Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

Son Two's 21st birthday menu is set.

NY strip steaks looked great and were on sale at Ward's. Add to that garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus, peas, and salad.

 

Dinner was awesome.

Son #2, who is having his 21st, is playing video games with his best friend from grade school.

For my 21st birthday I worked as a steelworker all day, ate a normal dinner except that there was a cake, and then went back to work the next morning.

 

Tonight I am making pork chops with a bing cherry, shallot, and balsamic vinegar reduction with steamed green beans and garlic mashed potatoes.

Saturday will be more interesting. I am braising a pork shoulder in dark beer with Mexican spices and onion for making tacos. I've done this before and it is very yummy.

 

LOL.

 

Tis the season to be cooking ...

Lots of family in town.

Smoked a 7 lb pork shoulder today for pulled pork sandwiches. Made Carolina slaw earlier today (vinegar based, of course) and cooking up a mess of mustard greens as well. Going commercial for the beans as Sonny's does them so well.

Tomorrow I am smoking two ducks which is more than enough so on Saturday we will have enough leftovers for duck tacos for lunch.

Christmas Day I will be cooking a bone-in pork loin roast: "frenched" bone ends, wrapped in cherrywood smoked bacon, stuffed with apricots, prunes, Granny Smith apple, shallots, ruby port, etc. I need to prep it tomorrow as it is better if it sits in the frig for a couple of days before cooking.

 

Houston, we have a problem.

I was spending time prepping the pork loin roast for Sunday and was not paying attention to the ducks. Ducks are fatty and something ignited the fat, I have no idea what, and when I went out to bast them they were cinders.

Back up plan is two beer can chickens. No where near as good, but edible.

 

That's a lot of meat! Feeding the whole town?

 

No school learnin' and no dissertation, hence no doctorate in cooking. Just paying attention watching my betters and learning from my own mistakes. I have so much more to learn.

 

That is life and applies to all that we do.

Merry Christmas to all.

 

I don't eat eggs.