It happens to me when I call (well really when I don't call) my mom.  I will realize that I haven't called in a week or so and think "oh, I need to give my mom a call"  then a few days later I start thinking, "gee it has been too long since you called your mom.  What if she is mad that you don't call enough?"  So I put off calling for a few more days... then I am downright scared... "I can't call now" (the next part makes no sense) "I haven't called in too long."

Sanity may not be my strong suit but that is sort of what I have been doing with my blog the past several weeks.  Sort of thinking "what if all of my blogger friends think I am a blog slacker?" Or "I am sure that everyone forgot about me anyway."  Add to that I have had a ton of things going on and haven't been able to focus very well,  I will cover some of those...

A lot of people that I know have notebooks or neatly filed index card boxes that they keep their recipes in... me I have this blog and well junk like this...

These were actually recipes that I had clipped to my refrigerator door, it is pretty normal for me to scribble ingredients on one side of a note card and instructions and notes on the back things like "rise, punch, rise" or "add veg" come up often, they make sense at the time.  I know that my notes are peculiar, not only do I look at them a few weeks later and have no idea what I was saying I can't always read my own writing.  A few days ago I was looking for my bbq sauce recipe and started poking around my blog to find it when my adult attention deficit disorder started acting up and I started reading my favorite entries and realized a couple of things

1. I am kind of a dork
2. I like my blog
So I am going to catch you all up a little...

In the past few weeks...

One day I was leaving work early (you know after only working for 9 1/2 hours).  My boss said that he would walk out with me.  When we got out to the parking garage he told me that his boss has always wanted to fire me but he never really got around to it and some of my coworkers were out to get me.  The next day he called in sick then disappeared... seriously he never contacted any of us, none of us are sure what happened to him.

We got a new dog...  Ginger (GiGi for short)

We got a new fish for Mr. Man, his name is Mr. Blue

A few days later Kris called me to say that her contract was up in a week, so she was a few days from unemployed.

Mr. Blue died... Mr. Man CRIED at the fish funeral, when we buried him in the garden under the mint.

After not working for a week and a half Kris got a good job offer.

I lost a library book (I know bad) the worst part the cost of this particular book $120.00!  I BEGGED for some dispensation but no luck there.

I finally got around to getting the cat (the one that hates me) fixed... this is what Miss Lu's room looked like once I finally got her into the carrier

I had two interim GMs at work each of them a little...  Maybe it is best that I don't finish that thought.

When he was emotionally ready Mr. Man and I went shopping for a new fish... enter Mr. Dark Blue.

I have still been playing in the kitchen and taking pictures so I have some stuff ready to go.  I have just been... well spent.  Some days I can't even bring myself to hit the "like" button on facebook let alone write an entire post on my blog.

At work my new boss started,  She seems OK.

Mr. Dark Blue died... I stopped off at the fish store without telling anyone, enter Mr. Dark Blue Two still known as Mr. Dark Blue to avoid tears, we haven't told anyone about the switch so only Kris, I (and I suppose everyone with internet access) knows.

 What I am saying is, if you are reading this thanks for letting me sort out my bizarre and annoying life and sticking with me through a sabbatical.

Baked Cheese and Monster Trucks

This is a story told from two points of view, the first is mine that way you can get an idea of what I was thinking. The second is told from the point of view of... well I guess we can call it reality...

It was a pretty typical weekday evening, we were watching television, playing and talking, you know the regular hub-bub of a normal house. Somewhere in the course of the evening I started to doze off on the couch (I mean it was almost 9:00 what do you expect from me I'm old). Kris gave me a little poke and told me to go to bed, so I started to shuffle off through the kitchen on my way to the bedroom. As I was going Kris said, "oh, sweetie we spilled some Nesquick on the floor don't sweep it up, and if it is there in the morning just leave it."

So, I go to bed thinking about how sweet my wife is with her, "don't worry about the mess honey, I know you have a lot going on," sort of comment. When I get up in the morning my normal routine is to do the dishes then get ready for work but there is a big mess of powdered chocolate on the floor so I sweep it up and Swiffer the kitchen floor before I load up the dishwasher, then I go about the rest of my morning routine.

About 6:10 Kris sends me a text "you weren't supposed to sweep the kitchen!"

I put my phone away and think, "yeah but you have the husband of the year, I sweep and do the dishes."

Nothing seems odd until I pick Mr. Man up from day care. His classroom reminds me of any episode of Cheers, when I walk in there is a chorus of 5 and 6 year old voices calling, "Mr. Man, your dad is here" (yes, I really call him that). After the obligatory round of high fives, I help my little guy with his coat and we start to head out. As soon as we step outside he stops me and says, "DO NOT sweep the kitchen floor." I didn't think anything about the comment at the time, peculiar but Mr. Man has said some strange things before. When we get home our usual routine is to set him up at the computer to play a game and get him a juice while I run next door to get Miss Lu from the neighbor that watches her after school. So I start our normal routine with the question, "hey bud, do you want to play on the computer."

"No, I want to play with this!" I follow him into the kitchen and he points to a big pile of Nesquick powder on the floor. Now is a good time to start the theme music to the "twilight zone" I admit I am lost here, I shake my head to rattle out any hallucinations and walk next door to get Miss Lu. When we get home I find this...

