Toasting bread.

Throw out your toaster! It's a waste of counter space when you already have an oven. Why spend money on an appliance that only does one thing. Use your oven and you can make up to 10 pieces at once.

 1. If you do not have a separate broiler, Move one of your oven racks to the very top position.

 2. Set the oven to Low Broil. If your oven doesn't have a HI-LO setting for broiling you will just have to pay closer attention as to not burn the toast. (broiler temperature low 400 high 575 degree)

3. Distribute pieces of bread evenly on the top rack.

4. Leave the oven door cracked open.

5.  Watch the toast carefully so it doesn't burn.

6. It should take about 2 minutes on Low, but ovens vary.

7. When the first side reaches your desired color flip each piece using tongs.

8.  When the second side reaches your desired color remove your toast using tongs.

9.  Turn your oven off and enjoy your toast!

10. Finished.

or just use a frying pan:

Heat the pan to medium high. Watch carefully.
Toast each side till desired color.

Not a real tortilla.

Take a piece of bread and slowly, but gently squish it down. You have an emergency tortilla.  Perfect for a tostada.

Bachelor tortilla (a little rolling pin action).

You could also do it with a piece of toast and get more of the texture. The toat may not compress as much.

Table?

Another kitchen chair.

Football season!

This what I think I will make again for the opening of the season. Out of flour to make tortillas (probably a good thing health wise), so I will get some whole wheat tortillas.

Polenta frito.

Homemade Frittos aka Polenta frito.

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon oil

Put the cornmeal and salt into a bowl; pour the boiling water over the cornmeal.
Stir really well and add the oil.
Stir to combine. (If the dough is a little too thin, add more cornmeal, a teaspoon at a time, until it is fairly stiff dough.)
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and put the dough on that.
Put a piece of wax paper on top of the dough so to roll it without the dough sticking to the rolling pin.
Roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick.
Remove and dispose of the wax paper.
Cut it into fritto shaped pieces.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Let them cool.

Mayo variations.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients: (Yields: Makes 3 cups)

Mayonnaise:
• 4 egg yolks, pasteurized
• 2 tablespoons mustard
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil


Directions: Variations: Aioli, Rouille, Tartar Sauce

Homemade mayonnaise is easy to make, delicious, and saves money. We also have three mayonnaise offshoots commonly found in French cooking: Aioli which adds a dimension of garlic and orange flavor; Rouille, mayonnaise dressed up with saffron and cayenne; and Tartar Sauce, the evergreen accompaniment to fish. Caution: it’s important to use pasteurized eggs to avoid salmonella.

To make mayonnaise:

In a food processor fitted with the mixing or chopping blade, process the yolks, mustard, salt and pepper until fully incorporated. With the machine is still running, very slowly add vegetable oil in a very thin stream into the mixture until the mayonnaise is thick and creamy. If the small pusher of your food processor has a tiny hole at the bottom, then pour the oil through the small pusher.

Aioli:

• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

To make aioli:
Stir chopped garlic and orange zest into 1 cup of mayonnaise until fully  incorporated.

Rouille:

• 1 teaspoon saffron
• 1 generous pinch cayenne pepper

To make rouille:
Stir saffron and cayenne into 1 cup of mayonnaise until fully incorporated.

Tartar Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon cornichons
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons shallots, peeled

To make tartar sauce:
Put the capers, cornichons, parsley, and shallots into the workbowl of your food processor with the chopping blade. Pulse until finely chopped. Add 1 cup mayonnaise, and pulse until fully incorporated.


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Another method. All you need is:

• 2 eggs (pasteurized)
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar (or lemon juice)
• 2+ cups  (preferably not a strong tasting oil)
• 1 tablespoon of mustard (optional extra but I like my mayo mustardy)
• Salt

Using a stick blender, blend from the bottom of the jar upwards.
Once everything is blended through you have your mayonnaise. You can make it fresh in under a minute.