Norm Matthews

If you get a turkey at the grocery store, check to see if it has liquid added to make it self basting or some such. Those turkeys have already been 'brined' and doing it again will make them too salty for sure. I have brined a turkey before and if I recall correctly, it was Alton Browns or one very like it. It had bourbon in the brine. The first year it was too salty. The next year I brined it for less time and rinsed it thoroughly. It turned out very well.

Not the best picture but it was dinner. Japanese Fried Chicken (Tori no Kara-age), eggplant, rice and Chard with bacon, onion and apple. I was going to use just thighs but Cassie wanted wings so I made some chicken wing lollipops as well.

I have some salt. The label proudly proclaims: Redmond RealSalt Ancient All Natural Sea Salt Unrefined sea salt mined from an ancient sea bed. At least they were somewhat honest about it. The sea bed dried up in ancient times. On the back it says Unlike most table salts, RealSalt is not bleached, kiln dried, heated or altered with chemicals or pollultants. Of course if it isn't kiln dried, it can't have been heated either.

Looks great as does your kitchen.

While I applaud Cheerios for using a mixed race couple and biracial child in one of their commercials and refusing to back down in the face of criticism, I somehow feel it is a knee jerk reaction to boycott Barilla for responding to the question by saying that using a gay couple in his advertizing was contrary to his company's traditional way of presenting itself. I don't think it rises to the level of the Chic-Fil-A exec who made a series of prejudicial and ignorant anti gay marriage remarks and remained unapologetic afterwards. My feeling are not set in stone. I am open to consider other opinions.

I think my kitchen knife collection is complete. I don't see a need for any more... actually more than half of them are stored away. But if I were to get one made from this material I'd prefer one with more flat surface for cutting. Only about 1/3 is flat, the other 2/3 is curved. I don't think I'd use much of the blade: too much is for rocking the blade, too little for chopping, either that or I'd have to change the way I use this chef knife to utilize the design fully.

Whenever my son is impressed with a product in an infomercial, I tell him to wait. If it is as good as they say it is, Walmart will have it in a few months. If it isn't commercially available soon, it wasn't good enough to make it off the TV ad and on to the general market. Anyway how sharp does a knife have to be? My Henckels, Wusthofs and Shuns cut as well as I ever need them to cut and they do a better job than the 'inferior' Henckels they demonstrated. Gotta think it was a biased demo. edit: BTW, the chart they have shows Steel knives @ 500 BC then nothing until VMatter in 2013. News Flash: There has been quite a lot of advancement in metallurgy since Christ was born.

Wustoff makes forged and stamped blades. The one you have pictured is a stamped blade and is as good or better than Victorinox

I hope I am not becoming a bore now but when the railroads sent spurs down to places like Dodge City and Abilene, Texas cattlemen ended their trail drives there and the trains sent them east. Kansas City was the perfect place to stop when the cattle needed food and water: it was the junction of two rivers, the Grain Exchange was here and meat packing plants for hogs already existed. Since it was a center now for pork and beef, plus the Santa Fe, California and Oregon trails all began here and travel from the east and south was accessible via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, it was inevitable, I suppose, that it became a melting pot for all the various BBQ styles from elsewhere in the country.

Hoping not to further offend liuzhou, but Arthur Bryant "invented" burnt ends. He used to set out the shredded blackened ends of his smoked briskets for guests to nibble while waiting in line to order. They became so popular that they are on most KC BBQ restaurant menus now. I bet there are more burnt ends are served in KC than there are actual real burnt ends. I'd say Bryants original sauce was more North Carolina style than most KC sauces. It is or was a paprika and vinegar base rather than tomato base. The new owner may have changed it somewhat. I know he offers more varieties. Bryant only had the one sauce.

Huiray, I believe the Delmonico steak is usually a boneless ribeye. Gfweb, another article he wrote was 'The Best Damned Restaurant in the World" It was about Arthur Bryant's, a BBQ place that has served a few presidents. When Bryant died, the Kansas City Star had a cartoon of him entering the Pearly Gates and Archangel Michael excitedly asking him "Did you bring the sauce?" And yes, the flyover state has an (International) Airport. Makes it easier to leave. However it isn't all that bad a place to live. Here are some images. https://www.google.com/search?q=cowtown&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US504&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=lahBUqfGPNSxqwGWy4C4CQ NOT. JUST KIDDING. Here are real images. https://www.google.com/search?q=country+club+plaza&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US504&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=n6VBUoiSO9CNrQG774GgCQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1845&bih=895&dpr=1 https://www.google.com/search?q=kansas+city&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS503US504&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=TqVBUsDuNI7IqQG3y4GQCQ&ved=0CGQQsAQ&biw=1845&bih=895&dpr=1

