I was picking up a few things at the local Dollar General and the guy behind me had a pizza and beer. I said "Looks like pizza and beer night!" and he laughed. He had Red Baron brand pizza and I asked him why not DiGiorno. He said he read a review about frozen pizza and it ranked Red Baron at #3. I never did find out who was ranked #1 or 2. Cheers!
Tonight I’ll be grilling boneless country cut ribs indirect over cherry wood smoke. Inside we’ve got fresh steamed yellow squash and onions, fresh pink eye peas w/snaps (fresh home grown cow horn peppers to go with), and rice pilaf. Hot and humid enough outside today that yard work was limited to this morning—Ms. Jan in her plants and flowers and I was on the weed-eater. Once again, ice cold longnecks and chilled wine win out for afternoon/evening libations. Life is good in Gator Nation!
My mom and grandma made the best fried chicken slow cooking it in lard. I know heavy use of fats like that are not advised but.. every month or so? My gosh it tasted great!
Getting my neighbor’s yard cut today before the hot part of the heat of the day is upon us. Tonight I’ll be grilling chicken halves seasoned with coarse black pepper and Everglades seasoning. Of course, Pat’s Homade on the last two turns. Inside Ms. Jan’s putting together her homemade Mac & Cheese (it’s almost as good as desert), BBQ baked beans, fresh zipper peas and okra, deviled eggs and rolls. Our neighbor whose grass I cut is baking her homemade carrot cake for desert. The back porch Yeti has been restocked and ready to go as well as Ms. Jan’s wine is chilled and standing by. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Just finished a delicious chuck eye steak with onions and Portabellas....yum! I was talking to my buddy in Pennsylvania this morning about quiches. He makes them but I have never made one but I plan on trying it sometime soon. There's always something interesting to create in cooking - I enjoy it, even though not at the level as many others - it's still a lot of fun and challenges the old brain a bit. We've been getting some rain here and there when the bands move through but nothing significant. Isaias has basically turned out to be a nothing burger - but I'm not complaining! Cheers!
Yesterday was leftovers. An eight pound pork shoulder makes a lot of pulled pork. Had some for lunch today and probably for lunch for the rest of the week. Tonight will be escarole soup. Evening cocktails will be Dark and Stormies as rain bands will be hitting us off and on. Forecast is not bad, but sometimes these tropical storms don't read the forecast.
The much older than me women on my mother's side always fried chicken in lard. It does taste better. But they also worked on a farm where my great grandfather ate lard sandwiches for lunch. The point is that you don't eat lard fried chicken if you are are a lard ass.
Yep— And they rolled the chicken around in milk and eggs with salt & pepper before they rolled it in self rising flour and then dropped it in the lard to fry...
Tonight we will be doing leftovers with round 2 of taco soup (with chicken) that we made a few days ago. It was mighty good first time around, can’t imagine being disappointed tonight either. Afternoon/evening libations will remain our normal preferences and— Life is good in Gator Nation!
Getting ready to fire up the KJ to be pretty hot (400 F or so in the dome) with half a grill near the coals and half indirect much higher in the dome. I got some rib eyes that need to be eaten. Looking to grill them around 7 EDT. This is a perfect setup for doing a hot sear and then a roast to bring it up to medium rare internally. If I was cooking for a lot of people having two KJs would be ideal: One for sear and one for finishing.
Today I am smoking a chicken, but not for my family. I am trading it for a hair cut. I have not had a hair cut since February and am starting to look like Ben Franklin on a C-note but with a beard. The hair cutter/stylist cuts my MIL's hair and my youngest son's hair and will cut mine in our driveway in exchange for the chicken. My MIL and son raved about how juicy my smoked chickens are and a deal was struck. I will also smoke a turkey breast "tenderloin" that my wife bought by mistake for our dinner. Got some Brussels sprouts to go with that.
Well scratch the hair cut. My stylist texted my SIL that she didn't feel well and could not do the afternoon hair cut this morning. I just heard about it.
Tonight we are frying beef cubed steak and cleaning the refrigerator out of leftover vegetables. We’ve got some green beans and new potatoes, yellow squash and onions, and pinkeye peas w/snaps to go with. It was pretty hot and humid here today so outside work was basically limited to watering all the plants, flowers, and trees good. Our preferred refreshments will serve us well today as we watch the sunset this evening. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Two very familiar words for today’s weather—hot & humid.... That said, we’re going with one of our favorite and light suppers tonight—I’m grilling wings and the side will be a cold tray. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine always go well with this menu (at least in our opinion) Life is good in Gator Nation!
Quick question for everybody— Generally when we grill hamburgers we grill both hamburgers and hot dogs—that said, we’re not finding anything close to the normal stock of hot dogs we are used to seeing. Are hot dogs scarce in y’all’s grocery stores where you’re at? Usually we’ll have Nathan’s, Hebrew Nationals, and several different BallPark Franks options. Lately tho, no BallPark, sometimes Nathan’s sometimes not.
Ahh, the kitchen is starting to smell good as a big pot of spaghetti sauce beings to simmer and cast it’s aroma throughout the house. We will have a fresh Romaine salad topped with vine ripe tomatoes and Italian garlic bread to go with. Our back porch will once again be enjoyed watching the MLB games of the day along with ice cold longnecks and chilled wine as we also watch another beautiful sunset. Life is good in Gator Nation!
I have lots of Chinese veggies and a pork tenderloin to cook tonight. And some rice. Last night we had a Thai restaurant taste-off with take out at a friend's garage whilst socially distancing. Some nice wine was consumed as well.
