It was still raining hard when I woke up Sunday morning.
Plus, it was cold! 46 degrees outside (on the last day of May? Crazy!) I turned
the furnace on, made a cup of coffee and filled in the lengthy Blog post.
I watched the morning news shows until 10:00 a.m. and then I
shaved, showered and got dressed.
I needed some bacon for dinner, so I made eight strips of it
in the oven. It was funny. I made it the same way I always do: Foil on a half sheet
try (I scrunch it up first, then straighten it back out – that gives little valleys
for the grease to pool); Thick-cut bacon that I pepper (a lot); 400 degrees
preheated oven and I plan on from 25 – 30 minutes until its done but still
pliable. Except…
This time I used the convection oven. I was not sure what,
if any, difference there would be, so I set the timer for 20 minutes, so I could
check. When I did, the ends of the bacon were burnt and the rest was crispy!
Damn! That sucker really works!!!
The rain lessened around noon, so I did two things. I went
out on the patio and checked the rain gauge. There was 2 1/2 inches of water in
it!
I knew it was bad, because the weather radio had been going
off, warning of flooding on the Rouge River in Inkster.
Next, I drove to the Wine Barrel Plus (Plymouth Road, between
Merriman and Middle Belt). A recipe I want to make today calls for 1 1/2 cups
of Anchor Steam beer. I never heard of it and they don’t sell it at Kroger. I
stopped at a couple of party stores yesterday and they didn’t know it either.
But, beside an extensive selection of wine (this is where I’ve
gone in the past when Jake and Carla recommend a wine nobody else ever heard
of), they are a big resource for local home brewers, with aisles and aisles of
beer-making stuff.
Sure enough, when I asked, one of the brew masters (yes,
they have brew masters, or at least that’s what they call them – they could be
ex-accountants or garbage men for all I know about beer) said, “Sure, we carry
it. It’s right over there.” And he walked me to a cooler. But, there was none
there! Just an Anchor IP (whatever the hell that means). So, I said I’d take
it. He asked why I wanted specifically Anchor Steam and I explained I didn’t particularly
want to drink it, I just needed it for a recipe. He said, “Then you don’t want
the Anchor IP. It will be way too “hoppy!” (Whatever the hell that means).
He explained that Anchor Steam beer was first brewed in
California during the Gold Rush. German brewers had flocked to the area to take
advantage of the thirsty miners (we’re sneaky like that). But, they couldn’t
get the yeast cold enough in Cali to make their usual brew. So, they brewed it
anyway and just called it “Steam Beer.”
Sidebar: Maybe the guy really is a brew master!
He said he had an alternative German beer that would do the
trick. So, I bought a bottle of Kolsch Sunner beer (there are oomlats over the o and the u).
Note: I paid $3.99 for one bottle. Now, granted it was a big
bottle. I think a regular beer bottle is, like, 12 ounces. This one was 1 pint,
9 ounces. Still, although it’s been a long time since I was a serious beer
drinker, I think I could have bought a 12-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon or Old
Milwaukee for that much!
Back home, I put the now-cooled bacon in the fridge. I
changed clothes and started cleaning the house.
Sidebar: I like to have the house clean before leaving on
trips. That way, other than what the cat messes up, I come home to a nice
house. Conversely, if I die on the trip, nobody knows what a slob I really am.
I turned on the movie Jurassic Park and listened to it or
watched it as I worked.
When I got the house in order, I packed my suitcase, except
for the items I’d need in the morning. I also filled those Aqua Globes and
stuck two apiece in each hanging plant on the porch. That will hopefully hold
them until I get back.
Finally, I made supper. I was making a bacon and blue cheese
burger with onion rings and beet greens. Since it was just me, I cut the onion
ring recipe in half, but I’ll list the measurements as they were.
So, I peeled and sliced two large onions crosswise into 1/2 inch
slices. I separated them into rings. I saved the small inner rings for later
use. I added one cup of flour into a bowl. I tossed the rings in the flour and
let them sit for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, I made a pound of ground chuck into three
patties. I seasoned them with salt and pepper and let them come up to room
temperature.
I made a spread of mayonnaise, a squirt of Dijon mustard and
a lot of blue cheese crumbles.
I warmed up 6 cups of vegetable oil in my Dutch oven. I
stuck a candy thermometer in the oil. When the oil came up to 350 degrees, I
made the batter.
I whisked together 2 cups of flour, 1 ½ cups of cornstarch,
2 ½ teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 ½ teaspoons of onion powder, 2 ½ teaspoons of
cayenne pepper, 2 ½ teaspoons of granulated sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons of kosher
salt.
Then I mixed the wet ingredients: one egg I scrambled, 1 ½ cups
of beer (Anchor Steam was recommended) and 2 cups of sparkling water. I mixed
the wet with the dry and whisked that until no lumps remained.
I shook the flour off each ring, dipped it in the batter and
dropped it in the hot oil. I did it in batches, drained them on a rack over
paper towels and then stuck them into the oven set at 250 degrees to stay warm.
I also turned the beet greens on to boil.
When I had the onion rings done, I fried up the hamburgers.
While they were cooking, I lightly toasted an onion roll and warmed up two slices
of bacon in the microwave.
When the burgers were done, I assembled one of them. I
smeared the spread on each half. I put the burger on, topped it with more blue
cheese crumbles and then the bacon, cut in half.
I plated my dinner, keeping the beet greens in a small dish
so the vinegar wouldn’t seep into the bun or the onion rings.
It was excellent. That makes two dinners in two nights I hit
out of the park!!!
I cleaned up the mess and ran the dishwasher. I put the
leftovers in the freezer, along with yesterday’s chicken.
I watched The Cowboys (an old Western starring John Wayne
and Bruce Dern). When it ended, I went to bed.
