Chicken McNuggets and French Fries (Freedom Fries?)

My husband, in all his wisdom, declared that I should make homemade nuggets and fries from McDonalds.

"I declare, wife of mine, that you should make chicken mcnuggets as well as crispy salty fries based on McDonald's recipe," stated he, in a grand voice with a puffed out chest.

"Oh yes, husband, very wise thought," I humbly agreed in a hushed tone.

"When shall I expect such delicacies to arrive on my dinner platter?" huffed he.

"Very soon, my lord-- wait. Wait a minute. Dear, we're having company tomorrow night. I'll make my mock McDonalds recipe then. Cool?" I retorted, brought back to modern day marriage.

"Cool." said he, in a stately manner.

Double Fried French Fries (McDonald's Knockoff)

6 medium/large potatoes (cut into 1/4 by 1/4 inch long fries)

I did this by hand. If you have a fry cutter, kudos. It's not as tedious as people make it sound. Just cut even slivers.

6-7 Cups shortening (heat this to about 300F in a large saucepan) It won't take too long for the shortening to melt into liquid and get to 300F. Watch it so the oil doesn't burn!

Salt

A big bowl of water with 1/2cup sugar dissolved in it (heat water and add sugar)

Cut up the potatoes. Put fries in a big bowl full of water and about a half of a cup of sugar that has been dissolved in said water. Place whole bowl in freezer/fridge for between 30 minutes and 2 days to cool.

Take fries out of fridge when oil is hot and ready to go. Drain fries on paper towels to get the water off.

Drop a few handfuls of fries into the oil (300F), carefully! Watch out for oil splatters (AKA-- keep your face and arms away from pan!) Cook these fries until the hissing sound of the oil turns into a quiet bubbly sound (two minutes maybe? I didn't time mine. I just listened for the bubbly sound). Use a slotted spoon to transfer fries onto a paper bag (paper towels will work, but not my preferred choice). Let these cool. THEY ARE NOT READY TO SERVE!

Before supper is ready to serve, heat the oil to 350F.

RIGHT before supper, dip these suckers into that hot oil, this time, watch really carefully, as they will fry up REALLY quickly. After they are as brown or as light as you want them, take them out and sprinkle salt over the top of them. You could use a baggie or a big big bowl. Whatever it takes to evenly coat these fries! Serve immediately after seasoning! YUM!

Whatever happened to "freedom fries?" Are we not free anymore or does it take a national disaster to make us patriotic?

Chicken McNuggets are so delicious. I adore the sweet and sour sauce that goes with them.

Chicken Nuggets (McDonald's Knockoff)

4-6 Chicken Breasts, flattened with a mallet or can of soup, cut into nugget size chunks (inch to two inches?)

6-7 cups shortening, liquefied into oil for frying. I used the same oil as I used to make the french fries.

egg dipping mix

1 egg

1 cup of water

whisk together in a bowl until frothy.

flour dipping mix

2 cups flour

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp Accent/msg

1/2tsp pepper

1/4tsp garlic powder

Mix into a large bowl.

Gather a couple of slotted spoons. One for dipping and retrieving nuggets from egg mixture, another for stirring nuggets in flour mixture and transferring to bowl.

1. Dip chicken in flour mix.

2. Dip chicken in egg mix.

3. Dip chicken in flour mix.

4. Transfer to bowl with lid.

(I dipped about 5 chicken chunks at a time instead of doing it individually)

Shake flour coated nuggets in a large bowl with a lid. The original recipe speaks of shaking the nuggets in a big ziploc bag....but I prefer a bowl. Do what you wish, friend!

Place the bowl in the freezer until chilled (thirty minutes or so). Take out the bowl from the freezer and repeat the dipping process. Instead of dirtying up another bowl, I just used the lid of the bowl that was in the freezer to hold the nuggets that had been dipped twice.

Preheat oven to 350F.

When dinner time rolls around, have your oil heated to 350F-375F. Fry nuggets in oil until light brown and crispy (recipe states 10 minutes). After they are done frying, drain oil on paper bag or paper towel for a few minutes. Then place nuggets on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 5-7 minutes more.

