Norm Matthews

Yes. See the reply above. I have a small Pyrex collection that I got while looking for it. Once Mom and I were in an antique store, she made a comment about a high end kerosene lamp her aunt had and now I have a small collection of them too.

Yes. It is a recipe I got from my sister years ago. As for the vintage Pyrex double boiler, Once my mom mentioned that no one sold double boilers anymore. I realized that was true and started looking in antique stores for one . After a couple years, I found one in Ozark, Missouri back in the 1990s.. FYI if you find some Pyrex ware, DO NOT use it on an electric coil stove unless you also get a wire designed to keep it off direct contact with the coils. Those stoves will break Pyrex because they cause too much expansion in that area and they will crack. BLACK EYED PEA DIP 4 cups cooked, dried black eyed peas or 4 cups canned peas (mash some) 1 tbsp pea juice 5 jalapeno peppers chopped (remove seeds) --(I used substantially less) 1/2 medium onion chopped 4 oz. can green chilis chopped 1 clove garlic minced 1/2 lb. Old English sharp cheese 1 stick butter Mix all except cheese and butter. Melt cheese and butter in double boiler (I use microwave). Add all other ingredients. Simmer until hot. Serve hot.

Due to thinking I already had black eyed peas and not checking until it was too late for New Years Day, I am a week late making the dip I was planning but finally did it today.

@Anna NThanks for the list. It was a fun read and now have some fun ideas for future restaurant visits. I copied it to my reading list.

I attempted to make Rendang a few months ago, not knowing anything about it other than that Charlie and a friend watched someone on TV make it. I went to three stores to try to find everything and had to substitute some things. After some people here who are familiar with the dish gave me some input and Imelda, an on-line friend from Indonesia, sent me some packets with all the proper ingredients, I made it again and it turned out much better. The unmarked packet is toasted coconut. Thanks to everyone who helped me understand the dish better. PS. this is what Imelda told me about Rendang. Looks good Norm. There are so many ways to cook rendang, all of them were claimed authentic, depends on the region. Both Indonesia and Malaysia claim the origin of Rendang. This dish is widely accepted as having originated from the ethnic Minangkabau people, also known as ‘Minang,’ from West Sumatra, Indonesia. I have some packets of rendang seasoning, I can mail you some if you want to try the Indonesian Rendang, all you need is add some coconut powder and chili sauce if you like more heat.

@gfweb No Food Lion or Wegmans anywhere near here. Not even a Wegners.

Charlie and I were going through a list of recipes I've made over the last couple of years and decided to do Cheeseburger soup. Charlie suggested using French fries instead of regular potatoes and to add some jalapenos. I didn't think the fries and peppers was a good idea so I made them on the side. I have to admit that the soup made a very tasty dip for the fries. During the meal Charlie thought some kind of pasta would be a good substitute for the potatoes. I might try that next time. As for New Years, because it is so hard to find decent ham hocks any more,I decided to just to a cheesy black eyed bean dip but when I discovered I didn't have any in the "cupboard" it was too late. Store were sold out everywhere. It was ten years ago the last time I didn't have black eyed peas on New Years day. I broke every bone in my ankle on Jan. 2nd. It's the 4th now and every thing is going well but If you don't hear from me again, you can blame it on the beans.

It is pretty nice out today, at least compared to the last four. The snow is melting and I can go out without a parka. The cat was getting stir crazy and loved going out today. Saturday I cooked a ham for dinner, Sunday it was a prime rib roast. This week is using up leftovers. Monday it was ham and egg salad, yesterday it was Philly cheesesteak sandwiches with some of the beef roast and today the last of the roast got used in Beef Stroganoff. I forgot to take pictures of the ham salad and the cheesesteak sandwiches but here it the Stroganoff

We had a late lunch or early dinner. It was a ribeye roast.

I had not pre-planned anything except to stock up on enough food to get by if we got froze in for the next few days. I got stuff to make chili fot hot dogs which we had for lunch today. I also got a rib roast and a ham. i cooked the ham for dinner and while it was cooking I looked around for something to go with it and only found some canned green beans left unused for Thanksgiving. They tasted pretty bland so I added a couple spoonfuls of cream of mushroom soup, a sprinkle of onion soup powder and a few croutons and heated them in the oven with the ham. I tossed a salad to finish it all off. I will probably do the rib roast tomorrow and we will have around a week of leftover.

Charlie asked for tacos or meatloaf so tacos it was.

I baked some Cornish hens with orange teriyaki sauce and broiled some tomatoes topped with butter, bread crumbs, Romano cheese and salt and pepper. Ii found out that parchment paper can catch fire under the broiler.

We were trying to think of something good for dinner tonight and finally settled on Bahn Mi sandwiches

I tried a chili recipe that was in the Kansas City Star newspaper last month. I made a few changes before and after it was cooked. I think it turned out well.

Hy Vee sells pineapple brats at their meat counter. At first I smoked them but later found out that they taste better with the pineapple flavor left alone. I think beer adds flavor to regular bratwursts if they are cut in bite size pieces and simmered for around 20 minutes rather than cooked whole.

