Lemon Meringue and Chocolate Meringue Pies

Dateline: Thu 02 July. It was double-duty for me on the first Thursday afternoon in July, when I let Pillsbury pie shells take some of the pressure off and then I compensated by making both a lemon meringue pie and chocolate meringue pie. They had time to chill a bit and then the chocolate version served as that evening’s dessert when Kristen and Mookie were over.

Additional Dateline: Sat 04 July. I saved the lemon meringue pie to bring out for dessert on the Fourth of July, though, because that was our big gathering of Roediger House regulars. I regretted that my approach to meringue left it shrunken and sweaty in the intervening days from making and baking to greeting and eating. But was it still a fine pie? In the sweetest mouth-puckering way possible, yes indeed.

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"Chocolate and Lemon Meringue Pie," based on a classic and common recipe.

Meal No. 4146: Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Dateline: Sat 04 July 2026. It was a casual gathering of seven on the occasion of the nation's 250th anniversary, a hot day very nearly for the record books. Figuring out how to put supper on the table without unnecessarily heating up the kitchen with the oven was a challenge, and I didn't think I liked the idea of grilling in the direct sunshine with that kind of heat and humidity about. All that indecision and imprecision resulted in quite a remarkable menu, though, with the inaugural attempt (and with happy success!) of Nashville hot chicken sandwiches.

Yep: all breaded and fried and spiced and seasoned, these boneless skinless chicken thighs were amazing. In turning these into sandwiches, folks could choose between standard Duke's mayo or spicy ranch, and for those so inclined pickle chips could be added.

There was macaroni salad befitting the hot summer day. I'd also made tasty appetizer items, like southwestern dip and pimento cheese.

And lordy, for the first time in about three-and-a-half years: my dear friend Barbara's take on creamy stuffed eggs.

And in his usual spot under that table, close at hand to all these folks he loves, there was Sumner laid out happy and safe:

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Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwiches based on:

• "Nashville Hot Chicken," from Melissa Nolan of Budget Bytes. [Published 26 May 2025]
• "Crispy Fried Chicken Thighs," from Brendan Cunningham of I'm Hungry for That! [Published 26 September 2025 / Updated 03 January 2026]

Macaroni Salad based on "Classic Macaroni Salad," by Jaclyn Bell of CookingClassy.com [Published 15 April 2017 / Updated 23 June 2025]

"Southwestern Dip," in Betty Crocker Monthly Recipes, December 2001.

"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese. [Published 23 October 2009]

"Creamy Stuffed Eggs," a recipe shared with me by Barbara Huneycutt of Crozet, VA.

Meal No. 4145: Creole Pork Chops

Dateline: Thu 02 July 2026. It’s always awesome if Kristen and Mookie can come over for a weeknight dinner, as occurred on the first Thursday of July. I’d thought about grilling but on a 100-degree day, that no longer proved appealing. I let the sous vide step into that breach and finished the Creole-spiced pork chops with a skillet sear. We also had roasted herbed whole green beans plus convenient stovetop stuffing. A meat and two sides is how this chef rides.

The run-up to the Fourth of July saw much of the country enduring that brutal heatwave, and in Winston-Salem, we topped out at triple digits for the first time this year and for the first time since 2012 (when we hit a record high of 102°F). Official temp readings for that string of hot days around our nation's 250th birthday did not hit that mark again (although we reached 99°F on the 3rd and 4th). My weather app's predictions notwithstanding in terms of that magical mark of 100, it was still blistering.

Maple Pecan Praline Ice Cream

Dateline: Wed 01 July. Pushed into action by the most recent occurrence of National Pralines Day, I whipped up a batch unsuccessfully using a recipe that I've now thrown away. And then I made a maple ice cream base into which the pieces of praline could be mixed. It was a sugar-intense result in the end but served as a delightful sweet evening-concluder on the opening day of July.

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Adapted from "Maple Bourbon Pecan Ice Cream," from Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet. [Published 29 September 2012 / Updated 22 April 2025]

"Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines," by Nancie McDermott and Jill O'Connor, from Southern Living online. [Printed 24 June 2019 / Updated 10 October 2022]

Meal No. 4144: Cheeseburger Wellingtons in Puff Pastry

Dateline: Wed 01 July. It was just a crazy cool idea that crossed my radar and that then set me into motion as July commenced under a brutal heatwave: puff pastry cheeseburger Wellingtons. Outrageous, no? But it seemed too fun not to foist it upon Amy on her weekly Wednesday visit that day. And she knew immediately what I was doing when she walked in, likely because Instagram knows we have similar interests and fed us the same post that inspired that evening's meanu. I fried center-cut bacon, and I got a batch of onions almost perfectly caramelized, and I made some more souped up special burger sauce. Then I got to work on the thin and small burger patties. Once they'd been given a good sear on each side, the wellingtons underwent their assembly. I had a pretty messy result overall and yet these really were pretty darned good...and incredibly filling!

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“Burger Wellington (Cheeseburger Wrapped in Puff Pastry),” from Chef Josh Gale, The Chef Out West. [Published 30 June 2026]

"Beef & Cheddar Melts Sauce," a Roediger House creation.

Meal No. 4143: Mushroom & Swiss Burgers

Dateline: Mon 29 June. As we hit the penultimate day of June, I reached for my long-time favorite and faithful recipe to whip up some burger patties to then go onto the grill for a perfect cook. I topped 'em with Swiss cheese and buttered and toasted the buns on the grill as well. Earlier, I'd set to work on Madeira mushrooms; these were ready for me when I came in from the grill in order to assemble absolutely delicious mushroom and Swiss burgers for that evening's supper.

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Adapted from "Grilled Juicy Burgers," originally from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine, July 2003 [Updated Online 03 February 2011], p. 52-53.

Meal No. 4142: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Dateline: Sun 28 June. Breakfast for dinner ruled the evening for the final Sunday of June, and I leaned on my faithful buttermilk pancakes recipe for yet another excellent batch of those buggers. It was also a chance to break into my new mail-order jug of dark amber maple syrup, which proved to be an excellent coverer and sweet delight.

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

Sumner's 10th Birthday Cake

Dateline: Sat 27 June. Between the gastric distress afflicting both pups and the storm-driven power outage on Sumner’s official 10th birthday, it seemed prudent to delay making his special treat. But before that week was out, we got down to it.

I fully expected both Sumner and Scarlett to greet it with great trepidation, as they are subjected to a tightly-regulated and highly-scheduled diet and dining routine.

With little need for encouragement, permission, or assurances, those pups did indeed execute their best doggie dive into the suitable celebration snack, with its heavy concentration of pumpkin and homemade peanut butter and adorned with non-fat Greek yogurt with even more peanut butter.

Sumner was quite certain that his single small slice was not nearly enough.

And much to their delight, controlled portions could be offered up for midday snacks for a few days following. Also: here's the cake before it got cut up and served:

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”Dog Birthday Cake,” from Sofi Llansó of Broma Bakery, a baking blog founded by Sarah Fennel in 2010. [Updated 05 June 2026 ]

Meal No. 4141: Caesar-Dressed Greens with Herbed Chicken Breast

Dateline: Sat 27 June. How'd we play it at the Roediger House on the final Saturday night of June? With a fresh spring mix dressed with homemade creamy Caesar dressing and topped with herbed chicken breasts brought up to perfect temp in the sous vide immersion circulator.

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Based on "Easy Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing," by Kim Hardesty of lowcarbmaven.com.

Meal No. 4140: Cheeseburgers

Dateline: Fri 26 June. A couple of meals prior to this particular evening represented the most recent round of peanut butter bacon burgers, and the home-ground beef made an extra two burger patties that I did not need that night. So on the final Friday night of June, I put those two rascals into the skillet to cook, added cheese near the end, and served it all up on brioche buns with more of my homemade special burger sauce. Some chips on the side were not needed but earned their appreciation nonetheless.

And then I made dessert: white chocolate macadamia nut toffee cookies, for the win.

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Adapted from "THE BEST White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies," from Christina Marsigliese of ScientificallySweet.com. [Published 19 February 2025]

Meal No. 4139: Detroit-Style Pizza

Dateline: Wed 24 June. As summer started up, we had one night of intense storm activity, and the resulting power loss on one evening threw off my best-laid plans that week. But I also made a promise to dear friend Amy that we would have pizza on her regular Wednesday visit, so the celebration of National Detroit-Style Pizza Day was a day late...but not a dollop short of sauce! Although I felt like this was a less successful attempt, we still wolfed down our respective portions. The take-away lesson is that it only gets better with practice.

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"King Arthur's Detroit-Style Pizza," from King Arthur Baking and inspired by SeriousEats.com [Updated 21 September 2025]. See also the accompanying blog post, "A Pair of Pan Pizza Recipes," by PJ Hamel. [Published 18 June 2019]

Chocolate Éclairs

Dateline: Tue 23 June. It was National Chocolate Éclair Day back on June 22nd, but my hopes for evening kitchen exploits to celebrate were derailed by our storm-sourced power outage. So the necessary postponement to the next day worked out to Mookie’s benefit, when he came for a PBBB dinner.

