The on-going chronicle of all things related to the George and Laura Roediger House (c. 1905) in the historic Holly Avenue Neighborhood of downtown Winston-Salem, NC. More info and pictures can be found at RoedigerHouse.com. [Mobile users: CLICK TO SEARCH the blog.]
With the fixins on hand and no other plan for lunch last Wednesday, I figured I'd return to the Croque-influenced Monte Cristo-style grilled sandwiches that I'd made not too long ago. I prefer the bonus of raspberry preserves to go with it, even though it is an indulgence that I should more strongly resist.
Based on "Madame Cristo—Grilled Ham and Cheese," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com.
With three of us at the supper table last Tuesday evening, it seemed ideal for bringing back a steady favorite from the regular recipe rotation: braised chicken over Brussels sprouts, along with easy stovetop stuffing. We feasted pretty well on this easy delight, leaving precious little for leftovers. Then, we adjourned up to the third floor for a screening of the original Scream movie, which I'd sort of forgotten was as good as it was.
"Braised Chicken and Brussels Sprouts," in Everyday Food, Issue 97, November 2012, p. 22.
After an unseasonable and absurd bone-chilling cold snap the previous week, including the first (and so far only) morning frost, it was pretty wonderful to see temps moderate at the beginning of this past week, offering a few gorgeous and sunny days. The lovely afternoon and my own new-found inspiration were right for spending time doing yard work last Monday, including raking leaves and blowing the driveway...
...as well as cutting out more of the dying portions one of the two remaining cherry trees in The Grove.
Whether it was my head or it was my belly telling me, I felt like I'd worked up a good appetite to justify generously-cheesed barbecue chicken, bacon, and red onion pizza for dinner that evening. I scarfed that deliciousness down and still made room for more of that Blue Moon ice cream I'd made.
Also on that day's task list: installing hooks and a new chain across the bottom of the driveway. The generous paved parking area is a regular temptation for people, who think there cannot possibly be a problem if they park up there for a bit while they tend to their own local matters or visit friends in the neighborhood. I've tried a succession of signs to indicate it's private parking, and they've proven quite easy for stubborn sojourners to ignore. The highly effective if also unsightly deterrent that has served us well for the last couple of years has been three orange traffic cones, visible in this post from a previous winter snowfall. But one evening at dinnertime a little over a week ago, somebody rolled up and stole those three sad cones away...hence the new (but temporary?) yellow chain solution.
A small assist with baking the barbecue chicken in advance came from "Baked BBQ Chicken Thighs," by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer of The Modern Proper. [Published 04 June 2021]
A football weekend for dear old Wake Forest University will sometimes bring the happy circumstance of fellow alumni coming to town, who also manage to build in a visit to the Roediger House. That's what happened last Sunday, and the joy of a long overdue catch-up with my friends Eric and Jennifer.
It was perfect for a brunch meal, featuring party ham biscuits, sous vide egg bites, creamy grits, and fresh fruit.
And why not dessert? Ina Garten's lemon bars seemed to be a judicious choice!
"Party Ham Biscuits," a recipe shared with the Jones family by fellow UNC alum Susan Brown. I recorded her version in my recipe collection in 1988. There are various takes on this recipe, of course. Pretty popular is the "caramelized" version, such as this one: "Caramelized Ham & Swiss Buns," by Iris Weihemuller of Baxter, MN, in Taste of Home, December 2013, p. 59.
Horseradish Sauce based on "Horseradish Sauce Recipe," from Natasha Kravchuk of Natasha's Kitchen. [Published 07 February 2019]
Based on "How to Sous Vide Egg Bites at Home," from Jenna Passaro of SipBiteGo.com. [Published 08 July 2021 / Modified 31 August 2021]
Creamy Grits based on: Luquire Family Stone Ground Grits, milled in Greenwood, SC.
"Lemon Bars," by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Published in Barefoot Contessa Parties!, Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2001.
