“Little Turkey” Cedar Park, 2020
Gobble gobble! 🦃
Turkey Day
“Little Turkey” Cedar Park, 2020
Category: Food
“Little Turkey” Cedar Park, 2020
Bully Beef Sandwiches
“Bully Beef” Cedar Park, 2020
I decided to make some bully beef to take advantage of the abundance of delicious baguettes that Mariko baked. Bully beef is the name used in Jamaica for corned beef (canned) sandwiches, and we used to eat them when we were growing up since my Mom was born and raised in Jamaica.
There are a number of ingredients you can add to the corned beef, but I usually just mix it with mayo, then add some Pickapeppa. You can add onion, tomato, Scotch Bonnet, ketchup, etc. Just do a google search and you can find some good ideas! But for me, just the simple mayo and Pickapeppa was good for a spread to go on the baguette.
“Bully Beef Time” Cedar Park, 2020
Why not pick up a can of corned beef from the market and try for yourself? It might just become one of your favorites. 😀
Burger Night
“Burger Tower” Cedar Park, 2020
I got the request for burgers, and I was happy to oblige! Like last time, I fried up some bacon as well, but also grilled some onions and jalapeños for Koa and I. (Mariko prefers raw onions and peppers) We also had sliced avocado, so the cheeseburgers had a lot going on. The above photo is Mariko’s sky-high burger, and below is my creation, which turned out to be really messy and fun to eat.
“Deluse Burger” Cedar Park, 2020
Homemade buns were beautiful and delicious and made a huge difference! Over the years, I’ve tweaked my burger recipe and technique: I add salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and Japanese Worcestershire sauce to the 80/20 ground chuck, mixing with a fork.
The most important change I’ve made in cooking the burgers, is when I add the cheese. In the past, I used to add the cheese while the patties were still cooking on the grill. But now, I add the cheese later – when the patties are cooked, I transfer them into a warm casserole dish, add the cheese, and cover with foil while the burgers rest a few minutes. The cheese melts just the same, but the benefit is that the barbecue grill stays cleaner. I really don’t miss that smell of burning cheese the next time I fire up the grill!
🍔❤
Nabe Night
“Chicken/Udon Nabe” Cedar Park, 2020
The weather is too warm for mid-November but that’s not going to stop us from enjoying a cold-weather favorite: nabe (hot-pot)! Tonight’s had hakusai, Korean noodles (like udon, but not quite as thick), chicken, and mizuna. So light but flavorful and yummy!
Baguettes Galore
“Baguette Sandwich” Cedar Park, 2020
Mariko has been working on her baguette recipe, and while I don’t think she has found the baguette that she is 100% satisfied with, in my mind, these all are at least in the 85% area. Because of all the testing, we have a surplus of baguettes to eat… I tend to snack on baguette with butter throughout the day, but Koa has to have his sandwich for lunch, and the photo above shows what he likes: meat, cheese, pickles, and definitely NO mayo.
🥖❤
Taco (and Tequila) Tuesday
“Carne Asada Taco” Cedar Park, 2020
It was Taco Tuesday at the Fujimoto house! This time, we had carne asada from Trader Joe’s. It was yummy!
And before we feasted on tacos, we pre-gamed it with some Espolòn tequila. A combination for the ages. 😄
Elusive Ice-Cream
“Cherry Vanilla” Cedar Park, 2020
For several years I’ve been mentioning to my family how I used to always order Cherry Vanilla ice cream as a kid when we went to the Thrifty drug store. Since I have not been able to find it anywhere we have looked (and I do always check), they doubted that the flavor even existed and insisted that I must be making it up or imagining it. They even suggested that I should just have Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, which is NOT THE SAME THING! Cherry Vanilla is simply vanilla ice cream with Maraschino cherries added… perhaps too simple a thing for today’s world.
Well, at a recent trip to HEB with Koa, I spotted the holy grail… Cherry Vanilla ice cream! Frankly, I was a bit stunned. And when I showed Koa, he was also in disbelief. 😃 With a huge smile on my face, I quickly put a container in the cart, snapped a photo and sent it to Bay and Mariko. At long last, I felt as though I had been vindicated.
The ice-cream was exactly as I remembered: simple and delicious. The brand (Blue Bell) might be different, and it’s not the fanciest of flavors, but it brings back good memories of getting 10-cent scoops from Thrifty as a child, which is special. 🍦
But the story isn’t over yet because there is a second flavor of ice cream that I am still searching for: Lemon Chiffon. Someday…
