"Tonights Supper on the grill"

[Snakeoil]

Cold weather has been making me crave comfort food. I'm trying to shed a few pounds before my annual physical at the end of Feb. Plus, I kinda made pig of myself over the holidays. But with the temp finally dropping down into true winter territory, I could not resist.

There is a fish fry place in Schenectady that has been around forever. Their mac & cheese is better than sex. I used to go there for lunch every so often and wallow in a bowl of their mac & cheese. I would not go often because I knew it was a guaranteed artery plugger-upper. When I started working from home, it put the place too far away for lunch since I live a good 20 to 30 minutes away. So, I went on a quest to figure out their recipe. It took several tries. I did know that there were several kinds of cheese used and a girl behind the counter one day gave me a few clues. I finally hit on the right recipe and that is what I made last night.

This is not the soupy kind of mac & cheese. I hate that stuff. I made just enough for dinner last night for the two of us and lunch for me today. Cost me $20 for the ingredients and I really only used about a 1/4 of them. So, I suspect there will be another and maybe bigger batch in my near future.

Pictures really do not do it justice.

 

[JWFilips]

If the ingredients are perishable, you may be able to make up a few and freeze them. That is what I do when I have to buy a bunch of quickly perishable ingredients so they don't get wasted.

 

[Mitty38]

If the ingredients are perishable, you may be able to make up a few and freeze them. That is what I do when I have to buy a bunch of quickly perishable ingredients so they don't get wasted.

I just made up a couple batches of chilli. In the 2 crock pots. Today while sleeping.
Having the wife put it up in Betty crocker Freezer bowls. For later consumption.

 

[L Ross]

We are home canners and we have quite an assortment of soups, stews, chili, smoked fish, bison, Yak, venison, corned beef, beef, chicken, potatoes, hash, beans, Hatch chiles, pickled items, mushrooms, good golly gosh, all that and more. One of the most satisfying things a person can learn to do.
For us it had nothing to do with prepping, it was just something our mothers and grandmothers did. Made up a batch of chicken soup and ate a couple of bowls and canned the left over 8 pints.
In deer season while the guys are down stairs cutting meat Sue is upstairs canning the appropriate cuts. The grocery store puts something on sale, eat some fresh can the rest.
I don't recommend running out and buying a new All American pressure canner though as the prices have gotten ridiculous. Be patient, shop around on Marketplace, Estate sales, rummage sales. We paid 50¢ for a #921 1/2 AA and $30 for our #15 AA and it was new in the box!
Much like powder and primers though, it is good to have a stash of jars, rings, and lids. The jars and rings are like brass, the lids are more like primers although there are reusable lids and even the ones people think of as disposable can be reused if removed with care, inspected and used again,

 

[PGPKY2014]

Good golly gosh,I have not heard of that. here in eastern KY we have what we call End of Garden Relish and was wondering if it might be something like that.

 

[Snakeoil]

If the ingredients are perishable, you may be able to make up a few and freeze them. That is what I do when I have to buy a bunch of quickly perishable ingredients so they don't get wasted.

Yeah. Problem is our freezer is already packed. I was thinking about making a big batch for the club, but don't have a way to heat it up. No oven at the club. Might be able to cut it up and heat it in the m'wave. I've been thinking about buying a small steel locker that is maybe 18 inches square or so and making it into an over I can put on top of the wood stove behind the firing line. That stove gets damn hot so it should be a great heat source for a homemade oven. May search Marketplace today. The hard part will be getting all the paint off before any baking gets done.

 

[Cadillac Jeff]

Colman used to make a camp oven....
My folks had one & mom would make the best pies when we were camping in the U P on Michigan......oh man those were the days!!

 

[JonB]

Much like powder and primers though, it is good to have a stash of jars, rings, and lids. The jars and rings are like brass, the lids are more like primers although there are reusable lids and even the ones people think of as disposable can be reused if removed with care, inspected and used again,

Here is a secret I discovered last year. DON"T TELL ANYONE !!!!
Dollar tree (I call it dollar and a quarter store) has unbranded lids, a pack of 12 (or maybe 10?) for $1.25 Now during the canning season, they are always out of stock, but today, they got a case of packages on the shelf.

 

[JonB]

Kind of canning related.
Yesterday, I made a homemade small batch of ketchup with stuff I had in the cupboard. My friend has gone on a "no sugar added diet." Any product you buy, if it has sugar added, he won't eat it. He and I have had many discussions about this. Since I also try to watch my carb intake closely. One day he brought me a partial bottle of No sugar added ketchup (Heinz). I liked the taste, until I found out that little bottle costs $6.
So, I dreamed up a recipe for homemade ketchup and made some, it was very easy. My friend stopped over this morning, and I gave him a bottle. I'm already thinking of a couple tweeks to that recipe.
.
I'm also thinking of a whole other direction for a recipe, when tomatoes are in season, using sundried/dehydrated tomatoes.

