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Fine Wine

Yesterday, I went to the other side of Houston to have dinner with my friends Brent and Sue.  They were grilling steaks and corn on the cob on the grill.  Sue made an olive oil dipping sauce and warm bread.  The meal was delicious.

I brought a bottle of Merlot wine with me.  Just something I picked up at Kroger.  Brent was commenting that it was really good.  I guess I lucked out.  I know nothing about wine.  I asked Brent what was the name on the bottle.  He fished it out of the trash and read the label.  "Fina Lini".  I thought that was an odd name for a wine that I picked out.  I usually pick a wine by something odd on the label like an alligator.  I probably wouldn't pick up wine with a faux French or Italian sounding name.  I looked at the bottle and handed it back to Brent.  I said, "Dude.  You need glasses.  It says Fine Line."  It even has a circus acrobat riding a unicycle on a tightrope.

To give Brent credit, he was born in 1960; same as me.  The blind, old fart.

Warped

I was gathering some items around the house for a yard sale.  I opened the kitchen utensil drawer and found this plastic pie server that was all warped.  I picked it up and stared at it for the longest time.  I wondered what the heck happened to it.  Then in the same drawer was an unopened thin plastic cutting board with scorch marks on it.  What the hell?

Then it hit me:  the damn jam.

When my sister and I made the cherry jam, we had all four burners on high for over an hour.  This drawer is directly below the range.  I'm guessing that insulation standards were not all that great when the house was built in 1963.  The drawer was also lined with leftover wallpaper.  We're lucky we didn't catch the whole house on fire.  Good grief.

Jammin'

I got a wild hair and decided to clear out my freezer, which contained a box of pancakes, some sausages, and 19 quart bags of cherries picked from Mom's trees.  I just bagged them last summer and decided that I would make jam in the winter.  Well, it was that time.

Canning is a hot thankless job.  But I figured I could put some humidity back into the house, sorely needed during February.  It's too hot a job to do it in the summer.  I know why the old farm houses had a "summer kitchen" to do the cooking and canning.

My sister came down with her canning paraphernalia and we went to it.  After two batches I had to make another run to the grocery store for Sure-Jell and sugar.

We took two quart bags and blended them up in the blender.  Then carefully measure out 4 cups from that.  Add 1 box of Sure-Jell.  Bring to a boil while stirring.  Once this comes to a rolling boil, add 4.75 cups of sugar.  Bring to a boil again.  Stir the contents constantly for exactly 1 minute.  Remove pot from stove.  Skim the foam from the top. 

Separately sterilize the jars in a steam bath.  Put the rubber rimmed lids in a pot on the stove and boil them. 

Pour the hot jam into a hot jar and then seal with a lid and a band to hold it on tightly.  Wipe down the jar with a wet rag, and place the jar upside down on a towel for 5-10 minutes.  Then turn right side up and the lid shoould pop (seal) in a few minutes.  Place a towel over the whole batch when complete.  This kinda creates an oven effect and allows for slow cooling overnight.  The next day test the seals by pushing on the lid.  If it does not give, it is sealed.  If it is not sealed, it must be refrigerated and used immediately.

In total we made 9 batches which produced 27 pints of cherry jam.  The last batch didn't set.  I'm not sure what happened.  At least the lids sealed and can be used to put over ice cream or cake.  There are methods of re-cooking the jam, but I decided we are done for this year.  It's just too hot and sticky, and not in a good way. 

Cherry Jam

Last night, my sister and I made cherry jam.  Three batches worth.  My Aunt Mary showed me how to make jam down at her house (the jars with the pretty lids).  This time, we were flying solo for the most part (with an emergency call to Aunt Mary).  Making jam is not difficult; it's all in the timing.  But that 60 seconds where you have to stir the hot jam at a full boil...whew, that's hot!  And it's a sticky damn mess.  You may as well make several batches while you have all the equipment out.  There's actually more sugar than cherries in the jam.  It's not low-cal.  But it tastes sooooo good. 

All total we made 11 pints and 9 half-pints (we already ate 2 half-pints...yum). 

Thanks, Aunt Mary for all your help!

 

Cherry Jam

I received a box in the mail earlier this week.  It was a jar of cherry jam from my blogging buddy Ralph.  He sent my Dad a jar of cherry jam for his birthday.  Ralph and Char made the jam this summer for Blogstock '08 and we all got a jar to take home with us.  The cherries were from Cliff and Marilyn's yard.  I shared my jam with Dad and it was gone in two days.  Ralph couldn't have sent a better gift for Dad.

I told Dad that a friend of mine from Colorado mailed him a jar of cherry jam.  He couldn't understand why someone he's never met would mail him some jam.  Dad has no idea what a cult following he has on the blogosphere. 

Dad told me to thank you.  So Thank You, Ralph and Char!!!!

