Meal No. 3723: Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup

It was a Thursday evening threesome for dinner, as the autumn began to assert itself a bit more, making steaming bowls of cream of roasted tomato soup an ideal choice for our menu. The rest of a store-bought loaf of sourdough sandwich bread allowed me to griddle four tasty grilled cheese sandwiches. Once more, I'm struck by the good fortune of simple delights and the rewarding fruits of kitchen endeavors.

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"Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup," from Cook's Illustrated, November 1999. Recipe can also be found online at Cookography.com.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Rice Krispies Treats

Tuesday night of last week, I had to have something sweet after a somewhat early dinner. An easy answer to the dilemma was the new addition to the treats stable, and I do mean "treats": cinnamon brown sugar rice krispies treast. I made a double-batch this time, so they'd be thick and plentiful.

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"Cinnamon Brown Sugar Rice Krispies Treats," from Christine Goff and published on JustAPinch.com.

Meal No. 3722: National Salmon Day

Last Tuesday was National Salmon Day, and I was all in for it. Spiced nicely along with an olive oil coating, roasted to perfection thanks to my wireless monitoring probe, and accompanied with a large, large pile of roasted broccoli: I was living large and eating heartily this latest offering of one of my favorite meals.

Meal No. 3721: Smashburgers!

After a good day of work last Monday with an early enough return home, I set to work on the quick prep necessary to be ready to pull off the very quick grilling of buttered buns and well-smashed burgers, topped with oozy America cheese singles and plenty of homemade burger sauce. It's a greasy mess to eat but that just makes it all the better.

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"Simple Smashburgers," from the Roediger House. [Published 04 September 2024] I make no claim that these are the right steps for you, but as long as I've recorded them for myself, I thought I'd make a recipe sheet available should anyone like it.

Meal No. 3720: Madame Cristo Grilled Ham & Cheese

Seemed to be about the right time to bring back a Madame Cristo-style griddled ham, Swiss, and turkey sandwich, as happened last Sunday night. I'm eager to supplement such a concoction with a fair-sized dollop of raspberry preserves, with suitable slathers applied grandly to each bite.

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Based on "Madame Cristo—Grilled Ham and Cheese," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com. [Updated 03 July 2018]

New Orleans Pecan Pie Bread Pudding with Whiskey Butter Sauce

Last Saturday night's dinner had a rather special conclusion: New Orleans pecan pie bread pudding with whiskey butter sauce. With all that round challah I'd made looking for some clever employment, bread pudding seemed like the smart move for using it all up in a fell swoop. Cut into cubes and staled up a bit on the counter, those heavenly morsels soaked up the sweet creamy custard like gangbusters. While it ended up being far from my best bread pudding to date, that whiskey butter sauce is quite capable of covering all manner of sins.

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Recipe was an amalgamation of two different versions of bread pudding:

• "New Orleans Pecan Pie Bread Pudding," from Marzia Aziz of Little Spice Jar. [Published 14 November 2016 / Updated 17 May 2020]
• "Emeril's New Orleans Style Bread Pudding," from Emeril Legasse.

"Whiskey Sauce," based on a recipe from Mimi's Cafe. [Recipe no longer available on Mimi's website.]

Meal No. 3719: Emeril's Skillet Beef Stroganoff

Perhaps the break from the easy house favorite of skillet beef stroganoff had lasted long enough, and that's what came out of the kitchen machinations for three of us last Saturday night. Well-spiced, boosted with onion and tender mushrooms, nestled on a bed of egg noodles, the bowlful of goodness more than satisfied.

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Based on "Beef Stroganoff Hamburger Dinner in a Skillet," by Emeril Lagasse. Found online at The Food Network and also on Emerils.com.

Squirrel No. 12

Here is the word of warning that this blog post is about the death of a squirrel at the hands of the house pooches, working in concert with one another. In this household, we do not grieve for the squirrels, who outnumber us considerably and who regularly prove to have destructive tendencies. (Just ask the neighbors to the south, whose neglected rental units have several squirrels’ nests residing in the walls of that ramshackle house.) We do not pretend that this is not a natural world in which we live, even if it's on a quaint quarter acre almost in the middle of downtown Winston-Salem.