A special treat like the remarkable blue moon ice cream should not be offered only once in a blue moon...but I sure had let a lot of time pass since its last appearance on a Roediger House dessert menu. That oversight was corrected last Saturday night, served up in sizable scoops, gorgeously blue, tasty on the tongue buds, and gone all too quickly.
"Blue Moon Ice Cream," by Alexandra Penfold of SeriousEats.com. [Published 13 July 2012; Updated 15 April 2020]
Last Thursday's supper had a special twist to it, with a return to an easy creamy chicken marsala and with the marvelous addition of fresh-made rosemary garlic focaccia.
It left me crazy full and it was quite a bit of clean-up, but some meals are just so very delciious and all those side costs are worth it.
Based on "Chicken Marsala with Gorgonzola," by Jill Anderson (Sleepy Eye, MN). In Taste of Home, February/March 2012, p. 34-35.
"Easy Rosemary Garlic Focaccia," from Adam and Joanne Gallagher of InspiredTaste.net.
Last Tuesday, the early-in-the-day meal left me free to piddle in my kitchen as evening came on. A relatively new recipe I'd cut out of an issue of Bon Appétit had been on my mind, particularly because it was so suited to the fall season: apple cider doughnut loaf cake. I gave it a try, getting all into it through the recipe's many steps and stages, and after a while a moist, delicious, aromatic, sweetly balanced and appropriately spiced loaf cake was ready for slicing and serving. Lordy, it was pretty awesome.
"Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake," by Sarah Jampal. In Bon Appétit, September 2020, p. 56, 57, 76. [Published 14 October 2020]
A longtime standby when I've got fresh chicken breasts and a desire for a comforting bowl of goodness is chicken with coronation sauce, served over rice. Last Tuesday, it was the main meal of the day in the early afternoon. Its simple goodness and relatively quick preparation are not its only virtues.
"Coronation Sauce for Chicken," from 400 Sauces, by Catherine Atkinson, Christine France, and Maggie Mayhew. Hermes House (2006, 2008), p. 155.
You can tell when I'm making an easy or default choice, if I find myself reporting a dinner of beef nachos. Such was the case this past Monday night, bolstered with fresh-made lime crema. I might be sounding a bit down-in-the-mouth about it, but I was definitely down with those nachos going into my mouth.
Taco-Style Meat Based on "Crispy Beef Tacos," by Hilah Johnson. From HilahCooking.com.
"Homemade Chili and Taco Seasoning," from Jamie of MyBakingAddiction.com. [Published 03 February 2011]
"Easy Lime Crema," from Lisa Bryan of DownShiftology.com. [Published 22 April 2020]
With four of us at the table this past Sunday night, it was nice to be able to offer so pleasing a menu: salmon croquettes with chili-garlic-lime aïoli, along with some roasted asparagus and the last of my Caesar salad. Ready promptly at 6 o'clock, and we eagerly took our seats, the croquettes were nicely seared and invited generous slathers of the aïoli. After a short respite post-dinnertime, it seems we all still found room for the last of the previous evening's lemon bars, which some savored slowly and others gulped in big bites.
Adapted from "Salmon Burgers" (p. 396) and "Herb Sauce" (p. 395), from Denise Austin, Shrink Your Female Fat Zones, Rodale Books (2003).
"Chili-Lime Aïoli," from David Wald of Princeton, NJ, May 2009.
With Amy and Gern over for movies night and dinner last Saturday, I was ready for a less-heavy meal that would still satisfy the appetites. This led me to salmon Caesar salad, with homemade dressing on freshly chopped hearts of Romaine. Brushed with olive oil and seasoned lightly with Pearl Street Plank Salmon Rub from Savory Spice Shop, the long thin fillets of thick salmon cooked perfectly and straddled the salads fully.
I also took the last of my peasant bread loaf and used it to make homemade croutons that were also quite good. Roasted sunflower seeds and hard-boiled extra large eggs were tasty additional touches.
