Lodge 3.5" Cast Iron Skillet - Perfect for Homemade "Egg McMuffins"!

I made my own "Egg McMuffin" using my very small Lodge 3.5 inch skillet. Flipped it over onto a Griswold #3 to fry the second side. Too bad I didn't have some sausage to make it a Sausage McMuffin! But with just scrambled eggs, American cheese and a toasted English Muffin (buttered), it wasn't too bad! 

I start out with oil in the small Lodge skillet. Usually, it's too much oil in there, so then I drain it by dumping out the heated oil onto the Griswold #3. After the egg has set up in the small Lodge, I flip the egg onto the oiled Griswold. I could use butter, but since I butter the English muffin, I don't bother to butter the skillets and use vegetable oil instead. I found the key is to use low to medium heat on the skillets (like any other cast iron). I used a medium sized egg, but I really think even a small sized egg would work for an Egg McMuffin. I use a small silicone spatula to help guide the egg out since my other metal spatulas are too large.

Photos taken with an Apple iPhone 6s+

Below is a comparison of the Lodge 3.5 inch skillet to a Griswold #3 and Griswold #8 skillet.  Plus, I had to take a photo of the 3.5 inch skillet with a sunny side up egg in it too... just so it looks like the Lodge logo!  There's also a photo of one that I made with a ham slice, so honey mustard for sauce, an egg, cheese and an English muffin.  Not bad!

Eastman Outdoors 37212 - 22" Carbon Steel Wok and Burner

 Long before going on a Cast Iron craze, I have been wanting to get a big burner and wok for a long time, so I purchased the Eastman Outdoors 37212 "Big Kahuna" from Amazon.  It works great!  Besides the burner and wok, you also get a stainless steel long handled spatula and laddle and a thermometer.  The only other thing you need is a propane tank (not included).

I've been wanting that "restaurant quality" taste to my Chinese food which is called "wok hei".  This literally translates to "the breath of the wok" and gives you the unique flavor that you can't get by cooking Chinese food over a conventional stove.  You need a LOT of heat to get that flavor as the oil on the wok smokes up while you cook your food.  Use either Peanut Oil or Vegetable oil when cooking on a wok... these have a higher smoke point than other oils.

The huge 22" carbon steel wok was seasoned for almost an hour.  I followed the technique that I saw on this YouTube video and it helped burn off the plastic-like coating that the wok comes with.  The coating is used to keep the wok from rusting before you receive it.  It really smelled bad while it was burning off, but there's no way you can cook with it on!!  Not safe!  But like the video, I did not scrub off the coating opting to burn it all off instead.  I then washed the wok and heated in some oil.

I had the flame a little too high and the oil in the wok caught on fire during the seasoning process!  Be careful not to do that because it leaves a black mess in the wok that can't be removed.  I worried a little about this at first but then accepted it because after lots of use, the bottom of the wok is going to look that same way anyway!

After spending nearly an hour to season the wok, I gave it a try by cooking rice noodles in it.  Wow!  Was it fast!  I cooked these in less than 4 minutes.  Next, I cooked up some chicken and bok choi.  Not as good as I hoped because I didn't season it well.  I'll do better next time.

After having our Chinese dinner, my family decided we should try some french fries to see how well it can fry!  So in about 3 minutes, frozen fries were cooked golden brown.  That's fast!  We also fried up some breaded zucchini's (I almost burned these... the oil was getting too hot!) and also some breaded green beans!  The beans were great at about 3 minutes as well.

This burner puts out 65,000 BTU's and the wok heats up super fast!  If you want quick food, this is it.

After dinner, I made sure the wok had a decent layer of oil on it before putting it away in the basement.  I'm bringing the wok and burner in the house after each use and storing it in our basement as I don't want the equipment to rust too quickly due to rain and dew, etc.

Well worthwhile if you want that restaurant quality taste (wok hei) to your Chinese food!

Tomorrow I am planning on cooking some fried rice in the wok and also will do some pan fried noodles with vegetables and char siu pork.

