Iberico Pork And Brussels Sprouts/Sweet Potato Hash

My success with the Iberico Pork so far has been disappointing and the problem may be the cook but I am trying it again today.  The cut for today is Pressa Steak - "a highly prized, richly marbled cut of pork—most famously from the Spanish Ibérico pig—taken from the shoulder area right where it meets the lower neck or collar" and I used the suggestions from Campo Grande to decide how to cook it.  I forgot to take pics before I started working on it but it looked like this one from the web but mine had more fat.

Rao's Meatballs And New Grass Planting

A few weeks ago, Bev made a semi version of Rao’s meatballs and we enjoyed them so she decided to make a batch following the recipe with two ingredient changes as shown in the doubled recipe below.  She used the recipe from Food Network and made 52 two-ounce balls rather than the six ounces ones called for in the recipe.

Mexican For Friday Cards - Salsa and Fajita Skillet

I had been wanting to make a Mexican dish and a one pan dish with some make ahead potential seemed perfect.  But before the Mexican meal, we had the required chips and salsa as a pre card game appetizer.

Two Restaurant Disappointments And New Mower

Real Mexican For Lunch

I didn’t ask why, but Bev has decided she wants to make some tamales which required buying the needed ingredients.  The closest real deal Hispanic store that we know of is La Lupita Mexican Store And Restaurant in Maryville.  I’d been thinking about eating there so after shopping for a new riding lawn mower, we headed to La Lupita for lunch and supplies – masa, lard, corn husks.

My old Kubota mini tractor was having too many issues so I bought this mower.

 

My New Pan, Swordfish Puttanesca And New Family Additions

Since I’ve made this recipe before, I normally wouldn’t post it again but I wanted to show off my new pan.  We have two 12” skillets and a 12” saute pan but I occasionally wish I had a larger one so I bought a 15” cast iron pan.  I normally don’t like to use cast iron pans on the cooktop as they heat unevenly but I decided to get it anyway and for this meal, I gave it plenty of time to preheat to help with this issue.  I increased the recipe amounts by 50% for the six pieces of good looking swordfish that came frozen from Food City.

Home From Townsend For Cindy’s Special Birthday Meal For Us

I’d mentioned in an earlier post that Bev, Pat and I were all celebrating BD’s with our trip to Townsend and Cindy's friend, Ernie, also had a Sep BD so Cindy wanted to make a special meal for all of us when we got home from our short trip.

Cades Cove Loop Road And Peaceful Side Social

Cades Cove Loop Road

One of our desires for the Townsend trip was to drive around the Loop Road in Cades Cove and hopefully see some wildlife but since the girls didn’t want to get up early, we got there a little after 10am rather than my hoped for little after 8am – when the animals are more likely to be out and about.  When I first moved to TN, we could go around the loop and see 100 deer grazing among the cattle but the park no longer leases the bottom land to farmers for that purpose and the green pastures have been allowed to grow up into original habitat. 

As a result, the lush grass that the deer loved has been replaced with what I would call weeds and they are so tall, you likely couldn’t see a deer anyway.