Earl Cooks Jurassic Pork - RIBS

I was in Sprouts Market the other day and I walked past their Butcher Shop, and something caught my eye...Country Style Ribs ON SALE! We love pork at our house, what with bacon, ham, pulled pork, sausage, chops, etc. We eat more pork than any other meat.These were very large and very good looking. I started with 3 simple ingredients: a new Applewood Rub from McCormick in their Grill Mates line; a Hickory BBQ sauce; and the Jurassic Ribs.
—I started by preheating my oven to a low 225℉. Low and slow was my approach, and I had all the time I needed.
—Next I covered the ribs with the rub on both sides.
—Then I placed the rubbed ribs on a baking sheet I had lined with SALT and covered the salt with a baking rack. The salt created a layer for the fat to drip into without burning and makes for quick cleanup.
—I placed the rack of rubbed ribs on the center rack of my oven for 60 minutes. —After the 60 minutes had passed, I turned the top element of my oven on to apply heat from the top-down. You could also simply flip the ribs over if your oven doesn't have a top element. Now is a good time for rotating the rack of rubbed ribs front to back for even heating.
—Remember, cooking times depend on the thickness of your ribs, so adjust accordingly.
—Lastly, I remove the rubbed rib rack and slather on the BBQ sauce. Use your favorite, or make one of your own. Place the ribs back in the oven at 250℉ for 15 minutes on each side. By now they should be tender and juicy.

I was very happy with the new rub and recommend it! I served ours up with riced cauliflower and a few tomatoes and it was great, and provided lunch for my wife the next day. It was so good in fact that I went back to the butcher and and picked up several more meals worth for us. I will happily live in a Jurassic Pork World!

"Turkey" Cooks Cookies

Have you ever wondered why cookies are called cookies and not bakies or something else? Cooking cookies is almost lyrical and baking cookies kind of sticks in your throat, like badly baked cookies!

But today my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") is baking up a storm...it's raining COOKIES (well technically it's snowing cookies, since it is below 30℉ outside)! She is a marvel. She finds a recipe, uses the ingredients it calls for, bakes for the time and temp. the recipe calls for, and like magic—COOKIES! Today I am doubly lucky because she is making caramel & chocolate chip—two batches, two flavors. The recipes won't be found here, because they are the ones on the package of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips & Caramel Baking Chips. Something interesting my wife noted was that the caramel chip recipe called for using twice a much dough per cookie. The result was a much thicker cookie after baking. From my perspective they both tasted great and homemade cookies are right up there with homemade bread on the lusciousness chart!

P.S.: Have a LOT of milk on hand, it is the natural accompaniment to cookies like these and will go FAST!

Earl Cooks Ramen? Really!

Most of my adult life I have shunned RAMEN. It was just salt and flour with a bit of artificial flavorings and dehydrated vegetables. In the last few years, RAMEN has taken a position of status in various Asian cuisines and recipes. Dedicated RAMEN restaurants are even popping up all over. My father-in-law loved pasta and his quick comfort food was RAMEN with chunks of baloney thrown in, neither of which are foods I eat. But by grandboys and daughter #1 like RAMEN and occasionally rely on it as a full meal. I recall, while working at Wal-Mart that, several associates when it was close to payday and their funds were low, would use it to survive to another paycheck. Live to eat, not eat to live. It is rare indeed for me to eat something because I NEED it, so this would never have been an answer for my own hunger but...
With all of the recent attention, I started to consider recipes for RAMEN. I noticed that they look good, are complicated, and take a LOT of time. I didn't want an experiment of that magnitude but I knew 3 things

1. I had cheap RAMEN noodles I had purchased for my grandboys
2. I had a few Lit'l Smokies in the fridge and
3. All the recipes I had seen used an egg as a topping

I decided to use these 3 ingredients and try to approximate something that it was not...REAL RAMEN. I didn't know if it would work, and I don't know if it is at all comparable, but I wanted to do it.
First - I cooked the noodles in the microwave per package instructions.
Next - While the noodles cooked, I steamed an egg for the topping, leaving the yolk very runny.
Finally - I added the smokies to the hot broth and noodles and stirred them. The broth warmed the smokies and the smokies cooled the broth. I gingerly place my perfect egg on top of the noodle/broth/smokies mixture and my experiment was almost complete. I pierced my egg, allowing the yolk to mingle with, and flavor the broth. I added fresh cracked pepper and attacked it with a fork. I was quite pleased, and it was such a success that I may try to make a more difficult version. Even my grandboys would have approved!

