Tonight I am making caramelized cabbage with sage, anchovies, garlic, breadcrumbs, red pepper flakes and butter as well as penne pasta. It is based on a New York Times recipe that has a serious flaw: "Stir in the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to caramelize, about 10 minutes." It takes about five times that amount of time to do it right. I thought that I had some anchovy filets in a glass jar, but I don't so going to use anchovy paste instead. Not nearly as good. Anchovies out of a tin are in between.
Tonight we’re going to have fried catfish, cheese grits, homemade coleslaw, hush puppies and Ms. Jan’s sweet pickles. We entertained 70* for a brief time today and the back porch is open and ready for your pleasure—ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are available as desired. Life is good in Gator Nation!
We got up to 69 F after an overnight low of 33 F at the airport. My yard is always warmer, but across the street they had some frost. Later in the week I am going to grill some brats.
And an other thing thing wrong with the NYT's recipe. It was caramelizing in olive oil instead of butter. I am old school on this and use the classic French technique. I guess that it is OK if you use really primo olive oil.
I had the rest of my green cabbage last night. Steamed with butter and seasoning. Tonight - ribs! We got up into the low 60's today. Was nice to have sunlight enter my home this morning.....
Not cooking, but I have been watching some noir films lately. My favorite is The Big Sleep. Yesterday I watched The 39 Steps by a pre-WWII Hitchcock. Today I watched The Killing by a very young Stanley Kubrick. Both great films.
Down in Key Largo, just like Bogie and Bacall. I don’t think any Hammett novel translated well as a movie except, maybe Maltese Falcon
Raymond Chandler had a better track record with his own books going to screen and adapting screenplays from other authors. The Third Man is another noir favorite of mine. Not written by either one (IIRC Graham Greene was involved with the screenplay).
This morning I ran across a real pretty mess of fresh green beans at the local grocery store across town—hard to turn them down so, tonight I’ll be grilling bone-in country cut ribs indirect over cherry wood smoke—and yes, Pat’s Homade on the last two turns to go with the green beans and new potatoes. Another beautiful day touching 70* briefly—just typical panhandle weather though—2 days ago we had a 24* low and the last two days touch 70* thus our saying here is “If you don’t like the weather, just hang around 15-20 minutes-it’ll change… The back porch is open and ready for your pleasure so enjoy. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Tonight I’m going to be grilling wings with a cold tray for our side. I’m using the Everglades Cactus Dust seasoning and coarse black pepper. This CD is just a touch sweeter so it matches well with chicken. The three nights of 24*-28* lows didn’t faze our skeeter population however- Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are ready to go on the back porch. Life is good in Gator Nation!
First and foremost - let's hoist one for the basketball team who pulled out a gritty road win today. That said...onto the business at hand..... Yesterday one of my customers gave me some homemade soup. She and I have shared homemade soups with each over the years. She's a fantastic cook and I've always enjoyed her creations. This time though. Not so much. It was frozen when I got it so I stuck it in the fridge and told her I'd have it today. I told her it smelled good and what was it? She described using squash and kale and some kind of grain that comes from the Andes. I asked what kind of meat was in it and she said "None!" Right then and there was when the red flags showed up for me...lol. We always give each other feedback. Should I tell her I'm throwing the rest of her soup in the garbage? Or do you think that's too harsh?
Tell her you had a friend over for lunch and you shared her soup with grilled cheese sammiches and he cleaned you out-and thank you so much
On Gunsmoke this afternoon - guest stars Ross "Artemus Gordon" Martin and Murray "Mayor Larry Vaughn/Mr. Robinson" Hamilton ......."Land Deal" 1958. And ribs for lunch!
Tonight I’ll be grilling hamburger steaks from a freshly ground boneless chuck roast. Baked potatoes will be on the top rack. Inside we will have a fresh Romaine salad topped with vine ripe tomatoes. The back porch is stocked with ice cold longnecks, chilled wine, and Cutter’s Dry unscented skeeter spray… Life is good in Gator Nation!
