Month: August 2015

What’s For Dinner: 8/24-8/30

Nibbles

Last time I posted my menu plans I had a lot of links and no pictures. This time I decided to post after I’d finished the weeks meals because then I’d have pictures available to go with. We’d also just made a run to Sam’s Club for our bi-monthly* freezer stock-up, so I was planning around what we’d picked up rather than shopping for the specific menu. It reminds me of when I’d go to the Farmers’ Market, first, then figure out what I was going to make and what else I needed. I’m not sure if we have a regular Farmers’ Market up here (though there’s no shortage of farms!), but maybe joining a CSA will provide that same impetus?

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Monday: Caribbean Mahi Sliders with Pineapple Salsa and Sweet Potato Fries.
The fish burgers and fries were purchased, we had the rolls in the freezer left over from a previous week so I split the burgers to fit. The salsa I did make myself, though. I wasn’t following a particular recipe, but it was similar to the Low-FODMAP Pineapple Salsa I’ve posted about in the past.

Tuesday: Pork Chops, Yellow Rice, and Pesto Green Beans
The pork loin chops were seasoned simply (salt, pepper, paprika and some sage) and cooked in olive oil, the yellow rice was a mix we picked up at Sam’s that cooked beautifully in the rice cooker (creates less heat in there than on the stove), and the beans were inspired by Smitten Kitchen’s Green Beans with Almond Pesto. And when I say inspired by, I mean I skimmed the ingredient list and went my own way of convenience with frozen green beans and cubes of frozen basil, steamed in my microwave steamer, then topped with garlic olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Wednesday: Gazpacho and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I more-or-less followed Alton Brown’s Gazpacho recipe, which is to say I subbed several things but the spirit was still there. We had 2 lbs of cherry tomatoes to use so I used half those and half canned diced tomatoes and didn’t need any extra tomato sauce. We went with Muenster in the grilled cheese, with just a little Dijon mustard on one slice. Quick and easy mid-week meal.

Thursday we went out for fried seafood (not pictured) at George and Louie’s.

Friday: [Grilled] Chicken Ceasar Pasta Salad from Gimme Some Oven
No surprise, by now, that I didn’t exactly follow her directions, right? I grilled the chicken breast and the romaine lettuce (it’s so good that way) and tossed some eggplant that Mom brought me from her garden on the grill and into the pasta as well. I did make her yogurt-based dressing, and it was okay, but I would have preferred something with more body. We also served the pasta salad warm as gluten-free pasta doesn’t always do so well cold. At least not without a lot more dressing than this recipe called for.

Saturday: Bacon-Artichoke Scramble with Hash Browns
When I was making out the menu I had a craving for our party staple: bacon-wrapped artichoke hearts. It was a short leap from there to a breakfast for dinner experiment that turned out very tasty. The artichoke hearts did turn the eggs slightly green, but they tasted delicious. The hash browns are cooked with a bunch of green onion tops and more of those cherry tomatoes.

Sunday: Stuffed Meatloaf and Roasted Potatoes
This meatloaf is actually from my own cookbook and is half beef, half pork, and rolled up with layers of spinach and mozzarella cheese inside. The potatoes are diced large with the skin still on, seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, sage, red pepper, and sage, tossed with olive oil, and roasted right next to the meatloaf. A very meat-and-potatoes meal but good for Sunday supper, which always feels like a good time to roast something–even in the summer.

This week is Todd’s week to cook and I am happy to turn the range over to whatever he comes up with. What’s for dinner at your house?

*It frustrates me to no end that bi-monthly can either mean twice a month or every 2 months. Silly English. I mean every 2 months, for those who were wondering.

Tasting Thomasville: Downtown Bar Crawl

Nibbles

Thought we’d try something a little different for this installment of Tasting Thomasville, and share some video from the recent Chamber of Commerce sponsored YEP! Bar Crawl. I’m leap-frogging over quite a few other restaurant visits, but I’ll get to them all in good time.

Would it surprise you to know that I’ve never done a bar crawl before this?

But as I am a YEP! member and as we like to try new things (within reason), we decided to give it a go!

