I'm up in Delaware for a couple days and then going to Baltimore for a Sunday event at my old church there. As soon as I get back to St Pete I'll order the book, and in hard copy.
I finally got power back-- but only the first day I was gone, communicated to me by both my next door neighbor and my cat sitter.
I am almost guaranteed to enjoy the food served at a place with that style of menu.
Similar to Hungary, it is not impossible to get BBQ up here in New England, but it is not even close to the real deal. We have top notch seafood, Italian, Portuguese, and during this time of year, all the autumn treats like homemade apple cider donuts. But man do I miss authentic BBQ...
Here in SF we're paying $21 for a burrito. Not a gourmet burrito with grass-fed carnitas wrapped in a vegan tortilla but a run-of-the-mill taqueria on 24th St. Twenty-one dollars!
Best wishes. Everything's coming up turnip greens.
Point of pedantry that really isn't. I can't take credit for this, it's Santayana, but it's important. The "abstract" concepts your review cites do NOT "exist". Existence, as I understand it, is anything that is in Nature. There are instances of One and Good and Beautiful, but, The One, The Good, and The Beautiful ARE without existing. It's an important distinction, at least in terms of clarity.
I preordered the book. It never occurred to me that there are places where you can’t get greens. How sad! Maybe green beans, then cook them all day with fatback or ham hocks? Yum! There are some great BBQ places here in the Shenandoah Valley & we also have BBQ chicken. Not with red sauce. Cooked on big racks over a pit with charcoal or wood chips. All the volunteer fire departments & civic clubs around here sell bbq’d chicken halves as fundraisers. The pit guys start at 3 am & the chicken comes off at 9 am. Can’t be rushed!
We’re not as good on pork bbq but Pierce’s Pit BBQ near Williamsburg is as good as anything in North Carolina or points south.
Fish fries up here are usually done just Fridays in Lent by the Knights of Columbus. There are groups having salt fish breakfasts. I’ve never tried that, I’m on blood pressure meds as it is.
I'm sure Rod could introduce southern-style greens in Magyar-land. Turnips, mustard, cress, all grow just fine there, so it's primarily a matter of showing a few people how it's done.
Cornbread could be trickier as European grain grinds tend to be different - I suspect cornmeal used in polenta could work, but I could be wrong. My wife has a cake recipe from her English grandmother that only works with English Plain Flour, NOT American all-purpose, or American cake flour, as the protein levels are different - if you try the all purpose flour, the cake is a mushy dense brick, and cake flour makes it too dry. So she has to order the right flour online, or go to boutique shops that stock European ingredients.
The flour thing, yeah. One of my daughters has gluten sensitivity. I made her some cookies with almond flour. But baking soda & powder don’t make almond flour rise. You have to use applesauce I found out. I got one big flat cookie which my daughter assured me was delicious but not what I was aiming for.
Try spelt flour. It has gluten, but a different kind. One of my nephews had a gluten sensitivity when he was young, he grew out of it fortunately, but he was able to eat baked goods and pasta made with spelt flour. It is a very common replacement in Germany for people not doing well on wheat flour.
Polenta grains would be too large and not absorb enough liquid; the resulting corn bread would have rather crunchy bits of corn in every bite.
The only difference between the varieties of grits, polenta, corn meal etc is the size of the screen through which the ground corn is sifted, but those sizes do make a difference in the recipe results.
Martha, on Route 50 a mile west of the Winchester Walmart is a family that cooks the best beef brisket I've ever eaten and my wife makes excellent brisket. They operate out of an Exxon station Wednesday through Saturday.
Thanks! One of my college friends recently moved from Colorado back to Va & he & his wife are in Middletown. When I go to see them I will check it out.
They're a real fun bunch. Husband, who slow-smokes the brisket, and wife, who prepares the meals. A chubby but very fun daughter of about forty handles the customers. I find it amusing to see them interact.
I remember being a student in 1990s Germany and having a hard time finding turkey and pumpkin, but I was going to celebrate Thanksgiving one or way or the other. Germans didn't really do pie; they're cake people. I tried explaining the wonders of pumpkin pie to a couple students on my dorm floor; they were intrigued, but didn't get it. Germans eat pumpkin, if at all, chunked in a sugary glaze.
About a week later, there's a knock at my door. The girl two doors down stands there smiling. She shoves a large, round gourd into my belly, declares "You owe me a pie!", turns on her heel and departs down the hall. I placed a trans-Atlantic phone call to mom for the family recipe.
Italians love turkey. There was a place by the Campo dei Fiori, near Sant'Andrea, that offered the same thing every day. Rigatoni, roast turkey surrounded by potatoes, and salad. You ate there once a week and you were doing all right with a quartino di vino.
When I was working in Rome the staff on the newspaper decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday after the holiday. I was in charge of procuring the turkey. There it was, hanging in the window, with all its feathers. The poulterer plucked it in back. When he brought it out he burned off the tougher feathers (on the wings) with a lighter, with which he had also lit the More (remember those?) he was smoking out of the corner of his mouth. For the party a guy from Kentucky had his father ship him a country ham. So we had a feast. The party was an historic occasion in other respects, but that's another story.
