Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

Tonight was chicken breasts provencal with egg noodles.

 

Nice price on the pork shoulder and pork ribs. Everything else looked kind of high.

Last night was asparagus risotto and what my wife calls Bloody Mary salad. It has tomatoes, celery, and Worchester sauce as some of the ingredients. No vodka, though.

Tonight I am making chicken tinga for tacos and also trying to make some with portabellas instead of chicken as an experiment. We have a niece and her husband coming to visit and they are both vegan. Actually they are mostly coming to see my MIL that lives in our auxiliary dwelling. Made pickled red onions as a topping. Also have a number of avocados for toppings and some cabbage.

 

Funny story.

I don't know if they still exist but up in the mountains in north Georgia and western NC they used to have ponds set up for tourists to fish for trout. You would get a cane pole and bait the hook with corn. There was an entry fee and you had to pay for any fish that you caught by the pound.

Years ago we were on vacation near Maggie Valley in North Carolina and they had such a place. My kids were young and had never fished and my wife was like "What's the harm" so we went against my better judgement. Anyway I am on my knees baiting a hook when my wife walks buy and snags the line with her foot driving the hook into the crook of my arm. I was telling her to push it through so we could snip the barb off but a doctor was there and said not to do that because it was too close to a major artery and I also should get a tetanus shot. F***. We cut the line and I was driven to an emergency center where they dealt with it and I got a tetanus booster.

We all joke about how my wife caught the biggest one that day.

 

I am from Chicago and only kids 10 years old or younger are allowed ketchup on a hotdog.

Last night was turkey sandwiches on ciabatta with smoked gouda, gruyere, and avocado. Tasty.

Tonight is defrosted and warmed-up leftover lasagna from a while ago.

 

Today I am smoking two chickens. Just as much work to smoke two as it is to smoke one. Mashed potatoes and green beans.

We probably will be having a friend that lives just east of Tampa up here for a few days. We should get some wind and rain but nothing really bad. As for the Tampa area ...

 

I bought some black strap rum and ginger beer to make dark and stormys for tomorrow evening. Went traditional with both being Gosling's.

 

Barritt's is fine for a ginger beer as well. But I agree that Gosling's is a tad better. I will pay the premium for it.

Cruzon makes what I think is a better black strap rum but it doesn't matter with being mixed with ginger beer. I can save a few dollars with Gosling's black strap. Spending the dollars on the ginger beer is the money better spent.

 

Making the mashed potatoes. Yukon golds are the best. And use a lot of butter. Maybe not even any milk.

 

Came out pretty much unscathed in Gainesville from Milton. Hosting a friend from just east of Tampa for a couple of days.

Last night was simple: jambalaya with Texas beef sausage and some shredded smoked chicken from the two chickens I recently smoked.

Tonight it will be fish with a panko/macadamia nut topping with cilantro. My wife is going to our fish monger (Northwest Seafood) and get either grouper or mahi-mahi. Grouper is better but costs a lot more. Either one works well. A while ago we promised fish tacos for some friends planning on using mahi-mahi but they were out so we bought grouper. Best fish tacos ever. I know that many places use tilapia or cod for fish tacos and that is OK for a fast food/low end eatery. Or a Saturday easy lunch at home. If really lazy for a low end Saturday lunch Gorton's fish filets can fill a stomach for fish tacos. But those are not good enough for company.

 

Last night it was grouper and it was great.

Tonight it is chicken piccata with a side of spaghetti with black olives, garlic and olive oil.