Serve!

Sweet and Sour Sauce

YUM!

1/4 cup peach preserves

1/4 cup apricot preserves

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

5 teaspoons white vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch

1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons water

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Stir constantly. Sauce will thicken up after a few minutes. Take saucepan off heat. Ready to cool, or serve! The original recipe calls to use a food processor to smooth-ify the ingredients, but I didn't and it turned out great, still. Also, this recipe makes about 3/4cup. I doubled it and still need to make more!

It's gonna be a great dinner! Hope you enjoy!

Key Limes on a Dime

I tend to shy away from lemons and limes in baking. "Why ever would you do such a thing, Jenna?" you might ask. To be fair and honest, loyal reader, each time I work with lemons or limes my confection comes out to be a monster. Not a good monster, might I add. The flavor is usually too acidic or metallic. This is why I find it frustrating to try to make a lemon meringue pie. *sigh*

Either way--- I made a chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake as well as a vanilla bean cheesecake today. I thought I could give a key lime sauce the ol' college try. I bought lovely little key limes in a sack and purchased a citrus press (one of those handheld ones).

Ten minutes and a sack of key limes later...

I prefer getting fresh ingredients and juices. I don't enjoy buying that bottled lemon juice. Although more convenient and cheaper, I still boycott it. Why add in preservatives one can't even pronounce? Therefore, I suck it up and juice my own. I used to do it by hand. MAN I would get so upset when one of those little suckers flew out of my hands and into my juicing bowl. I'd have to re-juice it and my hand would hurt!

Do I like squeezing twenty key limes for half a cup of juice? Of course I do. *insert sarcastic smile here*

It's all worth it...or at least I tell myself. I turn towards my kitchen and see that juice still sitting on the counter. I'm afraid to use it! Sure, I only used one of the two bags of key limes I bought...but I don't want my recipe to suck. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow morning I'll actually make the sauce.

Turn your attention to strawberries! You know, a ripe and sweet strawberry is a wonderful thing. I am let down, sadly, when I cut into it and see white in the center. That horrid bitter white center. I usually cut it out when I have to use such strawberries.

Today I made a strawberry sauce to go over my vanilla bean cheesecake. I hate using cornstarch in sauces. Sure, it thickens them up real quick-like, but it also leaves a bad flavor.

I threw a package of fresh strawberries (icky white centers cut out) into a saucepan and added about half a cup of my special organic/vanilla sugar. I covered it and cooked it on low for about ten minutes until it started to bubble up. I stirred it every now and then. After the strawberries broke down and started to create a thick sauce, I added juice from one mandarin orange and a fourth of a cup of peach preserves. Man, that sauce tastes great! It's not too sweet, but has an interesting complexity about it.

I feel like sweets should be sweetened naturally with ingredients within them. I have yet to create a mean sour cherry sauce, but I'm super excited to...that is, when cherries come in season and aren't $7.00 a pound...

Each day, I wish I could bake something amazing. I try to not bake everyday for financial reasons, but I truly enjoy it. I might add, that now that I have a job doing just that (baking every day) I am nervous. I'm nervous that my cakes won't be good enough. That they won't be good enough looking, tasting, or priced. For instance, I made that chocolate chip cheesecake today and the vanilla bean cheesecake. The chocolate chip one came out great but the vanilla bean cracked in the center in two places. Worst part is that both cakes will be heading out my door and right into the office of a corporate meeting luncheon. I felt like I failed...a cheesecake that split. Seriously, Jenna? You've been making cakes for how long now? I debated covering up my mistake with a sweet vanilla mousse. Or...not. I'll learn from this mistake and take better care in prepping and proper cooling (although I did what I usually do and let it sit in the oven after baking to finish cooking). If I can't even make a good looking cheesecake now in my own home with no pressure, what makes me think I can do it in a restaurant where people will buy such cakes?

