Meal No. 4137: Caesar Salad with Filet Mignon

Dateline: Mon 22 June. Just before storms hit on the second evening of summer, the Roediger House dinner fare centered on Caesar salads with filet mignon, a wonderfully hearty treat made easier by the sous vide immersion circulator and a good finishing pan sear.

That Monday was also the occasion of Sumner’s 10th birthday, sweet and precious pup that he is. Words cannot capture how fortunate it is to have found him, or to have had him find the Roediger House. Adopted from our local Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation when he was about 9 months old, he has been a genuine joy and the absolute best boy in the world.

When a fast-moving storm rolled over us right after dinner clean-up was completed, we lost power in an instant.

Most of the Holly Avenue Neighborhood, plus the east side of the West End Neighborhood (here on our side of Broad Street), as well as First Baptist and Centenary Methodist and Calvary Moravian Churches, were all dark. Power was restored around 9:45 pm.

I strolled that evening through our powerless section of downtown, clocking in at about 2.5 miles, because old men survey the “damage” like that. When I got back to the house at 9:30 pm, I tried to snag a photo of this uncharacteristic dark, but my iPhone camera did quite a bit to compensate. Still, it’s an eerie shot that I kind of dig.

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

Meal No. 4133: Not So Cajun Chicken

Dateline: Thur 18 June. From Meal No. 1 in 2009 to Meal No. 4133, I offer for your consideration the simply excellent Not So Cajun Chicken. Long depended on as a special occasion meal, or something to serve first-time guests, this dish has recurred less frequently but it has not been forgotten or sidelined. My college roommate Jimmy pulled up this recipe by scouring the interwebs and locating it in a South Carolina newspaper, if memory serves, after he and I met up for a meal at that old Raleigh favorite haunt known as Crowley's. That must've been late 2004 or early 2005 and I have thoroughly enjoyed its long history among Roediger House staples.

Just like I have enjoyed the almost-10-year-old sweet boy Sumner, captured here after a bit of rain that afternoon.

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"Not So Cajun Chicken," a dish I regularly enjoyed at Crowley's Old Time Favorites restaurant and bar on Medlin Drive in Raleigh, NC. (Another version of the recipe can be found here.) A heap of thanks is due to Jimmy Randolph for tracking down the recipe for me.

Meal No. 4119: Pork Chops and Two Sides

The final day of May occurred a week ago Sunday, and it was a standard meal of a meat and two sides. I took advantage of the sous vide immersion circulator to bring to perfect temp a trio of prepped pork chops from a Costco value-pak. I added in canned green beans and some stovetop stuffing, and I think the diners were happy enough with the results.

It was another lovely day in downtown Winston-Salem, with good yard time with the pups. Sumner was happy to soak up sun, as is his bent, and it also gave me a chance to spy the earliest blooms on the amazing astra blue balloon flowers that grow on either side of the front steps.

Meal No. 4116: Fried Chicken Fingers

With a mix of ideas in my head and not enough sense to follow somebody else's recipe, I made chicken fingers on the final Thursday evening of May. The weather had turned nice and I was in a picnic mindset, maybe, but I dipped and breaded and fried thin slices of chicken breast and also whipped up a quick batch of cabbage slaw to go with it. I also made both a honey-mustard sauce and a fast-food-style barbecue-enhanced version of the same. The dipping sauces were on point, the breading was not as pronounced as I'd hoped on the chicken, and the slaw was a faithful side ride.

Sumner took up his favorite spot beneath our guest's feet, as he is sweetly contented to do.

But his preference earlier in the day was to splay out on the driveway in order to soak up as much as he could of the welcome sunshine on a dazzling late spring day.

And that morning's appearance of the first daylily bloom at the back door seemed earlier than past years. But no less lovely!