It turns out that I didn't pick up on all of the details... here is what I missed in my fog.

Mr. Man tried to get everything together to make chocolate milk and dropped the can of Nesquick on the floor, then came into the living room crying because he was so upset. Kris told him that it was fine, we all drop stuff (heck once in college I broke 800 juice glasses in one day) we don't make a big deal out of it. He was still upset until Miss Lu got down on the floor and showed him how to play monster trucks in the spill.

Apparently Kris told me all of this as I was shuffling off to bed; I just didn't process any of it. Mr. Man was so upset when he saw the clean kitchen floor in the morning that he cried again and Kris dumped the rest of the Nesquick on the floor for him. She ran out to Target at lunch to get one of those under the bed boxes so Mr. Man's chocolate monster truck rally can be contained.

This is going to be one of those clumsy segues to a recipe we will call this my "apology for ruining your monster truck pit lunch"

Melty baked cheese sticks...

Take an assortment of individually wrapped cheese stick snacks and freeze them for several hours or overnight.

After they are frozen preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then put together your breading set up, there isn't really a recipe here but you need three dishes:

The first bowl with flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
The second bowl with two eggs and a splash of milk.
The third with breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

I don't measure these things, you really shouldn't either. When it is time to go take your cheese sticks out of the freezer and unwrap them, cut them in half them put them through the breading process. One at a time fully coat them in your flour mixture, then the eggs shake them off pretty well and roll in your bread crumbs and put on a baking sheet. When they are all ready pop them into the oven for about 8 minutes. Take out and serve warm with marinara sauce. I have to note that it is important to work with frozen cheese; you want the crust to bake before the cheese starts to melt then it is all contained in the breading!

These are great! Mr. Man and I gobbled them up while we watched the Transfomers. I liked the Mozzarella/Cheddar swirl best, it had a nice flavor and the textures were great together Mr. Man preferred the plain Mozzarella.

Eggdrop Soup

And then I got sick...

I didn't feel that great when I got up in the morning, eventually I realized that I was completely useless so I came home from work early and laid on the couch for the rest of the day, got up a little bit later and went to bed. The next morning I did the unthinkable... I called in to sick. I know it doesn't sound like much but in the past 6 years I have called in sick... well when my appendix burst and one other time but it was kind of a graphic situation and doesn't belong on a food blog.

So I spent most of a day lying on the couch again... I just realized... I am just a butt load of fun lately. I hadn't eaten since the morning before so I knew that I had to eat something. I made a batch of "feelin like crap soup", now there are some rules to any "feelin like crap food"

• It has to be easy to make
• It has to taste good (not too spicy but I can't do bland)
• It has to be relatively healthy (not a good day for bacon wrapped anything)
• Most important it has to be made from stuff that is already in the house... I am not going out.

Today's choice for "feel like crap lunch" was my take on egg drop soup, face it chicken based soup feels good when you don't. Plus I had a good bunch of the things I need in order to make it, here is how it went today.

Ingredients
Some (about 1/4 cup) cut up or shredded chicken
2 1/2 cups chicken broth divided
3/4 cup sliced mushroom (I used baby Bella's)
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger*
1 egg
2 tsp corn starch
A little bit of chopped parsley to garnish

Sauté the chicken in a 2 quart saucepan until it is done (or reheated) to your liking, add your mushrooms and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of chicken broth then soy sauce and *ginger. Bring all of this to a boil then turn heat to a simmer. Beat your egg in a separate dish, then stir your soup and add the egg a teaspoon full at a time to your moving broth. It should cook in ribbons as you go. Mix your cornstarch with the last of the chicken broth to make a slurry and slowly add to your soup to thicken just a little. Garnish with chopped parsley.

*I keep a frozen hunk of frozen ginger in the freezer so I can grate off a little.bit at a time and still have the "fresh" ginger flavor.

Ok folks this one rocked it out! The chicken soup had that comforting flavor with the addition of the soy sauce and ginger that just warmed me up in time for my nap.

Beer and Coffee Steak

OK after this one I promise to stop the complaining about my work week but I have to get it behind my in order to move on...

My God! I had no idea what a fight my body would give me as the week went on. On Thursday morning when I rolled out of bed I had pains in places that I didn't know could hurt, sure all of the usual suspects were complaining (you know them: feet, knees, head, neck) I also had calves, fingers and I swear to God my hair hurt when I put my hat on. The next week was a little easier and I had a couple of days off on Thursday and Friday.

That is where this recipe comes in, I am going to admit that I took a moment to partake in as many indulgences as I could in this one meal. So on Friday I got Miss Lu off to school and Mr. Man off to daycare then came home and made this..

Beer and Coffee Steak and Eggs

Ok let’s talk about indulgence, you got:
Beer
Coffee
Spicy stuff
Steak
Eggs

Yes, if you look closely at the picture at the bottom of this post, that is "Monty Pyhton's Holy GrAle, it is tempered over real witches, says so on the bottle. This recipe is for two, I only made the one though nobody else was going to try this one, Kris HATES coffee and she was the only adult human that I could stand to be around by this time. Please other adult humans I know don't be offended, I was getting a little crabby and the voices in my head were getting a little loud.  My wife, though annoyed with me, can put up with this and even enjoys teasing me about it a little when my senses return.

