Meal No. 1950: Not So Cajun Chicken

With company in town from Florida and a desire to make the Saturday evening meal comforting (while taking advantage of a special on chicken tenderloins!), I decided to go with house favorite Not So Cajun Chicken, over basmati rice and with fresh steamed broccoli. The verdict: "It popped!"

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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. Credit to Jimmy Randolph for helping track the recipe down. (Another version of the recipe can be found here.)

Meal No. 1949: Glazed Grilled Pork Chops

This past Friday, while I was still a little numbed that it was already the 3rd day of November, the weather was downright balmy, with a high of 80°F by early afternoon and a rising full moon that night. I cut the grass late afternoon for the 24th and, likely, the last time of the year. Because it was such a delightful evening, and the 10-day forecast promised a dramatic cooler shift in the weather pattern, it pleased me to hit the grill with another round of glazed grilled pork chops, with roasted garlic asparagus and stuffing. It was on point yet again.

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

Meal No. 1948: Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce

At the end of August, I tried out a new recipe: chicken with tomato and basil cream sauce. It was simply terrific and I've been wanting to try it again. That finally occurred this past Thursday night, although I wasn't as thrilled with it this time. I suspect it's because I'm not a fan of Pecorino Romano cheese after all; I'd better stick to parmesan.

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"Chicken with Tomato and Basil Cream Sauce," from Sally of GoodDinnerMom.com. [Published 27 March 2015]

Upgrading the Outdoor Furniture

As the summer wound up, and I was furiously checking off more of the projects on my summer to-do list, that also included trying to replace, upgrade, and expand the outdoor furniture here at the Roediger House. A new feature, pictured above, is the addition of a bistro table and chairs in the corner of the front porch under the ceiling fan. Because I really enjoy watching the happenings and goings-on on Spring Street, I'm definitely pleased to have a higher chair that gives me a better view over the porch railing. Why, there might even be an occasional supper sitting out there, when the weather's nice. It's great the way the breezes whip around that corner of the house, so it's often a terrific spot for sitting and relaxing and visiting.

The house also boasts a pretty awesome upstairs balcony that looks out at the city skyline. It's undergone a couple of significant repairs in the 14 years I've lived here, first with the major renovation project of 2008-2009, and then more recently in order to correct mistakes made in 2008-2009! Over the years, that balcony has been wonderful for planned and impromptu gatherings, but it's also just a nice spot to sit and enjoy day or night. Unfortunately, some of the original furniture I'd bought came from WalMart and didn't hold up well, and then over the last few months the remaining chairs were rendered unusable thanks to squirrels raiding the stuffing from the cushions. With end-of-season sales going on, though, I've replaced the busted pieces and replaced the cushions, and that balcony is again ready for more great times:

Like the lead-up to a Roediger House reading party:

Recipe Organization Project

I suppose it's a given that I like spending time in my kitchen. I'm glad I've got a pretty good collection of recipe books and a nice assortment of food and cooking magazines coming in. There's also the overwhelming mass of recipes that are out there on the internet. Over time, between clippings from magazines and print-outs from websites, I ended up with quite a few stacks of unsorted things that I eventually got around to at least organizing into folders. But that wasn't the best solution.

Since I do educational consulting, I am usually gifted with an early-September break from work and travel while schools get the new year started and underway. From somewhere finally came the inspiration and motivation to get all those darned recipes organized, which began with emptying and sorting each of the many folders:

With several boxes of sheet protectors from Costco and several rolls of Scotch tape to help me out, I slowly got them into notebooks, with sticky notes as tabs to help organize them better:

An awesome additional benefit of this project was that it got me to really want to clean up the butler's pantry, which has just been junky since 2009:

Once this multi-day endeavor was done, I had a better-looking (but not perfect!) butler's pantry:

And a helpfully-organized set of notebooks so's I can keep on doing the cooking labors that bring me a lot of joy:

Meal No. 1947: Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

For the third week in a row, I found myself packing last Sunday afternoon in order to hit the road for several days of work in Virginia. Sometimes it's hard to pull myself away from home and I find plenty of things to tie me down a bit before I actually toss my bags in the car and head out. This time that included making a delicious lunch and eating around 3 pm before hitting the showers and throwing the last of my rigging into the satchels and then into the trunk of the VW. The meal? Poppyseed chicken casserole...absolutely terrific.

