Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

It used to be Norman's back in the day. Ward's back then was around the corner just north of the vacuum store with the '59 Caddys and mostly a meat market.

Those Norman folks screwed things up big time.

 

If you are REALLY old school in Gainesville I live in the house of George Linzmayer of George's Meat Market.

And I met "Boo" a few times. He was a trip.

 

I think that this was probably the son of the George of George's Meats that owned my house. And I think that "Boo" was already dead in 2009. I believe his given name was William, but I might be wrong. Locals know him as the guy that rode a horse into Trader's on South Main amongst other things of that ilk.

 

At my wife's request I am keeping it simple for dinner. I will grill some boneless/skinless chicken breast (cut in half and marinading in a vinaigrette) that will serve double duty: sandwiches for those that want that or in a romaine and crouton salad for those that prefer that.

Also at her request I am making my corn and tomato "scramble". Butter sauteed white parts of a bunch of scallions with fresh corn kernels from 8 ears added a bit into the process. About a pound and one half of vine ripe tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces marinading in apple cider vinegar and olive oil while the corn cooks.

Let the corn cool a bit and them mix it all together with the green bits of the scallions.

Salt and pepper to taste at any stage.

 

Soaking beans for baked beans tomorrow. I'll figure out what to make with it.

 

Beans are making the house smell good all day. I decided to do them slow cooker style. They are a bit wetter than I like so I will take the cover off the slow cooker for the last two hours or so.

Since I hadn't planned on smoking any meat today (I always dry rub the day before) I decided to make "wet" ribs. I boil them for about an hour and then cook them in a 325 F oven with lots of sauce for 1.5 to 2 hours in a pan sealed with aluminum foil. Near the end (about 20 minutes out) I take a quick peek to see if they need additional sauce.

 

The ribs tonight were fall off the bone and melt in your mouth. I prefer dry rubbed ribs that have a bit of "tooth" in them.

 

For some reason we have a lot of whole wheat hamburger buns that need to be eaten. So tonight for the first time ever I am making sloppy joes. Doing it from scratch and caramelizing the onions and sweating the bell pepper before adding the ground chuck for browning.

 

The sloppy joes were a HUGE hit and by popular demand is to become a regular in the rotation. Making from scratch is 10x better than using a packet mix.

 

Tonight is wilted kale with mushrooms (baby bella, oyster, and crimini), bacon, and garlic over a bed of cheesy polenta. I had to cook the polenta while doing other things, so I reduced the heat so that I didn't need to whisk it constantly. It came out perfect. Usually we make this dish when both of us are home so that one person can cook the polenta while the other person does the rest.

 

Tonight is pasta puttanesca. I also started pickling some radishes because I had a lot left over from when I made green posole. It takes at least three days and they are very good. I bet they would be perfect for eating when drinking shots of potato vodka. And I just rubbed a 5 lb pork shoulder for smoking on Sunday for pulled pork sandwiches. That is my plan for eats while watching the Gator game. I'll probably make the Carolina slaw tomorrow so that it has lots of time for the flavors to marry.