On Food and Cooking (Page 2)

I’ve become pretty good at making coffee over the years (I’ve even written about all my various methods of preparation). While it took me a long time to get to drinking coffee, I have to admit my mother’s influence on me in this regard. She often spoke of how she loved coffee all the way back into her childhood, and coffee was one of her essentials, all the way up to the end. I recall, with some embarrassment, by first attempt at making coffee, when I was in kindergarten and we were living in La Crosse, WI. One Saturday morningDown the rabbit hole….

I’ve discovered the last year or two that I really like eggnog. I’ve also discovered that my family dislikes eggnog, so…I get to drink it all! Yay! This year I’m going one step farther: I’m making my own eggnog. Specifically, I’m making Alton Brown’s Aged Eggnog. Technically, I’ve already made Alton Brown’s Aged Eggnog, as I executed the recipe yesterday (and it’s really not a hard recipe at all, the work took all of fifteen minutes). Now I’m in the “aging” part of the job. My intent is to leave the jars unopened until no sooner than December 20. (Meanwhile, I’llDown the rabbit hole….

Fry two slices Taylor Pork Roll. I prefer thick slices. If you’re unfamiliar with Taylor Pork Roll, it’s a processed ham product, not unlike Spam, that is popular in New Jersey. I like it quite a lot…it really is like Spam, but in my experience it’s a little firmer and less greasy. Also fry one egg. Over-easy, or over-medium, is what we’re going for here. Onto your bread–bread of your choice, in this case I used a sandwich roll–layer the ingredients in this order: 1 slice of cheese, the egg (be careful not to break the yolk!), the two slices ofDown the rabbit hole….

UPDATE, 8/7/23: I have added a clarification below. I’ve heard of a “cuppa joe”. I’ve heard of a “cuppa cocoa”. I’ve made many a recipe with a cuppa flour or a cuppa sugar. This one, seen at the farmer’s market yesterday, was a new one: Yup. A cuppa bacon! For four bucks, you’d better believe I got one. And then The Wife, who had lingered at a previous stand, arrived and wanted some of my bacon! Did I give her any? Of course not! But did I give her four bucks so she could get her own and thus avoid any maritalDown the rabbit hole….

Tonight for dinner, I made a dish called “Godfather Pasta”. It’s a dish of pasta with a cheesy garlicy sauce, also stirred in with cured Italian meats, banana peppers, roasted red peppers, and olives. It’s freakishly delicious. After we ate, I ventured next door to sit with my father for a while. When I got over there, Wheel of Fortune had just started, and the first puzzle was: “Make an offer you can’t refuse.” I like it when the world synchronizes. (If you’re curious as to how to make Godfather Pasta, I used this recipe in my Instant Pot. I modifiedDown the rabbit hole….

I learned a new drink yesterday: the Blue Hawaii. This is not to be confused with the Blue Hawaiian, which is a slightly different drink that incorporates cream of coconut. Via liquor.com: The Blue Hawaii cocktail was born at Honolulu’s Kaiser Hawaiian Village (now Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Resort). In 1957, a sales representative of Dutch distiller Bols asked legendary bartender Harry Yee to design a drink that featured its blue curaçao, a Caribbean liqueur made using the dried peel of the Laraha citrus fruit. After experimenting with several variations, Yee settled on a cocktail featuring rum, vodka, blue curaçao,Down the rabbit hole….