Smithy

I'm just now seeing this, but wouldn't have had confidence to make suggestions. When my dough has been too slack I've put it in a pan. It's been edible, but hardly the lovely texture that we see in these pages. What did you end up trying, and how did it come out?

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We wrote down the finishing mileage but haven't looked yet at the start mileage. I'll edit this post when I get the number.

Thanks for this. My lovage hasn't come up yet, but it's a prolific plant and I need to find more ways to use it.

We've outrun spring. We got home this morning at 10:30, and my darling whinged all the way. It's 32F outside as I type. Our road is a muddy, sloppy mess complete with frost heaves: the trailer actually broke through the road surface at one soft spot, but fortunately not to the axles. There's a touch of snow left in the yard, and a few downed trees will need to be cut and split. Still. We're home! The fire is cozy. The emptying of the Princessmobile has begun. I am agog with all the room of our house refrigerator, and the kitchen counter space. We have a dishwasher! I am still reflexively thinking of which sink to use when I wash something, until I remember that it all goes to the same (septic) tank. The Princessmobile has multiple holding tanks, and washwater distribution can be important over the long haul. We spent last night as we had the first night of the trip: in a Walmart parking lot. We bought a few things that we would need when we got home, but their deli offerings didn't appeal to us for dinner. We ate the leftover combination of Jezebel-sauce Chicken and Spinach Madeline. Tonight, after umpteen trips up and down the (3 flights of ) household stairs and starting to settle into the house, it was leftover split pea stew. Trust me, the original isn't photogenic and the leftovers look worse. But they're filling. Since I have no interesting food with which to close this season's episode, I'll show you the cover of a book I spotted along the way. It wasn't for sale, but it was an entertaining read at the laundromat - and claims to be the origin of the term for what we do. Thanks for keeping us company.

We spent last night at the Lakeside Casino, formerly known as Terrible's (and still known that way in our GPS database) in Osceola, Iowa. This RV park keeps getting more expensive. When we first started coming, the fee was $20 but you got a $10 rebate to use at their restaurant or casino. When the place changed hands, the fee simply became $20 with no rebate. This time it was $25. Not bad for 50A electrical service, water and sewer, but rather pricey for straight electric service, which was all we needed. Still, it's an easy setup. Food and fuel are close by. The park pond wildlife is fun to watch. We missed a chance at a different kind of wildlife watching. Look closely at this photo. See the yellow bus and trailer? The TV game show "Wheel of Fortune" had brought its mobile operation to Osceola. They had two days of auditions going, using a mini-version of the game. I considered going to see some of the fun - OK, I confess I considered going to audition - until I found out that the mini-shows were two hours long, the line was atrocious, and any applicants who were called back for follow-up auditions would have to come back to Osceola. Nah. The fantasy wasn't that strong. I enjoyed eavedropping at the restaurant that night, from some people who had gone. Sounded like it was more stress than fun, but that might have been sour grapes from folks who weren't picked. I looked at the buffet offerings, but aside from an awesome dessert table and salad bar it didn't look as tempting as many buffets. I remember fried chicken, chicken fried steak, roast turkey with trimmings, Szechuan chicken, fried mushrooms, several kinds of potatoes, barbecued sausage, roast broccoli, good-looking green beans. In other words, there was plenty to eat at the buffet but nothing to justify the extra money compared to ordering from the menu. I chose the Awesome Chicken Sandwich; he picked the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger. The waitress, a delightful and informative woman, was good enough to substitute the rosemary roasted potatoes from the buffet for one of the other sides, at my request. He liked his burger, but thinks he's been spoiled by our homemade burgers in which we mix hot Italian sausage with ground beef; he finds most burgers on the bland side now. My chicken sandwich wasn't as good as I remembered from two years ago, and I think it was a bit dried out. Still, it was a handful - and plenty - and well-flavored - and more than I could eat. The leftovers are in the refrigerator. Two years ago at our last visit, we learned about a law that required a 20-minute space between drink orders: you couldn't order a beer or a glass of wine more frequently than every 20 minutes. They've done away with that rule now, but the bartender was so slammed that the delay worked out the same anyway! This morning we picked up sandwiches at the local Subway and got more information about the Wheel of Fortune spectacle. Sunday had been a zoo. Subway had catered the event, and in addition many of the would-be contestants came directly to them. Their business tripled for the day. The gentleman describing the scene said he'd been called in on his day off to help. The lines were huge and the parking lots jammed. It was good for business, but he was glad it was over. This morning's breakfast sandwich for me: Eggs, salami, turkey, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, spinach, a touch of onion and a few banana peppers. A touch of chipotle sauce. His was tamer: eggs, sausage and cheese...but he walked away without specifying that he wanted nothing more on it. I had them add tomatoes and lettuce, with a touch of mayo. He wasn't pleased. "I wanted something like an Egg McMuffin!" I'll know next time.