We will be able to get into the restaurant on Feb. 1st. Soon. We'll take inventory and get procedures in order. As I stated...I'm nervous. My carrot cake that I made a few days ago was overdone on the outer ring and undone in the center. I just can't believe I still make such mistakes. I know even the professionals have a bad day. I suppose I just need to keep on tweaking and paying more attention to my baking...making sure I have fresh ingredients and prep as usual.

Maybe tomorrow I'll make chocolate chip cookies.

Food Failures

I'm not one to take failure lightly. I'll usually get back up and try again. Sometimes I still fail after I try again. It's not good for morale!

My husband was deployed for six months last year and in that time I developed a delicious carrot cake recipe. I had not made him carrot cake in the past, so I decided to whip out my grater, bag 'o' carrots, and my mixer and begin the long and tedious process.

*Okay...so it's not that crazy of a recipe. I just hate spending fifteen minutes grating carrots. I bring it on myself, though. I am too cheap to buy a food processor...*

I mixed all my ingredients and was about to pour the batter into the pans when I realized I was missing an ingredient. CARROTS. I felt so silly making a carrot cake yet forgetting to put in the carrots. Silly Jenna.

I am stringent about checking my sweets I bake in the oven. I pricked the cakes a couple of times while baking and I came to the sad conclusion this go round: These carrot cakes were going to turn out just like the ones in the past. The center is jiggly and not quite done yet the outside is a sturdy shade of brown, leaning on the point of crisping/burning. I exaggerate when I say burning. Still, the center is not done when the outside CLEARLY is. Frustrated, I took the cakes out of the oven and let them cool.

I went about my chores. I did laundry and scowled at my cakes when I passed through the kitchen. While wiping the counters and putting away dishes, I grumbled to them.

After a few hours of huffing and puffing, I returned to my cakes to see the damage. The center was done but the outside was a bit crispy and dry. UGH! NOT AGAIN. Another failure. I suppose I should blame the recipe and not user error? Even when I was in Kansas out of the high altitude of Colorado I still had this problem. I use a 350 degree oven. I could lower the temperature I suppose. I just hate to bake cakes for a long long time, as I like my cakes moist and not dried out.

I made enough cream cheese frosting to make up for the dry crusty edges. HA! Take that, over baked carrot cake.

It took me years to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I found that if I pay more attention to the prep and mixing steps, my cookie will turn out exceedingly better than if I just throw everything together last minute. I always let my butter sit at room temperature. I don't microwave it anymore. Doing so alters the texture and the way the cookie comes together. I despise flat crunchy cookies. I must have soft and chewy cookies.

I find that if I pay more attention while baking instead of just eyeballing ingredients or skimping on one thing and compensating with another, my treats come out better. Of course, this is common sense. All the same it was something I had to learn from experience.

I've had my fair share of failed cheesecakes as well. I admit that I overbaked my cheesecakes for two and a half years before realizing that I didn't have to bake my cakes for a full hour and then take them out of the oven. I find that if I let my cakes cook for forty minutes and then if I leave them in the heat of the oven (which is turned off at that point) to completely cool, the consistency is far better than if I take it out after an hour of baking. These little things help tremendously. I also never use a water bath. Never have. If I feel bored, I'll fill a pan of water and put it on the rack below the cheesecake to add a bit of moisture to the oven.

Speaking of the oven--- I must buy cleaner. When I bake cheesecakes, butter seems to leak out of the bottom. I place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of the springform pan and clasp the ring around it. I do not cut a piece to fit, I just put the whole rectangle on there. Still. Butter leaks out but I will not compromise my crust for that small failure. I usually bake my cakes on one of my baking stones to distribute heat and catch that wily leaky butter.

I hope to try some new recipes in the next few months with the restaurant:

doughnuts

pies

eclairs

spun sugar

roasted almonds

I'd love to master doughnuts as well as pies. It seems like when I make pies something goes wrong, whether the crust is not done all the way to the center or the pie is too wet and liquidly. I tire of failing at pies. I usually have to bake bread or a cheesecake at this point to bring up my self baking esteem.

