104 replies to this topic

[munchymom]

Kim:
I always thought the pictures on the plates were supposed to represent Native American petroglyphs, but I really haven't a clue.

Re: Yquem: I've only had it once before, about twelve years ago (that time it was a 1990), and it was amazing, but you can get really stunning Sauternes for a fraction of the price. I've had very high-scoring ones from $30 - $50 for a (375 ml) bottle. It's worth a look if you like dessert wine.

[Kerry Beal]

I remember my parents going to Buffalo and buying a couple of bottles of Chateau d'Yquem when I was a child. I seem the think the price was rather outrageous at around $25. I've forgotten what the occasions were for their opening - but I recall there was a wheel of old cheddar from a favourite cheese factory on the Bay of Quinte at one of those openings.

It was one of the best things I'd tasted - the old cheese was the perfect foil for the sweetness of the wine - and I know I wanted to be sure I was around for the opening of the second bottle!

[onrushpam]

I LOVE Bubbies kraut... used to be able to get it at my Publix, but they don't carry it anymore.

[munchymom]

An aptly named late-night snack:



See you in the morning.

[Kim Shook]

Kim:
I always thought the pictures on the plates were supposed to represent Native American petroglyphs, but I really haven't a clue.

Re: Yquem: I've only had it once before, about twelve years ago (that time it was a 1990), and it was amazing, but you can get really stunning Sauternes for a fraction of the price. I've had very high-scoring ones from $30 - $50 for a (375 ml) bottle. It's worth a look if you like dessert wine.

You are probably right - I'm an Egyptophile (and I make up my own words!), so I just assumed hieroglyphics.

I will search out a reasonably priced Sauternes - I've had other people suggest that to me.

[haresfur]

Kim:
I always thought the pictures on the plates were supposed to represent Native American petroglyphs, but I really haven't a clue.

I was thinking Minoan because of the bull but the falcon looks Egyptian so I'm guessing Egyptian or that someone just thought they looked nice (and they do).

The veggie chips look great, too!

[munchymom]

I slept late and skipped breakfast.

For lunch, I was in the mood for Mexican food, so I went to... a shopping mall?
Was I perhaps in search of Taco Bell?

Nope.



Plaza Fiesta is a mall just over the NC/SC border which caters to the large and growing Latino population in the area.

I had lunch here:





Two tacos (the front one is carnitas, the back al pastor), rice and beans. The tacos were both delicious, well flavored meat and slightly toasted soft corn tortillas. Those beans were not the flavorless pile of goo that one often finds at Mexican restaurants, but had a rich smoky flavor. There's some pork fat in there for sure.

[munchymom]

On the way home from lunch I stopped at a farm stand for these:



The strawberries, not the cat of course. The cat is my constant companion Purrl, who is inexplicably attracted to any vegetable matter I bring in the house. I put those berries in the fridge right away before she could get a bite.

[sheepish]

That toasted sandwich. Can you help for those of us unfamiliar with American brands. I can spot sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese (is that sort of generic Emmental style?). But what's in the front packet? And the bottle?

Ta

[Kouign Aman]

corned beef or pastrami, and thousand island salad dressing.

[judiu]

That toasted sandwich. Can you help for those of us unfamiliar with American brands. I can spot sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese (is that sort of generic Emmental style?). But what's in the front packet? And the bottle?

Ta

I'm not Munchy Mom, but the bottle is Thousand Island dressing, and the front packet is a good brand of corned beef, from the deli counter (I THINK it says Boar's Head...)The completed ensemble (sp?) is called a Ruben sandwich, which must be grilled, NOT served just on toasted rye, to my taste! (YMMV)
And, by the way, my sainted grandmother had a marmalade cat who would kill for asparagus 'butts'. (That's the stringy part that should snap off IF you flex the stem; Nana never did, so Ike could have his treat...)

[munchymom]

Yes, thanks to those who stepped in to answer, that sandwich is a Reuben. Corned beef, Thousand Island dressing (a sweet sauce that is basically ketchup and mayonnaise with a little sweet pickle mixed in), Sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese (this is actually not imported, but a domestically produced mild cheese that is sort of reminiscent of Emmenthal), grilled on rye bread.

Re: the cat: yes, she is a tortoiseshell. I don't know if she'd eat fruit, but she's always very taken with it. I have a strict policy of never letting her have human food, because my parents had a cat and dog when I was growing up who were given snacks from the table, and both pets were disgustingly impossible to live with. I will not have a pet who begs for my food.

[munchymom]

As the old saying goes, life is uncertain, so today we'll start dessert first.



To everything...
(churn, churn, churn)



There is a season...
(churn, churn, churn)



And a time for every ice cream that tastes like heaven.

[munchymom]

Dinnertime:



This right here's the real deal, y'all:



Ribs, pulled pork, hush puppies, french fries, and there are baked beans hiding behind the ribs. The white tub is cole slaw, the red ones are spicy vinegar sauce.

The traditional drink with barbecue is sweet iced tea, however since I got my meal to go, I can break with tradition:



Dry apple cider is a great companion to smoked pork.

[munchymom]

I should say that those ribs are not traditional NC or SC barbecue, as far as I know, but they are seriously one of the best things ever. They smoke the ribs until they're done, and then when you order them they put them on the grill and baste them with a sweet sauce, so they get all caramelized. The inside is tender and smoky, and the outside is sweet and a little burnt and chewy, like pork candy.

