"Turkey's" Turkey Dinner for My Birthday In Honor of My Mom

My recent birthday was spent away from home as most are. We have a small condo at the same time
as Oktoberfest at a Ski resort near our home. We have had it for 40 years and love getting away in the fall. The mountains, the colors, the crystal clear air, and the occasional snow, all make for a lovely week to do almost nothing. We have the kids and grandboys up for the weekend, but by the time my birthday rolls around, they are gone and we are blissfully enjoying the quiet and  time together.

This birthday, was one of those monument numbers that measure where you are in life, and I decided to honor my mother for giving birth to me by eating here favorite meal - Turkey Dinner. She loved Turkey dinner, the WHOLE dinner. I knew this would be hard to do because we have a tiny galley kitchen in our condo, but I had a plan to make it easy...a small (2 to 3 lbs) turkey breast that cooks from frozen, boxed dressing and instant potatoes. I had planned on doing it myself butr my lovey wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") wanted to prepare it for me, for my birthday!

The ingredients were straight forward:
1-Jennie-O Oven Ready Turkey breast (frozen and cooks from frozen)
1-3lb. bag of small yams (sweet potatoes)
1-Package of a new item I discovered called Veggie Mash from a company called Idaho Spuds. This was the first time I had heard of this company or product, so I thought I would give it a try. It is potatoes AND cauliflower
1-Can Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. I don't normally eat cranberry sauce with my turkey, but my mom loved it as does my wife...but it must be JELLIED!
1-Box Mrs. Cubbison's  cubed Herb Stuffing

We also needed some diced celery, diced yellow onion, and simple seasonings. For the gravy, the turkey comes with a gravy packet included, which was fine for this. I am going to tell you these few ingredients make for a great weeknight dinner

The turkey is the only item that takes time but once the oven is heated it is simply an hour and 45 minutes in a baking dish or roaster.Here you see it in all it's glory. It tasted SO good was made even better by my lovely wife volunteering to make it for me. So this dinner is no just for me, it is for my mom, who gave me life, and for my wife who has been my life for more than 40 years now. One loved turkey and one is affectionately called "Turkey"! love you both forever!!!

Earl Cooks Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich with Garden Tomatoes

Sometimes a tasty ingredient just SCREAMS to be used in a new and different way, and I had a great smoked chicken quarter from Capt. Len's BBQ that knew I could use in a different way. 

The quarter chicken is a leg and thigh, and my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") does not care for dark meat, so this is ALL for me! It is fully cooked and lovingly smoked. I remove the meat from the bone and roughly chopped it because I want the experience to be more like eating chicken than tuna salad.

 Using a hand crank food chopper that I just bought, I chopped several green onions, tops, and whites, rather finely. I also wanted a bit of a crunch, and I have had a chicken salad with cashews, but I was out. I did have some great extra large Virginia Peanuts, which I also chopped fine. My variation on chicken salad was I substituted Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, Cilantro Lime flavored, for mayonnaise. Mix the chicken, onions, peanuts, and ranch dressing thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper as you mix well.

My final addition is fresh-picked cherry and pear tomatoes from our little garden, halved and mixed in gently. With a silicone spatula or large spoon, spread it over a slice of bread, and top with the other slice.

I had no idea at the outset what a great flavor this would have. Smoky, creamy, and crunchy with a great freshness from the tomatoes. The tangy cilantro/lime ranch rounded it all out. Whether you use my exact ingredients, do try this with a smoked chicken quarter.

...I know, making a salad isn't exactly cooking, especially when the the smoked chicken came from Capt. Len's BBQ, but I did come up with it and assemble it, even if no heat was applied!

Birthday Breakfast With Daughter #1 at Penny Ann's Cafe - A Review & Celebration!

You may have noticed by now that I like breakfast. I am not a breakfast snob, it need not be omelettes at a nearby resort, It can be something as simple as a Sausage McMuffin. I credit my mom for my love of breakfast. We always had something good and homemade to start our days off right. I think because of that I have always liked making breakfast for my family. But until recently, I didn't make it for myself very often. My gandboys LOVE dippin' eggs and once told me I should open a restaurant that served only breakfast. I never tire of fixing breakfast for them and the never seem to tire of eating it. They will both request it when they come over and I happily oblige.

But this post is not about me or my grandboys, rather it is about the birthday of our first born, Daughter #1. Somewhere it became a birthday tradition to celebrate family birthdays at places featuring breakfasts. This year I decided to take my Daughter #1 somewhere she had never been Penny Ann's Cafe. A side note here - Daughter #1's middle name is Ann as is the middle name of my #2 sister and my grandmother. Penny is also the name of by youngest sister who lived less than a month. So Penny Ann has a familiar ring to our family.