Calvin Trillin, the noted writer for the New Yorker, in 1998, wrote the article "A Steak Through the Heart" about his hometown of Kansas City It was hilarious and was about the fact that the steak originally known as the Kansas City Strip steak was now called in most restaurants New York Strip. Here are some excerpts. In the 1970s some of the boosters hired a New York City public relations firm to persuade people that Kansas City was not a cow town.... Eventually they abandoned the campaign, ....Nobody thought the campaign had done any lasting damage; it's not easy, after all, to hurt the feelings of a cow. Then last week I read in the Wall Street Journal that the boneless... (steak)... known for decades as the Kansas City strip, a cut of meat invented in the Heart of America, is now on most steak-house menus as the New York strip--although in Kansas City outraged customers forced Ruth's Chris Steak House to correct the misnomer. In other words, once Kansas City had become accustomed to avoiding the subject of beef, New York snatched our steak. In Kansas City I guess we are starting to buy into the hype too. Some grocery stores have New York strip Steaks and Kansas City Strip Steaks on the same shelf. Both are boneless shell steaks. I didn't notice but I would not be would not be surprised if the NY strip cost more. Anyone who knows beef knows that there is only one place both steaks are located on the cow. It is the large side cut from a T-Bone. It is additionally confusing because this steak has lots of other names such as shell, top loin, Contrefilet, hotel steak, Ambassador steak, Club steak, etc, but they were the first steak to be named after a place and it was Kansas City not New York. By the way if anyone ever visits us in Kansas City, please refrain from asking us some questions such as Where do you keep all the cows? Where are the cowboys? Is your home on the range? Where does Dorothy live? ( My mom's name was Dorothy but she and Toto are no longer with us) How often do you have to deal with buffalo stampedes? Why is your airport in Iowa? Didn't you used to have a major league baseball team?

Cassie does not like sausage or I sure would have added it. I like them that way. As it was I used minced mushroom stems, onion, garlic, pecans, butter, pinches of seasoned salt and Italian herbs blend, chicken stock , bread crumbs and a little cream cheese to help bind it. Topped with fresh grated Parm.

Cassie wanted to eat outside today so we cooked and ate on the patio. She made the salad. With it we had strip steak, roasted new potatoes, stuffed mushrooms, asparagus, and tomato.

I live in Kansas and it takes the checker forever to ring up an item, write something down on one list, cross something off another and deposit something in the cash register for each item they ring up.

Right after I graduated, I started teaching in a small town that had no fast food places-except Dairy Queen. They were all sit down family-owned local restaurants. Microwaves were not yet home devices and frozen dinners had to be thawed for hours before baked in the oven. I finally decided i could probably learn to cook meals as well or better than any restaurant, save a little money, get more variety and do it and faster than any frozen dinner. I picked up a copy of James Beard's Cookbook and really enjoyed reading him and cooking for myself. In high school I had earned my spending money by working at a drugstore soda fountain and everyone said I was good at it. I got compliments on my cooking too. TV's Julia Child helped me learn a lot and mom was always a phone call away.

A few years ago my son's fiancee left in the morning for work and there was a dead rabbit in the driveway that a feral cat had killed and partially eaten. When she got home I was making dinner. She asked what was for dinner. I said rabbit. She was not amused. Actually it was a small roast.

It has typical non stick warnings with the paper that came with it: Medium heat, let cool before washing, avoid frequent dishwasher use, no cutting in the pan, no metal utensils with scratchy edges, etc. I didn't need another skillet but it was 'free' with points I had accumulated. I doubt I'll use it often or in a manner in which non-stick properties will be important and last of all I won't have any problems tossing it if it does not perform well.

The one I got is labeled as a wok but I won't ever use it as a wok because it is non stick and should not be used over high heat like a wok. I will use it as a lidded skillet instead, mostly for braising.

I know. I have heard it called a gimmick and a piece of junk. I have also heard of people who like it. In any case I got one for free today.. points accumulated at a grocery store. Tomorrow is the last day they can be redeemed for one of these. It is not light weight or thin. It is a fair sized skillet with a riveted handle and a glass lid. Well I was just wondering if anyone has any opinions or first hand information about it.

I have been here for a while now and just discovered the Like This button! I should pay attention to stuff more. Thanks to everyone who clicked on one or another of my posts.

There is always the old German standby for that wascally wabbit called Hasempfeffer. I like and there is also rabbit fricassee. Farm raised rabbit is young and tender. These two are braised recipes for older rabbits hunted in the wild but the recipes are still good for younger ones too. this didn't work a minute ago. Trying again http://honest-food.net/2012/12/04/hasenpfeffer-recipe-dumplings/

I am single. My son and his fiancee live with me. My son came back here when I got ill and decided to stay after I recovered. ( I am closing in on 70 years old.) Their interests and work hours do not fit well with my shopping. For instance the Farmer's Markets are best visited early in the morning, long before they awake. When we do shop together they pick up stuff I wouldn't and it is mostly frozen meals for when their schedule for eating and mine differ. Last January I broke my ankle and they did the shopping and cooking for two and a half months that I couldn't. The grocery bills were a lot higher than when I shopped and I recently threw out a lot of what they got that was still in the freezer in the garage. They both like my cooking and prefer that I do it and I am happy to be the one that cooks. Son's fiancee has a side job baking special occasion cakes, cupcakes, cookies and so forth, but most of the time the two eat take out when I am not cooking. It's not that they can't cook. They can, it just isn't something they are all that interested in doing on a regular basis.

Thanks for the compliment jayt90. Your ribs and corn look done to a T.

Dinner tonight was Pork (tenderloin) Scaloppine with Mushrooms over noodles and Grilled Zucchini Salad. We had some Chardonnay with it.