Earl & "Turkey" Binge at Red Lobsterfest

We like Red Lobster. As "Turkey" (a.k.a. my wife) commented "we have never had a bad meal here"! It is also the most expensive place we eat. We have celebrated anniversaries, birthdays and now medical procedures at Red Lobster. You see "Turkey" has to fast for a couple of days, so this was a final meal of sorts...until her next meal in at least 40 hours. I was worried. I know she eats to live, and I don't want her to suffer the pangs of hunger without the ability to eat, but fast she must, so I said "let's go to Red Lobster" to which she said "grand" (or something affirmative like that). My reason for wanting to go there was "LOBSTERFEST"! What I didn't know was how much "festing" we would do. It was very nice. Starting with the hostess who ask me my wife's name (we arrived separately) and who called my wife by her name to take her to the table I had already secured. Our server was equally good and the food was more than ample and much more than scrumptious.

We tried something we had never tried and rather than order a large, pre-assembled dish we ordered everything à la carte. You see I was just going to eat light, since I didn't have to skip and meals...boy did that not happen! I wanted to try their Lobster Roll. I have heard a bunch lately about lobster rolls and how people love them and can't live without them. Having never had one, that was my starter. Of course, they brought out their famous, delicious, Cheddar Bay Biscuits, which was my REAL starter. "Turkey" started off with fried clam strips and lobster & seafood stuffed mushrooms. The lobster roll was good, but the mushrooms and fried clams were GREAT. "Turkey" has loved fried clams since she traveled to the east coast in high school. For me it was their dipping sauce, oh, and they're FRIED! Next came the soup course. "Turkey" ordered New England Clam Chowder. I wanted the Lobster Bisque. The biscuits dipped in the bisque was SOUPER! Next up for "Turkey" was Wood-Grilled Shrimp Skewers with Creamy Langostino Lobster Mashed Potatoes. She ate the lobster, then had me eat the potatoes. I guess the shrimp was good, it was the only thing she didn't try to share with me! For my final course, Loaded Seaside Fries. This was the bargain of the night. An order of french fries topped with clam chowder, topped with fried clam strips! It was the least expensive thing on their new Tasting Plates menu and was a great way to finish my courses. Take that poutine! We probably spent too much and it was worth every penny!

By the numbers
Food ✰✰✰✰½
Service ✰✰✰✰½
Price 💲💲💲💲½

Earl & "Turkey" try A&W's Tuesday Combo Meal...We Should Have Had the Pot Pie

You may remember, as I do, going to your local A&W drive-in for a frosty mug of their root beer, or even filling up a glass jug with the same, because your local A&W was not very close, but their root beer was more like frosty nectar. Well, I am happy to report that their root beer is still great, if their other offerings are, well, sad.
I took my wife there for their Tuesday Special, a Papa Burger Combo. It was buy one, get one free, which seems like it would be a good deal...it's not.

Let me say from the get go, that in our neck of the woods, all A&Ws are in a KFC, not stand alone—Strike 1, but I can live with that. The combo costs around SEVEN BUCKS. A bit much for a double cheeseburger with fries and a drink, but that's okay, we get one free, right. It is free, but it is not okay. Where do I start...
From the beginning. We walked in and nobody helped us for what seem a long time. There were several customers waiting for their orders, but none EATING. A bad omen? When someone finally noticed we were there, they didn't say "be right with you or welcome, they just finished what they were doing and then came out. But life goes on, so we ordered. I also saw that they had POUTINE, something that seems to be the rage these days and I wanted to try it. A big mistake.

