Be sure to visit the Starters section of our Recipe Collection for other ideas such as crispy Oven-Fried Baby Artichokes, Pimentòn Garlic Shrimp with Orange Oil and Spiced Meatballs in Saffron Garlic Sauce.

 

 

Posted on

New Pizza Recipes inspired by Osteria La Madia

whiteClamAndGarlicPizzaA few of us from the Wood Stone team enjoyed a great dinner at Osteria La Madia in Chicago last month which included many mouthwatering dishes out of the Wood Stone Mt Baker 6′ stone hearth oven such as Fire Roasted Suckling Pig and Fire Roasted Crispy Artichokes. It was the pizzas however, which really grabbed our attention.

We’ve all eaten our share of pizza, but agreed that the pies at La Madia all had just the right ingredient combinations and proportions as well as a great bake. I came home and replicated two of them to add to our Wood Stone Home Recipe Section. The classic White Clam and Garlic Pizza gets a twist with the addition of Pecorino, fresh thyme and Fresno chiles. I also made Carbonara Pizza with Home-Cured Pancetta and Cracked Egg inspired by their version with guanciale. Delicious!

Posted on

Great Pizza Wines

winePizzaClassic wine pairings for pizza are usually fruity wines with high acidity to balance the natural acidity in tomato sauce and to help cut the fat in the melted cheese. Barbera, the varietal traditionally grown in the Piedmont region of Italy is a nearly perfect traditional pizza wine. Its low tannin structure is also key, as a highly tannic wine can combine with tomato to create an off-putting metallic taste. There are some fantastic Barberas being produced in the Shenandoah Valley in the Sierra foothills of California. The Shenandoah Vineyards ReZerve 2013 Barbera and the Helwig 2013 Barbera are great choices, AND they both just won Double Gold medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition where I recently worked as a volunteer!

Sangiovese and Chianti are great for spicier meat pies as are fruity Syrahs made in the Rhone style with nice peppery flavors. It’s also fun to break from the red wine with pizza mold by trying a full-bodied white such as Grüner Veltliner.  I love the Grüner made by Zocker from the Edna Valley in California. It has nice acidity as well as a steely minerality; a great call on pizza night.

And don’t forget bubbles! Prosecco and other sparkling wines would be delicious paired with our new White Clam and Garlic Pizza as well as other white pies. My go-to Prosecco is from La Marca, and for good value domestic sparklers I always love Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs from Sonoma and Roederer Estate Brut from the Anderson Valley in California.

-Chef Ann

Posted on

Father’s Day S’mores

Another successful Father’s Day BBQ is in the books!  This year, we hosted our family for a day of swimming and eating, courtesy of Wood Stone Home.  There were ribs, burgers, salmon, dogs, brats, and a myriad of salads; I could feed a small army with my leftovers alone! 

However, you know what I don’t have leftovers of?  The s’mores!  Chef Ann gave me the idea of making these in my Wood Stone Home oven, and now it will be a Bedell BBQ staple.  I just arranged some graham crackers with marshmallows on a sheet tray, put them in the oven for around 30 seconds, and then placed chocolate and another cracker on top of each one.  They were eaten almost as quickly as they cooked!  Well, by everyone but my son who doesn’t like marshmallows.  He had a popsicle.  But that is for a different blog post…

p.s. If you enjoy these s’mores, be sure to check out the S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pizza and S’mores Calzone for a fun spin on the old camping favorite!

-Chef Lindasmores

Posted on

Cornbread and a backyard BBQ

cornbreadThis weekend we had some friends over for a Wood Stone BBQ. They had never seen our Wood Stone Home oven in action, and after hearing me singing its praises, wanted to see what it could do. While they were impressed by the pizza and proteins it produced, they were amazed by the simple skillet cornbread that was done in minutes. 

With basic ingredients already in my refrigerator and pantry, I was able to whip this up in about 5 minutes, and it was baked and ready to serve in around 15. Though I like it with corn kernels baked in, my kids prefer it “plain” with a little added sugar; they won this time, but it’s my turn next!

Want to try your own skillet cornbread at home? Use your favorite recipe or branch out and try our Apple Cheddar Cornbread Cobbler.

 

-Chef Linda Bedell

 

Posted on

Wood Stone at the CIA

ciaBlog
Chefs Frank, Ann and Mike

I’ll be helping the Wood Stone Team at the Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Flavor conference in April again this year at their beautiful Greystone campus in Napa Valley, California.  Asia and the Theater of World Menus is the theme so we have had fun creating some Asian inspired recipes such as Tea Smoked Duck Breast with Roasted Cherry Sauce and Char Siu Pizza with Hoisin BBQ Sauce.

There are 7 pieces of Wood Stone commercial equipment at this outpost of the CIA which get plenty of use in helping to train the chefs of tomorrow.  Included in the lineup are two Mountain Series ovens and a Bistro 4343…the same ovens found at Wood Stone Home!

 

-Chef Ann

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Seasonal Recipe of the Week: Harissa Roasted Pumpkin

pumpkinHarrisa

Many roasted pumpkin recipes have flavor profiles that are a little too sweet for my taste.  I roasted some the other night with Harissa butter and the hot and savory spices were a delicious counterpart to sweetness of the pumpkin.

  • Be sure to use a sugar pumpkin; there are many varieties available in the markets this time of year.
  • Use a shallow baking dish so the heat from all sides of the oven will roast the squash evenly.
  • Cut into wedges, scoop out the seeds and fiber.  Poke all over with a fork so that the topping can penetrate the flesh
  • Mix 1 Tbsp. harissa and 1 tsp. kosher salt with 4 Tbsp. softened butter and spread over the prepared pumpkin.
  • Tent with foil to keep the pumpkin moist.
  • Click here for the full recipe: http://woodstonehomearchive.com/resources/recipes/side-dishes/harissa-roasted-pumpkin/

~Chef Ann

 harissaPumpkin