Norm Matthews

PS Franklin was #17.

Just heard this: The New York Post just named Joe's Kansas City BBQ as the best BBQ restaurant in America. We went there for a late lunch but the line was out the door so we went elsewhere.

Here is the other whiskey, a gift. Pendergasts Royal Gold Bourbon. Back label says "Until he could fire up his own still, the country's most corrupt political boss, "King Tom" Pendergast procured the finest bourbon. He bottled it, trademarked the brand name, and sold Royal Gold to a thirsty public. In the same spirit and with the same name, we presentPendergast's Royal Gold Bourbon. We didn't have to bribe anyone to make it taste this good." This one is an actual Bourbon.

My son is a fan or KANSAS whiskey which is a blend of neutral grain alcohol and some kind of whiskey, not unlike blended Scotch. I was in the liquor store to pick up a bottle for him and the owner pointed out two other whiskeys made in Kansas City. I collect labels for decorative reasons and here are the ones from J. Reiger which we tried this week. The back label says it is a pre Prohibition style blend of corn, malt and rye with a little bit of 15 year old Oloroso Sherry which gives it a very smooth finish. After I removed the label, I noticed that the back of the labels has a gentleman (J. Reiger?). It took a few minutes to figure out the other one but with a bit of the Kansas river showing, it must be an old map of Kansas City. Charlie and I like it alot. Next one to try is Pendergast whiskey. Tom Pendergast was a prohibition era political boss. He bought whiskey by the barrel and re bottled it under his name. He is said to have played a part in getting Harry Truman started in his political career.

I saw this recipe from Kogi BBQ in Los Angeles. It's Carne Asada and Pico de Gallo with some Asian flavors which give it a subtle Korean flavor. While I was taking the picture, Charlie was i the kitchen heating some tortillas, getting some pickled diakon and making a sesame oil dipping sauce.

Charlie was hungry for some buttered egg noodles and I wanted something breaded and fried, so we had chicken breasts, a milk gravy with grated parmesan melted in, egg noodles and green beans with some pickles on the side.

I made Scotch eggs the other day but didn't think to take a picture until I had one for lunch today.

Thank you @lindag and @Shelby

I was in the mood for a Cobb style Salad but left out the avocado because my son has developed a great distaste for anything with it and I grilled chicken thighs instead of white meat.

If the NYT recipes stop arriving in my mail box, I won't subscribe. Lots of their recipes don't originate with their staff and I have an ample number of other sources. Of late I have seen fewer recipes from them that interest me anyway.

I got some short ribs on impulse at the Asian market and marinated them for Kalbi and grilled them today. It is the first time I had used the Weber in several years. I forgot how hot that thing gets and a few strips of ribs turned quite black almost instantly. Also on impulse I got corn today and it was also was cooked on the grill. Rounding out the meal was seaweed, pickled daikon, kimchi, lettuce and two dips. One was sesame oil and salt, the other was some reserved kalbi marinade. There was also rice but I had not put it on the table yet.

Get well soon. Last time I was in the hospital was with a broken ankle. Food was not memorable. I lost weight and appetite.

Oklahoma Joe was bought by Char Broil. They put the company out of business and applied the Oklahoma Joe name to one of their cheap imitations. Mine is identical to the original Oklahoma Joe 18-inch smoker but it is an Horizon, built by a company run by Joe's brother who was a manager in the original company.

It's been around a year since I did a brisket in the smoker. It only took 7 hours. I was surprised it finished so soon. I smoked it with apple wood at 270 most of the time. It got up to 300 at the end though. I just realized that my smoker just turned 5. BTW prime brisket at Costco was only $3.29 a pound.

It's supposed to make good French Toast too.

A friend posted this recipe and I filed it away to give it a try. I had some problems but it still turned out pretty well. First the recipe ingredients listed 3 eggs so I put them in and later realized that I was supposed to put 2 in the bread and save the third for a glaze. Naturally I needed to add more flour to get it to proper consistency. Then about 20 minutes before shaping it, my son needed to take the cat to the vet. I went with him but put the bread in the refrigerator before we left. I figured we'd be gone for half an hour, maybe a little more. Turned out it was almost 3 hours before we got back. The cat is fine BTW. So then it took a little longer for the bread to rise in the bread pans and longer to bake because of the larger mass of the two loaves. The crust is a little darker that it should be because it took a little longer to bake. It's called milk bread and the recipe is here: https://food52.com/recipes/39343-kindred-s-milk-bread I promise it will look better the next time I make it.

@Thanks for the Crepes Yes I toast my bread. I also baked the bacon weave in the oven (weighted down to keep it from curling) until it was set. I made four and refrigerated them until ready to use and finished it in the microwave.

Second day in a row to have a sandwich for dinner. Today was a BLT

I made some chicken salad and had some for dinner in a bread bowl.

It looks like it was made on a potters wheel and it might be stoneware instead of earthenware. Dip your finger in some water and touch it to a bare clay spot. If the water soaks in, it's earthenware. If it just sits there, it's probably stoneware. That information could give some clues as to where and when it was made.

Having been a potter, I'd say it was unsafe (for the pot) to use it to cook over an open flame. Being earthenware,it's too big and porous to be evenly heated and thus would probably crack due to heat stress. It is possible that it was used for hanging storage rather than as cookware.

Neither of us has been eating much lately but today I decided to plan out a menu and try some new recipes. The pork roast with a gastrique is from Tavern in the Village here in Kansas City (Prairie Village) The gastrique was made with wine, bourbon and cherries among other things. There was a potato galette and green beans finished in the oven. We both like our green beans overcooked.

Hi, @Kim Shook The potatoes were baked, cooled, center scooped out with a melon baller, mixed with onions that were softened with a little oil in a pan, milk, butter, garlic salt & pepper, parsley, grated cheddar and refrigerated. When ready to cook, paprika sprinkled on top, wrapped in foil and reheated for 20 or 30 minutes and served with sour cream-not shown.

Everyone's meals look scrumptious. We had grilled steak and corn and twice baked potatoes.

Paring any wine with a vinegary salsa is tricky but that said, Zinfandel (not the old vine kind) might work.