Etiquette--Bread and Butter

A few weeks ago, we went to a banquet at a country club.  I found myself needing a refresher on what to do with my roll and butter.  So here's the skinny on bread and butter.

Before eating, you should break the bread into moderate sized pieces with your fingers.  Then you can butter the bread one piece at a time.  There were some differing opinions on whether you should hold the piece of bread when buttering or hold it against your plate, not in your hand.  The most prevailing opinions said to hold the bread in your fingers.  Toast and hot biscuit halves can be buttered all at once since they taste the best when the butter is melted.

If the butter is in the center of the table with a butter knife provided, you should transfer the amount you want to use to your bread plate, or to the side of your dinner plate if there isn't a bread plate.  If no utensil is provided, individuals may use their own clean knives or forks.

When butter is served as individually wrapped squares, leave the empty wrappers on your bread plate or tucked under the edge of your dinner plate if you don't have a bread plate. 

Granola

My mother-in-law has some delicious recipes that have become part of our family tradition.  One of these is homemade granola.

A few quality ingredients make for a great breakfast treat.  Grape-Nuts Flakes is one of the more difficult ingredients to find, but well worth the effort!

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a big bowl. 

Add the butter and honey melted together.

 

Stir until well mixed.

Place on two cookie sheets.  I put the both in the oven at the same time and switch the shelves half way through.  Stir occasionally while in the oven.

It's also a good idea to stir the granola while it cools.  It will harden into a big chunk that you'll have to break apart if you don't.

 

Granola

From the Kitchen of Lorinda Hymas

Ingredients

·         9 c. rolled oats

·         3 c. Grape Nuts Flakes

·         3 c. shredded coconut

·         1 c. wheat germ (optional)

·         1 c. brown sugar

·         1 c. melted butter

·         1 c. honey

·         1 c. raw sunflower seeds

·         3 c. chopped nuts

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together.  Melt honey and butter together.  Pour over dry ingredients and stir until well mixed.  Bake at 325° F for 20-30 minutes.  Stir 1-2 times.  (Less cook time=more chewy).  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Stir while cooling to keep the granola broken up into individual flakes.

PDF Copy

Tuesday Tips-Weigh Your Flour

This is the first of a series of Tuesday's Tip of the Week.  Today's tip is weigh your flour.  When baking, getting the right amount of flour in a recipe can be tricky.  Usually, you add the minimum amount of flour a recipe calls for and then add more, a little at a time, in order to get the right texture. 

Remember in Home Ec in school, your teacher would have you sift the flour before adding it to the recipe.   For me, it was way more effort that it was worth because I thought it was a texture thing.  Turns out that it is a volume thing. The more packed a cup of flour, the more flour you get per cup.  So, when using volume to measure, you can get widely varying amounts of flour in a recipe.  Sifting the flour first gives you a more consistent volume of measure.  However, I think there is yet a better and easier way.

A few years ago, we purchased a kitchen scale, and I started weighing our flour.  Turns out that weight is a far more consistent way to measure flour.  The conversion factor for flour should be:

1 cup flour = 4.92 ounces

Not all recipes are created equal, and you may have to play around a bit with the recipe to get the correct weight of flour, but the conversion factor is a great place to start.  Once I figure out the correct weight of the flour for a recipe, it takes out all the guess work.  I just add the correct weight of flour and the recipe turns out every time.  I don't need to tweak anything.  It is definitely a time saver, and my recipes turn out more consistently each time.

Etiquette-Napkins

Etiquette is a way to show respect for others.  It's not a way to put on airs or think you are better than others. A few years ago, I bought a reference book called Emily Post's Etiquette.  It covers various topics on etiquette that range from weddings, travel, communication, and of course, table manners.
  

As a family, we've decided we'd like to start focusing on a different aspect of table manners each week, and as an added incentive for us, I thought I'd start sharing our focus here. 

This week's topic is using your napkin.  In a place setting, the napkin is placed to the left of the forks, under the forks, or in the center of the dinner plate.  It can be either folded or with a napkin ring around it.

Your napkin should go into your lap as soon as you sit down.  In more formal settings, you may wait until your hostess puts her napkin in her lap.  Don't tuck the napkin under your chin or in your belt.  The napkin should stay folded in half.

You should use the napkin frequently during the meal to blot your lips.  Do not wipe.  When you get up or when the meal is over, you should put your napkin to the left side of your plate with loose folds.  If your plate has been removed, you can place it in the middle of the place setting.

Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is my go to when I have to bring a salad to an event or when I've having a luncheon.  It's simple, but it goes a long way and is full of flavor.

Feta is  the most flavorful cheese for this dish.  I especially like the kind that comes in a chunk in brine.  Cheddar will also work.  Olive Garden's Italian Dressing is delicious in this, but if you want to make your own, Our Best Bites has a great recipe for Italian Dressing.

While your pasta is cooking, cut up your broccoli.  The smaller the florets, the better your salad will be.

 Rinsing the pasta after it's drained helps to cool it down quickly and to get rid of the startch.

At this point, throw everything into a bowl and toss it together.

Pasta Salad

From the Kitchen of and Recipe by Lynnae Hymas

Ingredients:

3 quarts water

2 teaspoons salt

6 oz. Tri-color Rotini Pasta

1 small head of broccoli

15-20 pieces of pepperoni

3-4 ounces Feta cheese

1 cup Italian dressing

Boil the water and add the salt.  Add the pasta to the boiling water.  Cook for 8-10 minutes.  Drain the pasta in a strainer and rinse with cold water.  Cut the broccoli into small bite sized florets and discard the stems.  Add pasta and broccoli to a salad bowl, along with pepperoni, and crumbled Feta cheese.  Pour the Italian dressing over the top and toss together.  Serves 8-12.  

PDF File