Cinnamon-Chai Oatmeal Cookies

Not that my belly was in need of them, although I might've bellyached if I'd denied them to myself, it felt like a fresh batch of cookies was called for last Friday night. Digging back into the recipe magazine archive, I came out with a much-loved take on cinnamon-chai oatmeal cookies, and I have to say: they were the best I could ever remember that night. I guess it was one of those times that the amounts and temperatures and mixing and scoop size and cook time all worked in heavenly harmony so that I had to eat three at a minimum.

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Based on: "Caramel-Chai Oatmeal Cookies," in Cuisine at Home, September/October 2013, p. 47.

Meal No. 3906 & 3907 & 3913: Salad Suppers

Once more this past Friday, the sous vide made dinner easier, with herbed chicken breasts I'd put away in the freezer a while back. These were diced once done and put atop a mixed butter lettuce salad, which was dressed with the last of a souped-up homemade Thousand Island dressing. Of course, in this household, there will be roasted sunflower seeds, too, when I remember them. That was Meal No. 3906.

The next day, it was another fine salad, this time a pile of power greens dressed in homemade creamy Caesar. Some perfectly cooked filet mignon, brought to the proper temperature via sous vide and then seared in the skillet, was scattered on top. Meal No. 3907: an even better salad.

It was certainly not a day for grilling, as a heatwave made for dangerous weather. It may have registered mid-90s, but the heat index was quite something.

Fast forward to the first Sunday evening of August and you'll find another round of chicken from the sous vide sitting on a tasty spring mix with a more recent batch of Thousand Island dressing to coat it all. It occurs to me that I must've endured too many restaurant salads that were skimpily dressed, because when I have my own homemade supply, I can drench some greens.

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"Thousand Island Dressing," which was based on a version from Graybert on GeniusKitchen.com.

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

Meal No. 3905: Chicken Quesadillas for the Inaugural Blackstone Griddling

The weather moderated for just a day last week between bouts of high heat, humidity, and storms (with occasionally heavy downpours). I took full advantage of that fine Wednesday in two ways: yard work in the neglected rear of the house, and bringing out the brand new Blackstone Griddle for its trial run.

A few folks on the interwebs suggest onions are a good first cook, and that's the route I took (the start of that process is captured from the back door security camera, above). Then I added sweet bell pepper to also cook down a bit, and over to the side went a pounded spiced breast of chicken. Once everything was cooked, I laid down jumbo tortillas, added cotija cheese, started piling on the diced chicken and peppers and onions; I added more of the cotija until it seemed well-covered. Another tortilla went on top and I let the griddle do its magic.

While there were bumps and stumbles, and a few moments of aggravation, and I did get good and sweaty, the three of us were all pretty pleased at how excellently it all turned out. I'm sure the homemade guacamole helped!

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Based on "Homemade Guacamole," from Joan Hallford (North Richland Hills, TX). From Taste of Home online. [Printed 05 September 2018 / Updated Online 22 December 2023]

Meal No. 3904: Kung Pao Chicken

Tuesday evening brought another delightful visit from Chris, a UNC chum and fellow Argonaut in the Order of the Golden Fleece. With high hopes it might prove a satisfactory menu, I opted for a kung pao chicken stir-fry, and it seemed to satisfy. With that terrific combination of flavors, tender morsels of chicken, a suitable mix of onion and sweet bell pepper and asparagus, all with a saucy goodness to bring the rice bed together, we cleaned our bowls and found our way to seconds. Sweet Sumner, for his part, was happy to be close by as the leisurely dinner played out:

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Very loosely based on ideas from "Kung Pao [Chicken]" (p. 80) with Szechwan Marinade (p. 28) and Spicy Peanut Stir-Fry Sauce (p. 27). In Wok Fast, by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. Ten Speed Press (Berkeley/Toronto), 2002.

Bringing In the Blackstone

Our most recent television upgrade came with bonus savings because I also bit the bullet and ordered a new 36-inch Blackstone griddle as well. Between small experiments with add-on cast iron grill plates, plus too many appealing Instagram posts, it had me hungry for this new venture in the grilling arts. People seem to really like this model, from the reviews I explored, and I was ready for its fun new challenges. When standing before it in its finished configuration, I realize it’s pretty sizable for this household...and yet the joys of entertaining will prove it a rewarding indulgence as I work my way into a state of fair competence in its use.