It happened last Friday while I was gone for the day to Chapel Hill, to take in a homecoming activity for my UNC fraternity. Part of the kill was caught on camera, and then the stiffening little guy was ready for his final memorial portrait before the proper disposal was performed. Sumner was the primary executioner, but his success required the agile cornering and corralling offered by his sprightly sister. It's been about a year-and-a-half since he last expedited one of these annoying yard rats, and I suppose he is proud to have acquired Trophy No. 12.

Meal No. 3718: Challah French Toast

Let none of us be too surprised if one of the meals to follow baking up a large round loaf of challah is the house favorite version of French toast. That's what played out mid-day on Friday in the humble homestead, ever so tasty and filling. I'm careless and unrepentent about the grand sloshes of maple syrup I add to my paired toasts, and they quite typically are consumed gleefully but also all too quickly.

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"French Toast," by PJ Hamel of King Arthur Baking online.

Meal No. 3717: Juicy Burgers on the Grill

Last Thursday's beautiful weather and some ground beef lurking in the fridge, plus two remaining burger buns, all combined to bring out the griller in me. For that day's meal, it was cheeseburgers in the manner long embraced by this household, juicy and flavorful, well-cheesed, and good slathers top and bottom of the house-made burger sauce.

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Adapted from "Grilled Juicy Burgers," originally from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine, July 2003, p. 52-53. After Pillsbury was purchased in 2001 by General Mills, home of Betty Crocker (founded in 1921, mind you!), it basically ceased to exist as a company and lives on just as a brand. I guess that's why a Pillsbury cookbook recipe from 2003 is now only found on the Betty Crocker website.

Quickly-whipped-up burger sauce was this recipe mostly from memory: "Thousand Island Dressing," which was based on a version from Graybert on GeniusKitchen.com.

Round Challah for Rosh Hashanah

In the celebration marking the start of the Jewish New Year, on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, I am drawn to the memory of an incredibly special visit by my friend, colleague, and fellow UVA doc student Sheryl. In 2013, she journeyed from California to pass this holiday and brought with her inspiration for honoring the occasion in some of the traditional festive ways.

The culinary centerpiece of that was a round challah loaf, and I endeavored again this year to mark both the spirit and the fond memory by once more making one for the household. My lack of skill comes through in the denseness of it but my gracious did it prove to be some pretty wonderful bread to eat hot out of the oven with just a bit of butter.

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Challah Recipe from Tori Avey, The Shiksa in the Kitchen [Updated 08 May 2023], which I first discovered thanks to the Bon Appétit website. [Published 04 September 2013]

Guidance for braiding the challah from "How to Braid Round Challah - Quick and Easy," from CookKosher.com on YouTube.

Meal No. 3716: Chicken Salad Melts

A bit of leftover rotisserie-style whole chicken remained in the fridge, just the right amount for a batch of chicken salad, and that made Wednesday's dinner an easy call: chicken salad melts. Sure, I put store-bought hamburger buns into play as well, but they ought not go to waste. And there were still some DoubleTree-style chocolate chip-walnut cookies for an indulgent coda, so why not just be glad for another good day at the Roediger House?

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Based on "Chicken Salad Melt," a Roediger House original recipe.

National Homemade Cookies Day

The first day of October coincided with National Homemade Cookies Day, so I set out a cup of butter to soften that morning and, later in the day, got to work on making a batch of DoubleTree Hotel-style chocolate chip cookies. They turned out just right, a grand small dessert that day, with enough to also share with neighbors.

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"DoubleTree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies," by Ayşegül Sanford and her blog, Foolproof Living. [Published December 29, 2013 / Updated 07 December 2020] Official DoubleTree recipe from Hilton.com was released to the public on 09 April 2020.

Meal No. 3715: Pulled Pork Nachos

A generous overnight cook of a spice-rubbed pork shoulder, subsequently shredded and juiced up with a homemade quick-sauce, was the centerpiece of a grand spread of sheet pan nachos on the final day of September last Monday. I kind of had to go with this meal, once I realized I had this pork to cook, and with lime crema and beans and corn and part of an onion and the perfect remaining supply of tortilla chips in the cabinet. I really cheesed it up something fierce, but that ain't a bad thing. These were pretty awesome, if you don't mind my being blunt about it.

Meal No. 3714: Chicken & Mushroom Strudel

The terrific opportunity to spend time with fellow UNC alums Margaret and Tathy when they came to town for the Bookmarks Festival meant a dinner together last Saturday night. On our menu: chicken and mushroom strudel and roasted broccoli florets. While I do like the recipe for that filling, I find myself considering ways to improve it and need to make some notes before I bring it back with some future supper. Still, the ladies were kind about what was on their plates and it was fantastic to get that extra time with them.

