Meal No. 3660: Roasted Salmon

Last Monday was a perfect time to bring back my much-loved roasted spiced salmon, this time with roasted whole green beans with a lovely garlic and herb seasoning. It was a terrific end to a full day.

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Rice Krispies Treats

I'd let a little time pass since making any sweet treats, but that got fixed Sunday night with the easy-peasy brown sugar cinnamon rice krispies treats. Oh, so sugary, and blessedly cinnamony, it's easy to make and hard to resist.

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

Meal No. 3659: Elote Tacos with Chicken and Veggies

The weekend at the Roediger House was a long-delayed return to delightful summer days, with sunshine covering us most of the time and the temps being almost reasonable for late July. At mid-day Sunday, I had in mind to try out a new recipe I just stumbled across: elote tacos with chipotle chicken and veggies.

Not especially difficult to put together and yet resulting in what seems an intriguingly complex outcome, the hand-held monstrosity of a soft taco that had a twin on my plate was more than I could manage...but I left very little uneaten. It was spectacular.

Part of the ease of this meal resides in its sheet pan approach, where the spiced marinated chicken and spiced onion and peppers roast together. In the meantime, the elote street corn topping gets whipped up, boosted with crumbled cotija cheese and made a bit healthier with whole-milk Greek yogurt.

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"Elote Tacos with Chipotle Chicken and Veggies," from Maddie Ireland of Munchin' with Maddie. [Published 18 April 2024]

Meal No. 3657: Moroccan Bistro Chicken

An easy and comforting repeat performer in our meal rotations made its latest appearance last Monday in the early afternoon. It's a dish I like to refer to by the name of its source, so I persist in calling it Brendan's Moroccan Bistro Chicken. With a nice mix of spice, a brothy sauce with tender minced onion, simmered with a stick (or two) of cinnamon, and served over some tasty quinoa boosted with garlic and herb, it's a filling favorite that I'm always happy to bring back out of the regular features file.

Meal No. 3656 and 3658: Hamburger Supreme

The latest blower motor in the downstairs HVAC system only survived 7 months. As the kitchen reached the mid-80s Friday a week ago, I still very much wanted to bring out a last good meal for the final night of the summer visit by my brother-in-law. A favorite comfort casserole that we call hamburger supreme was the offering that night.

And in spite of the blistering hot kitchen, I did not want Beau to conclude his visit without his favorite dessert appearing: white wine coffee cake. It was always popular in my household growing up; it was a frequent treat to take in for colleagues or for my classes when I was on faculty at Wake Forest University; it is also a noteworthy addition to the Roediger House stable with a whole new cadre of fans. And the good professor is very much the self-proclaimed leader of that pack of cheerleaders, always making me feel good about the delight it brings when that's what shows up on the dessert plates.

Beau left very early Saturday morning, and I left for him several wrapped slices of that cake to go with him. It was a quiet and casual Saturday, with rain and sprinkles for most of it. I was glad to catch up with friends and colleagues Amy and Cile and to try out Heff's Burger Club, just up the way on Fourth Street, where the good food was surpassed by the even better visit. And lo and behold, the surprise visitor late evening was such a regular presence here a decade and a half ago and up he pops on a whim in the midst of delayed business travel: the all-grown-up Cubby. In another life, in another time, and with a long-ago love, Cubby was among the marvelous fun guests here for suppers and parties and movie nights and overnighters. It was great to see him and to make up as much lost ground and history as possible!

Here's the good news: Webb HVAC was able to get the blower motor—and the blown motherboard, it turns out!—repaired this past Thursday morning, and the downstairs again became habitable.

Update: After a work trip this week to Florida, and with no grocery shopping undertaken once I was home again yesterday, I used up the rest of my ground beef to make a fresh new pan of hamburger supreme for Meal No. 3658. It always bothers me to do too quick a repeat (in this case, exactly one week apart) of a meal, even though it happens from time to time, but I was more than happy to consume this delicious casserole, this time with a bit of corn, as the day's activities wrapped up.

