Of Cribbage and Life

So often in life, a sequence of events that we may (or may not) have personal control over can affect us in many different ways.  We may have an accident, be injured, and can't work for several weeks.  We can save money every paycheck until we have enough for a Las Vegas vacation ... win a bunch on the slot machines ... and then lose it all on the roulette wheel.  Cribbage can be the same way. 

Some of my early childhood memories involve watching my New Hampshire grandparents Jennie and Clarence Robinson playing cribbage at their kitchen table on Cascade Hill. The cribbage board was always sitting on her table along with a deck of cards.  When they spent their summers at the camp on Maidstone Lake, in Vermont that old cribbage board was right there with them.

Nana and Gramps played cribbage every day, sometimes several games a day after Gramps retired from the paper mill.  If one played particularly well, the other would sometimes get a little angry if there was a little too much bragging taking place at the table!  On occasion, they would stop talking to each other all together, pegging and scoring in silence until the guilty party apologized!

For those who may not know, cribbage is a card game that dates back to the 1600s and was invented by the English poet Sir John Suckling.  It is a game for two, three, or four players with a distinctive method of scoring points and keeping score using a wooden board with holes drilled in it.  Wooden pegs are used to mark each player's position on the board.  The first player to score 121 points wins the game.

The game is played using four phases per hand: dealing, pegging, scoring, and the crib.  After dealing six cards per player, each  player takes two cards from his hand and places them face-down to make the crib.  During the pegging phase, each player takes turns laying down a card from his hand and declaring the running total of the cards laid down.  Points are "pegged" whenever the total hits an exact number such as 15 or 31.  If a pair of cards or three consecutively numbered cards are played in succession points are also pegged.  Experienced cribbage players will try to save certain cards in their hand to facilitate aggressive pegging.

Once all the cards have been played, the players score their hand and then peg the number of points counted.  Finally, the crib is scored by whoever dealt the hand.  The deck is passed to the other player who deals the next hand.

My Nana was one of those aggressive serious-as-a-heart-attack cribbage players, who rarely failed to peg points on every hand.  Just like in life, it comes down to how well you do the little things that can make a tremendous difference in the final outcome!

Mindy and I were playing cribbage the other day.  We pegged fairly evenly until the second half of the game when I pulled ahead.  She scored a couple of nice hands and caught up to me.  I was two points away from the win - I had the red pegs and Mindy had the green.  She dealt the hand, so I would be counting points first unless I "pegged out" before the hand was finished!  With a 6-7-8-J hand I was guaranteed a minimum five points at the count.  Of course, it would be rude and un-sportsmanlike to declare victory at that point!

Mindy needed 11 points to win.  She said something to the effect that she was "guaranteed to lose" and "why bother playing the hand".  I reminded her of my Nana and how she would have reacted if she were in that position.  Nana was a tea-totaling Methodist who rarely drank ... but this would have been one of those "here ... hold my beer and watch me do this" moments for sure!

I led with the seven of spades.  Mindy followed with the seven of clubs (14) for two points.

I then played the Eight of Hearts (22) and she played the Six of Hearts (28) for three points.  She also pegged one point for the "go" at 28.  She pegged six of the 11 that she needed ... but I wasn't worried!

I led the Jack and she countered with the Eight of Clubs (18).  I played my final card, the Six of Spades to bring us to a 24 count.  The look on her face made me realize that I had been "had" ...

She finished with the Seven of Hearts (31) pegging three for her second 6-7-8 run of the hand and two more for the 31!  Mindy pegged 11 points while I was shut out!  Needless to say she was quite proud of herself.  

Me, I handled the loss just as my Grandfather would have ... I kept my mouth shut!

Repairs and Upgrades to the Family Lake Cottage

It is fairly certain that anything that was first built in 1948 will need some work and repair after awhile. And so it is with the cottage on Maidstone Lake that my Grandfather and my Uncles built as a fishing camp back in '48. The original (and very rustic) camp evolved over the years into a finished and comfortable cottage. So far, five generations of Clarence and Jennie Robinson's well-extended family have enjoyed the Maidstone experience at Lot 108!

Over the years, the original underpinning of the camp has given way to rot, decay, and soil erosion. The rear sill (road side) sank into the ground to the point where the first floor joist was held up by a large rock, preventing the complete collapse of the rear wall! The attached shed (which also houses the bathroom and laundry facility) had also pulled away from the main building. Several additions to the shed along with many built-upon concrete pours created a situation whereby the shed's entire support system had completely failed as well.

Although it looks fairly good in this 2019 picture of the rear entry, this entire section of the camp was about ready to collapse totally! The sill under the living room window was completely rotted, and the cement floor just inside the entry door had failed and was no longer supporting that inside corner! Old memories and the Grace of God was the only thing holding this area up!

