stagis

When we bought our house (15 years ago now) one of the first things I did outside was start putting in permanent stuff, and we're reaping the benefits now. 3 Grape Vines 3 Blueberry Bushes (which, when trimmed, make a decent hedge) A whole crew of rasperries Rhubarb Mint Oregano Asparagus I've also played with strawberries (pain in the a**), little teensy-weensy apple trees (not enough fruit), garlic. Garlic's too cool -plant it in the fall, cover it with straw and first thing in the spring you've got green growing stuff, eh? Played with horseradish - I'd rather buy it - it'll gas you out of the house.

This was a true dive, and disgusting. Brush-painted corrugated-steel walls on the interior, ice thrown in the urinals to keep the smell down......Wilson, CT, circa 1985 or so. I almost forgot the one in Tijuana - whore peeing on the floor, the whole nine yards......

I LOVE to cook. I'm not a professional chef, and won't even consider it due to the hours. However - I hate it when I knock myself out on a dish and nobody else either appreciates hte taste, or appreciates the fact that I just about killed myself getting it to the table. For instance - my wife was insisting that we have Thanksgiving at home (as always). Not usually a problem, except my sister is having din-din at HER house, too. This means that I'd cook for my wife, 3 kids and my in-laws. The kids still think of dinner as an interruption and my in-laws won't eat anything unless it's what they're expecting. I swear - change the stuffing/dressing and they won't touch it, while the same old dressing will be gone through like wildfire (and I won't touch THAT cuz I'm so bored with it). And god forbid you stick garlic in the mashed potatos...I won't even mention the complaints about lumps in the potatos..... I won! We're going to my sister's - now I can cook and relax. A couple favorite side-dishes and a pie or two - maybe some cookies/biscotti. They'll appreciate what I cook, I'll appreciate what's on the table and everybody's happy. This is the kind of cooking that I enjoy...cooking what I want with a loose timetable (like get it done sometime this weekend, with luck). PS - and the mess is at someone else's house :)

I'll take the 'american as apple pie another step, even if this isn't an american salad) Caesar dressing (and salmonella be damned): One tin of anchovies (American tin - what's that? 2 ounces?) well-rinsed and roughly chopped. That means I peel off the lif of the tin and hold it under running water. Anchovies onto the cutting board, literally roughly chopped.....maybe 1/4" long pieces? Anchovies into the hand-smoosher thing...OK - now I'm losing track...mortar and pestle 1 egg into the mortar and pestle Lots of pepper into the - you get it... 1/4 cup of oil or so touch of ground mustard powder... Way too much garlic - maybe 5-6 cloves if you're having company - more if not. Um - smoosh it. Pestle it? rip up the head of romaine lettuce with your hands and put into a large bowl Pour the dressing over it. Add way too much parmesan and way too many boxed croutons. Heaven. Substitutions? *grin* Don't flame me....I'll eat anything: prepared mustard anchovy paste all kinds of lettuce add onions I actually made homemade croutons once...

Pretzels... I know, I know...we're back to the bread/pastry complaint, but..sheesh. Turns out that when I'm mad enough, I still have a pretty good pitching arm..... Chili's easy - if you ain't aiming for a specific result ;) My problem - spaghetti sauce! How in the hell do you get it thick? I know that sounds stupid, but I"ll have this beautiful pot of bubbling ooze, heavenly scents abounding, red wine flowing - and when I put it on pasta, it all falls thorough... *sigh*

Over the years I've done some really nice things at lunch with the nicest memory being: Working 1/4 mile from home and commuting on a tag-sale bicycle. I left work, ran to the garden and picked a beeyootiful head of Romaine. Into the house and whip up a hugemongous Caesar salad - then back to work. Absolutely perfect. Right now? It's a mix of skipping lunch, heading to the supermarket's salad bar or going to one of several local restaurants. We're lucky - store-front Chinese (where I've watched the owner's children grow up behind the counter), Eyetalian deli, an absolutely excellent Ribs-n-chicken place (smoke-oven and frialators behind the counter), a new Japanese restaurant (if I'm feeling spendy) which makes a great box-lunch and the store-down-the-street, Ellie's deli. Ellie's is the neighborhood convenience store in the old style - clapboard siding, tiny, motor oil and Drake's Cakes on the shelves - and the best sandwich deals in Southington, CT. My wife and I can eat a hard-roll sandwich, chips and soda and grab a lottery ticket or two for well under $10. On the other hand, if you ask them what the soup of the day is, they'll read the label on the can.....