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"5 Minute Honey Mustard Sauce," by Lindsay of PinchofYum.com. [Published 22 July 2015]

Groundhog Vanquishing No. 1

Oh, gentle readers: this post comes with a warning if you are on the more skittish side of the natural world's cruelty line. But the RoHo blog favors full documentation of all things Roediger House, and last Monday offered up a new encounter with wildlife for the resident pooches.

It proved distracting, while sitting at the kitchen table in deep conversation with visiting friends and colleagues Donna and Ebbie, to see a groundhog traipsing across the neighboring gravel lot. But when it came back over to the backyard here, it brought back to mind the trouble caused by the one that took up residence in the crawl space right beneath us. Initially all I could do was corner it under my Camry.

I summoned for backup in the form of two eager household hunters and they were more than equal to the task. As that potentially pesky invader and destructive digger tried to bolt from under the car, Sumner was on him in a flash, and Scarlett was close behind. And yes: I was a proud papa punching up the camera app on his phone to document the battle royale. The rascal put up a good fight but he was not equal to the double-teaming of our yard guards. I will spare you the final photo of him but you may depend on the fact that he is now a 6-feet-under-ground-hog.

Groundhog sightings ain't the most regular part of life on this cozy quarter acre, but they have occurred from time to time (in 2022 and 2024). With the tag-team duo to dominate him, this particular groundhog will not be making camp under my house like one of his relations.

Meal No. 4104: Wildly Ambiguous Chicken Philly Cheesesteaks

Very little about Saturday evening's supper for four would be recognizable as a traditional Philly cheesesteak, even though it attempted to take varying inspirations from that iconic sandwich. For instance: the protein was chicken, a combination of grilled spiced chicken (leftover from the previous evening) and some freshly pan-seared thin-cut breast strips. I mixed red and Vidalia onions as well as two strongly-flavored red bell peppers in seasonings and flavorings. The obscene cheese sauce was a combination of Velveeta and cheddar. We tried to manage it all on brioche hamburger buns. And we all seemed to enjoy them just fine.

Speaking of enjoying, this is certainly Sumner's time of the year. What I get from him throughout the day is a plaintive stare that says: "The sun is shining outside, not in the kitchen." And that beautiful blonde boy is always ready to use that gorgeous coat of his to soak up as fully as possible all the warm rays as they tumble down upon this great green earth.

But it's more than that: it's just being outside. After dinner and clean-up, when I thought we'd head upstairs to finish out the evening, he made clear he had other ideas. There just might be people coming back to their cars after a dinner at nearby Quanto Basta, or maybe he just needs to stretch out and feel the evening breeze and the spring grass grazing his belly.

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Philly Cheesesteaks based on a combination of ideas from:

• "Chicken Philly Cheese Steak," by Brandi Burgess of Aunt Bee's Recipes. Posted 11 September 2014.
• "Philly Chicken Cheesesteak Sandwich," from the Creole Contessa. Posted 30 July 2013.
• "Homemade Chicken Cheesesteaks," by Jessica Merchant of How Sweet It Is. Posted 05 September 2012.

Meal No. 4087: Grilled Chicken Caesar Wraps

Oh my goodness: Sunday a week ago the main meal of the day appeared at lunchtime, and it was a delicious doozy, if I may say so. Something I scrolled past on Instagram planted the idea to make grilled chicken Caesar wraps with the final two burrito shells still hanging out in the fridge. I prepped and seasoned some flattened chicken breast and grilled it to a perfect juicy conclusion. I pulled the last of the latest batch of creamy Caesar dressing out of the fridge. I shaved fresh Parmesan from a block I had on hand. I chopped Romaine. When the chicken was cooked and properly diced, I piled it all high and then inexpertly rolled it all into a bulging wrap. These went onto the grill for a sealing sear and to melt the shaved parmesan down a bit. In the end, these were pretty stupendous, for such a simple concoction. I kept thinking about those wraps for a good portion of my drive to Richmond once I was packed up and able to head off for a week of work in Virginia.

At least I'd gotten the grass cut before leaving town for the week!

