Camping, Princess Style

[Smithy]

8 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Let's not denigrate Lodi wine.   A friend of ours is making super-outstanding wines, acknowledged by top restaurants and somms, Sandland label.

eg: 

 

Thanks for that. I agree that Lodi can now be the source of some fine wine, but I think it wasn't always that way. I appreciate this particular recommendation. I'll have to see if I can find the wine to try it out on a luxury splurge dinner.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

According to Forbes Mag, Lubbock wines are hidden treasures.   Sounds like you found a couple 

[Smithy]

This morning's breakfast was half of a perfect avocado, on the last of the buns I'd bought at Lowe's. A squeeze of lemon and a splash of Spike set it off perfect, without needing the hummus I'd brought along as an extra.

 

 

Lunch today was a pitiful attempt at roll-ups, using nearly the last of our lettuce and substituting crackers for bread. That chicken has been good, but it needs to go. We're getting low on bread, and unless I get around to making some we'll have to settle for something I don't particularly like (squishy, sweet, "whole wheat" bread). But I'm getting ahead of my story.

 

[Smithy]

On our second-to-last day in Llano, we made it to Miiller's Meat Market and Smokehouse. This is one of those fine establishments to which @rotuts referred, with zillions of types of sausage and meat and condiments and...well, you'll see.

 

They cater to the hunting crowd, and will process people's deer. This also means they cater to the do-it-yourself sausage and meat curing crowd. There are lots of spice mixes, dry cure ingredients, and -- for the hard-core camping crowd, dehydrated meals.

 

\

 

There are prepared spreads and dips, and fresh produce, and beverages galore. (There are also gift sets for cooking, serving, drinks, and so on. I didn't snap pictures of those this time.)

 

 

Specialty prepared dry snack mixes, and a broad variety of mustards. I was very pleased to find Creole mustard, in light of a conversation last year with @Dave the Cook about his recipe for green beans with mustard, lemon and butter.

 

 

The freezer section is a sight to behold. "Dave" and "Don" have a marvelous time coming up with new creations -- stuffed this, wrapped that. They must have an excellent source of good bacon, because bacon wrapping features prominently in these creations. There are also frozen dinners all ready to heat and serve. I've had their potato hot dishes (excuse me, casseroles) before and thought them quite good.

 

 

These cookies may sell well, but I'm not sure enough of the combination to want to try it. If they'd offered samples, I'd have tried part of one to see what I thought about bacon and chocolate together.

 

 

They did have a sample table set up with slices of their sausage links, sizzling on a small griddle, along with dipping sauces. I didn't get a picture of the sample table, but we certainly went for some of the sausages! I forgot to take pictures of the sausage selections, though: I got distracted by all the other meats they offered. Tomahawk!

 

 

Brisket we expected, but picanha was quite the surprise....

 

 

And then there's the butcher counter, where nothing is sealed up and they are glad to answer questions and wrap up as much as you want.  

 

 

(In case you're wondering, I asked about taking photos and the answer was "yes".)

 

 

 

We came home with our prizes: a selection of sausages, two types of jalapeno poppers, some much-needed produce (really!) and mustards. 

 

 

 

 

And yes, I managed to find refrigerator and freezer room as necessary. 🙂

 

[lindag]

Wow, meat lover's paradise.

[Smithy]

Just now, lindag said:

Wow, meat lover's paradise.

 

I'd hate to be a vegetarian in that town!

[ElsieD]

I'm still be standing there, gawking.

[Captain]

I can't believe those prices.😲  We pay over $35.00 p/kg for rump cap/ picanha in Aus.  Sirloin well over $50.00

[rotuts]

my kind of place.

 

thank you for sparing me  pics of their sausage selection

 

and the sizzling sample table

 

your selections look very tasty

[Shelby]

26 minutes ago, Captain said:

I can't believe those prices.😲  We pay over $35.00 p/kg for rump cap/ picanha in Aus.  Sirloin well over $50.00

I always show Ronnie these type of comments so he knows that what he deems "too expensive" is super cheap in other parts of the world!

 

Those tomahawk steaks are certainly stunning on a plate but I don't think I'd have one big enough to fit it lol.