Oh, but there was also a scrumptious dessert that I've now made for the fourth time, it seems: Ina Garten's very special very delicious very dependable lemon bars. A perfect shortbread crust and a creamy but sticky puckery lemon filling, best consumed in repetitive small bites, shifted around gently on the tongue, lovingly swallowed in anticipation of the next forked small portion.
Based on "Easy Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing," by Kim of lowcarbmaven.com.
"Croutons," by Marg CaymanDesigns on GeniusKitchen.com.
Guidance on the 7-5-5 Method for Extra Large Eggs from "Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs," by Coco Morante on Epicurious.com. [Published 24 January 2018]
"Lemon Bars," by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Published in Barefoot Contessa Parties!, Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2001.
With a remaining whole loaf of the previous day's peasant bread offering options for last Friday night's dinner, the course I chose was beef, cheddar, and Swiss sandwiches, loaded up with a super special and fully-flavored onion and yellow bell pepper topping, plus a homemade sandwich sauce.
It's easy enough, thanks to having bought a whole beef tenderloin and then individually prepped and vacuum-sealed portions for freezer storage, to sous vide a steak and then finish it on the grill for this sort of thing.
The crowning touch, of course, was to push these sandwiches into melts territory, grilled in butter in the skillet, before final assembly. Good gracious, what a culinary treat!
Softened butter was leftover, suitable for spreading onto additional slices from the peasant loaf, so that I could dust it all well with cinnamon sugar...oh, it's been so long since I had the childhood favorite of cinnamon toast. Turns out, it's a fine simple dessert when the circumstances warrant.
"Beef & Cheddar Melts Sauce," a Roediger House creation.
Last Thursday dawned rainy and dreary, and that set in motion a planning process to achieve a nice fall-oriented pot of soup. This time around the preference was for a potato-cheddar version that the folks at Lafayette, Indiana's KitchenArt store have a recipe for. That was a fine batch of soup, but it was even better with the addition of fresh-baked peasant bread...and the bread was all-the-better with more of my homemade honey butter!
"Potato Cheddar Soup," from the Roediger House. Adapted from "Potato and Cheese Soup," from KitchenArt: The Store for Cooks [now closed] in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Peasant Bread adapted from "My Mother's Peasant Bread," by Alexandra Stafford of AlexandraCooks.com. [07 November 2012 / Updated 06 January 2022]
On October 12th, after making the overnight flight home from West Africa, the joy of being in my kitchen propelled me to action around mid-day, but that also depended on coming up with a meal plan that could rely on what was currently on hand. The easy way to address the dilemma was to experiment with a sort of new recipe (to me) for Monte Cristo-style turkey-ham-cheese sandwiches, bolstered a bit with a Croque Monsieur treatment that upped the encasing bread with a savory French toast approach. Some raspberry preserves alongside made it feel extra special.
Based on "Madame Cristo—Grilled Ham and Cheese," from Chef John Mitzewich of FoodWishes.com and AllRecipes.com.
Back on the first Sunday of October, before I drove over to Raleigh to catch a plane for a work trip to West Africa, I whipped up a lunch casserole dish of chicken spaghetti, a cheesy satisfying meal of sufficient proportions to let me leave with my belly tended to. Perhaps I ought also to give it credit for helping me to be a good plane sleeper, since it was an overnight flight arriving the next morning with the dawn!
"Homemade Chicken Spaghetti," from Holly Nilsson of SpendwithPennies.com. [Published 14 April 2019 / Updated 06 July 2020]
With an excellent mark-down on split chicken breasts on a late September grocery run, it seemed provident to grab a few accompanying foodstuffs and produce in order to put together a fresh batch of DIY dog food for the very good boy of the Roediger House. Brown rice, carrots, sweet potato, and chicken breast meat: bland as heck to the human palate but irresistable to Sumner once it arrives properly bowled in front of him. He is awfully polite about it as he approaches it hopefully, but once the feasting has begun, it's best to just step back.
