All I do is cook!

So this is how my m-f has gone for the past two weeks. I wake up at 7:30ish, put on work clothes, prepare and pack my breakfeast and lunch, along with breakfeast and lunch for Hef's dad. Brewe coffee and pack up my work things. Around 8am I am dropped off at the Wendy's/Tim Hortons. I sip my coffee, eat breakfeast and do internet things most days. However about 4 times between this week and last my boss has asked me or I have been scheduled to start at 8am. That means making salads and prepping until 10am. 10am is lunch break, which is stupid. If I didn't start early I start at 11am or 11:30. Then more work until 4. After work I sit in the "dining room", blogging, emailing and having a homemade salad with wendy's low fat ranch dressing, which is delicious. Then Hef's dad will pick me up between 5:30-6pm. Once home I take Shadow the Dog for a walk, usually 40 minutes or so. I have tried running a few times, it is not happening after work. Then when we get home we prep food for the grill or cook dinner. After dinner its tv time and I usually fall asleep by 10pm. Lots of cooking, not enough sleeping!

So what have we been cooking? This is London Broil, grilled, with grilled eggplant, which I should have peeled but didn't, Eggplant peels get chewy. I didn't want to have the cutting board in the picture, but Hef's dad liked it that way. It's not blood, its steak sauce marinade, so don't freak out. Thats what I love about London Broil, big slap of meat, put it in a ziploc, douse with steak sauce, set it and forget it.... well let it marinate overnight then broil or grill, slice thin, easy and yummy!

Another all star gourmet grill meal! Bay scallops and Haddock filet grilled on a wood plank, with grilled asparagus and Julia's hollandaise sauce. The hollandaise was an adventure! I felt like Julie Powell! What actually cause the problem was Hef's dad. Or precisely he didn't see the asparagus and just cooked the fish, so then we had to put it back on the grilling plank to keep warm while the asparagus cooked. Also this ment reheating my hollandaise, upon doing this it "curdled" or "seperated". Fortunately French Chef Masters Bertholle, Beck, & Child have offered up a rescue solution. Know what it is? Warm a mixing bowl with hot water, add a tablespoon lemon juice and a tablespoon sauce, whisk! then add 1/2 tablespoon at a time and whisk! Lots of whisking! I'm going to have Michelle Obama arms from all the whisking! But the sauce was saved and was delicious!

Last but certainly not least, was last nights dinner. It looks like steak but its not. Even though I asked Hef's dad did not put away the hollandaise sauce. So it had solidified. Mildly concerned about bacteria, I concocted a plan. Pan seared Porkchops with a Basalmic Hollandaise reduction. Hot hot skillet, season chops, pour on too much basalmic, whoops! sear! then scoop out "I can't believe its not Hollandaise" spread, (thats the consistency it had), throughly cook chops. Throw bag of steam rice and veggies in the microwave, more hollandaise spread in pan, deglaze and burn any fears of bacteria, serve and enjoy!

So those were the star meals of the week. Hope everyone is having nice weather to grill, and hope the weekend comes soon! On the Manager front, I have been learning sandwiches and enjoy it. No annoying customers, but I get a headset and can laugh at the silly drive thru people. It's more "cooking" sort of, so thats good! Just one more day then weekend!