kayb

I worked in an office that had lots of child-bearing mommies at one point, and we'd organize to take a dinner a week for six weeks. Mine was generally pot roast, as it serves for several meals, can be cooked and then refrigerated and reheated with no loss of quality. I'd cook potatoes and carrots with the roast, and add a side of some green thing -- Brussels sprouts, broccoli, green beans or a salad.

I did too. Sounds like fun. Thanks for the tip; I had no idea such courses existed.

@Smithy, did I miss it back upthread, or have you posted pictures of your camper kitchen? If not, would you mind doing so? The "tiny house" shows on HGTV have shown some pretty nifty ideas for space-saving kitchens.

Kimcheese. I love it. Also love the look of that sandwich.

That's saved me a fair amount of money over the years.... I bought the Hazan Family Recipes ($1.99 on Kindle) today.

Brussels sprouts on the stalk remind me of a caterpillar. They're something I never ate until I was an adult, because we didn't grow them. Are they a cooler-weather vegetable? I enjoy them roasted, or raw and shredded in a slaw/salad.

I have a number of friends who "horse camp" frequently. There are, apparently, a nationwide network of campgrounds that cater to that demographic, with facilities for horses as well as trail-riding facilities. Many state and national parks also have stable and paddock facilities. I suspect it would depend on how much riding one wanted to do, as to whether that would be practical. Obviously, for my friends, the riding is primary. If other forms of tourism are your priority, a straight RV or trailer would likely be better. I know there are devotees of both the RV and the trailer styles. As for the tiny kitchens, I agree it's an issue of changing your style of cooking. My friends tend to cook more outdoors, as in grilling entrees, etc., while preparing sides and desserts indoors.

This forum will certainly aid in getting fat, as well as buying all sorts of other cool kitchen thingies. Welcome back!

When I'm sick, I want comfort food. For me, comfort food is potato salad; specifically MY potato salad. So last night I had potato salad. Two bowls of it. Still warm from the potatoes being cooked. Actually, the first bowl was quite HOT from the potatoes being cooked. I have a photo but it's horrible, so I won't post it.

I thawed a pound of ground beef last week to make tacos. It's still in the refrigerator, in its package. I've got to use it. That's the impetus for a lot of my meal planning today for what we're having tonight.

Get a horse trailer wiith living quarters.

I was a late convert to both of these. Would not go back, not for a second. I use the CSO probably more than the IP, but they have both made major inroads into stove use. Particularly love the CSO in the summer, as it does not heat up the kitchen so much!

Enjoy the snow as much as I enjoyed your blog -- which was a great deal!

It having finally gotten winter here (it isn't that cold, but as it's been summer-ish for the past month, and it was overcast and rainy as well as much cooler, it FELT like winter), I decided it was pot roast time. A rummage in the freezer turned up two packages of beef shank, cut crosswise about two inches thick, and rather fancifully labeled "osso buco" by the butcher. Those, I determined, would do. I salted, peppered and browned them, poured in a cup of red wine and let that simmer a bit, then added a quartered onion, several small redskin potatoes, and some chunked-up carrots, clapped a top on it, and transferred it to the oven at 300F for four hours. Perfection. It hit the spot, both in terms of suiting the day and being just what I needed to aid my recovery along. I may have had another plate just like this one. Many leftovers, some of which will be repurposed into shredded beef with gravy to go over mashed potatoes, some which will be shredded for roast beef and Swiss sandwiches, and some of which will go into beef and vegetable soup. I usually add the marrow to the soup for extra richness, but am thinking about what I might want to do separately with that for a special treat. Suggestions?

That...looks...astounding. I want it. Now.

Having just recently found my mother's gingerbread recipe, I think I'll make gingerbread men. Women. People. Whatever. Maybe dogs and cats, if I can find the cutters.

Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano. Add a little honey if the salad calls for a sweeter dressing. Add a little Dijon mustard if it seems to "fit."

I just poach the garlic in olive oil, then store it in plastic tubs in the fridge (a big bag will make two quart plastic containers full). They'll last me about six months...not sure how much longer than that they would keep.

Are you talking about sauce to cook the ribs in, or to apply after SV, when you sear? I never sauce my ribs before SV; I always use a dry rub. Sometimes I make my own (salt, brown sugar, different chiles, onion and garlic powder, paprika, allspice, whatever else I think of), and sometimes I use a commercial one. For sauce, I'm partial to Memphis' own "Dancing Pigs" sauce from The BarBQ Shop, one of my top five in the barbecue pantheon.

Sigh. I wish I felt like cooking. For that matter, I wish I felt like eating. Y'all's dinners are enough to make me feel hungry, despite bronchitis. I did bestir myself to make some potato skins with cheese and bacon last night.

If you get anywhere close to Manchac, LA, do not miss Middendorf's. Known for their "thinfish," catfish fillets sliced thin, breaded and flash-fried -- hard to describe but just excellent. I'm supposed to be down that way this week; don't think I'll make it, as I am down with what is giving a fair imitation of bronchitis. Doctor-bound tomorrow.

Add me to the list of Chum's admirers! (Lucy, the fat pug, says she would like to be like Chum when she grows up.)

I have never prepared one, but when I lived in Bentonville (aka Home of the Walmartians), there was a restaurant that did a smoked prime rib. It was the most marvelous thing I'd ever eaten. One night, someone broke into their smokehouse and stole about a dozen prime rib roasts that were winding up smoking. Always figured they had a helluva dinner.

Happy birthday! And happy new-kitchen-to-be.

While I'm not AnnT, I'll pass on my favorite method for ham. Buy a butt end, rather than a shank end, if you're buying half a ham.Stand it up on the cut side on a rack in a roasting pan. Score the skin/fat, almost all the way to the meat. Trim any fat that's more than an inch thick. Coat the whole thing liberally with cheap yellow mustard. Pack brown sugar all over it. Spritz the sugar with bourbon in a spray bottle. Tent it with foil, stick in the oven for 20 minutes per pound at 300F. Let it cool to room temp before you slice. (also works on a pre-sliced spiral ham, and even on a boneless one, although I think a bone-in has a better flavor).