Ingredients
12 ounces beer, one that makes you laugh helps
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Tabasco
2 boneless skirt steaks
1 1/2 TBS finely ground coffee
1 tsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Anyway this one you have to start the day before by marinating the meat (I like the flavor of skirt but it is a pain in the butt to trim so you decide) in a zipper bag put half your bottle of beer (drink the other half, and then maybe another) the Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco add your steaks and put in the fridge overnight. The next morning mix the rest of your ingredients together for a rub. Rub the steaks on both sides and set aside until it gets to about room temperature. While the steaks are tempering get the rest of your breakfast together. Throw some polenta on (I was out of grits) when that was done put the steak on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side when it is all done fry up an egg the way you like in and there you have it. Grab a cup of coffee, open a beer and turn on a Star Wars movie... and there you have the most self indulgent breakfast ever.

The rest of the day was the kind of day that helps me put things in perspective I took Miss Lu to Dance, she is so tickled with the penguin tap song (We get to dance with CANES!) here is her song. No that isn’t her dancing, it was the only recording I could find without paying, but it is such a happy song I had to share.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuLi8_VJzX8U&v=uLi8_VJzX8U&gl=US

That night Mr. Man and I went to the Monster Truck Show! Ok I never thought I would say it but a monster truck show is a lot of fun... and look at that face!  We had a great time, and maybe I can remember to keep things in balance, sometimes it is nice to have a litter reminder.

Cinnamon Apple Vodka

This entry is going to be two fold, to start with I have found a way to lose that weight that my Doctor has been bugging me about I will call it the new Subway diet.  This week we opened the Subway restaurant at work.  It has been an adventure to say the least, my days went like this:  Get up at 3:00 am throw dishes in the dishwasher, shower, shave etc... then head to work about 4:00 at 5:00 arrive at work and start the bread baking process, most days I had help but it takes about four hours in total. Around 10:00 throw some cookies into the oven then double check to make sure that everything is ready for lunch to begin at 11:00, work the line for lunch and train new staff as I can.  After lunch scurry around and get everything ready for evening, do some prep work for the next day and train staff, pull bread for the morning and leave work at about 7:30 pm for my hour commute home.

 Whew...

 I did this basic routine Sunday through Thursday then on Friday I had a day off, and didn't really do too much.  I got out of bed, took Mr. Man to daycare then started to watch a TV show and promptly fell asleep.  I woke up a little later, ate some chips and salsa and fell asleep again.  The good news, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was 9 pounds lighter than the previous Sunday, I suppose whatever gets me there.

 All that being said I'll start part two of this post, my friend that I have never met traveled from the other side of the earth to land almost literally in my back yard recently.  I had been making plans to meet Camilla and her family since the middle of last summer.  I went through about 200 menus in my head as the date approached plus I mixed up a batch of special vodka to go with the dinner that I hadn't quite planned.  While Camilla was in the area I sent her an email that said something along the lines of...

"I work this weekend and am really busy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday but after Mr. Man's Doctor's appointment and before Miss Lu's vision therapy I think that we should get together on Thursday."  Somehow that didn't work out!?!  I am sorry that I was so busy while you were here...  Oh well maybe the next visit... 

The original plan was a nice family dinner then, getting to know my friend and her family and maybe a little booze.

I made an apple cinnamon infused vodka a week or so before, it was as simple as can be.  Into a wide mouthed one liter jar I cut up three gala apples that were nearing the end of their usable life and put  in three cinnamon sticks and and two teaspoons of brown sugar.  Dump a bottle of vodka in and close, set that on the counter for about five days, shake it up a couple of times a day.  After that time pour it through a sieve and into a bottle.

I like this ice cold, it has a warm quality to it and a nice texture and goes down really well, and as a warning it does have the kick of strait vodka so be careful or if you have had a week like mine just cut loose.

Mashed Potato Bread

Ok my friends I have been on a self-imposed hiatus for a bit longer than I meant to be.  I am just going to say that some parts of my life have been just a little more stressful than I was ready for.  Here is a video clip from a recent morning. 

By the way I am the guy in the chair...

Work has been just a wee bit stressful the past few weeks; do you remember several months ago I went to sunny Milford Connecticut for two weeks to learn to make sandwiches?  Well that restaurant is only days from opening now, it is the last step in a renovation has been a several months in the making.  Floors have been ripped up, walls torn down, the whole nine yards.  I have been getting in a little before five most mornings and working looong days. By the time I get home I am tired and maybe a little crabby.  I have been doing what I can to relax as time permits.

I have mentioned before that I used to hate baking especially anything that involved yeast, I didn't understand it, add to that I had heard all of the things that can go wrong when you use yeast.

"Make sure that you stuff a towel under the kitchen door while you let your bread rise, the slightest draft will kill the yeast."
"Don't mix bread in a metal dish it will ruin it."

"You absolutely can't make bread while it is raining."

"Measure all of you ingredients very precisely, even the slightest change will ruin your bread."

Read your mom's old church cookbook for more, they are out there.

