kayb

I'm in the American South, so Sunday dinners were always started before church,left on the stove half-completed or ready for rewarming, and then finished off within 30 minutes of the benediction. (OK, we lived real close to the church!) Lots of vegetables, particularly in the summer. Green beans, creamed corn, fried okra, sliced tomatos, purple hulled or crowder peas. Fried chicken, occasionally, but more often pork chops or a pork or beef roast. As I've graduated from my parents' house to my own home, with children and now mostly without, the Sunday lunches have evolved. It's my leisurely time to play in the kitchen, to experiment, to cook something that's more involved or takes longer, or to cook a big piece of meat that then becomes the basis for more meals later in the week when time's more fleeting. Often, if it's nice weather outside, I grill, and when I do, it's often several different meats, so I have things for later in the week. Now, as it's getting colder, it tends to be braises and low-and-slow roasts. Still lots of vegetables, though, and usually the only dessert I'll make during a week.

Oh, dear God. I wish I had not found this thread. I love me a Rice Krispy treat, and now must make some over this upcoming long weekend!

Thanks, RobirdsTX! Duly copied and pasted into my ever-growing file. Will scout for black cherry preserves next time I'm out and about.

dcarch -- pumpkin with scallops. Who'd'a thunk it? Fascinating idea. What's the spice? RobirdsTX -- that black cherry sauce is calling to me. Would you be so kind as to share a recipe?

I loved okonomiyaki when I was in Tokyo. I will have to try at home! Enjoying your blog...keep 'em coming!

Chicken pot pie was one of those dishes on which I raised my kids -- that version made with cream of chicken soup, frozen mixed veg, and refrigerator case pie crusts (the Pillsbury rolled-up kind). I still do that sometimes, though I will also occasionally make a cream sauce, starting with a blonde roux and adding chicken broth....but to be quite honest, I can't tell a whole lot of difference. The secret ingredient -- grated sharp cheddar cheese, about a cup of it, stirred into the filling -- cream sauce, diced or shredded chicken, frozen veg thawed under running water and let drain. Pour it in to the pie shell, pop the other crust on top, 350 degrees until the pastry is nice and golden. Despite it being in a pie plate, we dip it out, as it's generally too soft to slice. But Lord have mercy, it's good.

OK, these salmon Scotch eggs are calling to me. I've never worked with quail eggs. When you boil for 2 minutes....do you start them in cold water and bring to a boil, or immerse them in the water for two minutes after it comes to a boil? And do you immediately drain and go to cold water with them after that two minutes? It would seem to me that with the small size of quail eggs, timing on the boil would be quite critical.

Prawn, thanks so much for a marvelous week of food! It was a true pleasure reading your blog!

Dear sweet baby Jesus. Bacon jam. I may never be the same.

"Asian" snack mix (assorted rice crackers with a vaguely teriyaki-tasting glaze) in a plastic bag from the stop-and-rob, en route from one meeting to another. With a Diet Coke.

Small group this year -- two "adult" eaters, three or four 20-somethings, and a fifteen-year-old who eats nothing green. Appetizer spread with pate', fig-and-olive tapenade, and cheeses, with wine Roasted, or smoked, depending on what the weather's doing, turkey breast Sweet potato casserole (sweet potatos mashed with egg, sugar, vanilla, topped with a mix of brown sugar, butter, flour, pecans Green bean casserole -- a homemade version of the canonical one with mushroom soup and french fried onions Garlic mashed redskin potatos Traditional Southern cornbread dressing Giblet gravy Deviled eggs Cranberry salad with apples, oranges, pecans Coconut cake with ambrosia for dessert There are a lot of other sides I'd like to do, but there's no point with so few of us here to eat. So I'll roast a pork loin later in the weekend, and do some of the other sides I've been eyeing with that!

Pam -- I have a single 29-year-old daughter....maybe we can get something working here? Your story reminds me of when my girls were small and loved "Grandpa pickles," sour/dill/hot pickles my mother made and canned every summer because my father loved them. For a couple of years after he died, I doled out jars of "Grandpa pickles" on birthdays, and it was a sad day when they were all gone. I raised my kids on tuna-noodle casserole, chicken pot pie, and BLTs, all things that could be cooked and served in that interim between work and ballgames, or ballgames and bed. And pot roast. They love Mama's pot roast to this day.

Stunning. I have no words. And it's all gorgeous.

I made sherried tomato-basil soup last weekend, and a big pot of red beans and rice (for which the rice never got made) during the week. Both fall favorites.

Stuff them with a mix of chopped fresh cranberries, fresh apple, and walnuts or pecans. Baste with a brandy-brown sugar glaze about five minutes before you take them out of the oven.

"Rethermalized"? I believe that one belongs on the "culinary apocalypse" thread. Or at least the "death of the English language as we know it" thread. Rethermalized. That just makes my eyelashes hurt.

I'm with you. The baseball park in Memphis serves barbecue nachos. I'm pretty sure that's a mortal sin.

Biscuit with chocolate gravy and a country sausage patty. Please forgive crappy cell phone photo; my camera is still AWOL.

Freshly ground. Preferably made in a French press, though I'll accept machine made. Half and half. Insulated mug with a top, preferably. The "travel French press" and the plug-in hot pot are the finest invention in the world, for one who travels; if I'm just going overnight and don't take them, I drink tea in the morning instead. And I hate Starbucks. Damn stuff tastes burnt. I can only tolerate it if it's in a latte.

Heath bars, Mars bars, Almond Joy, Zagnut.

Back in the day, Mama used to make popcorn balls and caramel or candy apples. That's out the window these days, as homemade treats, unless the little imps' parents know the giver, are tossed unceremoniously. So I save those treats for parties and such. I tend to buy the big bags of Hershey's minis, because kids like 'em and I don't, so I can safely have them lying around the house until the Big Night, and leftovers lying around until I remember to take them to work. And Smarties. I love Smarties. Will eat an unconscionable amount of them. I also have to go buy candy corn, which I love anyway, but have had a flash of brilliance that I ought to be able to substitute it for chocolate in my favorite fudge recipe and have candy corn fudge, and I just can't wait to try that.... Oh, and you can always take Tootsie Roll pops, cover the pop with a Kleenex, tied around the stick with a black ribbon, and a little face drawn on. Just kinda cute.

A Grapette soda with a bag of Tom's salted peanuts poured into it. On the front porch of a country store, bare feet coated with dust, watching the cars go by.

dcarch -- Words fail me. Wow!

Potato salad. A dinner plate full of it, still warm from boiling the potatos. With Hellman's mayo, spicy mustard, and a squirt of ketchup, seasoned salt, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and a ton of chopped sweet pickles. And a glass or three of red wine. My very favorite "it's all about me" meal in the world.

Been there, done that, many a time. First cold Saturday in November, always. When I was a little kid, my job was stuffing sausage; later, I graduated to packing hams and bacon in salt for curing. And in the South, where I grew up, it was "hog killin'."