Based on "DIY Homemade Dog Food," by Chungah Rhee of the Damn Delicious blog. [Published 27 April 2015]
Based on "Easy Crockpot Dog Food," by Chungah Rhee of the Damn Delicious blog. [Published 13 May 2015]
As the City of Winston-Salem was battered by the advancing tropical storm remaining from Hurricane Ian on the final night of September, the good dinner of tomato soup could have sufficed...but I was persuaded by nagging mental images of a sweet finisher for the evening. After dinner clean-up I started a fresh mess-making process with a new recipe (to me): lemon pudding cake. I've had the printout of that recipe for a long time but had never gotten around to experimenting with it. That stormy blustery night that had us all on edge called for the hopeful endeavor, sped along by fears that the power might go out at any time. (It flickered badly enough to shut down the oven at one point but I fired it right back up!)
Oh my, what an excellent choice to undertake this dessert: I don't know that I've ever made anything like it, and it was stunning, rather incredible, and tremendously rewarding. The culinary triumph was celebrated promptly with a second portion every bit as generous as the first portion.
"Lemon Pudding Cake," from Julia Moskin of NYT Cooking. Featured in "Straight from the Home Coop" from 04 April 2012 (original link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/04/dining/hatching-your-own-batch-of-eggs.html). Recipe was adapted from The Farm, by Ian Knauer. [Accessed online 03 July 2016]
The final day of September brought the lashing winds and endless rain of the remnants of Hurricane Ian, churning its way across North Carolina. While an earlier tracking prediction charted its path to pass directly over Winston-Salem, the deteriorating but still dangerous system was pushed east, with what survived of its center likely 50 miles away. Unlike many across the southeast, power stayed on (just one small blip that Friday evening) and damage here was avoided.
My clean-up was of a ton of mostly small dead branches and leaves, plus emptying the drip trays from the second floor ceiling leak that continues uncorrected. Also, I'd like to note the resemblance of the rain bands to the tri-ryche logo symbol from a once-favorite band, Queensrÿche.
Fortunate to be spared, without overlooking the death and destruction endured by others, the whipping bone-chilling winds made a soup supper a sound selection. The ultimate (as Cook's Illustrated titled it) cream of tomato soup was so very perfect late that afternoon, and the bonus of wonderfully crusted grilled cheese sandwiches took it over an admittedly low-barred top.
"Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup," from Cook's Illustrated, November 1999. Recipe can also be found online at Cookography.com.
A BOGO special on baby back pork ribs meant I had an especially thick and meaty package to cook up on the final Thursday of September. I have found over the years that I rather like the ease and results of the oven-baked method, and that's what I went with. Once more, the ribs had great flavor, but this time they did not quite reach the fall-off-the-bone stage. I managed to turn it into a too-large-too-much meal with the addition of homemade potato salad (with freshly hard-boiled eggs) as well as a riff on my mother's southern coleslaw. It was a pretty stupendous meal, and I really underwalked as bedtime approched, which means I did not burn off nearly enough of all those calories!
"How to Make Great Ribs in the Oven," by Emma Christensen. From The Kitchn. [Published 01 July 2017]
Sweet Southern Coleslaw based in part on a recipe from Allison M. Jones.
Potato Salad based on "The Best Potato Salad," by Ben Rayl of ComfortableFood.com [Accessed 20 February 2016]; and "Instant Pot Potato Salad with Dill Pickles," from Becky Hardin of TheCookieRookie.com [Published 20 March 2018].
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]
Because I started off celebrating the arrival of autumn with a batch of homemade eggnog, I've been thinking about various uses for it so that I didn't just sit around and drink it all. (It's good to me, but not good for me.) Back on the final Tuesday of September, that pursuit let me to try a delicious eggnog sugar cookie recipe, from the same author whose chocolate sugar cookies are a winning option on a frequent basis. Warmly spiced and sweet on the tongue, these eggnog sugar cookies did not need the recommended eggnog-enhanced icing...they were all they needed to be that night.
