I had one banana in the fruit bowl which had seen its better days. It was more black than yellow. Nancy will have no part of a banana just beginning to turn, much less a black one, but I remember my Daddy loving overripe bananas, especially in Banana Pudding. I like ripe bananas, too, because the blacker they turn, the sweeter they get. That one banana, though, inspired me to cook something with … [Read more...]

As one advances in years (gets old), one loses the flexibility of youth. This is particularly true if one has a protrusion on his stomach (a gut) that interferes with things like bending down to pick up a newspaper in the driveway. The once easy task of putting on socks in the morning becomes the equivalent of a Richard Simmons cardio workout. It seems that as we advance in age (get old) either … [Read more...]

x Nancy and I are big Chicken Wing fans. They’re easy to fix, they are healthy when oven baked and if there are leftovers, they go quickly for the next day’s lunch. The only problem with wings is they are relatively expensive. Pound for pound, they’re more expensive than any part of the chicken. Not long ago, Food Lion had a sale on Chicken Wings. They had a large bag of whole wings for $10. … [Read more...]

I saw a recipe recently that looked good – Blueberry Oatmeal Bars. I love blueberries. I love oatmeal. They are both extremely healthy. Why not some bars for breakfast, dessert or snacks? I gave the recipe a shot and it’s a keeper. Here’s how. First, make the crust and crumble topping. Melt one stick of butter in the microwave. Add 1 C flour, 3/4 C Old Fashioned Oats (not quick oats), ½ C … [Read more...]

Oven bags are possibly the most overlooked kitchen tools of all. Sometimes we remember them when we get a turkey, but usually the bags are stuffed to the rear of the drawers and go unwanted. This week, I was going to cook a hen with stuffing and found myself out of all sizes of oven bags. A quick trip to food Lion corrected that faux pas. I generally go to my oven bags only with chicken or … [Read more...]

The corn’s a’coming. Fresh corn on the cob. Tis the season for sure. There are dozens and dozens of ways to cook corn on the cob, and I’ve never tried a recipe that wasn’t good. Baked, boiled, steamed, grilled? Fresh, sweet corn on the cob? How can you go wrong? But recently I saw a recipe from Spicey Southern Kitchen that is likely to go to the front of the line in my recipe cards. It’s … [Read more...]

I have never had much luck with briskets. I have cooked them on the grill, I have smoked them, I have slow cooked them in the oven and the best I ever produced was just edible. My briskets often turned out dry and tough. I see those barbeque shows on TV, salivate over the delicious-looking briskets, but for me, no luck – until I decided to put the brisket in my slow cooker. And it turned out … [Read more...]

Not long ago I was trying to come up with a different appetizer to serve guests. I remembered ordering ribs as appetizers at nicer Chinese Restaurants, so I picked up a rack of ribs, sliced them into individual portions, cooked them at a low temperature for a several hours and they were a huge hit. Everybody loved them. Since then, I have been cooking all my ribs that way. I pull off the membrane, … [Read more...]

Okay, guys. Don’t let your wives see this article. They think we are a bunch of dumb bunnies and can’t cook our way out of a Kroger’s grocery bag. We’ll show ‘em. Ladies often go into the kitchen to make special stuff – jellies, cookies, cakes, candy and the like. They take out every possible pot and pan along with every spice in the rack to create their concoctions. We, of course, are thankful … [Read more...]

I fixed a Gallete de Poulet Marsala this week and it was excellent. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? Actually, Gallete de Poulet is a rough French translation for a Chicken Patties which I made and served with a creamy Marsala sauce. Ground chicken, by itself, is not very sexy sounding, nor is the final product – “Oh, we’re having chicken patties tonight.” But ground chicken patties are … [Read more...]