Bread - Black Pudding Bread

BLACK PUDDING BREAD

Blood pudding ( also called black pudding ) is an ancient food, it is believed to have been created around the time of Homer in Greece. I'm not sure if this is true or not, just something that i read, but it definitely goes way back and I'm sure a lot of countries try to lay claim to it, just like the hamburger and many other food items. Blood pudding is actually a sausage not a pudding, it is made of course with blood, also a blend of other ingredients like oatmeal, onions, fat and spices. I've eaten blood pudding in Ireland, England and Scotland, mostly in Scotland, as that's where my ancestry is and my wife's even more, as many of her relatives are still living in Scotland. I enjoy most of the blood puddings that I've tried, but my favorite is Stornoway Black Pudding, which is considered to be one of the best. It's made in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in The Outer Hebrides. The blood pudding that i buy made in America by Irish and Scottish butchers doesn't taste anything like what you get in Scotland. I keep buying it from different sources, but I'm never happy with the quality. I recently purchased another pound and ate a small piece and put the rest in the freezer and it sat there for the longest time and my wife was on me to either eat it or throw it away. Then i remembered jotting down a recipe a few years ago from an old lady that was in a butcher shop buying some black pudding, that i struck up a conversation with about black puddings. She told me about a black pudding bread that she makes with left overs. She gave me the ingredients in metric, which i converted and either i didn't write them down exactly or she didn't quite remember them correctly. But in any case when i made it, the dough was too loose almost like a batter, so i added more flour, but i wasn't able to accurately measure the additional, so my recipe may not be exact, until i can do another batch and have all the extra flour measured and sitting there ready to use and record. When i made this i didn't know if it was going to be any good or if i would end up with a lot of bird food. When they came out of the oven, i let them cool and as soon as i could i cut a piece and just added a little butter and was delighted that it was delicious. I offered a piece to the business man next to my store and i was sure he would say no way, but to my surprise he not only tried it, but he liked it. Now I'm taking it home tonight, as i baked this here at work. I'm fortunate to have a kitchen here, as it's hard to make bread at home, because of the length of time needed. I usually do part of it at home, then transport everything to work and let it rise here and bake it here. Now the real test will see if my wife likes it, she usually doesn't care for black pudding, scrapple or things along that line. She'll taste them, but that's about it.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. bread flour ( i was told 1 lb., but it was closer 1 1/2, I'll have a more exact amount
on the next batch )
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. instant yeast ( King Arthur Flour )
4 Tbs. Crisco
2 cups water
7 oz. blood pudding
honey - about 4 Tbs. - 2 for each loaf
sesame seeds - 2 Tbs. - 1 for each loaf

In a medium size mixing bowl, add the flour, salt. yeast and the Crisco. Use 2 knives and cut the Crisco into the flour. Now add the water and use a spoon to start stirring the water into the flour mixture. At a certain point forget the spoon and spray your hands with a little oil and start working the dough by hand to incorporate everything. Kneed the dough for about 5 to seven minutes. Now take a larger mixing bowl and spray it with a little oil and transfer the dough ball. Take a piece of handy wrap and spray it and lay over the bowl, sprayed side down. Set the bowl in a warm area and let it rise until doubled in size about 1 1/2 hours. Then take a cookie sheet and spray with a little oil and dump the dough onto it and press it down and stretch it out. Next add the crumbled blood pudding across the dough and start folding it up and kneading it to work the blood pudding into the dough. Now put it back into the dough bowl and cover it again and let it rise for another hour. After that spray two round cake pans with spray oil and set aside. Next divide the dough in half and work each ball to smooth it out and put into the cake pans, again cover with the oiled handy wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes. After that put the pans into a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes ( keeping in mind that all ovens are different. I have a 10 minutes difference between my oven at home and at work. ) . After the baking time pull the pans out and pour the honey on the top of the loaf and spread it out with a brush, then sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Repeat this with the other loaf and put them back into the oven for about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and set them on racks to cool. I served with just a little butter. But they would also be good with a fried egg, to make a breakfast sandwich.