(Direct link for feed readers: YEP! Bar Crawl, August 2015)

3 Tips for surviving a bar crawl in your (late) 30s

  1. Pace yourself (You’re not as young as you once were)
  2. Eat something (alcohol on an empty stomach is a baaaaad idea)
  3. Drink some water (the more non-alcoholic hydration you do, the less chance of you making a fool of yourself in front of a very small town)

In addition to the comments I have in the video, here’s some more info on each of the day’s 5 stops:

Relish, 107A S Broad St

Used to be Relish & Dash a combo kitchen and running store (go figure). Recently, though, the owners decided to retire, sold the business, and the new owners each took their halves and open separate shops. Probably for the best, really. The front of relish is full of kitchen gadgets, cookware, and certain gourmet goods. The back is fitted with a bar area that, when not packed to the gills, is pleasant, I’m sure. We grabbed a glass of Oh, Susina (a peach and grape wine) and retreated to wander around the front because it was just. too. packed. back there. Alas, we missed most of the talk from the Historical Society.

The Billiard Academy, 121 S Broad St
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We grabbed bottled of water from the bar and our chili dogs and headed to the stone tables outside. I just couldn’t take the stale smoke smell in there* so we spent very little time in there. The chili dogs really were tasty: nothing fancy, but good, reliable hot dogs on a soft white bun topped with mustard, chili, and (for Todd) onions. Some things don’t have to be complicated, you know?

Sweet Grass Dairy, 123 S Broad St

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We have, of course, visited their delectable shop before on several occasions (see my Tasting Thomasville post from January) and are big fans! They recently moved down the street a bit into a new space that affords them a proper bar (but no deli counter, though the cheeses are available to purchase to take home, still, you just have to ask) and this was our first visit since then. We opted for American Innovators Cheese Board (featuring Big John’s Cajun, Psychedillic, Belle Honey Chevre, and Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar) and opted to add a meat, in this case the smoked duck. Seriously, I cannot say enough good things about that duck! It looked like thick-sliced turkey bacon, smelled like the best cookout ever, and was just so rich and good.

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Todd ordered the Watermelon Margarita (which was super-tart, not what I was expecting when I took a sip) and I had a couple of Ginger Crisp martinis (Gera vodka, lemon juice, ginger liqueur, lavender bitters). I could go for one of those Crisps right about now. Or any time, really.

The Plaza Bar, 217 S Broad St

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It was really dark in the bar, hence the super-grainy photo.

Between the heat and the wine and the martinis, yes, I was feeling a little sleepy by this stop, and the dim lighting in the bar certainly didn’t wake me up any. But a couple at a nearby table had ordered a platter of fried seafood and it smelled so good that we started getting hungry again, even after the cheese plate from Sweet Grass. We split a plate of fried oysters and it was just enough to satisfy any seafood cravings we had. This was a very different experience from when we wandered into The Plaza during a past Victorian Christmas and had a lackluster dinner, and I’d be willing to go back and give them another try after this more successful visit.

Bacchus Wine Bar, 229 W Jackson St

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Todd and I attended a wine-tasting dinner on Valentine’s Day (that will be written up in a future Tasting Thomasville installment) and I’ve attended another YEP mixer here, but this is the first time we’ve had a chance to try the sushi that they added to the menu at the beginning of the year. We got the Bacchus Roll (tuna, avocado, cucumber, carrots, scallions, and masago topped with spicy lump crab meat) and an order of their Chicken Nachos. Now, the nachos were a bit of a puzzle to eat as they came in a square bowl with the cheesey bits on the bottom, below the chips, with the meat, etc. on top. Asking for a side plate to shift some of it might not be a bad idea. It’s pretty (and tasty), just not practical. The sushi presentation was for more normal and, for their signature roll, I was certainly happy with it.

Overall, we enjoyed the bar crawl. It provided a great setting for a fun date night, and while we were home around 9pm, we don’t feel like we short-changed ourselves for the night in any way. We had an reason to stop and try the chili dogs at the Billiard Academy, gave The Plaza another try, and got to revisit a few “old” favorites. Not a bad outing at all!

*For what it’s worth, I have A1AT deficiency, a genetic disorder that, among other things, leaves my lungs more vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke than the average pair and dramatically increases my risk of emphesema and COPD. I’m under doctor’s orders to avoid cigarette smoke and other inhaled irritants as much as possible, so it’s not just a personal preference.

49 | Clovers, Comets, and Crows

64 Arts

This post is part of our ongoing creative exploration of the 64 Arts.

As I’ve done more research and reading about omens I’ve noticed two common elements of most omens:

  1. The appearance and incidence is natural in origin (as opposed to man-made).
  2. The appearance or incidence is naturally scarce or rare.

