Dinner Thief
It’s 615pm, you have 11 people on the deck expecting to be fed in less than an hour, and the dog has just stollen a chunk of pork butt right off the counter. This was the scene here on Monday night. I had spent the entire day smoking two gorgeous pork shoulders to pull for dinner that night, and suddenly I needed a contingency plan. Those who know me know I don’t fly by the seat of my pants with ease. I like lists, and planning, and fretting. LOL. Thankfully I had planned to bake wings later in the week, and had few pounds of them in the fridge. Sadly not prepped and drying (they sit uncovered in the fridge for an hour), but you work with what you’ve got. They weren’t perfect but they were definitely a big hit, so I’ll take it! As for the dog... well, I think I’ve learned *my* lesson about leaving food on a counter she’s just realized she can reach. Hopefully everyone else’s Canada Day/4th of July celebrations were a bit less ... exciting.
One good thing that happened that day was hubs surprising me with a brand new Breville Smart Scoop ice cream maker!! I had a freezer bowl for my KitchenAid but this is so much better. Yes, it takes up a fair bit of space but I’m going to make sure it’s worth it. I’ve made two different batches already but they’ve not turned out the way I’d hoped. Flavours were fantastic. I did brown sugar toffee (thank you Linda Lomelino for the idea) and my favourite, cherry! But texturally they’re not quite right, I suspect I need to turn the hardness down on the machine. I’ll keep working on them over the coming week and hopefully I’ll be able to share something with you soon. In the meantime you can check out my recipe for blueberry ice cream. Haven’t tried it with this new machine but you can bet I’ll be making a huge batch the minute the blueberries hit the local markets.
Not sure what flavour of ice cream I’ll go with while testing. Probably going to avoid the labour intensive ones, like cherry - so much pitting, and stick to vanilla, or chocolate. The classics, but probably with a twist. Wish me luck!! Check Instagram for updates!
Speaking of Instagram, my cookies have been making the rounds again. This reminded me that I has overdue for a batch at home. Even with me not really sharing they didn’t last long, so I think I may need to prep another batch for the freezer - just portion them out, freeze on a baking sheet, then transfer to a ziplock bag for storage.
Perhaps I’ll do that this weekend. My house should be fully furnished by the end of today so I’ve earned a baking filled weekend! Got my cottage done before guest arrived (still needs some small touches but it’s functional), and my living room furniture and rugs are all coming in this week. Celebrations are in order - cookies, some ice cream, and maybe a cake. That sounds like a good weekend to me!
Happy RageBaking!
What have you been baking so far this summer? Tag #ragebake on Instagram or comment below.