Follow-up:  Here's the fried rice from lunch the next day!  I find that the 22" wok is actually a good size!  At first, I thought it was too large, but after cooking fried rice, I don't think it is.  You move around a lot when stir frying and with a 22" wok, nothing goes flying out of the wok because it is so large!

Lodge 10.5 Inch Cast Iron Grill Pan Set

Always wanted one of these, so I picked up this Lodge 10.5 inch Cast Iron Grill Pan set from Costco for $19.99.  It comes with a silicone handle holder and a black grill pan scraper.  Not a bad deal!  I hope to use it on my new Weber grill for times when I don't want to grill directly on the grill grate.  Obviously, the silicone handle holder must be removed before putting on the grill!

Here are the first burgers using the grill pan.  Nice grill marks!

One side note... I'm not thrilled with the silicone handle holder.  When the handle is hot and you use it to lift the pan, it tends to want to slide off the handle due to the weight of the pan.  That's not good when you have a hot pan and can't grab the pan to prevent it falling without an accidental burn!  I much prefer the standard cloth handle holders to the silicone!  Be sure to use a cloth handle holder and wear an oven mitt on the other hand when transporting a hot grill pan!  Using the silicone handle holder is only good if you are not going to lift the pan while it is hot.

Weber Spirit E-310 Gas Grill

After owning a mediocre grill for many years, I finally purchased a good one... the Weber Spirit E-310 gas grill.

Recommended by America's Test Kitchen as the best gas grill for under $500 (check out the video here: https://youtu.be/mUPX-9zkMeA) I decided that larger wasn't necessarily better for the money.  I wanted a grill that could cook evenly throughout its grilling surface.  America's Test Kitchen's video convinced me that this grill would be the best.

Apparently Weber grills aren't discounted below a certain price from retailer to retailer, so my family and I decided to purchase the grill at Ace Hardware since they offered free assembly and delivery.  We went last Friday but found they did not deliver on the weekends.  Monday was Memorial Day, so we asked if they could deliver at 9 AM on Monday since we had a huge family party happening for lunch that day.  They said they could do it.

Sure enough,  precisely at 9 AM, the guys delivered the assembled grill!  I fired it up and grilled lots of burgers, hot dogs, brats, and kebobs for the party.  And just like the video said it would do, the grill performed perfectly!  I had the entire surface area of the grill covered with each type of entree and every time... no hot spots on the grill!  Each burger came out exactly the same as the other regardless of where that patty was located on the grill.  On my old grill, if I had the patties in the "sweet spot" where the heat was best, the other areas would not even cook at all!  You could expect the meat to be raw!  Not the case here.  Perfect grill marks on everything and nothing burnt!

After the burgers, I put on Hot Dogs, Brats and Kebobs and they all did the same thing.  Nothing burned and everything was evenly cooked with nice grill marks.  The grill grates are made with porcelain enameled cast iron so heat retention is very good.

High praises for this grill!  If you are in the market for a grill, consider the Weber Spirit E-310 grill.  While it is more expensive than most grills its size at $499 on sale, in my opinion, it's well worth it.

Five Guys Vs In-N-Out

How would I rate Five Guys Burger and Fries over In-N-Out Burger?

First, I'd consider taste... The In-N-Out to me is a bit tastier because it's greasier.  Some would say juicier.  But, the Five Guys has more toppings and condiment choices which are included in its price that adds tastes of its own. 

An In-N-Out Burger costs around $3.45 per Double Double (two patties, two slices of cheese).  The Little Cheese Burger from Five Guys is $4.59.  It's about the same size as the Double Double.  But you get only one patty and one slice of cheese.  However, you get a lot of condiments and toppings with the price of the Five Guys burger.

The fries are more costly at Five Guys but they give you a lot more.  It is also fried in peanut oil, which to me, makes it tastier.  There was supposed to be a secret menu like In-N-Out has, so I ordered their "Cheese Fries" (which was supposed to be a secret menu item).  I was told they didn't have Cheese Fries, just regular fries.  Disappointing!

In the end, the Five Guys cost more, has less meat and cheese but gives you more toppings and condiment choices for the money.  The In-N-Out burger is less expensive, greasier but tastier.

What's important to you?

Final Installment of the Tokio Pub Lunches

Once again, my daughter and I went to Tokio Pub to finish our $57 free vouchers!

We ordered the same things we had done in the past only this time, we got two of the Crazy Dragon Rolls and one Godzilla Roll.  We also added a Shrimp Crispy Rice (reminded us of Chinese Shrimp Toast).  To start out, we once again ordered the Barbecue-Braised Pork Nachos.  Click here to see their menu.

We didn't quite finish our $57, so our waitress suggested we get a couple of Bignet dessert balls that were made of chocolate.  In all, our total bill was $0.  We gave her a nice tip, of course!

Tokio Pub - Again

Went again to Tokio Pub today!  Got their Barbeque-Braised Pork Nachos again and two sushi rolls (Godzilla Roll and Crazy Dragon Roll) and Tempura Shrimp Buns.

This was part of the "free" deal described in my previous post.  I have one more $57 voucher to use, so back to Tokio Pub next week!  Images were taken with my Apple iPhone 6s+.

Tokio Pub's menu can be found here: http://bucket.tokiopub.com/wp-content/uploads/Main.pdf

Tokio Pub - For Lunch!

Back on January 15, my daughter, wife and I went to celebrate both my daughter and my birthday (we share the same birthday) at Tokio Pub in Schaumburg, IL.

The deal was to have your birthday party at the restaurant on the 15th of every month and get a coupon for each person in your party worth the same as your age!  For us, our birthdays happen to be on the 15th anyway!  Click here to read about their special.

I turned 57 this year, so I got a gift certificate for $57 for use next time.  And, my daughter got one for $57 and my wife got one for $57 as well!  What a deal!

Anyway, we ordered food in January but did not get to go back until lunch today.  My daughter and I used one of the coupons and it covered all of the food above!  We ordered the following:

1. Barbeque-Braised Pork Nachos
2. Godzilla Roll (Shrimp Tempura, Smoked Salmon, guacamole, eel sauce)
3. Two bowls (one for each person) of Grilled Steak in Soy - Ramen Broth
4. Rangoon Roll (tempura fried roll, spicy shrimp, cream cheese, scallion, chilli oil, sweet and sour sauce)

The Pork Nachos were really great.  We really liked it.  We also liked the Godzilla Roll, but my daughter ate all the Salmon off the rolls since I don't eat raw fish.  I just ate the rolls minus the fish on it.  By the time the two bowls of Grilled Steak in Soy- Ramen Broth came out, we were stuffed already!  We decided to take the rest of the food home instead.

The interesting thing about this restaurant is that nobody there was Asian!  Not the servers and not the patrons (except us).  Still, it wasn't bad.  It's Americanized fusion food really.  The restaurant is part of the "Lettuce Entertain You" restaurants, so I guess I wasn't so surprised that it wasn't real Asian food.  We still liked it.  It's a bit expensive for what it is, but trendy places are like that.

Check 'em out if you want something different and try going when there is a special like the birthday specials!

All images taken with an Apple iPhone 6s +

In-N-Out Burger

The Double Double is probably the most ordered burger from In-N-Out Burger.  I recall my uncle telling me how "juicy" they were.  But after ordering several of them recently on my trip to San Francisco, I couldn't help but notice that juicy really meant "greasy"!

The burgers are wrapped twice in paper, but look at the bottom photo of the inner wrapping.  Also look at the second photo and notice the sheen on the buns.  I'd call it a bit greasy.  What do you call it?

Still, the burgers are pretty tasty.  Compared to Five Guys burgers, the cost is more reasonable as well.  Which do you prefer?

2016 San Francisco - Fisherman's Wharf

I went to visit my mom and sister's family this week in San Francisco.

Lots of sights to see out there, but the easiest for me to get around with my scooter was Fisherman's Wharf.  Had to get some In-N-Out food, so I ordered a Double Double burger (two patties with two slices of cheese) and Animal Style Fries (Thousand Island, Grilled Onions and Cheese on Fries) and a drink.  Cost was $11.09 (yes, it was expensive, but you just got to do it when you are in California!)  I also ordered a cup of clam chowder at one of the street vendor's booth (got to do that too for $6 and tax).