We have also noted over the past five years or so, a major sag in the main camp floor, which caused a real "uphill battle" to get from the kitchen, through the living room, and up to the front porch!

Uncle Barney said we needed to "jack the camp up" and fix the problems. I started looking for someone who had the knowledge and experience ... and found a contractor whom I knew and trusted. The only problem was, at that time he was booked out for over two years!

Well, we finally got started last month., May of 2021. We began by opening up the floor in the living room to access the underpinning below. Years ago, the camp was high enough for skinnier versions of Uncles and Cousins to crawl under the camp, jack it up, and repair the supports. We found several failed supports, and a lot of muddy, swampy ground below! Gravel was hauled in by hand and tamped into the soggy ground. Pressure Treated 4x4 beams were used to support the floor joists between the main center beam and the gable sills.

Bunks were constructed from pressure-treated 6x6 timbers to support the new beams as well as the original center beam. Over 26 tons of gravel was used to build up the ground under the camp!

A similar opening was made in the kitchen into Nana's bedroom to support that side, in the same manner as the living room. The boathouse floor was also opened to allow for the placement of gravel and bunks along the "Sullivan" side of the camp.

The sill on the back side from the driveway to behind the stove was also replaced using pressure treated beams.

By this time, the main camp had been raised enough so that some of the sill from the corner to the driveway side living room window could also be replaced. But, we discovered yet another major problem!

This photo to the left shows where the old chimney was located, along with the inside view of the corner between the shed and the rear wall shown in the picture above. See the daylight? Yep, that's a real support problem! Since that entire entry-side wall was resting on failed concrete (the result of adding on to the shed and building over sidewalks) we needed to replace the entire entry wall from the main camp to the road-side corner!

So, here it is ... the wall is gone and the remaining concrete is about to be removed. A new door and window will be incorporated into the new wall.

I will keep you all up to date and follow up with more pictures as we progress.

We are planning on having the "Pennsylvania Robinsons" (Kenny, Nancy, Kenn, and AJ) at camp from July 9th to the 11th! Work will be mostly completed by then, and the place will be ready to rock and roll!

Peace!

Vintage Cast Iron cooking along with modern Calphalon non-stuck pans for a combined meal!

 My followers know that I love cooking with vintage cast-iron cookware ... some of which came from my maternal grandmother's collection, along with other pieces I have found and restored in antique shops along the way.  I am also fond of modern-day Calphalon non-stick pieces ... each and every piece of cookware in our kitchen has its purpose and place!

Today, Mindy and I shopped at Winn-Dixie and picked up four pounds of 80% hamburger for $2.99 a pound.  Needless to say, a good old-fashioned Salisbury Steak dinner was in order ... along with plans for Enchiladas, Chili, and who-knows-what with the remaining three pounds of hamburger over the next two weeks!

So, for tonight's supper, I started with a coarsely chopped onion sautéing in a cast iron skillet.  I used my recently-acquired and restored vintage Lodge 5SK for the veg getting a very nice caramelization on the onions.  I added some chopped white mushrooms, along with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary.  I made two half-pound Salisbury steak patties seasoned simply with salt and pepper.

I planned on cooking the formed and seasoned ground beef in my Birmingham Stove and Range #8 cast iron skillet that I picked up a few years ago here in Florida.  To complete the meal, we had some fried cabbage left over from our Wednesday night's supper.  (It was great the first time ... why not again)?

Clockwise from upper left ... leftover cabbage in Calphalon, a tea kettle for later, mushrooms, onions, and rosemary in my three-notch Lodge 5SK, cut russet potatoes boiling for mash, and Mindy's Salisbury Steak browning nicely in my BSR #8.  (My steak will fire shortly, since I like mine "medium".

We see Mindy's steak getting a nice sear ... and mine is not overcooking!  Both of them in the BSR!

I added a little flour to the onions and mushrooms to make a roux.  Nothing stuck in this little beauty!  I added some beef broth, a little Worcestershire sauce, and a touch of Gravy Master to complete the groovy gravy!

And here is the finished and plated product:

There is certainly a place in every kitchen for both vintage (cast iron) and modern (non-stick) cookware!

A great meal, fun to cook, and a joy to share with my bride!

Peace!

 

My Nana's Vintage Wagner Skillet vs A 1960s Lodge Skillet - Cast Iron Wars!