chromedome's title and edition sound right. Definitely no sour cream. Hmm, 1990 edition? That may be the same edition as mine...and not as old as I'd thought. Predates my access to the Internet, but perhaps not the Internet itself, after all.

It does, but until I get home to look at the book the best I can do is the obvious "Baby Potatoes Braised in Butter with Carrots and Dill". My copy of the New York Times Cookbook actually predates the Internet 😲 and I don't see the same recipe online. I'll update this topic if I find out more information.

Further to the potatoes: this post tells in more detail the technique and proportions. I'd forgotten that it's considered a braised potato dish, or was when I wrote about it back then.

Seen in Kansas City: an advert for some restaurant. In two electronic billboard flashes, it said "WE DON'T HAVE COOKS. THEY'RE FOODOLOGISTS." and "WE DON'T HAVE BARTENDERS. THEY'RE MIXOLOGISTS." I'm not sure I see the point. Maybe someone can explain it to me? 'Crost the Wide Missouri:

I've never had a problem with sticking or pan cleanup using this technique. This post shows the same dish (complete with carrots) done in enameled cast iron. Remember you just cook until the water has evaporated; if you go until the butter is browning you've probably gone too far. Since I don't have a CSO I can't compare the results. I would expect the fat on the outside of the potatoes to make a difference, but perhaps if you oiled the potatoes and used the super steam function it would be similar. If you try it, let us know, eh?

Speaking of storms, some whoppers blew through in the wee hours of this morning. I love the sound and light show (when I'm safely inside) and could have slept well, but there were things to secure and bring inside before resuming sleep. This morning we awoke to a plaster of maple seeds and oak catkins on every flat surface outside. I swept what I could, but I'm sure we will be doing our fair share of seed dispersion as we continue north. The worst discovery was that the pickup windows were wide open! We aren't sure which of us opened them or why, but there was some mopping to do. Luckily, there doesn't seem to be any damage. Last night was our final night for this trip in our fully-opened trailer, and my final time to do any cooking beyond reheating leftovers in the microwave. Potatoes and fish were the choice! Baby potatoes got one of my favorite treatments, adapted from a recipe in the original New York Times Cookbook. Spread one layer of baby potatoes across the bottom of a pot; add about 1/4 cup water and 2-3T butter, cover. Bring to the boil, turn the heat down, and steam, shaking the pot occasionally, about 20 minutes until the water has evaporated and the potatoes are cooked. The potato skins pop on the outside, but the flesh is tender. The original recipe includes fresh dill and carrots; sometimes I bother with that, but last night I didn't. Not shown is the green salad. Meanwhile, in a skillet, I cooked orange roughy in a mustard/lemon/butter/garlic sauce. This is a recipe we've worked on intermittently to duplicate a dish we had in Egypt that we both liked. By now we disagree about what the original was like (how brown was the fish, how much sauce, how mustardy) and we'd have to go digging through old photos to remind ourselves of the appearance. Still - whether we can call it Rodway Inn Fish or not, the flavors were pretty good. The fish was a bit cottony. I may have overcooked it a bit. That seems to happen more when I cook orange roughy than other white fish. Dinner:

I'll try that grilling trick too. I'm not crazy about radishes, but once in a while they can taste good to me. My husband loves them. When my parents bought their first house after WWII, they planted a garden. It included a row or two of radishes. The radishes came up quickly and abundantly, and only then did they learn that neither one liked radishes. Each said, "But I thought YOU liked them!" The gift of the magi. They never planted radishes again.

That certainly makes it simpler. Thanks!

Huh. No mustard either?

