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.]
Friday, January 10, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Meal No. 898: Cuban Pork Sandwiches
A 10-pound Boston butt for a steal at the Harris Teeter, and a good long list of good friends to have over to the house. That's the story of this evening's delicious Cuban-style pork sandwiches.
"Pork Shoulder Roast with Citrus Mojo & Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce," by Alex Roberts of Brasa (Minneapolis, MN). Recipe in Food & Wine, May 2012, p. 152, 154.
"Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese," from Cook's Country, April/May 2007, p. 11.
"Pork Shoulder Roast with Citrus Mojo & Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce," by Alex Roberts of Brasa (Minneapolis, MN). Recipe in Food & Wine, May 2012, p. 152, 154.
"Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese," from Cook's Country, April/May 2007, p. 11.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Cap'n Crunch Cookies for My Guilford County Cohort
I spent the day today with specialists from the Mission Possible team at Guilford County Schools. On occasion, whenever I can get it done, I like to bring along some goodies from the Roediger House kitchen. For the crew today, that plate of goodstuff was Cap'n Crunch cookies.
"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.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The Structure of Cold
Back in the 90s, I found my way to the stylin' mecca of Structure. I got a lot of great clothes for being a middle school teacher who was trying to look reasonably professional while still being comfortable. What I didn't know at the time I bought those clothes was how long a lot of them would last. If it weren't for the fact that quite a few of those trousers had the balloon styling that just doesn't cut it anymore, I'd still be wearing them. They fit great and look good, except for the puffy thighs that taper down. Oh, and some of them I can't wear because I've gotten a bit fat.
When I'm working with educators, and especially when I am visiting schools, I am mostly a tie-and-jacket guy. But as everyone knows, it's been unbelievably cold here with the invasion of the polar vortex.
That means, in addition to a thermal undershirt, I also felt I needed a sweater as part of my work attire today. Glad I've still got a couple from Structure, that I bought probably in 1997, that fit and look pretty decent:
Monday, January 6, 2014
Meal No. 897: Butterflied Leg of Lamb
While I normally prefer to grill my leg of lamb, it's too frickin' cold for that:
So tonight I tried an oven-roasted version that I found online, and it was still pretty darned delicious. It helped to have the sort-of-fancy caramelized onion jam and the sauce poivrade to go with it. I whipped up another batch of homemade mashed potatoes and tossed down on the plate a mess of green beans to boot.
"Butterflied Leg of Lamb," by Sydney Oland.
"Caramelized Onion Jam," by Hugh Acheson. From FoodandWine.com, November 2011.
"Sauce Poivrade alla Port," from MoreThanGourmet.com.
So tonight I tried an oven-roasted version that I found online, and it was still pretty darned delicious. It helped to have the sort-of-fancy caramelized onion jam and the sauce poivrade to go with it. I whipped up another batch of homemade mashed potatoes and tossed down on the plate a mess of green beans to boot.
"Butterflied Leg of Lamb," by Sydney Oland.
"Caramelized Onion Jam," by Hugh Acheson. From FoodandWine.com, November 2011.
"Sauce Poivrade alla Port," from MoreThanGourmet.com.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Meal No. 896: Bee Bee Flick's Covered Dish Chicken
For a number of years, I was a regular visitor to Louisa County, Virginia, working with the school district there, which is under the very able leadership of Superintendent Deborah Pettit. And since Deborah was kind enough not to put me up at the local Rebel Motel, or make me drive over from a hotel in Charlottesville, she and her husband Pembroke would instead have me stay at their house. We passed many a good evening there, with delicious dinners usually made by Pembroke and casual evenings visiting in the family room.
The Pettits were also kind enough to let me raid their stash of cookbooks and copy down a pretty long list of recipes. That was the source of this evening's one-dish meal: Bee Bee Flick's Covered Dish Chicken. One bite of this great southern casserole, and I thought for sure I was in the fellowship hall back at Memorial Baptist Church in Buies Creek.
And I continue to be mighty glad that I included a wood-burning fireplace when I demolished the old kitchen and built a completely new one from scratch:
"Bee Bee Flick's Covered Dish Chicken," from Sinkin' Spells, Hot Flashes, Fits, and Cravins, by Ernest Matthew Mickler. Ten Speed Press, 1988.
The Pettits were also kind enough to let me raid their stash of cookbooks and copy down a pretty long list of recipes. That was the source of this evening's one-dish meal: Bee Bee Flick's Covered Dish Chicken. One bite of this great southern casserole, and I thought for sure I was in the fellowship hall back at Memorial Baptist Church in Buies Creek.
And I continue to be mighty glad that I included a wood-burning fireplace when I demolished the old kitchen and built a completely new one from scratch:
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| Fire No. 26 |
"Bee Bee Flick's Covered Dish Chicken," from Sinkin' Spells, Hot Flashes, Fits, and Cravins, by Ernest Matthew Mickler. Ten Speed Press, 1988.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Meal No. 895: Goat Cheese Risotto
Goat Cheese Risotto, based loosely on Emeril Lagasse's directions found in "Shrimp and Asparagus Risotto Casserole."