Christmas 1976 at my cousins' in their little village just outside Ivrea included tacchino e ravioli. Which would have been the meal even if I had not been visiting.
I learn so many new things. I think I’m generally more a cake person as long as it comes with ice cream and pie as long as it comes with ice cream. I guess I’m just more ice cream.
One of my daughters does not care at all for pie, either as a dessert or as a meat dish. The wife of a friend is much the same - they just had a baby and I made them a savory chicken-apple pie (into which several sticks of butter had gone into both filling and crust), and his wife turned it down (which made him happy as he loved it).
Not questioning your accuracy, but in my anecdotal exchange student experience three decades ago, I never saw anything resembling the round, fruit-filled pastry shells top and bottom that I recognize as pie.
My grandparents long ago were good friends with a Jewish couple, whom they would invite over for their big Christmas Eve party every year. My grandmother *always* served a big ham. The husband of the Jewish couple *always* made himself a big ham sandwich with lots of mustard... because (he declared) he would be a rude guest to do otherwise.
Looking forward to seeing you two tonight & tomorrow am. I've preordered the ebook but may have to buy a 'real' one just because of that cover. Planning on checking out Miss Myra's while I'm up there!
Rod, you belong in Southern Italy, particularly Apulia. Turnip greens are the backbone of the cuisine in that region, and they eat collard and mustard greens as well.
No testosterone was harmed in the production of THAT ad.
Congratulations on the five star review!
And I’m now craving some bbq….
Rod, you really shouldn't make us hungry like that.
God bless Myra's . . . and your trip.
I'm up in Delaware for a couple days and then going to Baltimore for a Sunday event at my old church there. As soon as I get back to St Pete I'll order the book, and in hard copy.
I finally got power back-- but only the first day I was gone, communicated to me by both my next door neighbor and my cat sitter.
I am almost guaranteed to enjoy the food served at a place with that style of menu.
Similar to Hungary, it is not impossible to get BBQ up here in New England, but it is not even close to the real deal. We have top notch seafood, Italian, Portuguese, and during this time of year, all the autumn treats like homemade apple cider donuts. But man do I miss authentic BBQ...
How about the prices? Sweet home Alabama.
Living in Chicagoland, the prices jumped out to me immediately.
Here in SF we're paying $21 for a burrito. Not a gourmet burrito with grass-fed carnitas wrapped in a vegan tortilla but a run-of-the-mill taqueria on 24th St. Twenty-one dollars!
Best wishes. Everything's coming up turnip greens.
Point of pedantry that really isn't. I can't take credit for this, it's Santayana, but it's important. The "abstract" concepts your review cites do NOT "exist". Existence, as I understand it, is anything that is in Nature. There are instances of One and Good and Beautiful, but, The One, The Good, and The Beautiful ARE without existing. It's an important distinction, at least in terms of clarity.
Thanks for pointing that out.
The giddy, joyous tone in this piece is palpable. Congratulations on such well-deserved reviews, but even more so, congrats on leaving gloom behind.
I preordered the book. It never occurred to me that there are places where you can’t get greens. How sad! Maybe green beans, then cook them all day with fatback or ham hocks? Yum! There are some great BBQ places here in the Shenandoah Valley & we also have BBQ chicken. Not with red sauce. Cooked on big racks over a pit with charcoal or wood chips. All the volunteer fire departments & civic clubs around here sell bbq’d chicken halves as fundraisers. The pit guys start at 3 am & the chicken comes off at 9 am. Can’t be rushed!
We’re not as good on pork bbq but Pierce’s Pit BBQ near Williamsburg is as good as anything in North Carolina or points south.
Yes.
Also, here on the peninsula volunteer firehouses have fish fries.
Fish fries up here are usually done just Fridays in Lent by the Knights of Columbus. There are groups having salt fish breakfasts. I’ve never tried that, I’m on blood pressure meds as it is.
I'm sure Rod could introduce southern-style greens in Magyar-land. Turnips, mustard, cress, all grow just fine there, so it's primarily a matter of showing a few people how it's done.
Cornbread could be trickier as European grain grinds tend to be different - I suspect cornmeal used in polenta could work, but I could be wrong. My wife has a cake recipe from her English grandmother that only works with English Plain Flour, NOT American all-purpose, or American cake flour, as the protein levels are different - if you try the all purpose flour, the cake is a mushy dense brick, and cake flour makes it too dry. So she has to order the right flour online, or go to boutique shops that stock European ingredients.
The flour thing, yeah. One of my daughters has gluten sensitivity. I made her some cookies with almond flour. But baking soda & powder don’t make almond flour rise. You have to use applesauce I found out. I got one big flat cookie which my daughter assured me was delicious but not what I was aiming for.
