Norm Matthews

Before pork bulgogi entered our lives, I used to make a simple pork shoulder roast and it always was good. I don't think Charlie has ever had it that way and when I get a pork roast he always expects it to become something Korean. Yesterday I got a small roast and cooked it the way I used to without telling what dinner was until the roast was done. He really liked it. Today I made Báhn Mì sandwiches with the left overs.

Charlie asked for Korean fried chicken. We had it with rice, kimchi and pork bulgogi that was left over from a couple days ago

It has been a while since we had a fairly complete Southern New Years Day dinner because ham hocks have been really poor to non existent for a quite a while, but at a farmers market last summer I got one that was very good and it has been in the freezer until it was time to thaw it for yesterday. Black eyed peas are in the small bowl. They are in a chip dip. Collard greens and corn bread complete the meal.

We had Vichyssois last night but I didn't take pictures. This one was taken just before I had it for lunch today. We had it hot, not cold, with an egg and ham salad sandwich.

Charlie asked me to make some Puerto Rican chicken and rice. He gave me the recipes and I spent 3 or 4 days looking for all the ingredients and made it all today. He occasionally asks for something Puerto Rican. I suppose he got exposed to the food while he was in Seattle. If not there, I don't know where. I don't think there are very many places here in Kansas City but I could be wrong. I cooked the rice in a cast iron Dutch Oven and it got a little too browned on the bottom but I think it will all fit in our rice cooker so it should be easier next time .

I thought I'd make Steak au Poivre for dinner. So in keeping with the French name, I made French bread, used French brandy, opened a can of French cut green beans and finally brought home some French fries from McDonalds.😅

Charlie showed me a recipe for Parm. baked lobster tails and asked if I could make it some time. I made it today. I don't know much about seafood. About the only time I eat it is when I am in Seattle or California and it is never as good here in Kansas as it is with a view of the ocean in the background.

Our back door neighbors left a box on our porch with a Christmas card. The box contained three pasta packages with snowflake, snow men and sleds shapes and directions of what to do with them. I was a little hesitant about doing pasta kits but I have tried two now and they were pretty good. One was chili. I hoped it wasn't going to be a version of Cincinnati chili. It wasn't. That was a couple days ago. Today I got some frozen tamales and steamed them then topped them with some of the left over chili. The other one I tried was a chicken noodle soup. I used up most or the left over turkey with it. While I was eating some, I was thinking about the time when I was growing up on Strawberry Hill. It was a working class neighborhood. Most people worked in the nearby stock yards or in railroad maintenance yards. We lived in a second story apartment and my bedroom window over looked a tavern across the street. Every night a guy with a tamale push cart would go around the neighborhood and stop at the taverns in the neighborhood. (there were three in a block and a half on our street) Dad would get some for us from time to time. I can still hear him calling loudly HOT..MALES HOT ..MALES .

Thanks for the suggetion. I will look into it. I had a full sized one a while back. I used it until it fell apart.

Leftovers from yesterdays kabobs got turned into provolone and steak sandwiches.

Charlie is suggesting we get a big one. So far, as far ass I am concerned this one is workihg out just fine. It's a Quisinart.

I used the new mimi grill again. This time with kabobs. I seasoned them with Cajun seasoning and we had them with rice, Kimchi and Yumyum sauce.

We had been planning to have beef bulgogi today since Tuesday. Bulgogi tastes best when cooked over charcoal. In the past I would convert my smoker because it was the only place I can use charcoal. It takes time to set it up and change it back. Bulgogi is messy while cooking and clean-up isn't fun. A few months ago, I ordered a small 18-inch portable charcoal grill for doing bulgogi. Today is the first time I have used it. I put a grill mat over it to help make clean-up easier. We were waiting to get hungry before I started to grill . Instead it started to get dark and turn cold, so I grilled it then. I took this picture and in a few minutes I took another but by then it was too dark.

I tried to bend them but when I did, the spacing between them wasn't even on both sides so I bent them back. Since I don't really have anything to lose, I could try again. When I ordered them, I looked for ones like i remembered but didn't see any. PS wouldn't you know? When I looked again just now, I did see some but they didn't have handles so I'd need to use tongs to take them out. Considering how much oil it takes to submerge them, I will just stick to frying them flat.

I was thinking back to the first time I had a taco. I was a teenager in Kansas City and an elderly couple was selling them out of their apartment. You knocked on the door, came in and sat down while they made them for you. When mom learned how to make them at home, there was a wire form that held the corn tortillas in hot oil while they were cooking. I wondered if they still made those taco shell forms. They do but they aren't shaped like the old ones. They are more open than regular shells. I got one and today when I asked Charlie if he had any ideas for supper and he said "Tacos", I used it and their shape makes them harder to eat. I'm going to use up the rest the corn tortillas as flat tostada shells. And when I have fried up the last of the corn tortillas, I'll go back to getting the store bought taco shells. Anybody want a 'taco' shell holder?