 absences in Beijing is the lack of a good Chicago style pizza, and also a Chicago style hotdog. I cannot do much about the hotdog without being able to get the proper buns, but I can work on the pizza. An interesting thing about my Chinese oven is that while it is smaller than the one on the U.S., it can reach higher temps. The downside is that it uses an upper electric element to do that. But high temps are what you need for pizza. That, and a really good pizza dough. I happened on a great recipe that can keep for up to 2 weeks at a time in the refrigerator.
I use a 9 inch (23cm) cake pan that is about 1.75 inches (4.5cm) deep for my Chicago pizzas. The dough is rolled out and hand stretched with fresh flour until you get something big enough to work. Since it can be fridged again, I just trim the edges around the pan (which is greased with butter) and put it back in the bowl for next time. Then spread the tomato sauce and meats in the bottom. This pizza used hamburger and pepperoni, then layers of black olives, green peppers, thin sliced zucchini and fresh tomato slices. The layers are broken up with a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. The final step is to place a thick layer of mozzarella and a bit of salt and pepper before going in the oven.
Total bake time is only about 40 minutes at 428F (220C). The top element makes the cheese brown too quick, next time I will try to lower the pan even more, and maybe bring the temp down slightly so the crust browns first. But it did turn out very, very well and we had a nice movie night with pizza.
I wanted to use the Pampered Chef stone baking sheet that Heidi got me to try out some thin crust pizza. I used the same pizza dough recipe and rolled that out with ground beef, red onion, bell peppers, zucchinni, olives and smoked gouda cheese.
The incredible, mystical Beef Bourguignon from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, page 315. First thing was finding a good quality of top sirloin to begin the stew. 1.7 kg (about 3.75 lbs) of meat.
The meat is slow cooked with carrots and onions for 3 hours in a wine broth. This was done in my cast iron pot in the oven. The smell was amazing. Towards the end of that 3 hours I braised small onions in white wine and butter. And then about 1 lb (0.5 kg) of mushrooms quartered and browned nicely in butter.
At the end of the 3 hours the beef, veggies and juices are strained out of the pot. The cast iron pot gets a full cleaning and then the beef and veggies are layered along with the braised onions and mushrooms. The juices that were strained are put in a saucier and then reduced for about 30 minutes until they are thick enough to coat a spoon. Then this is poured back over stew in the pot, reheated, and served over fresh noodles.
I stopped by Terra in Beijing to try out the new Slow Boat beers. There is a very good bartender working there from France and he spent some time talking with me about various rums and the variety of infusions they are working with on the back shelves. I was very interested, especially after he made me a wonderful Mai Tai using their cinnamon rum.
So the first order of business was to go to Ikea and pick up a couple of jars to experiment with, and then I started out with a cinnamon and vanilla bean infusion using Bacardi Light.
And that was followed by a pineapple and ginger root infusion in Absolut vodka.
Some days a guy just needs some grilled meat. Or "chuar" as the Chinese say. The skewers they sell on the street smell tasty, but are a little too scary for me. So I came home last night and decided to grill up some things for our evening watching "Game of Thrones".
The smoke gets kind of scary even with all the windows open. It is critical to not have your clothes in the dryer when this process starts, as the grill and it share the same alcove. Everything will smell like the grill if you are not careful.
I made some more cornbread and a side of greenbeans. We did chicken wings, lamb sausage skewers and a big piece of something that was supposed to be a ribeye. A ribeye it was not, and a bit tough. Still, not too bad and I sliced it up in little pieces today and made Annie some lunch.
As I continue to look at some of my cooking techniques I went back to something I learned from Paul Prudhomme. In his Fork in the Road cookbook he demonstrates how to sautee different ingredients using fruit juices - primarily apple juice. The quick explanation is the acidity in the apple juice allows you to clear the pan and prevent burning. The flavor does not work for everything, but it does work with a surprising number of things. I have made many of these dishes from his book over the years, and finally I decided to branch out and begin trying out new things on my own.
For this dish I used chopped onion and bell peppers (red and green) and a spice mixture (definetly cajun). This was placed in the bottom of a very hot stock pot and cooked up for about 5 minutes. Once it begins to get brown on the bottom of the pot, you quickly add about a cup of apple juice. Thats the picture above. I boil this down for about 15 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken and glaze on the bottom of the pot. Then push that over to the side and add in some cubed chicken breast (also seasoned). I brown the chicken and after a few minutes add a couple of cans of whole tomato crushed up with my hands. Then some fresh chicken stock. This is followed by 4-5 cups of Chinese greens, similar to collard greens, mustard greens or bok choy.
I boil this for a few minutes and then that is served over some fresh spinach fettuccini from LMPlus in Central Park. I used to make all of my pasta fresh, but now I am just going downstairs and picking it up from Massimo. It is easier, the quality is excellent (come on - he is an Italian guy) and he has 5-6 different kinds. And a bottle of wine from him is about 160RMB which is not too bad for buying a decent wine in China.What is an Emotional/Behavioral Disability?
These emotional or behavioral responses must negatively impact educational or developmental performance; be significantly different from appropriate age, cultural, or ethnic norms; and be more than temporary, expected responses to stressful events.
Why should I care about kids with emotional/behavioral disabilities?
Students with EBD have the worst graduation rate of all students with disabilities. Nationally, only 40 percent of students with EBD graduate from high school, compared to the national average of 76 percent.
Students with EBD are three times as likely as other students to be arrested before leaving school.
Students with EBD are twice as likely as other students with disabilities to live in a correctional facility, halfway house, drug treatment center, or on the street after leaving school.
75 percent of young adults with EBD have been involved with the criminal justice system at some point in their lives.
Students with EBD typically do not respond well to traditional discipline policies and educational programs. Schools can easily and wrongly dismiss them as “problem kids,” further reinforcing the characteristics of EBD (anxiety, depression, low self-worth, aggression), which lead to cycles of discipline referrals.
With the rise of school violence in the 1990s, schools responded by securing the safety of their students and faculty by the initiation of zero-tolerance policies. The goal of zero-tolerance is to deter problem behavior by providing swift consequences for misconduct, sending a strong, “one strike and you’re out” message to students.
By focusing solely on punishment, zero-tolerance neglects to examine the root causes of problem behavior and consequently does little to prevent the behavior from reoccurring. Rather than increasing school safety, zero-tolerance often leads to increased suspensions and expulsions for both serious and mild infractions and disproportionately impacts students with disabilities.
The good news is there are numerous alternatives to zero-tolerance policies that work. Rather than cling to ineffectual strategies, many schools around the country are embracing proven (also known as “evidence-based”) models that help all students — including those with EBD — achieve success in school. These models are effective because they are rooted in prevention, build upon the inherent strengths of each student, and seek to address the underlying causes of problem behavior.
School-wide frameworks, such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), that prevent negative behaviors such as bullying, violence, gang involvement, substance abuse, and truancy.
Comprehensive and coordinated learning supports (e.g., effective discipline and positive behavior supports) that directly contribute to student social–emotional wellness, mental health, and positive behavior.
Positive school climates that promote student connectedness and family engagement.
Effective use of data to identify and address the most critical issues related to school safety and engagement.
School-based specialized instructional support personnel who are integrally involved in development, delivery, and evaluation of these services.
From PBIS to bullying prevention, inclusive education to transition planning, the educational resources presented in the Who Cares About Kelsey? Education Kit capture best practices for helping all students achieve and sustain success in school and beyond