Try spelt flour. It has gluten, but a different kind. One of my nephews had a gluten sensitivity when he was young, he grew out of it fortunately, but he was able to eat baked goods and pasta made with spelt flour. It is a very common replacement in Germany for people not doing well on wheat flour.
Thank you so much, I’ll try it!
Polenta grains would be too large and not absorb enough liquid; the resulting corn bread would have rather crunchy bits of corn in every bite.
The only difference between the varieties of grits, polenta, corn meal etc is the size of the screen through which the ground corn is sifted, but those sizes do make a difference in the recipe results.
Dana
Martha, on Route 50 a mile west of the Winchester Walmart is a family that cooks the best beef brisket I've ever eaten and my wife makes excellent brisket. They operate out of an Exxon station Wednesday through Saturday.
Thanks! One of my college friends recently moved from Colorado back to Va & he & his wife are in Middletown. When I go to see them I will check it out.
They're a real fun bunch. Husband, who slow-smokes the brisket, and wife, who prepares the meals. A chubby but very fun daughter of about forty handles the customers. I find it amusing to see them interact.
In re: no good greens in Hungary.
I remember being a student in 1990s Germany and having a hard time finding turkey and pumpkin, but I was going to celebrate Thanksgiving one or way or the other. Germans didn't really do pie; they're cake people. I tried explaining the wonders of pumpkin pie to a couple students on my dorm floor; they were intrigued, but didn't get it. Germans eat pumpkin, if at all, chunked in a sugary glaze.
About a week later, there's a knock at my door. The girl two doors down stands there smiling. She shoves a large, round gourd into my belly, declares "You owe me a pie!", turns on her heel and departs down the hall. I placed a trans-Atlantic phone call to mom for the family recipe.
Italians love turkey. There was a place by the Campo dei Fiori, near Sant'Andrea, that offered the same thing every day. Rigatoni, roast turkey surrounded by potatoes, and salad. You ate there once a week and you were doing all right with a quartino di vino.
When I was working in Rome the staff on the newspaper decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the Saturday after the holiday. I was in charge of procuring the turkey. There it was, hanging in the window, with all its feathers. The poulterer plucked it in back. When he brought it out he burned off the tougher feathers (on the wings) with a lighter, with which he had also lit the More (remember those?) he was smoking out of the corner of his mouth. For the party a guy from Kentucky had his father ship him a country ham. So we had a feast. The party was an historic occasion in other respects, but that's another story.
Christmas 1976 at my cousins' in their little village just outside Ivrea included tacchino e ravioli. Which would have been the meal even if I had not been visiting.
Dana
https://rosemarygriggs.co.uk/blog/36/
I’ve never thought of things in terms of cake people vs pie people. But, what does that make Brits who do both cake and pie?
I’ll just have a slice of each.
It's the saving grace of the Brits to have both pie and cake.
Cake People vs Pie People is a real thing. I'm in a mixed marriage myself. As a Midwesterner, I like pie. My Southern sweetie prefers cake.
I learn so many new things. I think I’m generally more a cake person as long as it comes with ice cream and pie as long as it comes with ice cream. I guess I’m just more ice cream.
My favorite dessert is hot pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla on the side.
One of my daughters does not care at all for pie, either as a dessert or as a meat dish. The wife of a friend is much the same - they just had a baby and I made them a savory chicken-apple pie (into which several sticks of butter had gone into both filling and crust), and his wife turned it down (which made him happy as he loved it).
That sounds delicious!
Ok, I have to agree only on the pumpkin pie part, but we Germans do pie. Apple pie, cherry pie, plum pie, etc.
Pumpkin pie is a delicious vehicle for whipped cream. Apple pie is a delicious vehicle for ice cream.
Not questioning your accuracy, but in my anecdotal exchange student experience three decades ago, I never saw anything resembling the round, fruit-filled pastry shells top and bottom that I recognize as pie.
I am now sooooooo hungry!
Ordered. May God grant to his servants Rod and Paul many blessed years.
Reason number 1 to be a Christian. Pork. Especially bacon.
My grandparents long ago were good friends with a Jewish couple, whom they would invite over for their big Christmas Eve party every year. My grandmother *always* served a big ham. The husband of the Jewish couple *always* made himself a big ham sandwich with lots of mustard... because (he declared) he would be a rude guest to do otherwise.
That’s funny!
Looking forward to seeing you two tonight & tomorrow am. I've preordered the ebook but may have to buy a 'real' one just because of that cover. Planning on checking out Miss Myra's while I'm up there!
Congratulations Rod!
I am very happy for you and wishing you all the luck with your book!
I am waiting for my copy!
God Bless.
God bless Warren Farha! He is truly one of the best citizens Wichita has, and his Eighth Day Books is a jewel in our city.
Rod, you belong in Southern Italy, particularly Apulia. Turnip greens are the backbone of the cuisine in that region, and they eat collard and mustard greens as well.
WHAT?!? WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME?!?
Mustard, dandelions, chard, beet, turnip. My Italian grandparents.