Don’t You Just Love a Three-Day Weekend?
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Thursday night…
light a bunch of candles and accidentally stay up too late doing nothing in particular, really.
Friday
… oversleep … take a late morning ride.
Late Friday afternoon, head over to a blues show … The Tommy Castro Band with the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue, guests: Curtis Salgado, Bernard Allison, and Deanna Bogart. Awesome show!!
Saturday morning … sleep in … cook a nice breakfast (sorry, forgot to take pictures of the flawless fried eggs I cooked.) The secret is to fry them in a little olive oil, with salt & pepper (or my favorite – Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning). Get the pan and olive oil hot before adding the eggs. Add the eggs, grind the salt and pepper over the eggs, then cover and cook to your desired doneness. Me? I like the white completely set and the yolk runny. Oh, and serve these with a healthy, whole grain bread toasted to perfection. Dip the toast into the egg yolk … mmm!
My mom used to cook eggs in bacon fat. “Basted” she called them. She spooned the bacon fat over the eggs until the white was perfectly set and the yolk turned light pink. I do this on very rare occasions because it produces the most amazing, the most perfect, the best tasting egg I have ever had. It really is a little slice of heaven, but if you eat too many eggs cooked this way, it will send you to heaven all too soon.
Hang with my sweetheart for a while in the morning and early afternoon before he goes to work.
Enjoy some Northern California Autumn colors …
Late afternoon … take a ride and savor a gorgeous Indian Summer day!
All the while, thinking about what to cook for dinner. Of course there will be salad, but I find myself really in the mood for roasted chicken … and roasted potatoes.
Salad …
Organic baby heirloom lettuce with avocado,
the last of the summer garden tomatoes (a special thank you to John & Carol), garnished with Laura Chenel chevre (http://www.laurachenel.com/), and UC Davis Centennial Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil (http://oliveoil.ucdavis.edu/). A little freshly ground coarse sea salt. A touch of freshly ground Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning. Perfection in a bowl.
Roasted potatoes …
Roasted chicken thighs …
Look at all of that juice the roasted chicken thighs produced. I just HAD to make gravy. I rarely make gravy, but this called for gravy.
OK, so there was not much fat in that juice because I skinned the thighs before roasting, so I put a about a tablespoon each of olive oil and butter in a sauce pan. Heat that until the butter is melted, add a generous tablespoon of unbleached flour. I ALWAYS use unbleached or whole wheat flour, NEVER bleached. I added some Herbs de Provence, but you can add whatever herbs you like. Whisk until smooth, add the juice from the roasted chicken and keep whisking until it bubbles. Add chicken stock as necessary to create the right consistency for your tastes. Remember to season to your taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
We enjoyed this with a 2010 Sofia Rose from Francis Coppola Winery (http://www.franciscoppolawinery.com/visit). Well, I did. My sweetie had a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/paleale.html)
Dessert … brownies …
Sunday morning …
Inspired by my friend Julie’s Saturday morning Facebook post about her homemade apple fritters, I was inspired to experiment with apple pancakes today. Using Marion Cunningham’s Buttermilk Pancakes base recipe (The Breakfast Book, p. 112), I made a few modifications:
Apple Pancakes
½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt, plain
½ cup non-fat milk
1 egg, separated
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tart apple, cut into a fairly small dice
- Put the egg white in a clean bowl suitable for whisking. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Mix together the yogurt, milk, and egg yolk.
- Whisk egg whites until light, but not quite to stiff peaks.
- Add melted butter to milk mixture.
- Add flour mixture to milk mixture and stir until just combined. Do NOT overmix!
- Carefully stir in the apples.
- Gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
- Be really careful to NOT overmix this batter.
- Cook on a hot griddle (cast iron works best) until you can see bubbles coming through the batter, then flip.
- These can be held for a short time in a 200-250 degree oven while you cook enough to feed everyone.
- Serve them hot with your preferred toppings. Me? I prefer a bit of butter and real maple syrup.
Works Cited
Cunningham, M. (1987) The Breakfast Book. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York