Ain't Ja Mommas Pancakes!

Just finished devouring these and I must say, they are some of the best I have ever had.
"What are the best you have ever had, Connor?"
Well it is funny you asked that.  The best I have ever had were in San Fransisco at a little hole in the wall, Dottie's True Blue Cafe'.  After waiting in line for at least an hour or two, you will be served some of the best home cooked breakfast EVER!  Don't believe me, watch this video and tell me you don't want to wait in live 2 hours a day (Lind's and I did 3 times) to get you some of this!
Diners Drive-ins, and Dives-Dottie's True Blue Cafe'.

Ok, so the reason I make that shout out is to tell you that the 3 times we went, we had to order some of the pancakes to figure out what it was they put on them to make them so amazing!  Their secret ingredient...

The Cakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
1.In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
2. Pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
3. Let stand for 10 min.
4. Heat a lightly oiled griddle to 350.
5. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
6. Brown on both sides...Serve with butter, syrup, and the secret ingredient...

Secret ingredient...My Version of Dottie's Mix:
1T Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
splash of Nutmeg.

Sprinkle onto and serve!

Happy Fist Pump Fathers Day!

So for fathers day all i wanted to do was take our canoe in down to the Harpeth with my family and have a good time.  Well, little did I know that the fishing gods were looking down on us.  We floated the river for about 3 hrs and I only fished for 45 min or so.  But I ended up catching 30-40 fish, the largest being a 2.5-3lbs Kentucky Hybrid Bass....What a great way to finish a great day!  I only wish i had more photos of the day to share, but we forgot the battery of the camera on our first canoe outing :(

Happy Fish Pump Fathers Day!

Steak and Taters!

I have been holding onto some Rib Steaks from the Co-Op we did this winter trough Peaceful Pastures, a place where animals eat good so that they taste good when you eat good!  My mom gave me some red and gold potatoes a friend of hers grew in their garden.  I also picked some hot and sweet banana peppers and lettuce from the garden to accompany this summer meal!

                                                                    First the Meat!

2 Rib Steaks

1/2 C beer (I used ale)

1/3 C soy sauce

1/4 C maple syrup

1 T ginger

1tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp hot sauce

Mix all ingredients and let marinade for at least 2 hours and no more than 24 hrs in the refrigerator

Cook on grill to desired doneness

The Taters

12-15 small red and gold potatoes

1/4C red wine vinegar

2 tsp Honey

2tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 bunch chopped green onions

S&P

Boil potatoes in salt water until cooked through, but not soft. (10-20 min)

Cut in half and season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Mix all other ingredients

Run a skewer through the potatoes

Brush Potatoes with the liquid mixture

Grill on high until lightly brown on both sides (5 min)

Plate the potatoes and then drizzle with the remainder of liquid and add chopped green onion.

Grilled Banana Pepper Poppers

I made these up on the spot so all ingredients are eyeballed.

6 Banana peppers cut in half and deseeded.

Cream Cheese (I used honey walnut to go with the dinner)

Sharp Cheddar cheese

Bread Crumbs

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to desired texture (should be sticky)

Fill each pepper half with mixed ingredients

Throw on top rack of grill until pepper starts to brown....or just eat raw!

After Prep

On The Grill!

Dinner is served!

This was an amazing dinner!

Tune in next week when I make Rabbit Stew...straight from the garden!

Very Boring and Uneventful FPF

Well, last week we had a couple of punk kids break into our cars and take a few valuables and one of our house keys.  So you guesses it, FPF was spent changing our locks.  But...I could not just put back regular old locks...NO, I went keyless entry for my house.  These are a MUST BUY...especially if you are a parent with a young child and find yourself holding a kid, groceries, and a bag of toys when you get home and then having to try to get your keys out.  I see the robbery as a blessing in disguise.  Where has this been my whole life!  Kwickset.

Happy FPF!

Free Firewood Fist Pump Friday!

During the flood of 2010

A tree fell in our yard....I wonder if it made a sound!?!

Well on a hot and humid Friday I took it upon myself to cut up said downed tree.

After an hour or so of cutting in 90 degree / 90% humidity I had to call it quits and turn in for the weekend.

I took a few shots around the garden so that I can document the growth (and soon to be over growth) of the garden.