And doggone, how adorable is this pair of pooches:

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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. 3655: Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad

Thursday a week ago was a fine time for a lighter hand with dinner, both because of how much I've been overindulging with summer company, but also because the downstairs HVAC system was finally knocked on its butt again, unsurprising with the extended heatwave we'd had through much of July. Fresh-chopped romaine, my own meager attempt at a southwestern-flair Caesar dressing, some black beans and corn kernels, and we were happy to plunge into our southwest Caesar salads, with spiced chicken tenderloins cooked to perfect temp in the sous vide immersion circulator.

I was ready for another go at the blackberry cobbler that I'd only just tried out the week before. And while to me the natural ice cream to go with it would be vanilla, it turns out that the last of the Blue Moon ice cream was every bit as pleasing.

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Southwestern Caesar Dressing was my creation but was based on:

• "Southwest Caesar Dressing," by CookingONtheSide. From GeniusKitchen.com
• "Southwestern Caesar Salad with Chipotle Dressing," from the Hyatt Regency at Gainy Ranch (Scottsdale, AZ). Published in Bon Appétit, March 1997.

"Gerry's Blackberry Cobbler," by Baritone Bob. In allrecipes, Summer 2024, p. 43. Also found online at AllRecipes.com. [Updated 14 January 2022]

Vanilla Bean Pudding Cake

Oh my goodness: sometimes when I mess up a recipe just a bit, I actually get a result I like even better. That's what occurred Wednesday a week ago, when in the quiet of the evening when leftovers had sufficed for dinner, I returned to the delicious vanilla bean pudding cake for our sweet finisher of another hot day. (Hot because this heat wave finally brought the downstairs HVAC system to its knees, with a frozen-up air handler in the cellar. Hence: no cooking of supper!) Anyway...not so much a self-saucing cake with my slight deviation from the instructions, but what emerged instead was a moist spongy and light surprise of sweet goodness. While it's probably supposed to serve 4-6, the three of us cleaned the pan.

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

Meal No. 3654: Braised Smothered Pork Chops with Onion-Thyme Gravy

A quiet Tuesday late afternoon meal last week was a chance to bring back a long ago favorite: braised smothered pork chops with onion-thyme gravy, along with richly-buttered mashed potatoes. While I'd made this main dish during last year's holiday season, it's been mostly missing from the menus here. I could have filled the plate more with some green vegetable, of course, but I knew that once there was a pile of those potatoes alongside, we'd have all we needed to be quite content.

Already prepped and ready for serving later that evening for dessert, and in honor of National Ice Cream Day, the special treat of Blue Moon ice cream. This perfect taste-of-summer creation combines the tastes of lemon and raspberry, balanced out with some vanilla, in a wonderfully creamy and dense trio of scoops in a waiting—and quickly emptied—bowl. A couple of shortbread cookies made for a better picture but this ice cream needed no bolstering from tagalongs.

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Based on "Smothered Pork Chops," by Erika Bruce in Cook's Country [April/May 2011], p. 22-23.

"Blue Moon Ice Cream," by Alexandra Penfold of SeriousEats.com. [Published 13 July 2012; Updated 15 April 2020 and 05 June 2023]

Meal No. 3653: Arroz con Pollo

Last week started off with quite another intense burst of summer heat, with temps approaching 100°F. I figured I'd bring a touch of heat with the dinner choice on Monday evening: Mexican chicken and rice with a wonderful white cheese dip. I kicked up the spice factor and the output of the skillet was thick and full-flavored and hard to turn away from. Add that cheese dip to it, and there's no looking back.

After cleanup from dinner was complete, I turned my attention to making a pretty dependable batch of shortbread cookies. I didn't want anything too much but felt that something in the sweet snacky category was still warranted. And they were tempting and tasty, for sure.

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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.

"Shortbread Cookies," from Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats.com. [Updated 26 September 2019]

Meal No. 3652: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

A fun house project kept me tied down long enough a week ago Sunday that dinnertime rolled up on me and I had to think of a quick fix. To the rescue came the idea of a skillet full of fluffy buttermilk pancakes for the three of us at the dinner table, and I did not detect any disappointment from the diners. Plenty of maple syrup and even a pat of butter atop the stack, it was an easy supper to put together.

