Meal No. 1930: Filipino Chicken Adobo

Last Wednesday night proved to be a fine evening for bringing back an incredibly tasty semi-regular Roediger House dish: Filipino chicken adobo, with its silky luscious sauce, all in a bowl over basmati rice.

---

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

Meal No. 1929: Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Chicken

The Tuesday night meal was another new recipe: creamy garlic and parmesan chicken over heritage egg noodles. I would have been happier with a slightly thicker sauce, but man! were the flavors ever on point...

---

Based on "Creamy Garlic and Parmesan Chicken," from Chef Joel Mielle of Recipe30.com.

Meal No. 1928: Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Monday's new soup trial to go with the cooler fall-like morning that started the day: broccoli and cheese soup. It was definitely a winner and worth many repeatings.

---

Based on "Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup," from ChefNini on Food.com.

Meal No. 1927: Oven Baked Split Chicken Breasts

The Sunday evening meal that marked the arrival of October was Sunday-appropriate: crispy oven-baked split chicken breasts, along with stuffing and Southern creamed corn. I was all too full to successfully engage in the chase-around-downstairs-horseplay that Sumner insisted on afterwards.

---

"Oven Baked Chicken," from BettyCrocker.com.

"Southern Creamed Corn," by Patrick and Gina Neely of the Food Network.

Meal No. 1926: Baked Ziti with Focaccia

After a week on the road, it sure was nice to return to the kitchen to be able to make a meal for seven of us on Saturday night, which included baked ziti, Caesar salad, and another stab at a fresh-made focaccia with garlic and herbs.

---

"Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage," in Cuisine at Home, Issue 120 (November/December 2016), p. 28-29.

"Easy Focaccia Bread with Garlic and Herbs," from Adam at InspiredTaste.net.[Published 24 August 2017]

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Back on September 23rd, when the meal that Saturday night included grilled glazed pork chops and a heaping of other stuff, those of us at the dinner table were too darned full to partake of the new dessert I'd made. So it instead became a mid-afternoon break the following day. This was salted caramel apple pie, along with more of the salted caramel ice cream and topped with homemade caramel sauce to boot. All that sugar in my belly made it hard to make the drive up to Shenandoah County later that day.

---

"Salted Caramel Apple Pie," from Michelle, the Brown-Eyed Baker.

Meal No. 1925: Grilled Glazed Pork Chops

If the glazed grilled pork chops from a couple of weeks ago hadn't been so good, I don't suppose I would have repeated them so soon. But the penultimate Saturday of September, and the first one of fall, was so freaking gorgeous that all I wanted was a simple supper to grill out. It was a night for glazed grilled pork chops with a first trial of the Brown-Eyed Baker's take on potato salad...which proved to be very salad-y but also really good:

Once again, I depended on the good advice of the folks at Serious Eats to help me get the hard-boiled eggs just right for that delicious potato salad:

I got a bit carried away, though, and also made fluffy Southern-style hoecakes, which were the best they've ever been:

The meal was so filling, since in addition I had steamed broccoli and homemade applesauce, that there ended up being no immediate interest in the dessert that I had also prepared...and which will show up in a later blog post.

---

"Glazed Pork Chops," in Cuisine's Celebrate the Seasons: Summertime Menus, Issue 10 (June/July 2016), p. 36-38.

"Best Ever Potato Salad," by Michelle, who blogs at the BrownEyedBaker.com. [Published 06 June 2016]

"Fluffy Southern-Style Hoecakes," by Erica of My Busy Bees and Me. Recipe first encountered through her YouTube video.

Guidance on Hard-Boiled Eggs: "The Hard Truth about Hard-Boiled Eggs," by J. Kenji López-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of SeriousEats.com.

Meal No. 1924: Light and Fluffy Waffles

Now that I've got a pretty decent recipe for homemade waffles, it seemed necessary to give them another spin a couple of Saturdays ago, when I also wanted to try out my new waffle iron. On this initial use, I definitely had the heat cranked up a bit high and got them crisper than would ultimately be desirable. But still: waffles on a lovely Saturday morning...I ain't complaining.

---

"Light and Fluffy Waffles," by James Schend, Food Editor of Taste of Home, September/October 2017, p. 26.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

With a little more than a jar's worth of homemade caramel sauce in the fridge, after my industrious labors a few days prior, I was in search of good recipes to try with it...like those amazing caramel chocolate chip cookie bars I just blogged about. When folks came to the house back on September 22nd for the third RoHo Reading Party, out on the upstairs balcony, the dessert I had on hand was a sort-of-bland salted caramel ice cream. The good news is I've got other, better recipes for this, so I expect to toss it into the rubbish bin.

