Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

One of the things I like about the local truck-stop's restaurant is
that any non-breakfast meal you order comes with a chice of one of the soups of the day (they always have two except Sunday - when it's
Creamy Chicken Rice soup only) or you can take a "side salad" with lettuce, shredded carrot, some sliced or diced tomato and a couple
nice slices of cucumber. Even a burger & fries comes w/that choice.

Sounds good to me; I'll most likely take the salad, especially if
they have 1,000 Island dressing.

Oh, they do.

I'll take that, on the side please.

That's how they bring it. In a nice plastic "souffle" cup. If you ask
for "lots" as I do w/blue cheese dressing - they bring two cups. Bv)=

I'm finding that one cup is usually enough for me these days. I don't
like salads drowned in dressing so usually ask for it on the side. One exception is Olive Garden (we were there yesterday); their salad has a nice amount of dressing, not too little, not drowning in it. I know
they probably put most of it together well in advance but they don't
add things like the tomatoes and crutons until it is ordered so it's
nice and fresh.

I've never cared much for O.G. Too many authentic Italian restaurants
available to choose from. And in almost any regional Italian you can
imagine from Sicily to the Tyroleans. I go to Papa Frank's (Saputo) for
their baked spaghetti. Or Joe Gallina's for the Sisilian take on pasta
or pizza. Or Sam's (Salvatore) forthe best beef po'boys in the Midwest.

The whole Gallina family came to this area from Sisily about 30 years
ago. Joe has his place downtown, His brother Frank is in the near by
town of Riverton. Another brother ?Giovanni? has a place in Chatham.
And brother Vito, who had a very popular restaurant in a local shopping
center, packed his things and went home to Sicily - where Guiseppe (Joe)
tells me he's making a fortune selling "American Style" pizza to Palermo.

Sadly, my favourite Italian place, Bianco's got "urban renewed" out of
their location and Dominic took the money and retired. I used to go there
for supper and tell the wait staff, "Whatever Grandma's cooking" for my
dinner order. I was never disappointed.

8<----- CLIP ----->8

Looks good to me. We're not going anywhere for New Year's eve, just
going to have a quite night at home. That way I don't have to inhale
smoke from the fireworks.

I *NEVER* *EVER* go out on 'amateur night". Too many normally sober folk
who think it's their duty to go out on New Year's eve and get stupid. As
in knee walking, toilet hugging drunk. And then try to drive. No, thank
you very much.

I worked at the Zone last night, stopped at Hardee's and got their Big
Bag meal - 2 double burgers, fries and medium soft drink - and went right
home. The carb load sent me right off to the land of nod and I didn't even
hear the local idiot and his fireworks ticking anyone in ear-shot.

The municipal fireworks from the Old State Capitol (downtown) were called
off due to it being a rainy day - and night. So I didn't miss much and
got a good night's sleep.

Had this made-up and sitting in the ice box. I'm expecting my oven's
timer to ding and tell me it's time for a proper breakfast - any minute
now ....

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Farmer's Breakfast Casserole
Categories: Potatoes, Cheese, Dairy, Ham, Eggs
Yield: 6 servings

3 c Frozen shredded hash brown
- potatoes
3/4 c Shredded Monterey Jack
- cheese
1 c Diced, fully cooked ham *
1/4 c Chopped green onions
4 lg Eggs
12 oz Can evaporated milk
1/4 ts Pepper
1/8 ts Salt

* diced, fully crisped, thick-cut bacon will work here
as well as the ham. Ad give a different falvour profile
-- UDD

Place potatoes in an 8" baking dish. Sprinkle with
cheese, ham and onions. Whisk eggs, milk, pepper and
salt; pour over top. Cover and refrigerate for several
hours or overnight.

Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake
@ 350ºF/175ºC, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the
center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes.

Nancy Schmidt, Center, Colorado

Makes: 6 servings

RECIPE FROM: https://www.tasteofhome.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... Whatever you are, be a good one.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)

Hi Dave,

I'll take that, on the side please.

That's how they bring it. In a nice plastic "souffle" cup. If you ask
for "lots" as I do w/blue cheese dressing - they bring two cups. Bv)=

I'm finding that one cup is usually enough for me these days. I don't
like salads drowned in dressing so usually ask for it on the side. One exception is Olive Garden (we were there yesterday); their salad has a nice amount of dressing, not too little, not drowning in it. I know
they probably put most of it together well in advance but they don't
add things like the tomatoes and crutons until it is ordered so it's
nice and fresh.