Something that cheers me up is the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. Oh man, do I love to read that book. Actually, I just got to the point where I read it instead of just looking at the pictures and dissecting how she created the cupcake. I favor ones that are whimsical (ones shaped like a monkey or a honeybee) yet have an appreciation for unique blends of flavors and ideas, such as sweet potato cakes or mint filled brownie cakes.

So many wonderful recipes in that book! I have so many cook books yet don't use them. I don't keep many ingredients in my house but a few specific spices (garlic, onion, paprika, chives, cinnamon, vanilla beans). I hate to have to go buy fifteen ingredients that I will only use once in this specific dish. Perhaps someone should create a spice sharing forum.

Through baking failures, I get up and try my hand at baking again. I suppose this is how the pro's do it?!

Chicken Little Came Knocking.

Just a simple post today on some lovely clouds I shot this evening before the sunset beckoned the clouds to bed and they all lost the color in their cheeks.

Vanilla Bean Marshmallows

I was in no mood to create a carrot cake today. Too much grating...too many small ingredients. I decided to turn my attention to homemade marshmallows! Vanilla bean marshmallows to be exact.

To my delight homemade marshmallows do not contain many ingredients. It's all in how you

prepare it. It reminded me of creating divinity.

First, I mix 1/3c corn starch and 1/3c powdered sugar. This mixture is then sprinkled over a greased and foil tinned pan. I recommend a 9x9.

After, I gathered three envelopes of unflavored gelatin (.75 oz total) and 1/2c cold water. Do not mix just yet. Wait a bit. I decided to mix these ingredients now before heating the sugar mixture, and the gelatin was of a hard and uneasy consistency with which to work.

I used two vanilla beans in this recipe. I split the bean with a sharp

knife and then used a citrus peeler to gather all the seeds. If you have not used a vanilla bean in recipes, I suggest giving them a whirl. They are so fun to work with. Plus, after you gather all the little seeds from the bean, you can cut up the bean and throw it in with your sugar. It will give the sugar a nice vanilla flavor! Waste not want not!

Mix 2c sugar, 1/4c water, and 2/3c corn syrup in a large pot. Turn heat to medium high. Stir occasionally while heating to 235F. (Use a candy thermometer!) As this mixture is heating, I recommend mixing the gelatin and water in a stand mixer. Watch the pot of sugar.

Once the desired temperature is reached, remove from heat. Pour the syrup in a slow steady stream into the gelatin mixture while

beating on medium speed in a stand mixer. As you

finish pouring all the syrup, turn up the speed to high and whip until shiny, thick, and fluffy. This process took me about eight-ten minutes.

Watch out-- the mixture grew larger and thicker while rising up on the mixing hands. Keep an eye so it doesn't rise up into the mixer!

After it has grown fluffy and thick, pour into the greased pan. Smooth

flat and let it set up at room temperature overnight or equivalent hours.

I don't think my creation was fully cooked to soft ball stage, as it had a few sugar granules in it. Better luck next time!

Still, they taste grand. The vanilla beans are a wonderful addition. I think next time I'll add a bit of flavor--perhaps almond, mint, or even banana!

Maybe today I'll give my carrot cake a whirl.

Mandarin Orange and Strawburrrrrrries

My husband requested a strawberry cheesecake. I own a fewTorani syrups, mandarin orange and strawberry being two of them. Since we live out of town a few miles and I didn't have fresh strawberries on hand, I decided to use my syrups in my cheesecake. We shall see how it turns out tomorrow after it cools down in the fridge.

It's a finalized yes on the restaurant-- I'll be meeting with the owner and another person who will be in charge of catering and marketing to discuss the upcoming opening and things we need to get in order. I anticipate it!

I shared my cheesecake (vanilla bean and my reeses cup) with my neighbor who in turn shared it with her friends who raved about it. I also gave some vanilla bean cheesecake to Dave, the owner of the restaurant, who in turn gave some to his wife's coworkers. They also thought it was amazing.