It was a pleasant Thursday evening (back on July 17th) spent putting it together in the front entryway of the house, albeit in light that this old man should have recognized was a bit too dim for such an endeavor. (After the grueling paces that the TV set-up put me through earlier that Thursday, this was nonetheless a calming pursuit.) A little less calming was realizing its eventual placement on the back patio pad would compel me to do a bit of backyard cleanup, long overdue, and so gone are the unwieldy butterfly bushes, the horrendous Tree of Heaven invader, and the wildly inappropriate ornamental grass I'd foolishly planted at the end of the firewood rack. (Click here to see a photo from 2020 when I was just beginning the back yard rehab; the shrubbery shows itself against the back wall of the house.)

One implication of the new griddle was I had to relocate the firewood rack, which had also been recommended by the pest control guys:

With ample YouTube guidance to steer me, I went through the multiple stages of seasoning and preparation in the calm and still-warm following Friday evening (that's the photo at the top of this blog post). I’d already secured some of the extra equipment to make my exploits come together more coherently. I gathered a few recipes I was hyped to try. I confess that I make myself feel better when I realize it cost in 2025 about half of what my Weber gas grill cost in 2014, and only two-thirds of what the less-than-satisfying kamado grill cost in 2013.

That meant tackling the arrangement of grilling equipment on the tiny patio pad that I had hoped (in 2012) would be just temporary. Maybe this new griddle will proved to be a lot more expensive, when I go back to considering putting in a patio back there.

That Friday had another overdue task on it: I sold my trusty but aged-and-high-mileaged 2010 Volkswagen CC. Just short of 228,000 on the odometer, it was due for license tag renewal, state inspection, and another six months of insurance. I knew it had to go and am glad to check this latest item off the too-long list.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Last Saturday's boys' night involved fried chicken sandwiches, three movies, and a dessert of lemon meringue pie. This recipe, that I came across quite a long time ago, really is just about perfect just about every time. Usually I try to savor desserts like this, but I inhaled my slice.

I'll confess that it turned out to be so pleasing that I turned right around and made another one the following Tuesday night, when fellow UNC alum Chris came for dinner. While the crust did not behave as well as I'd've liked, it was still a fine pie.

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

Meal No. 3903: Copycat Chick-Fil-A Sandwiches

For the first time in almost three years, it was time for some tasty fried chicken sandwiches last Saturday night. The most excellent Mookie, whose first time at the house in 2012 was marked with this very menu, was on hand for the occasion. Soaked first in pickle juice, then dipped in egg and milk, followed by a nicely-spiced flour coating, the flattened chicken breast portions go into hot oil for just a short fry. The brioche buns, slathered with Duke's mayo, and no pickles for me, are receptive beds for these tasty filets. The buns may have been a bit large compared to the chicken, depending on which piece one might have grabbed, but it was still a tasty fried chicken sandwich.

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"Chick-Fil-A Copycat Sandwich," by Hilah Johnson. From Hilah Cooking. [Published June 2012]

A Class of 83 TV

Above you can see the television upgrade that sits in daunting repose on that terrific entertainment center my good friend and UNC suitemate Ronnie built for us.

That rascal looks huge and hulking to me, in all its svelte thinness (when viewed from the side). But it’s sort of a monstrosity, as I consider what it looked like as the delivery guys brought it in, and then as it sat waiting to be unboxed and set up.

The visiting crew from Oklahoma talked us into upgrading to Apple TV for managing our streaming as well. After two Amazon Firesticks that never met expectations, and with which we could never get the audio to sync, this was an overdue reckoning.

While I find it pretty troubling how short might be the lifespan of major electronics, and knowing we might have limped along another year or so or more with our current LG OLED TV, its screen had developed some annoying green line burn-ins and some major green splotching across multiple areas that did not seem to be remediable. Costco happened to have a nice price on this model with a larger screen (83 in) for less than I’d previously shelled out back in 2018 for the departing model (55 in), and a summer special on Costco Direct added mightily to the savings.

I have to say: I would love for this to be the last TV I have to buy, but that’s a ridiculous wish. I definitely can’t imagine thinking any larger than this would ever be needed even in the generous spaces of the mancave. (And yes: it's diagonal measurement lets me pay title tribute to my high school graduation year.) Just having to dispose of all the styrofoam might be a sufficient disincentive!

But the three hours it took once it was plugged in and turned on to properly log in, to load all the apps, to sign in to all the streaming services, to manage Smart connectivity, to go in and out of menu options and settings and aborted configurations, to get booted out of the LG app every time it told me to connect to some other app’s features (and then to have to start all over again)...to have inexplicable “unverified errors” even from the Apple TV set-up...

