Thursday, May 21, 2009

Is that your sausage or are you just happy to see me??


We'll get to that. I promise. ;)

So.... my day started off with Meeting 1, of 8 proposed weekly meetings, with outplacement dude.

The main reason for this meeting was to get my "final" resume. I imagine with people who are also not as far along in the job-hunting process as I am (meaning, I've already been sending out my resume and had some interviews) it might be kind of useful.

It wasn't.

Among the "networking" techniques discussed was networking and "researching" to get "in" with someone. Not just looking at the website and news blurbs... but... well.... what was to me outright stalking (and as my friend Carly knows, I'm good at pointing out the line between stalker and "just interested"...) people. The "just try to get five minutes of their time so you can sell yourself" is soooooooooooooo not my style. I believe in the approved channels. Also... tech writing is not exactly one of those jobs where someone can "make" a position for you just because you've got spunk.... they have a need for you, or they don't. And most often, they have a need for you, but can't justify the expense until they get into some legal trouble. It is, what it is.

I was also pretty unhappy to see that their "professionally done" resume was just the same resume I have, reformatted into their style (even though I gave them a digital version of my own resume and expressly checked the "I WANT IT IN THIS FORMAT" box).

So, um, yeah. Not too sure they can offer me anything I don't know at this point.

So... on to the cooking!

Bagel dogs are a favorite, but they're one of those things that I would have to start the minute I got home from work. So, obviously, they don't happen much on work nights. So, today was just the perfect chance to make them. And the 80+ degree temps mean some great workin' the yeast (even if you have to start a very hot oven to finish).

I like egg bagels, and I started with this recipe since, on first glance, it seemed to involve more egg and might give me a more eggy result. Yeah, we'll get to that too.

Hello.... happy yeast!!!



And eggs!



Yes, I said eggS. Maybe it's just too much face time with instructions, but recipes like this one that involve ingredients that are really supposed to be split up ALWAYS mess me up. I *HATE* recipes like this. I read this recipe over three times, and thought two eggs went into the dough... not one for the dough, and one for the egg wash. Dude... tell me in the ingredient list that I need ONE egg for the dough, and then tell me I need an egg wash. Then I'll get it right.

Anyway.....




Flour, salt, and um... uh... yeah... in mixer. Add liquids.



This particular recipe does call for "additional liquid", so I first added it to the yeast mixture cup, and then the egg mixture cup, so I wouldn't waste any goodness.

Action shot!!!



And in the end, a lovely bagel dough....



For bagel dogs, the method is pretty much just getting ropes of dough, and wrapping them around the hot dogs.

So... segment your dough...



Make some ropes...



Wrap around hot dogs...



And let them rise....



I also got it into my head to make some chipotle ketchup.

Bring on the world's cutest can of chipotles!!



I love these little cans. So cute. Like, four peppers in a can, perfect for one or two recipes.

Chopped and somewhat-seeded peppers, ketchup, cumin, and a squeez of honey to balance the heat, and mix...



Mmm... tasty.



And, the bagel dogs have finished their rise...



Hot bath time!!



Those dogs went on to plates, and then into the fridge to wait for cooking time.



I also decided to make some baked zucchini sticks for dinner. Enjoy this one, because I forgot to take pictures of the finished product. Which was very "meh" anyway. Good heavens, they needed salt.



Threw the bagel dogs into the oven, and took them out 25 minutes later when the timer went off....



Um.... hello???



Yes, apparently it's Phallic Sausage Week here. Ahem.

I was half-tempted to see if I could pop out the rest and see if we could go for a Puka Dog-like experience (because the idea is neat... but I'm not a Hawaii-kinda-person) but I was lazy. And not willing to mangle a bunch of good food.

I did manage to work it back into the bagel coating.



Verdict... the accidental extra egg got them a little more brown than I like, and maybe a little more crunchy that I think a bagel should be.... but still good. I'm happy for the leftovers, because even the hubby can't polish off 7 bagel dogs in a single sitting. Three, maybe.

2 comments:

The Country Mouse said...

That is way funny. Do you keep the camera in the kitchen for moments such as this?

Unknown said...

When the cooking is actually blog-worthy, it's usually close by. Maybe not staying in the kitchen while I am cooking, but where I can get to it quickly for some snaps. I also have to thank the very long battery life of the camera! I only need to charge it every couple of weeks.