Steve Irby

About nine PM last night I was wondering what possessed me to make such a large batch of chicken boudin. My fifteen pound sausage stuffer was filled to the rim and I still had six pounds of pork sausage to stuff. I hung in there and cranked away and a little past ten the job was done. A shout out to Sweetwater 420 for the assistance! The boudin was a improvised mixture of roasted chicken thighs (seasoned with fresh rosemary and garlic) combined with onion, celery, parsley and medium grain rice. The rice was from Crowley LA and really tasty after being cooked in the roasted chicken pan juices. Dinner tonight was grilled boudin with a garlic forward vinaigrette. Boudin pre-link Pork sausage post smoke. I'll provide details in another post.

A few lunches from the past week or two. Today was a cheese omelet on toast with tomato gravy and crumbled bacon. The pan drippin's were the base for the gravy and the bread is overnight white. Grilled cheeseburger and house longaniza sausage. Store bought smoked jalapeno sausage with Zapp's potato chips

Whoops! I'd better get my iced tea ready. Lipton's finest with the second meyer lemon off the tree this season.

I'll give this thread a bump. I usually roast my own coffee but I decided to try a local roaster's espresso blend while I'm waiting for my order from Sweet Maria. I pulled a flat white this morning and the coffee was quite delicious. A little pricey at $16 for 12 oz but the quality of the coffee is very good and not over-roasted.

I had a small piece of grilled salmon left over from earlier in the week so I prepared it in the style of Maryland crabcakes. I used a recipe from Craig Claiborne's Favorites from the NYT, Series I. Lot's of great recipes in those two series of recipes and recollections. The salmon cake was served over Potatoes Anna with remoulade sauce. The salad was watermelon radish and mixed greens in a light vinaigrette. White chocolate amaretto cheesecake in the process of being inhaled!

Oysters today. Check out the size variation. They were pretty good but far from prime. We refer to the big oysters as tongues and they are great fried. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED AS THE FOLLOWING PHOTO COULD CAUSE "DEEPLY UNPLEASNT" FEELINGS. Last night we had oysters from the same box prepped a few different way's. Cheese was a common denominator in several preparations😮. This batch was grilled with hatch green chilies, green onion, bacon crumbles and Monterey jack cheese. Pavlova for dessert. Eggplant Parmesan a few nights ago.

My sister and BIL have been in town this week so I cooked a few favorites the past couple of nights. I bought 25# of oysters which yielded about 6 dozen. The count is inexact as the ones I consumed during shucking aren't included in the total😛 The first night we had them raw, grilled and fried as a topping on the main course. The second night we had the remaining oysters grilled. The grilled toppings were butter, garlic and pecorino romano cheese or minced Conecuh sausage and pepperjack cheese. Salmon Rockefeller-Gruyere cheese grits, wilted spinach, grilled salmon, fried oysters and hollandaise Creme Brulee both nights. Last night's braised beef shanks

First greens of the season from Stewart Farms in Bay Minette AL. Salad turnips & tops, rutabaga greens & tender root, and watermelon radish with the tops cooking down with the rutabaga greens.

I've been knocking it out of the ballpark with the lettuce-tomato heart healthy type stuff and tonight's dinner was more of the same. Panzanella'ish salad with fried shrimp and a tarragon forward remoulade sauce. The shrimp seasoning was a Louisiana Brand shrimp blend. The bread was Forkish overnight white that was toasted then rubbed with garlic and Finlandia butter.

New Orleans style roast beef faux-boy's. I had some delicious leftover roast beef and gravy but no Leidenheimer bread so hot dogs buns were pressed into service. Dressed with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and a swipe of mayo with horseradish. Nice and sloppy just like in the Big Easy. And since your stomach doesn't know it's full till you have dessert I had a little bread pudding to finish. The pudding was made with TJ's Pumpkin Brioche.

