kayb

"Honey, you ain't gonna eat a whole order of them onion rings." -- Waitress at the late and much lamented Marty's Diner in Bentonville, which was known far and wide for its rings. She was right. A whole order was a dinner plate piled about six inches high. I tried. Truly, I did.

Love it when you go out there. Thanks for sharing.

There's a burger/lunch place downtown in an old service station/auto repair place called The U Joint that makes a fine burger. Been ages since I had dinner in Chattanooga. When are you there? I'll be passing through about that time.

Gorgeous. The food and the scenery.

Oooohhh. Hadn't thought of that. Bought a new bottle of Pickapeppa the other day.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Didn't get to it. Ran around like the proverbial beheaded chicken all day, and accomplished very little. I did managed to not go into a favorite farm stand when I had to make an unexpected run to the next town up the road to rescue my daughter, whose battery had died on her car.

Three, two in Highland Park and one a local chain all over town. 1. Al Biernat's. Damn fine steak. 2. Cafe Pacific. Have only eaten there once, but I had sea bass over roasted corn risotto with ancho cream sauce that may have been the best non-shellfish seafood I ever ate in my life. I got through as much as I could put away, but when the waiter came to take my plate, I wouldn't let him...kept hoping I could eat just one...more...bite. 3. Cafe Brazil. Good breakfasts and decent lunch if you're in a hurry, and the best coffee in the world. I order my beans from there.

Going further afield, but in the realm of sweet-spicy stuff over cream cheese, one of my favorites is what's known around here as Jezebel sauce, which is some kind of jelly with copious quantities of horseradish. It should be some kind of "blonde" jelly -- pear, apricot, apple, etc., as opposed to a red or purple one. I love it with apricot.

I will, likely fortunately, be out of town next weekend when Bama plays our hometown and, I'm afraid, sadly overmatched Arkansas State. I hope some of our players are left alive.

I was intrigued, when in Japan, at the extensive gardening use of every scrap of land. Lawns landscaped for looks were the province of the wealthy. All else was fruits and veggies.

The pork steaks were quite good, less the step of flooding the laundry room floor (see the I Will Never Again thread). Very simple prep -- sprinkled down in Penzey's Greek seasoning, bagged and cooked at 145 for 16 hours. Took them out and coated them down with a sauce made from fig jam, balsamic vinegar and smoked pimenton. Stuck some brats in the smoker alongside them, as we had room. Had it with mac and cheese and baked beans. I may cook a steak today. Feeling the urge.

...fail to completely turn off the tap to the laundry room sink, thus overflowing the SV bucket in which today's pork steaks were burbling away, thus spilling into said sink, whose stopper somehow magically had defaulted to the closed position, and thus have to sop up water and mop the laundry room floor at 3 a.m. It has not been an auspicious day, though the pork steaks did not suffer. I did. Still am.

Wasabi potato chips don't sound bad.

Those are lovely!

Exactly what I use mine for, as well as the occasional storage of juices.

Dove season is huge a couple of counties south of us, but not so much here. Long as I have someone to clean them for me, I love to cook the little babies. Grilled breasts wrapped in bacon, or breaded like chicken-fried steak and quickly browned, then simmered in red wine (also one of my favorite treatments for duck breasts).

Oysters. Oh, dear sweet Baby Jesus. I'm jonesing for oysters. End of this month. Myrtle Beach. There will be oysters, I trust.

Don't know why we didn't talk about Labor Day cooking last year. What's everyone planning? Me, not much on the day itself; going to somke some pork steaks tomorrow for pre-Labor Day dinner with the kids. I'm thinking I'll throw on some brats and chicken-apple sausage links, while I've got the smoker going, to have Monday, when we have no big plans.

Just put some pork shoulder steaks in to SV, sprinkled with a bit of Penzey's Greek seasoning. Tomorrow, I'll take them out and smoke them for pre-Labor Day Sunday dinner with the kids. Thinking in terms of potatoes in cheese sauce, baked beans and fried okra on the side. Planning to make a banana pudding if I get up early enough, or get ambitious enough tonight. Steaks, which are doggoned near a pound apiece, farm-raised, will go 12-16 hours at 145 and then get coated with a glaze of fig jam and balsamic vinegar to go in the smoker for 30-40 minutes or so. Should be primo. These people raise good pork.

Amazon's offering a September sale on the IP Duo 9-in-1. Instant Pot DUO Plus 60, 6 Qt 9-in-1 Multi- Use Programmable Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Yogurt Maker, Egg Cooker, Sauté, Steamer, Warmer, and Sterilizer

Did it mention tamales, particularly Delta tamales? Their origin, as 100 years ago, the Latino population in the Delta was minimal, is shrouded in mystery, and they taste different from TexMex tamales, but Lord, I love 'em. They're first noted as a portable lunch for sharecroppers.

I refer to those as "tomato candy." I'll get out a bag to cook with, use what I need, and eat the rest as a munchy. I bought tomatoes at the Farmers' Market today and am planning on making the "tomato parmesan chips" referenced somewhere on eG yesterday. Couldn't stop thinking about them.

Treated myself to breakfast after the farmers' market this morning. Bacon, eggs, toast, hash browns, orange juice, coffee. Finally got hungry again about 3. Nothing noteworthy, but awfully good. This little diner is Da Bomb.

Oh...my...God. I am SO trying this.

Cubanos. Some of your pulled pork, sliced ham, mustard, Swiss, dill pickles. Make them, then right before service, grill them just enough to melt the cheese a little and warm them up. I like to grill mine in a skillet with another skillet on top. You can have "Moros y Cristianos" (black beans and rice) made and warm to go with it, or just serve chips.