kayb

Great trip! I was in Charleston a bit more than 20 years ago for a weekend. We ate at a place called Slightly North Of Broad (note acronym), which was wonderful. Doubt it still exists. ETA: It does, or at least it still has a website.

Spent three nights this week in StL, taking in a couple of ballgames. Thursday night, SO and I decided on Carmine’s Steakhouse, a downtown classic, for dinner. Mixed reviews. I wasn’t tremendously hungry, so we opted to split a 16-oz NY strip. I had lobster bites, an appetizer, served at the same time. The menu noted they were “tender chunks of lobster with lemon cream sauce.” Ok. The menu did NOT note the chunks were dipped in a light tempura batter and deep fried, which was ok, or that the lemon cream sauce was SWEET (lemon pie sweet!) and did NOT come on the side, but forming a pool on which the lobster sat. Way too much sweet. Overpowered the lobster. The steak, however, was excellent.

Half and half combo of Dawn dishwashing liquid and hydrogen peroxide. Also gets red wine stains out of carpet.

Put little balls of pastry in the cups, then use your thumbs to hollow them out and press them up the sides. Or use a muddler, if you have such a creature.

A new office chair that hopefully will not hurt my back. A small bifold wallet on a keychain. And after I read this, Tonnino tuna!

My God. The food all looks astounding!

Dinner made me smile. Little one made me smile more.

As attractive as this is, and as much as I want to sample Ann T’s chili, I have to offer that chili should be served with cornbread.

I love, love, love my Masterbilt smoker.

Wonderful. More, please!

Fireworks shots are gorgeous! (Food doesn't look half bad, either...)

Here are a couple of collections of salad dressings you might peruse. Click -- you have to answer a two-question survey before it lets you see it, but no signing up or anything. Also lots of dressings here.

I had been keeping an eye out for pork shoulder roasts, as Kroger generally puts them on sale during the summer and I grab a couple for the freezer. Hasn’t happened yet this year. Saturday on my way home, on a whim, I stopped at a supermarket where I rarely shop just to see…they had them for $1.25 a pound! (Kroger, by contrast was $2.99 a pound.) Packaged two to a package…walked out with 17-odd pounds of pork shoulder for $22. Took them home to repackage separately, and they were too big for my biggest vacuum bags. So I rummaged and found some two-gallon bags that barely held them, and stowed them in the freezer. Some hours later it occurred to me I should have cut them in half; I would have still had four-pound roasts, which are plenty big for us. Oh, well. I’ll save them until I need to serve a throng.

Scenery looks almost otherworldly.

All of which sent me into a frenzy trying to recall the context of snippet of a song…”I’ve been drinking malted milk…trying to get (keep?) my courage up…” 1920’s bluesman Robert Johnson, “Malted Milk,” covered by Eric Clapton on “Me and Mr. Johnson.” Thank God for Google.

I could have sworn someone started a topic for this, but I couldn't find it, so... Celebrating Independence Day early today, as the kids have other plans Monday. Pork steaks are in the sous vide, liberally sprinkled with BBQ rub. I'll be making potato salad, slaw and baked beans and cooking some fresh corn. Blackberries cooked for cobbler. I'll throw the steaks on the grill to sear after while, and grill a couple of tenderloins for good measure. What's y'all's plans?

Me too!

Department stores in Memphis were Goldsmiths and Lowensteins. In Nashville it was Cain Sloan and Castner Knott. As an impoverished college student preparing for my first job in journalism, I bought myself a small wardrobe from Goldsmith’s bargain basement, and celebrated with lunch in the Tea Room — pimiento cheese on wheat, cut in triangles, crusts removed, and carrots, celery and cucumbers with tomato aspic. Quite elegant!

Breathtaking scenery.

Oh, God, yes!

Forgot to take photos last night, but it was a veggie dinner — corn, crowder peas, okra, zucchini fritters, cucumbers in sour cream sauce. All either from my garden or the farmer’s market.

Summer veggie medley, with merguez sausage cooked with new potatoes. Corn, tomatoes and okra from the Farmers Market. Squash from my garden.

I learned about this process from an online acquaintance. Been doing it ever since.

I hadn’t thought about it, but I guess I eat roughly equal amounts of beef and pork; maybe marginally more pork. Chicken and seafood somewhat less.

I’ll bet something out of Vivian Howard’s book would do the trick.