The $200 Burger

Although absurdly priced burgers do exist...think Kobe & lots of truffles...this $200 burger isn't exactly the cost of your lunch but more appropriately the cost of getting to lunch.  Popular among local aviators is a lunch rendezvous at Piccadilly Lily Diner at the Tri-County Airport near Lone Rock, WI.   The short flight from Morey Airport in Middleton, WI, has an approximate price tag of just under $200.  Tack on the real price of the burger (approx $6.50) and you've got your "$200" burger.

This lunch escapade was my most recent dining adventure.  The surgeon I routinely work with took up flying lessons just over a year ago and ever since has been regaling his surgical staff with stories from his time in the sky.  These stories were often ended with "When I get my license I'm taking you all up for a ride.  We'll go to Lone Rock and get lunch...the $200 burger." We would all politely nod our heads in approval with a chuckle while giving one another side glances of apprehension.  Though we were happy for his passionate pursuit, we weren't entirely sure we wanted to partake.  

The moment of truth finally arrived yesterday.  It was a beautiful clear (cold) day and we were expecting to finish our work early.  Our friendly surgeon announced, "Today is the day.  If you are all free, how about I take you to Lone Rock for lunch by way of a plane?".  What could we say?  How could we argue?  And, how could we say "no" to his look of sheer boyish delight?  I think, "Um, okay" was our collective answer.  Our apprehension wasn't so much about our new pilot's abilities, he's extremely conscientious, but more about falling from the sky while strapped in to a tin can with wings and, possibly even worse, about being too green around the gills to even eat once we arrived.  I popped my Dramamine equivalent and practiced my yoga breathing.  After all, what is life without some adventure? 

  

Thankfully our flight was uneventful and was actually quite beautiful.  Cruising at an altitude of 2500 feet gave our familiar Wisconsin River landscape a whole new appeal.  Our short flight to Lone Rock took all of 17 minutes from Middleton.  As you might imagine, the airport in Lone Rock is rather small.  A short runway that ends at a few small buildings.  The Piccadilly Lily was one of those buildings.  Once on the ground, our pilot taxied the plane right on over to the Piccadilly's "parking lot". The whole setting couldn't have been more quaint and unusual.  The restaurant is a small salt box diner like you'd expect to see in any of our tiny rural towns.  The parking lot, however, is designed for private airplanes.  Simply fly in and park your plane in the lot like a car.  It is quite a sight.  Once inside the diner we saw that there are parking spaces for cars on the other side, but what fun is that?

  

The diner has about 10 tables, one waitress, and a bustling lunch crowd.  The crowd was pretty mixed.  Everywhere from beautifully groomed men in starch white collared shirts with designer ties to guys who looked like they had spent just one day too long at Deer Camp.  Our foursome fit somewhere in between.  The walls are naturally adorned with aviation themed artwork of all kinds.  (The airport and diner seem to have quite a history, but unfortunately no website or online information to share.)

The menu is pretty traditional small town diner.  A large breakfast menu that is served all day and a smaller lunch menu comprised of burgers, a variety of sandwiches, and nearly any fried side you can think of.  The prices tell you that you are definitely not in the big city anymore.  

I had the Philly Steak sandwich with homemade "pub" chips on the recommendation of our waitress.  I'm not a connoisseur of Philly Steak sandwiches by any stretch, but I was hungry and it was tasty.  The pub chips were curly shaved potatoes that had been fried.  They were crispy and not at all greasy, but were deficient in salt.  My friends seemed to like their food well enough...eggs & hash browns, eggs Benedict, grilled ham & cheese and chili.  

This particular dining adventure wasn't really about the food.  It was about the whole experience.  An unexpected exhilarating trip in a small private plane to a tiny rural diner for lunch was something to relish.  Even after we were safely back on the ground in Middleton, it still didn't hit me until later that evening what an amazing experience I had just been treated to.  I can't say I'd go out of my way to drive to the Piccadilly Lily (though it appeared that many people do), but if you are ever offered the opportunity to fly in for the "$200" burger, don't hesitate, just say "yes"! 

When life gives you unending leftovers...make Hash

I do love Thanksgiving.  For the past few years we've been hosting our families in our home and it's been fabulous.  I really love planning and cooking for two days in order to see our extended families enjoying one another's company.  This is the only time every year that they all get together under one roof and it makes my heart smile.

Since I do the bulk of the cooking, the bulk of the leftovers end up staying with us.  It's kind of exciting for the first couple of days, but it gets old rather quickly.  And with only two of us eating said leftovers, they last longer than most microbiologists would recommend.

With our one week deadline looming, we have to get serious about getting this stuff eaten.  My favorite way of "cleaning out the fridge" so to speak, is making hash.  It's the perfect way to spruce up tired leftovers and Thanksgiving leftovers lend themselves particularly well.

After combing through the fridge my ingredient lineup included roasted root vegetables, turkey, gravy, fresh herbs, and a kale-swiss cheese-crouton dish I made a couple of days ago.

To make hash of any kind, everything should be nicely chopped so it mixes evenly in the pan and on your plate.  I decided to add some chopped red onion to the mix to liven up the flavor.  I preheated my cast iron skillet over medium heat, threw in some bacon grease (cuz everyone should keep a container of bacon grease on hand!) and started sautéing my onions.

When my onions were soft I added my leftover root vegetables.  My goal here was to get a little life and flavor back in to them.  A higher heat allowed them to get a little caramelization back on their edges.  I then threw in the turkey, herbs, and kale mixture.  I turned the heat back down to medium again and stirred everything to mix well.  Since this food had already been cooked before, I simply wanted to reheat and blend the flavors.  I now had a nice fond going in the bottom of the skillet.  I added the gravy, turned the heat down to low, and threw a lid on it.  After a couple of minutes I removed the lid and gave the bottom of the skillet a good scraping with a wooden spatula to get that yummy brown crust mixed back in to the hash.  That's it...hash is done!  I removed it from the heat and covered it to keep it warm.

I love poached eggs and in my opinion, no self respecting hash would be eaten without a cap of poached egg.  In my household we have two differing views however on how long to cook a poached egg.  I like mine medium (about 3 1/2 minutes) so the whites are cooked and the yolk is still runny.  My husband is more of a 4 1/2 - 5 minute guy...well done so to speak.  He likes the yolk to be just slightly soft but all solid.  Poaching eggs is intimidating for some people, but it's really not that complicated.  There are as many opinions on how to poach an egg as there are eggs, so I'm going to tell you how I do it.  It works every time for me.

My method for poaching eggs:
1.  Start with a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water and a good slug of white vinegar. The vinegar helps hold the egg whites together, and actually gives a nice mild acid flavor to the finished product.
 2.  Bring your water to a boil.  While you wait for your water to boil, crack your eggs in to individual small bowls or cups.
3.  After your water reaches a boil, turn the heat down to its lowest simmer.  As soon as your water stops bubbling, slide each egg carefully in to the water.  Don't be alarmed by the ethereal look of your whites at this point.
4.  Cover the pan and start your timer.  Timing your eggs takes a little practice, but as I mentioned, 3 1/2 minutes usually gets me a medium poached (large) egg.
5.  When the time is up, remove your eggs from the heat and check them.  You can carefully remove them with a slotted spoon and give them a little jiggle or soft poke with your finger to see if they are done to your liking.  If so, serve and enjoy.  If not, you can put them back in to your pan of hot water, cover, and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
6.  If you want them to look pretty, place the cooked eggs on a paper towel to drain and gently cut away the filmy white parts that didn't set.
7.   If you want to save them for later, you can put the cooked eggs in to a container of cold water, cover, and keep in the refrigerator.  When you're ready to eat them simply slide them back in to a pan of hot water for a few seconds to rewarm.

So there you have it.  Our dinner last night was Thanksgiving Hash with poached eggs.  I even incorporated a dollop of leftover Porchlight cranberry sauce.  It was delicious!  Just one more meal and we'll have our leftovers all polished off...one more thing to be thankful for.  Until next year!

Gingerbread...not just for men anymore

I have never been a Gingerbread fan nor have I ever had the desire to make little men or houses out of the stuff.  That said, however, while researching menu ideas for a recent Depression Era themed book club that I hosted, I was intrigued by the suggestion of "hot Gingerbread".  The Gingerbread recipe I subsequently settled on has changed my relationship with Gingerbread forever.  I don't know what good Gingerbread is supposed to taste like but this not too sweet cake is teeming with the familiar and cozy complexities of molasses, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.  I can't say that I'll be making little men or houses any time soon, but I will be making this cake again.  I served it with homemade sweet whipped cream kissed with vanilla and cinnamon.  If you are looking for a unique dessert to serve this holiday season, look no further.  (Disclaimer:  I love to cook, but I am not a baker.  To all of you bakers out there, feel free to correct any of my baking or cream whipping mistakes.)

The recipe that follows is my variation of Favorite Old Fashioned Gingerbread found at AllRecipes.com

Cozy Gingerbread Cake
1/2 C white sugar
1/4 C soft butter
3/4 C applesauce
1 large egg
1 C molasses
1 1/4 C AP flour
1 1/4 C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 C hot water
extra cinnamon for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9 inch cake pan.
2.  In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar.  Add applesauce, egg, and molasses, blend well.
3.  In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients together (flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt)
4.  Blend dry ingredient bowl in to wet ingredient bowl.  Stir in the hot water.
5.  Pour batter in to prepared cake pan and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
6.  Allow to cool in pan and lightly sprinkle with cinnamon before serving.

I served mine with a "special" whipped cream as I mentioned.  I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the whisk attachment.  It is best if you can cool the whisk and bowl in the refrigerator for a bit before using and make sure your cream is cold.

1.  Pour 8 oz cold high quality whipping cream...NOT HALF & HALF, but real whipping cream (I used Organic Valley)... in the chilled mixing bowl.
2.  Begin whisking on low and gradually advance to high so as not to splatter everywhere. (you may use a hand mixer or even whisk by hand if you have the time and endurance)
3.  When cream thickens and begins to form soft peaks, slow speed and slowly add 1 heaping tablespoon of powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla, and a couple of hefty shakes of cinnamon.
4.  Increase speed again until cream is firm and airy.  CAUTION: DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF THE WHIPPING PROCESS FOR A SECOND! Your cream will turn to butter in an instant if you don't watch it carefully. (If this happens, don't throw it away.  Follow these directions and make yourself some yummy butter!) Once it starts to change from a liquid to a foam the rest of the process happens very quickly.
5.  Taste your whipped cream and adjust flavors as necessary by simply folding them in.  To serve, heap in a pretty bowl with a spoon so guests can serve themselves.  The whipped cream will keep in the refrigerator in a covered container until the cake is gone.

Delicious!!

How to Survive Book Club and Throw a Great Depression party

I belong to a book club and it still astonishes me.  When my friend, Katie, invited me to join her book club a few years ago I said, "I would love to, but I don't read.  Thanks for thinking of me though."  Thankfully she encouraged me to come anyway, assuring me that not everyone reads the books every time.  I discovered that although many of the ladies do read the books, this was the most amazing group of women and I felt so blessed to have been invited to be a part of something so enriching.  Book or no book, I learn something new from these women every time we get together.  And, low and behold, I started reading.  I was quickly reminded however as to why I don't read.  My reading time starts after I've crawled in to bed for the night and it ends about two pages later when I fall asleep.  At this pace I would get through a book a year and I would have to go back and review periodically what I had already read, as I would start to forget the beginning.  So, I became an audiobook listener and it has forever changed my life.  I can now keep up with the fastest of readers and have shocked myself to be one of the members in the group who routinely finishes the book.  For you audiobook naysayers...you know who you are (E.I.S.)...don't knock it til you've tried it.  And, if you've tried it and still knock it, then, well, what can I say...it works for me.

As part of our monthly Book Club we all take turns hosting and the host gets to pick the book for her month.  I volunteered for November and the book I chose was "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles.  It is set in 1930's-1940's and was a great read (by "read", I mean "listen").  I like to use my host months as an outlet for making lots of fun food to share with friends.  With our meeting date being just after Thanksgiving I was trying to build a menu around that...but I was having a hard time.  It just wasn't coming together and I figured no one really wanted to eat my Thanksgiving leftovers.  Finally a lightbulb went on and I decided to do a Depression Era cocktail party in honor of our book.  "Depression Era cocktail party" seems a bit like an oxymoron, but the truth is despite the devastation to so many, there was still a high society who had plenty of reason to drink more Gin.

I had a great time researching menus and foods from that time period.  I was astonished to see how many foods we are so familiar with were actually invented during the 30's & 40's.  The processed food era began much earlier than I realized...much to my chagrin.  I found The Food Timeline particularly educational and helpful in my planning.  And, believe it or not, there is a Great Depression Theme Party planning site out there.  Who'da thunk?

Now that I had some great ideas I got to work washing my grandmother's depression glass and polishing her silver serving ware.  I was admittedly nervous about actually using, and risking damaging, my precious crystal and glass antiques, but what good are they sitting on a shelf?  I'm sure  they were beaming with pride and smiling on the inside to be sparkling clean and being used in the way they were intended.  (Images of Disney's Beauty & the Beast now dancing in my head) I set the stage in our formal dining room complete with a lace table cloth, a side bar for classic Gin Martinis, and my iPod queued up with a couple of hours worth of Big Band music.  I even donned one of my favorite vintage 1940's dresses for the night.  It was shaping up to be a fun evening.

So what of my menu?  Well, here it is including links to the recipes I used.
Chicken Liver Pate (from B.A. Foodist)
Deviled Sardines
Deviled Ham spread (from Umami Girl)
Sherry Cheddar spread
Blue Cheese-Caramelized Shallot spread (made with Hook's Blue Cheese)
Apple-Salami Porcupine
Salmon & Caviar Finger Sandwiches (I made mine as open faced toasts)
Stella's Russian Black Bread & White Bread toasts
Celery
Assortment of Crackers
Assortment of olives stuffed with Hook's Blue Cheese, garlic, and pimentos
Death's Door Gin for our martinis
Maple Meringues (from Simply Sifted)
Gingerbread Cake  (see my Gingerbread post for my variations)


The food and drink was a hit and everyone had a good time.  We had a fruitful discussion of the book and our impressions of the lives of women of the time.  One such discussion was the idea of dressing your best no matter what you were doing.  The timeless vision of women from the 50's vacuuming in their heels and pearls.  Our grandmothers refusing to leave the house without lipstick.  Meanwhile, look how we've evolved.  Without intending to be superficial, I believe it's true that how you look on the outside effects how you feel on the inside.  This became ever more apparent to me as I was cleaning up after the party still in my swanky dress and heels.  I did have a soft buzz from the gin, but there was a new swagger in my step.  A kind of, hmmm, I feel kind of feminine and sexy, even though I'm picking up dirty dishes and packing away uneaten food.  Before the real dirty work began I doffed the dress and donned my fleece.  With the dress and heels went my swagger.  Not feeling so feminine and sexy in my baggy pj's.  Maybe there was something to all of the fuss of creating a beautiful and put together exterior, no matter what.  Although oppressive in some regards, I think my grandmother may have been channeling me for a moment to show me the unspoken possibilities the women of the time experienced.


One final thing to share with you is the book within the book.  George Washington's "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation" is referenced and even read through in this novel.  It is worth your time to look it over.  I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned and reminded of.  Our world could use more of this.  Just a few more things I have learned from belonging to my book club.

You Have to Start Somewhere...

So here I sit, about to embark on this new and frightful journey of blogging.  I have had far too many friends for far too long encourage me to do this.  It's taken me a couple of years to finally  muster up the courage to sit down and give it a go....so here it is....you have to start somewhere, right?

My most important disclaimer is that I am not a writer.  No, really.  That has been my biggest fear about starting a blog.  I don't want to look like an idiot and I want to be interesting.  Something funny now and then would be great too.  My vocabulary isn't the strongest and thank goodness for spellcheck!  Although poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine, I know that I am often in violation of many rules myself.  Whew, I feel better already!  I just want to be up front with you from the beginning.  If you don't have any expectations about my blog posts, then you won't be disappointed...sounds like a perfect plan to me!

So, I suppose you're wondering about the Earthmuffin thing.  Most people do.  That is the affectionate nickname my husband gave me back before he was my husband.  I guess you could say I have an  "earthy" side.  By earthy, I don't mean filthy like Pig Pen, but more like a lover of Mother Earth.  My old school friends tease me about being a tree-hugger.  Something I'm not ashamed to be.  As I've gotten older I've become more accustomed to the finer things in life, but my heart is still in the right place and I hope that my choices in life reflect that.

Earthmuffin came to life though thanks to Gmail.  When I was trying to set up my first Gmail account many many years ago (that's right kids, I remember when Google didn't exist!) it was nearly impossible to find a user name that wasn't already taken.  After a lengthy string of fruitless attempts at coming up with something worthwhile, my husband said "What about Earthmuffin"?  Hmmm, ok.  At this point I was game for just about anything.  If you can believe it, Earthmuffin was taken, so I added the year of my birth and voila!  People continue to laugh when I share my email address with them.

When one of my dear friends was persistently encouraging me to start a blog my biggest question was...but what do I call it?  You guessed it...Earthmuffin was her answer.  So, here I am.  I hope that if you stumble upon this blog you find something worth your time and decide to stay a while.  If nothing else it will allow myself and my friends to cross "get Alyssa to start a blog" off of our to do lists.  You have no idea how relieved I am to get this first post out of the way.
Cheers!