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

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

It's been about two years since I made 'em, but following the Saturday night corn chowder meal, I also served up dulce de leche cheesecake bars, a favorite of the birthday honoree that night. Pretty darned scrumptious, that!

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"Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars," by Cindy Mushet. In Bon Appétit, June 2010, p. 96.

Meal No. 1946: Indiana Chicken and Corn Chowder

This past Saturday night was a combination of several important things: a gathering of the Roediger House Regular Six, a birthday meal to note Gern's passage into his 29th year, and binge-watching the initial four episodes of Stranger Things 2.  Gern's meal request was the famous and much-loved Indiana Corn Chowder, which turned out super good this time around.

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"Indiana Corn and Potato Chowder," by Brannon Soileau from his restaurant Maize, An American Grill (formerly of Lafayette, IN). In Indiana Cooks!, by Christine Barbour and Scott Feickert with photographs by Tom Stio. Bloomington, IN: Quarry Books (2005), p. 64-65. Recipe originally shared with me on December 31, 2006. You can find this, and quite a few other Indiana recipes, if you scroll to the bottom of this article: "Indiana Can Cook."

Meal No. 1945: Breakfast for Dinner

After a very long but good five days on the road, working again in Virginia last week, I made the five-hour journey back home and was quite content to make a hearty breakfast for Friday night's dinner. Neese's hot country sausage, Luquire stone ground grits, free-range eggs, sourdough toast, mixed fruit jelly, and a tall glass of cold orange juice...I was a bit overwhelmed by the time it was all done.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Back in September, I tried out a recipe for salted caramel chocolate chip cookie bars, and they were a pretty big hit with those who sampled them. Before leaving town last Sunday to head up to Clarke County, Virginia, I managed to make a fresh batch of them. (I'm regularly given very stern directives about bringing some sort of sweet baked goods when I report for duty there.)

They took a bit longer to cook this time, but boy howdy were they pretty darned delicious again.

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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. 1944: Hamburger Supreme

It always seems a shame when I repeat a meal too soon, especially when it's one that shows up so often on the Roediger House menu...but it was a short weekend at home and I had to turn around and drive back up to Virginia this past Sunday afternoon. For lunch, it was a faithful much-loved easy-to-prepare standby: hamburger supreme, with hot buttered corn and the last of my homemade applesauce.

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

Meal No. 1943: Pork Stuffed Shells

The Saturday evening meal at the Roediger House last weekend was another new recipe trial: pork stuffed shells, from the most recent issue of Cuisine at Home. Rather than a typical assist to the filling in the guise of something like ricotta cheese, you make an Italian béchamel called Balsamella...and this turned the shells into something that hints of Italian sausage and gravy! With some homemade tomato sauce and homemade applesauce (I rather love applesauce), it was a hearty and filling meal at the end of a great day at home between week-long travel trips.

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"Pork Stuffed Shells," from Cuisine at Home, Issue 126 (November/December 2017), p. 30-31.

Meal No. 1942: Roasted Salmon

On the journey home from Clarke County, Virginia, last Friday evening, I ducked into the Lowe's Foods in Walkertown and grabbed a couple of tempting salmon fillets to make for dinner. They roasted up pretty nicely, with some herb seasoning and a bit of blackening spice, and it all went well with steamed broccoli florets and a rice-vermicelli mix.

DoubleTree-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies & Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

For a delightful group of aspiring administrators who are part of the High Point University Leadership Academy this fall, I took along a batch of DoubleTree-style chocolate chip cookies when we met in Rutherford County at CHASE High School. Fortunately for me and for the six of us at dinner, when I made them the night before, we were able to enjoy them hot out of the oven and with some fresh homemade vanilla ice cream:

That ice cream was pretty good the following night for dessert as well, topped with some standard ol' Hershey's Syrup:

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"Doubletree Hotel's Chocolate Chip Cookies," by Ayşegül Sanford and her blog, Foolproof Living. Published December 29, 2013.

"Vanilla Ice Cream," from Bi-Rite Creamery's Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, and Dabney Gough. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press (2012), p. 35-36.

