Meal No. 1946: Indiana Chicken and Corn Chowder

This past Saturday night was a combination of several important things: a gathering of the Roediger House Regular Six, a birthday meal to note Gern's passage into his 29th year, and binge-watching the initial four episodes of Stranger Things 2.  Gern's meal request was the famous and much-loved Indiana Corn Chowder, which turned out super good this time around.

---

"Indiana Corn and Potato Chowder," by Brannon Soileau from his restaurant Maize, An American Grill (formerly of Lafayette, IN). In Indiana Cooks!, by Christine Barbour and Scott Feickert with photographs by Tom Stio. Bloomington, IN: Quarry Books (2005), p. 64-65. Recipe originally shared with me by my sister Allison on December 31, 2006. You can find this, and quite a few other Indiana recipes, if you scroll to the bottom of this article: "Indiana Can Cook." Update: Brannon Soileau's latest adventure is Boss Bagels in San Antonio, Texas.

Meal No. 1945: Breakfast for Dinner

After a very long but good five days on the road, working again in Virginia last week, I made the five-hour journey back home and was quite content to make a hearty breakfast for Friday night's dinner. Neese's hot country sausage, Luquire stone ground grits, free-range eggs, sourdough toast, mixed fruit jelly, and a tall glass of cold orange juice...I was a bit overwhelmed by the time it was all done.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Back in September, I tried out a recipe for salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, and they were a pretty big hit with those who sampled them. Before leaving town last Sunday to head up to Clarke County, Virginia, I managed to make a fresh batch of them. (I'm regularly given very stern directives about bringing some sort of sweet baked goods when I report for duty there.)

They took a bit longer to cook this time, but boy howdy were they pretty darned delicious again.

---

From "Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars," from Michelle, The Brown-Eyed Baker.

"Salted Caramel Sauce," from Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod.

Meal No. 1944: Hamburger Supreme

It always seems a shame when I repeat a meal too soon, especially when it's one that shows up so often on the Roediger House menu...but it was a short weekend at home and I had to turn around and drive back up to Virginia this past Sunday afternoon. For lunch, it was a faithful much-loved easy-to-prepare standby: hamburger supreme, with hot buttered corn and the last of my homemade applesauce.

---

"Hamburger Supreme," from the late Mrs. John T. (Glynn) Johnson of Buies Creek, North Carolina, via Janice Jones Bodenhamer.

Meal No. 1943: Pork Stuffed Shells

The Saturday evening meal at the Roediger House last weekend was another new recipe trial: pork stuffed shells, from the most recent issue of Cuisine at Home. Rather than a typical assist to the filling in the guise of something like ricotta cheese, you make an Italian béchamel called Balsamella...and this turned the shells into something that hints of Italian sausage and gravy! With some homemade tomato sauce and homemade applesauce (I rather love applesauce), it was a hearty and filling meal at the end of a great day at home between week-long travel trips.

---

"Pork Stuffed Shells," from Cuisine at Home, Issue 126 (November/December 2017), p. 30-31.

Meal No. 1942: Roasted Salmon

On the journey home from Clarke County, Virginia, last Friday evening, I ducked into the Lowe's Foods in Walkertown and grabbed a couple of tempting salmon fillets to make for dinner. They roasted up pretty nicely, with some herb seasoning and a bit of blackening spice, and it all went well with steamed broccoli florets and a rice-vermicelli mix.

DoubleTree-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies & Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

For a delightful group of aspiring administrators who are part of the High Point University Leadership Academy this fall, I took along a batch of DoubleTree-style chocolate chip cookies when we met in Rutherford County at CHASE High School. Fortunately for me and for the six of us at dinner, when I made them the night before, we were able to enjoy them hot out of the oven and with some fresh homemade vanilla ice cream:

That ice cream was pretty good the following night for dessert as well, topped with some standard ol' Hershey's Syrup:

---

"Doubletree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies," by Ayşegül Sanford and her blog, Foolproof Living. Published December 29, 2013.

"Vanilla Ice Cream," from Bi-Rite Creamery's Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, and Dabney Gough. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press (2012), p. 35-36.

Dessert Pizza on a Sunday Night

I tried out another new recipe for dessert pizza not so long ago, following Meal No. 1934 (Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup). It was basically like a crunchy version of cinnamon roll filling laid out across a thin crust. We all agreed it was tasty and unusual, but I doubt this is the version that will show up again.