We saved room for some dessert: a tidy square of chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, and a big scoop of double chocolate liqueur ice cream. It was a suitable finisher to our evening of expansive conversation, ample wine, the glow of cozy candles, and the warmth of gathering and fellowship.

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"Chicken Mushroom Strudel," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com. [Published 28 October 2022]

"Double Chocolate Liqueur Ice Cream," by Kita Roberts. From her Pass the Sushi blog.

"The Best Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache," from Averie Sunshine of Averie Cooks. [Update 08 February 2024]

Meal No. 3713: Mushroom and Shallot Salisbury Steak

Hot off the presses, once the latest issue of Bon Appétit showed up in the mailbox, came a new recipe for mushroom and shallot Salisbury steak, and when Kristen and Mookie came for dinner last Friday, we all got to find out how exceptionally delicious it was. My gracious, what glory: incredible flavors in the steaks themselves, a mushroom sauce to please us, the special treat of mashed skin-on red potatoes (this time with chives and bacon along with the sour cream and tons of butter)...and the fall-back to canned green beans.

The latest hurricane of 2024 had come ashore at the Big Bend of Florida overnight, and Helene proved to have a massive reach of unbelievable rain amounts. Here in Winston, we just got the brush-by, with steady rain fall and random occasional gusts of wind. By mid-afternoon, we were clearing. Those in the mountains to our west were not so lucky. No major damage around the house, and not as many small limbs and twigs to collect as I might have expected...but the second floor at the front of the house definitely had plenty of water coming through into the drip buckets.

About a block-and-a-half from the house, on the corner of West Fifth and Broad Streets, a tree took out the gas pumps awning and crushed a vehicle and landed on a beer truck:

The housecleaning ladies drove up as the weather was calming down, which was also well-timed because dear friends Margaret and Tathy arrived at day's end to spend the weekend taking in the awesome events of the annual Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors. It was a quick in-and-out once they got here: dropping luggage, briefly visiting while I was doing dinner prep, and then off they went for the opening night activities at the Convention Center. Margaret and Tathy were excited to meet Stacey Abrams and Michael Eric Dyson, among others, for book-signings and meet-and-greet opportunities.

With all that activity, my plans around dinner for the visiting Mookie and Kristen had me making a quick return to vanilla bean pudding cake: after the more extensive clean-up from supper it was something I could throw together quickly enough to make sure we treated our dinner guests right.

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”Mushroom and Shallot Salisbury Steak,” by Jesse Szewczyk. In Bon Appétit, October 2024, p. 18.

The return of late to this take on mashed red potatoes still being inspired by "Sour Cream and Onion Smashed Potatoes," by María del Mar Sacasa. In Cook's Country, February/March 2009, p. 9.

"Vanilla Bean Pudding Cakes," from Susan Reid. Published by King Arthur Baking. Recipe printed July 2017.

Meal No. 3712: National Pancake Day #2

Twice a year those of us persuaded by social media gimmicks find ourselves drawn to celebrate National Pancake Day. That drove the menu last Thursday, mid-afternoon, in between a collection of other tasks and appointments. Among those tasks of the day was the return of faithful college chum Ronnie for the finishing touches on the electrical connections in the mechanical room up on the third floor, the last piece to fall in place for the successful installation of the entertainment center he marvelously built.

Later in the evening, when all was settled in again, the vanilla ice cream I'd recently churned proved too great a temptation to ignore. All that sweet goodness with a softer consistency this time, and I left hardly a trace in the bowl.

The rain and drear as we anticipated the approach of the latest hurricane system got quite the headstart that Thursday, and it was mostly a day to partake of the joys of a cozy abode. The house felt more inviting after I decided to break out some of the long-held candles that were recently rediscovered with a cellar clean-up and reorganization. They've lost a fair amount of their potency with time, as might be expected.

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"Best Tips for Making Pancakes: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes," by Joanne Ozug on the Pioneer Woman website. [Published 10 May 2017]

"Sweet Milk Ice Cream," published in the King Arthur Flour catalogue some years ago, but no longer available on their website.

