Time for Some “Vittles”!

Anyone who reads my blog is well aware that I love to eat good food!  It makes it tough to watch my weight but between bouts of eating, I cut out the carbs, French fries, desserts, etc.  Consequently, I’ve managed to lose sufficient pounds for now…enough at least to keep my doctor happy! 

The struggle continues…but hey, food is one of my few remaining vices.  In my opinion, good food is one of life’s true pleasures.  The following  photos show some of the homemade foodie highlights we’ve experienced in recent months… 

I was inspired by Bev and Larry’s iteration on fried fresh corn from the cob.  (Larry’s blog can be found at http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/) So, using our iron skillet, I created a spicier version of the tried and true version that Bev and Larry had served us.

This was the finished product… For my fried corn, I added a bit of Benton’s ham and prosciutto plus some hot shot pepper mix and a bit of Jalapeno.  The result was spicy…with a bit of heat…but it was good!

While we were visiting our son David II, his wife Amy and our two grandsons, David III and Emmett Lee, Amy used her iron skillet and she produced these very nice pan-fried boneless chicken breasts.  They were just right, moist and tender with a very nice crust. 

Laurie coated these boneless skin-on chicken thighs with Costco’s Kirkland Brand Basil Pesto and a little bit of extra Hot Shot pepper mix.  Then she ‘oven fried’ them in grape seed oil.  They were very juicy and delicious!  Laurie prefers the dark meat of a chicken over the white meat...more flavor and I have to agree, a lot more tender and juicy.

 The finished thighs were plated with a nice heap of penne pasta with marinara sauce and some fresh shaved asiago cheese.  Of course I added Tabasco!  This was yet another very satisfying meal…

Pork is probably my favorite meat… One of my favorite pork entrees is the most simple…grilled boneless or bone-in country pork ribs.  This is the beef version as sold by our local supermarket.  This grilled ‘boneless beef rib’ had plenty of flavor but I must admit that it was a bit tough.  Our jaws got a workout!  It looks good but we probably won’t do this again…

Laurie’s cousin Carla and her friend Diane recently came down from central Wisconsin to visit us here in East Tennessee.  We had a great time with them…excellent house guests…and they brought a selection of Wisconsin cheeses with them as a gift.

We didn’t get around to eating any of the cheese until a couple of days after they left on their trek back to snow country.  One night we didn’t feel like cooking and I put together a very tasty cheese and meat plate for dinner.  For meats, we had a bit of salami, bites of beef stick, what I believe was a variety of Soppressata, plus some chicken salad from Fresh Market.  I plated the meats with a Super Sharp Cheddar, Swiss, Longhorn Colby, Pepper Jack and Gouda.  Delicious!!  THANKS CARLA AND DIANE!

The cheeses were all produced by Mullins Cheese.  Their retail store is located at 598 Seagull Drive, Mosinee Wisconsin.  Phone: 715-693-3205.  Their website can be found at: http://www.mullinscheese.com/.

While Carla and Diane were here for their mini vacation, we fed them pretty well.  Laurie started them out with a terrific comfort food meal consisting of slow cooked beef pot roast with carrots and her ‘special roasted red potatoes’ with gravy.  I made a big breakfast one morning with cheese eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and toast.  For their final dinner with us, we served them 2 spectacular racks of Big Dude’s slow smoked bar-b-que ribs.  They were a real hit!  THANKS LARRY!

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave