Meal No. 3127: The RoHo Regulars and Juicy Burgers

Last Friday night was a gathering of seven, for a meal, pool-playing, TV-watching, and hanging out. With summer in full swing and an earnest desire to be part of the festive occasion instead of just a kitchen lackey, I prepped burgers for easy quick grilling and also had on hand some appetizer munchables. This time, it made more sense to bring everything up to Ray's the Bar on the third floor and serve from there...which might be why I broke my routine and forgot to snap a photo of a fixed dinner plate. Above are the three leftover cheeseburgers.

One of snacks I made was pimento cheese, based on a recipe I settled on a few years ago when it was clearly way too expensive to keep buying the enticing Palmetto brand.

I also had a batch of Virginia-style Mexican restaurant white dipping sauce, a bewitching concoction that's heavy on the garlic, slightly spicy on the tongue, and unfailingly seductive for repeated chip-dippings.

I snuck in a kitchen endeavor early in the day, by the way: a fresh good loaf of Carolyn's banana bread, excellent with the last of the morning coffee.

We finished off our evening with portions of luscious banana pudding with toasted meringue topping, which I'd made earlier in the day in hopes it could set up properly for serving after supper. It was about as good as I can ever remember it being...all from a simple recipe found years ago on a box of Murray's vanilla wafers.

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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.

"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.

"Mexican Restaurant White Dipping Sauce," a recipe worked out by me, sampled by Spring Street, and approved of by all.

"Carolyn's Banana Bread," a recipe shared by former neighbor Lori Pilon.

"Murray's Old Fashioned Nana Puddin'," from the Murray Vanilla Wafers package. Also found online at http://melissaannbrook.blogspot.com/2011/04/banana-and-vanilla-wafer-with-pudding.html.

Quick reference on meringue topping credited to "Banana Pudding with Meringue," from Christin Mahrlig of SpicySouthernKithchen.com. [Published 16 August 2019]

Meal No. 3126: Filipino-Style Barbecue Chicken Skewers

It was a good night to fire up the grill last Thursday, made all the more enticing with the chance to try out a new recipe: Filipino-style barbecue chicken. It was pretty delicious, I must say. And a unique ingredient for the marinade and the basting sauce was banana ketchup, a wonderful element of this recipe that I can't wait to try in other ways as well. Also on the plate: roasted Brussels sprouts and garlic quinoa.

Ah, but something sweet was called for after the dinner, and I figured it was high time to bring back the DoubleTree-style chocolate chip cookies. I've got a terrifically dependable recipe to help approximate the standard treat offered at check-in by the DoubleTree Hotel folks. It makes plenty for sharing as well as feasting on.

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"Filipino-Style Barbecue Chicken," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com.

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

House Projects of Mid-June

Inspired at last to action and sequestered inside during a fairly uncomfortable heatwave, I spent time during the first half of June tackling some much-needed projects inside the house. Here's a run-down of some of them.

Future Library

Two years and two months ago, during the height of the pandemic and its initial shut-down phase, I was drawing slips from a task jar to keep me busy and productive while sequestered safely at home. One of those projects was to pack up the very junky room that is (or will be) the library. My rule for myself was to put in at least an hour even if I couldn't finish the specified drawn slip assignment, and my intention was to work on it a little bit on a lot of days. But after I made the libary even worse, I did not get back to it until this past June 16 and 17. With a late evening start that Thursday night, and a full day of labor on it the following day, I managed to completely pack it up, clean it out, clean it up, and set it up:

Hanging of Latest Artwork

A few more pieces by local artists had been added to the Roediger House collection, but they've been waiting in my study for me to get around to measuring and hanging them. That was also one of my June projects. I do wish I had a better eye for the right positioning/placement/spacing but it's nice for them to now be on display. I put five of those pieces along and at the top of the stairs (this page has a photo; scroll down to the 28th one), and another piece in a guest bedroom.