Update:  I've been informed that the ladies team of Marilyn, Char, Rachel, and Desiree actually made the jam.  Ralph just did the marketing.

Sausage Gravy

I made sausage gravy for the first time today.  It was a big success.  I had always had my mind made up that making sausage gravy was some sort of exercise in voodoo.  Not something that the average cook could make.  Well, I'm here to tell ya...it's very easy.  If I was a real cook, I'd have homemade biscuits too.  You can use any old biscuits out of a can.  This is one of Dad's favorite breakfast dishes. 

My blogging buddy Jimbo swears that he can't find good biscuits and gravy (or an honest politician) in New Jersey.  And my Joo-ish friend Erica loves the gravy but can't eat the pork sausage.  Well, hon, go get you some turkey sausage and follow my recipe.  This recipe is for the two of youse.

Sausage Gravy

• 1 mild roll sausage (16 oz).  The kind in a plastic sleeve, clamped at both ends. 
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 8 tablespoons flour
• 3-4 cups cold milk 
• salt and pepper

Fry up the sausage in a large skillet until it's thoroughly cooked.  Make sure it is all crumbled up, like hamburger meat.  Put paper towels onto a plate.  Remove the sausage from the skillet with a slotted spoon and place the meat onto the paper towels to drain.  Leave the grease in the skillet.  Add the butter to the grease, and melt it.  Then add the flour a little at a time over medium heat, constantly whisking.  You want to remove any lumps.  The mixture will come to a quick boil.  Keep whisking.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes.  Now start adding the cold milk a little at a time, whisking constantly.  Once you have a smooth creamy texture, turn down the heat to low.  Add the sausage back into the skillet, and stir in.  When it's nice and thick, add salt and pepper to taste (taste it first; some sausage is pretty spicy already).  Cut your biscuits in half, and pour the gravy on top. 

Then loosen your belt and find your favorite reclining chair for an after breakfast nap.

Emmy Nominee

Nora and I have a friend named Scott Hutcheson, aka The Hungry Hoosier, who has been nominated for an Emmy Award.  He writes a weekly food column for our local newspaper and other periodicals.  Scott also writes stories for Across Indiana, a series on local PBS station WFYI.  The nominated piece is about a peculiar food item served in Hibernia, Indiana.  Check it out here.

Scott is also a fantastic cook.

Congratulations, Scott!

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille

Today the team and I went out for lunch to celebrate my fifteenth anniversary with Big Oil Company.  Actually I've been with the company for sixteen years, the first as a contractor (Let's just gloss over the fact that my employment date is April Fool's Day, shall we?)  A co-worker had been raving about Perry's, so that's where I selected to go for the event.

It was probably the best meal I have ever had at a restaurant.

I got the pork chop.  It is about three inches of meat.  The waiter brings it out hot and sizzling.  Then he cuts the chop into three pieces, the ribs, the eyelash, and the tenderloin.  Served with mashed potatoes and an apple dipping sauce.  It was so tender.  I've eaten lots of pork...this was the best ever.

We also had an appetizer sampler which consisted of fried asparagus topped with crabmeat, stuffed mushrooms, cherry pepper calamari, and Perry's own homemade spicy Polish sausage.

There were three servers for our table of seven.  Your beverage glass never went empty.  Service was excellent.

They serve over 300 wines and you can even rent your own private wine locker in the restaurant.  We didn't sample any since we were going back to work.  The ice tea was pretty darn good too.

If you ever get to the Houston area, you need to give them a try.  They have several locations.  Here's their website.

Bueno for Lunch

This is my fourth day in Tulsa, and I just today made it to Taco Bueno to eat.  Usually Bueno is my first stop when I enter the city limits, and my last stop before I head to the airport.  It's downright criminal to have to wait this long.  I got distracted.  What can I say?

As usual, it was muy muy Bueno!  And.....no E. coli.

Tulsa Fun

I'm working in Tulsa this week.  It has been above 90 degrees most of this week.  I'm loving it.  One more blast of summer.  Even though I haven't been outside much to enjoy it. 

Last night I met up with fellow blogger James Goodman again.  This time, I got to meet his lovely wife and son.  He's got a great family.  Poor James had an injury about a month ago.  But he is getting around quite well on the crutches now.  We went out to dinner and I had a delicious hamburger at Fuddruckers.  I always enjoy meeting up with bloggers when I get a chance.  We had a great visit.

Today I had a new dining experience.  My favorite Cajun meat market has a new location.  Hebert's Specialty Meats has had a location in Tulsa for several years now, and had been making lunches to go for a while.  Now in their new locale, they have tables and chairs.  The store is almost twice as big as the old one.  I had the crawfish etouffee, green beans, and bread pudding.  Oooh-wee Cher, it was good!

I head back to Indiana tomorrow.