Lamb ragu with cavatelli. The sauce includes preserved lemon, oil cured olives and capers. The salad was dressed with a garlicky olive oil and sherry vinaigrette. Here's a photo of Willow doing a little QA\QC on the lettuce. First cat we've had that has a thing for lettuce.

A relatively quick and simple dinner that "punches above it's weight". The protein is a rather motley assortment of chicken thighs from BJ's that I deboned, or not, since they ran on the small side. I marinated them in Cavender's seasoned salt, lemon juice, garlic and fresh thyme. Browned in the skillet then into the oven with mushrooms. While the chicken was cooking I made three small skillets of potatoes. Served with salad greens dressed with vinaigrette.

I tried the RG beans a few years ago and thought they were a little too firm for my taste. I'm certainly willing to re-visit the "world of beans" and Purcell look's like a good place to start. Camellia has been a long time favorite based on availability and freshness. They always cook fairly quickly after soaking overnight and I'm not shy on the seasoning so there's always plenty of flavor.

I was just about out of Steen's Cane Vinegar so I placed an order with Creolefood.com for six bottles. I loaded up on a few other items including some Camellia brand beans. Both Steen's and Camellia are really tasty products worth seeking out. Dinner was cannellini beans cooked with a meaty home bone. Served with rice, shrimp and a homemade smoked hotlink. Part of the grocery order

@gfweb That apple walnut cake looks phenomenal! Very nice dinner but those caramelized apples and what appears to be a walnut crust with a half pound of butter has my heart aflutter. Extra metoprolol tonight.

BJ's had one package of beef shanks that were too nice to pass up. They were browned then pressure cooked with onion, lemon, satsuma, tomatoes and a spice blend which included Indian Coriander, Fennel, Cumin, Guajillo, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Turmeric, and Cloves. Served with mashed potatoes, wilted spinach and sautéed mushrooms.

Thanks for the info. The stems do indeed pull just like string cheese! I'll walk our dog Ajax first thing in the morning and see if I can add to the 1.25 lbs haul from today.

I was taking my dog for a walk this morning and spotted a nice scattering of mushrooms beneath a live oak tree. They have the characteristics of chanterelles with false gills, yellow color, somewhat vase shape on the smaller ones and the growing from the ground and not from a root or stump. I'm 99% sure they are chanterelles but all the guidance recommends to confirm with an expert. What do ya'll think?

A southern style dinner served at noon. As a kid supper would be leftovers and Dad would limit his meal to cornbread and sweet milk. The corn, pink eyes and potatoes are fresh and the greens came from the freezer. I added a nice chunk of brisket to the greens. Served with Mexican cornbread.

White remoulade sauce with shrimp and fried oysters for my 68th B'Day.

A quick, tasty breakfast. Leftover focaccia from Craft Bakery, scrambled eggs, Wright's bacon and a South Carolina peach. My wife likes her eggs plain but I like mine punched up a little so I sautéed a handful of mushrooms, onion, tomatoes and artichoke hearts to anoint mine. Topped with torn mint and sheep's milk feta. The coffee is a flat white using Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey Blend.

Grill time since we had a brief reprieve from the rain. I think we've had about 25 out of 30 soggy days. Pacific NW weather without the cool temps! The pork steaks were served with potatoes roasted with rosemary and garlic and served with a avocado salad with lime vinaigrette. We've also enjoyed a fresh vegetable soup (for lunch and dinner over several days) of local vegetables with andouille sausage and shrimp. And a little multi-tasking tonight with grilling and roasting.

Major drool on this end. That is a beautifully plated dish. Five minutes well spent with all ingredient's being able to shine.

@pastameshugana Thanks, the seasonal salad was very refreshing. And you did guess right about the jalapeños. It commanded respect on the fork!

Cukes and Nukes served with fresh garlic sausage stuffed chicken thighs. The salad was dressed with Lidl's Blush Vinaigrette. The chicken was drizzled with a quick sauce from the roasted chicken pan drippin's, heavy creme and guajillo peppers. After a trip to the Dr 😲 this morning I'm switching to smaller plates!