Norm Matthews

I think I found the explanation. It gets frustrating to ask google about why or when or for what purpose 2 tsp once equaled 1 tbs. It keeps looping back to tell me I'm wrong. But I found this: The apothecary system of measurement is an outdated system of measurement previously used in medicine and science. Unlike the household and avoirdupois systems, the pound in the apothecary system is based on 12 ounces…. In general, use of the apothecary system is discouraged in pharmacy practice today because of safety concerns and inaccuracies.

I actually have two more of these glasses and didn't include pictures because I couldn't get clear images of them but now that you all have given me a medical connection I took a closer look at them, I noticed printing on one of the glasses says Livitamins Liquid Capsules and it is from S.E. Massengill Co. which turns out to be a pharmaceutical company founded in 1898. The other one is more of a beaker than a jigger shape. On the bottom it says Jas. H. Smith & C. Chicago. It was a 1872 Photographic firm and darkroom equipment is listed among the items they sold, so that would have a chemical connection. So it seems that these were not kitchen items after all. Maybe now I know enough to do some more looking to find the 2 teaspoons to a tablespoon reason.

I have three small measuring glasses that I found in antique stores. The smallest one may be little smaller than a shot glass and the other two are not a lot bigger. Each measures have 4 teaspoons equal 1 Tablespoon. Does anyone know if a teaspoon size at some time in the past changed from 4 to 3 or are/do these measurements have some other application?

I just noticed it was ten days ago when I last posted a meal and it was ribs.. spare ribs and today its ribs again,, this time baby back ribs. It's not that I am getting a rut (I hope not anyway) it is just that most of what we have had in between, wasn't worth taking pictures. Stuff like chili, deli cold cut sandwiches, KFC, etc.

Thank you. I had some success brining the corn in a gallon of water with a half cup each salt and sugar. It was grilled after a few hours. The directions said to leave it in the brine for at least 20 minutes and not to exceed 8 hours.

At first I wasn't planning to do any cooking today but started feeling guilty. Its the fourth for goodness sake, so I did some ribs and salmon in the smoker. I already had made the potato salad and rib rub and sauce, so it wasn't to much extra to do. I had made the potato salad to see if we liked it enough to make again for Charlie's birthday next month. It is good... and different. Besides potatoes, it has sour cream, a little mayo., corn, bacon, jalapeño's and red onion.

Tonight's dinner was pineapple marinated chicken breast and pineapple salsa over rice and a side of daikon radish pickles.

I braised a chuck roast in a spicy liquid and made Chicago-style beef sandwiches topped with pickled vegetables. It was good.

This is getting to be a regular with us. We both like it and it isn't too time consuming to make. It's Creamy Shrimp Linguine with Spinach and Sun-dried Tomatoes. The sauce is cream and Parmesan cheese.

The name of the recipe is Chicago-style Braised Beef Sandwiches. I like the idea of cooking it with just the juice. I think I will do it that way. It is braised, shredded and made into a sandwich on toasted hoagie buns with Provolone cheese and Girandiniera pickled vegetables. I guess it is iffy as to whether it will be any good or not but I am going to try it anyway. I plan to just make a half recipe.

Staff note: This post and responses to it have been split from the "Unusual ingredients in chili con/sin carne" discussion, to maintain topic focus. That does sound better. By a coincidence, in the last month, I've seen a couple of roast beef recipes that both use a whole jar of pepperoncini and the brine in the list of ingredients. I am going to do one tomorrow.

Taco Thursday. The bowl with salsa is actually guacamole with salsa on top to keep it from turning brown to quickly.

