Barbecue!

Posted July 4, 2024.

Flathead Lake, Montana -- Cobb Salad -- June 29, 2024

One of our favorite spots for lunch is the "deli" -- full-menu restaurant -- inside a foodie grocery store in Southlake, TX: Central Market, part of the famed HEB chain. 

One of my favorite meals: the Cobb salad, the least expensive of the several salad selections, at $11.00 and a craft beer, $5 / bottle. 

So, about $16 for lunch.

But that Cobb salad is more than I really need, so I can make my own Cobb salad at the salad bar, adding only the vegetables, protein, etc., that I want --- and a really, really nice Cobb salad costs me $3.00.

Then I add a 96-cent can of flavored sparkling water.

Right at $4.00 for lunch. And that included a hard-boiled egg on the salad. A dollar less than the $5 meal at McDonald's.

This is a made-to-order Cobb salad prepared by my nephew out at Flathead Lake, Montana -- at an upscale restaurant this would easily be priced at $20. My hunch: my nephew's cost was a whole lot less and a whole lot more fun to prepare and serve.

Rhubarb Pie

 Ruth made the best rhubarb pie in the world. We are trying to find Ruth's recipe.

My hunch: this is the recipe she used:

 Later: whoo-hoo! Jan found Ruth's recipe in Ruth's own handwriting!

Mom's secret: butter, and nutmeg!

Also, Mom started the baking with ten minutes of very hot oven (450°F) and then lowered to 350°F for the last 30 minutes, versus Betty Crocker's 400°F for the entire 50 minutes.

Ruth's Cottage Pudding

Lamb -- Preparation -- Marinade -- Christmas, 2023

Will marinade for 24 hours.

 

Elsie's Tater Hot Dish

 

Additional comments from one sibling:

• brown and season the ground beef
• add one can of cream of chicken soup
• one can of corn
• mix
• pour into a casserole lined with half of the tater tots
• other half on top of the ground beef mixture
• skip the Lipton soup and water

From another:

• if no onion soup mix, mix in cream of chicken soup with hamburger
• add some shredded cheese to the layer between hamburger and tater tots

Recipes: Pulled Pork

PULLED PORK
This recipe will “carry” the taste of the barbecue sauce one uses. One may want to try various barbecue sauces. The thyme may or may not be necessary. My first try at this I used Kraft Hickory and Smoke flavored barbecue sauce; maybe that's why it was so sweet.

Pulled pork recipes appear to all use apple cider vinegar (helps tenderize the pork).

This one may be a bit sweet; other recipes do not call for brown sugar.

See spices used in other recipes. I'm not sure how important the thyme was. I like thyme so it was nice to see it in the recipe.

For really tasty “burnt bits,” consider searing the pork shoulder in a skillet before placing it in the crock pot.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/92462/slow-cooker-texas-pulled-pork/.

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 (4 pound) pork shoulder roast

1 cup barbeque sauce
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 extra large onion, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme

8 hamburger buns, split
2 tablespoons butter, or as needed


Step 1

• Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of a slow cooker. 
• Place the pork roast into the slow cooker.
• Pour in the rest: the  barbecue sauce, apple cider vinegar, and chicken broth. Stir in the brown sugar, yellow mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, garlic, and thyme. 
• Cover and cook on High until the roast shreds easily with a fork, 5 to 6 hours.

Step 2

• Remove the roast from the slow cooker.
• Shred the meat using two forks. 
• Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.

Step 3

• Spread the inside of both halves of hamburger buns with butter. 
• Toast the buns, butter side down, in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown. 
• Spoon pork into the toasted buns.

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Another recipe: this one is easier; powdered spices; no chopping;

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a51267/slow-cooker-pulled-pork-recipe/

1onion, finely chopped
3/4 c.ketchup
3 tbsp.tomato paste
1/4 c.apple cider vinegar
1 tsp.paprika
1 tsp.garlic powder
1 tsp.mustard powder
1 tsp.cumin
1(3- to 4-lb.) pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
Kosher saltFreshly ground black pepper
Coleslaw, for serving
Buns, for serving