Norm Matthews

I'll have to read the recipe again. I didn't notice that.

It's OK to make substitutions if you are experienced enough to know the substitution is reasonable. The lady who used cream sherry instead of dry said it was because she was confused when she saw there was more than one kind of sherry and decided anything with cream in it must be good. Then again, I love the quote I saw once that said a recipe should be considered as a list of suggestions.

I tend to be skeptical about written reviews. That plus being at catered events with teachers in Junction City before I retired. I see a lot of reviews saying the recipe was great or awful after they say they have made so many changes that is isn't the same recipe. Sometimes I wonder if the person has any idea what they are tasting is supposed to taste like. I remember once going to an event that had gumbo on the menu. I passed a table where someone was remarking how good the gumbo was. I looked and she was eating fried okra. I asked the caterer where was the gumbo and she pointed to the fried okra. The menu was billed as being designed by a CIA trained Chef. Once upon request, I posted a recipe for French Onion soup at the old Martha Stewart bulletin boards. Someone reviewed their experience making 'my' recipe. She substituted cream sherry for dry sherry, didn't want to take time to make beef stock and complained about the price of beef bones anyway so she used demiglace and bouillon cubes. She used edam instead of guyere, again because the Swiss cheese cost too much. She thought she might use some soy sauce but didn't because she didn't want to change my recipe the first time she made it. She thanked me for the delicious recipe in the end.

ElsieD I did. I read a few at least. Some said the cake was wonderful and others complained about it being a disaster. When I started making it, I thought it must be missing some liquid so I added enough milk to make an actual batter.

Babette Friedman’s Apple Cake • JOAN NATHAN YIELD8 to 10 servings TIME1 hour 15 minutes This simple, rustic cake is perfect for a holiday celebration or any other occasion. Featured in: In Successful Paris Restaurant, Jewish Roots. INGREDIENTS • 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, more for greasing pan • 1 ⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar • ⅛ teaspoon salt • 2 large eggs • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 4 Gala or other flavorful apples, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 slices • ½ teaspoon Calvados or apple brandy • 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings) 472 calories; 24 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 59 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 34 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 107 milligrams cholesterol; 149 milligrams sodium PREPARATION 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, and set aside. 2 In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, combine remaining 8 ounces butter, 1 1/3 cups sugar and the salt. Mix until blended. Add eggs and whisk until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and baking powder until thoroughly mixed. Fold in a few of the apples, and spread batter evenly in pan. 3 In large bowl, toss remaining apples with Calvados, ginger and cinnamon. Arrange apple slices in closely fitting concentric circles on top of dough; all the slices may not be needed. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over apples. 4 Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake dough comes out clean and apples are golden and tender, about 50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. I made this recipe today but made changes in it because I didn't trust it as it read. I added about a cup and a half of milk and didn't use nearly all the apples. I put a fine dice on the apples mixed into the "batter" (which was more like a dough before I added liquid) instead of adding sliced apples as implied in the recipe. I probably used two and a half which was about 3 cups. It was crazy to try to cream the butter and sugar with a whisk. I changed to a flat beater with much better results and I added the dry ingredients, apples, and milk with the flat beater instead of folding them in. The cake turned out OK with the changes I made and looks pretty much like the picture that came with the recipe. Here is my cake. I could not get the picture from the recipe to desktop so I could not transfer it to this post. It took about 75 minuted to bake. After I visited two liquor stores and didn't find any apple brandy, son gave me some apple flavored Crown Royal.

We had baked spaghetti and sourdough bread. The spaghetti was like a simple lasagna with spaghetti instead. I left out some of the cheese because I thought it had enough without it. The sourdough was a raw loaf I put in the freezer a month or so ago, thawed out and baked for dinner tonight.

Last night I made a pot roast in the slow cooker but it made so much broth that we had it as a stew.

I used cod.

My lunch today was fish chowder. It will probably be dinner too.

Not that it makes any difference, but I forgot to picture or mention that the Cuban steak also had some rice cooked with Sazon seasoning and chicken stock.

I've made this several times and we always like it. It's a small chuck roast with Cuban seasoning, grilled like a big thick steak with chimichurri sauce on the side, tossed salad and bolillo rolls.

I was not very clear in what I said. Not wanting to belabor the point but the reason I said "English pronunciation" was because I realize the Chinese pronunciations of their own words had not changed but rather the English understanding of the way they were actually pronounced is what was clarified.

If I recall correctly, it was about 40 years ago, when as an art teacher, I read (studied) a book on the Chinese Dynasties in relation to the arts of the periods. It was only a very short time after that in which the Chinese government changed the spelling and English pronunciation in a way that made the book and everything I had attempted to teach myself obsolete. For example Peking was changed to Beijing.

Well, here is what I did: I made everything up in the morning and put the chicken in the marinade. I covered everything separately and refrigerated it until the evening. I had more than a pound of chicken thighs so I doubled the extra marinade and dry coat. I used dry sherry instead of the Chinese wine. Next time I make it, I will consider doubling the scallion in the sauce. And I fried the chicken pieces about ten pieces at a time for about two minutes each. They were crispy after that time. After all of them were fried, I put them all back in the oil at once and fried them for another minute before they were transferred to a skillet to be sauced.

It was one from Serious Eats. The recipe is posted at the link at the bottom of the post.

I thought I'd try this recipe for General Tso's Chicken and Charlie was amused that I'd make something that we could pick up the phone and have delivered in a fraction of the time. When he tried it he said it didn't taste like the kind we got from the restaurant but he liked it better.

This is the first whole dinner I've made in a few days. It's Chile Rellenos with salsa and a Mexican style rice.

I tried a new slow cooker recipe for Carnitas. It might have taken longer but it was a lot easier and Charlie liked it better than the recipe I'd used several times before. We had it with soft flour tortillas, cheese, salsa, avocado and cilantro.

A Porterhouse is a large T-bone. It is cut from the same part of the beef but higher up on the larger side. If you cut the two sides off the bone, it is still a strip and tenderloin whether it is from a T-bone or Porterhouse end.

YUM. Looks like a KC strip and tenderloin on either side of a large T bone.

Several years ago I was with some friends in Seattle. One of them ordered a NY strip steak. It was much bigger than any KC strip I'd ever seen. For all I know, this one might have been a Dodge City strip but it was definitely eaten in Kansas City.

Our dinner was KC strip steak on the grill, stuffed mushrooms, baked potato and asparagus. The little tomato was the first one from the garden. We split it.

Thanks Shelby. I am lucky to have him with me too. He is cheap tech support, carpenter and grounds keeper.

More pictures of the Pork Bulgogi dinner tonight.

I got a small pork shoulder roast the other day and asked Charlie if he'd like a regular slow cooker pork roast, carnitas, BBQ pulled pork in the smoker or spicy pork bulgogi. He said he was surprised I needed to ask. We are having pork bulgogi. The table is set and waiting for him to get home. I expect him any minute.