Hard Boiled Eggs

Most people like hard boiled eggs, and we eat them in a variety of ways; straight out of the shell, sliced on a sandwich, chopped on a salad, deviled, pickled, and egg salad. The biggest debates I've experienced are about how to make them. There are several different ways, I've tried all of them, but you have to find what works for you. I was taught to put the eggs in a pot, cover them with water plus 1 inch, bring to a boil, cover the pan with a lid, turn off the burner, let sit for 20 minutes, rinse them in cold running water for a few minutes.

The next way I tried to make them was to bring them to a boil, turn the burner down to medium, and heat for 12-15 minutes before cooling in ice water. The next way was to bring it to a boil and let it continue for 8-10 minutes before cooling in running water. They ALL turned out about the same, AWESOME! But, the best way I've found to make them appears below as a recipe. Since I am single, I only make 4 at a time, bulk it up for the amount you want to make

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP distilled white vinegar
• Enough water to cover plus 1 inch
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. Bring water and vinegar to a boil over a high heat.
2. Gently add eggs (so they don't crack).
3. Reduce to a slow boil, and heat for 14 minutes.
4. Remove eggs and cool in an ice bath or under running cold water for 15 minutes.

Notes
✔ Using the vinegar helps make them easy to peel, you won't taste it
✔ Cooling them for that time shrinks the yolk so they slip out cleanly
✔ Eat cooked ones within 2 hours or refrigerate for up to a week
✔ If the yolk has a greenish color, they are overcooked
✔ Small eggs need less cook time, extra large need a little more

Remember, recipes are guidelines, not a blueprint. Take some time to figure out what works for your hard boiled eggs by experimenting with times, temperatures, etc. for the size and type of eggs you normally get. But overall, enjoy...

Thanksgiving 2012 - Part I

As discussed in Thanksgiving Sometimes IS About Compromise, I said that I'd share some family recipes handed down to me from my grandparents. Here goes with Part I, about the turkey baste and "tenting" the turkey with foil. This one is fairly simple, but other Thanksgiving entries will be made about the 2nd most important part of that meal, stuffing! Now, back to the baste.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine softened/melted
• 1/2 cup dry sherry or apple juice (apple cider works well too)
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp savory
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients
2. Brush/rub liberally on the turkey in the last 2 hours of roasting

 Recommendations

• Use a basting brush instead of your bare hands
• Use whatever you want (whiskey, vodka, gin, etc) as the liquid for the baste. Most of it will all be cooked off in the last 2 hours.
• Use Old Bay seasoning instead of the long list above, especially if from New England
• Use a large sheet of aluminum foil, folded in half, to provide a "pup tent" over the turkey as it is baked and basted in the last 2 hours. This prevents the baste from burning before it invades the flavor of the meat

Grandma's Burgers

Okay, another family recipe that has never been written down, but I can't keep it to myself, that would be selfish. This is the recipe for my Grandma Rose's hamburgers. She taught it to me so I could learn to expand my ingredients into a way to feed more people, still have flavor, and be full of nutrition. Is how you can turn 1 pound of ground meat into a way to make 6 burgers that are about 1/3 of a pound, instead of 4 that are only 1/4 of a pound. Yes, I follow it with a few suggestions.

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. ground meat (beef or sausage, your choice)
• 1 egg
• 1 slice bread
• Milk
• Italian herbs, salt, pepper, whatever you like
• Bare hands

Directions

1. Wash your hands, take off jewelry and watches.
2. Put the slice of bread on a plate or in a bowl. Soak it with the milk and let it soak.
3. Put the meat in a large bowl.
4. Crack the egg, and dump it over the meat.
5. Place the soaked slice of bread over the meat.
6. Knead mixture with bare hands, and sprinkle herbs over each layer before turning.
7. Use hands to cut the mixture in half lengthwise, and then in thirds (to get the 6 patties).
8. Form the patties and cook them on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill until they are done to the preferred taste. Then serve...