Because of some upcoming tests, my wife couldn't have raw veggies on hers, which is one of the biggest reasons she eats fast food burgers. As my graphic shows, the Papa burger looked nothing like the advertised picture, and without veggies, it was basically a McDouble, with an extra slice of cheese. But the problems only started there. The fries were almost INEDIBLE. Dry and crunchy but not crispy. And the same goes for the fries in the poutine. The gravy on the poutine obviously came from a powder and my wife commented that she could not taste the flavor of the cheese curds which were advertised as Wisconsin White Cheddar.

Results
What we ended up with were 2  not-very-good-burgers for the price of 2 pub-style burgers at Red Robin, which includes bottomless fries. The root beer is still awesome!
Food ★
Price 💲💲💲💲
Service ★
They still offer glass jugs or frosty mugs, go for that or a nice root beer float. Or go get a Chicken Pot Pie, since you are in a KFC and that is the only thing we ever buy there anymore!

Earl Cooks Ham Steak & Eggs & Smashed Fingerlings

Just Yesterday I cooked a ham steak with veggies, and today I am turning that into a yummy breakfast from some of the leftovers. You may know that I do this a lot, since there is just the two of us and "Turkey" sometimes eats like a bird. Today I was lucky enough to not only have HAM, but potatoes too. Once I added eggs, breakfast was nearly there. I had a few eggs left in a carton and I wanted to make space in the fridge, so I decided to cook them all. What I found was that it was an 18 count carton and it wasn't a few but FIVE left. Lucky me! 
—I put some butter in a hot pan to crisp up the potatoes. I smashed them with my meat mallet and placed them in the hot, buttered pan until they were crispy and brown. They were cooked previously, so this went fast. —Next I put the ham in the pan to heat through. When the potatoes were crisp and the ham heated through, I removed the ham and potatoes to a plate and put the 5 eggs in the pan to cook, keeping the butter and juices to steam the eggs and add a bit of flavor.


I should probably say it was too much, but it wasn't. It was just right!

Earl Cooks Ham Steak, Rainbow Carrots & Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes

I have posted about cooking this dish before, though not quite in this combination of ingredients. I found some lovely rainbow carrots and fingerling potatoes to which I added onions, celery, cream of mushroom soup and a ham steak. This is one of the best ways to use ham, and creates a dish which is both loaded with veggies and meaty and savory, and is a one skillet dish that feeds the soul and the body.

⚉ I start by sauteing the ham steak to give it a bit of browning, even though the steak is fully cooked. It adds a fuller flavor to the dish with just those few minutes of browning.
⚉ When that step is complete, remove the ham to a plate so as to not over cook it. To the pan, I add the carrots and potatoes. These take the longest time to cook. I add to the pan about a half cup of water and cover, allowing them to cook until almost done.
⚉ Then I add one yellow onion quartered and separated into chunks, and distribute them on top of the veggies to cook.
⚉ Now add the cream of mushroom soup ans stir into the potatoes & carrots. Allow them to cook without the cover. The dish is best when the soup blends with the veggies and reduces.
⚉ Add the celery, cut into chunks and return the ham to the top to heat-through again, with the veggies. And there you have a satisfying dinner for 4, depending on how thick the ham steak is.

Hint's
⚉ Don't add salt. The canned soup and ham already have LOTS of salt. The reduced soup make a nice sauce—unless it is too salty to eat!
⚉ Use small potatoes or cut into small pieces. YOu can also use baby carrots. Smaller hard veggies reduce cooking time drastically.
⚉  Us any herbs or seasoning you like that DON'T ADD MORE SALT. Be careful if you chose to season with Worcestershire or Soy sauces, since they are quite salty.

"Turkey" Cooks Scallion Pancakes & Brownies from Scratch & Earl Eats Them!

A Marvelous thing happened this weekend..."Turkey" (a.k.a. my wife), got a cooking bug! I was a main recipient of the bug, and happy to eat. She started with brownies from scratch, then made scallion pancakes and finished the weekend off with her terrific homemade bread. This is particularly good for me because I don't bake! I don't bake for a couple of reasons:
1: I don't like to, and
2: I am not particularly good at it. All that measuring and weighing and following directions, then lastly
3: My wife all but prohibits me from doing it! She doesn't like me using her tools, appliances or ingredients.

