Norm Matthews

Mine took maddening long as well but I am making this for later too.

I saw a recipe for Chile Rellenos Chicken Enchiladas that I thought looked really good but then I thought it would be better with pulled pork instead of shredded chicken. I asked Cassie what she thought about it with Carnitas and she thought it would be better with plain pork in the slow cooker. I decided to put it in the smoker with just salt, pepper and garlic rub instead of anything BBQ tasting. Here is the pulled pork. I'll make the echiladas in a day or two.

Excuse me while I go sit on my front stoop with a bottle of bourbon to see if anyone complains. Kansas representatives are trying to raise taxes to meet a budget shortfall that they themselves created so I could argue that by buying the booze, I am doing my part to help out with the financial crisis.

Ah. The guy who gave me the recipe is from New Jersey so I'm confident that his reference was the same as your description.

I made the black beans that Pactrickamory mentioned recently and also got some T-bones out of the freezer and made Adobo steak Tacos with Pineapple salsa

The guy who gave me the recipe said it was the Greek style used back east on hot dogs. I have another friend formerly from Ohio who said it was like she remembers. I have tried it and we all like it. I have tried Cincinnati chili and do not like it at all. When I served it a couple times, no one in my family liked it. I have no explanation why he called it Greek style, I just passed on the recipe he gave me for hot dog chili and have tried it and think it is really a good combination.

My son's Korean grandmother made Kim Bob with hot dogs or Spam.

An internet friend from New Jersey sent me this recipe. I have tried it and we think it's really good on hot dogs. “Greek Style” Hamburger & Hot dog Chili Sauce 2- Tbs. Cooking Oil 1- Medium Size Onion ( *Chopped Fine ) 1- Clove Garlic minced finely. 1-½ Lb. Chopped Meat ( Ground Three Times if You Can Get It ) 1-½- Tbs. Cumin Powder 2- Tbs. Oregano Powder (alternate = Dried / & Ground in mortar and pestle ) ¼ -tsp. Cayenne Hot pepper 1- Tbs. Red Paprika (Hungarian Preferred) 2- Tbs. Chili Powder (* Not the Hot ) 1- Can Tomato Sauce ( 15 or 16 oz. size ) 3- Cups Water* ( L@@Ks like a lot, but needed ) Salt & Pepper to Taste …. ( *I use Kosher Salt ) Brown Meat in Oil..with Onions till browned. (Drain off Excess Fat) Add all the other ingredients ; Cook over low heat until thickened. ( I place it on a heat diffuser so the bottom won’t burn; even though it is on low flame.) * It takes a while to thicken, and patience is worth it with this recipe. ( Cheating, by adding less water is a No- No with this one) [Tried it, been there, and not a good idea] The flavors take time to meld and marry into the meat. Stir Frequently so as not to burn. Enjoy! ……..[ Recipe.. From Jim & Tina’s Kitchen ]"

After I got out of the Army, I was an art teacher in Junction City from 1969 until I retired about 11 or 12 years ago. One of the coaches retired and opened a commercial pig farm. Not long after that one of my best friends started roasting a hog once a year on his birthday. He stopped sometime in the late 80's when he realized that over half of the people at his party were strangers. His cooker was a 50 gallon drum cut in half, hinged and with grates and a stand welded on. He also made his own wine. He got me started in my interest in BBQ and I made some wine and beer back in those days too. I assisted him a couple times during the cook but not with the initial prep. Several years later, my neighbor asked me if I could do a pig for them. I said my smoker was not big enough for a pig but I could handle a piglet. It turned out good but the next year, they borrowed my smoker and did another piglet Korean style. It was delicious. All of those people are gone now but maybe my son can get his uncle to tell him how to do a Korean style pig someday. It was in Linsborg Ks, that Heritage Foods was started by a poultry farmer and heritage pigs were raised just north of where I lived... still are.

Trader Joe's is always the first one to have valencia oranges at this time of year. It's only for the summer months when I can get these oranges that I make and drink orange juice.

Here is a birthday cake my daughter-in-law made for a young person. I think the controller and game cartridges were made with rice crispy treats.

Thank you. Here is it after it was plated. Yes there were tomatoes on the counter too.

Dinner will be later but the entree and potatoes just came out of the oven: Meatloaf.

An acquaintance gave me a list of wood properties. This is what I have about alder and oak. I assume you'd get similar results with wood chips or pellets. ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds. OAK - Heavy smoke flavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.

