Prices on Offerings

I have decided that since my web page knowledge is so limited, ergo it may be quite some time before I have one up and running, I will rely on this blog to temporarily double for my internet advertising. That being said, I would like to welcome all who have tasted my treats and are looking for pictures, prices, and such, as well as those of you who have yet to enjoy. As I make more of my goodies, I will post them with descriptions of what they are. Suffice to say, if you've tasted them, you won't care what they are. Having said that, here is a listing.

General Cookies
(Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal, and Sugar) are $4 per dozen, with a 20% discount if you purchase what I call a Batch Order. In my terminology, a Batch Order is four or more dozen of the same cookie, because I ususally get 4 1/2 - 5 dozen per recipe, or batch. Obviously 6 dozen would put me into a new batch, but the discount would remain for the whole order. These cookies can be spruced up with a variety of nuts, and/or flavored chips and such; e.g. Oatmeal raisin, or Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip; your choice. Frosted Gingerbread 2 1/2 - 3 inch rounds are also included in this price(frosted men are 80 cents each.

$5 Offerings
Per Dozen
Snowball Cookies(pecan/flour cookie, rolled in powdered sugar)
Thumbprint Cookies(pecan crusted, jelly filled)
Chocolately Goodness(oatmeal toffee base topped with peanut butter/chocolate mixture.)
Per 1/2 pound
Peanut Brittle

Cakes/Breads
Chocolate Chip Rum Cake - $6/quarter, $10/half, $18/full
Holiday Ton Cake(butter cake with candied fruit, walnuts and pecans --- Great Coffee Cake, very dense) - $10/quarter, $18/half, $35/whole
Banana Nut Bread - $7
Pumpkin Bread - $7
The above listed are my present offerings. I am a versatile cook and will try most recipes. However, I cannot price anything until I make it once and know what it entails.

I am also very happy to entertain any questions you might have with your own cooking problems. Not all of us want someone else to cook for us, but some might have trouble with the ins and outs. Email me @ ericskitchen@wowway.com and I'll be happy to call or email you back and see what I can do to help. I have several years of kitchen experience as well as culinary training under some awesome chefs at Macomb Community College. I pride myself in making things that taste great. Again - - - - WELCOME!!!

Turn Back Time?

Let's see, fall of 1994, that's when I was baking this early. Actually not quite this early but as I woke this morning to put together a banana bread and get it in the oven just after six AM, I was reminded of my days in Culinary Arts school, at Macomb Community College, in Clinton Twp. I was enrolled in the program and was under the teaching of Chef Dave Wolf for, "Techniques of Cooking"; or something like that. Anyway, it was the first class in the program I was to take and I was to be clean, shaven, and changed into my Ice Cream Man Whites, and in my seat by the start of class, which was seven in the morning. They didn't even want you to bring in any outside dirt on your uniform, so you were to change there on site. Now, this wasn't that difficult for me because I am an early riser anyway, but some of the men and women who sat around me didn't always look top notch. Unfortunately for them, this reflected in their appearance part of their grade. C'est bien dommage! I, on the other hand, was raring to go, and revelled in the early work time.
Once I got into the restaurant business, I would always enjoy the early hours as well. With less noise in the streets, cooler temps and being one of the few peppy people that early, this is where I shined. Of course, there were a few that outshined me in my morning pep. I remember this one little red-head I worked with at Sycamore Hills Golf Club. She also always took the early shift on the weekend, and while I was prepping the kitchen for breakfast, she was buzzing around like a whirlwind. You can also tell the early morning people from the fakers or the ones who had to be there; us early risers always have smiles on our faces when we are working. Katie danced from the dining room to the kitchen, as I waltzed through the kitchen and prep areas. We chatted and laughed and enjoyed the morning...that is until the non-morning people had to get there and told us to tone it down a bit. Nonetheless, early morning baking and movement is definitely my cup of tea...or in my case, coffee. Therefore, this morning, I was up by 5:40, and had my bread made and in the oven by 6:07. True, I have a long way to go from getting the ovens going in the bakery and rolling out the dough so all the fixings can be ready when the cutomers flow into Bugatski's at the crack of dawn, but give me the job, and I won't be late a day. As of now, my only job is a household, where I just have to be up and moving before the little ones have to rise for school starting next week.