I've never cared much for O.G. Too many authentic Italian restaurants available to choose from. And in almost any regional Italian you can imagine from Sicily to the Tyroleans. I go to Papa Frank's (Saputo)
for their baked spaghetti. Or Joe Gallina's for the Sisilian take on
pasta
or pizza. Or Sam's (Salvatore) forthe best beef po'boys in the
Midwest.

It's not our favorite (sold a while back, quality has dropped somewhat)
but it was quick. Steve's mom's side of the family comes from the
Calabria (toe of the boot) region, as the original owner, so it was home cooking for us. OG was a convenient after church choice; Steve had heard
some folks talking about Italy so he wanted Italian food......OG worked.
We both took home half of our entree, waiter gave us more breadsticks to
go with it.

The whole Gallina family came to this area from Sisily about 30 years
ago. Joe has his place downtown, His brother Frank is in the near by
town of Riverton. Another brother ?Giovanni? has a place in Chatham.
And brother Vito, who had a very popular restaurant in a local
shopping center, packed his things and went home to Sicily - where Guiseppe (Joe) tells me he's making a fortune selling "American Style" pizza to Palermo.

Sadly, my favourite Italian place, Bianco's got "urban renewed" out of their location and Dominic took the money and retired. I used to go
there for supper and tell the wait staff, "Whatever Grandma's cooking"
for my dinner order. I was never disappointed.

Sigh! I don't cook as much Italian as I used to, trying to keep the carb
intake under control, but do like it done right (the way my MIL taught
me).

8<----- CLIP ----->8

Looks good to me. We're not going anywhere for New Year's eve, just
going to have a quite night at home. That way I don't have to inhale
smoke from the fireworks.

I *NEVER* *EVER* go out on 'amateur night". Too many normally sober
folk who think it's their duty to go out on New Year's eve and get
stupid. As in knee walking, toilet hugging drunk. And then try to
drive. No, thank you very much.

I worked at the Zone last night, stopped at Hardee's and got their Big
Bag meal - 2 double burgers, fries and medium soft drink - and went
right home. The carb load sent me right off to the land of nod and I didn't even hear the local idiot and his fireworks ticking anyone in ear-shot.

I'd not slept well (asthma issues) Monday night so was out before
midnight last night.

The municipal fireworks from the Old State Capitol (downtown) were
called off due to it being a rainy day - and night. So I didn't miss
much and
got a good night's sleep.

WF doesn't do anything and I need to avoid fireworks so we spent a quiet evening at home.

Had this made-up and sitting in the ice box. I'm expecting my oven's
timer to ding and tell me it's time for a proper breakfast - any
minute now ....

Title: Farmer's Breakfast Casserole
Categories: Potatoes, Cheese, Dairy, Ham, Eggs
Yield: 6 servings

That'll keep you going all day. (G)


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... Yesterday was the deadline for complaints.

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

I've never cared much for O.G. Too many authentic Italian restaurants available to choose from. And in almost any regional Italian you can imagine from Sicily to the Tyroleans. I go to Papa Frank's (Saputo)
for their baked spaghetti. Or Joe Gallina's for the Sisilian take on
pasta or pizza. Or Sam's (Salvatore) forthe best beef po'boys in the Midwest.

It's not our favorite (sold a while back, quality has dropped somewhat) but it was quick. Steve's mom's side of the family comes from the
Calabria (toe of the boot) region, as the original owner, so it was
home cooking for us. OG was a convenient after church choice; Steve had heard some folks talking about Italy so he wanted Italian food......OG worked. We both took home half of our entree, waiter gave us more breadsticks to go with it.

I've always thought Olive Garden was to Italian as McDonald's was to hamburgers. IOW - lopwestcommon denominator.

The whole Gallina family came to this area from Sisily about 30 years
ago. Joe has his place downtown, His brother Frank is in the near by
town of Riverton. Another brother ?Giovanni? has a place in Chatham.
And brother Vito, who had a very popular restaurant in a local
shopping center, packed his things and went home to Sicily - where Guiseppe (Joe) tells me he's making a fortune selling "American Style" pizza to Palermo.

Sadly, my favourite Italian place, Bianco's got "urban renewed" out of their location and Dominic took the money and retired. I used to go
there for supper and tell the wait staff, "Whatever Grandma's cooking"
for my dinner order. I was never disappointed.

Sigh! I don't cook as much Italian as I used to, trying to keep the
carb intake under control, but do like it done right (the way my MIL taught me).

