Dog Birthday Party

leechlake · March 20, 2016

Years ago I started writing the dogs birthdays on the dog house that's in the dog kennel in the garage. Jake and Jenny aren't with us anymore but the next one on the list is Brit and she is with us and I just noticed her birthday was March 4th. Since she's 11 now I'm thinking we should celebrate it today. I hope to post a photo of her with a hat on later. Here's Brits story:

Brit is the most expensive dog I will ever purchase. She has quiet a pedigree for whatever that's worth and presently the pups out of that kennel cost over $2000 but Brit was half that price. One of the owners is a writer for the outdoors section of the Strib but I think his wife kind of runs the deal. Very nice gal from my dealings. They promote british labs which gene wise are the same as a "U.S" lab but usually are a bit smaller and usually have shorter legs it seems. I don't know if they usually lick constantly or if they usually can't smell a pheasant if it were laying dead on a parking lot but that is another attribute I've found the British labs possess. At this point I kind of feel like Dotch giving a sheep education but I will continue.

There is a British philosophy to training labs. Labs in Europe are mainly used to only retrieve as in on a "driven" bird hunt. Springer's do the flushing and the labs are to sit at heel and not move a muscle until sent for the bird or rabbit or whatever thing is killed by the aristocrat. The British training way is about a year on merely obedience and since the dog's genetics are good the hunting part will just happen. The dog is born to hunt and retrieve but if it will sit in your yard for 4 hours and not move since you told it to "stay" then and only then do you have a true perfect dog. I guess I have a perfect dog. She sits and watches the other dogs retrieve and really won't even take a bird from them. On her last hunt this Winter she was sitting in a plowed field and a rooster nearly took her head off when he died right next to her. She scooped him up and brought him back and we called it a career. She had reached the pinnacle of British Retriever Training! Good job old chap!

Happy Birthday Brit.

lovebigbluegills · March 20, 2016

My dogs have always gotten a cupcake for their birthdays, but since you can't give one a treat and not the other, they had two "birthdays" every year.

Never made them wear hats though.

Boar · March 20, 2016

I thought this was a man thread, smoking meats talk cr ap making food, realy man type food. wholy smokes you guys are domesticated. dog birthdays granny crusin, pretending you use date a covergirl, sheep, cooking treats for dogs, wait thats mine. you guys start making scones and im outa hear.

smurfy · March 20, 2016

someones gotta have a scone reciepe??????????

leechlake · March 20, 2016

I've had scones and can guess. 1 cup of flour, 1/8th teaspoon of water and 1/64th teaspoon of sugar. Cost $3 at Starbucks.

jmd1 · March 20, 2016

No scones here and NO Starbucks. Just some regular Folgers, black and strong enough to stand a spoon up in, a couple pieces of toast with butter and I am set. If i want my toast sweet i will sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on it. Pretty simple and I don't leave the house.

delcecchi · March 21, 2016

7 hours ago, leechlake said:

I've had scones and can guess. 1 cup of flour, 1/8th teaspoon of water and 1/64th teaspoon of sugar. Cost $3 at Starbucks.

bunch of butter or some other fat as well.

Why This Recipe Works

For our ultimate blueberry scone recipe, we wanted to bring together the sweetness of a coffeehouse confection, the moist freshness of a muffin, the richness of clotted cream and jam, and the super-flaky crumb of a good biscuit. Increasing the amount of butter and adding enough sugar gave the scones sweetness without making them cloying; cutting frozen butter into the flour and giving the dough a few folds helped the scones rise; and rolling out the dough before pressing the berries into it and rolling it up like a jellyroll before flattening it and cutting out the scones all contributed to making this our ideal scone recipe.

ingredientsprint shopping list

16tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)

1 ½cups fresh blueberries (about 7 ½ ounces), picked over (see note)

½cup whole milk

½cup sour cream

2cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for work surface

½cup sugar (3 ½ ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling

2teaspoons baking powder

¼teaspoon baking soda

½teaspoon table salt

1teaspoon grated lemon zest

instructionsMakes 8

It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Score and remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Following illustrations, fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead:After placing the scones on the baking sheet, either refrigerate them overnight or freeze. When ready to bake, for refrigerated scones, heat oven to 425 degrees and follow directions in step 6. For frozen scones, heat oven to 375 degrees, follow directions in step 6, and extend cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes.