Smithy

We had dinner from Cooper's again last night. This time, although there still wasn't the line I'd expected, the serving pit had an excellent selection of its meats. The pit gents were happy to let me photograph them, too. One of them is holding the brisket I'd just selected on a tray, ready to be weighed and paid for. Inside, they have a lot of sides: macaroni and cheese, for instance, and desserts. I settled for the brisket, and larger containers of the cole slaw and potato salad. And beans and bbq sauce, of course. I'm sure the leftovers will go into sandwiches, just as some of the ribs from the night before did for yesterday's lunch.

According to this article, Kansas changed that law a few years ago, and Utah changed its law by raising the limit (to a whopping 4%!) on Nov. 1, 2019. It doesn't say what Kansas' new laws are, though. This was an article about Minnesota being the holdout.

Minnesota only allow what we call "3-2" beer (3.2% ABV) in convenience stores, but as of last week or the week before it is the only state in the USA that still has that restriction. The same restriction applies to beer sales in grocery stores, although there's a movement afoot to change that. Blue laws are funny things. Some years back we were in Oklahoma, I think, looking to buy beer at a convenience store / liquor store combination building. The convenience store was open and had beer for sale, but only room temperature / warm; the cold beer was in the attached liquor store, which was closed because it was Sunday. At that time, we were assured that it was a state law: cold beer could not be sold for off-sale on Sundays!

I've splurged on a prime grade prime rib roast once or twice. It's been fatty but good, and not too rich for our tastes. The Choice grade prime ribs have been less reliably good: sometimes tough, or not marbled properly. I favor the fast-roast treatment: rub it with a spice mix (abetted by a coating of olive oil), then sear in the hottest pan I can get, then load into a 450F oven, uncovered. I pull it out at 110 - 115F internal temperature, usually at less than an hour's cooking time. I must admit that I've had prime rib that wasn't pink at all but was butter-knife tender and quite delicious, but when I cook it myself I prefer to have some rare meat in it. Here's a decent photo from a few Thanksgivings ago. It was a bit rarer than we like in the very heart of the roast (I had pulled it out at 110F that time) but since there were only 2 of us I was able to reheat the leftovers later without overcooking them.

...now where was I? Oh, yes! Last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast! Good 'cue is one of the reasons we like to come to Llano. Although Llano was designated by the State Legislature as the Deer Capital of Texas and Lockhart was awarded the title of BBQ Capital of Texas, we think Llano's barbecue places are great and we prefer the campground here. Cooper's Old-Time Pit Barbecue is within walking distance of our parking/camping spot. Yesterday afternoon I went by to see whether they had beef ribs available. They only had 5 or 6 left for the day, and were good enough to set them aside for me to come back and get at our dinner time. A note about food lingo is appropriate here. I first heard of "Texas ribs" in Minnesota, and learned that they are beef ribs as opposed to pork ribs, which are apparently the default meat when a Minnesotan talks about "ribs". Well. Just as "California burger" is a nonsense term in that state -- don't all burgers come with lettuce and tomato? -- "Texas ribs" is a silly term here. If you want beef ribs, you ask for beef ribs. When I went back to collect the ribs, I also picked up a generous pint of their pinto beans, half a pint of their barbecue sauce, and a small container each of their sliced dill pickles, pickled jalapeños, and chopped onions. They're all included with dinner, as is bread. "Be sure to take bread with you, too!" said the cashier. "Take a half loaf if you want!" Portions there are generous and pricey, but the sides are all generous and free. Well, they aren't ALL free. I bought a small container of cole slaw for him and potato salad for me. I was astonished to see the size of the tray they'd wrapped and kept quite hot for us, with the ribs. Then the cashier insisted that it would be too hot to carry. Out came a box the size of a dinner tray, and into it went the ribs, the salads, and the condiments. I came home with this box... ...which unpacked to this dinner (well, not the wine and beer, they were already here): These are the extras: I'm sorry to say that the jalapeños are too hot for us. He ate a small bite and yelped. I put my tongue to a cut end and decided against it. Maybe I can find something to do with them in small doses. Why is it that Subway can provide pickled jalapeños with just a touch of pleasant heat, and most other places' jalapeños are of the blow-your-head-off persuasion? You saw dinner up close before, but here it is again. That meat was succulent, tender, and wonderfully, beefily flavorful. There is leftover meat, but it may not last past lunch. The beans didn't last past breakfast. I wish I could do pinto beans like this. Haven't figured it out yet.