Entree - Pasta Provencal

Pasta Provencal

Ingredients:

3 tbs. canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
12 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
1 zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp.thyme
1/2 tsp.garlic garnie
1/2 tsp.fennel seeds
1 tsp. orange peel, grated
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup white wine
12 oz. artichoke quarters, chopped
2 tbs. parsley
7 oz. pasta ( linguine or fettuccine ), this is pasta for 2, sauce serves 4
hot sauce
Romano cheese

First fill a large pot with water and start it boiling for the pasta. Add the oil to a skillet and add the diced onions and cook for about 10 minutes to soften. Take the can tomatoes and drain the liquid into a bowl, then add the tomatoes to the onions and let them cook. Meanwhile add the chopped sun dried tomatoes to the drained tomato juice and microwave for a minute. Then add the sun dried tomatoes and the juice to the skillet and cook for 10 more minutes. Now add the zucchini and the basil, oregano, thyme, garlic garnie, fennel, orange peel, salt, pepper and cayenne and cook for 5 minutes. Around now would be a good time to start the pasta. Next add the wine and the artichokes and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes to reduce the liquid and heat everything thru. Add the parsley and stir. Serve over the pasta, sprinkle on a few drops of hot sauce and top with some Romano cheese. Pasta serves 2 and the sauce is enough for 4.

Easy Steak Dinner Parcels

EASY STEAK DINNER PARCELS

Ingredients:

2 lbs. round steak 1" thick, cut into 2 portions
foil
barbecue spice - Emeril's or Paul Prudhomme's or any other
dry onion soup pack
2 large onions, cut coarsely
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 can of mushrooms or fresh - optional
1 can of tomatoes, diced - reserve the juice
1/2 cup of reserved tomato juice
1 tbs. cornstarch
2 tbs. Bisto
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbs. steak sauce
1 tsp. barbecue spice
parsley

Cut four pieces of foil about 10 x 12, set 2 side by side and spray with Pam cooking spray and set the other two aside for now. Lay one piece of steak on each piece of sprayed foil. Sprinkle the steak with the barbecue spice, then sprinkle half of the dry onion soup bag on each piece of steak ( make sure you mix the onion soup bag contents ). Next top the steaks with the chopped onions, then the green peppers and then the diced tomatoes ( last would be the mushrooms, if your adding them ). In a small bowl add the reserved tomato juice and then add the cornstarch and mix that in good, so that it doesn't start to harden. Next add the Bisto, Worcestershire Sauce, steak sauce and barbecue spice and stir to mix well. Pour half of this mixture over each steak. Now spray the remaining two pieces of foil and lay them sprayed side down on top of the steaks. Now start from one side and fold the foil a fold or two, then do the opposite side a fold or two, next the other ends one end at a time, just a fold or two. Once all four sides are started you can continue folding all the way around, but don't fold too tight, you want to leave a little space. Now repeat this process on the other parcel. When both are folded up, lay on a cookie sheet and put into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for two hours. The meat will be so tender from the slow long cooking, and amazed at how good, something so easy can taste. Remove the steak and all the sauce to a plate with a serving utensil and sprinkle with parsley.

Spice Blend - Blackening Spice

BLACKENING SPICE BLEND

Ingredients:

3 tbs. paprika
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tbs. black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil

Mix all ingredients and blend together.

Spice Blend - Garlic Garnie

GARLIC GARNIE SPICE BLEND

Ingredients:

2 tbs. garlic powder
2 tbs. onion powder
1/2 tsp. onion, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper, ground
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. black pepper, ground

Add all ingredients together and blend.

Spice Blend - My Barbecue Rub

MY BARBECUE RUB

This is my all purpose base rub that i use for almost everything. Sometimes i will add other spices like thyme, oregano etc, depending on the dish.

Ingredients:

6 tbs. paprika
1 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tbs. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. red pepper, ground
optional items: thyme, oregano, basil

I literally use this on almost everything in various amounts

Sauce - Marchand de Vin Sauce

MARCHAND de VIN SAUCE

Ingredients:

3 tbs. butter
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 cup ham, diced
4 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup red wine, Cabernet
2 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic garnie
1/2 tsp. barbecue spice
1 tbs. parsley

Melt the butter and saute the onion, until soft, about 8 minutes. Then add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes. Next add the ham, cook for 3 minutes, and now the bacon and cook for 1 minute. Now add the flour and blend in, cook 2 to 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the beef broth slowly, using a whisk to keep it from lumping up, then add the red wine, Worcestershire Sauce, thyme, oregano, basil, salt, black pepper, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, garlic garnie and barbecue spice. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Cook for about 40 minutes, until it thickens, stirring every so often, to keep it from burning or sticking. When done, check the seasoning and adjust, then add the parsley and serve. This is good over pork, steaks or chicken.