I am starting this post with what I think is one of the undiscovered gems, at least by us—Scallion Pancakes. But before you reach for the maple syrup, this is a SAVORY pancake, and popular at Chinese takeout restaurants, though I had never had it until we saw the recipe on TV.
(for the complete recipe follow this link to my prior post) Scallion Pancakes Recipe 
Starting with a simple dough, rolled flat and covered in scallions, then rolled tightly into a log, and rolled into a snail shape, it is flattened out into a pancake and placed into a cast iron skillet and cooked a few minutes on each side until you have a brown & crusty, multi-layered gem. Add the Asian dipping sauce and this is special. I guess most eat this as a side or accompaniment, but it was filling enough to be more than that. And for us, it was.

My next "Turkey" Treat was Homemade Brownies. These are not your everyday brownies. My wife only likes brownies if they are frosted! This is not your everyday frosting, mind you, this is frosting from Heath English Toffee chips, melted slowly on top of a chewy, chocolaty bed. The great thing about this is the recipe is from the package! 

My final treat for the weekend is my favorite, and a weekly occurrence, but one I never tire of..."Turkey's" Homemade bread! I told my daughter, who is trying a low-carb diet, that this bread is the reason I couldn't do a diet like that. I would miss not only the taste but the aromas that fill our home from the minute she starts mixing in the yeast to that moment the hot, buttery goodness envelopes my taste-buds making them jump for joy! It is a process that  creates anticipation that does not disappoint, bringing everything promised and more, and every time I eat the loaves of love, whether in a sandwich or simple toast, I flashback to when the mixer was whirring and the bread was rising. Sights and sounds unlike anything I am able to create with my own efforts, except perhaps, when cooking bacon! And so, the sounds, smells and TASTES of the weekend were wonderful!

Earl Cooks Lit'l Smokies & Refried Beans with Eggs

I don't think I need to say how much I love breakfast...again, but here goes—I LOVE BREAKFAST! Any time of day, or night, and anything but cold cereal can be made into a good breakfast, but I always go back to something with eggs. Fried, scrambled, omelet, hard boiled, soft boiled, poached, and coddled (well, I have never had coddled, but I am willing to try them). In a frittata, on a salad or in a nog. And any meat goes well...fish, seafood, pork, beef. Smoked, roasted or fried. I will say here that I don't consider continental breakfast, breakfast. 

Today I wanted a nice breakfast and I had eggs, refried beans and lit'l  smokies in the fridge and I knew breakfast would be tasty. All I had to do was heat a pan, add the refried beans into the pan, add a few of the smoked sausages and heat everything through, and then add a couple of eggs to the pan and breakfast was served! All I needed to do was top the beans with a bit of my favorite salsa and sour cream and finish with fresh ground pepper. It totally made me want more!

Earl Cooks Baked Fish on Friday

Growing up, I don't remember my mom cooking fish for us. We were always fed fish sticks on Fridays for school lunch. They were barely recognizable as fish. There was a great seafood restaurant downtown that started as a fish market, called Bratten's. The sad thing is, I only remember eating clam chowder there.

When we got married, fresh seafood was just beginning to be shipped fresh from the west coast and the local seafood scene changed drastically, beginning, I believe, with Market Street Grill in downtown Salt Lake City. Since then, of course, seafood has become available in a wide range of types and quality. It is no longer elementary school fish sticks. A few years ago, I felt we needed to eat more fish and I found a frozen brand that was quite good that could be cooked in a skillet. Our doctors recommended we include more omega 3 fatty acids into our diet, so I thought I would try find ways to cook salmon (we never really ate salmon). I found several, some from the seafood counter at the supermarket, some from the frozen section. Since trying salmon, I have found many good options and salmon has become a staple at our house.

For dinner tonight, Dill Butter Keta Salmon Fillets with Capers and Jalepeño & Dill Tartar Sauce. The fillets came pre-seasoned with dill butter in individual fillets. They are skin-on, but the skin is thin and adds a bit of texture. Simply defrost the fillets and you can pan sear them or oven roast them. It takes only 12-15 minutes. I decided to add jasmine rice as a side dish and top with capers. The tartar sauce has dill to mirror the seasoning included with the salmon, and a hint of jalepeño, but no discernible heat. Although most people probably don't use tartar sauce with salmon, the extra dill is a nice compliment and it needed the jalepeño. My wife added lemon to hers instead of the tartar sauce. I also liked the capers, which boosted the flavor of the sauce which was a bit bland without adding something extra. I topped the rice with butter and peppered everything, and added some great tomatoes as an accompaniment!

