Meal No. 1208: Juicy Burgers for a "Pool Party"

The Friday night fun and frivolity at the Roediger House was for a casual hang affectionately labeled as a pool party (for reasons that will be better defined in some future blog post). The menu included juicy burgers on the grill with kettle barbecue chips, homemade pimento cheese, and creamy stuffed eggs. It was a great night.

My frustrations with making stuffed eggs were wonderfully abated thanks to following some better advice for cooking and, especially, peeling hard-cooked eggs. I know there are lots and lots of ideas about ways to do this better; I was glad to find one that worked perfectly for me.

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"Grilled Juicy Burgers," from Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks recipe magazine.

"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.

"Creamy Stuffed Eggs," a recipe shared with me by Barbara Huneycutt of Crozet, VA.

A Lot of Concern: Neighborly Developments

My enthusiasm for downtown continues unabated. Regular blog readers know that, even though some might say it was built almost on top of me, I was very happy to see the development of the new office building known as 751 W Fourth.  The developer, Commercial Realty Associates, controls a scattered selection of acreage all around me, as shown in this graphic:

I realize that my quaint 0.28 acre is a pretty awesome spot of heaven to call home. I also know that living downtown, so close to the heart of everything, and at the outer edge of the residential portion of the Holly Avenue Neighborhood, means that my surroundings could become decreasingly quaint and increasingly commercial.

John Reece of Commercial Realty told me a while back that one of his hopes is that a sister building to 751 W Fourth might one day be built. I'm not anxious for that to occur, of course, because it will be very much on top of the house and will either block my view north to Fourth Street, or out to the west where I'm finally getting to enjoy sunsets. My bulwark against this is that there is a set of four office condominiums beside the house that are an obstacle to that "sister building" concept, as shown in these two pictures:

John Reece had told me that two of those four tenants had approached him about selling to him. However, my attorney's office has long been among those condos, and a few months ago we had a conversation that led me to believe that he would have no reason or interest to sell his office there.

Not long ago, though, I walked past his office (after noticing no activity there since January 1st) and saw this posted:

Also, notice was recently posted that the "developing entity" for Commercial Realty has approached the City of Winston-Salem with an offer to buy the Center City Parking Deck, the blank side of which can be seen across from the front of the house whenever I take photos of the city skyline:

Update: The Winston-Salem Journal published an article the next evening that fills in more of the details: "Questions Arise about Sale of City Parking Deck."

Cyprus Gets a Cleopatra Barge

The big ol' tub 'o' goo known around here as Cyprus has been gifted with a new dog bed, which she seems to love. I mean: love. That girl is ridiculous.

Speaking of Cyps, I failed to get out of her way quickly enough following a short nap together, when she was ready to bound out of bed. Her downtown-roughened claws were not kind to my left cheek:

Finishing the Original Master Closet

I never did take a picture of the junkpile that the small original master closet really was, prior to this past Christmas holiday season. That's when Ricky and Nubee Sneed of Clemmons Flooring, LLC, set to work on it, lining it with cedar planks and installing shoe shelves and a clothes rod. I'm so very happy to get yet another renovation item checked off the list, and they did a great job on it.

Here are the emptied-out "before" shots:

The debris is from some electrical and plumbing
work that was routed up the chase to the left.

And here's a shot of it right after they finished, and before I started stuffing it with my shoes and suits and sport coats:

Here's the finished and utilized look of it:

Entryway and Foyer Plaster Restoration

The recent renovation efforts in the Roediger House have truly benefited from the fine work of Philip Lamachio of Estate Plaster, Inc., of Greensboro. Philip and his team were here for a five-month stretch from June through November, and I've blogged about some of the rooms that they have already restored and repainted:

• Dining Room
• Master Bedroom
• Van Gogh Guest Bedroom
• Wyeth Guest Bedroom
• South Parlour

Their work has been exceptional and remarkable. One part of the job that really stimulated Philip's interest was the plaster relief on the ceiling of the entryway foyer at the front door. Here are some shots of what it looked like before the guys got started:

Philip pretty much tackled this solo, while the Mearns brothers were hard at work in other areas of the house. The following shots are from the "during" phase of the restoration:

I do not believe the "after" pictures come anywhere remotely close to capturing what a beautiful end result Philip achieved, but here goes:

He applied a glaze that really brought out a very antique and aged look to this gorgeous ceiling. The entryway definitely pops now, believe you me.

Meal No. 1207: Molasses-Mustard Glazed Grilled Pork Chops

Just before leaving for a week of work back in Virginia Beach, I decided to make a quick but delicious lunch at home on this fine sunny February Sunday: molasses-mustard glazed pork chops on the grill, with baked sweet potato and sugar snap peas. I might be fighting off the afternoon sleepies once I hit the road in a bit.

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"Molasses-Mustard Glazed Pork Chops," adapted by Nick Kindelsperger from Bobby Flay's Grill It! Found online at SeriousEats.com.

Meal No. 1206: "World's Best Lasagna"

There is good reason for Mr. John Chandler of Dallas, Texas, to proclaim his recipe for lasagna as "world's best." Even without a formal competition or governing body to declare it so, I can assure you that it would at least place in the top contenders. Tonight was a wonderful proving opportunity, when four bellies were happily filled with a perfect sampling of it. Even after consuming our huge slabs of cheesy meaty goodness, about two-thirds of the casserole dish remained, brimming with the promise of excellent leftovers for the next couple of days.

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"World's Best Lasagna," by John Chandler (Dallas, TX). Found online at AllRecipes.com.

