Eat This Blog: Eggs & Corned Beef Hash, Freeway Restaurant, Toledo
Posted on 8 May 2008 under Breakfast, Eat This Blog, Restaurant Chit-Chat | 2 Comments
I love a good breakfast. Have I told you I love breakfast before? Yeah well, I still do. If it were at all possible I’d have breakfast for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, luncheon, dinner, supper, before-bed snack, in-bed snack, a midnight snack, and even a two a.m. feeding.
This morning’s was a good breakfast. This is a Three Egg and Corned Beef Hash breakfast with the toast being replaced by a couple biscuits and whipped butter. Luna Pier Cook reader Dorothy might recognize this Corned Beef Hash as being from the Freeway Restaurant, across Navarre from St. Charles Hospital in Toledo. The restaurant’s been around since 1957, and many people I know recall eating there when they were kids. Yeah, this is real Corned Beef Hash. As the restaurant advertises it, it’s obviously “straight from the brisket”, being moist, tender and flavorful, with just the right amount of saltiness, cooked as perfectly as those three over-easy eggs.
Eggs like that make me jealous, as I need so much more practice at making them like this. I have the right pans …
Oh, and we can’t forget the restaurant’s signature “copper-topped” register counter.
Click on either image for a larger version.
Monroe Rotary ‘Service Above Self’ Award Dinner
Posted on 7 May 2008 under Special Events | 2 Comments
I had a bit of fun yesterday evening at the Monroe Rotary “Service Before Self” award dinner at the Ambassador Hall in Monroe. Before things got rolling for the dinner, Dan Shaw walked in. Dan’s the Managing Editor of the Monroe News, the founder of BlogsMonroe.com … basically, he and I created the whole “Luna Pier Cook” thing, which he still manages and tracks along with the 50 or so other blogs on the site. However, as part of my medical issues from a couple months ago, I had Mary shave off my beard. So when I called Dan over, the whole time he was walking over he had that look on his face of, “Geez, do I even know this guy???” I shook his hand and sat there smiling, letting him think on it for another long moment … and then I said my name. To say that he was surprised is an understatement! Dan and I haven’t seen each other since the Monroe County Fair last August, and it was good to see him again.
Mary and I hadn’t been to Ambassador Hall until last night’s award dinner and really didn’t know where it was. I’ll tell you what, Joe Perna has a great place! The space itself is gorgeous, with plenty of mirrors, murals, and a ceiling painted sky-blue with clouds. The tables are beautiful, and the wait-staff is very attentive, especially for a buffet. Most everything is quite professional.
The menu for last night’s award dinner was almost perfectly done:
- - Tossed Salad with House and Ranch dressings
- - Chicken Guiseppe - Joe’s own recipe, chicken breast sauteed with onions and mushrooms in a light white wine sauce
- - Homemade Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
- - Mostaccioli with Red Sauce
- - Redskin Potatoes
- - Green Beans Almondine
- - Dinner Roll & Butter
- … and some massive cakes you had to see to believe. (6″ thick two-layer sheet cakes … but the pics didn’t turn out!)
We had some great company at our table, including Charlie and Irma McIntyre, and Rev. Michael Thomas, head of the Monroe County Salvation Army, with his wife Mary. As to the other two people at our “farthest from the stage” table …
In the photo below you can see the reason we attended last night’s award dinner. Ken Kruzel, Luna Pier Fire Chief and Mary’s Mayor Pro-Tem, was honored yesterday evening for quite a few accomplishments above-and-beyond what his duties are. Chef Chief Kruzel, shown with his wife Lt. Angie Kruzel (also one of our firefighters), had been nominated for the “Service Before Self” award by Mary. While the Chief did not receive the award, he was recognized at the dinner by emcee Dr. David Nixon, President of Monroe County Community College, who read the Mayor’s complete nomination for Ken to receive the award to about 300 attendees. (Dr. Nixon mistakenly read Ken’s title as “Chef Kruzel”, a mistake we’re sure will stay with Ken for a while!) We’re quite proud to have Ken working with Mary here in Luna Pier, and are lucky to have him as our Fire Chief.
A New Look
Posted on 4 May 2008 under Notes | 15 Comments
I have a confession to make.
I’ve been a bit upset in a minorly-torqued-off manner with a couple friends of mine.
But really, they’re such a fine couple of folks I’ve been helping them out a bit even though I’ve been ticked, peeved, and otherwise annoyed.
I just never told them.
Within a couple weeks of changing this blog’s look the last time, the folks over at Michigan Beer Buzz went online. With … er … a modified version of the Cleaker theme I’d picked out and then modified myself for use over here.
Dagnabbit!
Still, as soon as they went online I trumpeted their arrival here on BlogsMonroe, even going so far as writing the following:
And yes, Rob, I’ll certainly point out the use of the same blog theme I’ve used here on Luna Pier Cook, implemented with some beautiful modifications to create a warm and friendly look for Michigan Beer Buzz. I particularly like the beer mug next to the Search box … nice touch! These themes are generally freely available (SteamyKitchen uses an elegant “pro” theme she had paid for) and are highly customizable. It’s always interesting to see how someone has implemented a given theme differently for another topic.