This nice little restaurant is tucked away in a shopping center and isn't really visible from the street, so you have to know where you are heading to get there. No big, bright signs or marquee. I will say that my first experience at this place was several years ago after hearing rave reviews. I took grandboy #1 and we were unimpressed, so I have not returned. But I mentioned it to my daughter and she seemed game so we headed there.

Penny Ann's is famous for what they call "heavenly" hot cakes. My daughter also ordered their scone and boy was it a giant. I went bor their "big breakfast" and my daughter dis an ala carte thing. We were othe amazed and delighted. I tried my pancakes with both maple syrup and boysenberry syrup (they charge extra for real Vermont Maple Syrup), and they were both just right for their hot cakes.

Daughter #1 Ordered a Sausage patty that was almost as big as her pancakes. My big breakfast included two eggs, ham, sausage, bacon, potatoes and, of course, their heavenly hot cakes.

Because it was her birthday, (which I made sure to mention), they offered my daughter a free slice of their freshly made pie. I don't normally have dessert for breakfast, but I had signed up on their website and and in return they gave me a slice too!

My daughter had the chocolate mouse flavor and I had a childhood favorite, coconut cream. We were too full to eat it there but is was very tasty later that day.

I went in only having tried Penny Ann's once, and not enjoying it, but today they totally won us over. Everything was tasty, the portions were more than ample and the service was excellent all around. My only regret is not having been back sooner, something I will rectify soon!

By the Numbers:
Service ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Food ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price 💲💲 (not cheap but well worth it and you get what you pay for)

Conclusion
This is a great place for for a lovely breakfast. If you go, sign up online and get a free slice of pie, but even if you don't get one free, the pie and everything we had was well worth it.

Earl Rants About Health Inspections which have NOTHING to do with HEALTH

I normally don't do this, but recently I watched an abuse and misuse of government power that has me STEAMED! Let me preface this by saying that while I feel there is generally too much government bureaucracy, one of the more valuable services government offers is the inspection of food and conditions for reasons of safety. It is an imperfect system at best but when health and safety are ignored by the inspector, it is simply atrocious!

Let me preface my comments by saying that my wife and I both contracted hepatitis in the late 70's from a restaurant and later my whole family got food poisoning from another. And while the health department did not prevent our exposure, they did follow up.

Now, the reason I rant...A neighborhood street fair near me takes place annually. It is a gathering of neighbors, booths for politicians and charities, and of course food and merchandise vendors of all types. Of course, there is a fee for booth space, and because it is in a major metropolitan area, government health inspectors. I was standing outside a friends food booth when the inspector arrived. He checked the temp on the ovens (smokers), and the refrigerated products. His booth passed with flying colors. My friend realized that his permits were in his food truck, and soon he would have them in his hands. But the inspector said that would not do. He needed one just for this event booth! And how could he get one, since he already had permits from the same municipality. The inspector would not allow him to pay for and get a permit for his booth!  Many hundreds of dollars of food could not be sold and because of it's nature, would most likely be wasted. People were in line at 9 a.m. to buy some. 

One neighbor asked the inspector if he could give it away to a charity operating a booth there, to benefit children. The inspector said no!

This was not a person simply doing their job and making sure certain health and safety concerns were addressed, nor was this a vendor who failed to be licensed and approved by the municipality, because he was. Was a mistake made by the vendor? Yes and he freely admitted so. What is missing in this whole debacle was a way to make it right, and a public employee who did nothing to serve the public. Everyone lost, even the employee, because he lost the confidence and respect of EVERYONE who knew the situation. He should be relegated to a desk job and never allowed to represent the municipality or it's citizens in a public forum!

Earl Eats Denny's Biscuits & Gravy - Lunching with Len & KC - A Review

I have always thought of Denny's as a breakfast destination and since breakfast is not only an important way to start your day, it turns out to be a good way to lunch at mid-day!

After working to feed others all morning, batteries needed recharging. Burger King was mentioned but both Capt. Len and I were looking for something besides fast/drive-up food. Denny's was the choice.

I have eaten breakfast at Denny's hundreds of times, but never remember having their biscuits and gravy! I don't know why but when Len ordered it, it sounded good to me too!

My Daughter #1 has always loved Biscuits and Gravy, and if I say so myself, I make a very good gravy with lots of sausage, but I usually leave the biscuits to someone named Pillsbury. 

Denny's Biscuits & Gravy is as good as any I have eaten (with less sausage than my own) and I highly recommend it. For under $5, I ate well and had 2 eggs, a pile of hash-browns and biscuits smothered in creamy sausage gravy. 

Another meal with workmates, that was relaxing and filling—a great way to spend some time.

By the numbers:
Food ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Service  ⭐⭐⭐ 
Price 💲💲 (better than reasonable—it is a great value)