To Sub Or Not To Sub....

There is a fine line between maintaining the unadulterated recipe that has been true blue for you, or has come to you with high accolades, or to substitute where you either see fit, or need to. Now there are substitutions which allegedly are for the betterment of usually the health of the individual; substituting apple sauce for butter, or adding carrots or zucchini. However, if they truly do not affect the taste, why wasn't it an option from the original recipe? Why did it have to be an ammendment by a vegetarian or nutritionist. Don't get me wrong; I am very big into health. I walk, or jog, and ride a bike. I will climb stairs, as opposed to taking an elevator or escalator, and get as many of my family to accompany me as possible. I love to eat all kinds of veggies and fruits, and whole grain breads. However, if I want ice cream, it is something full of fat and goodies...if I want pizza, it has real cheese, and pepperoni, and sometimes even sausage on it. I love pieogi, kielbasa, and a thick t-bone steak with a baked potato dripping with butter and sour cream, so why am I going to mess with, and mess up a beautiful chocolate chip cookie, or banana bread recipe? Some fitness guru once said, that if you wanted to lose weight, "...move more, and eat less." If that doesn't make sense, what does? I prefer to go that route, as opposed to shoving stuff into my chocolate chip rum cake that just shouldn't be there.
Of course there are some exceptions, and I don't want to hear you diabetics who need to substitute stuff or eat a very boring menu, and mothers who are trying to trick their husbands and kids by shoving minced up veggies into your baked goods crying out at my blog and saying, "easy for you to say!" To that I would say, "yes...it is easy for me to say." It's always easier said than done, and we pick our battles, and I am not trying to start a fight nor insult anyone. I am just offering an opinion in taste. Also, not to hoodwink you, but I have substituted in the past as well. My substitutions, however, have usually been by necessity, not design. I have substituted cola or root beer for vanilla extract in early years, and no one knew. I guess it was because of the bit of vanilla taste in those beverages, and the fact that it was such a minute amount of vanilla called for in the recipe anyway. I have also substituted, oleo for butter(not as good), fat free sour cream for regular(not as rich), and oatmeal put through a food processor for flour. This final substitution worked I believe because in the end I was using oat flour instead of wheat flour...more or less.
So, substitute if you wish. That is your choice. Me, I will wait until I can run out and get more buttermilk, rather than substitute skim milk for it in my banana bread recipe I'm making today.

GIngerbread Isn't That Difficult

So, I guess I should have entitled this "Good Gingerbread...." Ihave tasted

way too many sub-par, or not tasty gingerbread cookies, and I really don't see the problem? It's a basic recipe that must be chilled til firm then rolled out on on a floured board, with flour between the dough and rolling pin as well. Yes, it can get sticky and messy if you don't have the patience or willingness to listen. I make gingerbread very often throughout the year, and although it's not always Christmas time, they are often shaped like snowmen, and Christmas trees, as well as ghosts and the men themselves. Now and again, when my kids are not present, and I am making them for people outside of my family, I will do simple circles. However, notwithstanding the shapes, let us delve into the difficulties of gingerbread making.

First off, I start out with a basic recipe, of which I measure as much as possible by weight. I have a small digital kitchen scale which can measure things in your choice of grams, kg, ounces, or pounds and ounces. I find this to be more accurate than outright measuring or flour sugar, and such by the cup. Therefore, if the recipe comes in weight measurement, that is what I use.