This is the painting I placed outside the master bedroom in the main downstairs hallway:

Collinwood Cooler Clean-Out

When the attic was renovated into a man cave and entertainment hall, one of those cool gables was turned into Ray's the Bar with a full commercial double beer cooler installed under the bar counter. I had a love affair with a couple of choice seasonal beers and always stocked up on them during their limited availabilities. (For instance, see this blog post from February 2018 regarding my absolute most favorite of beers: Bell's Best Brown Ale.) Bell's also had a great Christmas Ale and a rare offering called "Hell Hath No Fury," too. Starr Hill Brewery's Amber and their seasonal Snow Blind Doppelbock Lager were worth buying up in bulk because they are limited in availability; Duck Rabbit also has a terrific doppelbock. Abita was great for several beers: Amber, Christmas Ale, Mardi Gras Bock, Andygator, and Turbodog. Alas: when I went on a big weight-loss push in 2018, I pretty much gave up beer. I'd rather have desserts or sweets if I'm going to indulge in calories. At the same time, with the pandemic, there was virtually no company and no entertaining here at the house for well over a year. What I'm left with was a mix of okay but aged beers that were always in the cooler...and quite a few cases that I'd stored away deep in the cabinets, including some from as far back as 2015. It all had to go.

This was understandably a multi-day project, with a small beginning a few months ago, but by June 15th I'd gone through and poured out all of the beer in the house, washed out all the bottles, and put them into the recycling barrel. We are talking cases of awesome beers that were just not any good any more. It broke my heart. That did allow me to really clean up and reorganize the cabinets under the bar and counter in Ray's the Bar, though, so that was a bonus.

Recycling of Crushed Cans

While I have also given up soda, there's still a lot of it consumed here at the Roediger House, plus increasingly quite a few canned beers, seltzers, and so on from guests. I've always washed them out and crushed them and, once before, took them to a paying recyling center. There were 12 or 13 paper grocery sacks that had backed up near the crusher in the cellar, and I got them taken care of. They went into the 11th huge garbage bag of crushed cans that were piled up at the other end of the cellar. I decided to load 'em all up in the back of the pick-up and took them to a different recylcing center, where the total weight of them all was 260 pounds. But hey: that was $127.00!! On another day, I gathered up the old cleaning fluids, rotted gas can, and other old hazardous chemicals from the cellar and took them to the appropriate recycling center.

Cleaning Up the Laundry Room

Situated just inside the high-trafficked back door from the parking lot is a cozy laundry room, only big enough to accommodate those appliances, cabinets above, and a utility sink. It's where I keep my yardwork clothes and gloves, the food for birds and the dog, and bottled water.

Unfortunately, especially with my bigger yard projects of the last couple of years (like the irrigation system), it became awfully easy to come in from a very long work day and drop all the stuff I needed on top of the dryer...because I'd be right back at it again the next day.

No surprise when it becomes an accumulating monstrosity.

I present these photos with insufficient shame.

After achieving what felt like a great victory over the devastation in the library upstairs, I was inspired Saturday a week ago to knock out this last clean-up challenge. It's not suitable to Southern Living, but it's ideal for RoHo living.

Weeding and Mulching

While I am celebrating these terrific interior advances, I must say that it is pretty disappointing that I've done far too little out in the yard. Before it got so freakin' hot (I still prefer summer to winter, however!!), I was aggressively weeding and even got around to some mulching. Alas, I have yet to go buy any plants or flowers and so these are now just dressed areas that ain't going anywhere.

Meal No. 3125: Bacon and Cheese Sandwiches

'Twas just a simple meal for three in the early part of the day on Wednesday: bacon and cheese sandwiches.

Meal No. 3124: Skillet Beef Stroganoff

This past Tuesday was another simple dinner pleasure, easy to put together and tasty to the tongue: skillet beef stroganoff, a house favorite and regular feature. It resulted in an abundance of appealing leftovers, too.

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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.

Sights and Sounds of Summer

Editor's Note: This post was drafted earlier this week.

Summer is in full swing here at the Roediger House, so there is much to celebrate. Friday night was the first time I noticed fireflies about, and the first strains of singing cicadas were music to my ears. We are almost to the summer solstice, of course, and I love seeing the 9 pm dusk. I also loved seeing a second round of bluebirds coming to the house on the fence, beginning Sunday morning. Over the next few days, the couple was very busy rebuilding a nest inside. On the morning I drafted this blog post, Winston-Salem was enjoying a welcome break from its June heat wave, and the week started out allowing for plenty of outside time. For Sumner, that's always better if the squirrels are active or if he can find an especially large dead branch that's finally tumbled from the huge tree cluster in the rear corner of the parking lot.

