Arresting Developments

Just a reminder that I do indeed live downtown, and yes, it's just around the corner from a methadone clinic:

Trash that blew into the yard.

Hard to see, but upper right corner of the picture:
one policeman arresting one dude

Three policemen now arresting two dudes

Meal No. 995: Pork Tenderloin with Honey Mustard Glaze

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"Pork Tenderloin with Honey Mustard Glaze," from Diana Rattray. Recipe found on About.com.

Meal No. 994: Grilled Honey Butter Glazed Chicken Thighs

Another crew meal, which ended up just not having a whole lot of flavor from the extra goop I used to baste the chicken, but it was a good interruption to watching the final episodes of the first short season of Twin Peaks.

We approached 90F today here in Winston-Salem, but I still got outside for a second day of tackling the stump from the diseased cherry tree that I had cut down back in late winter. I'm an old man and, with this humidity, and it being the first days of spring yard work, I'm finding I can only last so long. Still, I was pleased to get the hole dug and the stump pulled up:

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"Honey-Butter-Grilled Chicken Thighs with Parsley Sauce," by Daniel Bojorquez. In Food & Wine, June 2014, p. 111.

Meal No. 993: Grilled Molasses-Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

It is a gorgeous Sunday for the celebration of Mother's Day, for thems what still have their mothers, and with lots of great sunshine and some gentle breezes, I took Cyprus's lead and lunched outside in a shady part of the driveway today. She loves being outside and, after checking out the surroundings, she picked a spot nearby and took up her watch while also resting her legs.

It did get a little warm today, given that it's still early in May, but I am absolutely not complaining. I enjoyed the chance to get outside and tackle some more yard stuff until it gradually wore me down and I had to retreat to the indoors.

Having worked up a good appetite, I fired up the new Weber Genesis grill again and tossed some straightforward pork chops on for the evening meal. Oh, I managed to fancy 'em up a bit with a molasses-mustard glaze and they turned out mighty fine. Some Israeli couscous and baby Brussels sprouts turned it into a complete meal.

This morning, I managed to get dessert made so that it would have time to chill and set up in the fridge. This is a rite of spring, the glorious strawberry pie:

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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. 992: Simple Pot Roast

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"Simple Pot Roast," by Bridget Lancaster. In Cook's Illustrated, Number 55, March & April 2002, p. 11-13.

Meal No. 991: Basil Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops

Shoulder lamb chops tend to be a well-received meal here at the Roediger House, even though they can be a chore to eat, what with the slivers of bone and the tough gristle between succulent morsels of meat. It's almost always a worthy challenge, though, when they've been grilled up right with a good marinade to boost the flavor. That would adequately describe dinner tonight, with a white wine gravy sauce with mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas, while initiating the first night of binge-watching the Twin Peaks series from 1989.

As the evening progressed, Cyprus shoved some of us off the futon so that she could rest comfortably, snuggled up to Roediger House regular Mookie:

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"Basil Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops," from the Sprouts Farmers Market website.

Meal No. 990: Plank-Grilled Miso-Glazed King Salmon

It's Alaskan King Salmon season and yesterday was the first day that my local Harris Teeter had gotten some in. It looked mighty fine and, tonight, after glazing with a miso-mirin-ginger concoction and slow-roasting it on a cedar plank on the grill, it tasted mighty fine, too.

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"Miso-Glazed Salmon Steaks," in Bon Appétit, May 2011, p. 58.

Reminder of an approach to plank-grilling salmon from "Planked Salmon with Spice Rub," from Fire & Smoke. Recipe accompanied package of cedar grilling planks.

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

Yet Another Damn Cat

When I drove in this afternoon from conducting a training in Greensboro, I saw that the Havahart® trap had been tripped again, with another troubling and troubled feral cat from the neighborhood in it. I got home early enough that I could toss Cyprus in the cab of the truck and haul this pitiful interloper up to the county animal shelter, without having to keep it overnight.

