A Plank of Salmon

I'm a sucker for salmon.  There was a sale on at New Seasons last week, so, of course, I went in to buy some.  Told the man at the counter "three generous servings, please."  He took me at my word--half pound for each person!

We could eat it; that wasn't the problem.  What loomed up was how would I cook it on the stove top? If we keep it all in one piece, it's way over the rim of my largest frying pan.  But the cupboard contains a two-burner griddle--long and narrow--the same shape as the fish fillet.  Butter, salt, pepper, dill and lemon--saliva flows in eagerness for the first bite.

Dinner knives holding the foil down and steam in

Steam is my ally is creating tender fish--done but not over-cooked.  No lid in the kitchen would fit the griddle.  Aluminum foil is certainly the answer to that question.  In order to eat dinner, the very next of the Things I get to do today is discover how to secure the edges so the steam can stay "home" and do its job. Several attempts at crimping it all around the griddle were futile.  But weights to hold the foil close to the pan were perfect--a fist-full of dinner knives from the flatware drawer, and we were in business.


Note to self:  next time leave out the word "generous" when asking for a cut of something.

Cold Plates, Warm Plates

A heap of scrambled eggs on a cold plate--probably stays warm about half the time it takes to walk from the kitchen counter to the dining table.  Not very long.

Presenting the solution to the problem of having cold eggs for breakfast is one of the Things I get to do today.  We eat eggs for breakfast two or three days a week.  The house is just beginning to get warm as we sit down to the table.  Dishes in the cupboard stay cold for even longer.

Here's an easy process that can mean your warm breakfast will stay that way until you are handed the second page of the comics.  This works for scrambled or fried eggs.  You have to heat the pan a bit before you put the eggs in, right?  Well then, set both of the plates like a lid on the pan as soon as it goes on the stove so the plates can be gathering the extra warmth that swoops up around the edge of the pan from the burner.  By the time the pan is hot, the plates will have most of the ice melted.

Cooked eggs in the pan will be served on these warm plates

Here's the finishing guarantee for warm plates: as soon as the eggs are done, set the pan on one of the plates and use the other as a lid while you collect the last items for the breakfast table: coffee, toast, fruit, etc.




When you pile those yummy yellows from your fluffy feathered chickens onto the plate, its warmth will cuddle them until nearly your last bite, unless, of course, you are one of those who neglect the gifts of the hens to do the daily crossword puzzle first.  In that case, you won't notice you had eggs for breakfast, and you won't know why you even read this blog.