“Wood fired cooking is unique unto each oven and each chef. It is the chef who creates stimulating and inspired creations, who must perfectly execute the technique, but it is the oven that exquisitely cooks and accentuates the chosen ingredients.”

I couldn’t explain this dynamic more perfectly. Todd then writes,

“I believe there is no greater style of cooking that so wonderfully combines the heritage of food with the present day palate of the experiential diner. Whether you have a wood-burning oven at home or a kettle grill, cooking with wood can make the ordinary, extraordinary.”

This is the truth about wood fired cooking. Every time we fire up our Le Panyol oven, something extraordinary happens. As we all take our turn cooking for our colleagues here at Maine Wood Heat, from the craftsmen, to the girls in sales, to the CFO, it’s amazing what everyone comes up with – leg of lamb, homemade macaroni and cheese, cinnamon bread, succulent pizzas, and steaks on the hearth from a local grass-fed beef farm. We carefully collect our ingredients, and the wood fire coaxes out the very best of their flavor.

Today, for example, was another day extraordinary day here at the office. Cheryl Barden, CFO of Maine Wood Heat Co., brought in ingredients for her own lobster pizza recipe which she designed from scratch. She prepped the dough early, cooked the lobsters, sauteed the asparagus, mixed the olive oil with freshly diced and ground tarragon, and melted 1 1/2 sticks of butter. I fired up the oven for her, and the cooking began. Cheryl was the chef with an inspired creation, as Todd explains above, who executed her technique perfectly.

Step 1

Stretch & roll the dough (Cheryl uses a King Arthur Flour recipe to make the dough from scratch)

Step 2

Drizzle the olive oil and fresh tarragon

Step 3

Add dollops of fresh whole milk Ricotta – if you’re in Maine you can find it a Crooked Face Creamery

Step 4

Layer the asparagus

Step 5

Mix the lobster in with the melted butter then place the lobster on the pizza

Step 6

Add a little salt and pepper to finish off the toppings

Step 7

Slide the pizza into the wood fired oven

Step 8

Rotate the pizza every 30 seconds or so to cook each side evenly

Step 9

Pull the pizza out and let it rest for a minute

Step 10

Slice the pizza, and devour (I didn’t take a picture at this step because I was too busy eating, I apologize).

Click here to read a more detailed description of this wood fired lobster and asparagus pizza recipe, and visit our gallery to see the entire photo series.

Location: Unity, Maine

Details: Albie Barden, Heater Builder and Co-Owner of Maine Wood Heat Co., will be working on a masonry heater with an upper chamber bake oven, heated bench and brick veneer in Unity, Maine during the last week of January. The project will be structured as a workshop hosted by the homeowner and taught by Albie. Any interested mason (beginner, intermediate or advanced) is welcome to join in. The cost of the workshop is $500. Food and lodging are not included.

The dates above are flexible. Participants may decide to work through the weekend. If you’re interested in attending this workshop, please call Maine Wood Heat Co. to register (207) 474-7465, or fill out our contact form below for more information.

Workshop Sign-Up Form

“Last fall Dave and I flew out to the San Juan Islands, Washington for a wedding. After the wedding weekend we decided to “road trip” from Seattle to Napa over the next week. Upon our arrival in Napa we stopped into a winery along the route (honestly, because I was dying to use the restroom). The winery was Medlock Ames.

After taking advantage of their “facilities” we decided to kick off our time in Napa with some tapas and a tasting. We wandered around their grounds and they have a big copper topped pizza oven. Dave and I both have a huge affinity for pizza – me, just because I love to cook and eat – especially interesting pizza concoctions – and him, because he used to work in a pizzeria in Long Island in high school tossing dough and making pies.

Dave bought land in South Kent in 2004 – on a whim – and eventually built a house in 2007. Dave and I have been “sneaking” up there in between renters over the past 2 years and have really grown to love the house and the area more and more. When Dave proposed in December of 2010 and we subsequently went about planning when, where and how of the wedding Kent came bubbling to the top as the place for us!

