beef

• In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter, and use either fingers or a knife and fork to break he butter down into pea-sized pieces. Add the water and vinegar until it just comes together as cohesive dough.
• Flour a large, clean surface. Roll out the dough to a 12×18 rectangle. Fold it in thirds like a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
• Repeat this process 3 more times: roll out to 12×18, fold, place in fridge, wait at least 30 minutes, rotate dough, do it again. (There are videos on YouTube for visual guidance!) There will be a total of 4 roll-outs.
• Once this is done, wrap up dough again to begin baking process in 30 minutes or sometime soon, or wrap well and freeze for up to a few weeks.

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Prepare filling

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add ground beef and cook until browned and broken up into small pieces. Carefully drain off fat.
• Add diced onion and garlic, cooking a few minutes, until distributed and browned. Stir in thyme, basil, paprika, pepper, and salt. Add beef broth and tomato paste. Cook about 5 minutes to season and thicken.
• Stir in the green onions. Add 1/4 cup bread crumbs to absorb extra moisture. Grab a spoon and do a taste test. Add more seasonings and spices to preference.
• Transfer the filling to a medium bowl and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Create the plait

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Roll the puff pastry to a 12×16 rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Move it to a large piece of parchment paper.
• Eye the center of the pastry, figuring on about 4-5 inches needed down the middle to hold the meat. Use the ruler to gently mark this area. On either side of this, gently mark where strips will be cut at a diagonal, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. On the two ends, leave flaps of about 2-inches. Now, use the knife or bench knife to cut the strands using the marks.
• Bring out the cooled meat. Fold in the shredded cheese. Return to the prepared puff pastry. Sprinkle extra panko bread crumbs down the center; this will help absorb moisture and hopefully prevent a soggy bottom. Spoon the meat in a big long row atop the panko.
• Fold over the two flaps left at either end, then begin doing the braid. Bring over one strand, then bring in one from the other side to hopefully overlap. Continue going back and forth. The meat may be visible in patches or totally covered. Tuck the pastry or pretty up as needed, which may mean clipping an extra strand or two. (Bake any extra pieces along with the plait! Waste nothing. But remember any spare pastry will cook much faster than the entire plait.)
• Use the parchment to carefully transfer the heavy plait to a large rimmed baking pan. If the meat is totally enclosed, cut 3-4 slits for venting. Crack the egg into a bowl and add a touch of water. Beat the egg. Use a pastry brush to fully coat the outside of the braid (plus any extra pieces of pastry to the side).

Bake!

• Bake for about one hour. Check on it at about the 45 minutes point and cover with foil if it is browning too quickly. Add about 5-10 minutes to the hour if needed; the braid should be golden all over, and a digital thermometer should read over 165 degrees in the middle.
• Let plait set for at least 10 minutes. Use this time to prepare a veggie for the side and heat up some beef or brown gravy.
• Cut pieces of plait between the braids. Serve with gravy. Take pride in this literal showstopper you have created. Refrigerate any leftovers and heat in oven.

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• Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Dry roast and sprinkle with the pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt on both sides.
• In a large pot on the stove, heat the oil. Add the roast and brown on all sides. Set meat aside.
• Add onions, garlic, and remaining salt to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, 8-10 minutes, until browned. Add celery flakes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves, stirring in for about a minute.
• Add wine (or extra broth) and stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Add the can of broth. Return roast to the pan. Arrange vegetables around the roast while bringing the pot to a boil. Once that mark is reached, turn off burner and carefully transfer pot to oven. Cover and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meat is fork-tender.
• Pull pot from oven. Carefully remove meat and vegetables to a platter. Discard bay leaves and skim any fat from the top of the liquids. Bring pot to a boil again, cooking for 10-12 minutes, until liquid is reduced by half. (While this is going on, prepare meat by removing string and slicing or cutting into chunks.) Add vinegar and parsley to the pot. Add more salt and vinegar to taste.
• Serve meat, potatoes, and veggies with sauce. Any leftovers are great reheated on the stove over the next day or so.

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• Move rack to top third of oven and start to preheat at 425-degrees. Rub or brush a 9×13 casserole pan or rimmed baking sheet with oil.
• In a large bowl, use a big spoon to mash together the 2 Tablespoons oil, eggs, panko, liquid, salt, pepper, seasoning, garlic powder, and cheese. The goal is to create a smooth paste. Add a handful of meat. Mix in, and gradually drop in the rest of the meat to thoroughly combine.
• Use a food scale to weigh the meat, then divide that total by 8 (or any other desired increment). With oiled hands, press together meatballs, weighing each to create ones of equal size.
• Bake meatballs for 20 minutes. Use a metal spatula to carefully flip over each for the browned-bottom is on top. Bake for another 6 to 10 minutes, until meatballs are fully browned. An instant read thermometer plunged into one should read over 160-degrees.
• Serve as desired. Leftovers are great to refrigerate or freeze.

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• Place the water, olive oil, and sugar in a big mixing bowl, stand mixer, or food processor. Add the flour, salt, and seasoning, if using. Start mixing together, then sprinkle in the yeast. Mix until just combined.
• Keep in same bowl, if desired, or transfer to another bowl that is greased. Loosely cover top with plastic wrap or towel and let dough rise at room temperature until it flattens out on top, about two hours.
• Dough can be used now but is much easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a non-airtight container and use within two weeks. Dough can also be frozen in freezer bags, for up to a month, and defrosted later in the fridge.

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• Preheat oven at 450-degrees. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a cast iron skillet and place the pan in the oven to heat up.
• Grab a good handful of pizza dough, or as much as desired to bake today. Oil a small space of counter or table as well as hands, and gently stretch and press out the dough to a rough circle. If it tears, patch with other pieces of dough as best possible. Let dough rest for about 20 minutes.
• By this time, the oven should have preheated. Use a potholder to pull out the skillet. Carefully swirl the hot oil in the pan to coat the bottom and set pan down on a safe surface. Carefully, again, place the dough in the pan.
• Bake crust for 6 to 10 minutes, until it is set. Pull out of oven and add desired toppings.
• Put pizza in oven for another 6 to 10 minutes, until crust is golden and toppings are cooked to desired level. Let pizza cool for about 10 minutes, then slide onto a plate or other surface to slice and eat.
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• In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, vinegar, ginger, garlic and red pepper. Place the ribs in a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker; pour the sauce over them. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 9 hours. Depending on how the ribs are stacked in the cooker, you may want to quickly stir them at some point halfway through.
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the ribs from the cooker. Place a tablespoon of corn starch in a small bowl and add some juice from the cooker. Whisk them together to create a slurry without lumps, and add back into the crock pot. Stir. If the juice doesn't start to thicken, repeat the process with some more corn starch.
• Either keep the ribs intact, or pull meat into chunks and discard the bones and fat. Place meat in cooker again on WARM setting for 10 minutes or so to soak in flavors. Serve. Great with rice, broccoli, and perhaps a sprinkling of sesame seeds!
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• In a skillet or wok, brown beef in vegetable oil over high heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef to the crock pot. Add onion to pan and cook for just a few minutes to soak up the drippings. Add onion to the slow cooker, followed by the green bell pepper.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Sprinkle over the meat. Pour the cans of chili and tomatoes and the tomato sauce over the meat. Stir with a large spoon.
• Place lid on slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Turn heat to low, and break the meat into smaller pieces. It should flake apart under little pressure. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
• Eat and enjoy. Keep leftovers in fridge up to 3 more days, or freeze for later enjoyment.
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