Meal No. 3711: Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

It was another fine night for three of us when Amy was back for another wonderful Wednesday, which coincided with National Quesadilla Day, and so my menu was set for me! With loose guidance on cooking up some fajita-style chicken, and old guidance about quesadillas for a crowd, it was a humble offering at dinnertime. A gracious dollop of lime crema, a nudge of store-bought salsa, and napkins in abundance: we had our fill of all that chicken-y cheesy goodness.

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Preparation and cooking based on "Quesadillas for a Crowd," by Morgan Bolling. In Cook's Country, August/September 2015, p. 18.

Chicken prepared with guidance from "Chicken Fajitas," from Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats.com. [Published 16 July 2018 / Updated 01 August 2024]

"Easy Lime Crema," from Lisa Bryan of DownShiftology.com. [Published 22 April 2020]

Meal No. 3710: Pappardelle with Bolognese Sauce

Last Tuesday saw the marvelous return of an out-of-town house favorite: Bradley. As mentioned in relation to his other recent visit, he's much closer now, thanks to the wise hiring decision of Appalachian State University. It will be a high priority to try to be at the ready whenever he says he's got time to run down here from Boone. For our dinner, I'd prepped a few days before a hearty bolognese sauce, and then tucked it away to set up for a day or so. Leading up to dinnertime, I boiled the pappardelle to serve as the wide-noodled receivers of that meaty goodness. A mess of salad went along with the main feature, with a choice of homemade Thousand Island or honey mustard dressings.

With high hopes and great anticipation, I chose a new recipe trial for dessert: Boston Cream Pie. It was a multi-day affair to put it together, beginning with pastry cream that I whipped up and stowed in the fridge on Sunday. On Monday night, I made the cake layers, giving them time to cool before letting them join the pastry cream for an overnight chill. Tuesday morning I assembled the cake and put it back in the fridge. Later that morning, I made the ganache for the topping, applied it, and once more put it away to fully chill before serving that night after dinner.

This version was a disappointment, which may have in part been the fault of my lesser kitchen equipment. The sweet cake layers were tasty but had gone a bit dry, becoming battle-pitched in resisting the slicing and serving function required to present it to the diners. I'll give kudos to the pastry cream and ganache, though: I was sold on 'em both.

And why this dessert? Well, the latest D&D dice roll to force more variety in kitchen endeavors dictated an April 2011 issue of either Cooking Light or Quick Cooking magazines...but I only have issues of those from around 2003. My rule is to go either to my top-tier and fullest sets—Cook’s Illustrated or Cook’s Country—for any dice roll misfires like this, and CI won out. Hence, this choice of Boston Cream Pie.

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"Homemade Bolognese Sauce," from Holly Nilsson of SpendwithPennies.com. [Published 17 January 2023]

"Thousand Island Dressing," which was based on a version from Graybert on GeniusKitchen.com.

“Boston Cream Pie,” by Andrea Geary. In Cook’s Illustrated, Number 109 [March & April 2011], p. 14-15.

Meal No. 3709: Vegetable Plate

Humble vittles served their purpose last Sunday night, once more as a means to employ vegetables before they expired. With a full roasting after seasoning, appropriate to their respective oven tenures, the plate was graced with piles of excellent broccoli florets, whole green beans, and cubed red potatoes. After clean-up, that first full day of fall was ideal for an invigorating evening walk, clocking in at 4 miles.

Let me also share with you the pups being pretty adorable with one another that morning. They really have bonded together supremely well.

National Butterscotch Pudding Day

Just over a week ago, it was National Butterscotch Pudding Day, and I celebrated by making it and then tucking it away in the fridge to properly set up. A couple of days later, on Saturday, I chilled a bowl and beaters so that I could make a slightly-sweetened stiff batch of homemade whipped cream. With a mason jar still holding some butterscotch sauce, as a final topper, you can see that this was quite the serving of butterscotch pudding. Creamy but with imperfections, balanced out with the whipped cream, boosted with that butterscotch sauce, this was a heavy load to assume but sometimes you gotta step up.

After all that sugary goodness, I ought to have gotten in a good walk that evening. But the final few hours of summer brought about a surprise storm concentrated right in a teeny-tiny burst on top of Winston-Salem (the blue marker on the map). You can hardly see it but we had quite the very localized downpour. So I stayed in and went to bed early!