Delivery of cake slices on the official Juneteenth holiday Monday led to my first visit to see a condo in the old downtown YMCA building, a long block east of here, a solid brick building that is itself about 100 years old, plus some pleasant outside visiting and ball-tossing in a church yard. In the afternoon, the parking area turned into a four-dog playtime, with two puppies joining Sumner and his cousin Henry in the nice sunshine.

It was cool and breezy enough across that holiday weekend's mornings that I don't think my citronella incense was necessarily needed...but better safe than sorry.

For lack of a better place to mention it, and in service to my incessant penchant for documenting all things both interesting and mundane, let me remark about a couple of new wild creature sightings that occurred back in the starting days of summer. Above is pictured a groundhog that had secreted himself temporarily amongst the plant buckets and gardening stakes and such at the back wall behind the basketball goal. Sumner scented and then spotted him and it was not going to end well if I'd not interceded to allow him an escape. (For whom it would not end well was not clear.) On a May morning, a major expanse of birdwing flying toward the back of the property drew our attention to the arrival on the back fence of a turkey vulture. I was in the grove at the front of the yard so this was my quick attempt to snap a phone photo while he briefly perched before jetting across overhead.

Last weekend, Pride and Juneteenth coincided and the city was hopping, although the events did not include a route down Spring Street as has sometimes occurred. A small protest and attempt to disrupt was suppressed by a larger crowd of better Americans. To be quite frank, I will never understand the convoluted prevailing position of the GOP—and of so many empty-moraled conservative Christians: what bothers them is not for kids to be gunned down but the ridiculous fantasy that that might somehow be gayed up. The trendline of the current political climate does not leave me much room for hopefulness for the future, and the simple joys of Roediger House homelife will continue to be both a balm and a sanctuary.

Old-Fashioned Vanilla Cake and Fabulous Ice Creams

This past Sunday presented an opportunity for a quick return to the marvelous velvety old-fashioned vanilla cake with a buttercream frosting. It was spot-on, I must say, and was a ridiculous indulgence following that night's supper.

It didn't hurt that I had red velvet ice cream with cream cheese swirl to make it all the more ridiculous.

Oh, but that was just one of the ice creams I made within the last week. The other was an unremarkable dulce de leche ice cream. But paired with the final slice of the vanilla cake? Most workable.

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

"Red Velvet Ice Cream with Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl," from Everyday Annie (formerly Annie's Eats), a food blog from Annie Marshall. [Published 08 February 2013; accessed May 2015]

From "Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Samoas," by Max Folkowitz of SeriousEats.com. [Updated 15 April 2020]

Meal No. 3123: Mexican Chicken and Rice

Monday's supper was a happy return to a simple version of arroz con pollo, with plenty of Mexican white cheese sauce. Yum.

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"Mexican Chicken & Rice," in Cuisine at Home, Issue No. 115 (January/February 2016), p. 10-11.

"The Best Mexican White Cheese Dip," from eatingonadime.com.

Meal No. 3122: Hamburger Supreme

Sunday was glorious, and Sumner and I put in as much time outside as we could. It might have been enough for me to work up a pretty decent appetite, one that was well-satisfied by a return to a very old recipe carried forward from my early childhood: hamburger supreme. With a very indulgent dessert already planned, it was quite enough to have a cautious slab of this casserole, but I did find myself dipping back into the remnants after divvying up the leftovers.

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

Meal No. 3121: Roasted Salmon & Asparagus

Last Tuesday night, after a couple of days of very light eating, I brought home the only decent salmon fillet from the seafood counter at my no-longer-enjoyable Cloverdale Harris Teeter. It roasted up just exactly right and was well-matched with garlicky asparagus spears for a filling and renewing dinner.

The heat wave of mid-June was very much in full force, with high 90s and RealFeels over 100°F. It was pretty miserable outside.

Ah, but it was also pretty miserable inside from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday night, at least on the first floor of the Roediger House. After only two years of service, the air handler's blower motor blew, filling the downstairs Sunday afternoon with a low fog of acrid smoke and shutting down the system. Sumner and I retreated to the third floor and did all our sleeping up there in the nook in the meantime.

It was not the better part of wisdom to fire up the oven to 425°F that Tuesday, but I was starving for a good meal. I did not attempt any other cooking in the meantime, though.