It's a good thing I made a fresh batch of caramel sauce and still had a few remaining chocolate chip cookie bars to go with it.

---

"Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream," from Kayley of the Kitchen McCable.

"Salted Caramel Sauce," from Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Not too long ago, I got around to making my second batch of caramel sauce in anticipation of putting it to various uses. The first of those occurred back on September 20th, when I used a portion to help me make caramel-stuffed chocolate chip cookie bars. I don't believe I've done a whole lot with chocolate chip cookie bars, now that I think about it....I'm more of a cookie person myself. But these sure were compelling and temptatious!

---

From "Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars," from Michelle, The Brown-Eyed Baker.

"Salted Caramel Sauce," from Maria and Josh of Two Peas and Their Pod.

Meal No. 1923: Meatloaf on a Reading Night

Last Friday was the third round of a Roediger House Reading Night, and with it also being the first official day of autumn, the page-turning occurred in the departing breezes of summer up on the second story balcony, looking out at the skyline of Winston-Salem. On the dinner menu: bacon-wrapped meatloaf, company mashed potatoes, seasoned green beans, and homemade applesauce.

And then more reading!

---

"My Favorite Meatloaf," from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. Posted 20 September 2010.

"Company Mashed Potatoes," a Jones family favorite.

Meal No. 1922: Chicken with Coronation Sauce

Although I was only on the job for three days this past week, they were wonderfully intense days with the terrific cohort in High Point University's Educational Leadership Academy. By Thursday evening, I was content to fill my agenda with just a Bell's Best Brown Ale on the front porch, followed by an easy one-bowl dish of chicken with coronation sauce. You might've liked it, too.

---

"Coronation Sauce for Chicken," from 400 Sauces, by Catherine Atkinson, Christine France, and Maggie Mayhew. Hermes House (2006, 2008), p. 155.

Meal No. 1921: Cheeseburger Pockets

I got a hankering to try out a new recipe last Wednesday night, based on what I had in the fridge so as to avoid a trip to the grocery store. (I preferred using that time in the lovely afternoon breezes, on the front porch, with a cold beer in hand.) On the menu: cheeseburger pockets and thin-cut roasted red potato wedges. It was a good time to whip up a batch of the spot-on burger sauce, too.

---

"Cheeseburger Pockets," from Michelle, The Gracious Wife.

Meal No. 1920: Grilled Porterhouse Steaks and Fries

Last Tuesday night, on a gorgeous September evening, I got busy on the grill with porterhouse steaks and tossed a batch of shoestring potatoes into the deep fat fryer. I ate every last bit of that humongous steak and still managed to live to tell about it.

Meal No. 1919: Grilled Bacon Cheese Sandwiches

One week ago tonight, the evening meal was grilled bacon and cheese sandwiches and a tall cold glass of orange juice. I'd made my first-ever trip to the city landfill to get rid of a bunch of junk, and I also cut the grass that day, and I was just wanting something simple.

Meal No. 1918: Sunday Night Pancakes & Sausage

A week ago, it was the end of a weekend of great guests which followed immediately after a one-day trip to Virginia Beach which came after a day of training and before that it was the really big birthday slow roasted beef tenderloin gathering. An easy dinner and a new trial for a pancake recipe seemed called for, along with sausage patties and cold, cold milk.

---

"IHOP Pancakes (copycat)," from Life in the Lofthouse.

Sunday Sausage Balls

Last Sunday morning, in anticipation of a bit of morning hunger by the weekend's guests, I whipped up a batch of sausage balls to be ready for them. The plates were complemented by additional slices of the previous morning's French yogurt loaf.

Meal No. 1917: World's Best Lasagna

Once the Wake Forest Homecoming game was all wrapped up and the weekend's guests returned to the house, we gathered again around the table and had some heaping plates of fresh-baked lasagna along with toasted garlic bread. I went ahead and made another batch of sweet and sour vinaigrette to adorn spring mix salads with spiced vanilla-cinnamon glazed walnuts and blue cheese. It all seemed to be well-received by the assembled throng.

I was the only one to add some of my homemade applesauce to the plate.

