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.]
I got in late Friday afternoon from a work trip to two different school divisions in Virginia, but there was just enough time to whip up buttermilk pancakes for dinner. I arrived home with an appetite and my short stack was made short work of.
"Best Tips for Making Pancakes: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes," by Joanne Ozug on the Pioneer Woman website. [Published 10 May 2017]
It was handy to have some amazing chocolate syrup that I'd made, tucked away in the fridge, and ready to provide an assist to finishing the last of the recent batch of sweet milk vanilla ice cream. Gently reheated in the microwave and turned back to pourable consistency, a generous dollop was genially delicious upon those tidy small slabs dug out of the ice cream storage container before bedtime.
In a near return to form, last Tuesday's dinner offering featured roasted spiced salmon fillets alongside nicely roasted herbed asparagus spears. This endures as a much-enjoyed menu choice for me, always tasty and regularly beneficial to my weight management regimen! It had been a grass-cutting day, and there were a couple of downtown walks. The evening concluded with a quick stroll up to aperture cinema on Fourth Street to catch the delightful film, The Ballad of Wallis Island, before it and I both left town.
Each time I set foot in my kitchen, there is a world of possibility as to what might be created. However, sometimes it comes down to something simple and inconsequential, as happened last Sunday night: loaded baked potatoes, with almost as much butter as I like, plus sour cream and scallions and bacon, and just enough pepper and not quite enough salt. Somehow it was still too much.
Last summer I added a new fruit cobbler to the dessert stable, after its recipe showed up in one of the cooking magazines that comes to the house. It's credited to Gerry, and this blackberry cobbler got high marks on its earlier appearances. A sweet treat like this is always better when some homemade ice cream can join the bowlful of fun, and I was reminded of how much I love ice cream and how much I've been missing it lately. Such was the dessert from last Saturday night.
"Gerry's Blackberry Cobbler," by Baritone Bob. In allrecipes, Summer 2024, p. 43. Also found online at AllRecipes.com. [Updated 14 January 2022]
"Sweet Milk Ice Cream," published in the King Arthur Flour catalogue some years ago, but no longer available on their website.
Since I'd made a big ol' batch of Cuban Lechón Carne Asada for pulled pork sandwiches the previous week, it seemed a wise call to use some of the leftovers for Cuban pork sheet pan nachos when boys' night rolled around last Saturday. Boosted with a fresh batch of lime crema, topped with sliced red onion and black beans and summer crisp corn, these well-cheesed nachos were a happy indulgence for the three of us.
Sheet Pan Nachos based on "Loaded Sweet Pork Sheet Pan Nachos," from Elyse of Six Sisters Stuff. [Published 14 March 2018 / Updated 20 September 2024]
"Easy Lime Crema," from Lisa Bryan of DownShiftology.com. [Published 22 April 2020 / Updated 07 May 2020]
Riffing on a recipe that actually called for blackberries, I reached for a new recipe for a raspberry buttermilk cake and had it ready at snacking time last Saturday morning. Not only was it something I'd wanted to make to employ that clamshell of fruity raspberry goodness, but I also had high hopes it would be useful for the youthful appetites of the terrific film students who were back for a bit of morning filming in one of the guest bedrooms upstairs.
Adapted from "Blackberry Buttermilk Cake," by Sue Moran of The View from Great Island. [Published 23 September 2024]
In what felt like a return of dear old friends, some now-familiar faces from the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts found their way back to the house at the end of last week. Once more, Hank was a model director, and Grant was the keen-eyed cinematographer, and the actors included two returners and two new Roediger House friends. For scenes set in an AirBnB for the storyline, they had their eye on one of the guest bedrooms, along with the foyer and the front of the house.
It continues to be such a joy to see these artists in action, and I love the spirit and energy they bring to the house. This was a smaller and simpler production, an execution of a script by Hank and his loving collaborator Emma, and it'll be a treat when he shares the finished project with me.
After dinner Friday night, and in anticipation of the small UNCSA film crew using the house as one of its set locations, I put together a quick but suitable batch of lemon sugar cookies, with high hopes the students might find them tasty and appealing. That was certainly the case for me, when I sampled an early one straight from the hot pan before they arrived. A few were gladly surrendered in baggies when the night wrapped up so that they might have more for later that night!
