Breakfast!

[JohnnyEgo]

Because it is Valentines day and -9 degrees outside, I figured I'd demonstrate my love of my family by making the most labor-intensive breakfast items in my repertoire.

I usually make Cinnamon Rolls and 4x Fried Breakfast Potatoes together, because they both take forever and their required resting times compliment one another. I always say I am going to start doing this early the night before, but inevitably it's 10 PM on Saturday night before I get started.

First I made a lot of dough. Some of it is for pizzas my son asked to make tonight. While the dough spends it's 1st 10 minute rest, I peel the potatoes and boil them in water with a lot of salt and vinegar.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls01.JPG

After it's first 10 minute rest, the dough gets kneaded with a dough hook. I also start heating up the frying oil. The dough then rests in my oven for 90 minutes. While that is happening, I flash fry the potatoes for 50 seconds, then let them cool down completely on a paper-towel lined sheet pan for 30 minutes. Then repeat the process two more times. By the time of the last flash fry, the dough is usually proofed.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls02.JPG

I cut the dough in half and roll each piece out into a roughly 8" x 18" rectangle. Fill it with a combination of cinnamon and brown sugar, with a quarter stick of butter grated over it.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls03.JPG

Roll up the log and set it aside. Do the same thing with the other dough piece, and then cut each log into 6ths.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls04.JPG
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While the rolls proof another 30 minutes, I do kitchen clean-up and get started on veg prep. Potatoes go from here into the freezer. Then, because it is nearly 1:00 AM, I go to bed.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls06.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls07.JPG

This morning, I got up, put the rolls on the counter, started the oven heating, and fried up some bacon. Put the cinnamon rolls in the oven, then started the Dutch Oven to get the oil up to heat while charring the peppers, onions, and three cloves of minced garlic. Potatoes go directly from the freezer into the oil for 3 minutes.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls08.JPG

Whip up some cream cheese icing for the cinnamon rolls. My son does not like icing, so I always leave three plain rolls for him.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls09.JPG

Potatoes go back into the skillet with the peppers, onions, and garlic. A little salt, a lot of Frank's Red Hot, and skillet potatoes are done.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls11.JPG
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Because it is so cold outside, a little Bourbon fortifies the iced coffee.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/potatoesandrolls15.JPG

If suffering is a measure of love, this three hour ordeal means I love my family (and fresh cinnamon rolls and fried potatoes) a lot. Fortunately for my waistline and blood sugar, this is just annoying enough to do that I only do it a couple times a year. But it sure is tasty.

[BPTactical]

Breakfast was so........this morning..

[JohnnyEgo]

Not when it takes so long...

[JohnnyDrama]

Nice. Breakfast! The most important meal of the day!

[Bailey Guns]

Well cereal and milk just seems pedestrian after that...

[Great-Kazoo]

You omitted the part, where your spouse is out of town till wed ;)

BTW: Barbacoa is on the menu for tuesday ;)

[Aloha_Shooter]

Good job. The last time I made cinnamon rolls from scratch, it was a yeast-raised dough. I was pretty happy with how it turned out but made a major mistake with timing: had done all the prep the morning of a buddy's bachelor party and baked them the next morning (I was the designated driver that night so I was fine ... everyone else in the house -- especially the groom-to-be -- not so much). I do want to try Gordon Ramsey's method and recipe for Eggs Benedict, have only done it with packaged sauce and I'd like to take a stab and making it from scratch.

[SideShow Bob]

Twisters Huevos Rancheros for the wife, & smothered (red) chorizo breakfast burrito for me. Carry out of course.

And why doesn?t anyone believe in putting raisins in thier cinnamon rolls ?

[Great-Kazoo]

Twisters Huevos Rancheros for the wife, & smothered (red) chorizo breakfast burrito for me. Carry out of course.

And why doesn?t anyone believe in putting raisins in their cinnamon rolls ?

because they're CINNAMON, not Raisin Rolls.

[Duman]

I like the side of 1911...[Coffee]

[roberth]

Fantastic!!

[JohnnyEgo]

because they're CINNAMON, not Raisin Rolls.

Sing it, brother. Raisins in cinnamon rolls are an abomination.

[JohnnyEgo]

Continuing on with the Valentines theme, my son and I made a crap ton of pizza tonight. We had learned a bit from our previous pizza-making adventures, and this time we tried several different experiments with three different types of dough.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza01.JPG

Last time I made a complicated sauce with a roasted marinara base out of fresh tomatoes, red peppers, and a little bit of red wine. And nobody liked it but me. This time, I put a can of tomatoes, some garlic, and some salt in a blender, and you would have thought I invented pizza. Philistines.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza03.JPG

My son's dough, which is the basic Cooks Illustrated recipe we made last time. Simple and it works.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza02.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza07.JPG

Came out pretty good. We let it sit longer on the pan before we put it in the oven, so the crust was much crisper this time. The first one disappeared pretty quick.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza14.JPG