[Smithy]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

Those tomahawk steaks are certainly stunning on a plate but I don't think I'd have one big enough to fit it lol.

 

Not even my biggest group-serving platter! 🙂

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Sure is a lot of bacon in those photos. Good thing--both the dog and I love bacon.

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Sure is a lot of bacon in those photos. Good thing--both the dog and I love bacon.

 

And mighty fine bacon it is, too!

 

We had the jalapeno poppers last night. Most were what Miiller's calls "gator toes": jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, then wrapped with bacon. The rest were what they call "brisket poppers": brisket AND cream cheese inside the jalapeno, then wrapped with bacon. I cooked them in the oven along with, and after, a rice dish I'd read about in the New York Times.

 

 

The rice dish is Ali Slagle's Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemons. (For those who don't have a subscription, here's a gift-article link.) Ms. Slagle seems to dream up very flexible recipes, and it's a good thing. I flexed this one to bits and still have learned a good method.

 

I had leeks, looking a bit worse the wear, from a neighbor at home. They needed to be used before they went even farther south.

 

 

My cooked white beans had already gone south. I might have had canned white beans, but we both agreed that we needed vegetables. I used corn from the freezer. I had no almonds, so substituted walnuts. I ran out of lemon, and used lime. I used chicken broth instead of water, per the suggestion of another subscriber. Finally, I used the last of my basmati rice and came up short, so supplemented with the long-grain white rice I'd picked up at Miiller's. (I know: this substitution list reads like one of those wild comments where someone changes everything and then says the recipe was terrible. 😄 Stay tuned!)

 

The method is pretty easy, and this is what I'm going to take away: baking instead of cooking on the stovetop may be the way to go. First, roast the sliced leeks, citrus zest, nuts and red pepper flakes (I augmented with hot paprika) in olive oil at 400F in a baking pan until the leeks are soft and golden. Then scatter the rice over the roasted layers, scatter the beans (corn, in this case) atop that, pour in boiling water (broth here). Cover tightly, put in oven until the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. I think it took longer in my oven. When the rice is done, pull the dish out and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Then fluff the rice and stir in grated parmesan. Garnish with more parmesan. There's supposed to be more garnish -- herbs of some sort, say -- but I didn't have any. The finished, garnished rice dish as I cooked it last night:

 

 

While that was going on, I roasted the poppers in a dish atop the baking dish. Once the rice was out I cranked the heat up higher -- 450 or 480F -- to get that bacon crisp. 

 

Dinner, complete with a closeup of the rice and a cross-section of a brisket popper:

 

 

Delicious!

 

My darling admitted later that he'd flinched internally when I said we were having rice. He usually finds rice to be bland. This had enough spicy heat that he thought it excellent. I'll have to remember to step up the spicy heat, the way I did last night, when I make this. And I will be making it -- at least, using the method -- again.

 

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Smithy
Corrected popper wrapping from cream cheese (ha!) to bacon (log)

[Smithy]

Here's dinner from a couple of nights ago, featuring another of our favorite Miiller's products in one of my darling's favorite dinner specialties: hash. He dices potatoes and onions, slices a sausage into coins (one of these large links is enough), soaks the potatoes in water before draining and patting dry. He does all that well in advance. Then, when it's time to start cooking, he has at it in a large straight-sided skillet. I've shown pictures of this before, and no doubt will show the process again sometime during this trip, but on this night I just pictures of the mise and finished dish.

 

This is his type of cooking: single, one-pot (or skillet), no fuss. There's an art to getting the potatoes crisp, and he doesn't always manage. (He refuses to do the individual elements separately, as suggested by @Lisa Shock(RIP) years ago. He also insists on crowding the pan, as @Anna N (RIP) pointed out. Hey, he's cooking -- not me!)

 

This time the potatoes were quite brown on one face and soggy on the others. He thinks it's because he forgot to salt them during the frying stage, and that salting helps draw out the moisture to produce a crisper result. What say you?

 

 

 

[heidih]

I'd blame crowding, but sure it was tasty. 

