HungryChris

There was a time when I would buy these on the cheap and I loved them. Then a guy named Emeril Lagasse ruined everything. I will never forget watching the show he did that featured lamb shanks. The price more than doubled overnight and has more than tripled since then. "...and if you see lamb shanks in the market, you get 'em, baby!" HC

TFTC, I have no southern ties, but share your enthusiasm for the 'mater sammich'. There are few days I celebrate during each calendar year, but one, most definitely, is "FTD", First Tomato Day, which is soon followed by "FTBLTD", which I think I can leave you to your own devices to figure out. "FTD" can have a few practice sessions, as exemplified by my recent post, with farmers market tomatoes, but can only be celebrated, in earnest, when the fruit in question comes from your own garden, unlike the much less stringent rules for "FCD", First Corn Day, which allows for native corn, but does require it to be good corn. "FTD" and "FCD" are days I look forward to each year and have since childhood, this year being no exception. HC

Lobstah!, It's what's for dinner ...and several meals to follow. HC

Maker's Mark old fashioned HC

"Soupy" pizza with roasted red peppers. HC

Farmers market tomatoes on homemade bread with homemade pickles. HC

We are having pizza tonight, but lobster is on sale and we're hoping to do stuffed lobsters on the grill tomorrow. Aldi's has fresh pork spare ribs this week for $1.79 pp and I am hoping to do my first SV + the smoker later in the week with some fresh coleslaw. It's a week long thing with me! HC

I sold my condo almost 30 years ago and moved out to the country, I was concerned about losing power and bought a gas range. I loved the cook top, but hated the oven. It had uneven heat and things had to be carefully rotated. That's why I bought the range I have now. We do lose power and am on a branch street with only a few homes on it so we are at the bottom of the power company list to have power restored. I also have a well and that is a far bigger issue. Another issue was the fact that I did not own the gas tank and paid way too much for gas as well as a $60 a year "minimum use fee". I recently had a propane fired, stand-by generator installed to eliminate trips to the lake for flushing water during such times. As part of that, I bought my own 150 gal propane tanks and found that the price of propane was half what it was before. As a side note, I also had my gas grill hooked up to it's own line from the new tanks. I plan to upgrade the kitchen in a few years after a few other wish list items are addressed and will take a closer look at range options then. I am partial to the gas flame though, so we'll see. We are having pizza tonight and thought I would throw in a few appropriate pics, speaking of cooking with gas. I am sure I could do this on the gas grill, though. HC

This is what I had for lunch, but it was more of a trial run for a dinner coming up for Deb's birthday. Spaghetti carbonara requires quite a bit of coordination to get it right without cheating and using cream. You get the pancetta rendered while the pasta water is heating, turn the heat way down on the pancetta until the pasta is near to al dente, then reheat the pancetta. At this point I added zucchini and sugar snaps and some reconstituted dried porcinis. Then you add the pasta to the fry pan, cut the heat to the fry pan and add in a mixture of egg, egg yolk and grated cheese. This you stir around letting the heat of the pasta cook the egg and cheese mixture and add in some of the pasta water to achieve a creamy texture. You flip this into a preheated bowl and serve. It's quite the orchestration. We had this at a place called Ai Tre Scalini in Rome (without the zucchini, sugar snaps and porcini) and and Deb still talks about it. She was off with her grandson today and I still have double vision from recent surgery and riding in the car is kind of scary. I decided to stay home for a practice run I think. I am ready. HC

I have a Jenn Air 30 " duel-fuel that I have had for about 6 years. I am pretty happy with it. My biggest complaint is the high gloss black top is something that has to be cleaned continuously because it shows every little spatter. My biggest surprise is that the small oven on the top is perfect for just about everything I cook in the oven. It heats up to 550 F in less than 5 minutes, is perfect for pizza (on my steel plate pizza stone). I use the bigger one for baking bread and occasional casseroles that will not fit in the smaller one. It has a good selection of burners that I have gotten pretty good at selecting for just what I want. HC

Definitely WBC (whole belly clams)! I did make a note to self about the tartar sauce and will bring my own next time. HC

We heard about this place that is a 20 minute ride through back woods and farm country. "Snak Shak" in Moosup, CT. Today we took a ride out there and were pleasantly surprised. Their fried clams were good, if not great. I'm not a big fan of clam cakes, but these had a good flavor and actually had some clams in them. You can see the total for these 2 items on the check. Pretty comparable to items we have had of much lower quality in the areaa. HC

Did a chicken thigh coq au vin with TJ's east coast 3 buck chuck (Cab) and IP jasmine rice, bay leaves, fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano. We both were pretty happy with the results. HC

Yeah, maybe it is a time zone thing?????

Ham & Swiss with tomato and a simple slaw made with thinly sliced cabbage tossed with salt, pepper and olive oil. HC

Made another ratatouille type thing with zucchini, onions, Campari tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and salt and pepper. I had it with toast this time to aid in the plate cleanup. Surprisingly satisfying. HC

As the real estate folks say "Location, Location, Location!" I would say being next to that strip steak and martini is a pretty good location!

I am pretty sure the WIFI one has "WIFI" on the face and the one I got does not. So I think it just has Bluetooth. The WIFI one was $199 and this one was $179 (before the $50 discount). HC

Brats with kimchi, mustard and onions. HC

This just in. HC

Started thinking last night that I could go into the garden with the hoe and do a little weeding without bending down and gave it a try this morning. I was able to improve things a bit. Normally, I either pinch off the shoots or guide them up inside the hoops, but a few days of neglect and there are way too many renegades that will need to be brought under control. I had to resist the urge to pick a few for fried green tomatoes with crab meat (an absolute favorite of ours from a recent visit to New Orleans). I wish I could buy some green tomatoes, but that is a fall item around here. HC

When I wear the hat of a photographer, I have a different perspective that may overlook the hot sauce, but when I have fork in hand, wearing my trencherman's hat, I am suddenly keenly aware of anything that might be missing and quickly correct it. HC

I threw together ratatouille kind of thing with zucchini, onions, sliced Campari tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh chopped basil, salt and pepper and a dash or two of hot sauce. It started off as an after thought, but turned into a pleasant main event that I will do again soon. I only wished I had a piece of toast to mop up the last of it. HC

Kayb. I feel your pain! After recent eye surgery, I was told "No physical exercise of any kind and no bending." Well, at 6' 5", going into the garden without bending, simply means, go in there, survey the damage, and do nothing. How hard is that? I have to admit that I have "bent" the rules just a bit, but please, don't tell anyone! I have weeds invading the weeds! I have an appointment on Friday and hope I am given the go ahead to bend or break the rules a bit more. I share your views on tomato plants. Mine have just been troopers, but do need a helping hand that I am hoping to be given the green light for on Friday. HC

I am not often in the mood for a smoked, pulled pork BBQ sandwich, but when I am, I head right in. Does it get messy? You betcha, but that is why we have napkins and mirrors. HC