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a quick weeknight meal, or for anyone looking to add more fish to their diet!

Earl Cooks Sausage & Potatoes & Beet Greens—OH MY!

The ingredients were fine. Smoked Sausage, Garlic Roasted Mashed Potatoes with Italian Cheeses and Butter mixed in, and Beet Greens. The seasoning was fine-  just black pepper & garlic salt. The "OH MY" is for something I DIDN'T do, or rather didn't do well enough...RINSE THE BEET GREENS. You see, beets grow in dirt. And even though the greens grow above the dirt, they are shipped together and the leaves get just as dirty as the beets. I rinsed mine. In fact I soaked them, but not well enough to get the fine, almost sand-like particles of soil off. Oh, they looked clean and I couldn't see any grit, but it was there in ever so slight amounts. That wasn't a textural component I wanted in my dish!

—I cut the smoked sausage into bite-sized pieces and tossed it into a medium-sized pan (10"), and cooked the sausage long enough to get a nice browning.
—Unbeknownst to me, I then placed the gritty beet greens in with a quarter cup of water and let it cook until soft, but not too soft.
—Finally I added the above it in with the potatoes and cheese and topped it with a dab of butter and added some fresh cracked pepper. Initially, we thought it might be pepper that was providing the grit but we soon realized fresh cracked pepper was not that fine.

In my defense, it tasted fine, and was soft enough that I didn't need to chew it much. Maybe It was like sandblasting the plaque on my teeth🤣.

My apologies to my patient and forgiving wife for not screaming at me and refusing to eat my cooking!

Earl Cooks Valentine's Day Steak for his "Turkey" 💖

I wanted to do something a bit special for Valentine's Day for "Turkey" (that's my wife). Some time ago we discovered how much more we enjoy steaks cooked at home if they are cooked correctly, which almost always means "Sous Vide" which is in a water bath bringing it to the perfect doneness and finishing it in a cast iron skillet to give it a seasoned crust that makes a perfect compliment to the nicely tender inside. But I need to do something RESTAURANT quality if it was going to pass the muster on Valentine's Day. I have a plan. 

My plan would start with flowers and grow from there. These can't be just any flowers because "Turkey" likes bright and colorful and playful. I found the perfect tiny bouquet.




 Next, I had on hand something just for a romantic evening. A set of fluted stemware and some bubbly (sparkling white grape juice). "Turkey" doesn't much care for grape juice, but it's the thought that counts...right?

Time for the first 2 "courses". We have recently been loving arugula as a base for salads. It has a mild, peppery taste reminiscent of watercress. To that we added bacon and bright, multicolored cherry tomatoes topped with our favorite dressings ("Turkey" likes Cilantro Lime Ranch, and I like Blue Cheese). I followed that with steamed artichoke hearts (Get it? Hearts on Valentine's), and melted butter. These came frozen from Trader Joe's and are about as close to fresh as you can get. No preservatives. This left us somewhat full and now it was time for...

 ...That's right—BASKETBALL! The Utah Jazz were playing their last game before the All-Star break and had won 10 in a row! We had to see if they could make it to 11! My perfectly cooked steaks would have to wait. Fortunately, we had eaten enough to hold us through. (A good portion of the game anyway). To set your minds at ease, the Jazz pulled it out at the last minute. Now, Back to the food... 

This is my newest kitchen toy, an immersion circulator for cooking sous vide. It works by heating and circulating the water for perfect cooking. Just seal the food in vacuum sealed bags then set it and forget it! It will cook to the right temp. and keep it there for however long you want. 

The steaks turned out great! The top left shows the steak after sous vide and seasoning with Montreal Steak Seasoning. The next is after turning and the third shows a new trick I taught myself. Since the steaks were the same size and shape, I clamped them together with my tongs, locked the tongs and cooked the fat off of the edge. Clamped, they balanced nicely together.

I don't usually cook dessert and Valentine's was no exception. Fortunately, We each thoughtfully provide one another with dessert...Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, although mine, on top, was themed and almost double in size. Thanks "Turkey"!

Earl Cooks Olive Oil Scrambled Eggs from Milk Street

I have recently been trying to learn by following recipes. This is TOUGH for me. I am not good at directions and measurements. A pinch, a dash, to-taste are my favorite ways to measure. But I am trying to improve and develop my skills. I saw this on a fairly new PBS program called Milk Street, Hosted by the former host and creator of America's Test Kitchen & Cook's Country, also on PBS. I have always enjoyed the way he develops and presents recipes, so when I saw a new way to cook scrambled eggs, I thought I would try it. I should say here that scrambled is not my favorite way to eat eggs, though they can be made good. Let me outline the steps.

Step 1—Start with four eggs (their recipe called for eight, but it was for more people). 
 Step 2—In a non-stick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of OLIVE OIL on medium heat for at least 3 minutes. The oil must be hot to create the conditions needed to cook the eggs properly.
Step 3—When the oil is hot (shimmering or smoking slightly), add the eggs (which you have scrambled in a bowl thoroughly) to the center of the hot pan.
Step 4—Using a flexible rubber or silicone spatula, continuously stir the eggs, pushing the outside to the center as the edge sets. Cook for just 60 to 90 seconds, they should be shiny and wet-looking, without any translucence or runny whites. Transfer to a heated plate and enjoy!

Results
I still prefer butter to the olive oil, simply because I love the taste of butter! They were nice and tender, although my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey"), who is the scrambled egg lover in our house, probably would want hers cooked drier, less fluffy and less tender.🥚

Earl Eats Lunch with the Grandboys at Black Bear Diner

I have reviewed the food at Black Bear Diner in prior posts, but today was a special occasion. My oldest grandboy wanted to grab some lunch and I am always up for time with my Grandboys, so we went to the Black Bear near his home. He had never been, so it seemed the stars were aligning for a good lunch. But wait...right after ordering, my grandboy #2 was looking for Grandboy #1. We were able to make it a trio and we all tried basically the same burger! The real problem was they both remove ALL the veggies from theirs! Pickles, tomatoes, lettuce GONE. They didn't get THAT from me!



I ordered the Classic Burger Basket, which came with a lovely burger and fries in a plastic diner basket. The boys ordered the same basic burger on a nice plate with an additional side dish. Then we each added an over-easy egg to the burgers, which made it very, very good. The fries were nice and crisp and we all ate our full portions. The burger was dressed nicely. If I had a negative comment, it would be that it was a bit on the pricey side for a burger and fries lunch, but we went dutch, and the grandboys didn't complain, so I guess it was worth it.

Food ✰✰✰
Price 💲💲💲💲
Service ✅✅✅✅

Earl Celebrates Grandboy #2's Birthday at Salsa Leedos

This is a review which I have put off for far too long! My second Grandboy, my youngest, is now less than a year from leaving his teens! I can't believe it. I consider myself fortunate with my Grandboys because I got to spend so much time with them when they were younger and cute😄. We spent a bunch of time cooking and eating out. Indeed they were my biggest cheerleaders when it came to cooking, and I love them for it💖. We didn't have any boys, just two lovely daughters and one great son-in-law. But I feel I have 3 sons, and they are the best on earth

For his birthday, my grandboy decided he wanted a dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Salsa Leedos, near his home, and invited a crowd. We were the first to arrive (we usually are), and staff was friendly and confused, but it was an easy fix, they just had his name wrong. It is such a rare pleasure when the serving staff is friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. They were very good.

Salsa Leedos is in a new location since I last ate there and it suits them. They call themselves a Mexican Grill which could be a problem because I lived in Mexico and know authentic Mexican food. While modified for us Gringos, this is good stuff. They say they have the best Chile Verde in the valley, so I start there.

One of my favorite foods at Mexican restaurants here in America is Chile Verde or Chile Relleno. Tonight I am going with their Chile Verde Burrito. I judge a good Mexican restaurant by their refried beans. Nothing screams Mexico to me like these smashed up gems. They deliver to the table chips & salsa & BEAN dip, so I am happy. Their salsa is good if not memorable, and when my CHILE VERDE arrives, I am in heaven. Needless to say I recommend Salsa Leedos.