Still, even though I’ve helped them with a couple thing and passed beer-related info to them when possible, I could never figure out how to get rid of the feeling of being annoyed.
I no longer feel annoyed …
Welcome to the new-and-improved Luna Pier Cook!
The theme you’re looking at now is the main character from Yakitate!! Japan, an anime cartoon not yet regularly seen in this country. The image you see was actually provided for this theme by the original animator, so it looks pretty darn good. The plot for Yakitate!! Japan is described quite well on Wikipedia, so I won’t reproduce the whole thing here. However, the following is of interest as to how it reflects on the genre in general:
Although the story has baking as its main theme, the parts that generate the most interest are the outrageous puns in the story. Especially notable are the “reaction” based puns made by the judges, who go to great lengths to prove a single point about the bread that they had tasted. The series in general also pokes fun at the shōnen genre’s tendency to be melodramatic over mundane tasks.
Yup, a punny baker. Sounds like fun!
If you’re interested in watching episode 2 of Yakitate!! Japan here it is, all 25 minutes of it. And please let me know what you think of what I’ve done with the place and if you have any comments or suggestions.
As for all y’all over at Michigan Beer Buzz … y’all owe me a brewsky … 
Enjoy!
Fish Market: Fresh Salmon Cakes!
Posted on 3 May 2008 under Fish, Michigan Cuisine, Shopping | No Comments
Click on any of these three photos for a larger version.
Oh yeah, these were tasty!
While shopping with my son this morning we almost drove past The Fish Market on Telegraph just south of the state line … again. I say “again” because I drive by the darn place all the time without stopping in. And “almost” because this time, I didn’t get that far.
And really, I should be stopping in more. Our friends Steve and Denise own the place, and Steve was in there today. The Fish Market has by far the best, the freshest seafood and seafood creations in all of SE Michigan and NW Ohio combined. And since Steve and Denise live right here in Luna Pier, we should certainly support their business much more than we do.
I decided to browse for something for lunch for Aaron and I. There were all kinds of crab cakes, lobster-stuffed salmon pinwheels, oysters on the half shell, Alaskan king crab (yeah, that Deadliest Catch stuff from the Bering Sea) … Lots of good choices in Steve’s shop today.
What caught my eye were these salmon cakes. At 99 cents each for about a 1/4 lb patty, getting ten of them was easy. They just needed to be sautéed in a pan with a little olive oil and with a bit of rice, they’d be a good lunch for Aaron and I.
And man, were they ever good! They have a rich salmon flavor that only comes out when they’re sautéed like this for a bit until the surface is a golden-brown. They hold together amazingly well, and are perfect by themselves … no bun, definitely no tarter sauce … not even a touch of lemon. These are just damn good.
There’s six more in the freezer. I know what I’m having for lunch this week.
I know I posted this recipe recently, but because of these nice salmon cakes I just have to post it again. Enjoy!
Barb’s Salmon Patties
Makes 4 salmon patties
Ingredients
1 lb fresh salmon, baked or grilled, cooled
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup low-salt saltine crackers, crushed
1/3 cup green onions, thinly-sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
olive oil (for cooking)
Flake the salmon. With the exception of the olive oil, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing well. Divide into four portions and make patties 3/4″ thick.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons olive oil and allow to get hot without the oil smoking. Add the patties; cook for three minutes on each side. Serve as desired.
Michigan Product Review: Baffo’s ‘Meals in Bread Rolls’
Posted on 2 May 2008 under Michigan Cuisine, Reviews: Products | No Comments
Michigan-made products. For some reason I tend to gravitate toward Michigan-made products more than others. It could simply be so I can get blog posts written that are relevant, but really, having lived on the east coast for a while I missed some of the products here. So that could be part of it as well.
I found these Baffo’s sandwich rolls at the market here in Luna Pier. John told me the high school used to sell the pizza version of these sandwiches for 50 cents each, which really isn’t a bad deal for the kids. At the market they average $2 each, which is doable for a lot of folks.
The package says, “For best results, open one end of package. Heat for approx. 15 seconds.” I did this, cut the end off, felt inside … put it back in the package and heated it another 30 seconds. I’m wondering if the “15 seconds” is a typo, as 45 seconds worked fine.
I gotta tell ya, after I heated this breakfast roll and pulled it out of its package and put it on this plate for photographing, I was a little bit leary of it. You can see the outside of the roll toward the middle is still a bit doughy. (You can even see this in the upper photo through the packaging.) This is definitely a manufacturing and quality issue that should be looked into.
Inside was interesting. The egg is shaped like a miniature omelet, with chunks of bacon. I’m guessing the brownish material is the cheddar, which doesn’t appear to have faired well.
Still, the flavor was fairly good. Dissolved cheddar aside, I could taste both the egg and the bacon. The bread roll itself was like a well-made sub roll, soft and flavorful.
Mary’s told me the ham & cheese version was alright, but there were only two small pieces of ham inside the bread roll. She said the cheese was ok, but that the best part was the bread.
We both agreed, however, that we like Baffo’s better than Hot Pockets, especially for the price, and are planning to try the pizza version when we get the chance.
Now all they need is a good liverwurst and meunster version …
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