Cooking at Lodge – Day One
I’ve started my cooking tour at The Flat Ranch, for the hunters. Sunday was pretty much a full day of cooking that started at 2 pm. It went really well, mostly. Dinner was fried pork loin chops, cream spinach, and roasted baby potatoes. I made Lemon Caper Sauce for the chops. For dessert there were espresso, chocolate shortbread cookies, and pieces of almond and Himalayan sea salt chocolate bars. It was a guy’s meal, and there was a lot. Everything was gone with the exception of about a half dozen chops, so I was pretty pleased. There were a couple things I did differently than the recipes. For the pork, I floured the chops, dipped them in egg, and then in panko. For the roasted potatoes I mixed a little balsamic vinegar with everything else the recipe calls for. I added the cream spinach recipe below.
The only near disaster occurred, when the owner came over to talk to me while I was cooking. I had my back to the stove and all of a sudden she said, “Something’s on fire.” I turned around and the hot pad that I had left on the lid of a pot had slid off, and caught fire. Luckily, I could just pick it up, and throw it in the sink. I’ve always know how to impress people. It was really bad form, and slightly horrifying, but still a bit amusing.
I am really glad that I got the Egg Strata made and in the fridge for breakfast in the morning. It’ll make the early part of the day a lot smoother.
The picture is of Don’s “doggie bag!”
Ingredients
- 3-4 TBSP butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3-4 oz cream cheese
- Grating of fresh nutmeg
- 2 lbs baby spinach, cooked briefly and squeezed pretty dry, or use 2 lbs frozen whole leaf spinach
- 1 tsp granulated garlic powder
- 1 tsp granulated onion powder
- Salt and pepper
- More heavy cream as needed
- Cooked, crumbled bacon (optional)
- 2-4 TBSP grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet and add garlic. Saute for a minute.
- On low heat, add cream and cream cheese, and nutmeg. Continue heating until cream cheese melts, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in spinach, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and pepper. Add bacon, if using. Heat through.
- Add cream as needed, to make it the consistency you like.
- To serve as a casserole, place in buttered baking dish, and top with crushed buttery crackers. Bake about 30 minutes until bubbly, and the top is slightly brown.
- If you prefer more of a cheese taste, modify the cream cheese and cream amounts - add 8 oz cream cheese, and 1/2 cup cream.