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"Luxe Butterscotch Pudding," from Deb Perelman of SmittenKitchen.com. [Published 02 March 2018]

Meal No. 3708: National Pepperoni Pizza Day

With a ball of homemade pizza dough tucked away into the freezer, it simplified my hopes of properly acknowledging National Pepperoni Pizza Day, which occurred last Friday. To this diminutive crust (that I found hard to work with) I added a simple thrown-together-but-still-delicious tomato sauce, grated parmesan, shredded sharp cheddar, fresh pepperoni with a l'il kick to 'em, and then topped it all with ample mozzarella cheese. A side salad of power greens and homemade Caesar dressing rounded out the platters in good fashion.

Meal No. 3707: Linton Hopkins's Bucatini Carbonara

Last Thursday was one of those last-minute menu decision moments, where I considered what I had on hand and what I hadn't made in a while. That brought to mind the rather glorious but simple bucatini carbonara that we've enjoyed here over the last dozen years. As sometimes I must, I let bacon stand-in for the diced pancetta, and frankly I prefer it; as for the sauce, it really outdid itself in richness and flavor. The single bowl was a bit much in the end, and I tried to go far enough on my evening walk to serve the requisite penance...but the indulgence proved greater than my will to atone.

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"Bucatini Carbonara," by Linton Hopkins. In Food & Wine, July 2009.

Meal No. 3706: National Cheeseburger Day!

I realize it's been burger busy around here, and this concentration of several instances (smashburgers, in particular) within a few days of one another was unintentional. But how could I overlook the call to celebrate National Cheeseburger Day last Wednesday? With dear friend Amy over for dinner again, and a short time frame thanks to other obligations of the day, it actually worked out rather nicely. Mixing up the seasoned meat and filling, putting together a batch of special burger sauce, firing up the grill, and cheesing up the cooked burgers brought about a simple satisfying dinner. And clean-up was a breeze!

We also got to tackle a tasty dessert: vanilla bean pudding cake. I'm not sure how I ended up with such a thick cake layer once it was all done, and I do wish we'd gotten a grander puddle of pudding underneath...but it was still too good to not sneak in extra bites from the little remaining in the pan after dessert was served.

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Adapted from "Juicy Burgers," originally from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine, July 2003, p. 52-53. After Pillsbury was purchased in 2001 by General Mills, home of Betty Crocker (founded in 1921, mind you!), it basically ceased to exist as a company and lives on just as a brand. I guess that's why a Pillsbury cookbook recipe from 2003 is now only found on the Betty Crocker website.

Quickly-whipped-up burger sauce was this recipe mostly from memory: "Thousand Island Dressing," which was based on a version from Graybert on GeniusKitchen.com.

"Vanilla Bean Pudding Cakes," from Susan Reid. Published by King Arthur Baking. Recipe printed July 2017.

Meal No. 3705: Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Once I'd prepped some no-knead skillet pan pizza dough, I set it aside for a cold ferment in the upstairs beer cooler. When I was ready to actually make the pizzas last Monday night, I thought the small portion of leftover chicken tenders might find a way into it, and I decided that should be an adventurous pursuit. After working up an invented ranch-styled béchamel, the rest of the story wrote itself: chicken, bacon, and cheddar cheese on that surprising ranch sauce. Near the end of cooking, a scattering of shredded mozzarella was the finishing touch. It's a heavy slice once the pies are cut, and all it took was two to feel sufficiently full.

A whole cheese pizza was baked alongside and it was turned into leftovers for the house and an offering for some neighbors.

Perhaps a better choice that evening would have been soup or chili, because the third week of September started chilly and drenched, as we underwent the outer drear of a loose and disorganized tropical system that inundated the North Carolina coast. By Monday evening, Carolina Beach had received 18 inches of rain.

We had an enduring drizzle of mixed intensity, plus all those weird whips of wind gusts that highlight the chaos of this unsettled atmospheric anomaly.

These are days where doggies are a greater management challenge, and yet I know how adorable and cooperative and compliant they are with the wiping and toweling that must occur after each time out.

The persistent drizzle turned heavier at times while the house slept, so Tuesday morning brought the revelation of a new leak spot where it had never been before on the second floor: right over the club chair in the front corner. It got soaked from the hours of slow dripping.

So out went the towels and pans for the continuing rain plague all day Tuesday.

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Pizza Crust based on "Fool-Proof Pan Pizza," by J. Kenji López-Alt, culinary consultant for SeriousEats.com. [Updated 30 March 2023]

"Homemade NY-Style Pizza Sauce," by J. Kenji López-Alt, culinary consultant for SeriousEats.com. [Updated 17 February 2023]