EoMEoTE - 20th Anniversary Edition

I definitely had some favorite blog events, and one of them was Jeanne and Anthony's (formerly of Cooksister and Spiceblog) End of Month Egg on Toast Extravaganza.

 

Ok. I didn't love when they expected me to write poetry, but throwing together a version of eggs and toast? Yes, please. They're some of my favorite foods!

I even hosted a couple of times (Hard Boiled, round-up here, and Seventies song lyrics, round-up here), I loved it so much.

So when I was thinking of ways to celebrate Dispensing Happiness's 20th year on the blogsphere, I knew I had to egg on toast one more time.

It's something we do almost weekly here, in fact. Saturdays and Sundays are the only days when there's enough time to make breakfast for Matt, and I try to not only come up with something tasty and filling, but to use up the tail ends of whatever I'd made during the week. 

There were a few of the ciabattas I'd baked earlier (again, finding decent bread here is inconsistent), as well as a few pieces of prosciutto from something (a sandwich, probably).  

So I split them open and toasted them in the frying pan with butter, then made some of the most perfect fried eggs to date. Layer up, and breakfast is served.  

The rolls got used up, the last few eggs in the carton - gone, and those last pieces of salty ham, finished. 

It's eggy, it's toasty. What more can you ask for?

Summer, Rolled Up

Caprese Pull.-Apart Bread

 

Matt & Alex love caprese. I mean, loooove it.

 

We caprese sandwiches, pasta, everything. That combo of tomato, fresh mozzarella & basil not only taste amazing, but they pretty much scream 'Summer!' with every bite (not in a creepy, sentient way).

Early last week, I saw a recipe for Caprese Pull-Apart Bread, so yeah.  That was happening.

Nothing out of the ordinary - a nice, pliant dough, topped with glorious flavors (...I forgot to add the garlic butter first, so that went on once the bread was formed), cut into slices, stacked in a pan & baked. 

Smells fantastic, tastes even better.

 

Why Do You Bake?

Ciabatta Rolls

 The obvious, immediate answer is "Because I have no choice. Baking is part of me. I have to bake."

But the other, just as true, answer is that most of the time, the stores don't carry what I need or want.

We cannot get decent breads. It's like...super-soft ultra-processed white or MAX HEALTH WITH NUTS AND SEEDS!

Just. No.

It's been another hawt week, and I planned a bunch of salads and sandwiches for dinner.
The problem, of course, is finding suitable breads.

Or, you know, just making my own

The most recent was smoked chicken salad on ciabatta. Gorgeous dough, essentially hands-off. Overnight starter, then several rises. So easy, so good.

Because sometimes, you just have to bake.

Game Day Eats - Take Two

Snickerdoodle Blondies

 

 

 

With the holiday weekend, and Matt's friend(s) still in town, there was time for more gaming.

More gaming meant more gaming food.

Rosemary-Garlic Focaccia Caprese Bites

Yesterday, I made the focaccia I talked about in this post, and topped cut squares with slices of tomato (helped along with some sugar and salt, as they were not the best), fresh mozzarella, and dabs of pesto.

There was a roasted garlic dip (not pictured) with lots of fresh veggies, and Snickerdoodle Blondies. Stupidly easy to make, but my guys love Snickerdoodles.

Games were played. Food was eaten.  My geeks were happy.

Pan de Cristal Flavor Bombs

 I think this may be the most amazing nine ingredient combo, ever.

I watch a lot of food and comic/geeky YouTube (did you know Callebaut has a channel?!). 

King Arthur dropped a video for their Pan de Cristal a week or so ago, and ...um. Yes. This I had to make.

I love this dough. I love this recipe. I love this bread.

Five ingredients. Very low-effort. As I've been telling Alex for years, bread is mostly about time.  

Excellent crust; crisp and shattering.  But the interior is soft, and shiny like glass! (Hence the name.)

And so full of flavor.  You could easily put away a loaf as is.

But if you could fill that amazing bread with flavor bombs like tomatoes slow-roasted for hours and hours, and rich, caramelized garlic, with the creamy sweetness of burrata, why would you pass that up?

You wouldn't. 

This sandwich is perfection.  That is all.

 

Poof

 If you don't get flour on your clothes, are you even baking?

Love Hurts

The teen suffered a break-up recently, his first. But it wasn't just the end of a relationship - he was ghosted (I'd like to have a talk with her parents about teaching children to accept responsibility for the actions). He was crushed, unsurprisingly; they'd been involved (albeit long-distance) for two and a half years.

Ciabatta, colored black to match the ache in his heart.
 

With this happening right before Valentine's, I wanted to make the day as tolerable for him as possible. I mean, Matt & I don't need a manufactured holiday to show our love. We do that daily. So I decided to make an all-black dinner.

Garlic Soup with Fideos - for un-kiss-able breath.

I got a black tablecloth, and an inexpensive set of dishes and cups, for the occasion.  You can't take a theme too far.

Homemade, black, farfalle in white pesto sauce.

There was chocolate cake, made with black cocoa, for dessert. Decadent chocolate milk to drink.  

But if all that wasn't enough to show him he was loved, we also got him this (Derrynane was very interested).

Being a teenager is hard. Dating is hard. Dating while a teenager? The worst. 

I know he'll recover.  And hope he'll find someone who deserves him. But for now, all I can do is love him and do my best to make him feel better.

 

And NOW we can say, "Happy New Year!"

 Christmas Day Pasta: beet & paprika- & parsley-colored doughs, tossed with a bit of butter, and served with mascarpone, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar.

What a start to the year, eh? 

I've been meaning to swing by, do a bit of updating, but (waves arms around).  

Now that sanity and decency have returned, I feel like I can talk about things like 'what I ate!'. 

Nothing too detailed, but here's a few highlights from 2020, The Garbage Year.

 Lime Petit Fours for tea.

Halloween Murder Cake.

Lovely baguettes.  I've baked So. Much. Bread.

What's that? More pasta?  Yes.  Yes, more pasta.

I mentioned the bread, right? Naan, parathas, pita...

 Something for Matt: Carnitas Eggs Benedict with Chipotle Hollandaise

YES. MORE PASTA.  AND IT SPARKLES!

Pasta roses. Because...why not.

I still don't know how to make this configuration of blogger look decent.  Or maybe I no longer have the patience to mess with it?

It's a new year, hopefully with less AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!.  Here's to lots of tasty foods!

"Teach me."

Last night, Alex - who is much-too-rapidly approaching his tenth birthday- helped make a cardamom bread.

Measuring and adding ingredients he has down already. Mixing, no problem.

It came time to knead the dough and I told him I'd work it a bit first, so it'd be easier to handle. A few minutes later, I asked him "Do you know how to knead?"
His instant reply "Teach me."

And so I did.