We have room! For a few days, we're opened out and staying in one spot! Below: on the left is our living/dining area while on the road; on the right is the same area when we've unloaded the garage and claimed all the living space. In the left-hand photo you can see our Razr (side-by-side 4-wheeler) occupying much of the garage. Standing in that doorway, here are the views now, of the kitchen (left) and the dining room (right). The trip from Mineral Wells to Llano was uneventful and pretty. The towns in between have a lot of stone buildings and, no doubt, history. Most of the towns we pass through have murals, or historical areas, but they look as though people also live in the present, instead of simply capitalizing on the past. We moved into pecan country, and the land of drive-through liquor stores. Excuse me...the tire repair/replacement is not going smoothly. I'll fill in the gaps later on last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast.

I have ready access to a food processor. Thank you.

That;s a great article! The salad is similar to one my husband's family does (the first time I ever thought cranberries could possibly be good) but they don't include the jello. I think yours sounds even better. I'll have to try it for the holidays, even though I don't have a sausage grinder handy. Congratulations on being featured so!

This fog wasn't in the forecast we saw. It's good enough for driving, though: not the pea-soup tule fogs I grew up with. I have the fixings for ham and cheese sandwiches if we get too hungry, but I also packed hard-boiled eggs and this: I've forgotten what variety of apple this is. Jonagold, perhaps. This is one of a batch of apples I bought for the trip - the first I've bought in a long time for eating rather than cooking. All too often I'm disappointed with apples, and the dreaded Delicious line nearly put me off apples forever. This apple was a revelation. From the first juicy, nearly drippy bite I was transported back to crisp fall days and a happy childhood. This apple had the perfect flavor: any sweeter and it would have been cloying; any less tart and it would have been bland. I'm glad I got two of this variety. I hope the other is as good.

Northern Texas. Welcome to Mineral Wells. I forgot to check the mileage, but it was less than yesterday's, which was less than the previous day's. It's a good thing, too. When we pulled in at a Walmart parking lot, we discovered that the trailer had been traveling on 5 tires rather than the requisite 6 for quite some time. How long? We couldn't say. Less than 81 miles (the previous stop) but more than 5 (considering the damage). Automobile Club of America. Don't leave home without it or its equivalent. Late in the afternoon, we had the spare tire installed, thanks to the efforts of 2 fine young men from Miller's Wrecking. We'll hope to get a replacement tire at our next stop, which is only a couple hundred miles away. It's a good thing we didn't have farther to go today, because we were Quite Done With Traveling by the time the tire was changed. (Side notes: I was surprised that my darling, a professional trucker in a former life, hadn't noticed that tire flapping or fraying before we stopped. He typically watches tires carefully in the side view mirrors...except, well, this trailer is 8'6" wide and the only way to see the tires is when we're turning. Roads in this part of the country put lasers to shame. Point 2: we have tire pressure monitors. Guess which one, out of the 10, had a dead battery?) The barbecue joint we had hoped for wasn't within walking distance. We ate leftovers ready-to-reheat dinners: red beans and rice and sausage from last night for him, and a delightful smoked salmon pasta alfredo for me, from a dinner party with friends before we left. Well...the pasta would have been good, except for the betrayal of my salt grinder. Did I turn it the wrong way? Was the lid not seated properly? I don't know. What I do know is that... ...this was nearly full before I accidentally dumped the contents into my pasta! I couldn't pick it all out, and had to pitch nearly half of that lovely dish to get to the parts that were still relatively salt-free. I still have that strange mouth-burn that heavy salt can bring. I think the most healthful thing we ate today was this roadfood snack: There was celery also, though I didn't bother with a picture. The asparagus was quite good, the celery somewhat less so.

Welcome! I spent a few months in York some years ago, exploring the city and general environs of Yorkshire. Perhaps it wasn't a gastronomic capital, but I certainly enjoyed (and gained a few pounds on) the fish and chips and ale...and good English breakfasts. Jump right in to any topic you wish, and if you have questions about the forum working don't hesitate to ask, either by PM to a host or in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

That remains to be seen. We're headed for Mineral Wells right now, with the intention of going on to Llano tomorrow, but it all depends on where we can stay more or less dry. I would LOVE to do that! I'm afraid the Gulf Coast and the southeastern States have so much rain in the forecast that we're cutting them all out of our route for this fall. I have high hopes that next spring will be drier. We love the Gulf Coast and the Bolivar Peninsula, but have had to miss them for several years running. n.b. No, rain isn't as hard on my darling as the cold, but he works mightily to avoid both once he's choosing the route.

You and me both, sister! The summer flew by. I wasn't ready to leave, but I've seen just how hard the cold is on him. It isn't simply a dislike of being cold.