Dessert Pizza on a Sunday Night

I tried out another new recipe for dessert pizza not so long ago, following Meal No. 1934 (Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup). It was basically like a crunchy version of cinnamon roll filling laid out across a thin crust. We all agreed it was tasty and unusual, but I doubt this is the version that will show up again.

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"Dessert Pizza for Davey," from GirlPlusFood.com. [Published 02 March 2012]

Cookie Butter Ice Cream

That incredible vanilla cake Sunday night a week ago wasn't the only dessert treat I served up, because I'd also made some scrumptious cookie butter ice cream to complement it, and I think we were all rather glad I did. It's been kind of fun to find good uses for this evil concoction that is an extra reason to run by the Trader Joe's, especially since the Biscoff brand of cookie butter is so darned expensive. So far that has also included cookie butter cheesecake and cookie butter chocolate chip cookies.

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"Cookie Butter Ice Cream," from Michelle of the BrownEyedBaker.com blog.

Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

After the dinner for six of us last Sunday night, I also had some fresh-made layer cake to serve up. I was drawn back to the really amazing vanilla cake from Jenn Segal of the Once Upon a Chef blog. The couple of times I've made it before earned this confection quite a lot of praise, and I hoped it could be a winner again that night. I must say: it was warmly received!

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"Vanilla Birthday Cake with Old-Fashioned Vanilla Buttercream," by Jenn Segal of OnceUponAChef.com.

Meal No. 1941: Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole

Right before leaving town for several days of work up in Virginia, I put a Sunday casserole dish on the table for a party of six: cheesy chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole, to be specific. I looked through several recipes for this, earlier in 2017, and sort of arrived at my own combination of constituent parts in order to create something that seems consistently worthy of company.

The casserole itself makes a sufficient meal, methinks, but I like that there was still a big bowl of homemade chilled cinnamon applesauce, for those who were so inclined.

There was dessert, too, but that will be the feature of subsequent blog posts.

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While I have pretty much made it my own recipe, I still got inspiration and ideas from:

• "Chicken Broccoli Rice and Cheese Casserole," by LifeAfter40 on food.com. Posted 18 March 2013.
• "Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole," by Sabrina from Dinner, Then Dessert. Posted 14 December 2016.

Meal No. 1940: Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes & Sausage

It was foggy and damp for most of the morning this past Sunday, but the Roediger House kitchen was warm and cozy with the appearance of buttermilk pancakes and sausage patties, with a generous slosh of maple syrup and a tall glass of cold milk.

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"Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes," by Alison Roman. In the Cooking Section of the New York Times [found online].

Meal No. 1939: Chicken with Mushroom Wine Sauce

A quick search on the blog shows that it's been quite a long time since I served up chicken with mushroom sauce, even though I have three pretty good recipes for it. As noted in the blog entry for Meal No. 475 back in 2012, one version was discovered in 2001 or 2002 in a joint dinner endeavor by my mother and me when I was first starting to get into cooking. I made it a few times in the old kitchen before 2008. The only other time I think I've made it was for Meal No. 672, in 2013, using a different recipe found online from Real Simple. When I brought it back this past Friday night, I depended on two recipes for it, as noted below.

I'd also made another batch of homemade applesauce to go with the stuffing and the small bit of smashed sweet potatoes remaining from the lamb meatloaf meal earlier in the week. It was a heckuva meal to finish out the week on a day when I'd had the pleasure of another great day with the Guilford County group in the High Point University Leadership Academy.

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Based on "Chicken with Mushroom Sauce," from RealSimple.com; and "Chicken Thighs with Mushroom and Wine Sauce," by Diana Rattray and About.com's Southern Food.

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. 1938: Potato & Cheese Soup

By Thursday evening of last week, the oppressive humidity and surprisingly warm days had finally given way to overcast skies and slightly cooler temps. It put me in the mood to throw a pot on the stove and make a good, filling, and comforting soup in it. A few years ago this recipe for potato and cheese soup was shared with me, and it's just always good. It was even better that night because I still had the rest of the madeira vegetables I'd made earlier in the week and that enriched and redirected the good flavors.

