August 2021 - what’s cooking in the dog days of summer

WOW! that was fast. I have realized that my food looks much more appetizing on white plates rather than the red I generally use. Thanks, Beth.

SURPRISE!!!


I actually grilled the burgers tonight. Sweet Potato slices done on the stove top and asparagus steamed in the microwave.

From Lore:


"Dinner Tonight  October AUGUST fest sausage from my favourite butcher shop. And maque Chou put over the last few of the couscous I made last night. Maque Chou is sautéed onions, fresh corn, red pepper fried with bacon. And I used a whole jalapeño. Delicious, but definitely a bit more “flavorful” than expected. But, I love spicy!"








Sorry, Lore ~ I just couldn't resist making that 'slight' correction......




Hahahahahahaha

Dinner tonight was Giada's Chicken Vesuvio with bread sticks and Devil's Food cake. I know it isn't the prime time of the year for baking but I recently copied these recipes and knew if I didn't try them soon, I'd not do them at all.

Imelda HL wrote:

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Ribs and macaroni salad tonight.

We got ribs too, I cooked them in my Instant Pot, with apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, brown sugar, salt and pepper, I used pressure cooking for 6 minutes, they were all tender, then I brushed with the thickened juice ( added some sweet soy sauce, honey and lemon juice), broiled for 5 minutes in the oven, they were good, fall of the bones good

imelda....you said you pressure cooked for 6 minutes  did you mean 26 or 36 minutes?  6 isnt very long

I made wings on the gas grill tonight. Dane's 'drummies' were marinated in some Caribbean Jerk seasoning. I 'pre-baked' the wings on a quarter sheet pan in the toaster oven to render off the fat before browning them on the hot grill. I tossed my 'flats' in some sweet chili sauce and then dried by putting them back on the hot grill.

He got a baked potato ~ I just wanted the beans/corn/onion/bacon vegetable side.

From Lore:


"Dinner Tonight. First ever attempt at making sushi and it turned out great. A bit of a learning curve with that sticky rice all over. Delicious, and I will definitely make it again! Fun. I used daikon, fresh cucumber, cream cheese and some smoked salmon."

Charlie asked for Puerto Rican Empanadas yesterday so that is what I made today.

I was just thinking of making some Cuban picadillo to have on yellow rice......

but decided to clean out the refrigerator instead.


ended up making an overstuffed frittata ~ ham, potato, carrot, onion, mushrooms & asparagus.

I cooked up the filling first and then made the eggs in a non-stick skillet and dumped all the veg on top. Finished it in a hot oven for about 6 minutes to be sure the eggs were cooked.

We were both surprised how tasty it was. Dane did add some Crystal hot sauce & salsa to his.






I was happy to get a bunch of stuff used that probably would have been tossed by the weekend.

From Lore:

"Dinner Tonight. Not very inspired. Pizza made on a piece of naan bread. Red sauce, cheese sausage, ham, anchovies and yes some pineapple and then more cheese. All calories removed!"

From Lore:


"Kitchen Reno Pictures"


Old Kitchen:





Kitchen Reno:







New Kitchen:

Your new kitchen is beautiful!

I especially like your back splash tile. Is it a basket weave"

Yes, it's a basket weave. When people see the old kitchen they say that there's nothing wrong with it. Well, the paint job was not wearing well, I couldn't scrub it, and I really didn't like the colour. Biggest mistake I made when I had the original wood cabinets painted, I had granite installed on the island and countertops. Granite did not survive being removed from the countertop, but did on the island. So, I ordered white quartz for the counter where the cabinets are, and kept the black granite on the island. So, I think it all looks nice. My dining chairs are a black laquer, my sofa is black, so it all ties in together.

I now have only drawers in the lower cabinets, no more getting on my knees to remove anything from the cupboards. There is even a pullout under the sink.

Invited my uncle Ernie for supper tonight. First visitor in my newly finished kitchen. Fridge is not here yet, it's coming from New Zealand.

Yesterday I made fried peppers, onions and potatoes; topped with provolone cheese, and then melted. Peppers were from Tina's garden.

Forgot to say, added eggs ( 2 large ) and just stirred in a little.

Dane texted me this afternoon and said he wanted to go out tonight ((sigh.....how could I disappoint him and say, "no"?))

We went to the local 'new' restaurant, Farmshed American Diner that's in the closest town center to us ~ about 5 minutes away.

For some reason my phone won't email the pics I took (maybe it'll send them later, I don't know....) so I can't post any pics. (on EDIT my phone finally cooperated!)

But our meals were excellent.

I had their Alabama Southern Fried Chicken Thighs with Alabama White Sauce and Mississippi Comeback Sauce, with a side of braised cabbage w/pork.  Dane had their Double Bacon Burger with an egg on top and a side of French fries (REAL potatoes fried up fresh).  I also had the best 'Harvest Sangria' I've had anywhere around here ~ it was a dry red wine with a lot of long marinated fruit.  It's the only time I've ordered a Sangria around here that wasn't super sweet.  

The chicken was excellent ~ crispy seasoned and cooked all the way to the bone, staying moist because they use thighs.  There was just a small amount of Alabama White Sauce (mayo & horseradish, I think) and they put the spicier Mississippi Comeback Sauce in a condiment bowl on the plate.  The cabbage was well seasoned and had a good amount of crispy pork bits as well as some softer bits.  Their sides are very generous so I knew if I ordered a veg and Dane ordered the fries we would have more than enough to share.

His burger had a good amount of thick sliced bacon, burger done to medium rare (as he asked) and the egg on top was really picture perfect sunny side up, breaking when he added the top bun.

There are a couple other things that have peaked my interest on their menu so we'll definitely go back again.

From Lore:

"Dinner Tonight. Lake Erie pickerel, oven roasted potatoes, steamed sprouts and carrots. Yellow heirloom tomato and onion."

I made Alabama BBQ sauce for chicken once. This is the recipe I used but I made a smaller batch.

Big Bob Gibson's Alabama White BBQ Sauce
Recipe courtesy Don McLemore

Ingredients
1 quart mayonnaise
3/4 quart apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Prepared horseradish
Lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place all ingredients in a very large blender or food processor. (It may be necessary to do this in 2 batches; just add 1/2 of each ingredient and then repeat.) Blend for 1 minute, or until thoroughly combined and mixture is smooth. Pour sauce into a large bowl.

Use when grilling chicken; brush lightly over the chicken during the last few minutes of grilling. This sauce is also great for dipping; set some sauce aside for passing at the table.

Cookin Lore wrote:Yes, it's a basket weave. .

I have basket weave too. Love it. Yours looks beautiful.

Neighbor Darlene made my recipe for Green Chicken Enchiladas last week and that's all it took for me to be hungry for them.

Of course, I made mine without the cheese.....Dane will eat them with or without so it's easy for me.