Meal No. 3651: Skillet Pepperoni Pan Pizza

As we approached mid-July, I decided to give trial to an extended cold ferment for pizza dough. My faithful pizza guide, J. Kenji López-Alt, who's quite the avid and dedicated experimenter and investigator, suggested that one might allow flavors and structure to develop with as long as a five-day rest chilled rest of no-knead dough.

And once again, he spoke true: the mid-day meal on Saturday the 13th was some excellent pepperoni pan pizza from the cast iron skillets. I was unable to keep myself from having one more piece beyond my status of fullness, and there was no basis for regret.

And that crust!

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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]

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

Meal No. 3650: Vierling Saloon Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

It was the very fun crew of seven folks around the table on Friday a week ago, and since it was slightly cooler and a tad rainy all day, we had us a big ol' pot of Vierling Saloon Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. This is another long-time family favorite with rather regular appearances here on the Roediger House menu.

I ought to have left well enough alone, with just the soup, which was extra thick this time, and pretty danged filling. But I had an urge to bring out something from the bread category and settled on Southern buttermilk biscuits, and it was also an excuse to try out yet another different recipe for this. We were all pretty pleased with 'em.

That Friday was also the observation of National Pecan Pie Day, and I had just the recipe that's long been loved in the Jones household, all the way back to my days growing up in Buies Creek. This chocolate pecan pie, which we were first advised was "blender pie," is a breeze to put together, especially if you're content to use a Pillsbury pie shell or a storebought refrigerated crust. Maybe purists out there are shocked and saddened that my celebration of the occasion was with a non-traditional version, but I ain't apologizing for what I like. Alas, when I saw that the Pillsbury crusts were priced at $5.49, I figured I'd best revert to my latest cuisine curse: a working knowledge of how to make homemade pie crust from scratch. That's how we ended up with two pies, and I've got absolutely no reason at all to complain about that.

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"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.

"Mile High Perfect Best Homemade Biscuits," from Ashton Swank of Something Swanky.

"Chocolate Pecan Pie," a Jones Family favorite since at least 1980, if not before. Also known as "Blender Pie," the recipe came from the late Lib Keith, whose hair-cutting business at her house was where our hairs got clipped for quite a few years.

"All-Butter Pie Crust," from King Arthur Test Kitchen of King Arthur Baking. See also "Butter vs. Shortening: The Great Pie Crust Bake-Off," by PJ Hamel of King Arthur Baking. [Published 23 November 2013]

Lemon Meringue Pie

Thursday night of last week, since I'd had a lunch meet-up with a long-time friend and education colleague, left me ample time to throw together a quick dessert for the three of us: lemon meringue pie. It's a standard recipe but such a satisfying one, with a lemony filling built on the same principles as a key lime pie, but this came with the glorious addition of meringue on top and a homemade butter pie crust underneath. I mean, it was good enough for two pieces each and a wiped-clean pie plate to close out the evening.

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

"All-Butter Pie Crust," from King Arthur Test Kitchen of King Arthur Baking. See also "Butter vs. Shortening: The Great Pie Crust Bake-Off," by PJ Hamel of King Arthur Baking. [Published 23 November 2013]

Meal No. 3649: Mexican Street Taco Pork Sheet Pan Nachos

Tuesday a week ago was a full day of work and there was precious little time to put dinner together. Fortunately, in the freezer was a saved vacuum-sealed bag of Mexican street taco pulled pork, in a perfect proportion for topping a large sheet pan of nachos. With onion, corn, and black beans, and an abundance of Mexican-style shredded cheese, plus lime crema...well, let's just say it hit the spot.

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Sheet Pan Nachos loosely inspired by "Loaded Sweet Pork Sheet Pan Nachos," from Elyse of Six Sisters Stuff. [Published 14 March 2018]

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

Meal No. 3648: Cheeseburgers!

After the big July Fourth weekend, I headed out that following Monday for provisions and such but got back later than intended. I punted on my dinner plans and let the sous vide come through for me, bringing my frozen vacuum-sealed prepped burger patties up to a perfectly done temp before finishing them in a skillet on the stovetop...to add a bit of sear but especially to turn them into gooey and oooh/ah! cheeseburgers. Chips of choice went along for the ride, as befits the moment.

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"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.