UPDATE: A day or so after this, I came home and spotted a new creature lurking behind the fence above the back wall, and all I got was this silhouetted shot of it: a ground hog. First one of those I've seen 'round here. As long as he's not eating up my landscaping, I think I might enjoy it if he frolics about.

Meal No. 989: Juicy Burgers on the Grill

I had a whole delightful troupe of people over for grub this evening, and on this beautiful afternoon decided to toss a mess of burgers on the new grill.

And yes: I repeated exactly one day later that very same recipe for macaroni and cheese, making it just a bit less cheesy and experimenting with Emmentaler swiss cheese as one of the ingredients.

Since their reason for being over was to watch the miniseries that started the reboot of Battlestar Gallactica, there was also time to whip up a batch of cinnamon chip oatmeal cookies for dessert.

There were enough cookies by the time I finished baking to have two platesful to take over to Greensboro to share with the group of Guilford County educators in my training there.

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

"Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese," from Cook's Country, April/May 2007, p. 11.

"Cinnamon Chip Oatmeal Cookies," from Hershey's Kitchens.

• On the Hershey's website: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=6197&name=Oatmeal7Cinnamon7Chips7Cookies

• PDF of the Roediger House Version can be found by clicking here.

Meal No. 988: The Renowned Mr. Brown

I started the kamado smoker just before midnight. The picture above was taken around 1:30 am...it was a gorgeous spring night.

The Boston butt was a beautiful sight when I brought it in off the grill, and it turned into very flavorful pulled pork barbecue. I went with a standard tangy sauce, made from scratch. The mac-n-cheese was way too cheesy but you couldn't beat its flavor.

Kamado Meal No. 27

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"The Renowned Mr. Brown" (p. 53-54). In Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. Boston: The Harvard Common Press, 2003.

"Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Sauce," by Bryan Roof. In Cook's Illustrated, January & February 2010 (No. 102), p. 6-7.

"Best Potluck Macaroni and Cheese," from Cook's Country, April/May 2007, p. 11.

Meal No. 987: Chicken Adobo

This Sunday evening was a chance for me to make a birthday dinner for friend and former Wake Forest University colleague Shannon Gilreath, and I think dinner was a hit. Tonight's offering of chicken adobo seemed pretty spot on, and Shannon appreciated the rare appearance of Roediger House sweet tea (the "house wine of the South") as well as the equally rare appearance of chocolate éclairs for dessert.

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"Introducing Chicken Adobo," by Bryan Roof. In Cook's Illustrated, March & April 2012, p. 6-7.

"Cream Puffs and Éclairs," from the folks at King Arthur Flour and available online.

"Pastry Cream," from Natasha Ignatiadis of ButterBaking.com.

Meal No. 986: Ribeyes and Steak Fries

Perfect weather for grilling, ribeyes on sale, and a good night to break out the deep fat fryer = yum.

Meal No. 985: Hamburger Supreme

I'm making no apologies for this evening's meal, made after working a full day in Virginia Beach after a full four days of working in Virginia Beach, and then driving a relatively speedy 4.5 hours back home. You would really like for me to have served you a portion of this, too, given how it hit the spot just right.

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"Hamburger Supreme," from the late Mrs. John T. (Glynn) Johnson of Buies Creek, North Carolina, via Janice Jones Bodenhamer.

Cyprus, Waiting

Grabbed this shot of Cyprus a week or so ago, and she looked damned precious there in the front entryway.

Spring, Finally and At Last!

I am so glad spring has finally arrived, although I am writing this during a chilly and stormy week from 11 floors up above the Virginia Beach oceanfront. With the terrible, terrible storms and tornadoes that are ravaging states to our south and along the coast this week, though, I find it unseemly to be grumbling about cool days and overcast skies here in Hampton Roads.

