kayb

Done. Thanks!

I cooked a dinner for someone else today, and wound up too tired to cook for myself. A friend is recovering from a brown recluse spider bite and a subsequent staph infection that almost cost him his arm, and his wife went back to work today, leaving him in the care of their two teenagers. One of them cooks -- she is, in fact, an accomplished baker -- but I figured I'd give them a break with a meal. Charlie is of German extraction, and I love to cook German food, so I made choucroute garnie, along with a salad out of the garden, some potatoes in cheese sauce, cornbread muffins and I shared my blackberry cobbler with them. Hoping they enjoy.

I've got to admit, I get the Taco Bell craving occasionally myself. Crunchy tacos. Mild sauce. That's it. Three or four of 'em.

One of my favorite hearty soups, and it freezes wonderfully, is vegetable beef. I generally make mine with the remnants of pot roast, and home-canned tomatoes, but grocery store stew beef and canned tomatoes and frozen veggies work adequately. Tomato bisque is always wonderful, as is French onion soup. Both freeze pretty well. I've frozen tomato bisque prior to adding the cream, and just added that at the thaw-and-reheat stage.

Put them in okonomiyaki.

That brisket is a pretty thing. The steak is no slouch, either. We had pie. Two kinds of pie. I made a tomato and street corn pie, one of my favorite summertime dishes, especially now that I've been getting good tomatoes at the Farmers' Market. It's an easy thing to make -- peel, slice, salt and drain the tomato on paper towels, cut kernels off corn, mix with sour cream, grated cotija, chile powder and cumin (you could use chipotles in adobo if you wanted it hotter), topping of mayo and grated co-jack cheese. Layer corn, tomatoes and bacon in par-baked pie crust; finish off with the mayo-cheese topping and bake for 20 minutes or so at 350, until the topping is golden. You could tweak this any number of ways, but it's one of my favorite summer dishes. Then dessert, on which I'm still waiting (I perhaps overdid a bit on the tomato pie), is a blackberry cobbler. Blackberries are quite early this year; these are domestic ones, so big they almost look like mulberries. Two pints brought to a bare boil with 3/4 cup of sugar and a half-cup of water, poured over pie crust dumplings, topped with a pie crust that's brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar. I cut the top crust a tad too small, so it fell down in the pan. Doesn't hurt the flavor, though. I have Haagen Daz vanilla bean ice cream to go on top. I think I'm about ready for that course.

It is a very close choice between the lobster enchiladas (be still, my heart!) and the rainbow on the beach. Both gorgeous. I covet both of them.

Very simple, very good breakfast this morning as I peruse eGullet: Homemade yogurt Homemade granola Fresh cherries

Too tired to cook last night, so I had a couple of potato skins, with cheese, bacon and chives. Best easy, quick dinner out there. Well, except possibly for tamales and chili, and my daughter had absconded with the last of the tamales. Must make a tamale run. Today's main course will be a tomato-street corn pie. I may heat up a frozen crab cake to have with it.

I must get out today and take some pictures in my garden. I have a horde of green tomatoes, and many squash blooms. Need to take up all the lettuce, dig all the carrots and radishes, and plant the pole beans and okra behind them. Also need to replant the melons, which the caterpillars ate.

Today was my team's turn to cook and serve at the soup kitchen. We did the big meat loaf I'd posted here before...and it wasn't big enough! Had to warm up beef stew to finish out the day. Someone had donated a BUNCH of very-nearly-overripe canteloupes, which went well, as well as a lot of salad greens. The patrons LOVED having salad! One of our volunteers brought a ginormous peach cobbler, which was gobbled right up. Thinking we may do baked chicken and dressing for the next time out. That was a hit before. Chicken thighs, industrial-sized pans of dressing, green beans, sweet potatoes.

Local market had blackberries today. I shall have blackberry cobbler tomorrow. I did not take my pug, Lucy, with me, as she had surgery on Thursday, and I thought she might not be up to wrangling the crowds. Many of the vendors asked after her; my chicken and beef purveyors sent her a package of chicken soup bones as a get-well present! And the vendor from whom I always buy my tiny new potatoes had a special basket of them saved back for me; all marble sized. He knows how I love the tiny ones, roasted whole underneath whatever kind of meat I'm cooking. I love my market vendors. They are just the nicest people in the world. The little Amish girls who always look forward to playing with Lucy sent her a cookie to "help her get well."

Oh....my. What a marvelous anniversary dinner!

Oh, my. Haven't thought about palacsintas in ages. I used to absolutely lust for the ham palacsintas at Paulette's, a long-time favorite restaurant that still operates in Memphis -- they also had a shrimp and aspargus crepe that I loved, as well as coquille St. Jacques over some spaetzle-like dumplings, and I used to rotate among those three choices. Now I'm thinking it's time for a revisit of Paulette's, albeit the menu no longer has some of my old favorites. But here's the palacsinta recipe. "Clickety"

I don't believe that's possible.

I love a good, ripe pear more than just about any fruit. One of my favorites is just raw, sliced, with blue cheese. Or sliced, with blue cheese and a drizzle of honey, broiled. Or poached in merlot. Or pear preserves with scrambled eggs (good fresh farm eggs, bacon and a biscuit on the side). Or most any other way I've ever had them.

Wow! What a marvelous event! Thanks so much for taking us along!

I make mine directly in the liner pot. Seems the easiest way, to me.

I ordered a Boston butt and a slab of ribs from a fundraiser being held for some friends who lost their home to the recent flooding in Arkansas. Pickup day was Friday, so it seemed natural enough to have barbecue for Memorial Day weekend dinner today. Though I can take no credit for the barbecue -- just the sides -- it was a fine Sunday dinner. I made the eggs and potato salad yesterday, and got the beans ready to bake this morning. Had jail slaw in the fridge, as I most always do. Put the butt and ribs in the oven, wrapped in several layers of heavy-duty foil, for a long, slow warm-up at 250F while I was at church. Pulled out my pickled asparagus, per @HungryChris's recipe, and he's right -- I'm seriously thanking you for that one, Chris! Have mercy. It was all marvelous. Sent my child and her husband home with a gallon zip-loc full of meat, and put another one, as full or moreso, in the fridge to be repackaged in one-pound portions and frozen tomorrow. The butt, cooked was a tad over six pounds. There are only three acceptable desserts for Memorial Day in the South. One is ice cold watermelon. One is homemade ice cream. The third is this: Albeit I couldn't find room for it until about 5 p.m. After my nap. I may not eat for a week.

I have never had success proofing with the steam function in the CSO. But I bake in it all the time. My pair of 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 loaf pans fit perfectly in it; I usually have to check midway through and shield the tops with foil to keep them from getting too dark. Truth be told, I probably use my CSO more than any other appliance in my kitchen, though the Instant Pot runs a close second.

@Thanks for the Crepes, if you liked scallion pancakes, you'd probably like okonomiyaki, the Japanese pancake with cabbage, scallions, garlic, ginger, and I love to put chopped up shrimp in mine. I find one of those 4 oz packages of frozen popcorn shrimp from the grocery is about the perfect size for a recipe. I make sriracha mayo (regular Hellman's, with a dollop of sriracha and a little soy sauce) to go with mine and use some sweet chili garlic sauce as well. Recipe here.

I've always been intrigued by Gibson's white barbecue sauce, but after hearing about how legendarily good Dreamland ribs were, and trying them and finding them somewhere below mediocre, I just don't trust Alabama barbecue.

Welcome to the party! What'd you bring to eat???

One of my favorite food groups. I make them every couple of weeks or so.

Well...yeah!