Suggestions
✔ Substitute a 2/3 cup of bread crumbs instead of the slice of bread
✔ Add 1/4 tsp. of smoke flavor sauce in the winter if cooked inside to make it taste like it was done outside.
✔ Hand press them to 1/4 pound in size and thickness to get 8 patties from 1 lbs. of meat
✔ Save at least one patty for the dog, they'll appreciate it
✔ When taking the slice of bread off of the plate of milk, lay a couple of Oreos on it to enjoy while grilling
✔ Use ground sausage instead of just ground beef, or combine them together to add flavor

City Chicken

My grandmother shared with me, a recipe for "city chicken." It is called that because back in the 1920s and through the Depression, pork was less expensive than true chicken. You just made the pork LOOK like a drumstick. For only the second time, I'm am going to share a family recipe. Regardless, it is all about the flavor and inexpensively filling your belly... plus, is fun to eat

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs boneless pork (1 1/2-inch cubes)
• 6 skewers (about 4" in length)
• Salt, pepper and desired herbs
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP milk
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cup water for a broiling pan (both parts needed)
• 1 cup oil for frying in a medium sized cast iron skillet

Directions:

1. Thread 3 pieces of pork on a skewer. 
2. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and herbs.
3. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. 
4. Put the seasoned bread crumbs in another bowl. 
5. Pour water into the bottom part of a broil pan.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). 
7. Heat oil in the skillet on MED to 350 F (175 C).
8. Dip each skewer in the egg, and coat with the crumbs.
9. Dip the skewers a second time in egg mixture and crumbs.
10. Place in the skillet, and brown, about 3 minutes per side. Only flip once.
11. Place on the top of the broiling pan when done.
12. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
13.  Bake until hot and no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. 
14. Remove foil, and bake 10 minutes more. 

Comments:

• Serves 2, if served with a salad, veggie, and cup of fruit. 3 drumsticks each (I ate one before taking the pic).
• If you didn't notice, yes, it can be made in the toaster oven too.

Tortilla Brunch

It was a late Sunday morning...it was too late to make a belly filling full breakfast, but it was too early for a light lunch of sandwiches. Thank goodness for the concept of BRUNCH!!! Combine the two... so, I did. Here it is...makes 4 of them, with a couple of small portions of leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lbs. ground Italian sausage
• 2 hash brown patties
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP milk
• 4 six inch tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Italian herbs

Directions

1. Preheat the toaster over to 425 F and then place the hash brown patties in for 15 minutes
2. While they bake, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat
3. Whisk the eggs with the milk and Italian herbs in a bowl, and pour into a small skillet. Cook over a medium heat
4. Flip the hash brown patties and return to toaster over for 10 minutes
5. Flip the eggs when needed
6. When all are done cooking, split the hash brown patties in half lengthwise and split the eggs into 4 strips
7. On a 6" tortilla, place one strip of potatoes, one strip of the eggs, cover with a few pinches of shredded cheese, add several tablespoons of browned sausage on top
8. Fold up the bottom and then each side of the tortilla
9. ENJOY!!!

Suggestions

• Top the fillings with whatever sauces (Tabasco, ketchup, mustard, etc) with what you like
• Use larger tortillas by adding more of the fillings, but that means you need to make more because the above would only make 2 tortilla brunch meals
• Serve with a side of fruit and milk (for kids) and/or coffee or tea for adults
• Use the Muggle Eggs recipe to cut down on the time to make the egg mixture

  

  Muggle Eggs

Sausage vs. Bratwurst vs. Kielbasa

An Irishman, a German, and a Polish guy are standing in a garage, each enjoying a cocktail and cigars... Yeah, it sounds like the beginning of a good joke, but it describes how my evening started. We had a very heated conversation about what the differences are between sausage, bratwurst, and kielbasa. Fortunately I had my HP tablet with me, so we searched the web. Turns out that they are all the same. We all had to come to the conclusion that we were all right, toasted, and have some suggestions on how to prepare them.