 

[L Ross]

Good golly gosh,I have not heard of that. here in eastern KY we have what we call End of Garden Relish and was wondering if it might be something like that.

Sorry sir, it is not a food stuff, it is an exclamation used here as a substitute for something along the lines of "Holy Crap", all that and a lot more.

 

[fiver]

Here is a secret I discovered last year. DON"T TELL ANYONE !!!!
Dollar tree (I call it dollar and a quarter store) has unbranded lids, a pack of 12 (or maybe 10?) for $1.25 Now during the canning season, they are always out of stock, but today, they got a case of packages on the shelf.

i tried them and had a so-so seal rate.
if i could pick through them somehow and toss even the 2-3 per package it'd still be a good deal, but you don't know till they don't.

 

[L Ross]

We have good luck with Denali lids. If you give them your email they send discount offers all the time. Denali lids have been very reliable. We also use Tattler reusable lids.
If we find regular Ball lids at Fleet Farm or Wal-Mart at a non panic price, and we need a few, we will buy some.

 

[PGPKY2014]

Sorry sir, it is not a food stuff, it is an exclamation used here as a substitute for something along the lines of "Holy Crap", all that and a lot more.

Weli ,that one went way over my head,I think I will blame it on the weather or maybe covid

 

[JonB]

i tried them and had a so-so seal rate.
if i could pick through them somehow and toss even the 2-3 per package it'd still be a good deal, but you don't know till they don't.

well, that sucks. I still have a pretty good supply of name brand lids, so that's what I used this summer/fall. I bought a few packs of the dollar n quarter lids...I'll have to use them on items that I am not highly $$$ invested in.
Pressure can? or water bath?
Mostly, I pressure can.

 

[popper]

Gee, I had mack & cheese with sausage last nite. Went down well. She makes a good one. I can tell she's nervous about her BIL - she started baking stuff last nite.

 

[Snakeoil]

I had mack & cheese with sausage last nite.

Funny you should mention adding sausage. I made 8 lbs of sweet and hot Italian sausage a few weeks ago and just last nigh was thinking about adding sausage to my M&C recipe.

Hmmmmm....

On a similar note, my challenge with doing M&C for the club is we have no oven at the club. Last night I started the search for an oven that could go on top of a wood stove. I found the Coleman camping ovens, but they are only a 12" cube. I want something into which t I can put a large tray of food. I have an idea that might work. Find an old apartment size stove or a small wall oven. Gut the electrics and insulation and pretty much make is a box that will sit on top of our wood stove. Need to hit the flea markets to see what I can find. The old days of going to the dump for an old stove are long over due to liability issues. Although, our town has a recycling center at the dump. Might find one there. Guess I'm going to the dump today.

 

[smokeywolf]

Not on the grill, but spatchcocked a chicken last night and baked in the oven. Made an olive oil (and a little sesame oil) based marinade with lots of garlic and a fair amount of sage, a little black pepper, red pepper flakes, soy sauce and liquid smoke.

Might make an old family recipe today, called "tomatoes & oil". Cut up tomatoes in olive oil with tons of course chopped garlic and spiced with oregano, a little basil, "Greek Seasoning", salt (not too much) & pepper. After you've eaten the tomatoes, sop up the oil with Italian bread or garlic bagels.

 

[Snakeoil]

Not on the grill, but spatchcocked a chicken last night

Well knock me down and call me Nancy. I was willing to bet that you hit the wrong keys. I tried to figure out what you were trying to say and came up blank. So, on the outside chance that I was not familiar with this term, I plugged spatchcocked into Google and damn if it does not actually mean something.

My Dad was a butcher and I grew up in a family of great cooks. I'd never heard that word before today. Therefore, I have completed my need to learn something new every day. Although, I must admit. If someone told me that they were going to spatchcock a chicken when they got home, I would have had a much different and disturbing mental image regarding what was about to transpire.

 

[popper]

I'm going to the dump today. Round here that means going to the 'Dump' furniture outlet store. Never did find anything I wanted there. Trash dumps here are 'no access'. they take all scrap to the yards and the yards don't sell either. Now, at the flea markets you can get everything.

 

[JonB]

I've made a spatchcocked Turkey (small one) on my smoker grill. Now I've only done that one time, but it turned out great. The one thing about any turkey cooked on smoker grill, I've found the skin to be pretty much inedible. Which is sad, because it's kind of the best part with a oven roasted turkey, so that's a draw back for me.