Sunday

I woke up at 6:00 AM on Sunday. I got a cup of coffee and filled in the rather extensive Blog entry. It was so extensive that I needed another cup before I finally posted it.

Today’s weather was supposed to be a carbon-copy of Saturday’s. [Sidebar: I suppose I am showing my age, because nobody today uses carbon copy paper.] I did the usual Sunday morning chores and then made some breakfast. I poached two eggs and served them on top of buttered toast.

I shaved while watching the morning news. I showered, got dressed, watered the plants and wound the mantle clock.

Then I got out the biscuit joiner and set it correctly for the task at hand. Now, I’m sure many, if not most, of you know what I am talking about. But, for those of you who don’t, here’s the short version: A biscuit joiner is a tool used in conjunction with a “biscuit”  which is a thin oval piece of wood. The joiner cuts, like, a quarter moon slot in your wood. Then, the biscuit is covered with water-based wood glue (such as Elmer’s Carpenter Glue). This makes the biscuit swell and, after you clamp the pieces together and they dry, it results in a very tight joint. The way I’m going to use it (gluing four boards together to make one big piece I can turn into a clock) is the most common use of this method. Hopefully, the photos will explain it better than I.

I pulled the car outside, locked it and closed the garage door. Then I ripped one of the leftover boards and screwed the two halves to the top of my sawhorses (you really want to clamp the piece you’re cutting into, rather than trying to hold it with your hand – both for precision and safety).

I had Sunday Morning, Over Easy on the radio and just before I went out to get started, the song “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” came on. Since it’s one of my old favorites (and quite long) I washed the Dexas Heavy Duty Grippmat Cutting Boards I got last week at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are non-slip, flexible cutting mats that roll up to funnel prepped food into pans and bowls. They are color-coordinated, so you can only use the blue one for cheese, the green one for veggies and herbs, the yellow one for poultry and the red one for red meat (so you don’t cross-contaminate).

Now, why didn’t I get the thick synthetic multi-colored ones like Jake and Carla have? Because, I like the height of my wood cutting board. These are thin, fit on top of it and have non-slip backing on them. Plus, as I said, you can sorta roll them up and dump what you just chopped into your pot.

I had them washed and in the drying rack before the song ended. When it did, I headed out to the garage. I did two test boards first, before risking the ones I really need. I got the biscuit slots cut and then moved the entire operation inside.

Now, I only had 24-inch bar clamps and, as you know, the finished clock will be 30 inches wide. So, I had bought two four-foot sections of 1/2-inch black pipe and two sets of bar clamps (like I used back in the day at the cabinet shop). I assembled them and then glued the various sections together. I held the boards down with my other short bar clamps and then tightened them up. See photos.

I’ll let that set for a couple of days before I move onto the next step.

Meanwhile, I have leftover raw things to deal with: the rest of the bacon and the other boneless, skinless chicken breast (from the steamer experiment). So, I baked the bacon in the oven after peppering it, until it was almost crisp (the microwave will take it all the way).

Then I used the easy method to make Parmesan chicken. I mixed two parts of Hellmann’s mayonnaise with one part of grated Parmesan cheese. I smeared that over both sides of the chicken cutlet. Then I sprinkled both sides with Panko bread crumbs. I stuck that in the 425 degree preheated oven and set the timer for 20 minutes.

I put the cooled bacon in a baggie and the grease in my bacon dripping coffee cup (ala my Mother). When the chicken breast was done, I ate that for my lunch with a side salad. Excellent!

Then I finally got my nap in.

When I woke up, it was already 5:30 PM, so I started dinner preparations. I mixed two pounds of thawed ground chuck with some chopped onions, Montreal steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. I formed that into a loaf and let it come up to room temperature while I prepared the broiler pan.

I lined the bottom drip tray of the broiler pan with aluminum foil and then the slotted top with foil as well (this is all for easy cleanup as I hate scrubbing my broiler pan). I cut several slits in the foil covering the top part to let the grease flow through. I turned the oven on “broil” to preheat it.

Then I cut my “loaf” into six equal parts and made each part into a hamburger patty, putting a thumb-sized dimple in the top of each. I put them on the broiler pan, seasoned each with Kosher salt and black pepper and stuck it in the oven. I had already shut both the office and bedroom doors, cracked the kitchen window and turned on the microwave fan to keep the smoke detectors quiet.

I set the timer for four minutes, but kept a close eye on them. They had just started to form a crust when the timer went off, so I flipped them over and put them back in for another four minutes.

When the timer went off again, I checked them with my instant read thermometer. I only got 130 degrees F. in the middle of the thickest patty. I wanted 140 degrees (for medium rare), so I stuck them back under the broiler for another minute. I rechecked them and they were perfect.

So, I pulled out the broiler pan and tented the patties under yet more foil. I put a slice of American cheese on two of the patties and then got my onion rolls ready. I put mayonnaise of the bottom of each and then a piece of Romaine lettuce.

When the juices had time to redistribute, I took off the two cheese-topped patties and put them on the bottom buns. I topped each patty with yellow mustard and some sliced pickles. Then I ate my Sunday supper.

The burgers were excellent: moist and juicy. I realized too late that the onions in the burgers were a little stupid as I was using onion rolls, but I like onions, so it wasn’t overkill.

I watched the end of the nightly news and then cleaned up the kitchen. I put the other burgers in a baggie and then into the fridge. I gathered up and threw away the aluminum foil (a LOT of aluminum foil, LOL). Then I hand-washed the broiler pan, which wasn’t all that bad.

I put the soup from yesterday into freezer containers. I got three four-cup containers that I labeled and put in the freezer, plus another, smaller one that I kept in the fridge to eat this coming week.

I filled the Dutch oven with soapy water and left it in the laundry tub to soak overnight. With the kitchen more or less in order, I went in to watch some TV.

I shut off the TV and tried to go to sleep at 11:00 PM. But I just laid there, with my eyes shut. My late afternoon nap proved to be my undoing and it was long after midnight before I actually fell asleep.