[Dave the Cook]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

he forgot to salt them during the frying stage, and that salting helps draw out the moisture to produce a crisper result

 

1 hour ago, heidih said:

I'd blame crowding, but sure it was tasty. 

 

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

What say you?

 

It doesn't have to be one or the other. As my daughter said when presented with a choice of bacon or sausage, "Why not both?"

[Smithy]

Yesterday I cooked another batch of the Pillsbury whomp cinnamon rolls. I don't normally eat them -- I have enough culinary vices already -- but it really smelled good. I said to myself, "I'll try just a bite".

 

 

Then I ate the whole thing.

 

Today, as a change of pace and because I need to be using this stuff up, I had yogurt and granola for breakfast. This is a good granola, and my preferred yogurt, but I bought way too much of this particular granola when my DIL was visiting and we could use her Costco card. I'm really quite sick of this stuff. I'm on the final bag, after months of avoidance. 

 

 

 

I'm not done with Llano food yet, but we're well past there now. This was the predawn sky a few days ago. If you look carefully, you can see Venus about halfway between the tree top and the moon.

 

 

 

[Smithy]

After we left Llano, we had 2 more marathon driving days. (I'll get back to Llano, really.) At one stop we shared split pea soup, I think. Too tired to do anything more interesting. The next morning, we stopped for fuel some 30 miles down the road. Look what we found!

 

 

Closed, alas, and we'd already had our breakfast sandwiches anyway. Still, it reminded me of this topic on Indian food becoming common at truck stops.

 

The paintings are a small sample of what's for sale in the truck stop. There are also hats, purses, Mexican blankets, grab-and-go fast food, and of course fuel.

 

 

[Smithy]

So, back to Llano. I have a few more stories to tell, most of them regarding Cooper's Old-Time Pit Bar-B-Que and their food. The link goes to their corporate web site. We've only had the 'cue from the Llano site, so can't say whether they're all of equal quality. (Note: they ship!!)

 

The place is billed as an old-time pit barbecue. The mesquite is cooked down to the proper level of charcoal in an oversized chimney; there are half a dozen heavy-duty "pits" (really very large, very heavy metal cooking boxes into which the coals are shoveled at one end) and one serving pit where the finished meat is held until someone buys it. You can take the food to go, or eat inside. Here and here are some shots of the interior, as well as the serving pit. There are a lot of choices of side dishes inside: mac and cheese, various cobblers, green beans, potato salad, cole slaw, and so on. Drink offerings include beer, wine, water and various soft drinks. Pinto beans, pickles, barbecue sauce of their own devising, onions and soft white bread are all free.

 

As I noted a few posts ago, I didn't take as many photos as usual. I did take the trouble to photograph the menu.

 

 

Yes, it's expensive. It's gotten a lot more expensive (hasn't everything?) since we first started coming; this post shows the spring 2015 menu:

 

 

Still, we are happy to indulge when we come. We buy a lot over several evenings, then enjoy the leftovers for meals afterward. The price per meal isn't as bad as you might think.

 

Here's my kittywompus picture of the pit, the one time I photographed it that week.

 

 

What you do is, you choose what you want and how much, then the pit servers put it on a tray. They'll dip it in their warm sauce (see the pot at the far end of the pit) if you ask; we always do. We're told that it's their standard barbecue sauce, but I'm sure the juices and spices from all the meats dipped into it change the flavor somewhat. After it's dipped -- or not -- and put on the tray, you take it inside. They'll cut it if you want (we never do) and wrap appropriately for eating there or taking out. You add whichever sides you want, pay, and go on your way after visiting the freebies bar.

 

That first night, due to a bit of a miscommunication (and massive hunger) we bought beef ribs AND pork ribs. Way too much to eat in one sitting, as we knew it would be. I also brought home beans, pickles and barbecue sauce, per my plan to stock up. 😋 

 

 

Oh my, it was good. And what you see on the plates was more than a gracious plenty.

 

 

The next morning, I enjoyed their pinto beans for breakfast -- doctored with their barbecue sauce and sour cream.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Smithy
Minor word adjustments (log)

[Smithy]

Before I show you more of the Cooper's dinners, I want to tell what to me is a very sad and puzzling story: what happens to their beans at the end of the night. They get thrown away.