Anyway several years ago I was suffering from insomnia and found that baking bread was an excellent sleep aid.  I mean think about it:

Realize that you can’t sleep and get out of bed at about ten o’clock

Open a bottle of wine while you put a packet of yeast in warm water to open up

Mix, kneed, rise, punch, pan, rise, bake

Enjoy the smell of fresh bread baking, when the bottle of wine was empty and fresh bread came out of the oven… what do you know, I was ready to sleep.

Insomnia hasn’t been a problem for me lately since I come home every day exhausted but I still find baking to be relaxing, like doing yoga only I don’t wake up so sore the next morning.  There have been quite a few experiments going on in my house lately.  This one is great though, just as light as air and soft, the recipe based on one I found on Food Network.  It actually makes a loaf with some dough left to make rolls… nice.

Potato Bread  

1 russet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks, or 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes 1 cup milk

3 TPS butter melted

2 tsp salt

1 TBS Sugar

1 TBS yeast

1/3 cup warm water

5 cups bread flour

Boil potato until soft. Drain and reserve cooking liquid mash until smooth.

Scald milk then combine with 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid. Combine liquids and potato with butter, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile combine yeast and warm water, and set aside until foamy. When potato mixture has cooled, add yeast mixture. Then add flour a cup at a time and knead with a dough hook, or an electric mixer, until smooth and glossy, about 7 minutes.  This is that part where you have to ignore the “precisely measure your ingredients” myth.  Potatoes differ in size and moisture, you have add that last cup of flour slowly (or maybe a little more) to get the right feel.

Put dough in an oiled bowl and cover then set aside in warm place to rise about 1/2 hour. Punch dough down and knead a few times. Coat a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Place dough in pan, cover with plastic, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 30 minutes, until bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche

Say that you like cooking and catering and enjoy that as a side job with the bonus of added income.  The question that comes up is how do you get that word out?  Advertising opportunities don't just pop up, mostly with catering it is word of mouth which takes time to build.  Kris and I have been working on business cards.  We have some ideas but really haven't settled yet but more important than that is getting people that may buy your food to taste it.  Sure my friends like it when I put a dinner together and I love doing that but lets face it my friends are like me, none of us are rich and most can throw together a meal, which leaves the question still of you to reach that other audience.

Kris works at the corporate office for a large corporation, for their holiday gathering she asked if I would make something a little different to set out with business cards.  Here it is Shrimp and Scallop Ceviche!  For this buffet is is served on fresh mesculin with some flatbread. 

You will need
3/4 of a pound of bay scallops (those are the small ones)
3/4 of a pound of shrimp peeled and devained
Juice from 1 lemon, 1 lime and 1 orange
2 TBS Olive oil
1 green pepper julienned
1 red bell pepper julienned
1 red onion julienned
1 tsp Chipotle chile powder
1 tsp Red pepper flakes
chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
and, kind of a strange one here, some ketchup

Clean shrimp removing shell and tail, I cut mine in half lengthwise.  Bring a pot of water to a boil then put in your shrimp and scallops to blanch for about 10-15 SECONDS.  I keep mine in a strainer so I can pull them out quickly drop them in ice water then lay them on a sheet pan and put them into the fridge.

Juice the citrus fruit into a large bowl then add the shrimp, scallops and olive oil and toss then add the peppers, onions chili powder and pepper flakes.  Toss it all together again and refrigerate for an hour or so then taste, add your cilantro, salt and pepper and the ketchup somewhere between a couple of tablespoons and 1/4 cup.  Toss one more time and serve.

This one has a couple of oddities in it, first is the blanch for 10 seconds, It really works well on the shrimp when the dish is ready to serve it has the wonderful pop of texture but since it is only the 10 to 15 seconds almost all of the "cooking" comes from the acid in the juices.  The ketchup, you want to add enough to turn the liquid into something like a citrus barbeque sauce.  It coats everything with a sweet tangy flavor that plays well with the chipotle and red pepper.

This one is served on spring greens with a flatbread, it really worked best for the venue it was in.  If at home I like to add some avocados when I am done.

Happy Holidays!

I posted this last year but it still makes me laugh.  Now that we are in that time of year where every magazine has a cover article of "how to maintain during the holidays" and bizarre suggestions like avoiding butter, gravy or limiting desserts, Plus what the heck is low-fat eggnog?  Anyway I hope that all of you enjoy your holiday!

Oh and before you get started Frosty did make it outside, but it looks like he has some problems... when we came home a couple of days ago we found this...

 I Said, "Oh No, Frosty Fainted."

Miss Lu shouted, "He didn't faint, He is drunk again!"

When you think about it though; of course he has trouble holding is liquor he only weighs about 3 pounds

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Cranberry Vodka

So it is that time of year you know the wonderful warm holiday season where we get to spend time with our family and friends.  That warm magical season of peace and happiness....

Right.

Or maybe it is the season that we need a couple more of these

Yes folks this one is a showstopper!

To infuse the Vodka start like you would with cranberries
1/2 bag of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup of brown sugar
a little bit of water (just to get the cranberries going)
1 bottle of vodka

Put your cranberries, brown sugar and splash of water into a sauce pan and heat.  You want to cook them about half as much as you do for cranberry sauce, so remove from heat when some but not all cranberries have popped.