We landed on getting married in Kent, CT on 9-10-11. Due to the number of people and ease we decided to hold the wedding & reception at another private residence on Skiff Mountain in Kent, CT… BUT we wanted to welcome all of our guests traveling in for the festivities with a Friday night welcome party. What developed was a rehearsal dinner Pizza Party and “Roast & Toast” welcome bonfire for our guests at our home in South Kent, CT.

This is when we decided Kent is the perfect space and place for a pizza oven!! So, we began researching options and we kept coming back to the ‘one we saw in Napa’ – the Le Panyol copper domed oven.

So we began getting together landscaping plans for the creation of an outdoor kitchen with the pizza oven as the piece de résistance!  One of the things we felt was important was keeping with the very natural, outdoorsy feel of the property. In particular, we wanted to use the rich, mossy and patina stones out of the 100+ year old stone walls that are running throughout the property. We partnered with a local Kent Greenhouse & Gardens landscape design firm to help make this vision come to life. And after just a few weeks we had a new outdoor kitchen and were ready for the delivery of our new Le Panyol oven from Maine Wood Heat!

Now, the beautiful copper domed pizza oven was placed onto the outdoor kitchen and provides a stunning centerpiece for all of our backyard efforts. Coupling elegance with nature for perfect harmony just in time for our wedding festivities!!!!

Thanks all!

Jen + Dave

To celebrate the holiday, I was given free reign to try something different in our wood fired oven. I chose a new twist on an old favorite, Macaroni & Cheese – wood-fired style. First, I have to give you a little history, because mac & cheese and I go way back.

I grew up eating the “stuff.” It was the macaroni in a box, with powdered cheese. I’m not sure if it even was cheese but it was orange and that was convincing enough for me at 8 years old. I didn’t eat macaroni and cheese just at lunchtime or dinner, but often at breakfast, and as a snack in the middle of the day. I was addicted. As you can probably imagine, I did not have a very sensitive palate as a kid. If I was good, or was extra helpful taking care of the animals on my parent’s farm, I got Velveeta Shells, the extra creamy kind with the “real” cheese. Had I known I would later work on my parents farm and start making farmstead cheese professionally in my late 20’s, and that I would have the fortune of working for Maine Wood Heat Co. the elite builders and designers of wood fired ovens, I would have held out for the real thing. But that’s all in the past.

When I expressed an interest and passion for the food, Scott forwarded me along a link to a Baked Mac & Cheese recipe in the Joy of Cooking. I brought in the ingredients, fresh Jersey milk from our farm, a wheel of my 6 month old Gouda-style cheese, local butter, onions, macaroni, paprika, breadcrumbs & flour. This may sound trite, but I followed the recipe (my rendition is below), and two hours later pulled the very best macaroni and cheese I have ever had, and am certain, will ever have the pleasure of tasting in all my life. I strongly encourage you to add this recipe to your holiday menu.

Please note that I was cooking for our whole crew here, so I tripled all of the ingredients. Refer to the original recipe when you begin (for recipe, click here), and just use my account below as a guide if you’re using a wood fired oven.

1. Fire up your oven, and get the temp up to about 650 degrees.

2. Fill a cast iron pot with a few cups of water and bring to a boil.

3. Add pasta and place cast iron pot in the middle of the hearth. Check it every few minutes, stirring often. After 15 minutes, the pasta was fully cooked. The temp had increased to 750 degrees.

4. Take the pasta out of the oven, strain, and pour into a baking dish. Cover and set aside.

5. Head back to the oven, rake the coals over the hearth and let them sit for 20 minutes, then rake them out of the oven and close the door. This will equalize the temperature. It had dropped down to 700 degrees for me.

6. Next, melt the following in your cast iron pot (see recipe for exact measures) – butter, flour, milk, minced onion, 1 bay leaf, and paprika. Let these simmer for 15 minutes before adding your cheese.