I agree with the 'never leave a stove unattended', and find the crockpot useful, even if we don't use it often. Yesterday, the crockpot cooked up left-over-roast-beef-and-veggies dinner into a great soup. I took the entire left over dinner, chopped it up in my food processor, topped it with the left-over stewed tomatos and some red wine, and let it simmer on low for several hours. Pulled pork is also easy.......

Suvir must die........ unless he provides us with the recipe, in which case I'll share the recipe that I treasure for steak with lime juice and mustard powder......It is, however, readily available in a grilling book on your shelves now.

This is the new millennium - jelly has been replaced by cranberry sauce........

The replies/discourse in the deep-fried turkey thread got me thinking - how does one go about grilling a turkey? I have a hugemongous backyard smoker, but the last time I did that, I was WAY too drunk by the time the turkey was done (a beer for the turkey, a beer for me - glass of wine for the turkey, glass of wine for me.......bourbon-baste the turkey, bourbon-baste me....and so it goes). Also - smoking cheese is a magic trick - it disappears. I don't have a rotisserie/spit for the grill - is it necessary? One of the issues/surprises I've had with my grill was after putting something on the high rack and closing the lid, I found that the 'ceiling' of the grill gets WAY hot due to the entrapment of air... Thanks in advance - and I've got no problem experimenting with new recipes on my guests.

Think rice, in all its flavors...Risotto, even with a touch of wine, garlic and olive oil doesn't cost anything to speak of.... Pasta? With butter, veggies, whatever. A roasted chicken makes a fine soup the next day and leftover meat goes into a pot pie... Whatever's on sale becomes the week's menu.....

Having perused the included links (and having heaved a heavy sigh of foodlust after reading the home-fries links - my Dad ran a breakfast diner for years) I only question the amount of fat/lard/schmaltz..... how much is not enough? My dad loves this small diner in Plainville, CT (Howie's) and, granted, the owner is an artist at the grill, but Dad is complaining that he deep-fries his potatos - and too much oil in roasted potatos is going to deep-fry them, eh?

Dave's sauces/salsas are just about my upper limit on heat - after that, they're talking 'additives' versus sauce. Yeah, we've had some adventures with sauces - usually after drinking just enough to get stupid and daring. Bananas? Huh....... might work.....

OK, guys.... ('specially since it seems to be all guys in the Roast Potato Cookoff thread)... What's roasted potatos? I picture: cut-up taters surrounding a piece of meat. cut-up taters on a baking sheet (nope - this won't work) cut-up taters in foil with seasonings... What are we making?

Cocking an ear, here.....I can get it a relatively-local store (20 minute drive) but I agree...it's do-able.