---

"Dessert Pizza for Davey," from GirlPlusFood.com. [Published 02 March 2012]

Cookie Butter Ice Cream

That incredible vanilla cake Sunday night a week ago wasn't the only dessert treat I served up, because I'd also made some scrumptious cookie butter ice cream to complement it, and I think we were all rather glad I did. It's been kind of fun to find good uses for this evil concoction that is an extra reason to run by the Trader Joe's, especially since the Biscoff brand of cookie butter is so darned expensive. So far that has also included cookie butter cheesecake and cookie butter chocolate chip cookies.

---

"Cookie Butter Ice Cream," from Michelle of the BrownEyedBaker.com blog.

Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

After the dinner for six of us last Sunday night, I also had some fresh-made layer cake to serve up. I was drawn back to the really amazing vanilla cake from Jenn Segal of the Once Upon a Chef blog. The couple of times I've made it before earned this confection quite a lot of praise, and I hoped it could be a winner again that night. I must say: it was warmly received!

---

"Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream," by Jenn Segal of OnceUponAChef.com.

Meal No. 1941: Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Right before leaving town for several days of work up in Virginia, I put a Sunday casserole dish on the table for a party of six: cheesy chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole, to be specific. I looked through several recipes for this, earlier in 2017, and sort of arrived at my own combination of constituent parts in order to create something that seems consistently worthy of company.

The casserole itself makes a sufficient meal, methinks, but I like that there was still a big bowl of homemade chilled cinnamon applesauce, for those who were so inclined.

There was dessert, too, but that will be the feature of subsequent blog posts.

---

While I have pretty much made it my own recipe, I still got inspiration and ideas from:

• "Chicken Broccoli Rice and Cheese Casserole," by LifeAfter40 on food.com. Posted 18 March 2013.
• "Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole," by Sabrina from Dinner, Then Dessert. Posted 14 December 2016.

Meal No. 1940: Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes & Sausage

It was foggy and damp for most of the morning this past Sunday, but the Roediger House kitchen was warm and cozy with the appearance of buttermilk pancakes and sausage patties, with a generous slosh of maple syrup and a tall glass of cold milk.

---

"Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes," by Alison Roman. In the Cooking Section of the New York Times [found online].

Meal No. 1939: Chicken with Mushroom Wine Sauce

A quick search on the blog shows that it's been quite a long time since I served up chicken with mushroom sauce, even though I have three pretty good recipes for it. As noted in the blog entry for Meal No. 475 back in 2012, one version was discovered in 2001 or 2002 in a joint dinner endeavor by my mother and me when I was first starting to get into cooking. I made it a few times in the old kitchen before 2008. The only other time I think I've made it was for Meal No. 672, in 2013, using a different recipe found online from Real Simple. When I brought it back this past Friday night, I depended on two recipes for it, as noted below.

I'd also made another batch of homemade applesauce to go with the stuffing and the small bit of smashed sweet potatoes remaining from the lamb meatloaf meal earlier in the week. It was a heckuva meal to finish out the week on a day when I'd had the pleasure of another great day with the Guilford County group in the High Point University Leadership Academy.

---

Based on "Chicken with Mushroom Sauce," from RealSimple.com; and "Chicken Thighs with Mushroom and Wine Sauce," by Diana Rattray and About.com's Southern Food.

Inspiration for Homemade Applesauce came from Evelyn Coulson of Cana, VA. Guidance for Homemade Applesauce came from:

• "Spiced Country Applesauce," from Finding Joy in My Kitchen. Published 11 September 2009.
• "Homemade Applesauce," from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. Published 16 October 2013.
• "Sarah's Applesauce," from PHATCAT on AllRecipes.com.

Meal No. 1938: Potato & Cheese Soup

By Thursday evening of last week, the oppressive humidity and surprisingly warm days had finally given way to overcast skies and slightly cooler temps. It put me in the mood to throw a pot on the stove and make a good, filling, and comforting soup in it. A few years ago my sister shared a recipe for potato and cheese soup that's just always good. It was even better that night because I still had the rest of the madeira vegetables I'd made earlier in the week and that enriched and redirected the good flavors.

---

"Potato and Cheese Soup," shared with me by my sister and her husband, who got it through a cooking class at KitchenArt in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Meal No. 1937: Mushroom & Swiss Burgers

Since I didn't need all of the sliced shiitake mushrooms I'd bought for making lamb and multi-mushroom meatloaf the previous night, I figured I'd incorporate them into mushroom and swiss burgers last Wednesday night. Not the most amazing meal, I'll confess, but still good enough to survive suppertime.