7. I brought in a wheel of my Gouda-style cheese, so I cut the wheel into wedges and grated it. I decided I couldn’t risk not having enough, so I used the entire wheel.

8. After grinding a little salt and pepper to taste, I added two-thirds of my grated cheese and decided to melt it all down a bit more so I put the cast iron pot back in the oven for 10 minutes before adding in the macaroni.

When the cheese melted, stir in the macaroni, and pour half of it into the baking dish. Then sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the layer of macaroni. Add the rest of the macaroni on top.

Before putting the macaroni and cheese back in the oven to finish baking, I combined a half of stick of butter with a cup and a half of breadcrumbs to make the top layer along with all the cheese I had leftover. I only had to leave the butter and breadcrumbs in the oven a few minutes before it was ready to be spooned on top of the final layer of cheese covering the macaroni.

The last step – putting the dish back in the oven to bake. It took 18 minutes at 350 degrees. When I took it out, the breadcrumbs were lightly browned and the cheese was sizzling. We let it rest for a few minutes before diving in.

I am, by no means, an expert in the art of wood fired baking, and I’m lucky to have some pro’s here at the office to guide me, but I continue to be amazed at what I’m able to pull out of the oven. I’m convinced our Le Panyol has my back. It roots for me and makes up for my inexperience and miscalculations.

I watched with complete joy and satisfaction as my colleagues ate their helpings, and happily jumped at the opportunity to serve them seconds. I’m finally feeling in the Christmas spirit.

Happy Holidays!

The oven had a little residual heat left after cooking pizzas a few days earlier, so when we started the fire, it was already 90 degrees. Once the fire took hold, and we began adding more fuel, the temperature rose about 200 degrees every 15 minutes. After one hour, we reached a temp of just over 850 degrees.

The hearth was looking warm and inviting, so with confidence, I tossed the steaks in. I watched them sizzle for five minutes and then flipped each steak and cooked them for another five minutes as Scott advised. I have to admit, whenever I grill meat, I often second-guess myself in terms of knowing when the meat is fully cooked. I did the same with the steaks in the oven and asked Scott for some help. He had me push my cheek with my finger, then push the steak. The texture was the same, which he explained was a good indicator it was ready.

Now here are two other very important tips that Scott & Cheryl taught me.

Tip #1 – Always let the steaks rest for one minute after taking them out of the oven. The outside of the meat is fully cooked and is hotter than the interior, so more cooking actually happens after you take them out and let them settle. After a minute, I cut in and revealed a perfectly cooked medium rare steak – exactly what I wanted.

Tip #2 – I noticed some residual fat on the hearth after I took the steaks out, so as I let the steaks rest, Cheryl advised me to rake the coals over the hearth. She explained that the oven is self-cleaning, but it took seeing to believing. After about ten minutes, we raked the coals back to the rear of the oven, and to my amazement, exposed a perfectly clean hearth, ready to cook our next masterpiece. See the before and after pictures below…

Overall, steaks on the hearth was a huge success. What I love about working with a Le Panyol, is even when you’re a beginner and trying to cook new things, it’s actually difficult to make mistakes. The oven is really forgiving, and what you get out of it tastes so amazing, you just gain more confidence with each firing.

With that experience under our belts, we’ve decided to branch out again and try something different. On the menu this week – a new twist to an old favorite – wood fired macaroni & cheese.

Flat $250 shipping for residential oven core packages…

During the holidays, we like to offer a special savings for our customers. Our gift this year is a flat $250 shipping fee on any Le Panyol residential oven core package, shipped anywhere in the US.

If you have been thinking of ordering a residential oven core package, there’s no better time. Save up to hundreds of dollars on shipping by ordering before December 26th. You’ll receive the entire Le Panyol oven core, a hiqh quality insulated oven door, stainless steel pizza peel, and the option of ordering other essential installation materials, including the recommended insulation and mass needed for live fire cooking and/or bread baking. The weight limit for this discount is 4,000 lbs. Handling fees are still applied to each order to ensure your oven is packaged properly and arrives to you safely.