It was one of those evening’s to regret that I mostly have given up drinking.

Meal No. 3902: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Upcoming blog posts will offer up the particulars of how last Thursday was spent, but the day didn't leave time for making a proper meal. So as evening came on, I had to go with easy and quick pancakes for supper, with the ever-dependable buttermilk take that's been the staple around here for quite a while. With vanilla-infused maple syrup to slop in heavy proportions, I was content with those satisfying disks of griddled origin.

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"Best Tips for Making Pancakes: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes," by Joanne Ozug on the Pioneer Woman website. [Published 10 May 2017]

Peach Butter Swim Biscuit Cobbler

While I think we all may have been too full for any dessert this past Wednesday, we still stuck with tradition and had it anyway. To accomplish it in a short window of time, I thought I'd bring back for a second trial the peach butter swim biscuit cobbler that showed up here just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, the brown sugar-butter-cinnamon portion did not infuse as well this time, and I felt like I was eating peaches and plain dough as a result. So: not quite what I'd hoped it would be and I did not try to hold onto the remnants for later.

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"Peach Butter Swim Biscuits," from Zakia Boyd. On Instagram: zeetheintrovert. [Published 17 May 2025]

Meal No. 3901: Bacon & Caramelized Onion Quiche

After two days up in Virginia for a math conference, I was so happy to make an early afternoon return to Winston-Salem last Wednesday. As it got closer to dinnertime, knowing we'd be enjoying another delightful evening with Amy here, I finally decided we should have a bacon and caramlized onion quiche, in a homemade pie crust. On the side, we had some roasted herbed very thin asparagus spears. I still have a long way to go in being proficient with pie crusts, I know, but we still seemed to find it tasty enough for a weeknight!

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Recipe based on "Bacon and Caramelized Onion Quiche," from Mountain Mama Cooks.

"Pie Crust Recipe," from Sam Merritt of SugarSpunRun.com. [Published 08 November 2021 / Updated 14 November 2023 ]

The View from Up and Away

On the quiet final Sunday of September back in 2014, my friend Connie Frye was in the neighborhood, and she offered to take me to the upper balconies both of the GMAC Building (now 500 W 5th) and the residential Nissen Building (with its small pool on the roof!). The photo above from 2014 is looking at the house from the Nissen's pool deck.

A more recent Sunday (13 July 2025) found good friend Mookie on that Nissen Building roof, and he sent a couple of photos. Man: there’s been some development around here since I last had that view! With a new Marriott Courtyard in the foreground, and the completed residential developments of West End Station and 4th & Green, I am happily reminded of the progress of downtown.

Meal No. 3900: Chicken Salad Melts

My run of repeat and unimaginative meals has continued, as evidenced by the straightforward unremarkable chicken salad melts I whipped up mid-day last Sunday. Don't misunderstand: I think these are actually quite good, and the enhanced take on your run-of-the-mill chicken salad offers up zest and zing, a mild bit of heat, and a grand mix of various flavors. The less-common inclusion of fresh-snipped chives was a bonus. Served as a pair of open-faced cheese-draped piles atop a thick slice of tomato, itself astride a brioche bun, I clearly over-did it and my consumer's joy became eater's regret in short order.

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Based on "Chicken Salad Melt," a Roediger House original recipe.

Meal No. 3898 & 3899: Salads Topped with Chicken

For both Friday and Saturday nights last weekend, supper was suitable thanks to the sous vide, because of how easy it was to cook up some chicken breasts I'd prepped and put in the freezer. On Friday, it was herbed chicken on simple salads of baby spinach. Of course, it's gonna be tastier with my homemade Thousand Island dressing, no?

On Saturday, I shook things up and chose spiced chicken breasts to drop into the immersion circulator, to go atop a fresh spring mix. There seemed to be no reason to divert from that same Thousand Island dressing, though. Both nights were better because of roasted salted sunflower seeds!

Friday was a full day, as the house emptied out that morning from its crew of guests here from Oklahoma. That meant firing up the washing machine for several loads of laundry, tackling dishes, restoring various spaces to their usual arrangements, and getting back outside for a few tasks, like completely cleaning out my 2010 Volkswagen CC and also washing the Toyota Tundra. I might've worked up a pretty good appetite.