Meal No. 1936: Lamb & Multi-Mushroom Madeira Vegetable Meatloaf

Originally, I was not scheduled to be off this past Tuesday, but when it turned out I had a day at home, I turned my attention to attempting a great supper for six that night. The menu included lamb meatloaf made with a filling that included two kinds of mushrooms and homemade madeira vegetables. I reserved the liquid from making the vegetables in order to create a Madeira sauce for the meatloaf. I'm always drawn to the Tupelo Honey Cafe's take on smashed sweet potatoes for this kind of meal, and I also had a pot of seasoned green beans. There was even dessert that night, as if we could possibly have any room for it!

---

"Lamb and Multi-Mushroom Meat Loaf" (p. 150) and "Smashed Sweet Potatoes" (p. 128), in Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen, by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing (2011).

Madeira Sauce and Madeira Vegetables based on recipes from Tupelo Honey Cafe: New Southern Flavors from the Blue Ridge Mountains by Elisabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing (2014), p. 157.

Meal No. 1935: Grilled Ribeyes and French Fries

With only Sunday in between all the work of the previous week and being right back up and teaching this past Monday, I was easily drawn to the simplicity and deliciousness of grilled ribeyes and some crispy French fries when Monday's dinnertime rolled around.

Meal No. 1934: Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

I'd sort of anticipated that it would be cooler this past Sunday, to go along with the effects of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Nate, and envisioned a big ol' pot of soup or stew. Instead, while it was rainy and overcast, it was also ridiculously humid and a bit warm. But the four of us at dinner didn't seem to mind the menu choice after all, since it was the really delicious Vierling Saloon cream of chicken and wild rice soup. It might have been the best it's ever been.

---

"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. This was first shared with me by my sister Allison Holden and her husband Tom, from Rossville, Indiana. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.

Meal No. 1933: One-Pan Pork Tenderloin and Blade Runner

When I first started doing consulting full time, I was also still teaching a lot of weekend classes for the University of Virginia. I had lots of six-day weeks back in those days, but it's been a long time since that was the case. Until this past week, that is: three full days of observations and debriefing in three different counties; two days doing four sessions with high school teachers on instructional design; and, on Saturday, a wonderfully full day with members of the fall cohort in the High Point University Leadership Academy looking at issues of post-observation conferencing.

Then, that evening, the plans for Saturday night included company for dinner and also watching the director's cut of the 1982 Blade Runner.

One of these days, I'm going to come across another "one-pan" dinner recipe that is as easy and good for nights like that, but in the meantime, I have to keep relying on the terrific one-pan pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables that keeps showing up on the menu at the Roediger House. It's a good groove, but is it close to becoming a rut? My full belly didn't seem to care.

---

"One-Pan Pork Tenderloin with Green Beans and Potatoes," by Christie Morrison. In Cook's Country, October/November 2015, p. 27.

Meal No. 1932: Hamburger Supreme

Boy howdy, I had a great two days with teachers at North Forsyth High School this past Thursday and Friday. But my week was not yet done, and I had some finishing touches to put on my PowerPoint presentation for a class on Saturday, and I fell back on the ease of an old and favorite and frequent recipe for Friday night's dinner: hamburger supreme, with hot buttered corn and a cold Bell's Best Brown Ale.

---

"Hamburger Supreme," from the late Mrs. John T. (Glynn) Johnson of Buies Creek, North Carolina, via Janice Jones Bodenhamer.

Meal No. 1931: Biscuits 'N Sausage Gravy

Last Thursday night and it was a bowl of southern heaven at dinnertime at the Roediger House:

Caramel Popcorn Crunch Cookies

When I can carve out the time to do so, I like to take along some goodies to share with administrators or teachers with whom I might be working on a given day. Last week, thanks to an unusually early awakening, a few pans of cookies got made in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, and I took them to share with members of the High Point University Leadership Academy cohort that joined me for observations in nearby Yadkin County. They seemed to think they were okay enough.

---

"Cap'n Crunch Cookies," found online at The Capitol Baker, with credit going to The Sugar Plum Blog for inspiration and the source of the adapted recipe.

Meal No. 1930: Filipino Chicken Adobo

Last Wednesday night proved to be a fine evening for bringing back an incredibly tasty semi-regular Roediger House dish: Filipino chicken adobo, with its silky luscious sauce, all in a bowl over basmati rice.

---

"Introducing Chicken Adobo," by Bryan Roof. In Cook's Illustrated, March & April 2012, p. 6-7.

