12:07 pm CST
Today’s Sunday dinner is steak and twice-baked potatoes. We started the potatoes at noon; while P washed and oiled up the ‘taters, I sat down and read the instructions for seasoning our new cast iron griddle. Excuse me? Three coats of oil, baked at 450 for 30 minutes each, before the griddle is ready for cooking?
Glad we started early!
The temperature outside is sitting in single digits. If there was ever a day to keep the oven fired up, this is the one. P said this morning that he’s feeling better, emotionally, then he has in a long while. Music to my ears! Is it the slow but real progress on the vaccine front? The incredible shrinking media presence of a former POTUS? Reduced stress from work? Doesn’t hurt that we’re both doing a better job listening to one another and being sensitive to each other’s vulnerabilities.
2:41 pm CST
How much oil is enough? I felt like I went light on round 1; round 2 I got enough on the griddle I had to buff excess oil off, as per the instructions. (I had no excess in round 1.) Back into the oven the griddle goes. P is playing games online with his cronies. I’m playing the newest version of Civilization on my computer as I wait for my alarm to ring.
“It’s the time and the season/ For… seasoning”
3:54 pm CST
I think I see a difference in the griddle surface. I didn’t stint with layer three of the olive oil. I was originally planning on doing the minimum number of seasoning rounds, but maybe a fourth is in order? Not sure how much I got out of round one.
Diligent -or- perfectionist? Ask me again tomorrow, I’ll have a better answer.
4:24 pm CST
I pulled the griddle from the oven. A shiny layer was visible, so I’m cautiously declaring the seasoning process a success. P and I are planning on dinner around six; the potatoes have been baked once, but not bisected, smooshed, doctored, mixed, poured, re-covered and baked again. I will be required to grate cheese, but otherwise it’s P’s show. He’s gaming until 5, so we’re on hold until then.
6:30 pm CST
Stuffed. Struggling to stay ambulatory. Griddle did a nice job providing searing and close-to-grill flavor. The steaks themselves were a little tough… but we didn’t buy the best strip steaks on offer, just to depressurize our first run. P found a recipe for twice-baked potatoes that included tons of butter and milk… when I went to mix up the potato mixture, he asked that I leave the consistency more like potatoes au gratin than mashed potatoes. The result was greasy but delicious: next time, we’ll try to hit that silky mashed texture.
Is it all a lot of bother? Yes. But P and I both enjoyed the fuss and bother today.
And I’m going to sleep well tonight.
::hugs::
C/