By late Wednesday afternoon, when John from Webb Heating & Air Conditioning finished reparing the system, the kitchen was a toasty 87°F.

Things were pretty much back to normal when we got up Thursday morning, and life proceeded swimmingly from there. It made me happy to engage in the small kitchen joy of baking a fresh loaf of banana bread, which turned out quite delicious. And it was terrific as well when we got a break in the weather over the Juneteenth weekend!

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"Carolyn's Banana Bread," a recipe shared by former neighbor Lori Pilon.

Meal No. 3120: Grilled Filet Mignon & Sweet Potato Fries

When I decided my dinner menu, for planning purposes, on Saturday a week ago, it was with a sincere hopefulness that I'd earn a beef supper through hard yard labors. I was not quite successful at that but stuck with my scheme nonetheless: filet mignon along with sweet potato fries. Fried sweet potato fries, at that, which I do not remember doing before. It was a new recipe nonetheless, and it seemed on the money, even if the sweet potato itself may not have had as much flavor packed into it as needed. (The steaks were pretty perfect, though.)

That Saturday saw a return of the heat and humidity of summer. I was diligent outside for a portion of the morning but, when the afternoon settled in with all its most pressing June characteristics, I could only labor through one wheelbarrow load of mulch before seeking sanctuary back inside. As you can see above, Sumner was a faithful companion but also one who could not make sense of my outdoor activity at that moment. His steadfast proximity was itself a labor of love, no doubt.

The night ended on a sweet note, thanks to the marvelous carrot cake I made the previous day, mostly to give away to downtown and neighborhood friends. Of course I sampled a slice the evening I'd made it, and a final large overindulgent hunk remained from all the distribution so that I could not turn away from its temptations. But it was a Saturday night, and it was not all right (or "alright," as Elton John penned it) for fighting.

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"Crispy Sweet Potato Fries," from Chef John Ovens on YouTube. [Published 19 April 2020]

"Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake (1981)," also known as "Best Carrot Cake (October, 1997)," from Southern Living. Compiled in the Southern Living 1981 Annual Recipes, Birmingham: Oxmoor Press. Also found online. The recipe I follow was recommended to and shared with me by John & Ebbie Linaburg of Woodstock, Virginia.

Meal No. 3119: Cobb Salad with Grilled Shrimp

Another suppertime, another seafood-enhanced endeavor, as occurred on June 9th: Cobb Salad. Back in 2019, I tried out Cobb Salad a couple of times, to delighted satisfaction. On this more recent occasion, I had snagged some jumbo shrimp on the fly on a Costco run and marinated and skewered it to toss onto the grill. In the meantime, I used the dependable 5-5-5 method with the Instant Pot to end up with perfect hard-boiled eggs. I tried bakin' bacon in the oven, which wasn't so bad (and I still had bacon grease to capture and save for various nefarious future exploits). I piloted a smashingly tasty new vinaigrette that's a winner and a keeper. When it was all put together, I royally pigged out.

Speaking of bacon, I'd like to brag on the super-awesome pup of the Roediger House, who can be fully trusted even when there is a plate of bacon on the countertop. He might sniff near it if he walks by coming back from his water bowl, but there is no fear whatsoever that he would ever help himself to any of it. Oh, and I baked two packages of store-brand bacon that evening, by the way, and I had to snag a picture of one of them to show a likely explanation for why they can sell it at such a discount:

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"Classic Cobb Salad Dressing Recipe," from Chef Billy Parisi. [Published 15 January 2021]

Cobb Salad inspired by many different recipes but overall plan based mostly on "Cobb Salad," by Maria Lichty of the Two Peas and Their Pod blog. [Published 13 August 2018]

Additional perusing of ideas led me to "The BEST Cobb Salad," from Joanne Ozug of Fifteen Spatulas. [Published 26 January 2022 / Updated 07 April 2022] // "Cobb Salad with the Best Dressing," from Natasha Kravchuk of Natasha's Kitchen. [Published 17 January 2020]

Grilled Shrimp based on: "Amazing Spicy Grilled Shrimp," by Pat Rota on allrecipes.com.