Start shopping, or contact us to learn more about this limited time offer.

Happy Holidays!

Maine Wood Heat Co.

   Wood Fired Pizza & Artisan Bread Workshop
December 17th & 18th

Location:
MY KITCHEN
127 Green Street
South Jamesport, New York

Register:  Online or by phone (917) 887-6487

Schedule: Saturday Sessions: 10:30-3:30, 6:30-10:00; Sunday Session 10:00-3:00

A Message from Peter:

I am particularly excited to bring you this amazing workshop! I’ve got plenty of kiln dried hardwood to fire up the oven so we can turn out handcrafted pizzas, bake rustic Naturally Leavened Breads from freshly milled whole grain flour, and roast all sorts of goodies like Whole Northfork Fish, Local Duck, Autumn Vegetables and Fruits. And we’ll wash it all down with the juicy fruit forward wines of 2 of my very favorite local vineyards, Jamesport Vineyard and Shinn Estate.

Weekend Menu

Pizzas: Apple, Aged Cheddar, Sage and Bacon; Wild Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Gruyere; Autumn Squash, Radicchio, and Fontina

Breads: French Country Breads, Grape Harvest Foccacia, Sunday Morning Whole Grain Bagels!

Whole Roast Fish on a Bed of Leeks, Peconic Bay Oysters with Lemon Aioli, Rosemary Roast Duck, Honey Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Anise, Roast Broccoli with Parmesan

Apple Gallette with Fresh Local Honey Ice Cream

To kick off the holidays, we’d like to celebrate with some very exciting news we just received from Michael & Sandy. Turns out, there are many who recognize their greatness. This year, Michael was featured in the highly acclaimed Dessert Professional Magazine as one of the Top 10 Bread Bakers in America. Click here to read the full article and join us in congratulating Michael & Sandy for their remarkable achievement.

]]> https://mainewoodheat.com/blog/2011/12/jubinskys-among-top-10-bakers-in-america/feed/ 0 https://mainewoodheat.com/blog/2011/11/were-live-2/ https://mainewoodheat.com/blog/2011/11/were-live-2/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:52:33 +0000 Amy Clark https://mainewoodheat.com/?p=10542 We hope you like our new look and, even more, hope it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. We decided to revamp the Web site for many reasons, but most of all to better reflect who we are and what we do, offer more resources and ways of understanding our products, and to make ...]]> Thanks for stopping in. As you can see, things look a little different here at www.mainewoodheat.com. Don’t worry, you came to the right place.

We hope you like our new look and, even more, hope it’s easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. We decided to revamp the Web site for many reasons, but most of all to better reflect who we are and what we do, offer more resources and ways of understanding our products, and to make ordering online easier and more streamlined for our customers. If you have any feedback you’d like to send along, please do. The site is a work in progress, and like our business, is constantly evolving.

Developing the new Web site was certainly a team effort, and we’d like to thank one of the masterminds behind the project, Julie Parenteau of My Pigs Fly Design. She helped turn our visions of the new Web site into a reality.

Despite the changes we’ve made online, we still remain pretty old fashioned when it comes to working with our customers. We still sketch designs on napkins during lunch meetings and always prefer sharing ideas next to a wood fire or over a slice of pizza.

Thanks again for checking in. We hope to hear from you soon.

Cheers!

Maine Wood Heat Co.

Kim, owner of Pizzeria Lola in Minneapolis, was given the ever deserving title of one of the top “Wonder Women” in the pizza world. The article pays tribute to Ann’s successful pizzeria, business savvy mind and unyielding work ethic.

Click here to read more about Ann Kim, her journey to the top, and what makes her wood-fired pizzeria stand apart from the rest.