Front to back:

Lettuce, Squash, Banana Peppers (sweet and hot), Jalapeno Peppers, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes

Squash starting to bloom

Bell Peppers (Harris Teeter Plant)

Tomatoes!  Lots already coming up on all but one plant!

Be prepared for a Wine Post!

I am on the market for a good Muscadine Wine Recipe!

Blueberries!!! 

 I have to harvest them the day they become ripe or else the bird will pick them clean!

As you can see it was an unproductive FPF, but I got about 1/2 the tree cut down and then rehydrated on the couch for the rest of the day.

HAPPY FPF!

Connor's Not So Famous...Butt Delicious...BBQ

Happy Memorial Day!

For Memorial day I am grilling a Boston Butt Roast.

Its a 5.75lb roast.  Harris Teeter runs great deals on meat during most holidays. 
I got this roast for less than $6!

Everything you need!

First the Brine.  Lots of what I have read about a Boston Butt says that you don't need a brine.  I think you ALWAYS need a brine.  It helps to break down the fats, cook the meat faster, and adds internal flavor to the meat.  For more information see this great link of Brine.

Here is the brine solution I am using
1 Gallon Water
1 Cup Kosher Salt
3/4 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Black Pepper
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne
1/4 tsp Marjoram
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Cumin

Mix all in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Move to the side and let cool.

In a large container (I use a Cooler) add 1 Gallon of water and Lots of ice
Once the contents from the stove have cooled, add to the cooler along with the Meat.

Do not add meat if the liquid in the cooler is warm.

It will start to cook the meat and that is BAD!

After 6-8 hrs or so in the brine, its time to make The Rub!

1/4 Cup Salt

1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar

4 T Black Pepper

2 T Sugar

2 T Garlic

2 T Paprika (hot or sweet)

2 T Chili Powder

2 T Cumin

1 T Cinnamon

1 T Celery Salt

1 T White Pepper

1 T Dried Thyme (ground)

1 T Dried Oregano

Mix all in a bowl by hand

Remove the Roast from the Brine and pat dry.

Now rub both sides with the Rub.  Coat it as think as you can.

Place in a glass pan and cover with foil.  Let sit in the fridge for 8-12 hrs at 225-250 degrees.

When the temperature reaches 165 degrees, wrap the butt in foil and let cook 2 (or more hours)

I put the Butt in last night at 11:00.   I just took it off at 4:45.

Now let the butt stand for about an hour and pull with a couple of forks:

The Sauce

1 slice Bacon

1 bunch FRESH Thyme

EVOO

1 onion (diced)

2 garlic cloves

2 Cups Ketchup

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Molasses

2 Tbls Red Wine Vinegar

1 Tbls dry mustard

1 Tbls ground Cumin

1 Tsp paprika

Black pepper to taste.

Wrap Thyme in Bacon and tie with twine.

Heat 2T EVOO and cook bacon slowly over medium heat until bacon renders fat.

Add onion and garlic and cook slowly for 5 min.

Add all other ingredients and stir

Cook over medium heat for 20min.

Happy Fist Pump - 4 Day Weekend - Friday!

WoW!  This FPF came very quickly.  It was a nice week.  Got the yard cut on Wednesday, but need to cut the ditch and do some weed-eating this Memorial Day Weekend.  But...

For FPF I had a much larger project to tackle.  This will be an ongoing project as time (and money) allow.

The big picture is to connect the garage onto the house and have it as the master bedroom.  This area will become a garden with  French Doors leading out onto a Trex patio.  Beautiful perennials and flowering shrubs, and a fountain.  So today I started work on a long overdo clean up of the area.  This are is where the dogs have spent the last 2 years, so it needed A LOT of work.

Entrance into "The Gardens"

Future Plans:  Flagstone on gravel base

Remove gate and add a decorative structure

Private Patio

Future Plans:  French doors from Master bedroom

Trex Patio on a stone base

Swing From Arbor

Future:  Rework Stone border.

Install Bermuda or Zoysia Sod

Install Flowering Shrubs, Evergreens, and Perennials

Future:  Rework Stone

Fill with River rock

Get Fountain in working condition

So...For Fist Pump Friday...

I dug up the buried stone. Killed the ants.

Regraded the bed edges.

Reinstalled the stone border!

Happy Fist Pump Friday! 

Enjoy the long Memorial Day Weekend. 

And please don't forget to tell everyone you know who has fought for our freedom,

THANK YOU!