Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-
Clancy has become too formulaic for my taste. Book Bub offered me a
deeply discounted Fletcher Knebel that I had not read - so I glommed
onto it. Nebel, who died in '93 wrote 7 Days In May, The Candidate,
etc. and many of his works became Hollywoods.
I've heard of, but not read the books nor seen the movies. IIRC they're
a spy genre? Clancy passed away in 2013; his books are being written by othes now under "...........A Tom Clancy book". Now most of them
feature Jack Jr or, if not him, some other member of the Campus group
he works for. Most of them are mediocre but once in a while, one will
be pretty good. "Fun" part is figuring out which book it will be. (G)
That 'splains Clanky becomig formulaic. It's a franchise now. Bv)=
Knebel wrote some spy/espionage stuff. And a lot of poli-ticks/political intrigue. And apparently, from some of the howls from those whose ox was
gored, knew where the bodies were buried. Bv)= He was one of those
authors who got you immersed in the story within a few pages. My sort
of writer. I'm currently reading "Not This Way" by Blake Pierce - it's
a sort-of cops 'n bad guys yarn starring a Native American Texas Ranger.
I'm quite enjoying the way it moves right along, never dawdling over the
little stuff.
8<----- XXXXX ----->8
Here's a copykat from a joint you like ...
Title: Copycat Chick Fil A Sauce
Categories: Sauces, Condiments
Yield: 6 servings
Actually, I like my CFA fairly plain. If I'm getting a sandwich, I'll
just get a packet of mayo for it; if I'm getting strips, I'll ask for a side of pickles and also get some mayo. Basic but good; I'm not big
into ketchup or bbq sauce.
I'm not either. Popeyes offers all manner of goopy sauces for/on its chicken wings. Since I generally order on their app I was beginning to think I was going to have to pull a gun on someone to get "original"
spicy wings with no pre-applied sauce. But eventually my (and no doubt other) complaints in "feedback" got listed to/read and now "original spicy" (or mild) is the first selection.
I'd probably go for the original, mild if I were to get any sort of
sauce but I usually like the chicken without any sort of sauce. The variety of sauces they're getting is soon going to rival Zaxby's which
is more of a southern chain, tho they do have an outlet in Salt Lake
City. Saw that on a map of their outlets when we were there a couple of weeks ago.
We just recently got a Raising Cane's on the out lot of a strip mall in
front of our Barnes & Nobel - which is the only "new" book outlet in my
home town. I have yet to try them.
My nearest Popeyes is about a mile from my house. How does Cook Out do their sandwich? Baked? Boiled? Broiled?
They're char grilled, with no coating. I've tasted a faint charcoal
flavor on them.
Charcoal? Or smoke? If they're a commercial thing and reasonably busy
I'd be willing to bet that their char-grill is gas or 'lectic for the
heat with the smoke/charcoal flavouring added by some sort of smoke
generator.
Certainly CF is popular. The local store is on a "out lot" for the
local maul. The out lots also have a Texas Roadhouse and Mission BBQ.
But CF isthe one with 2drive-up lanes *alway* so full of hungey diners that the lines back up well into the street. And my mental voice says
"No way we'll wait that long" Bv)= Fast food my patootie.
Go inside; you'll get served quicker. With the antennas on the truck,
we can't go thru the drive up lanes, nor can we when towing the camper. So, it's always inside to order, sometimes eat in, sometimes take home
and sometimes eat in the camper. But yes, the drive up lines at CFA are always busy. WF got a 2nd store a few years ago; now both of them stay busy.
I used to do that when I was a regular at Mickey D's. Pull up right outside the entry door, go in, get my grub and be on my way home or to work before the car that was at the speaker had advanced to the pay-up window.
With the camper we either try to avoid the super busy times or, if the
CFA place is an out property in a mall, park in the mall lot and walk over. With the R-Pod, we could park in a double space, have to find something a bit bigger now that we have the Grey Wolf and F-150. Not
quite as convenient as just pull up to the entry door, go in, grab your order and head back out but we're pulling our (temporary) home with us. (G)
I've only done a cramper trip once. Borrowed my brother's pickup truck
and little trailer and set off for Denver with my GF to visit her aunt
and uncle. Decided that was not my cuppa tea. If I do something like that
again I'll drive my car and get a motel room. Ot take the Amtrak and rent
a ride at my destination.
Popeyes is currently offering a 3-piece for U$5. Leg, thigh and
wing is my usual selection. And with a side of coleslaw or mash &
gravy it's a nice evening meal.
If it's convenient to you, go for it. I'd probably eat the wing and
leg, save the thigh for another time, or vice versa, or try to get a breast as one of my choices. But yes, cole slaw on the side.
