Volume to Weight Conversions

Here is some volume to weight conversions I found online.

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour = 125 grams/4.5 oz

1 cup cake flour = 110 grams/4 oz

1 cup sifted cake flour = 99 grams/3.5 oz

1 cup whole wheat flour = 120 grams/4.3 oz

1 cup bread flour - 125 grams/4.5 oz

1 cup oats, regular & quick cooking - 81 grams/2.8 oz

1 cup granulated sugar = 200 grams/7.5 oz

1 cup light brown sugar = 220 grams/7.8 oz

1 cup unsalted butter = 228 grams/8 oz

1 cup peanut butter, crunchy = 258 grams/9.2 oz

1 cup molasses = 337 grams/12 oz

Sunday Night Dinner and Wine

There was the smell of Risotto in the air at my place on this past Sunday.

Our first course was Risotto with shallots and asparagus. I started dinner a little bit early, knowing the hour I would need to make the Risotto. As the Risotto cooked I started the salad. Tonight's salad was a mix of Mango, Papaya and Grape Tomatoes over a bed of Mesclun greens. The dressing was a very simple Lime and Tequila vinaigrette. A side of Broccoli florets (the kids love it and would be mad if I did not make it) was also prepared as well as Garlic bread that would compliment the main course... Steak.




I love Risotto and I am trying to get the rest of my family to love it too. My wife just can not be comfortable with rice that is creamy and thick. She likes her rice to be a longer grain, loose and have a buttery taste. My oldest son did not like the Risotto (because he hates Asparagus), but my youngest loved it. I told him it was like Oatmeal and he ate it up. I fear I may not be making Risotto that much in the future, it is just not worth all the stirring for just me. Well maybe it is :)

While all the food prepping and Risotto cooking was going on, my steaks were seasoned with salt & pepper and resting to loose the chill of the fridge. Once the Risotto was just about done, I fired up my biggest skillet and got it as hot as I could. Once the pan had reached "temperature of hell" status I chucked in the beef. Oh how I do love the sounds and smells of a caramelizing steak. Not to long now, just about 2 minutes a side and into the oven went the pan to finish up @ 400 degrees for 5 more minutes. Yep we like our steaks rare with a nice crust on the outside. When they were done, out they came and in went the Garlic bread. The steaks were wrapped in foil to rest and the Broccoli was steamed. Last thing before the bread came out of the oven was to emulsify the vinaigrette and toss the salad.




With the Risotto on the table and the salad being doled out by my wife, I brought over the Broccoli, steaks and the Garlic bread (just out of the oven). The decanted and well aspirated 2000 Chateau Cote Montpezat was poured and I sat. It was a nice dinner and felt good getting back into the kitchen on a Sunday night. It has been awhile since I was cooking on a Sunday night, I had been doing mostly smoking during the daytime and did not want to cook at night as well.

What would I change? The salad need more texture. Maybe some crumbled Tortilla chips next time.

A review on the wine will follow fer sure!

The Bacon Breakfast Explosion

Pretty much your standard Bacon Explosion that was introduced to us by Jason and Aaron over at BBQAddicts.com, but with a nod to breakfast instead. Here is the original recipe, Bacon Explosion.

The only changes I made with the original recipe were an addition of maple syrup in the middle instead of the spices and breakfast sausage instead of sweet sausage.

Here we see the interwoven, full pound of thick slab bacon and the pound of Jimmy Dean Breakfast Sausage rolled out to a half inch thick slab.














Next we laid the sausage slab on the bacon weave.














Then we cooked up some crispy bacon and crumbled it over the sausage





Sorry this is where you should see me applying the maple syrup, but I forgot to take the picture.

Just sayin...





The we put some black pepper and maple syrup over the crumbled bacon.














With the sausage rolled up we place it on the bacon weave and use the plastic wrap to roll the whole pork joint up.













With the temp probe stuck in the side, into the smoker it goes.














Once 165 degrees have been reached it is time to get it off the heat.














With the meat rested it is time to contemplate what to stick it in














With a quick honing on the steel, it is time to operate and assemble


Is your mouth watering yet? Pork on a buttermilk biscuit, as close to heaven as you can get!