Meal No. 3832: Smashburgers!

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.

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"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.

Carolyn's Banana Bread

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!

Meal No. 3831: Baked Penne Casserole

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.

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Adapted from "Baked Ziti," Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTinEats.com. [Published 07 March 2020 / Updated 10 January 2023]

Meal No. 3830: Salmon Caesar Salads

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.

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Based on "Easy Lemon Caesar Salad Dressing," by Kim Hardesty of lowcarbmaven.com.

DoubleTree-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

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!

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"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.

Meal No. 3829: Hot Sausage Hash

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.

Puff Pastry Cinnamon Twists

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.