I might actually get to bake today! But what do I want to bake? Or what ingredients do I have on hand to cook with?
Being known for having ingredients on hand can be a good thing. Usually there are at least 4 dozen eggs in my refrigerator at all times. There is at least one 25lb bag of flour in my pantry. Along with a 25lb bag of sugar. Those are the extras. I have containers that hold those bags of white stuff too. The neighbors know all they have to do is ask!
Bread flour, you ask? Of course I have a 25lb bag of that too. And I buy yeast in 1 pound vacuum sealed bags.
I'm running down my list of staples to figure out what to do today. Making sure I have what I need. For my list of 'add-ins', I would need more space than the Internet would give me. (hahaha)
This has been the strangest winter we have had in a long time. I missed several days of work due to the weather. For some reason though I cannot tell you what I accomplished on those days. Can't remember if I even baked very much. On those kinds of days I usually get some soups made, but I don't remember if I even got very many soups done. And if I didn't cook, what did I do? My house isn't any cleaner! It was a long, dreary, snowy winter is all I remember. Well, not all I remember. But all I'm willing to talk about here.
Back to baking! What to bake? I'll let you know what I come up with! Maybe....
Bacon Cookies
Salty Sweet Cookies
Brown Sugar Bread
Chicken and Rice Soup
Crumpets
Scones
Maybe I should get out some old cookbooks and find something different to do? We'll just have to see.....
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday Morning Breakfast
We had one of our "Breakfasts" in the garage on Saturday morning. It was fun! Family, Friends and Neighbors, What more could you ask for?
Ron told people 8am. I was telling them 8:30am. My Dad walked through the door as the 3rd person to get here. I got scolded! At least now I'm sure where I got that habit from. If I'm on time, I'm late! Dad was early for the time I had told him, but late for the time Ron was telling people. Sorry Dad!
I think we should do these breakfasts more often. Ron is not so sure about that. He would get better with his timing if he did it more often. Ron has never trained as a short order cook. Breakfast is easy, but takes timing. Hash browns take longer to cook than eggs. Therefore you must start the hash browns first. But if someone only wants an omelet, that can be cooked while someone else's hash browns are cooking... But you have to remember to start the eggs for the hash browns before the hash browns are done or you risk burning them. So... if we did this more often his timing would get better. What do you guys think?
Of course I forgot to get the camera out. And when I did we were just about done. But I managed to get Derek's omelet on film. The picture does not do it justice though. 4 Eggs, Lil' Smokies, Ham, Mushrooms, Peppers and onions... The bacon was gone by that time, but just about everything else that was available to put in an omelet he did. To Derek's credit he ate almost all of it. And an order of hash browns, and a scone, and a big glass of orange juice... It was way more than I would care to eat!
This time the chalkboard simply said "Garage Cafe, Order what you want, Enjoy what you get". By the time I had gotten the camera out the children had erased and written all over the chalkboard. Some day I'll get my act together! But it's not easy for an old dog to remember the new tricks, much less be able to do them.
Ron told people 8am. I was telling them 8:30am. My Dad walked through the door as the 3rd person to get here. I got scolded! At least now I'm sure where I got that habit from. If I'm on time, I'm late! Dad was early for the time I had told him, but late for the time Ron was telling people. Sorry Dad!
I think we should do these breakfasts more often. Ron is not so sure about that. He would get better with his timing if he did it more often. Ron has never trained as a short order cook. Breakfast is easy, but takes timing. Hash browns take longer to cook than eggs. Therefore you must start the hash browns first. But if someone only wants an omelet, that can be cooked while someone else's hash browns are cooking... But you have to remember to start the eggs for the hash browns before the hash browns are done or you risk burning them. So... if we did this more often his timing would get better. What do you guys think?
Of course I forgot to get the camera out. And when I did we were just about done. But I managed to get Derek's omelet on film. The picture does not do it justice though. 4 Eggs, Lil' Smokies, Ham, Mushrooms, Peppers and onions... The bacon was gone by that time, but just about everything else that was available to put in an omelet he did. To Derek's credit he ate almost all of it. And an order of hash browns, and a scone, and a big glass of orange juice... It was way more than I would care to eat!