This kinda goes back to my hooting owl example: not so powerful if its a regular thing.

I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover

Clover is plentiful in fields all over the place, but most only have 3 heart-shaped leaves per stem. Since the 4-leaved variety is rare, obviously it’s a sign of good luck, right?

Well, maybe to an naturally optimistic soul. But if there’s one constant among the undeveloped cultures (where belief is superstitions and omens is more common), it’s that the different and unusual will be feared as often, if not more so, than praised.

But what’s lucky for one could mean ill for another.

The Case of Halley’s Comet

Before science was anywhere near explaining the various lights in our sky, people made stories up about them–what they were, what they symbolized–and still do. Astrology is still practiced (seriously by some, casually by others) all over the world and while some do invest the stars with the ability to predict the future, their divinations aren’t exactly omens (or at least not all of them, we’ll go that far in safety, I think).

But when I star streaks across the sky, a meteor shower rains light from the heavens, or a comet burns its way over the horizon… that’s apt to get some folks’ attention!

As early as men and women could conceive of some higher power, the sky was often where those celestial beings lived. Any changes in the sky were considered their judgement on the actions of the mortals below. So when Halley’s comet streaked across the sky back in 1066, with war looming in England, a war that saw  the death of their king? Well,  obviously, a comet is bad news. But what about the other guy (William the Conqueror) who rose to power thanks to that same battle.

Two sides to ever coin. Even the fiery ones.

One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

And speaking of balance, some omens do take that into consideration from the get-go.

Magpies (please excuse my alliterative choice in the title of this post) were, apparently, pretty scarce once upon a time, and to see them was considering auspicious, indeed. Of course, how many you saw–whether it was at one time or over the course of a day I’m a little unclear of–definitely mattered.

There are many versions of the old nursery rhyme/folk song but they all start with

One for sorrow
Two for joy(or mirth)

Then they continue along, diverging between the overall good or neutral and the more negative.

Three for a wedding
Four for a death (or birth)–see, now we’re getting into weird territory

Some even had three for a girl and four for a boy.  Some versions stop at four, but for those that continue on, five and six stay pretty constant at silver and gold, respectively, so I suppose we can take that for people being as concerned with wealth then as we are now.

Seven for a secret is pretty common, though, again, a secret can be good or bad, and some versions I’ve read or heard referenced say seven for a witch. The version recorded in an 1846 book finishes

Seven for a secret
not to be told
Eight for heaven
Nine for hell
And ten for the devils own self.

I guess you really didn’t want to see more than 8 magpies for sure, right?!

While it was a non-reference book that reminded me of the magpies, I first heard of this rhyme many years ago while listening to a Guggenheim Grotto album and one of the tracks was “One For Sorrow” and I wondered what the symbolism behind the magpie was in the lyrics.

Incidentally, magpies are no longer scarce in England, so your chances of seeing a tidings of magpies (not a typo, that is their correct collective noun) are a lot higher than they used to be. So maybe take that, and all of this, really, with a grain of salt and a flutter of feathers.

These ominous examples are all from ages past, what sort of things would constitute omens in this day and age, were one to believe in such things. In the natural versus man-made distinction all that crucial as we continue to innovate and automate and rely on technology? Does a clap of thunder out of a clear blue sky make you think twice about something you just said or thought or are planning to do?

Definitely worth pondering, I think…

Let’s Go for FroYo!

Nibbles

Oh, twist my arm why don’t you?

Since today is National Soft-Serve (Ice Cream} Day, we did the next best thing and headed out to our favorite frozen yogurt place, Yoburst. And since I found out about this via the vlog prompts from Kat at Mama’s Losin’ It, we took the video camera with us on this most recent trip.

(Direct link for the feed readers: Let’s Go For FroYo!)

We generally don’t need an excuse to head to Yoburst, though we do have to remember to head that way before 9pm (I swear they stayed open later back when we first moved up here) and give up if we get a craving on a Sunday. Gotta love the South!

I mentioned in the video about heading there after getting news of Todd’s second surgery. That was a Wednesday and it was right around 5 when we stopped by. Since we’re usually squeaking in just before they close on a Friday or Saturday night, the cashier actually remarked that we were out of our usual habit coming in so early mid-week. It was then we started to wonder just how often we ate there!  A month or so after said surgery, we saw one of the surgeon’s nurses coming in as we were going out–that’s small town life for ya!