"Lemon Sugar Cookies," from Melissa Stadler of ModernHoney.com. [Published 21 March 2016]
More than likely, it's the sense of victory or accomplishment after finishing my taxes that explains why a pack of thick porterhouse steaks becomes too difficult to resist at the grocery. It's ironic, too, because that mass of properly-sequenced forms had just made abundantly clear that being self-employed is actually very expensive...I should've been buying pork chops or chicken thighs instead! But late Friday afternoon, with fully sunny skies and the soothing warmth of temps around 80°F, it was hard to imagine it could be any better than that.
Made even more special because of the recent gift of a nice bottle of olive oil from dear friend and recent visitor Donna, which was the essential coating for the baked potato steak fries, and their seasoned salt coating, the steaks also got a light rub of that olive oil, helping the kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper adhere. It was a scrumptious meal, all beefy and bold, and a perfect way to suggest that summer is on its way.
Last Thursday involved an extra special treat: an overnight visit from former student Byron Hoover, Wake Forest University Class of 2003, who came for dinner and a great evening of hanging out and talking family and education and writing and life. He has always been impressive and is one of the finest teachers I know, but he is also a delightful conversationalist, a deep thinker, and pretty darned funny as well. I am grateful for these school ties that endure. And he was willing to eat supper that night: Cuban Lechón Asado, piled onto brioche buns, smeared with creamy cilantro lime sauce, topped with Mexican street taco BBQ sauce, and accompanied by the latest batch of Mexican coleslaw. We had our fill of that goodness and retired to the old men's chairs for our free-ranging convo.
"Slow Cooker Cuban Lechón Asado," from Cory Fernandez of TheKitchn.com. [Published 10 December 2022]
"Mexican Chipotle Street Taco BBQ Sauce," a Roediger House original recipe. [First Made 08 May 2023]
"Cilantro Lime Sauce," from Alexa Blay of Key to My Lime. [Published 04 September 2019]
Mexican Coleslaw assembled using:
After getting grandly chastised for failing to achieve a dessert for a recent dinner gathering, I was determined not to be in anyone's crosshairs again. Last Wednesday night that meant a quick prep of chocolate sugar cookies, served warm and even a tad gooey, while the evening was still young. It occurred to me that the soft centers might suggest instead that these were brownie batter cookies. Well, they weren't quite that undercooked, but they were wonderfully over the top on the taste front. I have too many good cookie recipes, if there is such a thing.
"Chocolate Sugar Cookies," by Lindsay Conchar of LifeLoveandSugar.com. [Published 25 November 2020]
Wednesday was a brilliantly sunny day but the strong breezes of the cold front passing through kept a fall-like ambiance in place for any outside ventures. It was a special evening of three at the dinner table, and it seemed right for returning to the homemade version of open-face chicken salad melts, piled nicely on brioche buns and lightly toasted. For those so inclined, Sun Chips added to the dinner's goodness, as Sun Chips are designed to do.
"Chicken Salad Melt," a Roediger House original recipe.
Freshly chopped Romaine hearts and homemade creamy Caesar dressing were key to tasty fresh salads last Monday night, with spiced chicken tenderloins from the sous vide. Somehow it was all too abundant, and no bowls were left clean! I wonder if it's in part because of how surprisingly warm it got, after two recent frost-warning evenings: we spiked up to 83°F while I was deep in the horrors of doing my own taxes!
Last Sunday I was sort of stuck when it was time for menu planning, and I gravitated toward the broccoli and ground beef in the fridge. Just to shake things up, and to see what I could whip up, I made beef and broccoli rice bowls, going with sushi rice for a change of pace. Pulling from this and that, I made a basic stir-fry sauce. It was passable but not worth repeating.
It feels better to have some snacks on hand when dear friends Donna and Ebbie venture down from Virginia, and the two I put together for their visit last weekend were repeats from previous trips: sugar peanuts...
...and southwestern dip with tortilla chips. We dug into each, in moderation, but who has time to nibble much when there's so much to talk about before the clock governing our reunion runs out?!
It truly means so much to me not only that we began as colleagues and then became great friends, but also that they have repeatedly made the effort to come down to Winston-Salem. This fourth occasion was every bit the delight as were the previous ones in 2018, 2023, and 2024.