March 31, 2014

March 31, 2014

April 12, 2014

April 24, 2014

RoHo, As Seen from 21 Floors Up

While reading posts in the forum on the Winston-Salem's Tallest Buildings site, I came across a reposted photo that was taken from the 21st floor of the Wells Fargo tower. I noticed a familiar house in it:

Click the Pic to Enlarge It

The house is partially obscured by trees so you'll be looking for the unique shape of the gabled roof line under black shingles and above the light cream color of the house paint, just above the tip of the steeple of Calvary Moravian Church in the lower foreground.

This photo was taken by Augy, whose Flickr name is augman57, and was located in his WF21 set of photos. He is an amazing photographer and I would encourage you to bookmark his page if you want to see what Winston looks--and feels--like.

Another Damn Cat

It's taken me a while since I first started spotting this stray cat lurking around the back of the house, and using a sandbag on the patio pad as a bathroom spot, but the last weekend of March I finally managed to trap it. It was my unpleasant task to take it to Animal Control on the following Monday morning before I headed out for a week of work up in Winchester, Virginia.

This rascal looked pretty worse for the wear, with big scars and gashes on its face from a rough life on the streets. I didn't bother to shoot another video of how wild he was when I was moving him, but I like him much better safely ensconced in the trap with a wall of wire between us.

Meal No. 984: Teriyaki Beef Skewers

I got this recipe quite a few years ago, because it was some delicious eating it was served to me on a long-ago trip to Indiana. On this gorgeous Sunday evening, it was a great choice for the grill. Alongside, some brown basmati and a gaggle of baby Brussels sprouts.

Meal No. 983: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

I've got a big shindig happening at the Roediger House later tonight with lots of goodies made and still to make, so I needed to go quick with dinner just now:

UPDATE FROM 1:00 AM: Roediger House regular Amy Williamson, here for the party tonight, ordered warm bacon dip to be served promptly at 1 am. I do what I'm told:

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"Swiss and Bacon Dip," from Rachael Ray. Available online at the Food Network website.

Meal No. 982: Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup & A Grilled Cheese Panini

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"Ultimate Cream of Tomato Soup," from Cook's Illustrated, November 1999. Recipe can also be found online at Cookography.com.

Meal No. 981: Grilled Porterhouse Steak

Meal No. 980: Braggin' Rights Brisket

Kamado Meal No. 26

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"Braggin' Rights Brisket" (p. 105-106). In Smoke & Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. Boston: The Harvard Common Press, 2003.

Some Desserts of Early Spring

It was a night out for dinner at the Roediger House this evening at a new spot called The Honey Pot, and it was really good. So today's blog post will let me catch up on a few sweet concoctions that didn't make it to an entry here yet.

Peach Cobbler

Cap'n Crunch Cookies for Guilford County Principals Cohort

White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Cookies

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"Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler," by Carla Prysock of Malvern, AR. Published in Carla's Kitchen Confessions on Facebook and attributed to a 1950s cookbook.

"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.

"Premier White Chocolate and Macadamia Pieces Cookies," from Hershey's Mauna Loa. Found online at http://www.maunaloa.com/recipes/cookies.asp.

Meal No. 979: Country Ham and Rice

I spent the whole afternoon and on into the evening smoking a beef brisket but it didn't quite finish, so I had to reach for an alternative for tonight's supper. That ended up being a good breakfast-for-dinner meal that make me think of my mother, with whom this was a regular menu if I was home for a weekend.

Meal No. 978: Braised Lamb Shanks with Mushroom Sauce

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"Amtrak's Lamb Shanks with Mushrooms," adapted by Noelle Carter for Culinary SOS in the Los Angeles Times, published 29 September 2012.

Meal No. 977: Pork Medallions with Ginger-Shiitake Cream Sauce

This is one of the standards of the Roediger House, and it's always good. Tonight it packed an extra punch thanks to the first use in it of a super-dark soy sauce. The original recipe is to use this sauce with tuna but it works great with pork tenderloin medallions.

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