Homemade macaroni salad

My opinion on buying macaroni salad from the supermarket is the same as buying potato salad from the supermarket.  Why?  It’s so much easier and better tasting to make yourself.  Macaroni salad is easy to prepare at home and to me the macaroni salad that is delivered to the stores in 20 gallon tubs and artfully spooned out in the deli section to look “fresh” tastes more like chemicals than anything else.

Oktoberfest secrets

 If asked what my favorite Oktoberfest foods are I wouldn’t be able to stop talking for at least a few hours.  One of the most memorable times of my life concerning food was when I lived just a few blocks from Chicago’s Germantown and would regularly join friends for a hearty German beer on tap and a lunch or dinner served in one of the many authentic old restaurants.

Sloppy Joey

There are times I barely drag in the door until late, it’s already dark and I have no interest in going into the kitchen.  I came up with a tasty variation on the simple-to-make macaroni & beef with spaghetti sauce that has been an old standby.  It adds a slightly tangier flavor than you get with spaghetti sauce.

Too much of a good thing

Like so many other people I am always looking for a bargain. So it is tempting to buy the large food service sizes at Costco because the cost-per-ounce may be less, or it may be more convenient.

Sometimes that's not always the best idea.

Weber's mustard

In my home town the #1 selling mustard for over 50 years is Weber’s Brand, a product that has been made in a tiny local location on Buffalo’s south side since 1922.  It has a unique taste unlike any other in the world, and that taste hasn’t changed one bit since I was a child. Growing up, in fact, I never knew there was any other brand.  A bottle of Weber’s was always in our refrigerator.  In those days, and until very recently, the product was sold in an unusual multi-faceted glass bottle with a twist-off metal top.  Nowadays it comes in a plastic container with a bright red plastic screw top.

Some thoughts about liking to cook

Okay, there are times when I feel the same way.  I walk in the kitchen, look around, and have no idea where to go from there.  I've learned to live with that.  So I start putting a bunch of stuff on the counter and almost with my eyes closed things start coming together.  Sometimes I don't even have a name for it but if the pets don't pass out from the odor I feel brave enough to eat it.

Moral of the story?  If you don't own a recipe book, maybe you don't need to bother getting one.  I have several that I got when I was very young and the kitchen scared me.  I used them a few times, now they just sit and look pretty in my bookshelf.

Cooking should reflect life ... be an impulsive leap into the unknown, savoring everything along the way and arriving at one moment of ecstasy after another until you reach the last supper, after which people say "he sure knew how to cook".

QUOTE FOR THE DAY:

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all"

- Harriet Van Horne

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KFC coleslaw

Thanks to hillbilly recipes

If you came here looking for gourmet recipes, sorry, this isn't exactly the place.  In fact this one is about trying to recreate that somehow irresistible flavor of KFC's coleslaw.  I know, I know the next thing I'll be doing is sharing how to make a Big Mac, right?  Well, maybe I will.  But for now, if you like coleslaw, here's one to try:

Magical vinegar

 

Growing up I was always hearing that vinegar had more uses than for salad dressing.  It seems the list grows daily of what incredible things vinegar can do. I have a several friends who have shared so many ways they use it I should have started writing it down.

Reuben sandwiches

There are certain foods that I would walk barefoot across the Sahara for.  Barbecue almost anything (except lima beans … don’t like lima beans) and I’m drooling.  Anything with bacon gets my interest.  And a good Reuben sandwich is up there in the top five.

Notice anything in common?  Yep, they are all firmly on the healthy foods no-no list as well, so when I have them it better be good because I consider it a special treat.

Pizza Napoletana

There are as many kinds of pizza as there are as many subtle shades of color in the rainbow.  And I’m talking about only what would be called classic Italian pizza.  Beyond that the list gets endless as restaurants who mean well add more and more non-traditional items to their “gourmet” pizzas and charge $20, $30 and more for a pie.

How healthy is ramen?

There’s no question that a package of ramen for lunch is fast, easy and dirt cheap.  At about 18-20 cents a package there are few meals that can fill you up for less money.  But how “good” is it for your body?  I fix a package of ramen occasionally for a quick mid-afternoon snack and have been under the same belief that I think many people have, that other than a dangerously high level of sodium, the rest of the ingredients have to be pretty neutral.  Right?

It's like buttah

Like many people trying to lower cholesterol I try to avoid butter.  Unfortunately that raises the persistent dilemma of whether I want to ingest more chemically processed foods or natural foods with higher levels of less healthy things.

Mostest cupcakes

Here’s a variation of the familiar cream-filled cupcake that adds a twist that will have people begging for smore.  I’m not a bake-from-scratch kind of person and these are a bit labor intensive but they will definitely get attention if you’re elected to bring dessert to the next gathering of family and friends.

Pea Soup de La Mancha

In central California the words pea soup either defined San Francisco fog or a small restaurant chain further down the coast called Pea Soup Anderson’s which was notable in that their restaurants were housed inside giant old-world windmills.  One of those restaurants survives in Buellton, California and still serves up a hearty bowl of the soup that warms the coldest day.

How much is a pinch?

HOW MUCH IS A PINCH?