This time the chalkboard simply said "Garage Cafe, Order what you want, Enjoy what you get". By the time I had gotten the camera out the children had erased and written all over the chalkboard. Some day I'll get my act together! But it's not easy for an old dog to remember the new tricks, much less be able to do them.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Shrimp and Salmon
I forgot to take pictures. :( We were so busy cooking that by the time I thought about pictures the food was mostly eaten. Oh darn, I'll just have to make it again.
The shrimp was so easy! I mixed equal parts of Lime Juice, Honey, Triple Sec, and Tequila. I used 1/4 cup each for 3 pounds of Shrimp. That marinated in a gallon zip top bag for about 2 hours. Then I drained off most of the marinade and dumped it all on a flat sheet pan. That went into the smoker for about an hour. The smoker was running at about 225 degrees and cooling. When they were done, I sprinkled course salt on them and set them on the grazing table. Excellent flavor.
The salmon was a bit more complicated, but well worth it. The fish eaters were raving over it. The worst part is, I hope I can remember what all I put in the marinade. As I have said before, most recipes are just guidelines. They are not written in stone.
1/2 Cup Kosher Salt (this was too much, cut it in half)
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar (I'm gonna try Sugar In The Raw next time)
2 T Dried Chopped Onion (or use fresh, 1/2 cup)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (fresh is better)
2 Cups HOT Water (boiling is good)
3 Cups Ice
Splash of Lime Juice (up to 1/4 Cup)
In a glass mixing bowl mix together everything but the ice. When everything is dissolved add in the ice. When the ice is melted pour the mixture into a 2 gallon zip top bag.(or whatever works for you) Add the salmon and squeeze the air out. Set into a long flat dish or on a cookie sheet that will fit and sit level in the freezer. If you are able to cook it the same day, marinate for at least 2 hours. Not more than 4 hours.
We had to buy the salmon on Sunday and then not cook it until Friday. Thursday night I took it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. The marinade did not ever completely freeze. Too much salt and sugar. Anyway, Ron put it in the smoker for about an hour. (225 to 250 degrees)It was tender and flaky and so much flavor! Even though the salt was a bit too much it was still fantastic.
I cannot wait to try this again!
Guess what? Ron just brought in a package of salmon from the neighbor! He wants it cooked just like we did on Friday. He was uptown on Friday night and someone from the party was there and was telling Roger about it. He just happened to have some wild caught salmon in his freezer. So now I get to try this again today!!!! (Hopefully I can remember to take pictures!)
The shrimp was so easy! I mixed equal parts of Lime Juice, Honey, Triple Sec, and Tequila. I used 1/4 cup each for 3 pounds of Shrimp. That marinated in a gallon zip top bag for about 2 hours. Then I drained off most of the marinade and dumped it all on a flat sheet pan. That went into the smoker for about an hour. The smoker was running at about 225 degrees and cooling. When they were done, I sprinkled course salt on them and set them on the grazing table. Excellent flavor.
The salmon was a bit more complicated, but well worth it. The fish eaters were raving over it. The worst part is, I hope I can remember what all I put in the marinade. As I have said before, most recipes are just guidelines. They are not written in stone.
1/2 Cup Kosher Salt (this was too much, cut it in half)
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar (I'm gonna try Sugar In The Raw next time)
2 T Dried Chopped Onion (or use fresh, 1/2 cup)
1 tsp Garlic Powder (fresh is better)
2 Cups HOT Water (boiling is good)
3 Cups Ice
Splash of Lime Juice (up to 1/4 Cup)
In a glass mixing bowl mix together everything but the ice. When everything is dissolved add in the ice. When the ice is melted pour the mixture into a 2 gallon zip top bag.(or whatever works for you) Add the salmon and squeeze the air out. Set into a long flat dish or on a cookie sheet that will fit and sit level in the freezer. If you are able to cook it the same day, marinate for at least 2 hours. Not more than 4 hours.
We had to buy the salmon on Sunday and then not cook it until Friday. Thursday night I took it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw. The marinade did not ever completely freeze. Too much salt and sugar. Anyway, Ron put it in the smoker for about an hour. (225 to 250 degrees)It was tender and flaky and so much flavor! Even though the salt was a bit too much it was still fantastic.
I cannot wait to try this again!
Guess what? Ron just brought in a package of salmon from the neighbor! He wants it cooked just like we did on Friday. He was uptown on Friday night and someone from the party was there and was telling Roger about it. He just happened to have some wild caught salmon in his freezer. So now I get to try this again today!!!! (Hopefully I can remember to take pictures!)
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