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting

We've been taking it easy on the dessert regimen lately...seems like there'd been more of it than good sense would call for. But when Amy was here last week, I gave in to a simmering desire for a good old-fashioned single-layer yellow cake round with a simple chocolate frosting. And it was really awesome, actually, in all that non-fussy ordinary glory. Perhaps I could have sliced a larger portion but I exercised rare restraint.

With all that taken in for the evening's sustenance, a walk downtown was certainly necessary before bedtime. I did an initial circling of the block in the day-ending gloaming and snagged this photo of the back of the Roediger House, perched below Broad Street grade, and itself looking towards the city skyline.

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"Homemade Yellow Cake," from Stephie Predmore of Stephie Cooks. [Published 13 November 2025]

"Whipped Chocolate Buttercream Frosting," from Erica Acevedo of the Crumby Kitchen. [Published 16 July 2022 / Updated 15 January 2025]

Meal No. 4080: Juicy Burgers on the Grill

After having a mostly gorgeous spring Saturday to enjoy last weekend, even though a few light sprinkles managed to pass through, it certainly made grilling cheeseburgers all too tempting to resist. When I initially patted them out the burgers, I tried to bring 'em down in size from customary practice, mindful of all the recent ups and downs on the ol' morning weigh-in. Eh, maybe a bit too slim for all that tasty brioche bun on which they sat? Perhaps. But the last of a recent batch of homemade Thousand Island dressing, stepping in for the special sauce, plus Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips: that did me just fine.

Sumner made clear his preference for as much time outside as could be mustered. On a day like that, it was an easy demand to satisfy, although just after I took this photo, we started getting those afore-mentioned sprinkles.

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Adapted from "Grilled Juicy Burgers," originally from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine, July 2003 [Updated Online 03 February 2011], p. 52-53.

Meal No. 4059: Chicken Katsu (A Japanese Fried Chicken Street Food)

It's been almost a decade since I made a much-loved recipe for chicken katsu, also known as Japanese fried chicken and often thought of as "street food." In the middle of the 2010s, it showed up here quite a few times, regularly accompanied by vinegar sushi rice and a soy-mirin-onion sauce. That was the direction I went this past Thursday night. Well-satisfied and happy to have time to bask in dinner's afterglow with ongoing conversation at the table, the testament to simple pleasure in good company was pronounced and convincing.

That warmth of fellowship seemed all the more fitting given how winter so pointedly reasserted itself that morning. After an exceptionally warm multi-day teaser of springtime, in rolled a bold front of cold and a turbulent upheaval of conflicted air masses, and then a protracted deluge of downpours followed the choppy winds of change. Ominous rolls of thunder came on forcefully enough that morning to rumble the sturdy timbers of this grand old manse, but still and steady was my most excellent Sumner as he cozied close and comfy along and across my outstretched legs.

Safely sequestered inside, the morning coffee was consumed and a decent start on my next Allende novel was achieved, but by late morning I had to switch over to PowerPoint presentation preparation thanks to an impending session in Richmond that I had high hopes for. Given the 20-degree tumble of temps from wake-up to yogurt snack, a little slideshow distraction was a useful occupation to avoid discomfiting awareness of meteorological misery.

Once the clouds moved out, we were graced with stunning sunshine and fully blue skies, and cruel harsh winds to counteract what might otherwise have been a glorious Winston-Salem afternoon. Still: the brilliant blooms on the lone surviving cherry tree were stunning against the fully blue heavens later that afternoon.

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"Japanese Fried Chicken," from Cuisine at Home, Issue 98, March/April 2013, p. 44-45.

"Vinegar Sushi Rice," from Cuisine at Home, Issue 98, March/April 2013, p. 45.

A Record-Breaking False Spring

The false spring that's played out over the last week was record-breaking on a couple of days, and as it came to its triumphant end on Wednesday before temps plunged down closer to normal, it at least tied the 1967 record of 86°F, at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Sumner and Scarlett found it to be exceptionally pleasing for some front yard hang time, which means a couchant perch to watch for Sumner, and plenty of sniff and startle for Scarlett.