Charlie asked for pineapple bratwursts for dinner tonight so that's what we had. As I was getting ready to cook them, he suggested cooking them in beer. He didn't have any beer and I only had 2 bottles from Holland and did not want to donate them so I steamed them with water and then browned them in the skillet. A pretty quick and easy dinner.

I wanted to try pull a apart garlic bread and decided to have it with meatballs and spaghetti. Charlie said it was the best garlic bread he'd ever had but it would be even better with some cheese on it. I also made pecan pie cobble for desert.

We had Alton Brown's recipe for Chicken wings tonight.

I made lasagna today. I was going to wait until it set up better but others didn't. The blog shows the recipe but it came out weird and I can't correct it.

You're welcome. Actually I am in Olathe. (for those who don't know. Olathe and Liberty part of the metropolitan area Kansas City area) I didn't notice you were close until you just mentioned it.

I also thought the cobbler was good and plan to make it a holiday staple. I plan to make it again for Christmas. I put the recipe I used on my blog. The address is http://normmatthews.blogspot.com/ PS I used all white flour instead of two kinds in the recipe. PPS I put the cobbler and under pan on the oven shelf before I poured in the water, then just pushed it in to cook. That way there was little chance of it sloshing out while transporting it to the oven.

Meal for "leftovers". We rotate Thanksgiving between 4 families so when I go to another house for dinner, I don't get very many leftovers. When that happens, I cook a mini dinner the next day for more "leftovers". That was today. The cornbread recipe is in on the Quaker box of cornmeal. The green bean casserole it the one everyone knows and the stuffing is Pepperidge Farm. The gravy was homemade with chicken stock and wings from the freezer, turkey neck, etc. The dish between the butter and gravy was supposed to be mashed potato cakes but they were never firm enough to form so I cooked them in a little oil and smooshed them in a bowl. I put them on the table with a warning to take a small taste to see if they wanted more. Everyone wanted more. It was the first bowl to be completely empty. There were also some deviled eggs pecan pie not in the picture. I made a pecan pie cobbler to take to the family gathering and bought a frozen pie just in case the cobbler didn't turn out. Well it was good so I kept the pie and we ate it today.

I got a bone-in ham yesterday so we had a no reason holiday dinner.

I didn't. I left it for everyone to see without comment from me.

I am posting this because it’s funny and I remember it every time I make a dish that I’ve never heard of and has ingredients that I will have to find substitutes for things I have never tasted and someone who is very much a fan of the food asks me questions about how I did it, as happened yesterday. I have a dread that I will sound goofy. A little background first though. In the 1990’s I posted a recipe I made for French Onion Soup. It took a couple days to make because I made the stock from a La Technique recipe for stock (Part of the recipe for consommé ) and another recipe for caramelizing onions. A few days later someone told us about how she used my recipe. This is what was said: I made Norm's French onion soup last weekend for guests and it was delicous! I even broke down and bought a bottle of sherry. I was confused in the store wether to get the cream sherry or plain sherry so I went with the cream. I mean what can go wrong with anything that has cream in it's name? LOL I didn't have beef bones and 6 hours to make my own stock. I found beef stock at the grocery but it was $3.25 for what looked like less than a quart! No way am I going to pay that much for stock, plus I recalled I have a small jar of demi glace from France in my cupboard I had indulged in but never opened yet. So I used regular canned beef broth and demi glace to taste. The recipe says it takes about an hour to cook the onions. I think I had my temp too low because it took me closer to 2 hours and I had to turn up the heat toward the end to get the brown carmel color. No problem though... I had plenty of kitchen chores to do and just needed to stir the onions ever so often. I toasted rustic bread slices on one side, buttered and sprinkled granular garlic on the other side, then toasted that side. I floated those on top of the soup and grated over some Edam cheese. The market I had been shopping in had their guyere cheese over priced in my opinion (6oz for $7.65!!!) so I substituted Edam. I hate shopping a regular grocery when imported or gourmet ingredients are on my list!!! Sams club is great for reasonable imported cheeses but I didn't have time to run by there. Edam cheese is a great melting cheese so it turned out fine. The soup was a hit. My dinner menu was French onion soup, my open face gyro type sandwich, and hot blueberry cobbler for dessert. I swear I have bruises on my back from all the complements I got for that dinner. The rich soup was nicely balanced by the fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and garlicky yogurt of the gyro sandwich. And the sweet warm cobbler can't be beat on a winter night. Thanks again Norm for your delicous recipe and inspiration! (name deleted) I thought a nice red wine would taste great in the soup too. I almost added some but I do try to stick to the recipe if it's the first time I'm trying it. I also thought a touch of soy sauce would have expanded the flavor levels too. Next time I'll get a bit bolder and try some variations. The thing I most liked about the soup was it's layers of flavors. The broth is so exotic tasting I just loved it, and Sunday morning when I woke up all I could think about was the leftover soup in the fridge. Ate the rest for breakfast!!!