Pour all the cooked cranberries into a large mouthed jar then add a bottle of vodka.  Here comes the hard part... set it on the counter for about a week.  After the 6-7 days poor through a cheese cloth lined strainer then put it into a bottle, I have been keeping it in the freezer.

To mix this drink pour about 3-4 oz of cranberry vodka into a shaker, top with about a Tablespoon of orange simple syrup and shake.  Strain into a martini glass, this guy is garnished with candied orange peels.  Altogether an great drink and it should take the edge off of any family gathering.

 Maybe after one more I will be ready to put those annoying lawn ornaments outside

Potato Flatbread Sandwich

OK I fully admit that posts like my last one are part of the reason that my doctor calls me "fat fat fat"  and I really do have to admit that for me bacon is an evil temptress. I think that all of you are all pretty bright, if you have read even a few of my posts you can see that my friend the pig comes up often, but you don't know the full story... at work we make bacon by the bucket full.  So on any given morning I will walk through the kitchen and look! someone is pulling a pan of bacon out of the oven... "I better try one."  A few minutes later I will go by and there I see someone else putting bacon 50 or 60 slices of bacon into a serving pan "hmm, those look a little more done than the first batch I better try one..."  Then there is always "quality assurance, I had better inspect."  At the end of the day we go through about 700 slices of bacon... no I don't eat them ALL but I don't count on purpose.  I am pretty sure that if I could just walk past the siren song (well smell) of bacon I won't have that conversation with the doctor on my next visit...

All that being said I do try to lighten it up sometimes, this flatbread sandwich/salad does just fine for those *non-bacony meals, when I have something lighter with actual vegetables and other good stuff.  It is as simple as can be the potato flatbread topped with a grilled chicken breast and spinach with blueberry vinaigrette dressing.  It all pulls together well with a nice mix of flavors ranging from the sweet tangy dressing and the bite of goat cheese all wrapped in the warm *potaotey comfort that it deserves.

Potato Flat Bread
1/2 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp minced onion
1 tsp sugar
chopped cilantro
1/2 cup water

Mix the first 5 ingredients together then add the water,** start with half the amount the add until it is sticky but firm.  When it is well mixed cover and set aside for at least half an hour.  When you are ready to prepare cut ball into quarters, dust with flour and roll flat into about 8 inch circles.  Then throw them onto a hot lightly oiled pan, for me it worked best with a quick squirt of pan spray.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes on a side until lightly browned and flexible.  As you take them off stack them and set aside until ready to serve... I can't say how long they will last because I eat them too fast

Spinach Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1/3 cup fresh blueberries
1 tsp sugar (depending on the sweetness of the berries)

Puree all ingredients until smooth (I used a stick blender).

To assemble toss some baby spinach with some of the dressing... place a flatbread on your plate, top with the dressed spinach leaves.  Lay a sliced chicken breast on that them top with fresh blueberries, onions and goat cheese.

*it seems that I have taken to making up my own words... lets see what happens in a few years maybe they will be in the dictionary.

** I have made this three times now, twice the water was just right the other time I had to add another 1/2 cup of flour.  I never quite understand that stuff, flour seems to have a mind of it's own sometimes

Bacon Peanut Butter Truffles

I have mentioned a few times my appreciation for all things pork, I really am fond of the pig!  It is one of the things that reminds me that there must be a higher power because, well in one  package you have:
ham
chops
tenderloin
hocks
ribs
heck I have even seen their feet in a pickle jar at some of the bars that I used to go to and don't forget that yummy fatty stuff from around the belly BACON. 

Bacon is one of those things that transcends any course of any meal; there is always bacon with breakfast,  Spinach salad with bacon dressing(mmm bacon vinaigrette dressing) bacon wrapped pork tenderloin, bacon on any sandwich.  Then you can't forget beverages or dessert...  yes folks this one is about dessert.

I have talked about my friend the cookbook dealer a few times, he made another visit not to long ago and dropped off a few magazines for me, a couple of issues of Food and Wine, (from 2006 and 2008) one issue of Whole Living from 2009 and a copy of Saveur from March 2005.  Since the whole cookbook/culinary magazine thing is kind of an addiction for me I try to keep the gravity of it hidden (is there a 12 step program for that?)  I tossed these in the back of my car so nobody would find them and there they sat there with the other 30 or so cookbooks and magazines until a few days back when I took Miss Lu to dance I was looking for some reading material for the hour I was about to spend sitting in a folding metal chair.

On our way to dance class

I ran out to the car and riffled around for something to spark my interest... then there it was in the upper right hand corner "Seduced by Bacon"  I couldn't pass on that!  inside was "Peanut Butter Bacon Truffles" Ok if you have read even a few of my posts you know I had to follow up on this one!

6 strips of bacon cooked until crisp well drained
1/2 cup salted dry roasted peanuts
4 tsp sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
8 oz chocolate chips
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Coarsely chop bacon then put into a food processor with peanuts and sugar... pulse until  mixture is ground to medium fine texture.  Pour into a bowl then add peanut butter and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is firm.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Roll the peanut butter mixture into balls 3/4 to 1 inch in size and set them on the sheet, when it is all used lightly cover and refrigerate for about an hour.

