Food and Drink

[Fred in Skirts]

A place where you can post your favorite recipes and eats.

[Fred in Skirts]

And just to get this started here is one of my favorites.
I love bacon!! So when I found this I could not resist trying it. It was and is a big winner.

Bacon Buttermilk Pancakes with Caramelized Pineapple Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS
For the Caramelized Pineapple Sauce :

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 cups pineapple chunks, fresh or canned (drained)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, plus extra

For the Pancakes :

22 slices hickory smoked uncured bacon
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Extra butter for serving

DIRECTIONS
For the Caramelized Pineapple Sauce :

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, stir in the brown sugar, and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until combined and sugar begins to melt. Add the pineapple and toss to coat. Continue to cook for several minutes over medium heat (might take up to 10 minutes), stirring often, until fruit begins to brown a little bit and the butter/sugar mixture thickens and creates a glaze. Add maple syrup, toss to coat, and cook a few minutes more until maple syrup incorporates into the glaze. Remove from heat until needed or cool, scrape into airtight container and refrigerate overnight, then reheat before using.

For the Pancakes :

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and place a baking sheet in the oven to receive the pancakes as they are made.

Cook the bacon until medium crisp and drain on paper towels. It will be cooked again, so do not cook until completely crisp. Reserve bacon fat. Make the night before and refrigerate until needed or simply set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs together, then whisk in melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry mixture and whisk gently until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated; do not over mix. Some lumps are okay. Let the batter rest while you heat an electric griddle to 375 degrees F or heat two pans (cast iron or nonstick are my pans of choice). Lightly grease your cooking surface with some bacon fat.

Pour 1/4 cup of the batter at a time onto the griddle for each pancake, spacing about 1-inch apart. (An ice cream scoop works wonders here). The batter will be thick and you might have to encourage them to spread a little bit; they should be about 3 ¾-inch to 4-inches across. Lay a cooked piece of bacon across each pancake. The bacon should overhang the edges. Cook until bubbles rise to the surface, about 1 to 2 minutes, and the edges look dry. The bottoms should be lightly browned. Flip then cook second side until nicely browned, about 1 minute more. Transfer the pancakes to the pre-warmed baking sheet in the oven while you cook remaining pancakes.

Make sure the sauce is warm. Warming the extra maple syrup is a nice touch as well. Serve pancakes hot topped with butter, caramelized pineapple sauce and pass the extra maple syrup.

Servings: 6

I think that this should be on everyone's breakfast table at least once a week.

[Sinned]

Fred, as a diabetic that would be horrendous for me. All that sugar.

One that I like and contributes to your five, and more, a day is a fruit and vegetable salad. Easy but time consuming to make. Grate a carrot and then dice up small any of the fruit and vegetables you like into a big bowl. Apple, cabbage, celery, grapes, grapefruit/orange/satsuma/tangerine, kiwi fruit, pear, peas, raisins/sultanas .... you get the idea. Leave out lettuce and anything with a strong taste like garlic, onion but by all means add to the plate when you sit to eat as you may prefer. Add meats, cheese and other items that you would normally eat with a salad. Unless you are preparing for a large number use only one apple etc as this makes a large bowlful. For an alternative dressing try vanilla yoghurt with a little lemon juice mixed in.

[Fred in Skirts]

Hi Sinned,
What is a "satsuma"

It does sound good though and I might try it later in August or September.

[Kirbstone]

Fred,
A satsuma is a soft easily peelable sort of orange. Denis will tell you that all the York City streets are lined with satsuma trees which fruit all the year round.....a sort of Paradise garden.!

I was over in the Youkay last week and got as far as Lincoln, not venturing further North in case I came face-to-face with a Yorkie. No satsuma trees in Lincoln, though.

Tom

[Big and Bashful]

I also love bacon, but the thought of that sweet recipe doesn't appeal to me, A good full English breakfast, or a bacon & egg butty, that's how to enjoy good bacon. maybe a bacon and sausage butty, if the sausage is good.