"How to Cook Bacon in the Oven," from Joanne Ozug of Fifteen Spatulas. [Published 21 June 2018 / Updated 04 February 2022]

Guidance for Hard-Boiled Eggs from "Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs," by Jill Winger of the Prairie Homestead [Published April 2016]; and from "Instant Pot Recipes Everyone Should Know," by Alina Bradford from c|net.com. [Published 17 May 2018]

Meal No. 3118: Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Roquefort Dressing

Wednesday a week ago, I regret that I forgot about my better blue cheese dressing recipe...completely! It'd been a while since I made a blue cheese-style dressing and I found myself instead remembering an old one from the normally-dependable folks at Cook's Illustrated. Alas, it proved disappointingly thin, but I do believe it had a potentially interesting flavor thanks to a new bottle of agrodolce white wine vinegar. I tossed a prepped pounded blackened chicken breast from the freezer into the sous vide and finished it on the grill. I diced up tomato. The power greens underneath ended up heavily dressed, as I am wont to do, but I sure made the best of it that night before the storms rolled in.

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"Rich and Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing," from Cook's Illustrated. Published May 1, 1999.

Meal No. 3117: Deep-Fried Monte Cristo Sandwiches

One of those interesting recipes that I'd been long wanting to try finally got put into play on Tuesday a week ago: Monte Cristo sandwiches, in the spirit of what I once would have ordered at the long-since-closed Bennigan's up on North Point Boulevard. (The Bennigan's chain still exists, although it only has 11 locations left in the U.S.) I used up the last of a loaf of brioche, made it a double-decker with both turkey and ham, balanced the cheddar cheese with gouda, and gave it a hearty dip in batter before deep-frying the two prepped sandwiches to a golden perfection. The requisite raspberry preserves were a sweet complementing counterpoint. I'd had a nice low weigh-in that morning and I put in some fine labors in the yard that day, making this indulgent dinner treat feel somewhat deserved.

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Based on "Monte Cristo Sandwich (Bennigan's Copycat)," by Amanda Rettke of the I Am Homesteader blog. [Published 07 May 2021]

Meal No. 3116: Coriander-Ginger-Crusted Grilled Tuna

Perhaps nine years was long enough to wait to bring back a delicious coriander and ginger-crusted tuna steak, grilled to a rare perfection, topped with an avocado-ginger-lime sauce and accompanied by coconut sweet rice. It was a fine meal to celebrate an ordinary Monday night back on June 6th, as we move into the early summer season. As more of the daylilies sprout their beautiful blooms and I invest some time in more weeding and mulching, I'll note that the morning coffee time on the driveway now requires citronella incense, thanks to the emergence of mosquitoes. But Sumner and I remain quite contented out there!

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"Coriander & Ginger-Crusted Tuna," in Cuisine at Home, Issue 93, June 2012, p. 14-15.

"Jamaican Coconut Sweet Rice," by Michaela of An Affair from the Heart.

Meal No. 3115: Roasted Salmon & Brussels Sprouts

It was a much-appreciated return to roasted salmon on Sunday a week ago, a gorgeous picture-perfect day with awesome temps and light breezes. I'd worked up a pretty good appetite, thanks to just over four miles on a mid-day Sumner stroll. That boy was worn out! And the well-roasted Brussels sprouts were awesome alongside.

Meal No. 3114: French Toast

Well, the first Thursday of June seemed to be a good time to bring back the French toast that we rather enjoy at the Roediger House. It is quick, simple, good, filling, and a favorite.

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"French Toast," from King Arthur Flour online.

Meal No. 3113: Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry

Back on the first day of June, when dinnertime rolled around, I was ready with a delicious, hearty, and packed-with-flavor stir fry: beef and broccoli over basmati rice. The bowl brimmed with goodness and I very nearly licked it clean, because this was a pretty fabulous supper.

Right on schedule that morning, the first bloom emerged among the daylilies lining the walk to the back door, glorious and vibrant:

And that evening, before I dashed up to aperture cinema for a 9 pm showing of The Tale of King Crab, I whipped up a batch of chocolate sugar cookies with enough to share with downtown neighbors and friends:

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Main dish based on "Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry," by Matthew Fairman in Cook's Country, February/March 2018, p. 19.

Marinade supplemented by "All Purpose Chinese Marinade," in Wok Fast by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. Ten Speed Press, 2002, p. 26.

"Chocolate Sugar Cookies," by Lindsay Conchar of LifeLoveandSugar.com. [Published 25 November 2020]