Smelts, frozen like Walt Disney

I recently realized frozen smelts can only be found in the grocery store during cooler months. I prepped a bunch last night and took what I didn't cook and tossed 'em in the freezer. I'm hoping the breading stays on once I removed them from the freezer. Depicted are my stages of preparation of these little delicate morsels of the sea.

Smelts, thawed and dried.

Floured, egged and encrusted in breadcrumbs, some fried, some frozen.

Vacuum packed and sentenced to the freezer until the next fish fry.

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Corn Tortillas a la YouTube

I tried making corn tortillas years ago, failed when I tried to roll them out and gave up. The other day, I bought some more masa harina, watched about 10 vids on YouTube searching for "corn tortillas" and, after a little tinkering, got it. No matter what bullshit hand-waving goes on about a grain behaving differently due to the relative humidity of the season, grain's moisture level doesn't change. I worked on the relative amounts of masa and water to get a nice dough; I found 120 g masa to 180 g water to make a nice dough. The second challenge encountered was rolling them out. This dough cannot be rolled, it can only be squashed. I put the 40 gram balls of dough (after resting) between the sheets of a ziploc plastic bag and squashed it really flat with a cast iron pan. The resulting disc is delicate, but, doesn't stick to the plastic. Cook a few minutes on each side on a wicked hot cast iron pan that's been wiped with a bit of oil. Let resulting tortillas rest (they soften on resting and develop flavor). I took a few and stuffed them with some leftover roasted chicken and a small bit of salsa for a decadent Saturday afternoon snack.

Another Steak Please

My photography sucks, hope you get the picture ...

1.1 lb New York Strip, 1.5" thick.

I bought it because of Mike's recent post of a killer ribeye. That steak burned an image in my memory and I needed a fix.

I rarely get the good cuts right when I grill. Low 'n slow is easy, the nice cuts require some experience. I added salt and pepper, got a smokin' hot kettle ready for direct, on Mike's guidance, 9 minutes (no peeks, no touch) on the first side, 7 minutes on the other, 5 minutes rest (the family was getting hungry) and served up for the 3 of us with roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Food of the gods. Thanks Mike. Wish the image conveyed more accurately how nice it was. Even the dog got some of the fat. She's just as happy as us.

Boil n bake honey wheat bagels

 

That's more like it.

milk, 1/2 C
water, 1/2 C
yeast, instant active, 1 pkg
salt, 1.5 t
honey, 1/4 C
white wheat flour, 1 C
unbleached white, 2 C
handful of rolled oats

Straight dough, overnight in the fridge. Warm up a couple hours, portion into 80 gram pieces, roll into ca. 7" ropes, curl into loops, let rest about 10 minutes, boil in 3 qts water/1/4 C honey for 1 minute, bake at 450°F for about 15 minutes. Yum.

Calories, about 200 each (w/o cream cheese).