Before you take them out put the refrigerator melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler stirring often to keep it smooth, then set aside until cool enough to touch.  Then take your peanut butter balls out of of the refrigerator and drop them a few at a time in the chocolate to coat then toss in the cocoa powder.

The article said that you can set them in a sealed container with some cocoa powder and they keep for about a week in the refrigerator, just bring them to room temperature before serving.  these guys only made it overnight, yes the breakfast of champions!

OK these little peanutbuttery baconey balls of chocolate really did it!  The salty sweet chocolaty candies were as good as they sound!

Cheddar Beer Bread

OK I think I am going to just write November 2011 off as my worst blogger month ever.  The month started out with a computer crash at home and it took us a couple of weeks to get a new one.  Then life went CRAZY at the end of the month with a road trip to sunny Wisconsin, then Miss EL visiting us for Thanksgiving and the weekend plus I had to work the entire time so I was BEAT!  I am going to whine like a baby for a minute here... most mornings I get up around 4:00 to make make my trek into work by 6:00.  On the weekends or holidays that I work I have to open which means that I have to get in at about 5:00 which has my first alarm going of a 3:06.  I know the difference between three and four in the morning may not seem that big but it feels huge when I am crawling out of bed.  Add to that I was trying to spend some time with everybody during my time off, at the end of seven days of it in a row I was starting to get a little addle brained.  We went to see the Muppit Movie one day and the Cunio Museum another, plus picking Miss El up and returning her at the halfway point between here and where her mom lives. 

On my seventh day in a row at work (which admittedly was a short one) someone asked what I was going to do on my days off.  Answer "I think I am going to have a drink!"  Since I think I earned it I decided to take my alcohol in every form that I could. 

Cheddar Beer Bread (shamelessly taken from Alton Brown)
8 ounces all-purpose flour

4 ounces whole-wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
4 1/2 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
12 ounces dark beer,

Preheat the oven to 375. Coat the inside of a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with the nonstick spray and set aside.  Whisk together the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dill in a large mixing bowl. Add in the cheese then stir in the beer just to combine. Pour batter into your loaf pan then bake on the middle rack of the oven until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 to 55 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

This was the first time that I have checked the temperature of bread, it worked great in this case the bread was moist yet light and fully done.   The rest of breakfast was a mess of holiday weekend leftover hash, really the perfect day off meal.

Apple Pie

Miss El, my middle daughter, called me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be able to come to Wisconsin to see her and my oldest MS. R in their play. They live in a town of about 500 their school is a couple of miles from their home and serves several towns in the area. MS R has been active in her school's theater since they moved up there five years ago, her first roll was a table in Beauty and the Beast, but she quickly moved on to bigger and better rolls. When Miss El called she reminded me that she had a small roll in this one too, the play Jane Eyre A Musical Drama yes you read that right. MS R played Mrs. Fairfax the almost deaf matron of the home, she has a knack for stealing any scene she is in and did well. Miss El was the young Jane Eyre, from her talking I expected her to have a couple of minutes on stage she really was really the only character for the first 10 minutes of the show.

The town they live in (go figure) doesn't have a hotel so I stay in a nearby town, this time I had these luxury accommodations.*


Luxury Suite




complete with Spa



and a downright bacchanalian breakfast buffet

The drive from my hotel to their house is about a half an hour over undulating roads cutting through pine woods, small farms and a bevy of apple orchards. It was the right time of year so I wanted to stop and get some apples this trip and maybe a little fresh apple cider. On the suggestion of MS R I stopped a Sunrise Orchard to pick up a bag of Honeycrisps. If you aren't familiar with them they are a really rockin' good apple a little on the sweet side and have a great crisp texture. I bought maybe a little more than was prudent so it was time to make pie.

This year I am learning how to bake dammit! I enjoy baking, I love baked goods but breads have never been my thing the whole process is too precise for me. I have spoken about my love/hate/therapeutic relationship with well flour and basically all leveners anyway I can probably count on my fingers the number of times that I have made a pie I can count on one finger the number of times I made a crust, so I threw it all in there and made this little baby.

The Crust
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
10 TBLS (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces I put mine in the freezer for about an hour
4 TBLS (about) ice water

The Filling
About 3 pounds of Honeycrisp apples peeled and cored, sliced thin
3/4 cup sugar
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBLS all purpose flour
1 TBLS butter

For the crust
Whisk flour and salt in large bowl to blend. Add butter and shortening and rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms try not to be like me and over work, for the love of god stop. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons water; toss until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide in half then flatten into disks about the size of . Wrap in plastic, chill at least 1 hour (can be made 1 day ahead). Keep refrigerated, Soften slightly at room temperature before using.

For the filling
Preheat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl mix apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Let stand until juices form, about 15 minutes then mix in flour... set aside.

Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Place dough in prepared pie dish, spoon in filling, dot with butter. Roll out second dough disk to 13-inch round. Drape dough over filling. Seal top and bottom crust edges together; trim to 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang under then crimp. Brush pie with milk and sprinkle with a little with a little more sugar. Place pie pan on a baking sheet and place in oven. Reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake pie until crust is golden brown, apples are tender and filling is bubbling thickly, if it starts to get too brown around the edges cover with foil. This will bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Let cool for at least an hour before you cut into it... I know it is hard but well worth the wait.