Here at the Roediger House, I only saw it get to 85°F, and the breezes were strong and it was delightful. The Bradford pear's short-lived blossoms are already being pushed aside by the emerging green leafing, and the lone surviving nearby cherry tree is in full strut.

A couple of the camellia bushes are also busting out in bloom, out behind the house, so I snagged a couple of photos to memorialize this stage of our seasonal progress.

Because I planted a staggered row of these bushes between two evergreen trees, I am once more testifying to poor landscape planning, and they will either have to be moved or I'll just have to dig 'em up and do away with them.

But for now, I appreciate their earnest coloring and gorgeous display as I peer out the kitchen window when I'm working at the sink.

Meal No. 4049: Egg Drop Soup

Rather recently, but for only the second time, I made egg drop soup. It was good that night earlier in the month, but I was anxious to try again soon. That occurred last Sunday evening, as our temps took another massive dip into below-freezing territory, and harsh brutal gusts shook and jangled even the things that appeared nailed down. Soup felt right, and it was enhanced with the recent addition of wide chow mein noodles to mix in for a bit of crunch.

But let me tell you how glorious to me were the earliest manifestations of the approaching spring season, as that morning I spied the emerging shoots of tulips having suddenly made generous progress out of their bulbed dormancy.

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"Egg Drop Soup," by Bill Leung of The Woks of Life: A Culinary Genealogy. [Published November 2015 / Updated 16 April 2025]

Meal No. 4038: Bacon, Gruyère, & Caramelized Onion Quiche

Thursday a week ago was a chance for the beloved breakfast for dinner. I've become pretty fond of caramelizing onions, adding in finely chopped bacon, and building up the heartiness with a pretty good pile of shredded Gruyère. Once the egg and cream mixture gets poured over the top, this lovely quiche heads into the oven to cook to a creamy texture in just under 40 minutes. I also made a half-batch of blueberry muffins and had a heaping pile of fresh fruit, too.

Overnight and continuing into that morning, we got more snow. Not a ton: just a good dusting that measured maybe half and inch.

This has been quite a winter for us: an all-day sleet storm which left us with a one- to two-inch ice slab laid over every open surface; then a rare 8-inch snowfall a week later; and then even more snow a few days after that. The extended period of below-normal temps and even quite a bit of time in the teens is also not how it usually goes around here. But what's normal anymore? It's harder to predict when it's still unclear how climate change is going to increase the severity and wild swings of weather events.

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

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

Meal No. 4036: Roasted Salmon on Caesar'd Power Greens

February 3rd was supposed to be a work day in Virginia, and while I’d told that school division we were unlikely to be able to proceed after all the snow days, it was a belated cancellation. And it cost me a night's charge in the hotel. But was I glad for extra time at home? Of course, and I celebrated with salmon Caesars for three of us at dinner. Served atop power greens, with some roasted sunflower seeds, and adorned with homemade creamy Caesar dressing, the salmon was tender and tasty, roasted to a perfect temp and adorned with its spice coating.

That Tuesday was almost pleasant, with better sunshine than predicted and temps approaching the mid-40s. I was back at it on the parking area, trying to clear away more of the dual winter storms' ice and snow pack.

The ice sheet from the January 25th sleet storm was still present but much more manageable. Don't misunderstand: easier, but still labor intensive. Each piece, slab, portion, chunk, or sliver: I was chipping away with a flatblade shovel or scooping with the well-worn snow shovel and walking the debris to the various piles either along the driveway or down on the street.

[Editor's Note: We managed to get another light snow covering overnight and through the morning on Thursday of last week, which diminished some of my progress on the parking lot, at least until the temps moderated.]

It's certainly no small compensation when the sun shines warmly and the precious pooch Sumner is willing to hang out with me when I take a break on the pavement.

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