"Soft & Chewy Eggnog Cookies," by Lindsay Conchar of LifeLoveandSugar.com. [Published 26 November 2019 / Updated 30 November 2021]
Not quite two months have passed since I made a relatively new breakfast favorite: banana bread pancakes with bananas foster maple syrup. This was a discovery from the summer when I set aside a number of mornings to mine some old issues of various recipe magazines I've subscribed to for years. With the toasted pecans and a hearty mid-day appetite, this was right on the money on September's final Tuesday.
"Banana Bread Pancakes" and "Bananas Foster Syrup," from Cuisine at Home, Issue No. 103 (January/February 2014), p. 23.
I'm not a fridge-clean-out meal-maker, at least not often. I think I almost always have a recognizable meal that looks like a deliberate choice instead of a hodgepodge. But two weeks ago, my Monday supper was made up on the spot, with soon-to-expire hot breakfast sausage and a handful of eggs that had been hanging around just about long enough. The odd pairing of asparagus was also because it was getting long in the tooth. But it was all pretty tasty and simple, so that's a double bonus.
On Saturday night two weeks ago, after a delicious seasonally-appropriate chowder gathering for the most faithful regulars of the Roediger House, I brought out for dessert a similarly suitable sweet something that corresponded with the advent of autumn: nicely spiced apple crisp cheesecake bars on a brown sugar shortbread crust. The blog tells me this is its third appearance here, having been introduced following a dinner with Amy and Gern back in early 2020. I had made it again not so long ago, but had some leftover maple cream sauce to put on top of it, which made it seem like a rather different dessert. This latest offering was pretty darned delicious and pretty much did us all in once we finished.
"Apple Crisp Cheesecake Bars," from Meghan McGarry of ButtercreamBlondie.com. [Published 03 October 2014]
With a terrific Saturday night gathering of the core RoHo crew, with six around the table and the autumn season upon us, a huge pot of comforting chowder seemed called for. Ever since I first made Brannon Soileau's Indiana corn chowder (I always add chicken to it), it's been a proven and ongoing winner here.
On September 24th, it seemed to earn the approval of the supper six. Perhaps the simple addition of fresh-baked peasant bread, and home-whipped honey butter, were a helpful appeaser.
Adapted from "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 on 31 December 2006. You can find this, and quite a few other Indiana recipes, if you scroll to the bottom of this article: "Indiana Can Cook" [Published 12 October 2005]. Update: Brannon Soileau's latest adventure is Boss Bagels in San Antonio, Texas.
"Easy Same-Day Peasant Bread," from Jenny Rosenstrach of the CupofJo.com blog. [Published 02 February 2022] Adapted from Alexandra Stafford of AlexandraCooks.com. [07 November 2012 / Updated 06 January 2022]
It was the first full official day of fall two Fridays ago (with an upper 40s morning temperature that I was neither mentally nor physically prepared for). The day was gorgeous, though, with full sunny skies and blue as far as the eye could see. I did an extended walk late afternoon, hitting the 6.2-mile tally with a decent enough pace-per-minute. Ah, but that left me scrambling for another quick-fix meal plan, and I did not hesitate to fall back on the ease of puff pastry pizza. I gave it a pesto base, added a decent layer of whole milk ricotta, topped that with whole-milk mozzarella, and finished it with a remaining portion of seasoned taco meat. It was pretty darned good.
The Roediger House got to host another overnight guest back on September 22nd, when my sister stayed here on her way down to the beach. A repeat of the previous weekend's choice of carrot cake oatmeal was an easy go-to for our light breakfast before she left Friday morning.
Based on "Carrot Cake Oatmeal," from Molly Watson of TheSpruceEats.com. [Updated 02 July 2019]
My sister passed through overnight on September 22nd but her arrival time was not quite clear to me. In case she came in hungry, but also so that my own supper would be ready for me on that Thursday, I tossed a prepped split chicken breast into the sous vide mid-day and then whipped up a red onion dressing, punched up with a bit of gochuchang sauce but balanced with honey and dijon. Diced apples and walnuts bulked it up and it all was terrific on brioche buns, along with an overabundance of Sun Chips.
