The Resurrection of The Puddin' Pop.

Puddin' Pops Rule.  But I've not been able to find them on the shelves of any grocery stores for a while.  Whilst in Kent visiting my brother and his family for Thanksgiving he told me how to make my own.  So freaking simple I should have figured it out myself.  Ready- make Jello Pudding.  Dump pudding into popsicle molds (or ice cube trays), add stick.  Freeze.  Remove pop from mold.  Enjoy.  Brilliant.  Genius.   

Made a nice steak dinner last night following several of the recipes from Tom Fitzmorris's book, Tom Fitzmorris's New Orleans Food. Entree- Strip Steak Bordelaise (pg 155).  The recipe calls for a whole bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon or Bordeaux to be reduced to a cup's worth of liquid.  I hated to see so much wine evaporate.  I may have to try this again as I don't think I quite followed the directions too well.  For those interested in the bottle of wine- Bogle Vineyards Cab. 2006.  This was quite good by itself.  Not too much tannin (not that I'm any sort of real wine connoisseur).  it was raining outside so I decided to purchase cast iron grill skillet with which to broil the steaks.  It worked really well.  As usual I need to pay more attention to cooking time- let's just say that they turned out WELL DONE.  Loved hearing the butter sizzling away in the skillet.  Sides- Mashed Potatoes and Broiled Asparagus Parmigiano (pg. 225).   Sonya tells me that my potatoes are a but too lumpy, but seasoned well.  The asparagus was wonderful.  I'd make this again in a heartbeat.  Growing up I hated asparagus.  I wouldn't touch the stuff.  Somehow a few years ago I decided to give it another try and I found that when well prepared it is good- especially when grilled or broiled.  For dessert I made Heavenly Hash- a treat found here in Louisiana during the Easter season-  Chocolate, nuts, and marshmallow in lumps all mushed together.  Tom has a recipe for this on page 292.  

Made tuna steaks under the broiler on Monday night.  Again- well done- past where I wanted them.  I will eventually learn this skill.  First time I've ever prepared them and even cooked as far as I did I feel that they turned out well.  

Other news-  Papa Johns just opened a location near the house.  Finally.  We've been stuck just far enough away from two other locations that we couldn't get delivery from either.  I usually find PJs pizza to be better than Domino's.  The crust is better and I like the sweeter sauce.  Great stuff.  Another pizza joint replaced the recently defunct Hogie and Deaux's.  I always thought the name as really clever.  Their pizza was decent.  This new place called Roma's has a New York style crust.  The kind of slice that flops down on itself and the only good way to eat it is by folding it in half.  Gave it a shot during the week too.  Not too bad.  I also ordered a Meatball Parmigiana hoagie.  The meat mix was a bit odd. Perhaps they had veal in there or something, I dunno.  Sonya enjoyed it.  When I dropped by there was only one guy working the entire place- prepping, cooking, taking orders, the works.  We'll see how long they last.  I wish the guy luck.   We'll give him another try.  Got to support the local guy.

Riced out.

I'm tired of rice. I made the mistake on Monday of making jambalaya and then Friday night I put together some dirty rice. I've been in this Louisiana food mood lately- all this boudin sausage at work, red beans and rice for lunch twice last week and then this week. This diet seems to be why so many of the "grocery" stores in small town Louisiana only really carry meats, canned goods, bread, and the Trinity of vegetables; onion/garlic, celery, and bell peppers. It would also explain why when we made pizza for dinner the other night I skipped pepperoni and sauteed some zucchini and squash for toppings. I had a real craving for something green.

The jambalaya turned out fairly well. We had some Manda (that's a brand) beef sausage that I threw into a skillet with a chicken breast. The trinity mentioned above, and some wild rice. I can't claim that it the seasoning was all my doing. As with most packaged wild rice products seasonings are included. They just happen to work out well with jambalaya. I have my father to thank for this trick. Something he picked up thirty years ago when he first made it to Louisiana.

The dirty rice was a cop out. A Zatarain's box of rice and seasonings with ground beef. I added onion, some bell pepper and the left over squash/zucchini mix from the pizza the night before. Not so shabby until lunch today when I decided to spice it up and added way too much red pepper. You'll have that.

I might make a batch of chili this weekend for the guys at work. They've heard me talk about this odd stuff for long enough that it is time that I subject them to the stuff. Kewl thing is that if I do make this for work I could expense the whole thing... Hmmm.