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Iced Coffees
photo from Seattle’s Best
Yesterday friend of blog, Kirk Spencer, put up a post on iced coffee. He does a great job of explaining the different ways to approach it. He followed up (after a question from me) with a post on cold brewing, which was great, because I knew nothing about cold brewing and had only seen very expensive machines for the process. I’m going to give it a shot, probably on a small scale.
I love iced coffee in the summer. I do the ‘brew strong coffee and serve immediately over ice” process. I have yet to get the ratio perfect for my tastes. My standard is Dunkin Donuts, love their coffee, it’s one of the few big coffee 
shops I can say that about, and their iced coffee is just as good. Not from a mix, it is fresh brewed. They say they double brew it. Whatever, it works. Oh, and did I mention there is not a DD to be found around here? Though that is about to change in a big way. Yay!
I think I will work this summer at perfecting my technique. One advantage I have is the vita-mix and I can easily make smooth frappucinos. My goal it to make a mocha frappuchino that does not have 400 calories a glass.
So let the adventures begin. I’ll let you know how it goes. Until then….
Back to Basics: Grilling Steak
A little background. When I began What’s 4 Dinner Solutions, it was a subscription menu service. Because of the experiences of the people around me, I targeted it to families and specifically those who were intimidated by cooking. I wanted them to have easy, fool-proof recipes that kept them away from fast foods. It grew and grew and then as my life went in another direction, it kind of morphed into this blog.
I want to explore some cooking basics, just because I think everyone can use a refresher now and then. And also, while I was watching a cooking show the other night I realized I could use to improve some of my basic skills, too. I’ve gotten a little sloppy over the years.
Since it’s Memorial Day Weekend, I thought grilling would be a great place to start.
Photo by JeffreyW
Step 1 – Always have meat at room temperature before grilling. This means taking it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before grilling. Season it, cover it and set it on the counter.
Step 2- Seasoning. Start with the basics while you perfect your technique. You’ll want to salt it, lightly if it’s a thinner steak, a little heavier for a thick steak. Use pepper and garlic liberally, With these you are creating a crust that will grill up nicely on your steak. Later on you can move to coffee rubs or seasoned rubs.
Step 3 – Grilling. You’ll want a very hot flame to sear both sides of the steak. Here’s the trick, put the steak on and do not turn it until you can easily move it when you give it a push with a utensil (usually about a minute or 2). Flip it and repeat. Then move it to a medium flame (or away from direct flame on a charcoal grill) and let grill. For rare your total grilling time is about 5 minutes a side, including searing. Use a meat thermometer until you get a feel for it. NEVER cut into it to test it, see step 4. Rare to medium-rare is going to give you the best grilling experience.
Step 4 – Rest. Steak (and roasts, too) need to rest for 10 minutes to let the juices redistribute. This keeps your steak from losing all its juice when you cut into it. If you cut into before that, you’ll be chewing a completely dried out piece of meat, no matter how rare.
That’s it. That is a perfect steak. I’ve heard some people put a pat of butter on it as it rests, I’ve never tried it, but watch enough cooking shows and you’ll see someone do it. Some people use steak sauce…I have no idea why. A good baked potato and salad are all I need with my steak.
Have a good holiday. And remember to thank a vet somewhere along the next three days.
Awesome Tornado Picture and NSFW Video
This is not far from where my family lives in Nebraska. Thanks to Paul and Tracie for sharing these with me.
Tornado near Humphrey, NE 5/24/12
I don’t have a photo credit, my SIL posted it on FB. The video, I’ll link to, it’s amazing, but I won’t post it because it’s full of F-bombs. Not sure my reaction wouldn’t have been similar, but I would have probably found shelter. Look for the rainbow at the bottom of the video at the end. And it’s NSFW, so listen with the sound down…you’ve been warned.
Tornado footage in Humphrey NE
Men Who Cook: Bomb Cheese Sandwich
One of the morning drive DJs I listen to regularly wowed everyone with his lunch yesterday, so today he posted the recipe. Its deliciousness is second only to its simplicity:
Larry Ulibarri sandwich
Larry Ulibarri decided since the cheese sandwich was the most popular lunch item, he would make them for everyone today. The BOMB CHEESE SANDWICH. Mozzarella, Olive Oil, Balsamic, Basil, Tomato, Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt, Salami (if you want) on crusty bread. Nom Nom Nom
I have to agree. Nom. Nom. Nom.
Thursday Recipe Exchange: Strawberries
Photo by JeffreyW
Strawberry Bread (recipe found here) became a recipe when I did what I always seem to do during fresh strawberry season, buy too many strawberries. Before I can finish them, they are overripe. The bread is much like banana bread, it does best with very overripe fruit and wow, does it pack a powerful strawberry flavor. And it’s not too sweet because I don’t like to overwhelm the tart goodness of the strawberries.
