Big Joe's here makes his fries from scratch. Starts with large potatoes, of course. He takes a LOT of pride in his offerings!
Tonight is grilled cheeseburgers with fresh lettuce, vine ripe tomatoes, and homemade French fries. It’s finally stopped raining here but it’s raw chilly. 38* raw. Knob Creek tumbler for me and Ms. Jan’s staying with her chilled wine. Life is good in Gator Nation!
I came home after the first game of the double header to shred a chicken that I smoked last week for chicken enchiladas. We ate them before going to the Gator basketball game against USCe. Had the game on ESPN+ when they finally started it a few innings in. Very good basketball result. Then wonderful victory margaritas. Life is good in the Gator Nation.
I made soup on Friday. Chicken noodle w/veggies. Made a big crockpot full so I could share. Put about 4 medium sized containers in the freezer and the rest in the fridge. I just had a bowl and it was INSANELY good! Just the right amount of heat. All ingredients cooked perfectly. Nice rebound from that last soup disaster!
We’ve got a hard cold front pushing in tonight. We’re having beef stroganoff, a fresh Romaine salad, and sourdough bread tonight. It’s another tumbler of Knob Creek night for me. Ms. Jan’s keeping with her chilled wine. Life is good in Gator Nation!
A quick note about that soup. One thing that I really like is how I did the chicken. I bought thin-cut tenderloins. Washed them off good with cold tap water in a colander in the sink. Then patted them dry with paper towels. Then laid them one at a time on my cutting board and sliced them into small squares -1/2"-3/4". None were perfect squares of course but you get the idea. Then after all my veggies were near cooked adequately.....I tossed them into the crock pot. This resulted in small bite-sized chunks of chicken - rather than any shredded versions. The chicken was also not over-cooked and thus VERY succulent! One of the philosophies I have adopted when making soup with a meat product is to absolutely make sure there is PLENTY of meat in the soup....do not be stingy! I gave some out today to some friends. Sharing food with friends.....doesn't get any better!
You might want to use boneless and skinless chicken thighs instead to add more chicken fat to the soup.
@Bazza— The philosophy I try to adhere to is remembering the secret to being a good cook—Half starve whoever you’re feeding—that way anything you put out there will be good!
Pretty good cold front pushing through here. We’re picking up our supper from Ably’s Chinese Restaurant tonight. Tumbler ‘o bourbon sure does suit cold weather so I’m going to take advantage of that. Life is good in Gator Nation!
When I make carnitas it takes a long time and really makes things hard to clean. And when I caramelize onions it is in butter and takes 40 or more minutes.
Had a freaking brand new jar of pasta sauce fall off a shelf in my pantry last night so had to clean that mess up - after the game of course. Having wins in your back pocket (BB and BB) made the task a bit easier!
Started making pasta e fagioli for an early pregame dinner but with the game cancelled it will probably be our usual 7 pm dinner hour. I will make it up to the point where the pasta (I am using ditalini) is added and wait to add it just before dinner is served.
It’s raw cold here this evening so we are voting to pick up our supper from Johnny’s Pizza tonight. Their supreme pizza and cheese bread. Adult beverages are available as desired. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Making your own with San Marzano tomatoes is easy and WAY better. I only use red sauce from a jar when I am making pasta for my son and we are eating something he doesn't like. Paul Newman's or Rao's are OK.