Entree - Blackened Suffed Pork with Marchand de Vin Sauce

BLACKENED STUFFED PORK CHOPS with MARCHAND DE VIN SAUCE

Ingredients:

2 center cut pork chops, with a pocket cut in
blackening spice blend

stuffing:
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Provolone cheese
1/4 cup Romano cheese
1/4 cup Ricotta cheese
1 tsp. blackening spice
1 tbs. basil
1 tbs. oregano
2 tbs. sour cream
-----------
3 tbs. canola oil
Marchand de Vin Sauce

Mix the stuffing ingredients. Stuff the mixture into the pockets of the chops. Sprinkle the blackening spice on the top side of the stuffed chops. Heat the skillet and oil and when hot, add the chops coated side down and now coat the top with blackening. Brown the chops on each side about 2 to 4 minutes per side and then transfer to an oven proof pan. Finish off in the oven, approximately 10 minutes. Serve with a Marchand de Vin Sauce

Bread - Crunchy Peanut Butter, Apple, Pumpkin Bread

CRUNCHY PEANUT BUTTER, APPLE, PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 tsp. nutmeg ground
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cloves, ground
2 tsp. baking soda
3 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup apple juice
1 cup crunchy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a medium size bowl add the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and baking soda, stir to blend and set aside. In a larger bowl add the sugar, the beaten eggs and pumpkin, stir to blend. Now add the apple sauce, vegetable oil, apple juice and peanut butter, blend to incorporate the peanut butter completely. Next add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to blend. Grease 2 loaf pans 5 x 9 and pour in the bread batter equally. Bake for 70 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if the bread is done. Set the pans aside to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove the bread and set on a wire rack for approximately 15 minutes before slicing

Barbecued Bologna

BARBECUED BOLOGNA

This is an unusual dish, and sometimes people give you this look, but if they try it they usually like it. The first time i made this and my wife walked in the door from work and asked what we were having and i said barbecued bologna, she said, I'm not eating that. I said i guess you better figure out what your going to make for yourself. She reluctantly ate it and decided that it was pretty good, said with great surprise. A few weeks later when we were having relatives over and my wife asked what i was making and i said one of the items was the barbecued bologna, she was mad that i was making something that seemed so lowly to her. The relatives like a lot of people had this look, but tasted it, and were very pleased. After that when our relatives would invite us over to picnics etc. they would ask me to bring the barbecued bologna. My wife would get so mad, all the gourmet food that we make, i can't understand why people want you to bring that bologna. Because it taste good, i told her. Now she actually asked me the other night to make it. A convert has been born. Anyway on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

bologna - 1 chunk about 2" thick - sometimes the deli people will say that they can't cut a piece
that big with the slicer and you just have to say use a knife.
barbecue spice - your own rub or Paul Prudhomme's or Emeril's
barbecue sauce - your own or store bought
bread - i use thin sliced sourdough

This is an amazingly simple recipe, take the plastic off the chunk and then use a knife and peel the skin off around the outside edge, all the way around. Now score the chunk around the outer edge and also score the top and bottom. Next heat the grill up. While the grill is heating, sprinkle the barbecue rub all over the bologna chunk, sides, top & bottom. When the grill is ready, set it up so that your cooking by indirect heat. I use a propane grill, the one side is set at medium and the other side is off. I use cooking spray and i spray the grill on the indirect side and then i spray the top side of the bologna. I put it on the indirect side top side of the bologna down. Close the lid and let it cook for 30 minutes. Then spray the top side of the bologna with cooking spray and turn it over and cook for 30 minutes more. Now i coat the bologna with barbecue sauce, top and sides and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Than i turn it over and coat the other side, the bottom side which is now the top and get a little more onto the sides and give it 10 minutes. The bologna will start getting charred. It's now time to take it off and slice it up. You can serve it on bread of your choice or just eat as is. I think you'll be surprised how good this will taste.