 

I'm talking about huge stockpots worth of slowly simmered pinto beans, with bacon and jalapeno and possibly some lard. They're delicious. They're free with a meal, as much as you want.

 

On our first night there, business was slow. Was it because it was Hallowe'en? I never found out. But I talked to one of the workers, who lamented that he had an entire fresh pot of the beans simmering in the kitchen and he was pretty sure they would all have to be thrown out. They aren't kept overnight. His statement was very matter of fact: "Of course we can't keep 'em overnight." I didn't ask why. I know I often save and maybe even freeze my leftover beans for later. I didn't ask what happens to other leftovers.

 

It seems to me that the waste would hurt Cooper's bottom line and they'd prefer not to make more than needed -- but they have to balance not wanting to waste with not wanting to run out. But it also seems there should be a way to get those goodies to a local food pantry. I know there's a food shelf in Llano, but I don't know how active it is.

 

Thoughts? Insights?

[Shelby]

3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Before I show you more of the Cooper's dinners, I want to tell what to me is a very sad and puzzling story: what happens to their beans at the end of the night. They get thrown away.

 

I'm talking about huge stockpots worth of slowly simmered pinto beans, with bacon and jalapeno and possibly some lard. They're delicious. They're free with a meal, as much as you want.

 

On our first night there, business was slow. Was it because it was Hallowe'en? I never found out. But I talked to one of the workers, who lamented that he had an entire fresh pot of the beans simmering in the kitchen and he was pretty sure they would all have to be thrown out. They aren't kept overnight. His statement was very matter of fact: "Of course we can't keep 'em overnight." I didn't ask why. I know I often save and maybe even freeze my leftover beans for later. I didn't ask what happens to other leftovers.

 

It seems to me that the waste would hurt Cooper's bottom line and they'd prefer not to make more than needed -- but they have to balance not wanting to waste with not wanting to run out. But it also seems there should be a way to get those goodies to a local food pantry. I know there's a food shelf in Llano, but I don't know how active it is.

 

Thoughts? Insights?

Well.  That is sad.  I don't know a thing about laws regarding restaurant foods but here when I make a big pot of beans --which is quite often to go with whatever Mexican food I'm making--I either keep them overnight in the IP at a safe temp and then deal with them the next day or put them in the fridge, if I have room, and then freeze them later.  They are perfectly great either way.

 

'Course....as we all know, they are added into the cost of your meal somehow...still you'd think they wouldn't want to have that many leftovers a day.  I dunno.  I would venture to say they aren't using RG beans though......  

[blue_dolphin]

With a huge pot of hot beans, you'd need to use a lot of muscle stirring with those big ice paddles to get it cooled down out of the danger zone and ready for the fridge.  A lot of food pantries don't have a lot of fridge space either. Also tough that the stuff becomes available at the end of the day when most soup kitchens have already served their meals and restaurant staff is ready to go home and not faff about doing something that's not going to make the place any money.  It is sad though. 

[heidih]

As noted health concerns keep a lot of leftovers out of circulation to needy.

Edited November 12, 2023 by heidih (log)

[blue_dolphin]

In the US, the Bill Emerson Food Donation Act protects donors from liability in most cases and there are a lot of food rescue and recovery organizations to help out but, as @heidih said, a lot of people have concerns and don't have the time or ability to work out the nitty gritty details.   

[MaryIsobel]

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

In the US, the Bill Emerson Food Donation Act protects donors from liability in most cases and there are a lot of food rescue and recovery organizations to help out but, as @heidih said, a lot of people have concerns and don't have the time or ability to work out the nitty gritty details.   

I may have mentioned this before but my husband's career was with railroads and his last decade was a signal supervisor so any time there was a MVA at a crossing, he had to attend. Often big trucks were involved and several times they were full of food. Even if it was vacuum packed or packed in cartons, if it left the truck, it had to be thrown away. It was cited as a liability issue so I'm glad to hear of such a thing. A few people with a bit of common sense food-safety-wise and there would be a lot less shameful waste.