Norm Matthews

I've had dried okra a couple times before. It wasn't Asian; it was cut into rounds and sold in bulk. It was a tasty snack.

The day started out very nice. I BBQed a slab of spare ribs and trimmings. Here is the smoker going and next to it is my brand new grill. Next picture is after two hours, just before wrapping the ribs and the last picture is after another two hours. As soon as I took them off, the sky got dark and the clouds opened up. I wanted to do a quick run to the store to get a few things to finish dinner but the storm sirens went off and the car radio said there were tornadoes sighted. I was at the store but they closed before I could get in so I'll have to finish dinner with left overs I guess. The ribs are nicely done and very juicy, btw.

I never cared much for it. But I was in my 20's and had one on three or four occasions when others were having it. By then I figured out that it was the beer causing the headaches the next day.

FauxPas here is one way to prepare okra. Cut 3 to 4-inch pods it into medallions, rinse and drain, toss with the following, shake off the excess, fry oil over medium heat until browned. Turn out on paper towels and salt. The pods bigger than 3-4 inches are too woody and tough. 1 pound of small okra pods, cut into 1/2 inch slices 1/2 cup of cooking oil, more or less, divided so as needed to cook it in batches about 1/4 inch deep 3/4 cup of all purpose cornmeal 1/4 cup of all purpose flour Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper and Cajun seasoning (optional), to taste

It only took one.

I recall back in the late 60's when I spent several months in Germany, they had a beer they called banana beer and it did taste like banana. I always had a headache the day after drinking that beer.

I didn't drink any beer today or yesterday. What I usually drink is what someone brings me right after they ask me if I want a beer.

I love fried okra. Have not had any this year yet. I like it with gumbo too. Those two are the only ways I cook it.

I should have said Lillet blanc is a French vermouth. It's dry. I like a little green olive brine added to a vodka martini.

In Casino Royale, James Bond wanted his martini made with Kina Lillet, now called Lillet blanc, a which is similar to vermouth. At the Willard in Washington DC they make a dry martini by pouring a little vermouth in a glass, swirling it around then pouring it out. Winston Churchill said a good martini was a glass of gin sipped while looking at a bottle of vermouth.

FauxPas, thank you.

I started out with a couple recipes I wanted to try, then kept adding stuff until before i knew it, I had a holiday sized meal. It all started when i saw Liuzhou's mushroom recipe and wanted to try it. Then Cassie sent me a potato recipe. I wanted to do beans and ham hocks but wondered how it would be to treat the hocks like a whole ham and glaze it after it was cooked. Then I thought about turning the boiled navy beans into baked beans. i added Shirley Corrihier's Fluffy Biscuits and a coleslaw made with apples instead of cabbage. We will have left overs for a while. Charlie already gave some to the neighbors.

I have two "Brand-Name Cookbooks" filled with recipes from the labels on food cans or boxes. The problem with that is they are from the 80's and practically none of them work anymore because the products have changed either the size of the package or the ingredients, or both.

Last night we had Sofrito Shrimp, rice and a salad for dinner.

There were about half a dozen people inside. It was 3:30 pm Monday and we stopped for lunch on our way back from the airport. To the right of the picture of the wood yard is another tall pile of wood and there was a guy there with a pick up truck.

Its looking like i am going to have to get a new grill soon. Certainly before I try this. It does look good and I'd like to give it a try. I grilled some peppers the other day, then a few minutes later did a few more and they wouldn't burn like I wanted them to. a couple days later i grilled a steak for ten minutes per side and it nice marks on the outside, it was still 90% raw on the inside. I'm looking at a Broil King grill.

I also severed all ties with them after some persistence and instance on my part due to their aggressive marketing techniques. I even got some spam email from some of their underwriters. (they don't have "advertisers") They also made me mad at them for other reasons but I won't let this turn into a long rant.

When Cassie and Charlie got back from Las Vegas (visiting his relatives who had not yet met Cassie) they took me to a belated Father's Day dinner. We went to Woodyard BBQ. It is a place that sells wood to BBQ restaurants and individuals who enter contests or just want some wood for their own smokers or even for a fireplace. They have a lot of different kinds of wood but were running low today because of some upcoming competitions. The restaurant has been featured on TV shows by Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern and Guy Fieri. We got there on a week day between lunch and dinner so it wasn't busy. On weekends there is live music and lines out the door. Cassie had a smoked turkey sandwich, Charles, pulled pork and I had sausage with chili and cheese. Here are pictures from the back showing the wood yard and entrance. PS There was a sign saying they will custom make a smoker or grill to your specifications.

BakeWise and CookWise, both by Shirley Corriher

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/life-changing-lessons-jacques-pepin

Liuzhou your skewered lamb photo brought back pleasant memories of an old friend who dug a pond in his back yard, pushed all the dirt up in the middle to make an island then built a playground so he could entertain his friends. He always grilled lamb on skewers and had beer on tap. He called it shashlik. I sculpted some gargoyles for his castle.

I just got back from my second trip ever to Costco and saw they had USDA Prime whole brisket packets and they averaged about $15.00 less than I paid for Choice at McGonigles. I just finished lunch. It was some of that leftover pulled pork with bourbon BBQ sauce on a Brioche bun from Costco.

Whew. This was too much work. First I made the pulled pork in the smoker yesterday, then I roasted and peeled Anaheim peppers, stuffed them with the pulled pork which was simmered with a tomato, chili and onion sauce, then wrapped each one in tortillas and baked them with tomatillo sauce and topped with cheese. The original recipe used chicken but I wanted to use pork and that took an extra day. I hope they like it but not enough to ask for it again too soon.

I found this link informative. http://www.nigella.com/kitchen-queries/view/Using-Limes-Instead-Of-Lemons/2659 This is what I suspected about the main difference: ie sugar content for limes is a slightly higher (and since vitamin C is an acid, it's a little lower in acid too). This lime is slightly lower in vitamin C and slightly higher in natural sugars than lemons, making it a little sweeter than lemons.

I tried to hold mine at about 265º. It was only 3.5 lbs. It stalled after 5 1/2 hours at 180. Two hours later I took it out. It was reading 193º in some places and 185º in others. It could have stayed on longer but it started raining (again) and getting dark. It shredded OK but as I said, a little longer, say 195 or so would have been better. I only used salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder as a rub on mine. The enchilada sauces I plan to use today has the rest of the seasoning. Most of the time, I think two or three hours of smoke is sufficient with meat, but I have never used pellets. I hear they impart a lighter smoke flavor than a stick burner.