Tonight’s other treat is a variation on the recipe JeffreyW used in the picture above. I made it yesterday and thought it was the best shortcake I’ve ever made – really light and fluffy.
I’ll be honest, I prefer pre-made sour cream angel food cake with my strawberries. My local grocery bakery has them on sale this time of year, and I can’t make it better. Oh, let’s face it, I’ve never made a successful angel food cake, ever. Sigh. But for a homemade dessert, this shortcake would be my choice. Couldn’t be easier to make and tastes wonderful.
The cake is not terribly sweet which I prefer and I cut down the sugar on the strawberries by 1 tablespoon, because I prefer them tart. I can’t omit the sugar completely because you need sugar to bring the juices out of the berries, essential for strawberry shortcake. So you may want to adjust the sugar up or down according to your preference. Additional sugar in the cake will not affect how it bakes up.
What’s your favorite way to serve strawberries? Has anyone made a real Parisian strawberry tart? And more importantly, what are you weekend food plans?
Strawberry Shortcake
- 2 pints of strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced
- 5 to 7 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups heavy cream (you can substitute 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup butter)
- Whipped Cream (recipe below)
2 Mixing bowls
8×8 glass baking dish or baking sheet
Mix strawberries with 3 tablespoons sugar (I only used 2 tbsp, see note above) and set aside for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar (if you want sweeter, add an addition 1 to 2 tbsp sugar), and salt in a medium bowl. Add heavy cream and mix until just combined. You do not want to over mix this, just until all ingredients are combined, that’s why it’s important to whisk or sift together the dry ingredients. This is going to be a little moister than cookie dough – it does not look at all like cake batter, since it’s more of a biscuit mix. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 8-x8 square pan and pat down either by hand or use a spatula. I used a baking sheet and dropped spoonfuls onto the sheet to make 6 individual cakes. Bake until golden, 18 to 20 minutes for cake pan, 10-12 minutes for baking sheet.
Remove shortcake from pan and place on a rack to cool slightly. Cut into 6 pieces and split each piece in half horizontally.
Spoon some of the strawberries with their juice onto each shortcake bottom. Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream and then the shortcake top. Spoon more strawberries over the top and serve.
I made the whipped cream ahead of time and let it refrigerate so it was nice and cold when served:
Whipped Cream
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled (I chill the cream in a glass mixing bowl, along with the beaters)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest*
Using a mixer, beat the heavy cream, until soft peaks form, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Fold in sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest*.
*some people really like this, me not so much, I thought it overwhelmed the cream. I’ll omit it next time.
Eclipse Mocks Me
This was the peak of the eclipse. Click on any photo to embiggen.
As you can see, clear to the south, clear to the north. But smack dab where the eclipse was happening…not so much.
It made for some pretty lighting.
A few more shots from cycling this afternoon:
Blue Columbine – this is the Colorado State Flower
Pelican Party
Lesson 5: Horse Yoga
I swear to you, that is what we did today. Basically, trusting enough to let go of the reins, take your feet out of the stirrups and stretch and warm-up. Kind of like riding down a big hill on your bike with legs and arms outstretched…or driving a car blindfolded, take your pick.
Things are finally coming together for me, brain and muscles have begun to figure out how to coordinate information. I was still on Jack today and it was good for me. I’m still tentative when it comes to ‘convincing’ Jack when he decides he’s going to do it his way. He knows I’m a soft touch – especially near the end when I’m tired. Today we worked at it until I felt confident and had him do it my way. Bless his big heart.
Next week is our last lesson for this session and it’s Tiffany’s choice for who we ride. She’s keeping that information secret, I can’t imagine who she’ll put me on. I can pretty much guarantee who she won’t put me on:
Shoshoni – photo by Sun Pony Ranch
This is Shoshoni. She’s not only beautiful, she’s a handful and she knows it. It wonderful watching her work with a strong rider.
I’m thinking it might be Romeo:
Romeo – photo by Sun Pony Ranch
He’s a big love. And he’d be one to challenge me – he needs a light hand and relaxed legs. Definitely something I need to work on. But maybe it will be the big guy:
Jordan – photo by Sun Pony Ranch
Jordan is incredibly tall, all leg and neck. My introduction to him was him trying to bully Katy when I went to bring her up to the barn – she was having none of it. He’s really a sweetie, despite the bluster.
So I’ll have to wait until next week to know who it will be – one of these three or someone else? Either way, I’m sure it will be fun.
I’ll try to come up with some actual cooking this week. I am making a big batch of chicken tortilla soup for lunches this week, and I’ve been making some incredible lettuce wraps. I’ll try and detail those later. Until then…
Friday Dinner Music: Yo Yo Ma
Love Yo Yo Ma and this is one of my favorites of his, Camille Saint-Saëns, The Swan:
Just a Little Fun Today
I don’t want to work today, so instead I entertained myself with these two fun videos.
First – Harvard:
Then SMU decided to respond:
TaMara
jeffreyww
LFern7
indylib