---

"Spiced Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad," inspired by the signature salad at Ryan's Steaks, Chops, & Seafood (an excellent Winston-Salem restaurant). "Sweet and Sour Vinaigrette" from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, compiled and edited by Julie Fisher Gunter. Birmingham, AL: Oxmoor House (1999), p. 373. "Cinnamon Vanilla Glazed Walnuts" recipe from McCormick & Company. Thanks as always to Jimmy Randolph for helping me track down those recipes.

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

More French Yogurt Cake? Yes, Please

This past Saturday morning, I wanted to have something for the weekend guests to nibble on with their coffee, and since the French yogurt cake I've made a couple of times lately has been so very tasty, I had to bring forth another loaf of it from the hard-working Roediger House oven.

---

"French Yogurt Cake," by Andrew Knowlton. In Bon Appétit, May 2012, p. 30.

Meal No. 1916: One-Pan Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Vegetables

When I finished up a Project CRISS training in nearby Walkertown this past Thursday afternoon, I didn't get to come back home. Instead I pointed the car east and a bit north and drove to Virginia Beach, because I had a training with high school administrators there to look forward to on Friday. (Another bonus: stopping at Smithfield's Chicken 'N Barbecue at dinnertime on the route!) It was a great and full day to finish out last week, and then I turned around and drove back to Winston-Salem and was greeted by the weekend's guests who were staying here for Wake Forest University's Homecoming. That meant a dinner needed to show up on the table, and the easy choice based on what I had on hand was one-pan pork tenderloin with green beans and roasted red potato wedges. It might have been 9 o'clock at night when we sat down to it, but we tackled it all enthusiastically!

---

"One-Pan Pork Tenderloin with Green Beans and Potatoes," by Christie Morrison. In Cook's Country, October/November 2015, p. 27.

Red Velvet Cake & Chocolate Decadence Ice Cream

For the fantastic dinner gathering for six of us this past Wednesday night, I also managed to get desserts made. Both recipes were new trials for me, and the response was very encouraging from the crew.

The centerpiece was a four-layer red velvet cake, using the recipe from that most expert of food bloggers, Barry C. Parsons. The other "velvet" cake recipes I've made from his website (lemon velvet and chocolate velvet) have been absolutely outstanding, and this red velvet cake was right there with the rest of them.

The chocolate decadence ice cream was a novelty, both for its intense chocolate-y-ness as well as for its thick consistency. It might have even have been just a bit much, but then again, there are plenty of fans of chocolate around here.

---

"The Best Red Velvet Cake," from Barry C. Parsons of RockRecipes.com.

"Chocolate Decadence Ice Cream," from KingArthurFlour.com.

Meal No. 1915: Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin

In the marking of a special occasion this past Wednesday night at the Roediger House, a special dinner menu was fitting: slow-roasted beef tenderloin with spicy horseradish sauce; Brussels sprouts gratin; twice-baked stuffed potatoes; and, for those who were so inclined, some homemade cinnamon applesauce.

There was a special salad to start it off as well: spring mix with blue cheese and cinnamon-vanilla-glazed walnuts and a sweet and sour vinaigrette.

---

"Spiced Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad," inspired by the signature salad at Ryan's Steaks, Chops, & Seafood (an excellent Winston-Salem restaurant). "Sweet and Sour Vinaigrette" from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, compiled and edited by Julie Fisher Gunter. Birmingham, AL: Oxmoor House (1999), p. 373. "Cinnamon Vanilla Glazed Walnuts" recipe from McCormick & Company. Thanks as always to Jimmy Randolph for helping me track down those recipes.

"Slow-Roasted Beef Tenderloin," from J. Kenji López-Alt, Managing Culinary Director of SeriousEats.com.

"Spicy Horseradish Sauce" from "Beef Tenderloin in Wine Sauce," from The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook. Compiled and Edited by Julie Fisher Gunter. Oxmoor Press (2006), p. 295, 296.

"Brussels Sprouts Gratin," by Alison Roman. From Cooking on newyorktimes.com.

"Stuffed Potatoes: Good/Better/Best," a recipe clipping saved from Cuisine at Home, Issue 60 [December 2006], p. 23-25. Reminder about crispier potato skins from "Crispy Baked Potato," from The Kitchen on foodnetwork.com.

Inspiration for Homemade Applesauce came from Evelyn Coulson of Cana, VA. Guidance for Homemade Applesauce came from:

• "Spiced Country Applesauce," from Finding Joy in My Kitchen. Published 11 September 2009.
• "Homemade Applesauce," from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman. Published 16 October 2013.
• "Sarah's Applesauce," from PHATCAT on AllRecipes.com.