*I tease a little about the accommodations but I do have to admit that since I make these journeys alone and the only thing I do at the hotel is sleep I tend to find the least expensive place that I can. This hotel though lacking in luxuries is a clean place owned by a nice family.

Grilled Salad

We finally broke down and got it, yesterday Kris picked up the new desktop (we still think the laptop may be recoverable). The desktop however was never that great to begin with. I replaced the graphics card three times in the 5 years that we had it, plus it was doing all kinds of crazy stuff... every few mornings I woke up to find a blue screen taunting me and if you bumped the tower the entire thing would shut down and take about 25 minutes to boot up again.


Wow computers have changed in the last few years, I had to look up what a terabyte was, plus this thing has a wide screen and speakers that are a little bigger than a couple of dry erase markers but sound great! and the color is as good as our TV. So I am spending some time learning the ins and outs of this fancy pants new technology. So my plan over the next couple of days is to visit all of my blogger friends, and get a post in. I feel like I have been out for so long and I have found that work computers don't always play well with blog websites, I swear if I see that flippity flappin Barracuda logo again I am going to scream.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was on my typical summer grilling bender, grilled meat, grilled sweet potatoes then grilled dessert. I made a joke about having grilled everything except salad... well this is it:

Grilled autumn salad (serves 2)
2 Romaine Hearts cut in half
1 Small head of radicchio quartered
1 Fennel bulb halved
2 Apples cored and diced*
Sprinkle of shredded Cheddar

1 Cup Croutons

Apple Cider dressing

For the croutons
Dice up some French bread (I keep a bag in the freezer but if you are just making this dice up a cup of it)
1 TBLS butter
1 clove of garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat, add garlic and cook until translucent. Put in the cubed bread and toss until coated. Add salt and pepper and continue to cook stirring occasionally until crispy (took me about 15 minutes)** While they are still hot add the Parmesan cheese and toss again

For the dressing
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Apple Cider*
1 TBLS Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic minced
1 TBLS fresh fennel frond cut up

Put into a cup and hit with your handy emersion blender, set aside. This can be made a day ahead if you like.

Now here is how it all goes together light your grill and put the halved fennel bulb on, after that has been going for about 10 minutes add the radicchio then the Romaine hearts grill until everything is a little charred around the edges.

To serve:
Place the Romaine heart halves on your plate the top with sliced radicchio and the sliced fennel. Add the diced apples, fresh hot croutons then the cider dressing and cheese. I used cheddar because that is what i had in the kitchen but I think feta or goat cheese might have worked better.

*I used Honeycrisp apples and cider (next entry will explain why) but any crisp sweet apple will work
** You could make the croutons ahead but let’s face it warm croutons are sexy and you know it!

The Experiment

 Actually I have to qualify this post, I wrote it about a year ago as a guest post for another blog... When I wrote it I just put a random date on it in my blog.  I just noticed that the date is here!   which is cool, I like this one, read on...

Most weekend mornings I am the first human to wake in our house.  I putter around the kitchen with my cup of coffee and get ready for the day.  Usually I do the dishes and clean the kitchen a bit in the morning, the kitchen is really my area.  This Saturday morning I was exhausted... I slept in until almost 7:00 before I stared my day.  I got up and checked my blog then made a pot of Coffee and started cleaning off the counter while watching Food Network and loading the dishwasher.

Since I woke up a little late this day everybody was in various stages of being awake and active.  Miss Lu came into the kitchen and asked for a bowl, a big one.  Requests like this always scare me a bit especially when they are immediately followed by a request for a bottle of water.  I let it go this time and started to load the dish washer I put in three pieces of flatware and one sippy cup then it starts:

Miss Lu: Can I get some apple juice?
Bryan: you asked for a bowl and water... now Juice what are you doing?
Miss Lu: A food experiment, duh! can I get some juice?
Bryan: Ok, here you are.

Then I loaded another couple of dishes and found Miss Lu getting the pitcher of pink lemonade out of the the  refrigerator.  Again the question comes up..

Bryan: A food experiment? Where are you working? and why the lemonade?
Miss Lu: I'm at the table, it is really a drink experiment.

Then I go through the house  to figure out which table she was using, Kris stopped me and reminded me that she wasn't doing anything different that what I do... experimenting with food.  I said that I was just worried that she has water, lemonade and a big bowl and all this can lead to a heck of a mess.  Then Kris said, "sometimes you make a mess."  She is right, well except the word "sometimes" should be "usually."

So Miss Lu walked in and out of the kitchen for the next few minutes and got some V-8 Splash, Fruit punch mix, more water. I managed to keep my mouth shut even when she asked me for 2 glasses.  While I was getting those she grabbed a bag of marshmallows and ran.  By the time I got the dishwasher loaded she and Mr.Man, as kids will do, were on to other things.  It wasn't until about an hour later that I found her experiment... created on the baby doll changing table... duh Dad!

Does it look familiar?

Not quite.. Maybe

Nope here it is, can I just say "apple... tree... how far?"

Oh this one is added for fun... about a year ago I went to Wisconsin to see Miss El and MS R. in a play... While I was gone Miss Lu missed me so much that she drew a Martini for me.  I keep it up on my office wall!

Oh, you know that a recipe follows...