These are, of course, not part of my routine or repertoire (this is at best the fifth time), so I am audaciously amateur about them. But on that occasion, I was bolstered by the helpful directions and notes from a recipe by Nick Makrides in Australia. The inelegance of the finished products is directly traced to my unpracticed technique. Others who indulge in kitchen joys would by now have become smooth operators at straightforward pursuits like piping bags and tips. Not me! So there’s that.

The question of full filling could only be answered with each éclair’s sampling, but early tests returned positive results. I also appreciated the lightness of Chantilly whipped cream with mascarpone over the equally enjoyable and more typical pastry cream.

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"Chocolate Éclairs" [published 28 January 2023 / updated 27 May 2025] and "Easy Whipped Cream (Chantilly Cream)" [published 28 January 2023 / updated 06 April 2026] from Nick Makrides of The Scran Line.

Meal No. 4138: Peanut Butter Bacon Burgers

Dateline: Tue 23 June. It was another opportune boys' night when Mookie made a Tuesday evening visit a couple of weeks ago. He's long been a fan, and a reasonably regular partaker of, the house specialty of peanut butter bacon burgers. Since he missed the recent offering just over 10 meals ago, I thought he was owed his due, so to work I went.

Home ground chuck tender steak, homemade peanut butter, homemade special sauce, and the slightly fussy touch of latticed bacon...all on buttered toasted brioche buns with the house-made beef and cheddar melts sauce, a/k/a a souped-up Thousand Island dressing. The mastication was occasionally interrupted by giddy happy gustatory giggles.

This was the 36th occasion for this particular delicacy, and I always like to update the history accordingly:

• Inspired by Yo Mama's in the French Quarter of New Orleans
• First Made: Meal No. 180
• Last Made: Meal No. 4126
• Fresh Home-Ground Beef, typically from boneless beef short ribs and top sirloin
• Homemade Peanut Butter
• Homemade Burger Sauce
• Labeled Photo of a Sample "Final Product" Burger: Guide to Meal No. 234

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Guidance on grinding, shaping, and cooking burgers from "Best Old-Fashioned Burgers," by J. Kenji Alt, in Cook's Illustrated, No. 93 (July/August 2008), p. 10-11.

"Beef & Cheddar Melts Sauce," a Roediger House creation.

Original bacon braid guidance from "Bacon Sheets," from MyFridgeFood.com. See also: "How to Make Bacon Lattices for the Perfect BLTs," a nice video demonstration, from Justin Chapple's Mad Genius Tips on the Food & Wine website [published 02 March 2015 / Updated 14 September 2021 by Bridget Hallinana].

Meal No. 4137: Caesar Salad with Filet Mignon

Dateline: Mon 22 June. Just before storms hit on the second evening of summer, the Roediger House dinner fare centered on Caesar salads with filet mignon, a wonderfully hearty treat made easier by the sous vide immersion circulator and a good finishing pan sear.

That Monday was also the occasion of Sumner’s 10th birthday, sweet and precious pup that he is. Words cannot capture how fortunate it is to have found him, or to have had him find the Roediger House. Adopted from our local Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation when he was about 9 months old, he has been a genuine joy and the absolute best boy in the world.

When a fast-moving storm rolled over us right after dinner clean-up was completed, we lost power in an instant.

Most of the Holly Avenue Neighborhood, plus the east side of the West End Neighborhood (here on our side of Broad Street), as well as First Baptist and Centenary Methodist and Calvary Moravian Churches, were all dark. Power was restored around 9:45 pm.

I strolled that evening through our powerless section of downtown, clocking in at about 2.5 miles, because old men survey the “damage” like that. When I got back to the house at 9:30 pm, I tried to snag a photo of this uncharacteristic dark, but my iPhone camera did quite a bit to compensate. Still, it’s an eerie shot that I kind of dig.

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Based on "Easy Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing," by Kim Hardesty of lowcarbmaven.com.

Meal No. 4136: Grilled Chicken Tenders

The happy circumstance of half-priced chicken tenders at the grocery left me with one final package on the first official day of summer, so I seasoned and marinated them and then let the grill take care of the rest. Alongside, there was salad with some fresh flavor-boosted Thousand Island dressing. But a true highlight was a dish of twice-baked cheesy bacon-scallion-sour cream mashed potatoes, highly reminiscent of what the old Raleigh favorite restaurant known as Darryl's would have called "smashed potatoes." (That name conjures something else altogether these days.)