They also offer three for U$5 chicken tenders.
It's a rather strange selection. You can get dark meat - leg and thigh with the wing making the 3rd piece. Or white meat - breast and two
wings. Tuesdays they still do the "Tuesday Special". Sometimes I'll
get four of those and do the drumsticks for supper, than do the thighs
- two at atime, for two more suppers. Bv)=
That works. We went to a new to us place yesterday for lunch, The Curry House. The tandoori chicken was good, but hot (tomato/cream sauce tamed it) and Steve said that in his lamb dish, the meat was tougher than expected, also hot. We ended up taking some home (supper tonight) with
an extra order of garlic naan and the sauce, plus some basmati rice.
We'll probably go back so we can try some of the other dishes.
That sounds like our local Flavour of India. Their typical lunch buffet has lamb biryani, tandoori chicken, vegetable pakora, curry, etc. And, of course that killer mango I scream.
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Lamb Biryani
Categories: Lamb/mutton, Vegetables, Chilies, Dairy, Herbs
Yield: 8 Servings
4 Serrano chilies; stemmed
8 cl Garlic; peeled
1 (4") pc fresh ginger, peeled
2 md Yellow onions; peeled,
- quartered
2 Roma tomatoes; quartered
1 c Full-fat yogurt
1 c Fresh mint leaves
1 c Fresh cilantro leaves
1 tb Ground coriander
1 tb Ground cumin
1 ts Kashmiri chile powder; more
- as needed
1/2 ts Ground turmeric
1 1/2 ts Salt; more as needed
3 lb Lamb chops (or lamb shoulder
- pieces)
3 (1/2")Indian cinnamon sticks
+=OR=+
1 lg Cinnamon stick
12 Whole black peppercorns
6 Cloves
6 Green cardamom pods
1 tb Garam masala
MMMMM------------------------FRIED ONIONS-----------------------------
1 c Neutral oil
2 Yellow onions; thin sliced
1/2 ts Salt
MMMMM----------------------------RICE---------------------------------
Salt
3 c Basmati rice
MMMMM--------------------------ASSEMBLY-------------------------------
6 tb Whole milk
1/2 ts Saffron threads
2 c Mixed fresh cilantro & mint
- leaves
6 tb Unsalted butter; sliced
PREPARE THE LAMB MARINADE: Add the finger chiles, garlic
and ginger to a food processor and process until finely
chopped. Add the onions and tomatoes, process until
smooth, and scrape into a bowl that will hold all the
lamb and fit in your fridge. Add the yogurt, mint,
cilantro, coriander, cumin, chile powder, turmeric and
salt, and stir to combine. Add the lamb to the bowl and
toss to coat in the marinade, then cover and refrigerate
overnight.
PREPARE THE FRIED ONIONS: In a Dutch oven or heavy pot,
heat the oil over medium. Add the onions, season with
salt, and saute until browned, stirring occasionally, 25
to 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fried
onions to a paper towel-lined plate. Using your hands,
pull apart the fried onions to separate to prevent them
from sticking together, and set aside.
Add the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom to
the remaining hot oil, and fry over medium until
fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the meat, its marinade
and 1 cup water, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender
and the sauce is very thick and dark, about 2 1/2 hours,
adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a low simmer.
Stir in the garam masala and taste, adjusting with salt
and chile powder as needed. Set aside.
Set the oven @ 350oF/175oC.
PREPARE THE RICE: Bring a large pot of lightly salted
water to a boil and add the rice. Stir well and cook for
3 minutes, transfer to a colander in the sink to drain.
Run some cool water on top to cool the rice; set aside.
PREPARE THE SAFFRON MILK FOR ASSEMBLY: Warm the milk in
a small saucepan over medium heat just until it steams.
Remove from heat and add the saffron, crumbling it with
your fingertips as you drop it into the milk. Set aside.
In a large, heavy, lidded pot, add about a third of the
meat mixture in an even layer covering the bottom of the
pot. Sprinkle the meat with a third of the herbs and a
third of the rice, assembling lightly without packing
the layers. Drizzle 2 tablespoons saffron milk over the
rice and add about a third of the fried onions. Build
two more layers of meat, herbs, rice, saffron milk and
onions. Top with pats of butter and cover the pot with
foil.
Put the lid on the pot of rice, transfer to the oven and
bake until piping hot, about 1 hour. Let rest for about
10 minutes, then serve hot, digging all the way to the
bottom of the pot with the serving spoon. To reheat,
warm the biryani covered in the oven, or microwave.
By: Tejal Rao
RECIPE FROM:
https://cooking.nytimes.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
... The trouble with making mental notes is that the ink fades so fast!
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