Meal No. 3647: Departure Breakfast for the OK Crew

Sunday a week ago saw the happy visit of dear Oklahoma friends come to its inevitable conclusion. Fortunately, their departure was timed so that I could sneak in one final meal with them, a breakfast-styled small spread of faithful stand-ins like sous vide egg bites (scallions, Gruyère, and bacon) and creamy stone-ground grits. I also made an amazing apple cider doughnut loaf for the second time, a sort-of-involved "quick" bread but well worth it once you sample a slice.

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"Apple Cider Doughnut Loaf Cake," by Sarah Jampal. In Bon Appétit, September 2020, p. 56, 57, 76. [Published 14 October 2020]

Based on "How to Sous Vide Egg Bites at Home," from Jenna Passaro of SipBiteGo.com. [Published 08 July 2021 / Modified 31 August 2021]

Guidance for making the creamy grits: Luquire Family Stone Ground Grits, milled in Greenwood, SC.

Our Breakfast Stand-ins for the July Fourth Holiday Week

The guests during the opening week of July are always easy-peasy and always the best to have staying here. They are incredibly undemanding and exceptionally accommodating, and I in turn like to try to play suitable host. Here's a blog update to catalogue the breakfast-adjacent snackables that came out of the morning kitchen labors, starting with Tuesday July 2nd and pictured above: blueberry muffins, tender and sweet and terribly satisfying to accompany that second-cup-of-coffee need-to-nibble.

On Thursday July the Fourth, it was time to put those over-ripe bananas to work, in the form of mini-banana bread loaves. I put those into the oven while I was cooling down from my 3.2-mile downtown stroll (executed before it could get too blasted hot that day!). That way they could appear for the crew just before the mid-day hungries kicked in.

When Friday rolled around, I got busy with a breakfast cake, intending that it should be lemon-raspberry. Alas, the raspberries had already gone fuzzy in the fridge! So a last-minute substitution of blackberries took their place. While the recipe author reports with pleasure it is one of her most popular recipes, it was not especially popular with me. I think in the future I need to remember to reach instead for the June 2009 issue of Gourmet magazine, for therein is a raspberry-buttermilk breakfast cake version that I remember having much more success with back in the days of the old kitchen.

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"Perfect Blueberry Muffins," from Sue Moran of The View from Great Island. [Published 13 July 2021]

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

Adapted from "Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake," from Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra's Kitchen. [Published 29 June 2011 / Updated 11 June 2024]

Meal No. 3646: Tomato & Corn Pie

On the final night of the week's visit from dear friends from Oklahoma, we sat down at dinnertime to a pair of tomato and corn pies, with herbed roasted tomatoes and a chive-and-basil topping. This time around, I made them double-crust, because who doesn't like crust?

We also had side salads with more of the homemade dressing choices from their first night here, plus another round of roasted spiced potatoes.

Dessert was also well-received: a deep dive into chocolatey irresponsibility in the form of chocolate pudding cake. Paired with the last of the homemade vanilla sweet milk ice cream, it was a crowd-pleaser.

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Tomato and Corn Pie pulled together and based on the following evolving recipe history:

• "Tomato Pie," from the Swamp Rabbit Café in Greenville, SC.
• "Tomato and Corn Pie," from Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. [Published 27 August 2009]
• "Tomato and Corn Pie," by Maggie Ruggiero in Gourmet, August 2009, p. 42-43. [Published Online 15 July 2009]

"All-Butter Pie Crust," from King Arthur Test Kitchen of King Arthur Baking. See also "Butter vs. Shortening: The Great Pie Crust Bake-Off," by PJ Hamel of King Arthur Baking. [Published 23 November 2013]

Guidance for herb-roasting tomato slices from "Herbs de Provence Roasted Tomatoes," by Alicia Shaw of Laughter and Lemonade.[Published 17 January 2014]

"Gooey Chocolate Pudding Cake," from Holly Nilsson of SpendwithPennies.com. [Published 13 May 2020 / Updated 07 July 2020]

Cobbler Options for the Grand Chili Gathering

The first Friday night of July found the Roediger House full of laughter and fun, with two sets of old friends becoming new friends with one another. Once we'd cleaned our chili bowls and licked up the tender crumbs from our honey wheat cornbread, we sat a spell at the dining room table before setting our minds to the next important task: choosing a fruit cobbler to go with the homemade vanilla ice cream.