Ina Garten's Lemon Bars

Once we'd let our respective chili dinners settle a bit last Thursday evening, it was time for a dessert to make its grand appearance. While it wasn't anything new, the gathered crew made me feel like they thought it was special to once again find plates with Ina Garten's lemon bars on them. With enough powdered sugar to choke on if you breathed just a little wrong, these sweet treats still packed a tangy punch and we happily licked our puckered lips.

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"Lemon Bars," by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. Published in Barefoot Contessa Parties!, Clarkson Potter Publishers, 2001.

Meal No. 3897: Beef and Vegetarian Chilis

An awesome gathering of ten worked its way down the long counter in the kitchen, where the dinner guests found either beef or vegetarian chili, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and a big ol’ pan of Granny Wilson’s honey wheat cornbread. That was last Thursday’s absolute highlight, and a long-anticipated reunion of friends both local and distant. It was a rare evening that required the accommodating spaces of the dining room, which lends an air of special celebration to a night like that.

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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.

Chocolate Meringue Pie

Sunday a week ago found me ready to serve up a second pie of the weekend: chocolate meringue pie. My gracious, this simple concoction always transports me to my much younger days, and even when it’s not great it’s still pretty darned good. I’d made it intending for it to be shared with guests and ended up glad to selfishly hold onto it for the homestead instead.

The third named tropical storm of the season formed fast and slid onto land quickly on July’s first Sunday, giving us a good steady drenching from early afternoon onward. As is often the case, we get those outer western bands but were saved from Chantal’s harsh winds. With a lot of travel in the week that followed, I had to go ahead and catch a couple of films at a/pperture cinema: 28 Years Later and The Phoenician Scheme. With an oversized umbrella, it was an easy stroll there and back.

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

Lemon Buttermilk Pie

As July got underway and the happy crew of regulars was here on its first Saturday, I'd put together a lemon buttermilk pie using a recipe clipping stored long ago in my binder. I'd like to have had a stronger lemon punch and more sweetness, because my sweet tooth is hard to satisfy, but we were suprisingly satisfied nonetheless.

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This recipe originally came from the Taste of Home website but is no longer available online. [Printed 03 July 2009]

Meal No. 3896: Boogaloo Wonderland Sandwiches

It might not be the proper way to describe the feature at our dinner gathering of six on the first Saturday of July, but to me it conveys the spirit of this creation by telling you it's a Detroit-style sloppy joe. These Boogaloo Wonderland Sandwiches have been a hit here for the last seven years, and that gorgeous Saturday demanded too much outside time for me to be cooped up inside on some grand spread.

I do think the crew was all right with the chef's menu, though, especially with the new addition of a Mexican street corn macaroni salad alongside. Instead of sub rolls, I do often opt for open-faced on brioche buns, still sinfully topped with that American cheese. The plates were well-cleaned once the table was cleared and yet we all still saved a bit of room for dessert. Stay tuned to tomorrow's blog post.

That Saturday was a cutting-grass day, but I also caught the lilies blooming in the back in the right angle of sunshine for a couple of photos. They really are gorgeous and full of themselves this year!

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Adapted from "Boogaloo Wonderland Sandwiches," by Bryan Roof. In Cook's Country, April/May 2018, p. 4-5.

Based on "Street Corn Pasta Salad," from Lauren Allen of Tastes Better from Scratch. [Published 30 June 2024]

Meal No. 3895: Juicy Burgers on the Grill

Last Friday was a gorgeous summer day to coincide with the Fourth of July. I finally talked myself into one of my overdue yard projects: trimming a bunch of limbs from the Bradford pear tree in the side yard. And from that I worked up a pretty good appetite. The holiday, the weather, the belly rumbles: I knew of no smarter option than juicy burgers on the grill, well-covered with doubled cheese, plus homemade souped-up Thousand Island dressing on the brioche buns.

When I first stepped outside to light the grill, though, I was distracted by a plaintive cry, coming from under the firewood rack behind me. I opened up the rack cover enough and spotted a poor left-behind fur-ball.

I fetched some tucked-away cat food that I have on hand, more often used when it's necessary to trap a feral cat. But it was the cool water that seemed much more appreciated by this booger with its beautiful eyes. I pulled it out just to give it a quick look-see, and it had a lame rear leg.

That's the reason the shelter took her when I bundled her up on the first Saturday of July: because she had an injury they'd try to help her recover from or heal and then put her up for adoption. I think some family could really love her, with all her sweetness and readiness for human contact. We just could not be that family.

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Adapted from "Grilled 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.

"Thousand Island Dressing," which was based on a version from Graybert on GeniusKitchen.com.