I would like to say that I shared a meal with my Grandboy, but there were 12 or so at the table, and he ended up at the other end from us. I did get to sit next to his other grandparents, and we had a lovely interaction about insurance and medicare😄. We retired to my daughter & son-in-law's new home for cake and ice cream and the gift exchange. What a great way to celebrate!

Earl Eats "Turkey's" Toast (French of Course)

My lovely wife (a.k.a. "Turkey"), is a well trained and disciplined cook. She reads recipes, follows directions, measures ingredients, tweaks recipes,  yet only eats to live, unlike me who lives to eat. I think she has been unsatisfied with my last French Toast offerings, and said she would like to do it next time we had it. I was fine with that! Well she decided that last night was a good time to have breakfast for dinner. She went to her most trusted source for reliable recipes, her old friend Betty Crocker and Betty's New Edition Cookbook. This is almost always the first place she looks for advice on recipes. Over the generations, she has had at least 3 of Betty's Books and all have been well used and have earned her respect.

The process is simple and the ingredients few, but once I added real butter, pure maple syrup, and a few bacon chunks, this became toast for a king...or an Earl!

Click on the print recipe link below for complete ingredients and instruction in a printable form and enjoy breakfast for dinner, or even breakfast for breakfast!

 print recipe 

"Turkey's" French Toast from Betty Crocker's Cookbook

by Betty Crocker & "Turkey" February-11-2018

This is the best, and the one and "Turkey" has used  since her youth.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tblsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 8 Slices sandwich bread

Instructions

Beat eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt with hand beater until smooth.
Heat griddle or skillet over medium-low heat or to 375 degrees. Grease griddle with margarine if necessary. (To test griddle, sprinkle with a few drops water. If bubbles jump around, heat is just right).
Dip bread into egg mixture. Place on griddle. Cook about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Details

Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 8 mins Total time: 12 mins Yield: 8 Slices

Earl Cooks @Ease - General Tso's Chicken

I don't often buy frozen meals anymore. They rarely live up to my expectations or their hype. But in the store the other day, one caught my eye from a company called @ease. Their General Tso's Chicken looked good on the package, and it was on sale, so I thought I would give it a try.

I first remember tasting General Tso's in a mall food court near me. It was spicy and sweet and I liked it. Later while working at Wal-Mart, I would buy it from their hot deli and top a $1 salad from McDonald's. My own Asian Chicken Salad done cheaply, if not real well.

The problem with frozen foods is always the crispy-ness. The veggies, the meat, everything gets soggy. Knowing that, I bought it anyway. I won't be buying it again. Even though it only cooked a few minutes, it was soggy.
.


You don't do anything but add it to a large skillet or wok, stirring occasionally and add the sauce at the end.

The package says it's 2 servings, but they are not very big, so even though it has veggies and rice you may want to augment it with something. The chicken was sparse and soggy.

If you didn't get my drift, I am not recommending this product. I am glad it was on sale. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good, which to me means it wasn't General Tso's!

Earl Cooks Angel Hair & Meatballs

I recently heard on a TV cooking show that spaghetti and meatballs have all but disappeared from menus, both home and restaurant. Let's be clear this is an AMERICAN dish, not Italian, even though I was sure as a kid that it was Italian, and one of the few Italian restaurants I  knew about (The Italian Village) had it on the menu way back then. Times change and tastes change. Now the meatballs are served on a bun from a fast food window (in fairness, you can add meatballs to your pasta bowl at Olive Garden®, so maybe we will see a comeback). With all that said, I had never made meatballs, and my wife, "Turkey", thinks pasta is just paste (well it is, but delicious paste)! That results in our almost never eating pasta. I can sneak it in but only if I use Angel Hair rather than spaghetti, which is thin enough for her, I guess because she is an angel!



—I started with one pound of 85/15 ground beef. Many recipes call for ground sirloin or mixture of beef & pork, but this is what I wanted to use. I seasoned the beef with fresh ground pepper and Mediterranean seasoning salt. I also added about ½ teaspoon of crushed garlic.