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"Potato and Cheese Soup," from a cooking class at KitchenArt in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Meal No. 1937: Mushroom & Swiss Burgers

Since I didn't need all of the sliced shiitake mushrooms I'd bought for making lamb and multi-mushroom meatloaf the previous night, I figured I'd incorporate them into mushroom and swiss burgers last Wednesday night. Not the most amazing meal, I'll confess, but still good enough to survive suppertime.

Meal No. 1936: Lamb & Multi-Mushroom Madeira Vegetable Meatloaf

Originally, I was not scheduled to be off this past Tuesday, but when it turned out I had a day at home, I turned my attention to attempting a great supper for six that night. The menu included lamb meatloaf made with a filling that included two kinds of mushrooms and homemade madeira vegetables. I reserved the liquid from making the vegetables in order to create a Madeira sauce for the meatloaf. I'm always drawn to the Tupelo Honey Cafe's take on smashed sweet potatoes for this kind of meal, and I also had a pot of seasoned green beans. There was even dessert that night, as if we could possibly have any room for it!

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"Lamb and Multi-Mushroom Meat Loaf" (p. 150) and "Smashed Sweet Potatoes" (p. 128), in Tupelo Honey Cafe: Spirited Recipes from Asheville's New South Kitchen, by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing (2011).

Madeira Sauce and Madeira Vegetables based on recipes from Tupelo Honey Cafe: New Southern Flavors from the Blue Ridge Mountains by Elisabeth Sims with Chef Brian Sonoskus. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing (2014), p. 157.

Meal No. 1935: Grilled Ribeyes and French Fries

With only Sunday in between all the work of the previous week and being right back up and teaching this past Monday, I was easily drawn to the simplicity and deliciousness of grilled ribeyes and some crispy French fries when Monday's dinnertime rolled around.

Meal No. 1934: Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

I'd sort of anticipated that it would be cooler this past Sunday, to go along with the effects of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Nate, and envisioned a big ol' pot of soup or stew. Instead, while it was rainy and overcast, it was also ridiculously humid and a bit warm. But the four of us at dinner didn't seem to mind the menu choice after all, since it was the really delicious Vierling Saloon cream of chicken and wild rice soup. It might have been the best it's ever been.

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"Vierling Saloon Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup," formerly offered at the Vierling Saloon in Marquette, Michigan. Another online version of the recipe can be found at Miss Mary's Blog.

Meal No. 1933: One-Pan Pork Tenderloin and Blade Runner

When I first started doing consulting full time, I was also still teaching a lot of weekend classes for the University of Virginia. I had lots of six-day weeks back in those days, but it's been a long time since that was the case. Until this past week, that is: three full days of observations and debriefing in three different counties; two days doing four sessions with high school teachers on instructional design; and, on Saturday, a wonderfully full day with members of the fall cohort in the High Point University Leadership Academy looking at issues of post-observation conferencing.

Then, that evening, the plans for Saturday night included company for dinner and also watching the director's cut of the 1982 Blade Runner.

One of these days, I'm going to come across another "one-pan" dinner recipe that is as easy and good for nights like that, but in the meantime, I have to keep relying on the terrific one-pan pork tenderloin with roasted vegetables that keeps showing up on the menu at the Roediger House. It's a good groove, but is it close to becoming a rut? My full belly didn't seem to care.

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

Meal No. 1932: Hamburger Supreme

Boy howdy, I had a great two days with teachers at North Forsyth High School this past Thursday and Friday. But my week was not yet done, and I had some finishing touches to put on my PowerPoint presentation for a class on Saturday, and I fell back on the ease of an old and favorite and frequent recipe for Friday night's dinner: hamburger supreme, with hot buttered corn and a cold Bell's Best Brown Ale.

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

Meal No. 1931: Biscuits 'N Sausage Gravy

Last Thursday night and it was a bowl of southern heaven at dinnertime at the Roediger House:

Caramel Popcorn Crunch Cookies

When I can carve out the time to do so, I like to take along some goodies to share with administrators or teachers with whom I might be working on a given day. Last week, thanks to an unusually early awakening, a few pans of cookies got made in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning, and I took them to share with members of the High Point University Leadership Academy cohort that joined me for observations in nearby Yadkin County. They seemed to think they were okay enough.

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"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.