I used to do the same thing in Detroit (back when I was a truck driving
man. Our Detroit teminal was a couple blocks off of Michigam Avenue so I
could walk up and get Little Caesar's (sandwiches - not (definitely not)
pizza, or the Warsaw Cafe. The owners mother ran the kitchen and made a
lot of "Old Country" dishes. It was a lot like Bianco's - whatever Mom's
making .....

8<----- CLIP ----->8

Looks good to me. We're not going anywhere for New Year's eve, just
going to have a quite night at home. That way I don't have to inhale
smoke from the fireworks.

I *NEVER* *EVER* go out on 'amateur night". Too many normally sober
folk who think it's their duty to go out on New Year's eve and get
stupid. As in knee walking, toilet hugging drunk. And then try to
drive. No, thank you very much.

I worked at the Zone last night, stopped at Hardee's and got their Big
Bag meal - 2 double burgers, fries and medium soft drink - and went
right home. The carb load sent me right off to the land of nod and I didn't even hear the local idiot and his fireworks ticking anyone in ear-shot.

I'd not slept well (asthma issues) Monday night so was out before
midnight last night.

The municipal fireworks from the Old State Capitol (downtown) were
called off due to it being a rainy day - and night. So I didn't miss
much and got a good night's sleep.

WF doesn't do anything and I need to avoid fireworks so we spent a
quiet evening at home.

According to my brother, who lives about a half-mile west of me the mad
bomber was busy as well as a "competitor". And then at 02:30 the mad
bomber started again, waking Phil from a sound sleep. He and his son who
lives cater-corner across the street frm him and a couple of their near neighbours have agreed to snoop around and figure out just which house
is home to the bomber and send ther "nabs" the next time he gets 'frisky'.

Had this made-up and sitting in the ice box. I'm expecting my oven's
timer to ding and tell me it's time for a proper breakfast - any
minute now ....

Title: Farmer's Breakfast Casserole
Categories: Potatoes, Cheese, Dairy, Ham, Eggs
Yield: 6 servings

That'll keep you going all day. (G)

As a mattra fact it did. With a cup of Chobani Fruit-on-the-Bottom
Cherry Yogurt mid-afternoon and a handful of peanit butter stuffed
pretzels in the evening.

You'll likely never mae these given your fondness for P-Nut butter.
Nor will I as long as Hy-Vee puts them on sale often enough to keep
my jones at bay. But, it's interesting to see how they are done.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Peanut Butter Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Categories: Breads, Snacks, Nuts
Yield: 100 Bites

MMMMM---------------------------DOUGH--------------------------------
1 1/2 c Warm water
1/4 c Unsalted butter; melted
3 tb Honey
2 1/4 ts Active dry yeast; 1 pkt
5 c A-P flour; divided
2 1/2 ts Salt

MMMMM--------------------BAKING SODA SOLUTION-------------------------
2 qt Water
1/2 c Baking soda

MMMMM---------------------FILLING & EGG WASH--------------------------
1 c Smooth peanut butter
1 lg Egg
+=BEATEN WITH=+
1 tb Cold water
Coarse sea salt

PREPARE THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine
the water, butter, honey and yeast, and mix with the
dough hook until combined. Let stand for 5 minutes, or
until slightly foamy.

Add 4 1/2 cups of flour and salt to the bowl, and mix on
low speed until the dough starts to come together.
Increase speed to medium and continue kneading until the
dough comes together into a ball and starts to pull away
from the sides of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. The
dough should feel slightly tacky and elastic - if it's
too wet or sticky, add more flour as needed, a tb at a
time. Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and
shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased mixing bowl,
turning over to coat all over with oil. Cover with a
clean dishtowel or plastic wrap and place in a warm,
draft-free spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1
hour.

SHAPE & FILL THE BITES: Set the oven @ 425oF/218oC.

Lightly grease two large baking sheets with oil or
cooking spray.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat
surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll
each one out into a 16" rope.

Using a sharp knife, score each rope down the middle to
create a trench, making sure not to cut all the way
through. Using a spoon, spread 2 tablespoons peanut
butter into the bottom of the trench.

Carefully fold the two halves back together, and firmly
pinch the seam shut. Using a sharp knife, cut the ropes
into 1" pieces, then pinch off the cut ends to seal in
the peanut butter.

COOK THE PRETZEL BITES: In a large pot, prepare the
baking soda solution by bringing the water to a boil
and adding the baking soda.

Drop pretzel bites into the baking soda solution,
working in batches of 10-15 bites at a time. Boil for
15-20 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and
transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towel to
drain.

Arrange the boiled pretzels on greased baking sheets.
Brush tops with egg wash, and sprinkle generously with
coarse salt.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden
brown, then allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet
before transferring to a serving dish. For best results,
serve the pretzel bites the same day they're made.

