Griddle for Breakfast

Have you ever woke up in the morning and your stomach is starving for an old fashioned country breakfast?  The special kind of breakfast only grandma would make?  We would always leave Granny’s with a full, satisfied belly. I can remember waking up on Saturday morning, no vacuum cleaner running at 8:00am or lights that would be flickering on and off with someone telling you its time to get up! I knew if I spent the night at Granny’s house I would not be bothered. She would let me sleep in as long as I wanted to; even tell noon if I chose to. When I was ready to wake up, Granny would always ask, “Honey what would you like for breakfast?”  She gave me choices, a sausage egg biscuit, waffles, or pancakes. Thinking back to those days, I never had a thought of how long it took Granny to make breakfast until I was older. Some mornings it seemed to take longer to fix breakfast. I’m a mess, always have all my pots and pans mixed up, so I got real excited when I found some griddles that I could cook an entire breakfast on.

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1.      The Presto Liddle Griddle is perfect for small meals 1-2 people.

2.      The Presto Cool Touch Tilt n Drain is square which helps to holds more eggs, pancakes, bacon and sandwiches. Also has a cool touch base around the front and back sides which provides you with added safety. With a master heat control you can maintain a steady cooking temperature automatically. This makes a bit more food than the Liddle Griddle.

3.      Next there’s a Presto Cool Touch Foldaway Griddle that has a 14-15 inch grilling surface and this one is also square to hold more eggs, pancakes etc.  It folds up for compact storage.

4.      Or if you are a sandwich Queen or King you would love the  Big Cool touch Griddle that is  10 ½ by 20 ½ cooking surface ,which is not only great for cooking eggs, pancakes, or bacon but you can use it for  making sandwiches.

5.      Last there is the Presto Professional Griddle that has an extra large nonstick cooking surface, and is very easy to clean. There’s a slide out tray which catches your drippings and is less messy.

Always remember, if you are purchasing a Presto Griddle, please read your Presto Griddle instruction manual thoroughly and get familiar with your new appliance.

Some Safety Tips to remember are:

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• Read all instructions
• Always remember to keep hot appliances out of reach around children
• Do not immerse your control cord or plug in water
• Do not use these appliance’s outdoors

All of these griddles are easy to clean and maintain, they conduct heat more evenly, easy to store, and you can cook two or three different foods all at the same time. No fuss and no messy pans to have to clean up. Now you can fix a down home country breakfast just like grandma used to make.

Yumm, I reckon I’ll go have some bacon and eggs myself.

Time for Ice Cream!

About two summers ago, I acquired a White Mountain 6 Quart Hand Crank Ice Cream Maker from the Blue Ridge Mountain Ice Cream Maker Store's website; it is owned and operated by Red Hill General Store. I absolutely love the freezer! It makes delicious ice cream every single time and my whole family loves it too. (I tote it around with me to all our cookouts in the spring and summer). We all get together and make the ice cream and devour it. In case you want to know how the ice cream is made the book tells, but I will tell you what it says now "Ice cream is made by freezing-while stirring- a pasteurized, homogenized mixture of cream, milk, sugar, and other ingredients and flavoring to produce a countless variety of ice cream creations." It's really a simple process.

All of the ice cream makers come with a little instruction booklet on how to use it and it includes recipes for different ice creams, it also has some helpful hints such as: "The Old-Fashioned method to harden the ice cream: It is best to make a cooked recipe the night before, so it has plenty of time to chill.  

Step 1: Leave the ice cream in the canister. 

Step 2: Place a sheet of waxed paper across the top of the can, place the canister cover over the waxed paper.

Step 3: Drain water and repack freezer with 5 parts of ice and 1 part of salt.  Do this until entire canister and lid are covered with the ice and salt mixture. 

Step 4: Cover with a burlap bag or some suitable material for insulation. Let stand until frozen hard."

The ice cream maker booklet also gives a little history of the White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer Company, important safeguards (number 1. is "Read all instructions."), the features of the ice cream maker/freezer, how to make the ice cream, and some recipes such as: 

Maple walnut ice cream in the 6 quart Ice Cream Maker:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups pure maple syrup
• 3 cups whole milk
• 6 cups heavy cream
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups chopped walnuts

Mix syrup in a heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until reduced by 1/4 (5 to 10 minutes). Stir in cream and milk and bring to a boil. Mix eggs in a large bowl and slowly add the hot cream mixture to sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened or temp reaches 170 degrees F. Do not boil.  Chill mixture at least 3 hours. Begin to freeze, add walnuts in the last 5-10 minutes of freezing.  (Egg substitutes can be used in place of real eggs.)  For the four quart recipe it is 2 cups pure maple syrup, 2 cups whole milk, 4 cups heavy cream, 4 eggs, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.

Just in case you are forgetful or unorganized like I am you can visit the Blue Ridge Mountain Ice Cream Maker Store at www.brm-icecream.com and download another copy of the instruction and recipe book (its only 8 pages if you need to print it). I know I just love the White Mountain Ice Cream Makers.

Snowy Day Cooking

Last week I was snowed in with nothing to but cook.  So, I plan on sharing some recipes that I played around with while stuck in the apartment that I’m sure you will love to try:

I have had my Presto deep fryer for 10 years now and I still love it.  My mother gave it to me when she received another one for her birthday, so I really don’t know how old it is.  I use it at least twice a week and my roommates love it.  The one that I have is the Frydaddy.  From what I can tell they have not changed this style in years.  It only uses 4 cups of oil to fry.  I still have the scoop that came with it originally and with Presto making them with a non-stick surface on the inside and out it is so easy to clean.  And since neither me or my roommates enjoy cleaning, this is a bonus!

I was looking at the different kinds that are being made now and you would be surprised at the different sizes that are being made available.  You can find them to fit any need from two people or eight generous servings. I have listed some recipes that you might find interesting and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Banana Deep Fried Ingredients
4 Tbs honey
6 Tbs water
1/2 cup flour
1 banana quartered
4 cups cooking oil
2 tsp double action baking powder

Banana Deep Fried Method
Put your deep fryer on to heat up. While it is heating prepare the bananas. First thing to do is roll the banana pieces in flour and then mix the baking soda with water to make a paste and roll the banana pieces in it. Put the bananas in the deep fryer a couple at a time and deep fry them for 4 minutes or until they are golden brown. Drain them well. Arrange each Banana Deep Fried on a dessert plate and pour 1 tablespoon of honey on each banana piece and serve with ice cream.

Deep Fried Twinkies Ingredients
1 Tbs oil
1 cup milk
6 twinkies
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs vinegar
flour for dusting
6 Popsicle sticks
4 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder

Deep Fried Twinkies Method
Chill or freeze Twinkies for several hours or overnight. Heat 4 cups vegetable oil in deep fryer to about 375 degrees. In a bowl mix together milk, vinegar and oil. In another bowl blend flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk wet ingredients into dry and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate while oil heats. Push stick into Twinkie lengthwise leaving about 2 inches to use as a handle then dust with flour and dip into the batter. Rotate Twinkie until batter covers entire cake. Place carefully in hot oil. The Twinkie will float so hold it under with a utensil to ensure even browning. It should turn golden in 3 to 4 minutes. Depending on the size of your deep fryer you might be able to fry only one at a time two at the most. Remove Twinkie to paper towel and let drain. Remove stick and allow the Deep Fried Twinkies to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.