Barbecue Times Two

...in the same week

I’ve just realized, I’m a “barbecue snob”! I expect a certain flavor in a barbecue sauce, and if I don’t taste those flavors, it won’t get my stamp of approval (even if it is from a top-rated restaurant).

#1 - Montgomery Inn
On our way back from visiting K&J in KY we stopped in Cinci to say hi to L (she had to move there for her GS job). It had been years (when I worked in market research) since I had eaten at The Montgomery Inn; and we had just talked about it over the weekend as we were eating a bag of potato chips from there.

It’s more of a sports bar now than I had remembered, but nicely decorated. I couldn’t resist this dim inside shot – D & I had watched “Pete” and the Reds a lot in the 70’s.

Delicious “croutons” with the salad were crispy slices of bread – I think they did everything to make “homemade” croutons except breaking the bread into bites.

At a rib joint bibs are in order!

Obviously I got so into enjoying the food and company that I forgot to take a picture of the entrée until my plate was almost empty. The food was good, I just wouldn’t rave about their sauce – it tasted too much like an extra spicy ketchup to me.

Sorry – this outside shot was an afterthought – and it’s too dark! Montgomery is a cute town I'd like to explore - it reminds me of Worthington, OH.

#2 - Bad Bob’s
After the retirement conference at Owens on Saturday we needed to eat lunch before running errands. We decided to eat somewhere that was “new” to us, so we saw a sign we hadn’t noticed before (I’ve since been told it has been there about 9 months).
First impressions are hard to break from me – too bright, poor service – and that’s just while we’re waiting to be seated when they weren’t even busy! Its decorating has potential if they would just dim it down.

You all know I’m cheap - so I thought the prices were a bit steep. The food was good, but nothing to brag about. D had the “Big Hawg” pulled pork sandwich (it comes with NOTHING) and Pig Tails (curly fries). The flavoring of the meat was wonderful without any sauce – they cook in true Memphis barbecue style – dry rub. I didn’t like either of their liquid barbecue sauces – see what I mean about being a “barbecue snob”.

My “Brunswick Stew” was excellent! I’d never had it made with pulled pork before (chicken in my recipe), but it was a good blend of tasty flavors that worked well together.
Happy Eating! ~~K

Pot ‘o Gold

…aka Potato Soup

While searching for some Irish recipes I came across this Pot o' Gold Potato Soup that I used as a jumping off point for my own version.

My additions included one large potato (cooked and cubed), 1 chopped carrot, 2 slices of ham about 3/8” thick, and more cheese than called for in the actual recipe. I used water instead of chicken broth; I didn’t use any milk or sour cream (if I had them I would use them, but just water was fine – even D said he’d like to have this soup again). Sorry for the poor photo – it’s of the leftovers I had for lunch at school.
The instant potatoes I used were from a bag I bought at GFS to try before K&P’s Celtic wedding – these are the ones we did not like, but this was a good way to use some of them, and mixed with everything else they were fine.

Wouldn’t some of that sweet potato bread (recipe on Bake and Brew blog) be good with this? ~~K

Shoveling it in …

No snow to shovel, but plenty of food and drink. Here’s what would usually be several posts wrapped up into one:

Soup’s On
This enduring winter weather called for some long-simmering hamburger soup and warm biscuits out of the oven for lunch.

It was the first time to make this soup, which will definitely be made again. I was concerned when it called for catchup and Worcestershire sauce, but the flavor was great and I won’t change anything. The recipe was from the Sentinel-Tribune.


Custom Cooking
We were hungry for a home-grilled burger and onions and I wanted some “special” buns for them. With it just being the two of us, and the fact I’m “cheap” I couldn’t bring myself to pay the price wanted for a tasty bun. Instead I bought a loaf of roasted red pepper and onion bread. After making rectangular burgers I waited until they were cooked, then sliced the bread to the correct size for each burger.

I seldom make “Zetta-style” potatoes and onions, but since it was Valentine’s Day I felt I could splurge and go the “fried” route.

It ended up being a fairly well-balanced meal; it certainly was delicious.


Delicious Drinks
A Valentine treat for us was picking out some special beverages at the liquor store. D chose Bittburger beer which is always a treat.

Several times I’ve watched the Barefoot Contessa use "limoncello” as an after dinner drink, as an ingredient in a cheesecake, and added to a fruit salad. I was tempted by it when I was at Buca di Beppo’s . Saturday was the day for me to make the purchase and try it.

It is so refreshing! I enjoyed several “limoncella martinis” with my meal and into the evening.


Busy Baking
With D not buying peanut butter cookies lately, yet needing sweets for his morning treat, I’ve been trying to bake cookies each week. The last two weeks it’s been “Margaret’s sugar cookie” recipe; this week I tried BEB’s oatmeal/raisin recipe. I prefer putting parchment paper on the cookie sheets and tend to reuse it since it doesn’t take on a taste or burn.

I’m curious how long these will last.

Poor Man’s Pecan Pie
Really, that’s the name of this non-nut pie! Apparently this recipe was developed during the depression.

It’s basically Grandma Orange’s pecan pie recipe, but instead of pecans it uses a mixture of coconut and oats. It was surprisingly good - D and I agree I’ll bake it again.

I’ve finally come up with a way to easily protect the crust edges from becoming too brown. I cut an old foil man to size and place it over the pie instead of aluminum foil. It stays in place better than flimsy sheets of foil and it is reusable. ~~K

Chicken Days

After so many days of no homecooked meals, I had to make up for it. On Saturday I pulled together two chicken dishes that we ate all weekend:

Lunch: Chicken Tortilla Soup with sour cream and tortilla chips (I was a bit surprised the first time I made this how much D enjoyed it). The recipe came from the back of an Aldi’s broth carton.

Supper: Drunken Chicken – need I say more? The neck area was almost too crispy, as in almost burned, but I think it’s so much easier to bake it in the oven than on the grill since it’s such a hassle to deal with outdoor grill grates. Next time I might place foil over the top of the chicken as it nears the end of cooking (like for pie crusts).~~K