Yield: 100 pretzel bites

Posted by Isabelle Boucher

Recipe from: http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... My purpose in life? Why, I'm the bad example!
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

Hi Dave,

It's not our favorite (sold a while back, quality has dropped somewhat) but it was quick. Steve's mom's side of the family comes from the
Calabria (toe of the boot) region, as the original owner, so it was
home cooking for us. OG was a convenient after church choice; Steve had heard some folks talking about Italy so he wanted Italian food......OG worked. We both took home half of our entree, waiter gave us more breadsticks to go with it.

I've always thought Olive Garden was to Italian as McDonald's was to hamburgers. IOW - lopwestcommon denominator.

It's not quite that low but definatly not the Italian I've had other
places, like the one we went to up in NY in October. Veal and eggplant parm--just about covered the whole plate, with a hefty serving of
rigatoni on the side. I had some that night and enough left overs for a
couple more good sized meals.

Sadly, my favourite Italian place, Bianco's got "urban renewed" out of their location and Dominic took the money and retired. I used to go
there for supper and tell the wait staff, "Whatever Grandma's cooking"
for my dinner order. I was never disappointed.

Sigh! I don't cook as much Italian as I used to, trying to keep the
carb intake under control, but do like it done right (the way my MIL taught me).

I used to do the same thing in Detroit (back when I was a truck
driving man. Our Detroit teminal was a couple blocks off of Michigam Avenue so I could walk up and get Little Caesar's (sandwiches - not (definitely not) pizza, or the Warsaw Cafe. The owners mother ran the kitchen and made a lot of "Old Country" dishes. It was a lot like
Bianco's - whatever Mom's making .....

I don't have the heritage but can cook Italian just as good as my MIL.

8<----- CLIP ----->8

The municipal fireworks from the Old State Capitol (downtown) were
called off due to it being a rainy day - and night. So I didn't miss
much and got a good night's sleep.

WF doesn't do anything and I need to avoid fireworks so we spent a
quiet evening at home.

According to my brother, who lives about a half-mile west of me the
mad bomber was busy as well as a "competitor". And then at 02:30 the
mad
bomber started again, waking Phil from a sound sleep. He and his son
who lives cater-corner across the street frm him and a couple of their near neighbours have agreed to snoop around and figure out just which house
is home to the bomber and send ther "nabs" the next time he gets
'frisky'.

Sounds like it'll be interesting. (G)

Had this made-up and sitting in the ice box. I'm expecting my oven's
timer to ding and tell me it's time for a proper breakfast - any
minute now ....

Title: Farmer's Breakfast Casserole
Categories: Potatoes, Cheese, Dairy, Ham, Eggs
Yield: 6 servings

That'll keep you going all day. (G)

As a mattra fact it did. With a cup of Chobani Fruit-on-the-Bottom
Cherry Yogurt mid-afternoon and a handful of peanit butter stuffed pretzels in the evening.

You'll likely never mae these given your fondness for P-Nut butter.
Nor will I as long as Hy-Vee puts them on sale often enough to keep
my jones at bay. But, it's interesting to see how they are done.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Peanut Butter Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Categories: Breads, Snacks, Nuts
Yield: 100 Bites

No, Steve is more apt to just dip a pretzel stick into a jar of peanut
butter. (G)


---
Catch you later,
Ruth
rchaffly{at}earthlink{dot}net FIDO 1:396/45.28


... *Everyone is weird. Some of us are proud of it*

--- PPoint 3.01
* Origin: Sew! That's My Point (1:396/45.28)

Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

I miss the A&P. They, and Piggly-Wiggly were my first supers. Before
that it was Shuppman's, Novak's, or Joe Palai's grocery store. They
were all centered on their butcher department.

We had A&P, Victory Market and an independent grocery store in town at
one time. At some point the independent store folded--I think as the owners aged and more people went to the chain stores. Then the Victory folded, after sitting empty for a while, it was turned into a church
and school. A&P sold out to Fresh Town. I remember the 2 chain stores having their own butchers, don't remember about the independent one as
Mom stopped shopping there when the Victory came to town when I was
quite young.