I made sukiyaki. I made it on the stovetop, not at the table top like some versions.

I've read that restaurants banning ketchup goes back to depression days when people would steal bottles of ketchup to make tomato soup. One day quite a few years ago, before I knew catsup on hot dogs was controversial, I put some on a hot dog just like I always did and thought: Yuk! how did I ever like that combination? BTW does anyone still spell it catsup? I think Brooks spelled it with a C. when they made it.

My son was raised, during the day time, by his Korean relatives at our restaurant, and had access to any Korean food he wanted. When they all moved to California, it was just the two of us and he ate my cooking without problems. I never made him eat anything he didn't like if he at least tasted it and I never made him 'clean' his plate. He could stop eating as soon as he decided he was finished. But then he started going to public school and I told him he had to get used to eating 'regular' American food like everyone else in his class. He complained but I insisted he eat the food at the school cafeteria. I feel kind of bad about that now. I later learned he threw up after lunch nearly every day. One summer when I was finishing my masters degree, he was about eight and spent the summer in Los Angeles with his grandparents and they fed him McDonalds everyday for two months. He got chubby and stayed that way for a long time. I don't think he is a picky eater and I hope he is well adjusted now after all that.

Is that anything like turkey in the straw?

I think sometimes people don't like certain foods because whoever cooked for them didn't prepare it well. I am thinking of someone i know who hated asparagus until she had some fresh from the garden and not from a can.

My niece is married to such a person. I understand he has a long list of food he won't touch, including anything white... and he works at a grocery store chain. My son's wife had a list of thinks she didn't like, but started eating them when I included them in things I cook. Some things she still doesn't eat are puzzling. She hates the taste of breakfast sausage and says she does not like pork but will eat -and apparently likes brautwurst when I mix it into meatloaf or other things I used to use regular sausage in. She likes carnitas which is pork shoulder. She won't eat anything with a bone in it, at least she doesn't want to but does sometimes. One constant that she never likes is celery. I substitute baby bok choy, romaine stalks or even bean sprouts for celery now. Her brother is really a cautious eater. He has limited experience with different kinds of food. He will taste anything but won't eat a lot of things he decides he doesn't like. Her sister used to be like that but seems to eat everything now.

Have fun with your Yoder. I need to deal with some rust on the bottom of my smoker firebox. I had a cover for the Char Broil one and the wind tore it to pieces in a month. The initial tear let water in and held it next to the smoker longer. They have covers for the Horizon but haven't checked them out. The rust on mine is from heat use, not weather.

cyalexa, hope you get a chance to check it out. Penzey's is in front of the farmers market on Santa Fe and a couple doors down is a bakery specializing in pies and next to that is a place that sells olive oils and vinegars.. I went to a party at my nephew's on Sat. and took some bacon rolls I had smoked and some of the brisket from Wed. I was sitting next to a couple who were eating some of my bacon rolls and they asked questions about it that only experienced smokers would know to ask. After a while, she mentioned that they were both BBQ judges so I asked their opinion on the brisket. He held up a slice and pulled on it the same way Franklin did in a video to test for doneness. He said it was perfectly cooked and both of them were kind enough to say it tasted very good. He said he was surprised that I got those results with only 8 hours in the smoker.

DIL is at work tonight so son made dinner for the two of us. It was hamburgers but different and very good. He added stuff to the ground beef that I thought would make it taste 'teriyaki-y' but it didn't. It just brought out the flavor of the beef, then he dressed it with bahn mi type vegetables. Here is how he described it. He parboiled the bean sprouts, BTW. Korean inspired burger (freestyled): 80/20 ground beef with Korean red pepper paste, sesame oil, pepper, salt, garlic. Carrots and radishes pickled in rice vinegar, sugar, and water (also used it for dipping sauce), green onions, bean sprouts, and mayo mixed with a drop of soy sauce.. We had root beer floats for dessert.

My nephew had a bacon and bourbon themed party so I took some bacon and bourbon themed food plus another 'B'.. Barbeque. I made smoked bacon rolls, took some of the brisket I smoked on Wednesday and also made some bacon-bourbon BBQ sauce.

But BBQ consumers do drink beer. It's a style of food created for the masses and used cuts of meat thistorically available to the the poorer segments of the country. It isn't the kind of food to serve with crystal, fine silver and china and a bottle of vintage Cabernet Sauvignon.