Charlie and I walked into the kitchen at the same time and he asked if I had any ideas for dinner. I said I was planning to eat a hot dog but did he have anything in mind? He thought a little and said he'd like something Italian like chicken Alfredo. We went to the computer and looked at some menus from local Italian restaurants and didn't see anything that looked good. I said could make some Chicken Martini with fettuccini and Alfredo sauce from a jar. He thought that was a good idea so I went to the store and got the stuff to make it and it was ready about 45 minutes later. While it was being made, a friend who is going through a break-up with her boyfriend called Charlie and during the conversation asked what he was having for dinner. He told her and she came over and had dinner with us. I had just enough for the three of us. I took the picture of the food on the stove while she was on her way over... she lives close. I added some extra parm. cheese to the sauce and heated it so it would melt. We had it with some white Zinfandel.

I was just reading a list of cooking hacks yesterday and one was that olive brine could upgrade savory dishes and add depth of flavor. It also said a table spoon of vinegar (which is in olive brine) can add umami to a pot of chili.

Charlie asked for Dak Bulgogi (Korean marinated and grilled chicken) I pulled the skin back so the meat would get more exposed to the marinade, scraped a lot of the fat off the inside of the skin and left it in longer than the recipe said because, I intended to cook the pieces whole. The skin was crispy and the meat was moist and tender. I cooked it to 175. That is higher than most recipes specify but it turned out OK. It is what Cameron Treu recommended in an article for ThermoWorks about chicken thighs for BBQ competitions. These were grilled, not smoked but I like the way they turned out.

The top one came with a pizza pan, I think the other one was from a restaurant supply place.

Several people have said that they think they are the best ones so far.

I cooked some spare ribs and beans in the smoker today.

I went to the Korean store today and got everything for dinner. The only thing I made was the marinade for the beef spare ribs. I got there early enough to watch the lady make the kim bob. I never noticed before but she has a machine to roll it up and heat it and another machine to slice it. The sides were pickled radish, green onion and Nappa cabbage. The other meat was spicy pork bulgogi

One of my relatives in the Ozarks posted some recipes by a colorful guy named Pepperbelly Pete. I tried the Crock Pot Beef Short Ribs one with the addition of some diced tomatoes. It was good.

I wish I'd known that earlier. I had a bowl with a design on it that I thought would make a nice presentation but threw it away because I couldn't keep the rice from sticking.

I have a small bowl that I use and the rice sticks to it so I line it with Saran wrap first then pull it off after it is on the plate.

Charlie made out the menu for dinner last night. I still was the one who got the pots and pans dirty though. He asked for grilled chicken, mac&cheese, a salad and French fries. For for dessert he wanted something either Little Debbie or Hostess. I got some of both and he put them away for later.

All your food looks delicious. It was the combination of the rub and the mustard sauce together. The mustard sauce got put on one of the next batch of ribs as a binder for the dry rub and it turned out really good. I am going to do that more often. I used the same rub on brisket a while back and it turned out well but the two together was just too salty for me. I tried to eat them but couldn't. I threw them out. I don't dislike any of my neighbors enough to have given them to someone else. Actually I was planning to share them until I tasted them..`

I have never had any interest in smoking a bird before. Probably because I once had a smoked turkey at a Church social and didn't like it. But now I think it was the fault of the kind of smoke used that I didn't like. I want to try some things different this year. One was to do a chicken the other is to do a chuck roast. Before I got the chicken, I looked in the Cool Smoke cookbook to see if he had a recipe for a whole chicken. He did but I didn't really look at it until after I got the chicken. That is when I found out that it was a involved version of beer can chicken. First there was a brine that took two days to make and another day to marinate the chicken. Finally it was cooked at 400º while sitting on a beer can. There is two problems with that. First I don't think my smoker will get that hot. My grill might but if I put a chicken sitting up, I won't be able to close the lid on either one. So I did this: First I sprayed a slotted tray with non stick oil. I mixed a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning in two Tablespoons of softened butter and rubbed it inside the chicken and over and under the skin. I smoked if for about 1 hour, 15 minutes at 325-350º and sprayed it with a solution of 2 tablespoons of sugar dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water then added 5 tablespoons of lemon juice and sprayed it on every 20 or so minutes.. It turned out lightly smoked with a hint of lemon and very juicy.