Both, nay all, of the independent grocery stores I have *ever* patronised
have been owned/started by butchers. The two non-chain grocers we have
left folow that model. Dad runs the butcher shop and Mom/family take care
of the "front of the house". Humphrey's has been in their locationsince
it was founded in 1932 and is its 3rd generation of Humphreys at the helm. Magro's Meats, located in an old Eagle Supermarket store is a mega-butcher
with groceries, dry good, etc. more-or-less an afterthought. They began
in a nearby small town and were denied zoning to expand operations for the slaughtering and processing of "on the hoof" animals. So they moved to my
town where they are doing a good business. Bv)=

8<----- EDIT ----->8

Most often now we shop at Wegman's, for the convenience and quality. We will stop at Lidl sometimes; it's just up the road from Wegman's to
we're there for other, non food, stuff.

My regular non-meat/produce grocery orders I get from Hy-Vee. If you but
$25 or more in product they will pick and bag your order. Then you ull in
to the "pick-up" area, pop the trunk (or raise the hatch) and your bagged groceries are loaded and you're ready to go home and stow your plunder.

When my shift at the Zone is done at 11 o'clock I'm swinging by to get a
nice order of frozen and dry goods. All of the attendants in the pick up section know me and my car so they just automatically pull the tote with
my order and bring it out to the car.

ALDI (LIDL's cousin) is a regular stop for me for some things, mostly

We've got Aldi also; they were here before Lidl. We've been there for shopping, but not that frequent.

I'm not frequent, but regular. Especially when I'm jonesing for chocolate
to snack on. Their Moser-Roth is as good (in my estimation) as Ghirardelli
and less $$$$.

eggs, packaged bread and milk. I don't eat a lot of bread and their
L'Oven whole wheat/grain bread seems to have a much longer shelf life
than Brownberry or Pepperidge Farm, etc. We have a new(ish) market

We usually get our bread at Wegman's.

I don't do a lot of bread so l'Oven's long shelf life is a plus. When
the penicillin starts to grow I turn it into bird/squirrel food.

here named "Harvest Market" which is part of a local(ish) mini-chain
whose "schtick" is locally grown/processed/fresh meat and produce and packaged products. They have a nice in-store restaurant like Wegman's
or Hy-Vee which I have tried a couple times. I have yet to buy any groceries at that location.

Sounds like an interesting place to check out.

It is/was. But, it's about as far from me as it can be and still be
"in town". I've done some 'walk-about' when I've met folks there for
a lunch or similar occasion.

Then there are the ethnic markets. We have Indian, Chinese, S.E.
Asian, Italian-American Imports, etc. I buy my miso paste at one of
the Chinese markets. And some Indian specialities at Masala Mart.

Those are all down in Raleigh, don't think there are any in WF.

Probably not enough volume of business to sustain a presence.

8<----- AGAIN ----->8

We're not in an HOA either, nice for Steve putting up all kinds of antennas. Understand that the previous owners raised chickens, some
older Google Earth pictures show the chicken coops.

I've raised chickens - but, they're a lot of work if done right. And
whilst it would be nice to have he fresh eggs it's a lot easier to just
grab a dozen down the ALDI - once this bird-flu thing settles down and
prices go back where they should be. Bv)=

Not to mention, I don't have te facility, area, nor ambition to catch,
kill, pluck and clean my own chicken dinner at my advanced age. Lots
easier to let Mr. Perdue or Tyson handle that.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Grandma's Fried Chicken
Categories: Poultry, Eggs, Herbs
Yield: 5 Servings

MMMMM----------------------------RUB---------------------------------
4 ts Salt
2 ts Onion granules
1 1/2 ts Fine ground black pepper
1/2 tb Rubbed sage
1 ts Dried Thyme
1/2 ts Garlic granules

MMMMM--------------------------CHICKEN-------------------------------
2 (3 1/2 - 4 lb) fryers; cut
- up in 8 or 10 serving
- pieces each
2 c Flour; seasoned w/S&P
2 lg Eggs; well beaten
+=WITH=+
2 c Whole milk
3 c (or more) Crisco

In a small container, combine rub ingredients, mixing
well. Sprinkle the seasoning on chicken and rub it in.
Seal the chicken in a container and refrigerate over-
night, if possible.

Remove chicken from refrigerator at least 1 hour before
cooking.

Place seasoned flour in a pie pan and set aside. In a
wide, shallow bowl, beat eggs and milk and set aside.

In a large deep skillet, heat oil to 375ºF/190ºC.

Just before frying, dredge chicken in flour, shake off
excess. Immediately place chicken in egg mixture and
back into flour once again.

Place in hot oil in a single layer and fry until crisp
before turning. Turn only once.

NOTE: You can use a deep fryer to good effect here.
But, you won't get the gribbens and pan juices necessary
to make a good cream gravy for the mashed 'taters.

As remembered from watching/helping my Grandmother.

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... Any salad can be a Caesar salad if you stab it enough.
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)