Meal No. 1205: Ultimate Pot Roast

With a recent issue of Taste of Home to browse through, I settled this evening on a recipe that boasts to be Ultimate Pot Roast. It was good, but I'm still searching for the ultimate in this regard. Pot roast should not be that hard to master, but I'm not sure I've got the greatest track record.

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"Ultimate Pot Roast," by Nicholas Iverson, Lead Test Cook for Taste of Home. Published in the February/March 2015 issue, p. 17-18.

Meal No. 1204: Creole-Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks over Grits

From time to time, when I've gotten my hands on some fresh seafood, I'd rather make it the centerpiece of something simple and fulfilling. No need to mess with a set of sides when you can nestle a slab of tuna steak into some creamy grits, covered with a delicious creole-enhanced sherry cream sauce.

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"Creamy Grits," from Luquire Family Stone Ground Grits, milled in Greenwood, SC.

"Sherry Cream Sauce," from About.com.

Meal No. 1203: Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

In the Jones family, we always called this dish 'Bama Chicken. It's pretty high on the list of Roediger House standards, both because it's so easy and because it's so tasty. It was the second meal I made in the new kitchen once the addition was completed in May 2009.

Well, the latest issue of Cook's Country had an article on reinventing this comfort food classic, with a boost in flavor and without any dependence on condensed canned soups. The result was well worth any extra trouble invested in making it. The small gathering of folks around the table seemed to agree.

Green beans and homemade mashed potatoes filled out the University of Virginia plates on which dinner was served.

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"Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole," by Ashley Moore in Cook's Country, February/March 2015, p. 20.

Meal No. 1202: Glorious Beef & Mushroom Stir-Fry

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"Glorious Beef with Mushrooms," in Wok Fast by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. Ten Speed Press, 2002, p. 87 (recipe) and p. 26-27 (marinade and sauce).

Chocolate Bread Pudding

This past Saturday night, I got dessert made: chocolate bread pudding, with a loaf of brioche I got from Jonathan Milner at the nearby Camino Bakery. It's pretty decent but I think I've got better recipes and ideas for bread pudding that I need to make instead.

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"Chocolate Bread Pudding," by Kelley Baker. In Cook's Country, December/January 2009, p. 27.

Meal No. 1201: Weeknight Chicken Tikka Masala

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"Chicken Tikka Masala," from Cook's Country, October/November 2014, centerfold recipe cards.

Meal No. 1200: Deviled Beef Short Ribs

Making only its second appearance on the Roediger House dinner table, say hello to deviled beef short ribs. Given how amazing they were when I made them last year, I probably should've come back to them sooner. Freakin' awesome!

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"Deviled Beef Short Ribs," by Jeremy Sauer. In Cook's Country, April/May 2014, p. 12-13.

Meal No. 1199: Lamb Köfte

We're coming up on two years since I last made Lamb Köfte, and I was excited to be returning to it. I needed to make a fresh batch of pomegranate molasses, which turned out pretty close to perfect, in order to pull off the muhammara roasted red pepper sauce. And I didn't have yogurt, so I made the tahini sauce using sour cream this time, and I think that made it even better (along with some extra tahini to boost and balance the flavors). The lamb meatballs were just right.

The unfortunate turn in the events of making dinner, though, was to get to the last 15 minutes of cooking, and to reach for my middle eastern flatbreads, and to find that the first one in the package was the only one that was NOT molding! There was no good alternative, so my Lamb Köfte tonight was served sort of plain on a bed of the caramelized onions. No complaints from the diners, when all was said and done.

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"Lamb Köfte with Yogurt Sauce and Muhammara," from Bon Appétit, January 2010. Recipe Online.

Meal No. 1198: Herb-Roasted Wild-Caught Salmon

Meal No. 1197: Eggs on Toast

My gosh: I haven't had this since I was still a kid, but my mother used to make this for us for breakfast from time to time. It's buttered toast with grape jelly, topped with scrambled eggs. I haven't even thought of this in decades. This Jones tradition managed to come back from my heavy neglect, apparently.

Some fresh-grated aged sharp white cheddar made the eggs even more delicious. That was the simple dinner tonight, and I've got no regrets.

Meal No. 1196: Spicy Beef & Pepper Stir-Fry

Dinner tonight was a huge disappointment, resulting in an incredibly bland and pointless bowl of ho-hum called Spicy Beef & Pepper Stir-Fry. This recipe is already in the rubbish bin.

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"Spicy Beef & Pepper Stir-Fry," by Joy Zacharia of Clearwater, FL. Published in Taste of Home, February/March 2015, p. 65-66.

Meal No. 1195: Pork Medallions in Ginger-Shiitake-Soy Cream Sauce

A few more folks ended up on the dinner list last evening and I didn't want to have to head back out to the grocery store, so I relied on ingredients I had on hand and a recipe that's tried, tested, and true at the Roediger House: the much-loved ginger-shiitake-soy cream sauce over pan-seared pork medallions. To go with it, some company mashed potatoes (also something that I make a lot of) and garden peas.

There was a pretty direct request for me to have some dessert for a change, and more specifically something we've always called Texas sheet cake. The recipe I used, thought, calls it "Scotch Chocolate Cake." I just call it dee-lish-us.

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"Pan-Seared Tuna with Ginger-Shiitake Cream Sauce," from The Bon Appétit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild, 2006, p. 398-399.

"Company Mashed Potatoes," a Jones family favorite.

"Scotch Chocolate Cake," [in my world, also known as Texas Sheetcake]. Credited to Susie Timmons. From "Popular: Cake Request Gets 22 Responses," by Michael Hastings, Food Editor of the Winston-Salem Journal. Published October 6, 2010.