You’re either in or you’re out

Some people love casseroles, some, decidedly don’t. I land squarely in the former. Witness what I just ate heartily in a rv park outside of Troy, Alabama:

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Truth be known, had I not tweaked this from the instructions on the Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Mac Pasta Packet, I’d likely be singing a different tune. I mean, who adds raw onion and green pepper to a mac dish that only cooks for 10 minutes?

Sure, it makes it a 2 pan dish, but let’s face it, totally worth it. And who doesn’t add mushrooms and a white wine and butter to up the flavor?  Pepper generously and dust with salt.

It’s better than I remember. Sig ate Grape Nuts.

PS: Yes, it is snowing on my blog. It’s December, after all.

DC Street Food

I think it is right and just that a spicy sausage is a signature dish in the nation’s capital.

Called a half-smoke, it looks like a hot dog on steroids seasoned with red pepper flakes. Half-smokes are often half pork and half beef and can either be smoked or steamed.

The sausage is said to have originated from Briggs and Co meatpackers in DC; Raymond Briggs reportedly started selling them in the thirties.

Here is a dolled-up half-smoke from Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Washington landmark restaurant. It is one of the first places President Obama had lunch when he first came to town.

Looks pretty democratic to me.

March is Tough

It is March Madness. It snowed, KU didn’t have a good day and Denver, the sweet yellow lab, got busted. I could have launched my campaign to clean a little area each day but …. I didn’t.

I did rummage through the shelf alcove next to the refrigerator where I store all printed materials related to anything mechanical. (Funny how you repeat the habits of your family, my mother always stuffed everything like that in a certain kitchen drawer.)

It was a memory lane sort of task, where is the pizza stone, the espresso foamer, the clay pot that roasted chicken and carrots? 

Oh, here are the directions for my Superfast Waterproof Pocket Thermometer! Great, I need it now. 

I made pork tenderloin with an onion pan sauce, roasted parsleyed potatoes, and carrots with tarragon and white wine. It turned out to be a good day.