*grin* I've got an Eagle replying! Cool! (minor aside: my daughter brought home a BOY from college last weekend. Turns out he's an Eagle Scout - therefore, she's safe, right? Yeah, right.......) We're camping mostly in state forests, which means, at least through November, water from hand-pumps. I've been teaching the boys to make use of available resources, so if there's water, they'll use it. However - even with water, will they remember a pot (or to ask my troop quartermaster for one) big enough to boil pasta in? Somehow, I think not....... I try to teach them to live out of their backpacks rather than hitting up the gear trailer for all the stuff they need. This limits cooking techniques to fire/grill and small-pot cooking, generally. I spent a year, after buying a really nice (and cheap!) pan set, cooking with a 1 pint metal cup and aluminum foil. I finally stopped bringing the pan, then resumed when I got the Bakepacker. I think we've scared the gormays off with this thread. It isn't all THAT bad, except that I'm also trying to find out what boys will enjoy cooking, and then actually eat! This whole thread/problem started at an outing last year when one of my 12-year-olds showed up to cook his Saturday night dinner, which is usually the big meal of the weekend. He had a hot dog. I mean, just a hot dog! No roll, no nuthin'. I got a little cranky (Scoutmaster's prerogative) and, once I 'retired' as Scoutmaster, concentrated on getting this guys to actually think about what they were going to eat. *grin* Cooking faux pas's from the past? Heh - "Sure - I know how to make fried dough - let me handle it" (This from a 13-year-old). He heats up the oil in a Dutch oven, then drops the entire 2-pound blob of dough into it. Me: "Nicholas - what did you bring for food this weekend?" Nicholas: "Bacon" Me: "What else?" Nicholas: "Nuthin' - I like bacon" The boy who said he was cooking 'spare ribs' for Saturday night dinner. I'm all proud of that, right? *sigh* He brings out the full rack of pre-packaged pre-sauced Lloyd's ribs - and plops 'em into his mess-kit frying pan. "Has anyone seen my potato?" Let's not talk about what happens when I bring Max, the world's fattest Labrador Retriever, on outings. He gets fatter - the boys get skinnier. "I told you guys to guard your food!" "I know, Mr. Stagis, but it was 6 feet up in that tree!" Or the pyros cooking bacon on a griddle...........you only look when the crazed laughter starts disturbing your nap. Remember - if you rub your sweet potato with butter, salt and pepper, wrap it in foil and put it in your pack Monday night, it'll be inedible/gross by Saturday night. Bagged salad is heaven. The dressings that are prepackaged with them are not. D'Angelo's Sandwich shops have foil packets of olive oil and lemon juice. Taco Smell has prepackaged hot sauces. Wonder Bread smashes when put in a pack. If you want to make a sandwich for Saturday lunch, you probably don't need an entire loaf. During my Tuesday night lecture, I challenged the boys to come up with something we couldn't make outside. Souffle? I wouldn't mind impressing him.......but I'm a little clueless. One of the boys also hit me with something "garbled la boeuf with real grapes" Any ideas? Truffles - I swear. I told him we'd need to bring a pig. PS - the boys will slice themselves really, really thin when there's more than one preparing dinner at a picnic table.

unwrapped potatos...de rigeur :) Bannock...that works. Hmmm... Things I've done: Jerk pork Beef jerky (just for the flavor - I wasn't preserving anything with a dozen hungry Scouts salivating around it) Soup-to-nuts meal for a competition. This was my heaviest-ever backpack at around 70 pounds, but worth it. Muffins Biscuits Cake Pies Lasagne on charcoal is easy.

Sriracha is my ketchup. (Fringe benefit - there's no tomatos in it, so when you dribble it all over your shirt, it'll rinse out in a mall bathroom.) They make a couple of heats - green-cap and yellow-cap. Inner Beauty is way cool. Pineapple base, I think, with habanero. Frank's makes for mild wings. Tabasco Habanero is tasty as all get-out. I don't like datil-pepper sauces. Um - try finding a recipe for habanero mustard. I've made it myself, and it'll knock your socks off on a dog. Jalapenos, when ripe-red, taste entirely different and are worth looking for - much sweeter. Homemade habanero ketchup *swoon*.