Here's one small data point: my husband adjusts the time for reheating coffee proportionally to the microwave wattage to get the temperature he wants. While he uses 60 seconds in our home machine (1500W) he needs 90 seconds for our 1000W machine.

Yeah, I think we'll need to change our schedule next year. We know the weather isn't great, but we have some pressing issues to deal with in early May. If I had gone home for a while during the winter, we might not be so pressed now...but it will be rough if we're more than a few days into May.

I remember that. I always thought it too heavy on the black pepper, but can see why pepper lovers would like it.

Way back last Christmas Eve, @Shelby posted about sausage rolls and I decided I had to make some. I made up two logs, thereby using up one roll of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage and one package of puff pastry. I baked some for New Year's Day as a special breakfast treat, and when our host invited us over to watch the Rose Bowl Parade I took some to him in a container. He thanked me, set them on the counter, and apparently forgot them. I have no idea whether he ever ate them. I haven't heard that he's had trouble with food poisoning, so I suspect he either handled them properly or, as a recent widower, simply tossed them out later. The remainder of the uncooked logs has been occupying freezer space ever since. Today it's windy and cool, and in 3 days I'll be cursing the amount of stuff we have to move from the Princessmobile into our house. Enough, already! Most have been cooked, and the remainder are in the oven now. Oh my, these are good. Decadent Sunday breakfast snack, or late attempt at efficiency? You decide. Edited to add: gosh, the place smells like Christmas! I had no idea until now what a strong association I have between breakfast sausage and family Christmas. Ah, happy memories.

I got around to trying this last night. I've never tasted Jezebel Sauce, and I had to make a substitution or two, so I don't know how close it came to the original. Still, it was darned good. I learned a great technique for browning and caramelizing red onions while I was at it. I also learned that simply seasoning chicken thighs with lemon zest and a touch of salt and pepper gives a lovely aroma.

The recent comments in the Jezebel Sauce topic, and a Gun & Garden recipe for this sauce to which @lemniscate kindly linked, have been bookmarked and patiently waiting for me to try them. I had to make some substitutions, and by the time it was done it may not have counted as Jezebel sauce any more. I've never had the original. so have no basis for comparison. Still...I learned a neat trick and we liked the sauce. The neat trick is for softening and slightly caramelizing red onion. Preheat a cast iron pan in a 425F oven. While that's happening, slice the onion into quarters and brush the cut surfaces with oil; put them into the pan and leave them in the oven until the faces are nicely browned. It looks pretty and tastes better. I'm also going to remember seasoning chicken thighs with lemon zest. That, plus a touch of salt and pepper, made a tantalizing smell even before I started cooking. The rest of dinner was the Spinach Madeline from Food52. Basically, it's spinach in a cheesy white sauce; we're using the garlicky peppery Hanford Jack cheese from Fagundes. We like this recipe. A lot. The biggest surpise of the evening was the combination of the Jezebel-sauce Chicken and the Spinach Madeline. While we liked each individually, we liked them mixed even better. The garlicky cheese sauce cut the sweetness of the Jezebel sauce - which may sound like heresy to some - and the Jezebel sauce lightened the spinach dish. I took a picture of the two mixed on the plate, but will not post it for fear of putting readers off their appetites. I'll just show the leftovers. It's windy and cool today, but we had some fine, still days here.

What a sheltered life I've led! We keep a butter dish out of the refrigerator - and, if possible, out of the sun. Freshly toasted toast, room-temperature butter spread on with a knife. If we're out to dinner and they provide warm rolls with the classic icy pats of butter, a pat goes into the interior of the roll as quickly as possible. My husband's daughter, who grew up helping as a short-order cook, insists on toasting a LOT of toast for the gang, buttering it with the room-temperature butter as soon as the toast pops, stacking it...and letting it get cold while everything else cooks.

DINGDINGDING You got it!

Kerry, is this grand spread (no sarcasm, I know it was more grand when set out) because of the testing, or is this standard? It looks pretty swishy to be a regular occurrence.

...so, no translators for this? I confess I had to look it up. Here's a hint: that thing before the 1 is not the Greek letter pi, as I kept thinking. It's "st". I'll post the answer sometime tonight, unless someone else gets it and posts.

Yes, I found one of those a couple of summers ago. It's fun to read.