Meal No. 894: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
04 January 2014
It's the final morning of this holiday's visit to the Roediger House by friend, colleague, former UVA student, and fellow CRISS trainer Jeremy Craft. It's been a good week with lots of people in and out of the house, but now is the time for us to take note that the party is over. Reality is returning. It's time to get back to work. A pretty good way to note the end of the good times of vacation and holidays and such is to brown some sausage, whip up a roux, get a good batch of gravy going, and bake up some flaky biscuits.
The first Saturday morning of 2014 was celebrated appropriately at the Roediger House: biscuits and sausage gravy with a tall glass of orange juice.
The chill of winter continues, as well, so there was another good roaring fire this morning to help get the day started right:
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| Fire No. 25 |
Friday, January 3, 2014
Meal No. 893: Crispy Dijon Chicken Breasts
A new recipe for dinner, called Crispy Dijon Chicken Breasts, served with a dijonnaise and chive sauce. It got pretty rave reviews from this evening's small gathering of good friends. I tossed quinoa and peas on the plates to go with it, and there were some red velvet cookies available for dessert.
Also, by late this afternoon, the crew from Lowder Construction had completed the demolition of the building behind the house and cleared away all the debris:
The next thing I'll be watching for is the beginning of the wall demolition. It is likely to begin next week, but it is not certain!
"Crispy Dijon Chicken Breasts," from 30-Minute Supper Recipe Cards in Cook's Country, October/November 2007.
"Red Velvet Cookies," in Cuisine at Home, September/October 2013, p. 46.
Baby, It's Cold Outside
Friday
03 January 2014
I definitely prefer summer to winter. And in the winter, I prefer Winston-Salem (where I live) to Rossville, IN, for instance.
The brutally cold air is perhaps having a negative effect on the writers of headlines for news stories about this raging cold weather:
03 January 2014
I definitely prefer summer to winter. And in the winter, I prefer Winston-Salem (where I live) to Rossville, IN, for instance.
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| Winston-Salem, NC |
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| Rossville, IN |
The brutally cold air is perhaps having a negative effect on the writers of headlines for news stories about this raging cold weather:
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| "could have affect"?! |
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Meal No. 892: Bucatini Carbonara by Linton Hopkins
Pasta carbonara is a pretty regular meal around here, because it's very doable with staples on hand and I reach for this recipe often when I'm driving in from out of town and need to make a quick dinner. That simple version is made like an alfredo sauce but with less cheese.
Every once in a while, though, I like to do a fancier, silkier, yolk-y cream sauce version with diced pancetta instead of standard bacon. This evening, I even had bucatini pasta to make it just like Chef Linton Hopkins says I should. It was pretty darned amazing. You've only seen this on a Roediger House Menu twice before: Meal No. 603 and Meal No. 496. It's a rare treat.
Temps are turning and with today's cold rain lasting for hours and hours, I had to make a pot of hot coffee and also light up a late afternoon fire. I get older, and I get colder. Here's its final dying stage just before bedtime:
"Bucatini Carbonara," by Linton Hopkins. In Food & Wine, July 2009.
Every once in a while, though, I like to do a fancier, silkier, yolk-y cream sauce version with diced pancetta instead of standard bacon. This evening, I even had bucatini pasta to make it just like Chef Linton Hopkins says I should. It was pretty darned amazing. You've only seen this on a Roediger House Menu twice before: Meal No. 603 and Meal No. 496. It's a rare treat.
Temps are turning and with today's cold rain lasting for hours and hours, I had to make a pot of hot coffee and also light up a late afternoon fire. I get older, and I get colder. Here's its final dying stage just before bedtime:
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| Fire No. 24 |
"Bucatini Carbonara," by Linton Hopkins. In Food & Wine, July 2009.
Demolition of 325 N. Broad
Thursday 02 January 2014
Let's begin with a quick photo from recent history:
This photo is from the southwest corner of the expanse of lot generally known as 325 N. Broad Street. This property extends the entire block from Holly Avenue to my south, up to Fourth Street to the north. You can see that the one-story brick building at the back of this lot backs directly up to the back of my house.
For years, this was the used car lot for Modern Chevrolet, which was a major downtown dealership that was founded in 1933. Since Modern relocated its dealership up to the north end of town, on University Parkway, this building and lot have mostly been empty. For a time, it was the leasing office for the condos and townhouses that were built on the main Modern new car lot. For almost two years, it was home to a private ambulance service. For several weeks, it was used in the local production of a motion picture in town. But it's mostly been empty.
Commercial Realty, Inc., which is developing the new 751 W. Fourth office building to the north of the house, now owns this lot and the gravel lot adjacent to my property and just around the corner along Fourth Street (part of which can be seen in the photo below). The plans for now are uncertain, but when they closed on this property, they also inherited the problematic retaining wall that runs along the back of this lot and which backs up to my property. As I noted recently, part of this wall gave way with the long soaking rains we had just before Christmas Day:
That whole wall is going to be taken down, and the process began early this morning with the demolition of that abandoned sales building for the former used car portion of Modern Chevy. I was pretty much mesmerized by it all day long...I love watching stuff like this.