So - I recently resigned as Scoutmaster due to health problems and assumed my new post as Assistant Scoutmaster in Charge of Eating. Boy Scouts are 11-17 years old and their tastes are um, different than adults. My statement to them is that they can cook anything they eat at home over a fire. This includes, but is not limited to, open fires, charcoal, backpack stoves and Dutch ovens. They'll also use, on occasion, solar cookers, cardboard-box ovens (ask me some time) and other various weird implements. My first lecture was "40 Ways to Die From Eating". I went over, basically, health and safety. "Though shalt not put chicken in your pack the Thursday before an outing" "Though shalt not eat anything unless it's clean" etc., etc. "If you eat this, you'll go to the hospital, then probably die." "If you eat this, you'll sit on the crapper until you die." "If you put this in a fire, it'll explode and you'll die before anyone can get to you." This is all basically tongue-in-cheek, but I was trying to impress on them the importance of cleanliness. I even made up a song: Salmonella, salmonella, can we all sing Salmonella? (sung to the melody of Cinderella) Anyway - I know that there's a zillion recipes out there on backpack sites, dutch oven sites, etc. But I feel it incumbent upon myself to at least check with the Gulleteers to see what ideas they can come up with. The idea here is that during the winter, we'll stay cold and can pack pretty-much any food we want. Weight is an issue as is water usage. The boys are told that their pack should weigh no more than 1/3 their body weight (which allows yours truly a 200-pound pack...just kidding). Water, at 8 pounds a gallon, is usually limited to 2 quarts. We don't allow water filters (to pull water from a stream) just because I don't want the boys to get into a 'gear race'. When you delve into this area of cooking, things change: We're talking ingredients like Parmalat (sterilized milk), powdered whole eggs, dehydrated fried ground beef, etc. Techniques also: I've got a widget called a Bakepacker that's basically a grid I put into my backpack pot. Using a (I'm lazy) prepackaged muffin/cake recipe, I add dried milk if milk is called for, pack along a couple of packets of olive oil that I swiped from the local sandwich shop, put it in an oven roasting bag (the plastic kind), add water, the oil, smoosh it until it's mixed, then put into the Bakepacker to steam for 25 minutes. Simply grand on a cold winter morning. Tamales can be steamed in an open fire by wrapping them in a wet paper towel and putting in the coals. Awesome onion recipe (though boys don't like onions): Carve out some of the onion, drop a beef bouillion cube and a large pat of butter into the resulting hole, wrap in foil and put in the coals. Did you know a Porterhouse looks great when stuck onto a stick and held over a bed of coals? Or that you can boil Poptarts (leave them in the foil pouch, please). If paid enough money, I'll share the recipe for omelet-in-a-Baggie. Clean-up is an issue - boys don't clean, and with limited water, they have the perfect excuse. So, Gulletanians: Any good ideas? What do boys like? What should I try myself? (hint, hint). Shameless plug: Boy Scouts sell Trail's End popcorn as a fundraiser. It's the best microwave popcorn on the market, but stay away from the bagged stuff. Thanks.......

Kentucky Fried is better hot - Maryland Fried, cold.

Hmmm... edible smoked chicken (after I spent a summer building a brick smoker without ever having smoked ANYTHING before). Sushi Biscotti Lasagne on Charcoal (I'm a Scout leader.....)

I guess everybody likes potato salad in all its variations......the only requirement? Firm taters.......no moosh.

The sloppy-joe thread got me thinking/salivating about BBQ pork sandwiches. I have a gigantic backyard smoker, but have made acceptable BBQ pork in my crockpot in the past...... The only parts of the recipe I remember were "Salt/pepper the pork shoulder and stick it in the crockpot overnight on low - dry." "Shred the pork and put it back into the crockpot with the sauce and cook on low for 2-3 hours." "Pile it onto a cheap hamburger roll and serve with cole slaw and BBQ sauce of your choice on the side." So, gulleteers: What have you? My favorite type of sauce for this is pretty spicy and thin..... (Read: almost unpalatably hot for the uninitiated). By the way - just for another gourmet-shuddering treat, scoop the finished pork into plastic baggies in one-sandwich helpings and freeze. Place the brick on a roll and nuke it for 1 minute. Instant lunch!

'barbecue' pork. One night (or day) roasting dry - shred, add the sauce and cook for a while more :)

I did well on Atkins' diet, and maybe for a couple of reasons: When I started on it (after reading the book - this is about 2 years ago), I was on a 'traditional' low-cal, low-fat diet (one of many!). Y'know? I get up in the morning and make BACON and EGGS!!!! AS MUCH AS I WANT!!! Woohoo! It just tasted SO good..... Anyway, I stuck it pretty religiously with my own take on the 'rules'... I will NOT give up coffee for anybody except my doctor, I LIKE bourbon, etc... But other than those little differences, I did it. Coincidentally, I had physicals before and after starting. Weight after 3 months was down 40-something pounds (I started at 215...fatfatfat), cholesterol was down 15 points (started at 190...not horrible), and blood pressure was like 112/70...it was 120/70 before. Exercise is difficult - I've got MS, and just getting outta bed some mornings is difficult, let alone 2 miles before breakfast. My easiest option is dieting, and Atkins works for me. After about 4 months or so, I slowly modified what I was eating to get some 'health' back into it as well as treats - I mean, how many deviled eggs can you eat? I gained maybe 5 pounds over the next few months, then stabilized..... 'Course, recently I gave up completely and could realy use to lose about 15 pounds..... Praise the Lord and pass the bacon!!!!!