One of the two most terrifying things to people who are new to cooking is getting the measurement of ingredients right (the other is fear of undercooking or overcooking).

Food is very forgiving and unless you substitute a cup of salt for a teaspoon the difference in the final product will be negligible.  Just adjust it a little next time you make the same dish.

Most measurements are pretty easy to figure out, although I have known people who have gone through life never quite knowing which is a teaspoon and which is a tablespoon, compounded by the abbreviations of tsp for the former and tbs for the latter.  Where it really gets complicated is exactly how much is a pinch or a dash?

Rosół z kurczaka (homemade chicken soup)

Of all the meals my grandmother made when I was growing up, the one I looked forward to the most was her chicken soup invariably served as Sunday dinner.  While the variety of ways chicken soup can be made is nearly endless, the hot clear broth filled with chicken, simple veggies and served over thick noodles or dumplings is a favorite that has warmed the people of Central Europe for generations.  I can’t wait for the first cold rainy day each year to duplicate as well I can my grandmother’s recipe (although I have been known to make a large pot on the hottest days of summer).  There are numerous variations on the Polish translation, but the one I have seen most often is rosół z kurczaka,  although my grandma’s word for soup was zupa rather than rosół.

Non-gourmet grilled cheese sandwich

I am not, and I repeat NOT, a fan of trying to make certain comfort foods into expensive "gourmet delicacies".  Case in point, pizza, or hamburgers, or Mac & Cheese or especially grilled cheese sammies.
 
My take on grilled cheese is a slice or two of American or Cheddar cheese (depending on your arteries) on two slices of Wonder bread.  Slather some butter on the two outside slices if your heart can stand it and a little mustard inside and grill.  That's it.  Eat and enjoy, preferably with a hot bowl of Campbell's Tomato Soup.
 
If you MUST mess it up, here is an idea for a safe way that is still cheap to make but tastes like a grilled cheese should:
 
1.  Try adding a thin slice of fresh tomato
2. Adding a little fresh avocado won't hurt.  Together with a tomato slice it works very well.
3. As a bacon lover I can attest to the fact that adding a couple of slices of bacon is good, good, good.
4. Add a slice of ham to your grilled cheese sammie and you can still be regarded as a traditionalist.
 
But, here's a slightly different take that can tend to move your grilled cheese sammie forward a bit into the morning hours:
 
Try constructing the whole thing between two waffle slices (adding bacon helps) and smothering the whole thing with maple syrup.  Yeah, I thought you couldn't resist it!

Thought for the day:

“Mmm … bacon”

- Homer simpson 

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Rokerij Crab Louie

There is a restaurant in Phoenix, AZ unlike what you would normally find in this desert outpost, and unique in most towns anywhere.  It is called Rokerij, which is defined in Dutch as a small house where smoke is used to cure meat or fish.  And that definition doesn’t disappoint at Phoenix’s Rokerij. 

Your first impression upon entering is the air being thick with the numerous pecan grill smokers used to prepare various cuts of the most amazing steaks in existence.  The place is indeed small and the wait
during any business hours 7 days a week can stretch to several hours.  There are few tables for two so unless you have a group six or are willing to sit at the bar, you may never be seated despite having a reservation (accepted for parties of 4 or more only). 

Kitty litter cake



Before you continue reading please be sure that:

1. You have a very good sense of humor

2. Your friends have a very good sense of humor

3. You promise not to hold me responsible if either #1 or #2 is not true

That being said, here's something for that special group of friends who you love because of (or maybe in spite of) their wacky sense of humor:

INGREDIENTS:

 

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 tub of frosting your choice
1-12-oz pack of Pecan Sandies cookies
1 green colored sugar
6-8 Tootsie Rolls®
1 new (unused) litter box
1 new (unused) kitty litter pooper scooper

Bake cake as directed on box

Invert 13 x 9 chocolate cake into a new (unused) litter box. The cake and litter box create the base for the kitty litter cake.

Frost cake. Place Pecan Sandies cookies in a large resealable plastic bag and pound cookies with a mallet or by hand until the cookies are broken into small pieces. Sprinkle the crumbled cookies on top of the chocolate cake.

Generously sprinkle cookie crumbs with green colored sugar or green sprinkles. The green color creates the look of those "freshener pellets" in real kitty litter. 6-8 unwrapped Tootsie Rolls roll by hand to shape umm, you know....

Bury some Tootsie Rolls and place more on the surface of the cookie crumb mixture put some powdered sugar on some to achieve maximum gross-out.

Place new (unused) kitty litter pooper scooper in the kitty litter cake. To serve on a table, place the kitty litter cake on top of newspaper adorned with a few sprinkles of cookies "kitty litter". Or, walk around your party offering guests a scoop of your kitty litter cake.

Thought for the Day:

"One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention"

- Clifton Fadiman

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Khleb da sol

Several years ago when I was in Russia doing music videos for an American theme park we were warmly entertained by our official hosts, well-known entertainers and sometimes just people we met.

I'm happy to say that even in modern times the tradition continues of welcoming a new friend by the words Хлеб-соль (pronounced Khleb da sol) which literally translates to "bread and salt". Following the greeting we were immediately served a nicely