Breakfast in Fort Wayne

Before we headed out of Fort Wayne
we wanted to get some breakfast.

But since I have a rule that we don't go
to chain restaurants,
we needed to figure out a place to go.

Once again we turned to our good friends
and tailgating buddies.
And after all, who better to ask than a former cop?

We were told that Friends too had some
of the best breakfast food in town.
Just be prepared to eat too much or to share.



The menu.

You will note that this is
a Greek restaurant.


You will need to click on the pictures
to read the menu.

The Foodie husband chose the Friends Skillet,
which had potatoes, tomatoes, feta cheese, gyro meat,
2 eggs and toast.

He chose to have whole wheat toast and
his eggs cooked sunny side up.

All this for $7.29.

Sadly, he could only eat about half of the meal.

But he proclaimed it to be very tasty.

I opted to go with the Friends Omelette [sic],
which was loaded with gyro meat, feta cheese and tomatoes.

This came with whole wheat toast and home fries.

I don't know how many eggs were in this omelet,
but I am guessing there were at least six.

This omelet could have fed our entire family
and we would have all been full.

Obviously, I did not even come close to cleaning my plate.

This plate cost $6.99.

Our friend was right;
this was a good choice.

The food was good and the waitress was friendly.
And that is what matters.

Sticky Pinwheel Buns

The Foodie Daughter decided that she wanted

to make something special on her last day before

she had to go back to classes.

A few weeks ago she had described what she wanted

and I dug through my old recipe box

(that was given to my by my Grandmother - bonus points,

the drawer in the antique buffet it sits in

smells like a Grandmother)

and found an old recipe for Sticky Pinwheel Buns.

We used to make this recipe when our older son was young.

The base recipe is Lucky Biscuit Dough:

2 cups sifted flour
2-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening
¾ cup milk

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

Cut in shortening until mixture looks like coarse meal.

Add milk and stir with fork until soft dough forms.

Knead lightly on floured board about 30 seconds.

If just making biscuits, then follow these directions:

Then pat or roll lightly ½-thick.

Cut with floured 2-inch biscuit cutter.
Place on ungreased baking sheet.

Bake in 450 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot makes 14 biscuits.
Hint: for soft biscuits, bake close together.

For crusty biscuits, bake an inch apart.

But in the meantime,

Minx is doing his best to look cute and

get our attention.

Do you like how he has dragged his toys

out into the middle of the walkway?

Isn't he just adorable?

Give him any toy on a stick and he is happy.

By the way, having a cat in the house

is like having a perpetual toddler in the house.

One must always watch one's step and one must

keep certain things out of reach of curious critters.

Back to the Sticky Pinwheels.

After making the biscuit dough,

the Foodie Daughter rolled out the dough into 1/4 inch rectangle

and then

sprinkled on the filling.

Cream together:
¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Sprinkle with 1/3 cup chopped nuts if desired.

Melt ¼ cup butter in 8x8x2-inch pan;

blend with ¼ cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon water.



Or not.

But it ended up there in the end.

That's what matters.








Bake 15 minutes at 425 degrees;

then about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.



Remove at once from pan.







Optional: drizzle with a thin glaze of powdered sugar

and either water or milk.







Makes 10 or so Sticky Buns.

Delicious and flaky.

Good job, Foodie Daughter.

Oh, and in case you are interested in what

an inner ear infection is like, it feels something like this.

Whoo-Whoot!

Cinnamon Breakfast Puffs

On Sunday morning I did something

I don't normally do.

I baked.

I shocked you, didn't I?

It has been known to happen every once in a while.

But, it was a new year and I thought I would be nice

to my family and make them breakfast.

I'm sure I'll get over it soon.

It's probably just the vertigo from my inner ear infection.

My ingredients are in place.

The recipe calls for
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour or cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup milk*

1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine or butter, melted

I had forgotten how messed up this recipe was

and ended up having to rewrite the recipe afterwards.

This is the rewritten version.

The original recipe claimed that it would make 15 puffs,

but it barely made 12.

I also halved the amount of melted butter,

but you could certainly add more butter back into the

recipe if you are feeling particularly decadent.

*I only had Half and Half on hand, so that is what I used.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 12 medium muffin cups,

2-1/2 x 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

Cream together the shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and the egg.

Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg

alternately with the milk.

Fill muffin cups 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.

Immediately after baking,

roll hot muffins in melted butter,

then in the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Serve hot.

Makes 12 cinnamon puffs.

I think I will make these in the small muffin cups

the next time.

My family did appreciate my efforts and there were

no survivors (the breakfast puffs, that is).

Another Day, Another Egg Breakfast

I trust you remember that my sadistic doctor has forbidden me from eating anything other than eggs for breakfast? Yes? Good. Well, as I absolutely loathe runny eggs, I am left with few options for egg dishes. And one can only eat so many variations of scrambled eggs, omelets (not-scrambled, scrambled eggs), fried eggs and hard poached eggs. In utter desperation, I came up with this variation of a breakfast hash. In my defense, recent research suggests that potatoes are a 'good' carbohydrate. Heck, I can live with that reasoning...

Heat olive oil and/or bacon joos (that's bacon fat those of us who are not Sandra Lee) in a small non-stick skillet. Just so you know, I usually use about 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and bacon joos. Once the pan is hot, add about 2 handfuls of frozen shredded hash browns (or 1 medium potato, shredded and drained). Press down and heat over medium-high heat until the bottom is golden brown.


Turn the potatoes over in the pan and turn the heat down a notch.


Crack 2 eggs over the hash browns and break the yolks (remember, I hate runny eggs). Season with salt and pepper at this point.

After the bottom has browned a bit (the eggs will not be set), carefully turn over in the pan. A large spatula will be very helpful here.

Turn the heat down yet another notch. Your patience will be rewarded.











And now the pseudo-hash is ready for consumption. Not bad for someone who can barely make coffee in the morning before she has had her coffee. If there ever was a paradox in life...

An Easy and Quick Breakfast

Sometimes I want scrambled eggs, but don't feel like taking the time to do it 'right'. But not to worry: I have found a quick and simple way to get similar results without having to heat up a pan and then stand there and stir.

The players: 2 eggs, diced onion, salt, pepper and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. The dish is also important here. This is a heat-safe 2 cup bowl. The bowl is sprayed lightly with cooking spray so that the egg will not stick to the bowl.

Whisk the eggs with a nip of water. Add the salt, pepper and onion, stirring well.

After about 35 seconds in the microwave, I stir lightly and add some cheese. This goes back in the microwave for another 35 seconds. Please note that microwaves vary and that your eggs may take more or less time accordingly. If the eggs have a slightly grey tint to them, you have overcooked them.

While the eggs are one mass rather than the bits that one normally expects in scrambled eggs, the texture and taste are the same.

On a whim I decided to top my eggs with some leftover salsa. Yummy!