My Holloween Martini

Juice from half an Orange

2 1/2 oz of Black Strap Rum

1 tsp blood Orange Bitters

Ice

Splash of sprite

Mix the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well then pour into your skull and crossbones Martini glass.  Top with a splash of sprite and garnish with an orange wedge, best served next to a pumpkin.  Happy Halloween everybody!

Ooh finally it worked

I don't know if I have owned up to this yet... I like to make banana bread. I feel like I am using something that would have gone to waste, plus the house smells AWESOME when you bake it. However... My banana bread has often been compared to a brick, well not always a brick sometimes a doorstop, cinder block, box of hammers. Let’s just say it is usually... well I'll use the word "hearty" I have been trying for a lighter one and found the answer in a book.


OK, confession time and one of those moments that I take out the tatters of my "man card" and just leave it behind before I move onto the next sentence. I have read every one of Diane Mott Davidson's books. Yes I read culinary mysteries when I have the time. I am always waiting to find out what happens next with "Goldilocks Catering" and the mystery solving caterer.

Anyway in one of the novels, our hero breaks a murder case when she discovers a cake recipe that calls for baking soda but no acid… Of course any dunderhead would be able to take that information and find a murderer right? But it did make me take a look at my old recipe for banana bread recipe… Bananas, sugar, flour, butter, milk… Hmmm, nothing for the soda to react with. Then I remembered the nerdy kid next to me at the 7th grade science fair with his baking soda volcano. "Just pour some vinegar on top of the baking soda that I have in there and mom has a heck of a mess to clean up."

Say this just might work… So I tried the basic recipe that I had laying around and added two TBS of Balsamic Vinegar. That did it and I think that we can all agree that you can’t go wrong with a little Balsamic here is how the recipe ended up.

2 Cups Flour
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 old Bananas (well mashed)
6 TBS butter, melted then cooled
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup coarsly chopped Pecans

Preheat oven to 350

Put all dry ingredients into a bowl and wisk together then set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients together then add to the flour mixture and blend, just until they are mixed. scrape into a bread pan and bake for about 45 minutes. When it is done (poke it with a toothpick or knife and it comes out clean) remove from pan and let cool for about an hour...

How did it fare? Overall the opinions were good. Lighter, but still that hearty texture that it should be.

Note to my blogger friends. I am not ignoring you!!!  I am having huge computer problems right now... the laptop hasn't booted up in about a month, I have tried everything from a system restore to reimaging the hard drive, nothing has worked. Recently my desktop has been acting as if it is posessed, (blue screens, thousands of nonsencican numbers filling the screen,  random reboots etc...) I am trying to get to visit all of you but the only computer I can get to work well on-line is Kris' work laptop.

That Guy

 

I have been drawn to catering for years, Kris knows that... it might even be an illness, really work at night, on weekends, busy when normal people are having fun... but she has always been my biggest supporter when I do an event.  A couple of months ago our friends Rochelle and Dan were talking about his parents upcoming 50 wedding anniversary.  Dan was saying that they will probably get   Italian Beef Sandwiches and Polish Sausages from Portillos or some other chain caterer.  Kris stopped him with the question, "Dan, have you met my husband Bryan... the guy that has made food for you... you remember it, you almost cried when he made Christmas Dinner at your house, why don't you talk to him."

On the way home Kris apologized to me for offering my services, but I think that deep down she knew that she wasn't throwing me under the bus, she was making it clear that she wants me to do something that I love even as a side business.

As the time drew near I was putting together the menu and getting everything in order...

Oh the menu....
Chicken Breast with a Vodka Cream Sauce
Polish Sausage with Sauerkraut and Apples
Potato Pancakes
Macaroni and Cheese
Green Beans
Fresh fruit, cheese and Charcuterie (fancy pants word salty cured meats)
Oysters on the half shell
and almost as an afterthought, Focaccia I have made that for them before

In the days before we launched we discussed what to call the business we bounced around several ideas here are some:

BFine Catering
Lunah (play on Mr. Man and Miss Lu's names)
RELN catering (a play on all of the kids names)
Bryan's Bistro to You
Taste and Savour
Spatter Catering
Sinful Spoonful

Actually, Miss Lu and I liked "Splatter" I think for the scary movie undertone but it just didn't seem  to give the right feel.  We wrote  all of these on a whiteboard with a bunch of others and bounced  the ideas around for a couple of days then...
Hmm it seems to happen a lot, life got in the way. As I was making dinner for 70 I was expressing my regret for not getting business cards made for a business that we hadn't named yet and Kris said, "well if we get anyone interested I'll just write your name on a napkin and say it is 'That Guy's Catering.'"  We both stopped there, "That Guy"  hmm that kind of works, not pretentious, easy to remember.  I like the (ok, showing my age here) Marlo Thomas "That Girl" reference.

Can you believe that my sous chef made more in tips than I did?

Anyway it worked!  I did have people ask about using my services!  and we did write "That Guy's Catering" on a a few napkins and got the information needed.  So I put together a good dinner and had two or three people interested in my services overall it was a great night.

I have talked about my kitchen a few times it is a small galley style kitchen... here is how it looks after I cook for a big party...  I swear it was clean when I started cooking this is the aftermath when we got home.