Winter Weight

by Chris Rannow

Well, it’s official. I’ve reached my winter weight. And why wouldn’t I? With temperatures hovering around negative 20 degrees here in Wisconsin, there is not much else to do except cook, eat, work on boat projects, and repeat. With that said, I am going to talk about some of the cooking Judy and I have been doing.

I received a sous vide as a gift from my youngest child for Christmas. Now, I’ve heard other people talk about cooking using the sous vide method and how much they enjoyed it, but I was always somewhat skeptical about it. Boy was I wrong. I think we cooked the first 10 out of 12 meals using it. We cooked everything from pork loins to corned beef, rib eyes and T-bones, chicken wings and thighs, shrimp, and even carrots. All I have to say is WOW! If I had my way, every steak I have from here on out will be prepared in the sous vide and then grilled or broiled quickly (one and a half minutes a side) for a nice, charred exterior. If you’re ever on the fence about getting one or trying it, I would recommend you do so. The internet is full of great recipes. Remember, the only limit is your imagination.

Here at the Rannow house, we are big fans of America’s Test Kitchen, Cooks Country, and Milk Street. We watch the shows, bought the cookbooks, and even subscribed to their websites. Lots of great stuff to be had from all their venues. One in particular is a simple pizza crust recipe from the Milk Street cookbook that uses King Arthur (remember the name) bread flour. Nothing real fancy, but easy to make and pretty tasty. Judy is a wizard when it comes to creating her own sauce. And I don’t just mean tomato sauce. She makes some crazy stuff with some crazy ingredients to put on her pizzas. Of course, I always tell her she’s crazy and that it will never work. I am ALWAYS wrong. She kicks my butt when it comes to making tasty pizzas. I mention the homemade pizzas to you because it has become a real favorite in our house. Not just the pizzas themselves, but the time we spend together creating them. I only wish our children were young again and here to join in.

Now, let’s talk about the King Arthur flour I mentioned earlier. Be it bread flour or all-purpose flour, King Arthur has a higher protein content, producing crusts with good flavor, nicely crisped surfaces, and a satisfying chew. I recently visited and created an account at the King Aruthur Baking website and found an AMAZING new pizza crust recipe. Well, let me tell you, I have never made a crust like this one. Talk about sticky dough! There were a few times where things could have gone bad quickly if it were not for Judy helping me. The dough itself has two 90-minute rest periods along with multiple 15-minute rest periods. The payoff was well worth it! Light, airy, crispy, and not dry or doughy at all. Judy mentioned the test would be how things tasted the next morning. Oh, did I mention, Judy is a cold pizza junkie? It turned out the cold pizza we had for breakfast this morning was excellent.

The next crust we will be making is also from the King Arthur Baking website. It is a flaky, almost puff pastry like crust that is their 2026 crust of the year. Stay tuned for reviews.