I combine 4oz of brown sugar with 4oz of softened, unsalted butter and beat til light and fluffy, or well blended...about 2-3 mins. I then blend in at medium speed, 6oz(not fluid oz) of molasses and one egg. Combine well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, I wisk together 12oz all purpose flour, 1tsp baking soda, 1/2tsp salt, 2tsp ginger, 1tsp cinnamon, 1/2tsp nutmeg, and 1/2tsp cloves. Two things to note here: first I use a wisk, others have used a food processor, but the main idea is to combine all of these ingredients together as homogeneously as possible; second thing is to use fresh ingredients. Most spices shelf lifes deteriorate more rapidly than they are used in a common kitchen, therefore your cookie's taste may be weaker than you want(particularly if you use clear/see through spice bottles and they are exposed to the light.) I know this sounds trite, but I think that every little bit of information helps when you are seeking the perfect cookie.

Now while the mixer is on low, add in the dry ingredients slowly, so as not to create a floury smoke screen. Make sure you pause periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure total combining, AND DO NOT OVERMIX! When a recipe says to add the flour mixture until "JUST" combined, then do so. When you continue to mix, you are toughening your cookie. You don't want this. So, now it's all combined and you scrape out this sticky dough onto plastic wrap, where you try to wrap it in somewhat of a disk shape and put it into your refrigerater until it is chilled enough to be firm. Do not put it into the freezer, this will add to moisture separation and a bad product.

After a couple of hours, not 10 minutes, set oven to 325 degrees F, pull out dough and roll it out onto a well floured board, to about the width of a pencil. almost 1/4 inch. Dip cookie cutter into flour and cut out shapes as closely together as possible. This is very important for the fact that the more you have to reroll the dough, again the tougher the cookie will become. You want as few rerolls as possible. With an offset spatula carefully lift the shapes, and place them onto a parchment lined sheet pan, dusting off as much excess flour as possible. When placing cookies, please allow an inch or so between cookies for expansion while baking. Place the full cookie sheet either onto the "C" rack of your oven for almost 13 mins; until the edges just start to brown; or if you are alternating with another sheetpan of the same, place one on the "B" level rack, and the other on the "D" level rack. If you do it the second way, after 6:20 seconds, switch the sheet pans on the racks, turning each pan 180 degrees; cooking for about another 6:20. {The rack levels are based upon a five level, rack adjustable, oven, where there top level is level "A", and the bottom is level "E"}

Once these cookies are removed from the oven, allow them to cool on their pans for about two minutes, then carefully, using an offset spatula, transfer them to a wire cooling rack. {they will still be soft} Once they are thoroughly cooled, you may look to frosting them. I prefer to use a mixture of powdered sugar, egg whites, lemon juice and water...a variation of "Royal Icing." If you make these cookies, using this blog, and you do not get the best gingerbread cookies ever, I need to hear about it. Happy Baking:)

The Attempts Continue

How delinquent am I! When your in charge of the household for a wife, four boys, and a dog, I guess you need to be a little more diligent about your blogs, huh? Sorry for the lapse and I will attempt to be more attentive in the future.

Attempting to find new and nutritious foods for my wife and children, not to mention meals they will want to eat, is always a challenge. I love them all, but aside from my eldest son Thomas, my family does not have what you would call a broad palate. Hershey bars and a coke was my wife's breakfast while she pushed through college, and I think, if she had her way, she wouldn't have changed. However, giving respect to trying to teach the children how to eat right, that and Mother Nature playing her usual mean tricks on women who bear children in their late 30's and early 40's, my wife is really trying to follow my lead in eating more nutritiously. Of course old habits die hard, and Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that.... Nonetheless, this past week or so, I opened my Mexican cook book, and after a few days of chili con carne, I presented my family with Chicken Flautas. Now, although this isn't exactly the most nutritious of meals, what with the frying of the finished product, and serving it with guacamole, it at least was a different dish than the usual boring fare my family has allowed me to serve them with successful devouring. Alas, my home made salsa was ignored, and as for the flautas themselves, although they were delicious, were only enjoyed by the three eldest; me, my wife, and Tom.