Reiview - Cafe Drydock & Inn, Southwest Harbor, Me.

CAFE DRYDOCK & INN

357 Main St.
Southwest Harbor, Maine
207-646-4444
http://www.cafedrydockinn.com/

Located in Southwest Harbor on the quiet side of Mt. Desert Island. It's just a short ride from Bar Harbor, where most of the tourist seem to go. The restaurant has tables and booths and also a bar area. It's nicely decorated in a pleasant atmosphere. The wait staff are friendly and efficient. The menu has a good variety of items to select from and reasonably priced. You can eat lite fare or dinner entrees ranging from a seafood pasta to crab Morney and baked stuffed haddock to several cuts of steak. My wife and i both got the same dish, the Walker Wellington, a Filet Mignon, topped with crab meat, wrapped in puff pastry, baked and topped with a Bearnaise sauce. It was outstanding, perfectly prepared, delicious and a good size portion, bigger than i was expecting. We were so filled after dinner that we couldn't order the dessert that we saw and wanted to try. Neither of us normally order dessert, but they had a Tollhouse cookie pie, that sounded good. So, we made plans to return the next day. We got up and ate a small breakfast and went back for a late lunch / early dinner time, because we didn't want to tie up a table eating just a dessert. We each got a slice of the Tollhouse cookie pie with ice cream and drizzled chocolate and a cup of hot tea. It was worth returning for just dessert. If you want to see more of their menu items, go to their website, http://www.cafedrydockinn.com/ While on that side of the island walk around town and check out some of the other stores and enjoy the area.

Review - Jackie's Too Restaurant, Ogunquit, Maine

JACKIE'S TOO

91 Perkins Cove Rd.
Ogunquit, Me.
207-646-4444
http://www.jackiestoo.com/

Located in Perkins Cove, right at the oceans edge, you can't get any closer without getting wet. This is a great location, you can't get any better. And with this location you also get great food. We went to Jackie's Too in 2008, i was in the mood for fish and chips, and they were excellent, my wife got the swordfish kabobs and told me to take a taste. This was the best fish dish that I've ever tasted and i wished that i had ordered it. Unfortunately we were leaving early the next morning, so i never got another chance to go back. Once we got home i told my wife i want to go back to Maine next year so i can get that swordfish kabob. So i planned the next trip to Maine, so that we would hit Ogunquit first, then hit some new locations and then end up in Bar Harbor. And sure enough we arrived in Ogunquit this year ( 2009 ) and that was were we went for dinner the next night. I have to admit i was worried, some times in a year, a chef could have changed, sometimes food quality can go up or down for lots of reasons, but the quality hadn't changed. We both ordered the same dish, the swordfish kabobs. They had a nice grilled char on the outside and perfectly moist on the inside. The dish came with grilled vegetables and rice. I've eaten a lot of fish dishes over the years and this chef ( he or she ) really knows how to cook fish. I can't think of to many restaurants that i would drive 700 plus miles to eat at. I told my wife the other night that our trip next year to Quebec, I'm plotting out a route to hit Ogunquit on the way home, it only adds seven hours to the trip. The restaurant I'm sure has many other outstanding dishes, but i won't be able to tell you about them, because I'm getting the swordfish again. Just to let you know, should you decide to go there, they are reasonably priced. Lite fare starts around 7. and up, entrees are around 17. to 22. The night we were there, most people were dressed casually, a few were dressed up. I'm not sure if they have a dress code, but you can go to their web site.

Review - Bar Harbor Manor in Bar Harbor, Me.