Both cobblers were new trials, and both turned out to be pretty good. Aunt Gerry's blackberry cobbler probably had the edge, though!

That doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the peach cobbler, which I dug in part because I like the cobbler to dominate the fruit, and I'd inadvertently skimped a bit on the peaches. My go-to sweet milk vanilla ice cream had been churned a few days before and was ready to go along for the ride. This turned out to be a pretty apt choice for our sweet conclusion to a special night's mealtime, before we headed up to the third floor for more talk, some pool playing, and some friendly game competition.

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"Gerry's Blackberry Cobbler," by Baritone Bob. In allrecipes, Summer 2024, p. 43. Also found online at AllRecipes.com. [Updated 14 January 2022]

"Peach Cobbler," by Lauren Allen. On TastesBetterFromScratch.com. [Updated 14 March 2024]

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

Meal No. 3645: Beef and Vegetarian Chilis

Last Friday night was a grand gathering for 11 at the Roediger House, with five visiting from Oklahoma and the rest of us happy citizens of Winston-Salem, all coming together for food and fellowship and fun and frivolity, which is among my most favorite things. Hoping to provide for all comers, there was a huge pot of beef chili, long a house favorite, plus a second kettle of vegetarian chili. To go with it all, I also had a pan of the marvelous Granny Wilson's honey wheat cornbread, also a consistent pleaser of meeters and eaters here.

And yes: our heatwave was continuing on that day. With so many people about, the HVAC system did have trouble keeping up...but the good time was not dampened.

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"Simple Beef Chili with Kidney Beans," from Cook's Illustrated, Number Sixty-One [March-April 2003], p. 10-11.

"Vegetarian Chili," from All About Vegetarian Cooking. By the editors of Joy of Cooking: Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker. New York: Scribner (2000), p. 82-83. Cookbook was a gift from former student Alison Pomeroy.

"Granny Wilson's Cornbread," a recipe shared with me by Linda B. Dunlap.

Meal No. 3644: Sheet Pan Nachos

The ongoing culinary challenge of last week was to make sure I was accommodating the vegetarian preferences of a portion of the guest crew. On the Fourth of July, which fell on Thursday, a doable way to balance the varying palates seemed to reside in two versions of sheet pan nachos: one with seasoned taco meat, and the other without. By the time you pile on enough Mexican cheese, plus onion and corn and black beans, and if there's a generous dollop of lime crema and/or avocado lime sauce to go with it, one might just have a shot at keeping the supper crew satisfied. With an outside RealFeel of 105°F, maybe something spicy was less wise than I initially thought, but fortunately the gang was willing to overlook my underthinking it.

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Sheet Pan Nachos loosely inspired by "Loaded Sweet Pork Sheet Pan Nachos," from Elyse of Six Sisters Stuff. [Published 14 March 2018]

Taco-Style meat depended partly on "Crispy Beef Tacos," by Hilah Johnson. From HilahCooking.com.

"Homemade Chili and Taco Seasoning," from Jamie Lothridge of MyBakingAddiction.com. [Published 03 February 2011]

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

Meal No. 3643: Vegetable Plates

Last Wednesday evening felt right for a sensible vegetables plate meal, featuring roasted broccoli florets, hoisin whole green beans, and roasted baby potatoes. But I still had to have something indulgent alongside, so there were also cheddar bay biscuits in abundance.

Then I ruined all those good intentions with a too-tempting dessert, where the recent discovery of Mamaw Emily's strawberry cake was the centerpiece of finishing out the night's culinary exploits. Well-dressed in that ridiculous strawberry frosting, I still feel bad serving folks a cake where I cheated with a box mix. But man! this is a tasty cake, for sure.

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"Easy Cheddar Bay Biscuits (Red Lobster Copycat)," from Amy Nash of House of Nash Eats. [Published 11 August 2023]

"Mamaw Emily's Strawberry Cake," from Jennifer Bruce of Manitou, Kentucky. Published on TasteofHome.com. [Updated 19 November 2023]