More Ribs and Potato Salad

Wednesday 29 May

Despite our vegetal trend in the last couple of dinners, we couldn't keep our hands off the ribs from Monday that David gave us, reheated in the toaster oven at 350º for about 20 mins.

To accompany them in a completely American way, Holt made traditional mayonnaise potato salad.  He used cubed yukon golds, boiled with their skins on in salt water, drained and tossed with a little white balsamic, then piled on top of a stalk of finely chopped celery and some diced red onion.  When it cools a bit, mix in lots of mayo and a dollop of grain mustard, plus finely chopped mustard pickles.  The pickles appeared on the table as whole spears too.

And for drinks, beer is traditional: we had black and browns, or a mix of oatmeal stout and Warsteiner dunkel.

Broccoflower Salad with Tuna

Tuesday 28 May

After the weekend's ham, sausage, and rib bonanza, we've gone all vegetarian.  We had a broccoflower in the crisper, so we did this again. 

We did without the black olives this time, though it's nice to have them.  We think you could flesh this out with cannellini beans or pasta too.

Memorial Day Smoked Ribs and Corn

Monday 27 May

Our brother in law David got up at 6:30 A.M. to fire up his smoker for three giant racks of pork ribs, thus winning the prize for Most Beloved Parker In-Law yet again (as he does whenever he makes biscuits, or gives us venison to take home).   They were marinated, dusted, and mopped with secret ingredients that made them literally fall off the bone with succulence, and they (and a few ears of silver and gold corn) were all we needed for a midday Memorial Day screen-porch picnic.

Afterwards we had to head north again (with Dora meowling a little softer this time), our only comfort being a generous portion of ribs that David had tucked into our cooler for later.  And even after six hours, when we had crossed the river and were back in Cincinnati, all we needed that evening was a salad of garden lettuce (and olives and artichokes and zucchini).  Moral: ribs stick to your ribs.

SausageFest

Sunday 26 May

When we visit family out of town, we like to take along some Cincinnati specialties for them to try.  This time we brought enough Findlay-market-made sausages to build a raft out of: some from Kroger Brothers (Mediterranean chicken with Italian seasonings, marinated artichoke hearts, and black olives; BBQ chicken with black pepper; and smoked lamb and cherry); and some from Eckerlin's (yard sausage (a fresh Mettwurst) and Who Dey (with bell peppers, red onion, and finely cubed Colby, American, Provolone and Swiss cheeses), named for the Bengals' rap song and mascot, though it's not made with tiger.

Of course, there had to be some vegetable accompaniments: caramelized onions, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, and roast broccoli.

A vote of all participants acclaimed the Who Deys for best taste (and incidentally cheapest price) among the sausages, which is the reverse of the football team.

Amerigo's, Nashville

Saturday 25 May

No, this is not Amerigo's.  It's the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home, where we (including Harold and Laura) spent the first part of the day.  It was beautiful weather to take a carriage ride around the grounds, explore the gardens and house (Jackson's dining room was painted bright blue, where Washington's at Mount Vernon was bright green), and finally drive off to a late lunch at the real Amerigo's, right near Vanderbilt U.

It's a chain, but not a big one, and they evidently take good care of the food, which was quick and freshly made even though we were eating at 3 PM. 

We split an order of P.E.I. mussels with tomato, capers and lemon, which gave an extra oomph to the delicious garlic wine broth.  There were also grilled triangles of bread to dip.

Our other main was pasta: gemelli toppped with local goat cheese, with herbs and shavings of sun-dried tomato.  It was excellent, and both dishes went well with our wine choices (a Victor Hugo viognier from Paso Robles, and The Seeker Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough N.Z.).

And as predicted, Holt's calzones were reheated and made a fine supper to go with the chick-flick we watched that evening.

Crock Pot Ham and Green Beans

Friday 24 May

We were spending the long weekend with family in Smyrna (we've said it's pronounced SMEAR-na, but now we've also heard Suh-MUR-Nuh) Tennessee, so spent five and a half hours in the car driving south, with Dora in the back meowing for all she was worth.  Luckily that only lasted until the first rest stop, when she figured out she could roost in her traveling box with less anxiety.

Upon arrival we were greeted by JoDee and Laura with a bountiful dinner of crock-potted spiral ham simmered with green beans, and oven roasted potatoes. 

And later Harold brought home some red velvet cake and strawberry shortcake from his dinner with the president (no, not THE president, but a president nonetheless). 

We (and Dora, finally) were happy to be there.