[heidih]

Pork candy works for me! Love the glass and the hard cider idea. The strawberry ice cream sounds like a blissful follow up.

[Tri2Cook]

Barbecue and homemade ice cream... now you're talkin'!

[Shelby]

An aptly named late-night snack:



See you in the morning.

Best. Ice Cream. Ever.

OOPS, I mean besides your homemade that I just saw :)

Edited by Shelby, 11 April 2012 - 04:19 PM.

[munchymom]

Dessert:



Homemade strawberry ice cream with Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Thins and Petite Cocoa Batons.

[munchymom]

Breakfast time!



A freshly baked (frozen, Trader Joe's) chocolate croissant, strawberries, and a mimosa.

[nikkib]

I'm loving how decadent your week is - great to see a hardworking wife and mom
Enjoying herself whilst left unshackled! When my dad used to go away on business I had to literally drag my mum out for a cocktail or cook something she would never normally do as dad/brother/sister wouldn't enjoy it. Great week!

[munchymom]

Leftover 'cue and cole slaw for lunch:



The meal so nice I ate it twice.

[andiesenji]

Kim:
I always thought the pictures on the plates were supposed to represent Native American petroglyphs, but I really haven't a clue.

Re: Yquem: I've only had it once before, about twelve years ago (that time it was a 1990), and it was amazing, but you can get really stunning Sauternes for a fraction of the price. I've had very high-scoring ones from $30 - $50 for a (375 ml) bottle. It's worth a look if you like dessert wine.

You are probably right - I'm an Egyptophile (and I make up my own words!), so I just assumed hieroglyphics.

I will search out a reasonably priced Sauternes - I've had other people suggest that to me.

The designs on the plate are definitely from Egyptian hieroglyphic sources. I used to do a lot of artwork with Egyptian designs, have a collection of books on Egyptology and Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar (1927), which has detailed explanations of the pictographs.

The parallel wavy lines indicate running water, usually the Nile a single wavy line the sea. The hare is the goddess Unnut or Wenet, "swift" (fertility goddess). The hawk is of course Horus,(rebirth) the filled in X (on its side) with a wavy line under it and an orb in the "v" indicate the setting sun between two mountains. The bull is the god Apis, (strength and fertility). That's just off the top of my head. I may be a bit fuzzy on some of this.
The combination of the wavy lines and the hare may indicate swift water but I'd have to look it up in Gardiner to be sure.

It's fun to speculate on the message there might be on the plate.

[munchymom]

Dinner was at another one of my neighborhood favorites, City Tavern. It's a small local chain that serves very reliable food. They have one of my favorite sandwiches in town:



Steak in the Grass. Shaved prime rib, onions, spinach and provolone. With some good fries on the side.

[munchymom]

Andie, that's so cool that you know what the symbols mean! I wonder if the person who designed the plate knew, or if they just picked some at random. Maybe the message is "Help, I'm being held captive in a Mikasa factory!"

[heidih]

"Steak in the Grass" - cleverly cute and a flavor combo I enjoy.

So are you a snacker, or do you prefer 3 solid meals?

Also- I know you have been indulging in the treat type of breakfast "drinks", but are you usually a coffee or tea person (or even a Diet Coke in the morning) person?

[andiesenji]

They all seem to have something to do with life, enjoyment, fertility and the half-round symbol with Horus is the symbol for bread.
Looks like a loaf of bread as it was made in ancient Egypt - they did have communal bakeries in the pyramid worker's villages.

[munchymom]

I don't drink any caffeine - I do like the taste of coffee so I sometimes have decaf. My usual morning (and throughout the day) drink is plain seltzer - something about the bite of the carbonation wakes me up and settles my stomach.

I vary between being a snacker and a 3 meals per day person - if the meals are substantial enough I don't feel like snacking. I do like to munch on something salty with alcoholic drinks in the evening. Either rice crackers or nuts, depending on how crazy I'm going with the calories.

Oh yes, another thing I usually do that I took a welcome respite from this week - count calories. I am a person of somewhat substantial size, and so usually I'm trying to "watch" what I eat, even on vacation. I decided to take a break from all that this week, but after tomorrow, it's going to be back to the grind. I really do enjoy food that isn't quite as hyper-indulgent as I've been eating this week, so it's not terrible deprivation or anything. But just taking the freedom to not think about it... I've enjoyed it so much.

[sheepish]

Way behind again here.

Hush puppies? Those are shoe where I come from. Wasn't sure where they were in the pic, let alone what they were?

And hard cider? What does hard mean in that context?

Ta

[Mjx]

Way behind again here.

Hush puppies? Those are shoe where I come from. Wasn't sure where they were in the pic, let alone what they were?

And hard cider? What does hard mean in that context?

Ta

Hushpuppies are the three tasty-looking items in the upper part of the polystyrene tray:

. . . .



. . . .

I've never eaten them but have heard they're extremely tasty (maize is involved); they certainly deserve a proper explanation from someone who know them well!

In the US 'cider' is generally a non-alcoholic beverage, essentially cloudy apple juice; 'hard cider' is alcoholic (but not very).