Norm Matthews

Charlie and I went to Costco. We got mostly non-food items but I picked up some thick rib eyes for dinner tonight. It was rainy today so I cooked them inside with an iron skillet and finished in the oven.

Wow @Kim Shook Yours looks nicer than mine did and everything else looks really delicious too.

I cut this recipe down because we aren't big on fish, but this Sous Vide Miso Salmon with Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette was really good. I expect to make it again.

No. I used an apricot spread in a jar. The label says Thick Apricots. All Natural Ingredients 100% fruit sweetened only with fruit juice concentrate.

We had leftovers with chicken drumsticks grilled on the Weber , then finished with an apricot, mustard, soy sauce and molasses glaze.

The list of new recipes I wanted to try was getting long so I did several for dinner today. I did some of them yesterday. I fired up the smoker for baby back ribs, made some bread, coleslaw, potato salad, scalloped corn, and I tried a BBQ sauce made with Dr. Pepper

Breakfast. OK it was 2 in the afternoon but it was the first time I ate today. I was going to just cook a hamburger but then I realized I had everything for tacos and that sounded better, so there it is.

I frequently do partial prep earlier in the day so it is ready to finish at the last minute, ie when my son gets home from work. I'll have everything ready so there is nothing left to do but the final cooking.

We had Creole rice and Shrimp and Corn Soup, also a Creole style dish.

If you call in an order, you can go right in and get it when it's ready. We went in on a whim yesterday at 3:30, thinking the line would be shorter. We were going to go to Cheesecake Factory for my birthday but decided to go there instead because we drove right by and it's close to where I live in Olathe. But we had been shopping and walking a lot and I was getting tired and didn't want to stand up that long. In the end we decided that Cheesecake was probably busy too and went to a Tex Mex place across the street from Joe's. When I first moved back to Kansas City, 5 years ago, we went there a couple of times and the lines were short. (Frankly I think my backyard BBQ is as good or better most of the time but this was a time when I wanted to go out)

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.