Norm Matthews

We had tacos

Charlie had his birthday party today. I was cooking all week. We had ribs, brisket, beef bulgogi, fruit salad, potato salad, coleslaw, shrimp mold dip, BBQ beans, deviled eggs and Tonto de Verano punch and a lemon pudding cake

I had heard about mahi-mahi but had it for the first time when I visited my son in Seattle. I ordered it at a restaurant on the pier near Pike's Place Market. I loved it. I wish they could make it taste that good here in Kansas. PS I just remembered I had a picture of us at that restaurant back then. It took a little time to find it. It was 20 years ago.

I had planned on another day of being alone with lots of peace and quiet but it wasn't to be. One of the crew with Charlie had his tent damaged and then it started to rain so they came home early and I had to think of something to make for dinner. As it happened, I had bought a whole beef tenderloin yesterday which I was going to cut up into steaks and freeze. I cut 5 steaks for us and froze the rest. I think I'll make bulgogi with the rest in a week or so. I grilled the steaks with Montreal Steak seasoning, cooked corn on the cob in the oven with husks on. It is an easy care-free way to do it. Just put them in a cold oven, turn it on to 400º and set the timer for 30 minutes. They come out juicy and easy to husk and the husks can be used as a handle. I did crinkle-cut French fries in the Air Fryer and cut up some strawberries, tossed them with sugar and blueberries and had them with shortcake and whipped cream (from a can). I just had to pay attention to the steaks and everything else was on timers. I forgot to take any pictures though.

My son is leaving in the morning to meet friends for a float trip in the Ozarks. Three friends are riding with him and will spend the night here to leave early. To feed them I made a larger version of shrimp with pasta, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach in a cream sauce.

It was Buffalo wings for dinner tonight along with coleslaw, corn and some rice for Charlie.

Thank you. That is very helpful.

My sons birthday is next month and he has invited his lowrider car club. I came across this Spanish wine cocktail/cooler/punch. I think it sounds good for an August BBQ party. Has anyone tried it or have opinions? Ingredients: 750 ml bottle young & fruity red wine 750 ml lemon flavored soda or orange soda or lemonade and club soda 1 slice lemon 1 slice orange 200 ml sweet vermouth, optional Stir just to combine. Serve over ice. It says a Spanish garnacha or pinot noir are good choices. I couldn't find that Spanish wine. I wonder if a Spanish tempranillo or old vine zinfandel would work or maybe a sweet red Italian wine? The people who will come are all at least in their mid 30's or older. I am guessing that the ones who might drink a wine cocktail would like it on the sweet-ish side. I think it might appeal to the ladies. The guys will be happy with a cooler full of beer.

I think its figured out now but you are right about standardized measurements. I've read or someone told me that In the old west, shot glasses were not standardized for quite a while, nor were whiskey glasses.

Man do I feel silly. All of these glasses measure 4 tsp per Tablespoon but the smallest one had a dessert spoon equaling two teaspoons. I must have looked at it and thought it was a tablespoon then assumed they all were the same. When the glass is turned to see the two next to the mark, the dessert spoon marking is turned away so I couldn't see it. You know what they say when you assume. ass u me

You are correct. After I looked into it some more, this system does use 4 tsp to 1 Tbs. There must be some other answer.

I think I found the explanation. It gets frustrating to ask google about why or when or for what purpose 2 tsp once equaled 1 tbs. It keeps looping back to tell me I'm wrong. But I found this: The apothecary system of measurement is an outdated system of measurement previously used in medicine and science. Unlike the household and avoirdupois systems, the pound in the apothecary system is based on 12 ounces…. In general, use of the apothecary system is discouraged in pharmacy practice today because of safety concerns and inaccuracies.

I actually have two more of these glasses and didn't include pictures because I couldn't get clear images of them but now that you all have given me a medical connection I took a closer look at them, I noticed printing on one of the glasses says Livitamins Liquid Capsules and it is from S.E. Massengill Co. which turns out to be a pharmaceutical company founded in 1898. The other one is more of a beaker than a jigger shape. On the bottom it says Jas. H. Smith & C. Chicago. It was a 1872 Photographic firm and darkroom equipment is listed among the items they sold, so that would have a chemical connection. So it seems that these were not kitchen items after all. Maybe now I know enough to do some more looking to find the 2 teaspoons to a tablespoon reason.

I have three small measuring glasses that I found in antique stores. The smallest one may be little smaller than a shot glass and the other two are not a lot bigger. Each measures have 4 teaspoons equal 1 Tablespoon. Does anyone know if a teaspoon size at some time in the past changed from 4 to 3 or are/do these measurements have some other application?

I just noticed it was ten days ago when I last posted a meal and it was ribs.. spare ribs and today its ribs again,, this time baby back ribs. It's not that I am getting a rut (I hope not anyway) it is just that most of what we have had in between, wasn't worth taking pictures. Stuff like chili, deli cold cut sandwiches, KFC, etc.

Thank you. I had some success brining the corn in a gallon of water with a half cup each salt and sugar. It was grilled after a few hours. The directions said to leave it in the brine for at least 20 minutes and not to exceed 8 hours.

At first I wasn't planning to do any cooking today but started feeling guilty. Its the fourth for goodness sake, so I did some ribs and salmon in the smoker. I already had made the potato salad and rib rub and sauce, so it wasn't to much extra to do. I had made the potato salad to see if we liked it enough to make again for Charlie's birthday next month. It is good... and different. Besides potatoes, it has sour cream, a little mayo., corn, bacon, jalapeño's and red onion.

Tonight's dinner was pineapple marinated chicken breast and pineapple salsa over rice and a side of daikon radish pickles.

I braised a chuck roast in a spicy liquid and made Chicago-style beef sandwiches topped with pickled vegetables. It was good.

This is getting to be a regular with us. We both like it and it isn't too time consuming to make. It's Creamy Shrimp Linguine with Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes. The sauce is cream and Parmesan cheese.

The name of the recipe is Chicago-style Braised Beef Sandwiches. I like the idea of cooking it with just the juice. I think I will do it that way. It is braised, shredded and made into a sandwich on toasted hoagie buns with Provolone cheese and Girandiniera pickled vegetables. I guess it is iffy as to whether it will be any good or not but I am going to try it anyway. I plan to just make a half recipe.

Staff note: This post and responses to it have been split from the "Unusual ingredients in chili con/sin carne" discussion, to maintain topic focus. That does sound better. By a coincidence, in the last month, I've seen a couple of roast beef recipes that both use a whole jar of pepperoncini and the brine in the list of ingredients. I am going to do one tomorrow.

Taco Thursday. The bowl with salsa is actually guacamole with salsa on top to keep it from turning brown to quickly.

Charlie and I walked into the kitchen at the same time and he asked if I had any ideas for dinner. I said I was planning to eat a hot dog but did he have anything in mind? He thought a little and said he'd like something Italian like chicken Alfredo. We went to the computer and looked at some menus from local Italian restaurants and didn't see anything that looked good. I said could make some Chicken Martini with fettuccini and Alfredo sauce from a jar. He thought that was a good idea so I went to the store and got the stuff to make it and it was ready about 45 minutes later. While it was being made, a friend who is going through a break-up with her boyfriend called Charlie and during the conversation asked what he was having for dinner. He told her and she came over and had dinner with us. I had just enough for the three of us. I took the picture of the food on the stove while she was on her way over... she lives close. I added some extra parm. cheese to the sauce and heated it so it would melt. We had it with some white Zinfandel.