Of course, making soft-serve (ice cream or frozen yogurt) at home is pretty simple if you’ve got any sort of ice cream maker–just dish it up straight out the machine when there’s still plenty of air beaten into it and there you go! I made a delicious Limoncello ice cream not too long ago that was hard to resist in its soft, fresh stage–the only thing that saved it was that we were expecting company and I wanted to share it more with them than have it all for myself.

Where do you fall on the ice cream vs frozen yogurt debate? And what’s your favorite flavor?

The Case of Insufficient Breading

Nibbles

And other recipe pet peeves because, hey, why not?

So I posted our menu for last week including the recipe links where available and, first, I’d like to pat myself on the back for not bailing on any of them. Wohoo!

But it didn’t start out all that great when the first recipe, the Orange Chicken, had me mixing up a second batch of both breading components in the middle of prep (and even then that wasn’t quite enough to get all the chicken coated, but by that point I was ready to move on!).

Now, this is not the first time I’ve come across this issue with recipes and I think I know why it pops up so often:

  1. Excess breading ingredients are pure waste: due to food safety issues you cannot use the flour, cornmeal, or breadcrumbs that you just dipped your raw meat or fish into for anything else. The excess has to be tossed.
  2. Nutritional data trumps practicality: a simple nutritional analysis of a recipe is the sum of its parts and does not take into consideration the excess flour and milk that may get tossed in the bin instead the pan. And it’s too much work for most recipe writers to backtrack and manually adjust the nutritional data based on what is reasonably consumed.

So, while it might be possible to coat 2 pounds of chicken breasts (or thighs, in my case) with 3/4 cup of flour and cornstarch combined, but once you chop up the meat the surface area increases exponentially and you wind up, like I did, grabbing more of both the wet and dry items while juggling a hot wok.

In comparison to the Mongolian Beef later in the week which required dredging the beef in cornstarch, while the components were similar in weight and volume, the fact that you were only tossing the beef around with the starch in a bag means that it’s going to spread farther. When you’re doing a 2 or 3-step breading, you lose a certain amount of each component as it reacts with the former, either sinking to the bottom of the bowl for the wet steps or clumping (usually around your fingers) for the dry.

I doubt recipe writers are going to change, so all I can caution you to do is mix up more breading materials than the recipe calls for. Yes, it’s a bit wasteful, but flour and such is usually pretty cheap, so it’s not the end of the world. Plus, breaded items are more of a treat sort of meal, not an everyday occurrence, right?

Also, for the love of flavor, season each component in your breading steps! Don’t overdo it on the salt or anything, a couple of pinches is usually enough, but by all means season the flour mixes: the one closest to the meat will help flavor the meat, the ones on the outer layer will be what hits your tongue first. Do you want to just taste blah flour? I didn’t think so.

Amusingly enough, the Orange Chicken was an exception to my hokey-pokey chicken peeve. (Which I’ve complained about several times.) In this case it really does make sense to cooking the chicken in batches and set them aside because you certainly wouldn’t want the sediment that collects in the bottom of the wok from the frying to mix in with your sauce. Of course, the reason why this exception works is that the process is fairly fast on all steps: quickly fry the batches of chicken, dump out the frying oil and any residue/sediment (and not down the sink–I don’t have to tell y’all why, right?), cook the sauce ingredients and add the chicken back in. Once the chicken is in the sauce you can, if need be, lower the temp to keep things warm while the rice or what have you finishes up.

Other recipe pet peeves?

Oh, things like missing ingredients or missing directions are easy to get peeved at. While I always caution everyone (including myself) to read the entire recipe before starting prep, I’ve been known to skim through the directions only to see it calls for adding extra water or whatnot along the line that I have to scramble for instead of having it pre-measured and ready to go. Worse is when there’s an ingredient listed and they never tell you what to do with it!

In theory, if the mystery item is between other things that are all added together you can be pretty sure that Item X goes in, then, too. Of course, if the recipe write hits another of my hot-buttons and does NOT list ingredients in the order they are used, well, then, you’ll just have to wing it! Some folks take the tack of listing ingredients largest to smallest by weight or volume. Nope, folks, that’s great for food packaging but not so good for recipes!

Of course, as a cookbook author, I’ve done some of these myself (mostly by accident: no matter how many times you proofread something there will still be errors) but I try to avoid them as much as possible. I also try not to get too peeved when others do it, which is why I don’t rant about it all that often. But some days…

Do you have any recipe pet peeves of your own?