Hot Rods 50’s Diner, A Little Humor, and a Fire

Bev had been wanting to go to Hot Rods and we had an errand to run in town so it made sense to combine the trips.  I borrowed these pics of the diner from the web. 

The Last Of The Delicious Brisket

Since most of the trees around here are oak, hickory, and poplar, we don't get much bright color but our burning bushes and providing us with some late fall beauty.

When I was growing up, my mom would get at least three meals from a Sunday pot roast and I’m having some similar results with my brisket.  You’ve seen my first two brisket meals (brisket and burnt ends), then my neighbors and Eliza’s dad each got a meals worth of it and then I got a couple more final meals.  Following the burnt ends and burnt ends hash, we had brisket sandwiches where the sliced brisket was reheated in the broth then I had mine open faced on a burger bun with each half topped with broth, then a slice of smoked gouda, the brisket, more broth, and pickled red onions - it was delicious.

Pesto, Pizza, Pasta, And Eliza BD

We had a couple of big basil plants at the end of the season so before they got frost bit, we opted to turn them into pesto just as we did last year.  After stripping the leaves from the plants, I packed them into large measuring cups and ended up with 12 cups.  Then I adjusted Ina Garten’s recipe for the other ingredients to match them. 

My First Try At Making Burnt Ends

One of the things I was looking forward to from the brisket cook was making burnt ends for the first time.  Normally they are made as soon as the brisket is done cooking but since that happened at 7:30pm, I was not inclined to make them for a 11pm meal, so I waited until the next day.

Delicious First Brisket On the RecTec Pellet Smoker

I’d had a Choice Angus brisket in the fridge for a little while and have been looking forward to cooking it on my nearly year-old RecTec Smoker and it was now time.  At 18 pounds, this thing must have come from an elephant steer and it is the biggest one I’ve ever cooked.  I used Chris Lilly’s recipe from the Kingsford University as found on the “Grill Girl” blog.  I followed the ingredients list but I amended the directions quite a bit - the original recipe can be by clicking on the above link. 

Ming Tree, Friend Green Tomato Sandwich, Bev & Her Boys, And Skunks

Ming Tree

Our Kia was due for it's annual service so we drove both cars to town, dropped off the Kia at the dealership, and went to lunch at the Ming Tree Chinese Restaurant in Alcoa. 

Savory Reuben Bake And Our Little Garden

When Bev came home from Sam’s Club recently with a corned beef brisket flat, I went to my saved recipes to see if I could find something different to do with it and I discovered the recipe for Savory Reuben Bake on the “Mia Recipes” blog.  I cooked the corned beef in a crockpot with potatoes and carrots the previous day then used the remaining for the Savory Reuben Bake.