Next, we tried a variation on a pan pizza. King Arthur recipe. A little more high maintenance in the early stages, as you have to fold it over a bunch of times on five minute intervals. Also wants a three hour final proofing at room temp before you bake it.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza04.JPG

Came out pretty good, though. This was my favorite.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza05.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza11.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza12.JPG

Finally, a 'Detroit' style, aka the cheap Little Ceasars deep dish I eat for myself periodically. Couldn't find the brick cheese locally, so I used the mildest, highest moisture content cheddar I could find on the shelf, in conjunction with the shredded mozzarella and whole milk mozzarella chunks. Worked decent.
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza15.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza16.JPG
https://www.johnnyego.com/dump/cake/vday2020/pizza17.JPG

This is fun to do every now and then, and I definitely will make the cast iron skillet pizza again. But I also really like paying someone $20 to do this for me on a more regular basis.

[Great-Kazoo]

For brick cheese, locally. Wander over to ft fun and hit up shamrock / Food service warehouse off college on 200 w. foothills pkwy. Between dellenback motors and red lobster. Bricks of mozzarella, cheddar and 1 or 2 others.

[BPTactical]

Your gonna make somebody one helluva wife someday.....

[Scanker19]

I like the side of 1911...[Coffee]

I too like my toast with jam....

[JohnnyEgo]

Your gonna make somebody one helluva wife someday.....

Already taken. And she made it clear I'd better be one hell of a housewife, because she didn't cook.

[JohnnyEgo]

For brick cheese, locally. Wander over to ft fun and hit up shamrock / Food service warehouse off college on 200 w. foothills pkwy. Between dellenback motors and red lobster. Bricks of mozzarella, cheddar and 1 or 2 others.

I keep forgetting that place is there. Really should have thought of it first.

[FoxtArt]

Interested in the deep dish info [Lick]

That looks a lot like it came from my favorite pizza place as a kid.

ETA: Also good job. I appreciate good cooking, I just envy the time to squeak it in. Working on prep for hot smoked salmon + sides and inevitably end up timing everything wrong with my schedule anymore... I hope people like salt cause that shit had way too long of a bath.

[Irving]

Already taken. And she made it clear I'd better be one hell of a housewife, because she didn't cook.

Sounds like you've got a real Cardi B on your hands! <--That's an exclamation point of joy as I unironically love Cardi B, and a reference to some of her lyrics, in case anyone isn't following.

I'm intrigued by the pan pizza, but I went through my dough making stage almost a decade ago. I've been heavy into using my smoker recently, but I should expand my cooking repertoire some more. I need to check back in with Food Wishes again to get some ideas. Speaking of Food Wishes, he has a good recipe for a Dutch Baby (and now a Blueberry Dutch Baby!) that we liked. Your kid might like it.

[Irving]

Interested in the deep dish info [Lick]

That looks a lot like it came from my favorite pizza place as a kid.

ETA: Also good job. I appreciate good cooking, I just envy the time to squeak it in. Working on prep for hot smoked salmon + sides and inevitably end up timing everything wrong with my schedule anymore... I hope people like salt cause that shit had way too long of a bath.

I'm bad at timing dishes. I can make an omelet and potatoes for breakfast, but I'm a swearing, screaming, wreck the entire time.

[JohnnyEgo]

Timing is definitely an art, particularly for breakfast. It took me a while to get to the point where I wasn't serving cold pancakes an hour after they were made, while still waiting on the omelettes. I am a big fan of both mise en place (full prep before starting to cook) and clean-as-you-go. 20 minutes of planning and thinking about things before I start cracking eggs really pays off for me.

Recipes for the pan pizza:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/crispy-cheesy-pan-pizza-recipe
The recipe is sized for a 9-10" skillet. I multiplied everything by 1.5 for my 12" skillet.


And the 'Detroit' style pizza:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/king-arthurs-detroit-style-pizza-recipe
I didn't have the dough flavoring or the dedicated pan. I just used a 9x13 came pan.

For the proofing stages, I set my oven to 175 degrees for about 10 minutes, usually while I am mixing the dough. Then I turn it off and open the door wide for a few minutes to let most of the heat out. I try for a temperature around 90 degrees. Put the dough in there and then crack open the oven door with a wooden spoon to vent any excess heat.

[Great-Kazoo]

for those who lack the time to make , or just dough challenged. here's the perfect cheat for you.

Safeway carries their version of pizza dough.

The Signature Cafe Traditional Pizza Dough 16 oz. Usually on the end cap with the other "fresh" pizza . by the deli

BUT, that dough is already defrosted and or 1/2 way to (IMO) unusable as it's risen. Go to the deli / salads counter and ask for one of the frozen ones. It's kept in their freezer.

[Erni]

For pizza dough Soopers has a dry dough mix. I forgot the brand name. But it?s essentially a bag of dough flour and yeast. Throw it in a bowl mix it and let it stand for 45 minutes. Prep time is small. Taste is great and everyone in the family makes their own personal size pizza. One bag makes 3 personal pizzas. Highly recommend.

[rondog]

Damn, son.....ambitious lil' feller ain't ya? Looks awesome!