[Sinned]

B and B, I look at cutting calories and mostly I can survive on muesli and toast and so on but sometimes my body CRAVES a good old fashioned full English belly buster and I go to the Harvester which does an all you can eat at a reasonable price. Bacon, beans, black pudding, chips, fried eggs, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes and toast. Of course I go on a Tuesday when MOH is at work and true to form I go skirted and the staff are great about it.

Fave 2 is a bap, a round bread roll, filled with bacon or sausage and a soft boiled fried egg. Russian roulette as you nibble away the outside of the bun and finally break the yolk. And yes I sometimes have had yolk down my front - that's the risk and the anticipation.

Fave 3 is toast topped with tinned tomatoes and PLENTY of the juice.

[Kirbstone]

Wandering round the Englandshire part of the Youkay we had occasion to stay at various hotels and B&Bs, all of which serve a 'full English' for breakfast, lots of them not offering the Continental alternative.
The Full English always includes a fry-up with eggs, bacon, sausage, perhaps baked beans, mushrooms, tomato, hash brown &c, &c all savoury items, nothing sweet on that plate at all. Coffee & toast &c as well, maybe the odd place will offer croissants.
The bacon is universally delicious and whole, so y'sees wot y'get. Sausages on the other hand are much more of a movable feast, depending on what's been put into them.

As the tariff includes this, it is the only occasion on which I'll eat a fry-up for breakfast.

Over here, a 'full Irish' is much the same thing but with (for me) one big difference. Every establishment, from fancy hotels to back street B&Bs all offer Irish Brown Soda-Bread, which frankly is to die for.

Tom

[beachlion]

I heard a lot about the traditional English breakfast. When I was vacationing in 2006 at Kos, the Greek island that was hit severely by the recent earthquake, and I saw a restaurant offering that treat, I had to try it. It instantly became my lunch for the rest of my period there.
The restaurant was called "Piggeez" and next to the name a kangeroo was painted and a question. Who knows where I came from wins a beer. The owner came to the island during the hippy-period and stayed. He married an English lady and at some moment they started a restaurant. She did the cooking and he did some of the serving and most of the entertaining. The English lady had the stature of a wrestler so no complaints. I liked the atmosphere, the guy always joking and his wife negging about his attention to the women at the tables. It could have been a sitcom. And the beer came in 0.5 L and in 1 L glass mugs. You had to do some serious weight lifting before you hit the beach.

[Fred in Skirts]

Here is one of my favorites for cheesecake:

Classic Cheesecake

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
Crust:

* 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* Pinch fine salt

Filling:

* 2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 cup sour cream
* 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 2 tablespoons vanilla paste or extract
* 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
* 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
* Berries, optional

Directions

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the crust: Melt the butter, covered in the microwave, in a medium
microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with
some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter together with the crumbs,
sugar, and salt. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan,
taking care to get the crust evenly into the edges. Bake until golden
brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool. Wrap the bottom and up the sides of
the pan with foil and put in a roasting pan.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed with a hand-held
mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat just until light and
fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Slowly
beat in 3/4 cup sour cream, then eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla and both
citrus zests; take care not to over whip. Pour into the cooled crust.

Bring a medium saucepan or kettle of water to a boil. Gently place
the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out of the oven).
Pour in enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the
springform pan. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 10 minutes--
-the outside of the cake will set but the center will still be loose.

Meanwhile, stir together the remaining sour cream, sugar and vanilla
paste. Spread over the top of the cooked cheesecake and return to
the oven for 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, cook the cheesecake in
the residual heat in the oven for 1 hour. This gentle finish minimizes
the risk of the dreaded crack in your cheese cake.

Remove cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack. Run a knife
around the edges and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate
at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
Remove the springform ring. Dip a knife in warm water, wipe dry
before slicing each piece. Serve with berries, if desired.

Shop smart:

We love vanilla bean paste. It has intense vanilla bean flavor in a
convenient paste form. It's a great way to add great flavor and
distinctive vanilla flecks without having to use a whole bean.