Meal No. 1929: Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Chicken

The Tuesday night meal was another new recipe: creamy garlic and parmesan chicken over heritage egg noodles. I would have been happier with a slightly thicker sauce, but man! were the flavors ever on point...

---

Based on "Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Chicken," from Chef Joel Mielle of Recipe30.com.

Meal No. 1928: Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Monday's new soup trial to go with the cooler fall-like morning that started the day: broccoli and cheese soup. It was definitely a winner and worth many repeatings.

---

Based on "Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup," from ChefNini on Food.com.

Meal No. 1927: Oven Baked Split Chicken Breasts

The Sunday evening meal that marked the arrival of October was Sunday-appropriate: crispy oven-baked split chicken breasts, along with stuffing and Southern creamed corn. I was all too full to successfully engage in the chase-around-downstairs-horseplay that Sumner insisted on afterwards.

---

"Oven Baked Chicken," from BettyCrocker.com.

"Southern Creamed Corn," by Patrick and Gina Neely of the Food Network.

Meal No. 1926: Baked Ziti with Focaccia

After a week on the road, it sure was nice to return to the kitchen to be able to make a meal for seven of us on Saturday night, which included baked ziti, Caesar salad, and another stab at a fresh-made focaccia with garlic and herbs.

---

"Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage," in Cuisine at Home, Issue 120 (November/December 2016), p. 28-29.

"Easy Focaccia Bread with Garlic and Herbs," from Adam at InspiredTaste.net.[Published 24 August 2017]

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Back on September 23rd, when the meal that Saturday night included grilled glazed pork chops and a heaping of other stuff, those of us at the dinner table were too darned full to partake of the new dessert I'd made. So it instead became a mid-afternoon break the following day. This was salted caramel apple pie, along with more of the salted caramel ice cream and topped with homemade caramel sauce to boot. All that sugar in my belly made it hard to make the drive up to Shenandoah County later that day.

---

"Salted Caramel Apple Pie," from Michelle, the Brown-Eyed Baker.

Meal No. 1925: Grilled Glazed Pork Chops

If the glazed grilled pork chops from a couple of weeks ago hadn't been so good, I don't suppose I would have repeated them so soon. But the penultimate Saturday of September, and the first one of fall, was so freaking gorgeous that all I wanted was a simple supper to grill out. It was a night for glazed grilled pork chops with a first trial of the Brown-Eyed Baker's take on potato salad...which proved to be very salad-y but also really good:

Once again, I depended on the good advice of the folks at Serious Eats to help me get the hard-boiled eggs just right for that delicious potato salad:

I got a bit carried away, though, and also made fluffy Southern-style hoecakes, which were the best they've ever been:

The meal was so filling, since in addition I had steamed broccoli and homemade applesauce, that there ended up being no immediate interest in the dessert that I had also prepared...and which will show up in a later blog post.

---

"Glazed Pork Chops," in Cuisine's Celebrate the Seasons: Summertime Menus, Issue 10 (June/July 2016), p. 36-38.

"Best Ever Potato Salad," by Michelle, who blogs at the BrownEyedBaker.com. [Published 06 June 2016]

"Fluffy Southern-Style Hoecakes," by Erica of My Busy Bees and Me. Recipe first encountered through her YouTube video.

Guidance on Hard-Boiled Eggs: "The Hard Truth about Hard-Boiled Eggs," by J. Kenji López-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of SeriousEats.com.

Meal No. 1924: Light and Fluffy Waffles

Now that I've got a pretty decent recipe for homemade waffles, it seemed necessary to give them another spin a couple of Saturdays ago, when I also wanted to try out my new waffle iron. On this initial use, I definitely had the heat cranked up a bit high and got them crisper than would ultimately be desirable. But still: waffles on a lovely Saturday morning...I ain't complaining.

---

"Light and Fluffy Waffles," by James Schend, Food Editor of Taste of Home, September/October 2017, p. 26.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

With a little more than a jar's worth of homemade caramel sauce in the fridge, after my industrious labors a few days prior, I was in search of good recipes to try with it...like those amazing caramel chocolate chip cookie bars I just blogged about. When folks came to the house back on September 22nd for the third RoHo Reading Party, out on the upstairs balcony, the dessert I had on hand was a sort-of-bland salted caramel ice cream. The good news is I've got other, better recipes for this, so I expect to toss it into the rubbish bin.

It's a good thing I made a fresh batch of caramel sauce and still had a few remaining chocolate chip cookie bars to go with it.

---

"Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream," from Kayley of the Kitchen McCable.

"Salted Caramel Sauce," from Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod.