Last night's dinner was, as usual, wonderful. The food was simple, the friends, fantastic. Here are a few details on what we ate and some recipes. Maybe someday I'll actually photograph the dishes we're noshing on instead of just eating them up.
Head Count: 6
Menu
Snooze Julius' & Founders Breakfast Stout
Green Chile Scrambled Eggs
Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Sausages
Bacon Steaks (that's really what they were called)
Heinz Baked Beans
Toast
Waffles with Praline Spread, Whipped Cream (and Grand Marnier in some cases)
To begin with a cocktail that required the penguin shaker was a fun addition. This particular boozy rendition of an Orange Julius hails from one of our favorite Denver breakfast spots, Snooze. With a working knowledge of the ingredients, D. cracked the code on the proportions with tasty results.
Here's our formula, essentially a dressed up screwdriver. A deliciously dressed up screwdriver.
Snooze Julius a la D.
Citrus Vodka
Orange Juice
Whipped Cream
Grand Marnier
Shake three shots of vodka over ice with enough OJ to fill a tall glass and a healthy dollop of whipped cream. Poor into glass and top with more whipped cream. Drizzle generously with Grand Marnier.
The Founders Breakfast Stout was a guest contribution. The coffee and oatmeal flavors were the perfect accompaniment to a savory breakfast with multiple meats.
What we had after that was essentially a traditional English breakfast with a few twists courtesy of a healthy amount of diced hatch chile added to D.'s gently scrambled eggs with cream.
Sausages from the market - little pork ones with casings, not the odd crumbly ones from the grocery - were paired with cherry tomatoes that had been tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. The whole lot were spread on a baking sheet and roasted until the links were browned and the tomatoes wrinkly and splitting through the skin.
Heinz baked beans went from can to pan, nothing needed but some heat.
Bacon fried, toast toasted - an incredibly low maintenance meal
The waffles were very basic - but a good standby not too sweet, not too eggy, and so easy to make I don't know why anyone buys a mix.
Waffles - from allrecipes
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk eggs until frothy. Add in rest of ingredients and stir until just smooth. Pre-heat waffle iron. Use 1/4-1/2 c. batter per waffle (depending on waffler). Makes approx 8 waffles.
Now on to another week and planning another dinner already - could be coq a vin, stacked enchiladas or Ad Hoc's stuffed pork tenderloin if it passes its test drive....