Let's begin with a quick photo from recent history:
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| February 2012 |
This photo is from the southwest corner of the expanse of lot generally known as 325 N. Broad Street. This property extends the entire block from Holly Avenue to my south, up to Fourth Street to the north. You can see that the one-story brick building at the back of this lot backs directly up to the back of my house.
For years, this was the used car lot for Modern Chevrolet, which was a major downtown dealership that was founded in 1933. Since Modern relocated its dealership up to the north end of town, on University Parkway, this building and lot have mostly been empty. For a time, it was the leasing office for the condos and townhouses that were built on the main Modern new car lot. For almost two years, it was home to a private ambulance service. For several weeks, it was used in the local production of a motion picture in town. But it's mostly been empty.
Commercial Realty, Inc., which is developing the new 751 W. Fourth office building to the north of the house, now owns this lot and the gravel lot adjacent to my property and just around the corner along Fourth Street (part of which can be seen in the photo below). The plans for now are uncertain, but when they closed on this property, they also inherited the problematic retaining wall that runs along the back of this lot and which backs up to my property. As I noted recently, part of this wall gave way with the long soaking rains we had just before Christmas Day:
 |
| Photo Taken from Rear Attic Window |
That whole wall is going to be taken down, and the process began early this morning with the demolition of that abandoned sales building for the former used car portion of Modern Chevy. I was pretty much mesmerized by it all day long...I love watching stuff like this.
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| Caught sight of the beginning from the back hallway window. |
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| The first scoop or two has been taken at this point. |
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| The operator of the crawler-excavator handles this machine with tremendous finesse. |
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| View from the 4th Street entrance of the gravel lot beside the house. |
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| View from up top, near the intersection of Holly Avenue and Broad Street. You can see the back of the Roediger House (and the attic window from which many of these shots were taken) |
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| The attic is unfinished and I straddled floor beams at this window to capture as much of the action as I could. |
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| A cold rain started late morning. |
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| At the end of the day, all that was left standing was the shell of the storage room on the back. |
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| Isn't this why we put windows at our kitchen sinks? |
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Meal No. 891: New Year's Day Meatballs
Dinner
01 January 2014
It's New Year's Day 2014, and what better way to bring it in than by having what the Jones Family has always called "New Year's Day Meatballs." (We call it this because we first had it on New Year's Day, many years ago.)
I added to its deliciousness tonight some Yukon gold homemade mashed potatoes and a mess of seasoned green beans. There was still some eggnog frozen custard in the freezer from the third batch I made a couple of days ago. Yum on that dessert.
"New Year's Day Meatballs," from Carol Fultz of Indiana (2001).
Meal No. 890: Grilled Pimento Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches
Lunchtime
01 January 2014
Ah, but this chilly first day of 2014 also started with a nice roaring fire:
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| Fire No. 23 |
"South Carolina-Style Pimento Cheese." Recipe worked out by me, based on Sharon's Palmetto Pimento Cheese.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Meal No. 889: Root Beer Molasses-Glazed Pork Tenderloin
...with Smoked Jalapeño Sauce and Apple Salsa!
This is one more recipe pulled from the Tupelo Honey Cookbook that's proven to have so many great meal ideas. Alas, while this was a unique way to do a pork tenderloin, I expect this is the one and only time this particular meal will be prepared at the Roediger House.
I put some good labor into it, meticulously dicing the ingredients that went into the apple salsa, and taking the time to smoke the jalapeños when I made pork shoulders last week. This was also my first trial of the black rice I got not too long ago.
Half of tonight's crew that gathered for New Year's Eve said it was pretty good, but the other half found it not so pleasing to the palate.
Oh well. It was worth trying. It just didn't rise to the special, special meal I'd like to have served to bring 2013 to a close.
"Root Beer Molasses-Glazed Pork Tenderloin" (p. 149) with "Smoked Jalapeño Sauce" (p. 23) and "Apple Salsa" (p. 4), in Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen, by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (2011), p. 150.
This is one more recipe pulled from the Tupelo Honey Cookbook that's proven to have so many great meal ideas. Alas, while this was a unique way to do a pork tenderloin, I expect this is the one and only time this particular meal will be prepared at the Roediger House.
I put some good labor into it, meticulously dicing the ingredients that went into the apple salsa, and taking the time to smoke the jalapeños when I made pork shoulders last week. This was also my first trial of the black rice I got not too long ago.
Half of tonight's crew that gathered for New Year's Eve said it was pretty good, but the other half found it not so pleasing to the palate.
Oh well. It was worth trying. It just didn't rise to the special, special meal I'd like to have served to bring 2013 to a close.
"Root Beer Molasses-Glazed Pork Tenderloin" (p. 149) with "Smoked Jalapeño Sauce" (p. 23) and "Apple Salsa" (p. 4), in Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen, by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC (2011), p. 150.
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