"Southwestern Dip," in Betty Crocker Monthly Recipes, December 2001.
"Sugar Peanuts," long a staple of holiday gatherings in the Jones Family household. Recipe from my mother.
On the second evening of the 2025 visit of marvelous colleagues from Virginia, the dinner we sat down to was intended to be a special one: deviled beef short ribs, mashed potatoes, and roasted herbed asparagus spears. The sweet mustard sauce for adornment seemed to hit the right accompanying note as well, and more good wine was poured first into glasses and then into us. That Friday night continued our chilled rain event but that was just the incentive we needed to indulge in the long post-dinner conversation, the easy laughs, the happy reminiscences, the spirited consideration of topics thorny and mundane...and quite a few more pieces of delicious shortbread cookies.
"Deviled Beef Short Ribs," by Jeremy Sauer. In Cook's Country, April/May 2014, p. 12-13.
While it seems that life is always pretty good here at the Roediger House, there's no escaping how special it is when the super superintendents from the Shenandoah Valley come down for a visit. Longtime friends and colleagues Donna and Ebbie braved the truck-saturated madness of Interstate 81 and the traffic wreck back-up of US 220 around Martinsville to journey to Winston-Salem last Thursday for their latest, and still too short, visit. We are talkers, fully wound-up to catch up, well-tuned to vent and process the miserable morass of these present days, and at suppertime we are also hungry. Under their watchful eyes and helped along with the excellent wine they brought, I put together a pot of cheddar potato soup that turned out pretty hearty and delicious.
Our unfortunate string of uncooperative weather for their visits these last few years persisted, and we listened to the rain outside the south parlour while we began our time together, and then in the kitchen while the soup seemed right for that grey evening...but warm and delighted were we in the comforts of this old home. The dinner concluded with samplings of three variations of shortbread Ebbie had made, recognizing that multiple bites of multiple pieces might be required to render our fair pleased verdicts. And then there was pool up on the third floor, and lots of laughs and hearty chuckles and reminiscences...before we entered the evening's final chapter mulling over all the problems of the world while remaining ever grateful that we have this time together.
"Cheddar Potato Soup," from the Roediger House. Adapted from "Potato and Cheese Soup," from KitchenArt: The Store for Cooks [now closed] in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Last Wednesday night, with Amy and Gern here for dinner, I made a reasonably quick return to Filipino Chicken Adobo. I jumped over a step or two, cheated the crew out of some of the flavor that's usually there, and yet it was still awfully darned good. We had white rice to soak up that sauce, and hoisin-glazed roasted whole green beans. It was a comforting meal given that the morning started off with a low of 36°F, a shock to the system after last week's record-breaking heat (the record had been set in 1934!).
"Introducing Chicken Adobo," by Bryan Roof. In Cook's Illustrated, March & April 2012, p. 6-7.
Given the chores I'd assigned to myself last Sunday, and with an evening visit by UNC-Chapel Hill colleague Chris Faison that evening, I opted for a doable simplicity at suppertime: sheet pan beef nachos. These are always rewarding, full of great flavors, seductively inviting of huge dollops of sour cream, and offering the bonus of decent enough leftovers. It was a marvelous visit with Chris, and he seemed to approve of the menu.
Sheet Pan Nachos seriously modified from "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]
The first mowing of the season finally took place last Sunday afternoon. I’ve not gotten to spread seed nor fertilizer so it was spottily overgrown and I’ve got too many weeds trying to get a foothold. Ah, but I do like it when it is freshly shorn.
A second chore that day was blowing all the spring tree detritus off the driveway and into a scoopable pile for disposal. It’s not hard work but it does take time.
There was one other major chore but here comes the backstory. A bit down on his luck, held back by a drinking problem that might be marked more by surrender than battle, a former neighbor’s need of water for his problem-plagued station wagon was instrumental in leaving the outside faucet running after he filled up his jug. That is why I also got to spend Sunday afternoon running the shop vac to get rid of the flooding in the cellar during our short record-breaking April heatwave. Hey: at least my pumping situation still worked like a charm because otherwise that would have been a lot of buckets to tote sloshily up the stairs and out the back!
Water in the cellar: not guaranteed with every rain or snow system, but a recurring issue nonetheless: see 2010, 2013, 2020, and 2024. The dilemma usually is not manmade, though!