All the leaves are brown... and the sky is grey... We hit the road a couple of days ago, not quite California Dreamin' although we're headed in that general direction. It's been uncommonly cold at home. I don't remember ever seeing the ditches and ponds freeze up so early. That gave me a chance to enjoy some cold and snow, although not much in the way of clear skies, before we left. My darling can't take the cold, and was miserable during the packing process. He was also terrified that the Princessmobile's pipes, which froze 3 nights running, would see damage. (Fortunately they thawed every day, and we see no evidence of damage.) He made the most of a bad situation by making a huge batch of chili. Some of it was frozen to make road food, and some of it warmed us during our week of packing. You'll see it sometime along the way. Packing the Princessmobile had its embarrassing moments. I found this all in a bag on the floor of our pantry: Note to self: do NOT stock up on herbs or spices on this trip! We'll see whether I manage to stick to that rule. We still have about half the Egyptian feta cheese we bought last spring in Tucson, and it's now in the Princessmobile's refrigerator. We have a lot of meat purchased from a favorite butcher over the Labor Day weekend, and flour I bought in Tucson last spring before I lost the time and motivation for bread-baking. The good news is that our house and garage refrigerator and freezer are mostly empty. The bad news is that I really should be cooking this stuff instead of enjoying local food as we travel! So this trip will no doubt be a hodgepodge of trailer-food cookery and travelogue...much as it has always been. Here are a couple of road-food breakfasts: nothing fancy, but not bad for eating in the truck as the truck eats the miles. This croissant sandwich looks like it's sticking its tongue out at me, but it was pretty good. The next morning's Subway breakfast sandwiches weren't quite as good. I liked my bacon, egg and cheese sandwich - with tomatoes, spinach and mayo added. My darling chose a straight-up sausage and cheese sandwich, and couldn't finish it. "No wonder they named this casino 'Terrible's!" he exclaimed. The first night out, we ate chili but after 480 miles I was in no mood to photograph or post. Last night, at only 380 miles, we stopped at an Oklahoma Welcome Center and enjoyed the view. The snow and ice are far behind us. I put (only slightly) more effort into dinner: These lovely sausages, from that Labor Day weekend shopping expedition, went into a pot of Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice. I seem to have forgotten to take a snap of the finished product. Tonight we'll be in Texas, and dinner remains to be seen. The fridge is full, but we think we'll have access to good 'cue. We'll see what happens.

I'm getting more tempted.

I want to know from you users whether this grill really is smokeless -- as in, fine to use in the kitchen with the windows closed. The question also applies to those of you who take the plunge and buy the rotisserie attachment.

Genius Kitchen provides a "create a shopping list" option with its recipes. (Here's an example that caught my eye.) Judging by this recipe, FoodNetwork.com recipes offer the same feature.

That's beautiful and interesting handwriting, too! Is that really a "Solution for Soft Soldering" at the top? If so, what does that mean? (I can admire the handwriting without being able to read it easily. ) If it is, what exactly is soft soldering?

Have you ever shared that particular recipe? If not, would you / could you? I have loved lemon curd since my summer in York, but never been satisfied with my attempts.

I have also read that one should simply use the rind, but I generally use the entire piece of lemon (pulp and rind, but no seeds if possible). A little goes a long way, mind: I don't rinse, and so there's a lot of salt. There's also a lot of nice lemony flavor. For more information there's this older topic in the Middle East and Africa forum. It could surely use a boost: Preserved Lemons.

Absolutely fabulous! What kind of flour did you use? When I get back to bread baking - maybe next month - I'd like to try this.

What's making it go? Salt? You said little vinegar...although that fruit may be providing some acid.

Nice pun, @dcarch. Our neighbors and good friends in central California grew figs when I was little. I don't remember all those little limbs coming up from the ground; as I recall each tree had one main trunk from which limbs spread at a height of a few feet. Do you suppose they pruned those trees to get a single trunk? If so, why don't you? If not, do you think you're growing a different variety? (I can't ask those friends about the variety; the trees and those particular ranchers are all gone.)

The delightful book Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry has many preservation opportunities, including hot sauce, that only require a boiling-water bath. I think if your recipe includes enough vinegar you'll be safe with the boiling-water bath rather than pressure canning. I don't know about pretty bottles that can withstand boiling-water baths, and honestly I never thought of it. I can tell you that friends gave me the remnants of an excellent hot sauce that some of their guests had brought as a house gift. We never questioned how it had been preserved, so I can't say whether it was simply bottled hot in sterilized bottles or had the bath treatment afterward. (I assume the former.) I can say that it lasted with little deterioration for a year or two. The bottle seems to be a repurposed Old Bushmill's bottle. The light at this time of night ruins the image of the writing on the glass, but note that this was simply corked:

My dessert-making opportunities are vanishingly small, but I'd love to fantasize about making this. Care to share the recipe? Posting it in RecipeGullet would be even better. I do love a good Boston Cream Pie.