"Bratwurst" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

from brät-, which is finely chopped meat and Wurst, or sausage.

 "Kielbasa" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

in Polish “kielbasa” simply means “sausage“

 "Sausage" is best explained by Wikipedia as:

made from ground meat (normally pork or beef), mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices with a tough skin around it

The only true "differences" between all of them are the meats and herbs/spices that are used in them. The process is the same. I'm not going to make you scroll down a lot to see any of the differences, use the links if you are interested. Now read on for the suggestions we all had for you in dealing with sausage/brat/kielbasa links:

Care / Prep
✔ Put the links in the fridge as soon as you get back from the store.
✔ Use them within 2 days or simply freeze them for future use.
✔ Eat cooked links within 4 days and put them in the fridge within 2 hours of cooking them.
✔ The internal temp of a cooked link should be above 165 F / 74 C. Use an instant thermometer.
✔ Never thaw frozen links on the counter. Fridge overnight, microwave or use a Hot Water Bath.
✔ Use a different cutting board for your veggies, never chop them on one where you've cut raw meat.

Cooking

✔ Use a medium or medium-low setting to prevent the casing from splitting open.
✔ NEVER boil a link, poach it instead. Bring the water to a boil, turn it down to simmer. Put the links in and let sit for 30-45 minutes. Boiling will cause the links to shed their casing. Make sure you turn them every 10 mins.
✔ Poach links before grilling. That insures that they are cooked, the grilling just adds flavor.
✔ Do NOT pierce the casing while cooking, as it lets all of the moisture out, causing them to be dry.
✔ If the casing does split, use tongs to remove the casing before serving.

Side Thoughts

✔ Poach the links, Spiral Cut them, marinade, then grill.
✔ Blood pudding (my FAVORITE breakfast side) is nothing more than sausage made with the addition of animal blood.
✔ The butcher offers ground (non-encased) versions of the meat that can be used like ground beef. This adds flavor to the dishes you make. Purchase it in bulk instead of just "ground beef."
✔ Serve on a steak bun, to allow room for the extra veggies you grilled.

Bottom line, save a bite or two to give to your dog... they'll appreciate it deeply...

Coffee - More Important than the Alarm Clock

I mentioned in the Percolated Coffee entry how I make my coffee to enjoy it even just a little bit more than stopping at the coffee shop. Yes, I learned how to perk coffee at a very young age from my grandmother, and I was remiss in that entry to share with you some other suggestions about coffee. So here goes. For the first time ever, I'm going to share with the world a secret family recipe, and some other suggestions about coffee. I'm going to share the recipe as it was orally told to me, this is the first time it has ever been written down.

Ingredients

• 8-9 cups of water
• An egg
• Medium ground coffee
• Some cinnamon (ground or sticks, it doesn't matter)
• Saucepan, coffee pot, whisk, and cup
• Some elbow/wrist grease to make it happen

Directions

• Put about 6 cups of water in a saucepan, and bring it to a slow boil.
• Break the egg into a cup
• Crunch up the shell and toss that in the cup too
• Add 1/4 cup water to the egg and beat with a whisk
• Drop 4 TBSP ground coffee into the empty coffee pot, add 1/4 of the egg mixture to that, and slosh it around (save the rest of the egg mixture for tomorrow)
• If the water in the saucepan is boiling, pour it into the coffee pot (over the egg mixture)
• Put the coffee pot on a burner, set to LOW and simmer it for for 10 - 15 minutes

Suggestions

• After it has simmered for 10 - 15 minutes, add 1/4 cup cold water to settle the grounds, or take it off the burner for 10 minutes
• Pour it through a cheesecloth to filter out the grounds/shells
• Stick in the cinnamon stick or sprinkle the ground cinnamon to add flavor (saving calories)
• Drink it, and enjoy, finishes up a well prepared dinner on Sunday like you wouldn't believe

Yeah, there are more suggestions I could make, but I'll save them for another entry... Happy sipping in the morning to you...