Confession: I don't really like cheesecake. THERE. I said it. I really love to bake them! I just don't enjoy eating them. I'm so thankful people love them! I appreciate the opportunity to bake them for others.

My gracious! Went on a run today with Sam, my husband, and our dog Pax. It was so lovely outside! Since my husband got back from deployment, working out has not been a huge priority for me. I can feel it in my bones--- I'm growing weak! We ran hard and walked a bit too. Pax was eager to explore as far as we'd let her.

I must admit that Colorado skies are so lovely. Almost as lovely as Kansas skies. So open and big...when the stars shine it's as if you could count all the millions of them and reach up and grab them.

I particularly enjoyed this afternoon's clouds. The colors were so lovely and beautiful (of course, this is altered).

This week's agenda- carrot cake and chocolate mousse cake!

Macaroni and Cheese.

I collect pasta. Sadly, my collections constantly dwindle due to use in tasty dishes.

Macaroni and Cheese ranks high on my favorite food list. Contenders include pizza, egg rolls, and fresh fruit. Mac & Cheese from a box is... mediocre at best. Amazingly enough, I never even thought about adding spices to such a bland concoction until just recently. I prefer red pepper flakes with a dash of garlic.

All the same each and every time I gather the ingredients for such a delightful mix of cheese and pasta I get that same ol' voice in my head telling me it will flop. The horrible thing is that my mac and cheese seems to always flop. I create a rue and slowly add my cream and milk, spices and cheese. I hover over the stove as if I were protecting it from a nuclear attack. I stir. I wait. I stir. I add more cheese. At the end of it all, my sauce is too grainy or too thin and bland. It's all in the execution, I know. The more I try, the more I want to give up creating such a wonderful dish. Through all that trouble and heartache of a bland cheese sauce or a grainy texture, I won't give up.

Failure is an option. Sometimes a valid one. The problem is when someone fails and they do not get back up to try again. Lately, I've been reading a few blogs: http://notsohumblepie.blogspot.com/ as well as http://sugarshop.blogspot.com/ . Both of these women's blogs have been extremely uplifting and helpful in both the baking arena as well as the business side of baking.

Ya know, I'd love to open my own shop someday. My mother, after being forced out of her job due to the company being shut down, decided to take a leap and open her own business: a clothing alteration shop. She is so successful, even more so than in her previous position and company. She loves being her own boss and she understands all aspects of owning and operating a successful and customer driven business. I'm so proud of her. I also see, on the other side of the sunny flower patch, that she works longer and harder than she ever has. She feels like the world needs her, so she can't take a day off for fear of someone needing an item on which she has worked. She has had to deal with mad customers, late customers, overly talkative customers, and disabled customers. She is a people person. It helps when you work with what you've got, what you're skilled in, and where you are comfortable.

I can learn from my mother's success. Someday all of the wisdom I have been storing up will be used when I seek out a kitchen from which to cook and a storefront from which to sell.

Being asked to bake my cheesecakes for The Setting Sun Food Company was a huge honor. I hope I'm up for the challenge. People always tend to talk big but act little. I intend to be the opposite. I certainly will have to get used to getting up early to bake, dealing with disgruntled ovens, and producing consistent results each time I bake. I am trying to walk near the owner of the restaurant as he gets all his ducks in a row concerning marketing, ordering produce, and setting up his restaurant. I want to learn!

We still have not been able to get into the restaurant to start cleaning and setting things up the way we want. The current occupants will vacate soon and we'll be able to set up more detailed procedures and I will get a closer look at my weapons and tools. I'll be happy with what I can get. Hopefully, we will be able to get in there within the next two weeks. We will need to, as the target grand opening will be late February.

I am at a loss for what cakes I should provide. Cheesecakes are a given. What types? Other cakes? A majority of people enjoy chocolate but should I take a risk and offer more unique flavors of cakes or pies?

So many details to sort out. I have a lot on my plate. Classes start in two days. I'm neglecting my photography and my laundry. I suppose not everything can be placed in priority above baking cheesecakes.