Meal No. 1914: Glorious Beef & Mushroom Stir Fry

With the welcome and unplanned addition of new neighbor Jordan to the dinner table last Tuesday night, I stretched the cubes of beef tenderloin into three bowls of glorious beef and mushroom stir fry. It was tasty, with just enough kick to make it interesting.

---

"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).

Meal No. 1913: Miso Chicken

As the winds began to gust outside and the rain picked up with the west-of-us passage of the remnants of Hurricane Irma on Monday night, it was all pretty cozy inside the Roediger House, with good tunes on the Sonos and Sumner sleeping in my old man's chair with his chin perched on the arm. In the oven for the evening's meal: miso chicken, a new recipe that I'd had saved in my file for quite a while. To go with it, rice and broccoli.

I'm glad I tried it, but it's not likely to get repeated. I've got much better recipes for chicken thighs!

---

"Miso Chicken," by Sam Sifton. In New York Times Cooking.

Meal No. 1912: Glazed Grilled Pork Chops

Before the far-reaching effects of Hurricane Irma could fully invade Winston-Salem on Sunday night, I thought I'd get some grilling in. Some thick center-cut pork chops were awaiting me in the meat drawer, and it all turned into a gracious and filling meal. To go with it, peas and a rice-vermicelli mix, and I couldn't resist adding some of the leftover sweet potato souffle from a dinner earlier in the week.

---

"Glazed Pork Chops," in Cuisine's Celebrate the Seasons: Summertime Menus, Issue 10 (June/July 2016), p. 36-38.

Meal No. 1911: Light and Fluffy Waffles

Sunday morning allowed for the rare treat of waffles, this time with a new recipe that will definitely bear repeating: light and fluffy waffles, together with thick maple syrup and a tall glass of whole milk. It set me up well to then go catch an afternoon showing of Stephen King's It.

---

"Light and Fluffy Waffles," by James Schend, Food Editor of Taste of Home, September/October 2017, p. 26.

Emeril's Chocolate Pie

When Deborah and Alaina were here on Saturday night, the dessert I served up was the always-delicious Chocolate Cream Pie from Emeril Lagasse. In the past, I've had a tendency to use a pre-made chocolate crust to save myself a few steps in making it; that night, though, I also made the chocolate cookie crust and really liked its chocolate-y punch.

---

"Emeril's Chocolate Cream Pie," by Emeril Lagasse (2007). Featured on The FoodNetwork.com website.

Meal No. 1910: Cast-Iron Skillet Calzone

Saturday night was another opportunity to have a delightful evening with neighbors Alaina and Deborah, and when dinnertime rolled around, I served up cast-iron skillet sausage and beef calzone that was pretty tasty. We had some Caesar salad to go with it but I think the calzone took center stage.

---

"Cast-Iron Skillet Calzone," by Russell Selander. In Cook's Country, December/January 2017, p. 12.

Meal No. 1909: Honey Mustard Chicken

Friday was well-spent with a group of teachers at Walkertown Middle School, as we completed a second day of our Project CRISS training. When I got back to the Roediger House, it was a pretty glorious and sunny and breezy late afternoon, which compelled me to enjoy front porch time with a beer (or two). The evening finished up with a perfect plate of honey mustard baked chicken thighs, with stuffing and steamed broccoli. I'd say it was a night that was hard to beat.

---

"Honey Mustard Chicken," by Elise Bauer of SimplyRecipes.com.

Meal No. 1908: Sausage & Beef Manicotti with Homemade Marinara

On the menu this past Thursday night: sausage and beef manicotti with a homemade marinara sauce. This seems to be a twice-a-year recipe, having first shown up with the fall arrival of an "Autumn Classics" issue from Cuisine at Home back in 2015. For the five of us present that evening, it filled our bellies well.

To add to the fun, I figured it was about time to take a stab at some homemade bread, which ended up being rosemary and garlic flatbread based on a really accessible focaccia recipe that I'd recently stumbled across. It sure had a great flavor!

---

"Sausage & Beef Manicotti with Homemade Marinara," from Celebrate the Seasons: Autumn Classics from Cuisine at Home. Issue No. 6, October/November 2015, p. 18.

"Easy Focaccia Bread with Garlic and Herbs," from Adam at InspiredTaste.net.[Published 24 August 2017]