Cook Time: 1 hr 10 min

Enjoy

[Sinned]

I get almost paranoid about the amount of sugar that is used in foods nowadays. Sugar is at worst a poison to my body as any intake means that I have to increase the amount of insulin I inject. Geez, Fred 2 CUPS of sugar, it's no wonder that so many are overweight and I include myself in that category. I'm 13 stone but I reckon that I'm carrying about 3 stone at least of fat. When I met MOH I was 7.5 stone and when I married her 8. But I was too thin then, almost skeletal, so I reckon 10 stone would be a good target weight for me but achieving it ....

[Fred in Skirts]

I get almost paranoid about the amount of sugar that is used in foods nowadays. Sugar is at worst a poison to my body as any intake means that I have to increase the amount of insulin I inject. Geez, Fred 2 CUPS of sugar, it's no wonder that so many are overweight and I include myself in that category. I'm 13 stone but I reckon that I'm carrying about 3 stone at least of fat. When I met MOH I was 7.5 stone and when I married her 8. But I was too thin then, almost skeletal, so I reckon 10 stone would be a good target weight for me but achieving it ....

I too am diabetic but am able to control it with meds and watching my diet. So I don't have to do insulin. If I were to do this recipe I would only be able to eat 1 very small piece, about 1/12 of the whole.

By the way what is a STONE compared to POUNDS American??

Fred

[Fred in Skirts]

Here is a recipe in cartoon form:

FOOD CARTOON.jpg

Click on it to see it bigger!

Fred

[Kirbstone]

Interesting recipes, Fred, but they contain humongous amounts of sugar. I'm fortunately not diabetic, but I'd run a mile from such a concoction.

A stone is 14lbs, or pounds. This side of the Pond we think in stones for body weight. When I married aged 26, I weighed 13stone 10 pounds, or 192lbs. Today, 49 years later I weigh 194lbs, or 13stone 12lbs, an average weight gain of about two-thirds of an ounce per year. By the way, there are 16ozs per lb.

This is a direct result of strict adherence to the Seefood Diet over all those years, in that when I see food I eat it. The real secret is getting rid of the calories and I have indulged in regular competitive Galley Slavery for well over half a Century now. My personal torture device in my garage loft, a Concept 2 rowing ergometer has a calorie expenditure display button (seldom used), but in a typical session I still can get rid of round 900, plus a lot of sweat, this time of year.

Tom

[Fred in Skirts]

Interesting recipes, Fred, but they contain humongous amounts of sugar. I'm fortunately not diabetic, but I'd run a mile from such a concoction.
A stone is 14lbs, or pounds. This side of the Pond we think in stones for body weight. When I married aged 26, I weighed 13stone 10 pounds, or 192lbs. Today, 49 years later I weigh 194lbs, or 13stone 12lbs, an average weight gain of about two-thirds of an ounce per year. By the way, there are 16ozs per lb.
This is a direct result of strict adherence to the Seefood Diet over all those years, in that when I see food I eat it. The real secret is getting rid of the calories and I have indulged in regular competitive Galley Slavery for well over half a Century now. My personal torture device in my garage loft, a Concept 2 rowing ergometer has a calorie expenditure display button (seldom used), but in a typical session I still can get rid of round 900, plus a lot of sweat, this time of year.Tom

Thanks for the conversion Tom. I too an a victim of the Seefood Diet.
I will try to post some less caloric recipes as we go along.
Everyone is invited to post some of their favorite recipes as well. Or talk about food you have eaten at restaurants while skirted or not.
I love to cook and bake, but now that I live alone I do not do very much baking as that would mean I had to eat it all. It would be just toooo much. I do cook my meals and some times make bread. I have a fondness for Irish soda bread but do not do it often as I end up eating the whole loaf in just two days time. A little brown butter and a hunk of the bread Drool, slober, drool. The loaf is big enough to feed 8 to 10 people. It is also good for dunking in chowder.

Fred