Ok, so I'll attempt breakfast. Yesterday I made baked apple pancakes. I thought it turned out a bit flat, but tasty nonetheless. This opinion was shared with my wife and Tom. You know, someday, my three littlest just might surprise me and like something the rest of us do. Until then, I've grown to expect dissappointment without depression. Oh well, school starts in three short weeks and then, for the most part, it's back to cereal and toast for their breakfasts, and and egg and cheese muffin sandwich for my wife, that is if she gets a job by then...but that's another story.

Bon Appetite

Ah, what do I have in common with Mrs. Julia Child. Let's see, she loved to cook, and I love to cook. She went to culinary school, and I went to culinary school. She wanted kids, and I wanted kids...she was a woman...ok, so it seems to stop there. But let us take a step back. She wanted children, but I had children. Four to be exact. Four of the most beautiful boys one could ever hope for. They're good in church, and do well in school, and they are polite, for the most part, in public. However, they are still boys, and my three year old is home with me all day long. Would Julia ever have progressed as far as she had, had she had to contend with cooking with and for children? Hmmm? I know many cooks do wonders with kids' meals, and advertise them as such. Great for them. However, I'm still in the learning process. I make things, I offer it to them to try, and I encourage good nutrition, but I am a realist. I know I did not like tomatoes and other things until I got older, no matter how many times I had to eat them. And I still don't like liver. I recall a night or two with my sister falling asleep at the table while my parents were waiting for her to finish whatever it was she didn't want to eat. I think it was after the second or third incident of such that my folks finally gave up and gave us the option of cheese or peanut butter or cereal. We all want to take our stands in life, until we can't stand it anymore.
So, yesterday, feeling quite alive and ambitious, I began the day with a dozen homemade blueberry muffins. They were in the oven before I even started making the kids' school lunches. As the baking aroma filled the kitchen and crept into the back room, several inquiries were made as to their contents and e.t.a. From a bakery standpoint, they were exquisite. They were light, fluffy, fruity, with a touch of citrus from the lemon rind, but not too sweet or sour. Even my wife agreed to their delectibility, albeit smothered in butter. Then came the kids. They were sampled by two of my children, neither of which did more than that. They did say that they were good, but I guess they were only good enough for one bite or two, At least they sampled them. Right? So, I enjoyed these fruity delights throughout the day as I dove into dinner offerings.
Now, I should have learned by now, and now I have, but when you try to please everyone, you usually end up dry, and seldom happy yourself. Chicken Tikka and Iowa Corn Pudding was on the menu for last night. I should have just made it and been done with it, especially since I had made a tasty mango chutney the night before to accompany it. However, I had to go and make inquiries as to who might try and eat it, and who might not. So, very quickly, the corn pudding fell to be revisited another day, and the Chicken Tikka became one of three bbq chicken offerings. Jim, my three year old, napped well, and I was able to cut and skewer and blend and marinate easy enough. In fact, he even stayed asleep long enough for me to pump out a batch of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Now, if he slept that well at night, we'd all love him the more. The barbequeing commenced when my wife came home and when all was said and done, the Tikka was being eaten by my eldest, my wife and myself, with pleasant reviews. The other two chicken offeings sat practically unmolested, with the youngest three of my children eating cereal. I figure I can offer it, but I can't force them to eat it. The worst part is I totally forgot to put out the mango chutney. However, all did like the chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Self lesson learned: Decide what's for dinner; make it, serve it, and have cereal handy...but always have a good dessert.