BAR HARBOR MANOR

Located at 47 Holland Ave. on Mt. Desert Island
207-288-3829
http://www.barharbor.com/

We stayed at the Bar Harbor Manor in 2008 and liked it so much, when we went back to Maine in 2009, we stayed there again. The owners are gracious and friendly. The rooms are clean, spacious and kept up to date, with a good size bathroom. The room we stayed in had a porch so that you could sit outside and it had lattice on the sides, so you had some privacy. A parking lot with free parking. It's conveniently located to everything. A half block walk to Cottage St., which has a number of restaurants and stores to look in as you walk to Main St., about a 3 block walk. When you get to Main St., if you go right you have quite a few blocks of stores for shopping, restaurants, coffee shops etc. If you go left you have a block of the same, and then your at the harbor. There you can catch a boat for whale watching or boats for sight seeing. If you don't want to boat, there's a trail that winds along the coast line for aways, giving you opportunities to photograph various boats and birds etc. You can also jump in the car and have a short drive to the Acadia National Park, Southwest Harbor, Northeast Harbor, or Bass Harbor. There is also a beautiful garden over in Southwest Harbor called the Asticou Gardens ( free, but donations are welcome ). There are nice restaurants all over Mt. Desert Island, from Bar Harbor to Bass Harbor. In Bar Harbor, our favorite breakfast place was Jeannie's, they have much better than the regular breakfast fare, incredible stuffed french toast, their own homemade oatmeal bread, even their own strawberry rhubarb spread, which i would love to carry in my store, but they only sell retail, unfortunately. Just a short drive to Southwest Harbor and you can go to the Cafe Drydock and Inn, it is a very nice restaurant, with lite fare and really good upscale food. We went there for their Walker Wellington, a Filet Mignon, topped with crabmeat, wrapped in puff pastry and topped with Bearnaise sauce. It was excellent, not only one of the best dishes that i had on vacation, but also one of the best ever. They have a number of items on their menu that i hope to try in future years. I hardly ever eat dessert, but they had a Tollhouse cookie pie, that my wife and i both wanted to try, but we were too filled from the dinner. So we came back the next day a little late for the lunch crowd and a little early for the dinner crowd, because we wanted to order just dessert, but didn't want to tie up a table at their busiest times. The Tollhouse cookie pie was worth going back for. The restaurant is clean, well decorated and the service is great, the people friendly. You won't regret the short drive to get here and back.

Soup - White Cheddar and Ale Soup with Andouille Bruschetta

White Cheddar and Ale Soup with Andouille Bruschetta

Ingredients:

4 Tbs. butter
1 onion, minced
1 tsp. garlic, minced
6Tbs. all purpose flour
1 can chicken stock
1 cup Genesee Pale Ale
8 oz. Amish white cheddar
1/2 cup fat free evaporated milk
salt - to taste
pepper, ground - i use black, but white looks better
-----------------
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Andouille sausages, diced
1 can tomatoes, diced and drained
1 1/2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Basil
1/4 tsp.black pepper, ground
1/8 tsp. salt
loaf bread - French, Italian, baguette or your choice - slice and toast

In a medium sized pot, melt the butter and add the onions and saute until soft, about 12 minutes on medium heat. Next add the flour and stir will cooking, so as not to burn the flour. Cook the flour for 2 to 3 minutes. Now add the chicken stock gradually, while stirring to keep it from lumping up. Next add the ale and bring it to a boil and lower to a simmer and let it cook for approximately 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Now add the cheese while stirring until the cheese melts and is fully incorporated into the stock. Add the evaporated milk and stir and let it heat up. Taste the soup and add the salt and pepper to your desired taste. While the soup is cooking add the olive oil to another pan and add the diced Andouille sausage and cook for 2 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, diced and drained and cook for 2 more minutes. Now add the balsamic vinegar, oregano, thyme, basil, pepper and salt. Stir and cook for 2 minutes and than put on low to keep warm. Slice the bread of your choice and toast it a golden brown. Put 2 slices of toast in each soup bowl, top with the Andouille mixture and ladle the cheese soup around the bread. Serves 2 to 4 people.