—Next add 1 large egg and grated Parmesan cheese (about ¼ cup) and mix them all together however you want. I used a fork, but hands work well too.

—Finally in preparing the beef, add about ½ cup of breadcrumbs. Mine were homemade panko, but whatever you have on hand will be fine. Mush these into the seasoned beef until all is well combined.

—Roll the meat in to ping-pong sized balls (about an inch and a half). As you can see my one pound of meat with breadcrumbs and seasoning produced 15 meatballs. I placed them in a non-stick baking pan and into a 425℉ preheated oven, for 12-15 minutes.

—While they bake, take a large deep skillet and add your favorite store-bought pasta sauce. I like the ones with chunky vegetables (of course you may make your own if you like). Heat on medium until bubbling nicely and add another quarter cup of Parmesan to the sauce.

—Add the partially cooked meatballs to the sauce to finish cooking. They should have developed a nice brown crust in the oven and will have shed some of their excess fat. Allow them to cook through for another 10 minutes. Cover if needed to prevent the sauce from over-thickening.

—I buy the pasta in what they call "Pot-Perfect" size. It fits nicely in a smaller pot since we are just two. I know all of the TV chefs would not approve, but it makes cooking pasta easy. In our household, we do not cook our pasta al dente, because "happy wife, happy life". If you like yours that way, by all means, cook it to your liking. That is the only way it will be perfect. You could even cook it al dente and then finsh it in the sauce, but I felt it was too cumbersome with the meatballs in there. Top with MORE Parmesan cheese and enjoy simple and very tasty spaghetti and meatballs!

Earl Cooks Crock-Pot Caramel Sauce

This dish never ceases to amaze me. It is the best way I have found to a terrifically tasty sauce that is so good you could just eat it by the spoonful, and you probably will. Let me say here that desserts are not something I eat often and I make them even less. All you need for this recipe are three 8 oz mason jars, two cans of sweetened condensed milk, and a slow cooker deep enough to cover the jars with water. Here is the WHOLE recipe:
—Fill the 3 jars to within about ½ inch of the top with the milk. Seal them tightly by hand.
—Place them in the slow cooker and cover with HOT tap water. Set to low and cover. Cook for 8 hours. Check the water level periodically to confirm the jars are covered.
—After 8 hours, remove from slow cooker and allow to cool. MUST BE REFRIGERATED! This is not a canning seal.
Now for the good stuff! We like this on ice cream. Here I dipped a pretzel rod and it was like eating salted caramel. Anything you can imagine, try it, or just eat by the spoonful!

Earl Eats Chick-fil-A Fillets

My earliest memories of Chick-fil-A are walking by people in the mall who were offering me tasty samples of waffle fries and chicken to entice me to buy one of their savory fried foods. I will admit that I loved their fries, but didn't often buy their chicken. At that time, I didn't really know what a chicken sandwich was. My chicken came on the bone from the Colonel, or from home. Since that time a lot has changed! The Colonel has passed on and his recipe seems to have gone with him. Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC, and the best fried chicken is NOT on the bone, replaced by the ubiquitous chicken strip, the best of which are found at Chick-fil-A.

Some time in the past 35 years, someone thought it would be a good idea to change the Colonel's recipe. Even though KFC rules the fast food market in Asia, it is tough to get a good piece of fried chicken on-the-bone there today. In my opinion Chick-fil-A rules the roost in fried chicken taste & texture and their service is terrific. I don't eat their sandwich, although for years my wife "Turkey" loved them. Then they changed the cheese offerings, and she now eats the strips along with me. She likes their honey-mustard dipping sauce, though I rarely need the sauce, their strips are so tender and tasty.

...And I still love their waffle fries, though I wish they offered fry sauce.

Chick-fil-A has succeeded by focusing on what they started doing and do so well, fried chicken breast fillets. Sure they have added and changed some since their beginnings, but what they bring us is an amplification of the original, not a deviation. And they have some very clever TV and billboard ads too!

As and aside:
The chicken pot pie at KFC keeps me going back there and is something everyone should try, so they haven't totally lost me!