On the very last day with the very last cohort within the larger 2024-2025 High Point University Leadership Academy group, when we were practicing coaching conversations at Jamestown Middle School, I also wanted us to have cookies to enjoy. When I arrived there last Thursday morning I had a bag filled with jumbo Cap'n Crunch cookies, boosted with caramel popcorn flavoring, and sweet and rewarding. The group seemed to think they turned out all right. And I was quite sad for us to reach the end of our very good extended time together over the last 15 months.
"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.
Wednesday's suppertime rolled around and I was so glad it could be another session of salmon, better with broccoli, everything roasted just the way I like it.
Partaking of such a rewarding dinner seemed called for, as it was my final day with a subgroup of aspiring administrators in the High Point University Leadership Academy's latest active cohort. They are such terrific educators, and pretty darned marvelous people, and I am not fond of seeing our work come to an end. But they made it another fantastic day and it's always better to feel like we finish up on a high note. I see great things ahead for them and cannot wait to watch it all play out.
As the first day of April came around last Tuesday, and with all the good feels of better weather upon me, I was ready to head outside to the grill and whip up some smashburgers. The buns were buttered and toasted, I had burger sauce at the ready, those patties spread out nicely and got a decent enough sear (but I'm still learning and refining my technique!), and the cheese was plenty oozy. It can be a two-handed affair to consume but it is always a smashing success.
"Simple Smashburgers," from the Roediger House. [Published 04 September 2024] I make no claim that these are the right steps for you, but as long as I've recorded them for myself, I thought I'd make a recipe sheet available should anyone like it.
With ripe bananas at the ready and a day with principal interns on the agenda last Tuesday, I started early and managed to whip up a couple of pretty decent loaves of banana bread. I realize there are a million recipes with all these small variations, but I do believe this is the right approach for me. The crew I was with seemed to think their slices were tasty!
Dear friend Beth Childers passed through Winston-Salem Monday night and it was a pleasure to have her at the dinner table. Riffing on a baked ziti recipe so that I could use brown rice penne, we enjoyed hearty portions along with a smattering of over-dressed Caesar salad. The focus was on the delight of her all-too-short visit, while the supper was perhaps good enough to go along with it.
Adapted from "Baked Ziti," Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats.com. [Published 07 March 2020 / Updated 10 January 2023]
Winston-Salem had a pretty pleasant final Saturday of March, and after a pretty full week that ended with a late night in Chapel Hill, it was great to be chillin' the day away. For supper, I had to be tame: roasted salmon atop spring mix with homemade creamy Caesar dressing. This was the ideal call, and once more was I a happy salmon supperer.
Based on "Easy Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing," by Kim Hardesty of lowcarbmaven.com.
Last Friday found me back in Sampson County for a final time this school year, a wrap-up session with the administrators from the Targeted Support and Instruction initiative that brought me there to begin with. Our focus was on Instructional Design, and I was dedicated to the challenge of challenging them. To soften my many blows, though, I also brought along a pretty sizable collection of DoubleTree-style chocolate chip cookies that I'd made the night before. With high hopes that a few hours' age on them wouldn't impair the good flavors, I offered those delicious cookies in individual baggies given that our caution for germs and sickness has remained strong in these years since the Covid pandemic. I think they were well-received and perhaps even appreciated!
"DoubleTree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies," by Ayşegül Sanford and her blog, Foolproof Living. [Published December 29, 2013 / Updated 07 December 2020] Official DoubleTree recipe from Hilton.com was released to the public on 09 April 2020.
There was a lot going on last week, and Thursday evening needed to be an easy dinner. That ended up being sausage, onion, and potato hash, something I could throw together in about an hour with a very satisfying result. Once more, perhaps I was a little too generous with the spice level, and I had to draw on a couple of large tumblers of ice water...but I was a contented homedweller once the supper was concluded.
A little sweet treat was called for last Wednesday night, and I thought I'd try a fun new twist on dessert. I do mean that literally, because it was puff pastry cinnamon twists, with a vanilla glaze. I didn't know what the heck I was doing and I thought it was going to be a bit of a disaster...alas: apparently it's hard to mess up. Simple and delicious, not so very difficult, rewarding: all that adds up to success.