Say Cheese

Yesterday morning I was hungry before the entourage awoke and decided to work on something instead of just making myself breakfast and eating alone. I opened my On Cooking book to the quick breads section and immediately saw biscuits. Some cold butter, dry ingredients and a little mixing later, I was cutting out bicuits and laying about 15 of them on a parchment lined pan. As I was placing them into the oven, I thought to myself how, with my wife constantly dieting and my kids looking for frosting around every turn, I'd be eating a breakfast of 15 bicuits, hold the gravy, by myself. Happily, the baking smell enticed some, and during breakfast clean up, I was storing only 4 biscuits...one of which I've had already this morning. Sometimes kids surprise you.
Took a trip to my favorite cheap wine store around 3:00, with my eldest for company. I know he was bored, but since he was bored at home anyway, I think the private time and good company was welcomed. While there, I also picked up some cheese. I had heard Brie was creamy and light. They were right. I had three cheeses with my Petite Sirah last night, the Brie, a firmer one year aged Gouda, and a much harder, two year aged Gouda. Three totally different tastes. The Brie is thick but creamy. It was not runny, as I had been warned to avoid. It was somewhat difficult to pull away from the wax and spread onto the cracker, but worth the effort, for the mild taste had a subtle pleasant flavor which went along with the gentle, unassuming flavor of the wine I chose. The two year aged Gouda was hard and had a hard but not that distinct of flavor as one might think. To me, it tasted close to a parmesan. However, to its own defense, its waxed edges also had a somewhat crispy candied appeal to them. I thought this bolder taste leant itself for towards a warmer, more velvety wine, like a Zinfandel or Cabernet. Fortunately, the Sirah was on my palate already and comingled nicely.
The third cheese I had, my favourite, was the one year aged Gouda. This cheese was distinctive as a Gouda should be, but not strong, and firm, but not hard. I think I will share these with my mother today when we go to visit. She shares my palate to some extent, and this way I can forgo the pizza she is buying for my wife and kids. I do enjoy pizza, but not quite as often as kids seem to, and with so many other foods, I have come to spoil myself with my own cooking. I may not make the best pizza, but again, I make what I like.
Thought for the day:

Sample wares, listen to suggestions of food and wine, but in the long run, eat and drink what you like. If you are drinking a wine because someone who KNOWS told you it's good, but you don't like it, you are pleasing him or her and doing yourself a disservice. Live well, laugh often, love much!

In The Beginning

Hello, this is Eric. I am a stay at home father of four boys with the most wonderful, beautiful Irish lass this side of the Atlantic for my wife. I was originally going to title this first entry, "Co To Jest", which means what is this, in Polish, because that is my heritage, but didn't want to scare off anyone with a fear of foriegn languages. I, myself took French in highschool and college, which did benefit me a bit when it came to culinary school. Ever since Julia Child everything in cooking is French, or it is name specific to something else. Go figure!?!
Anyway, I call this blog, "Eric's Kitchen" for a couple of reasons. For one, all my life I thought that when I grew up and opened my own restaurant, I would call it, "Eric's"; plain and simple. Just like Michele's, Luigi's, Delmoico's...etc. However, as you can see by the above, I am not there at this time in my life. It is also about my kitchen, and what runs through it. Let me tell you that my kitchen is not one of these 6 burner range, double electric oven, walk in cooler, granite counter top island extavaganzas. It is a modest 8x16 walk through, single gas oven, four top range, where the refrigerator blocks 1/4 of the window, the garbage can is 10 feet from the sink, and I have 6 square feet of formica counter top space if I'm lucky. But as us confident men will say, "Size doesn't matter." I produce more goodness from my little area then I've seen come out of some often over priced and underused warehouses people call their kitchens. Others have often commented that I seem to have a knack for good tasting food. This may be true, but I would attribute that to my tastebuds, because for what I make, I just stick by one of my culinary professors words, "Don't serve what you wouldn't eat." If I don't like it, I don't make it. Even if I get a request from someone to make something I've never tasted, I scrutinize and end up making it tasty to me.
Aside from good food, the other things that run in and through my kitchen are my four boys. They range from 10-3, and are each so different. I won't say what's right or what's wrong, because only the maker will let me know this when I pass, but love, laughter and good food will be shared. Therefore, I will continue to make entries now and again, but welcome anyone with questions, particularly on cooking. I find experience to be the best teacher, but necessity, invention and ingenuity often pave the way for some great results.
So, send me your questions, comments, and thoughts, but please be civil. I will do my best to entertain and effectively respond to all of them. Until next time, I leave you with this simple question:
When cooking foul, "Why do you truss a bird?" Because, if you can't truss a bird, who can you truss(t)?