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"Grilled Chicken Tenders," from Sara Welch of Dinner at the Zoo. [Published 14 May 2018 / Updated 23 March 2019]

Based on "Beef & Cheddar Melts Sauce," a Roediger House creation.

Little Scarlett Impia Blasts the Gastro Trouble

With the odds-on-favorite that little Miss Scarlett Impia had been gobbling up rabbit or rat poop or the occasional cat turds in the yard and in the landscaping, she ended up with quite a run of diarrhea right around the Summer Solstice. After false hope sprang from a couple of yard doodies that looked to be on the upswing, she was back to rousing me around 4 am and running out to the azaleas for a creamy hydrant torrent, if you know what I mean.

On the first day of summer, in fact, she was so docile as to cuddle for hours on the couch...before finding herself downstairs having a pee accident in her malaise. (At least it was just in the back hallway while she was trying to rest.) The winning home remedy at the Roediger House when dogs are dogged by dour doodies is a big ol' crockpot of DIY dog food, with brown rice, butternut squash, lentils, carrots, and sweet potato. She gobbled that stuff up when it was presented to her, and in short order she was soon getting back to her regular self.

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Based on "DIY Homemade Dog Food," by Chungah Rhee of the Damn Delicious blog. [Published 27 April 2015 /Updated 19 September 2025]

Based on "Easy Crockpot Dog Food," by Chungah Rhee of the Damn Delicious blog. [Published 13 May 2015 / Updated 08 July 2024]

Meal No. 4135: Fried Chicken Tenders & Potato Skins

Dateline: Sat 20 June. The Harris Teeter had chicken tenders at half price week before last, and so I scooped up four packages of ‘em. When Amy was over that Saturday night, it was license to be a little wild with the menu.

That’s how we came to go the appetizers-for-dinner route, with fried chicken tenders, bacon-scallion-cheddar potato skins, and a homemade version of the wildly popular Chick-Fil-A dipping sauce.

Fried foods don’t happen here that often so I am often extra relieved when it turns out as great as it did that night. And could those potato skins have been better cheesed? I think so, but the extra sour cream helped me feel better in the end.

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"Chick-fil-A Sauce," from Drew Reilly of Dish with Drew. [Published 18 June 2026]

Cinnamon Roll Snickerdoodle Blondies

Dateline: Fri 19 June. For the Juneteenth holiday gathering at the Roediger House, I tried out a new dessert for the crew. This time it was a combination of two recipes so I've melded it into one name: cinnamon roll snickerdoodle blondies. And boy howdy, did the folks seem to love 'em. I was pretty fond myself.

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Primarily based on: "Snickerdoodle Blondies," by Rachel Jugai of EatatMaudes.com. [Published 16 September 2025]

Vanilla Glaze based on: "Cinnamon Roll Blondies," by Sarah Fennel of Broma Bakery. [Published 23 December 2024]

Meal No. 4134: World's Best Lasagna

Dateline: Fri 19 June. Clearly it had been too long since I'd made our huge pan of lasagna for the crew (we last did it almost exactly three years ago for Meal No. 3400). Friday a week ago, it was another delightful gathering of Amy and Gern and Kristen and Mookie. We feasted on that delicious lasagna, partnered with some big and bubbly focaccia and a side salad with choice of dressing. I reckon we might've missed this dish being on more recent menus and that night sort of made up for it.

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Adapted from "World's Best Lasagna," by the late John Chandler (Dallas, TX). Found online at AllRecipes.com.

"Big and Bubbly Focaccia," from King Arthur Baking. [Published January 2025]

Meal No. 4133: Not So Cajun Chicken

Dateline: Thur 18 June. From Meal No. 1 in 2009 to Meal No. 4133, I offer for your consideration the simply excellent Not So Cajun Chicken. Long depended on as a special occasion meal, or something to serve first-time guests, this dish has recurred less frequently but it has not been forgotten or sidelined. My college roommate Jimmy pulled up this recipe by scouring the interwebs and locating it in a South Carolina newspaper, if memory serves, after he and I met up for a meal at that old Raleigh favorite haunt known as Crowley's. That must've been late 2004 or early 2005 and I have thoroughly enjoyed its long history among Roediger House staples.

Just like I have enjoyed the almost-10-year-old sweet boy Sumner, captured here after a bit of rain that afternoon.

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"Not So Cajun Chicken," a dish I regularly enjoyed at Crowley's Old Time Favorites restaurant and bar on Medlin Drive in Raleigh, NC. (Another version of the recipe can be found here.) A heap of thanks is due to Jimmy Randolph for tracking down the recipe for me.