Side Dish - Corn and Stilton Fritters

Corn and Stilton Fritters

Ingredients :

1 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 lg. eggs, beaten
1 ( 16 oz. ) can corn, drained
1/4 cup milk
4 oz. Stilton cheese ( use more if you like it cheesier )
1 can Pam spray

Preheat griddle. Put the flour in a mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt and pepper and mix. Then add the beaten egg and stir. Now add the milk and corn and stir into the flour mixture. Last crumble the cheese and fold into the batter. Spray the griddle with Pam and drop fritter batter onto the hot griddle with approximately 1/4 cup of batter and fry until golden and turn over and repeat. Serves 2 to 4
Variations : you can change the cheese or you can add bacon or jalapenos

Appetizer - Chesapeake Deviled Eggs

Chesapeake Deviled Eggs

12 eggs
water dash salt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp hot spicy pickle relish
1 tsp. pickle juice
1/2 lb. cooked crab meat
1 tsp. garlic, minced
dash salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. old Bay seasoning
sprinkled Old Bay seasoning

Place the eggs in a pan, cover with water and add a dash of salt. Bring the water to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer and simmer for 1o minutes. Run cold water over the eggs to lower the temperature gradually. Let the eggs sit in the cold water for a few minutes. Then peel off the shells, cut the eggs in half and remove the yokes. Put the yokes in a bowl and break them up, add mayonnaise, hot pickle relish, pickle juice, crab meat, garlic, salt, pepper and Old Bay seasoning. Mix well and add the mixture back into the egg whites ( shell ). Sprinkle with a little Old Bay seasoning and put in the refrigerator to chill. Makes 24 egg halves.

Appetizer - Buffalo wings lite

Jim's Buffalo wings lite

Ingredients:

12 to 16 wings ( to serve 2 )
Pam spray
1/4 cup hot sauce ( 25% African Peri Peri and 75% Georgia Peach Vidalia Onion Sauce )
1 Tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tsp. paprika
1/4 Tsp. cayenne pepper
2 Tsp.Barbecue rub ( Paul Prudhomme's or Emeril's )
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing, fat free
3 stalks celery, cut into sticks

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put the chicken wings in an oven pan with a wire rack. Spray the rack with Pam and the wings also ( the side that's going on the rack ). Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes and than spray the top side of the wings with Pam and turn them over and bake for another 30 minutes. While the wings are baking make the sauce, adding the hot sauces, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and Cayenne pepper, blend together and set aside. After the wings have baked, switch the oven to broiler, sprinkle with 1 Tsp. of the barbecue rub and put under the broiler to brown and crisp up. When this is done spray the wings with Pam and turn over and sprinkle this side with the remaining 1 Tsp. of barbecue rub and put back under the broiler to brown and crisp this side too. Next plate the wings and pour the sauce equally over both servings of wings. Serve with the blue cheese dressing and celery sticks. Serves 2.

Side Dish - Country Corn Casserole

Country Corn Casserole

Ingredients:

8 oz. bacon
1 medium onion, chopped coarse
1 - (16 oz.) can shoe peg corn, drained
1 - (16 oz.) can creamed corn
salt
pepper
1/2 tsp. barbecue spice ( Emeril's or Paul Prudhomme's )

Fry the bacon and set aside to drain. Using the bacon grease saute the onions until soft about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the shoe peg corn and saute for a few minutes. Now add the creamed corn and stir in, add the salt and pepper and about 1/2 tsp. of the barbecue spice and let it cook for a couple of minutes to heat thru. Meanwhile crumble the bacon and add into the corn casserole.
Serve as soon as everything is warm. Serves 4.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Last year in 2008 i decided to put a garden in for the first time in about 25 years, and decided to start from seed, which i had never done before. When i had a garden previously, i bought plants from a store and just had 2, maybe 3 plants. This time i planted 39 plants with 5 different species, which gave me a ton of tomatoes. I gave a lot to neighbors and i also blanched, peeled and seeded a bunch and put them in the freezer, which was great except for the fact that my wife wasn't a happy camper, there wasn't a lot of room for her to put in the meats etc. I had a total of 1,200 tomatoes in the freezer. The upside is my wife loves soup, specially tomato soup, which i made all winter long. She told me don't do that again this year, but of course being a typical male, did i listen. This year i refined my selection from last year and added some new species. This year i have 45 plants with 12 different species. I've managed to fine some interesting tomatoes and some unusual and some not so interesting. I laid out a plan so that i would have early season, mid season and late season, cherry to medium to large size, yellow to red and to green and even striped. My wife says, what's wrong with you, can't you put 4 plants in like most people. Anybody can do it that way. Here is the list of what i put in:

1- Piccolo - A small sweet red tomato 3/8", mid season producer ( about 78 days ). Good for
salads or as a garnish. I won't be planting this next year.
2- Ildi - An early high yielding grape tomato that is 1" yellow oval. It has a great taste with nice
sweetness. Early season producer ( about 54 days ). This will be a definite keeper for
next years garden.
3- Slava - A small 2" red tomato from the Czech Republic. Early season producer ( 65 days ).
It seems to be pretty much done in about 30 days. I will put a couple of these in
because they had a great taste and they were bigger than the cherry tomatoes. And
they were ready long before any of the large tomatoes.
4- Sweet pea currant- This is the smallest tomato that I've ever seen, it's the size of a pea.
It's really prolific, it produces thousands. I put them in salads and they
also make a good garnish. I will probably put one plant in next year.
5- Charlie's Green - A green beefsteak tomato that has some yellow hues in it when it's ripe.
If it turns completely yellow, eat it or give it away. They seem to be
somewhat mishapped, but they taste good. A mid season ( 76 days ). I'll
probably put one or two in next year.
6- Carmello - It produces a medium to large red tomato and bears a good amount of fruit, with
a great taste. A mid season ( 75 days ). I'll plant a couple of these next year.
7- Italian Tree - This plant was a big disappointment for me, but I'll give it another chance
next year, but I'll cut back from 5 plants to 2 plants. The plant is suppose
to get 15 feet tall and produce large amounts of tomatoes, put mine only got
7 feet tall and didn't produce hardly anything. A late season ( 81 days ).
8- Polish Giant - This is one of my favorites, it was new this year and will definitely be in my
garden next year. It produces a huge tomato with great taste & i mean
big, most of them 1lb. 4 oz and my biggest 1 lb. 7 oz. Late season ( 81 days ).
The number of plants will be increased next year.
9- Striped Cavern - This is an unusual tomato that i will not put in again. It's a 2 1/2 " tomato
shaped like a pepper, red with orange stripes ( kind of pretty ), put hollow.
It's meant to be stuffed with something, like shrimp salad. A mid
season ( 79 days ). I won't be planting this next year.
10 - Big Beef - An old fashioned beefsteak tomato, red and delicious. Grows a good crop.
A mid season ( 70 days ). This is one that i will plant again and increase the
number of plants.
11 - Mortgage Lifter - This yields large quantity's of big red beefsteak tomatoes. This is also
one of my favorites. It will be in again next year and i will increase
the number of plants.
12 - Honeybunch - A high yielding red cherry tomato about 1/2". It produces all season.
Great for a salad or snacking. This was in last year as well and will be
next year also. An early season ( 60 days ).

Most of my tomato seeds i get from www.tomatofest.com , and a few from www.burpee.com
I hope that my tomato trials are of some help.

Review - T-Bonz Grille and Pub

T-Bonz Grille and Pub

Located at 4910 Waterloo Rd., Ellicott City, 410-461-4748

My wife and i have eaten here 4 or 5 times over the last several years, and we always thought the food was pretty good. But when we went back just recently, they had changed their menu slightly, which wasn't any big deal to us, but they also enlarged the bar area, which use to be enclosed and is now open and encroaching into the dinning area. Neither of those two things in itself would bother me, but they seem to have increased prices, decreased portion size and decreased quality. My wife's prime rib was tough and had a quite a bit of grizzle. My hot roast beef was kind of pricey for the Baltimore area, most places this dish runs from $ 6.95 to about $ 9.95, they were charging $ 14. I still didn't give this a lot of thought, because i assumed it was going to be a substantial order, but i was wrong. When it came out it was one piece of really thick bread and there was so little beef and gravy, you could actually see the bread and that it was white. Again if they had put enough fries i might have left happy, but there were only a few french fries and they were the frozen crinkle cut. And to top the whole thing off the beef was chewy and had gristle. I don't mind paying for a good meal, but for an inferior one, it's very disappointing. I was hungry when i left and had to drive home and make dinner. I'm always willing to cut some slack to restaurants, people do have off days, but when the food is so small that i leave hungry, that's a deal breaker for me.