Three years ago I "rescued" an eight-inch (approximately) cast iron skillet from my grandmother Robinson's collection.  It was at the family's lake cabin in Vermont, stored under the kitchen cupboards, and starting to rust, just like Nana's Cast Iron Dutch Oven.  It quickly became one of my favorite pieces ... the perfect size to sauté onions, mushrooms, peppers, or any combination thereof!  A single steak or burger fits perfectly in the skillet ... and it is one of my most "nonstick" pieces of cast iron cookware. 

It is an unmarked (unbranded) piece manufactured by Wagner sometime shortly after 1960, based on the "Made in USA" verbiage on the bottom.  It has the typical Wagner physical characteristics ... a smooth interior along with a triangular shaped flat spot underneath the handle where it attaches to the body of the skillet.  Also, notice the number 5 on the handle, another common Wagner characteristic.

Earlier this month, I picked up a piece that I first saw at a local antique shop about a year ago and passed it up.  It was dirty and sort of rusty looking, and I wasn't sure if it was worth its asking price of $12.50.  Kind of "cruddy" and unloved, it spoke to me again this year when I was browsing the same shop, looking for good buys on cast iron.  There it was in all its glory ... a post-1960 three-notch Lodge 5 SK skillet!

Well, a little bit of clean up work and re-seasoning left it looking so much better!  It was not as hard to clean up as I thought it would be!  I felt very lucky to have passed it up a year ago and it was still there for me to love this year!  It was destined to be mine!

It has the typical Lodge "rough" interior and hefty feel.  After using it for some light sauté work, I wondered how it would compare with my trusty Wagner for some serious cooking ... so I decided to put it to the test!

A steak cook-off starring one of the tastiest pieces of beef ever known to mankind ...

... Rib Eye Steak!  Lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, it is well noted for being flavorful, tender, and predictably easy to cook to your favorite level of doneness.  A simple probe with a meat thermometer and you can't go wrong!

I put on the skillets, added a little oil, and fired Mindy's steak first in the Lodge.  She likes her steak medium-well to well-done, so it went first.  

I wondered if the extra weight of the Lodge might overcook the steak ... well, she wouldn't notice, would she?  After all, she likes hers well-done!

Mindy's steak is coming along quite nicely, after being turned over.  I'm drooling already!

I fired my steak at the appropriate time to produce a medium temp along with a nice looking sear, but it was not as nice looking as Mindy's steak in the Lodge on the right, due to its shorter cooking time.

My steak, along with a stuffed portabella mushroom.  Nicely medium, with a juicy texture and lots of flavor.  Looks and tastes great!

Mindy's Steak: (with a little added butter on top!)  

Notice that even with the darker sear, she still has yummy steak juices on her plate!  Looks like the Lodge may have outperformed the Wagner!

So what was the final result?  Well, they were both good, but the Lodge did edge out the Wagner in presentation and taste!

Mindy's steak, cooked in the Lodge, had a deeper sear.  She said it was a little under-done (admittedly cooked slightly to the medium side of medium-well) but was still acceptable to her.  The taste was top-notch, with the surface sear adding a great Maillard-effect yumminess that made her day! 

The Wagner produced a perfectly medium outcome.  Nothing came close to sticking ... and it was its usual "easy cook" Wagner experience.  But, the sear did not compare to Mindy's steak cooked in the Lodge.  At the first turn of her steak I could see a good outcome in the works!

Both skillets cleaned up with equal ease.  Hot water, with a soft scour sponge to loosen the few "sticky bits" on both skillets and they just needed a quick wipe with a 100% cotton dish towel to look good as new.

So, the Wagner has asked for a rematch ... I will perform the same test but next time, I'll cook Mindy's steak in the Wagner (where its longer cook time should still produce an acceptable sear) and cook mine in the Lodge.  My expectation is that the Lodge will produce a great sear in a shorter cook time on a medium steak, while the Wagner will nicely sear a medium well steak without drying it out to the point of well-doneness-steak-hell!  We should experience the best of both worlds!

Stay tuned for the rematch ... sort of like Ali and Frazier, only different!

Butter, Rice, Pancakes, Syrup, and the End of Icons

Reading recent news articles earlier this year has left me astounded, confused, and sad.  I learned that some of my favorite people, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Mrs. Buttersworth are soon to be no more.

Icons of my life are being "cancelled" and "removed" from my consciousness due to some perceived racial and cultural hatred.  I say "perceived" because I myself don't hate anyone ... regardless of race (the people you come from) or creed (the things you believe in) or national origin (what country you come from) or political affiliation (the party you belong to.)  According to some, removing these items from our collective consciousness will somehow cause us to be "woke" and will atone for all the past social injustices we are irrationally being held responsible for.

Earlier this year, I read an article that indicated that Land O' Lakes (the butter company) was removing the female Native American image (I can't say "picture of Indian maiden", can I?) from my familiar package of butter ...

Almost 100 years ago (1921) over 300 dairy farmers started a creamery company in St. Paul, Minnesota, known as the Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association.

Although marketing in those days was not as complex as it is today, with radio in its infancy and television not yet invented, printed ads and package graphics was about all that was available to advertise and market products with.  It didn't take a real marketing genius to decide that "Minnesota Cooperative Creameries Association" was never going to be a best-selling brand name!

The MCCA put their collective heads together, and decided that some sort of regional-themed brand name was in order.  With Minnesota known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (well that won't fit on the box, will it?) they finally settled on "Land O' Lakes" and the rest is history.  In keeping with their Minnesota branding, they also featured other aspects of that fair land, such as clean blue water, lush green grass, beautiful pine trees, and a horizon filled with golden sun.  Oh, by the way, there was this Indian maiden featured as well.  Her name is Mia, and she was stylized as the stereotypical Native maiden.

Hit the brakes!  Stop the presses!  Didn't anybody ever tell you that the native peoples of North America historically did not consume dairy products?  Don't you know that people of that genetic background are very lactose intolerant?  Why would Mia give me something to eat that she herself would never consider eatable?

I've got to hand it to Land O' Lakes ... they came to the realization earlier this year that their association of Native American imagery and dairy products didn't quite add up.  I might note that there was nobody protesting about or failing to purchase their product when they made this decision.  They just up and decided that Mia on the package didn't fit their future branding strategies.  Good for them!  I can't disagree ... after all, it is their company, and their brand!  And, by the way, I will continue to purchase their fine, rich, golden, buttery-tasting product!

I can honestly say that purchasing a pound of butter with Mia's likeness on it never caused me to feel superior to or hate Native Americans.  Likewise, using Aunt Jemima pancake products or cooking Uncle Ben's rice never invoked feelings of white supremacy within my soul.  I like Cream of Wheat, too, and the picture of Rastus on the box had no influence on my enjoyment of the product one way or the other.

If you look back at earlier packaging for these products, or at their early advertising images, the characterizations and presentations of these icons was undeniably racist.  While unacceptable today, it was de rigueur in those times.  We have no right (or reason) to judge past people long since dead by modern-day standards!

Very few Americans alive today ever bought Aunt Jemima pancake mix with Aunt Jemima depicted as a "mammy" stereotype, or Cream of Wheat with Rastus as an illiterate "step-and-fetch-it" stereotype.

As our American culture changed, these marketing icons kept pace with changing social sensibilities.  Uncle Ben's image evolved over the years into that of a well-to-do older black man.  Aunt Jemima is an attractive woman and no longer a plump, gap-toothed smiling "mammy". Rastus for years has been depicted as a chef and not a laborer.

So what gives with Mrs. Buttersworth?  Are British-American citizens protesting over her image as a plump white grandmother?  (The bottle is brown to keep light out ... Mrs. Buttersworth is undeniably white!)

As innocent images of our youth fall under the wrecking ball of political correctness and becoming woke ... let's close our eyes and remember the song from the syrup advertisements of a bygone era ...

... Aunt Jemima waffles ... without her syrup
... Is like the spring ... without the fall

... There's only one thing worse ... in this whole universe

... And that's no Aunt Jemima at all! 

Rest in peace, icons.  Rest in peace!

Another Use For Leftover Chicken!

During our COVID-19 pandemic lockdown many of us have turned to food as a source of comfort during these difficult times.  Mindy and I are both experiencing work cutbacks ... the northern New Hampshire weather has been disagreeable (even for May) and we are beginning to feel the effects of "cabin fever!"  So, as I have been doing quite often lately, I decided to cook something entirely different for supper.

I also like the challenge of turning leftover items into something that looks and tastes like it was never a leftover.

While I was in the middle of cooking, Mindy came into the kitchen with her phone to her ear, in deep conversation with my mother-in-law.  "Mom," she said, "I wish you could smell this through the phone!  This is going to be deeeeeelicious!"  It was.

This is so different I don't think you will find a recipe anywhere but here.  Introducing Pollo Latino de Brad (Brad's Latin-style Chicken.)

Ingredients:

• 3 Pre-cooked boneless chicken breasts
• Light Olive Oil or other mild vegetable oil.  (Don't use EVOO!)
• 1 medium yellow onion, slivered
• diced sweet peppers (I prepare a mixture of green, yellow, and red peppers)
• 1 pkg Vigo Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo)
• Badia Sazon Completa
• Goya (or Badia) Adobo seasoning
• 1 can Goya Gandules Verdes (Pigeon Peas)
• Lime juice
• Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper

Prepare Vigo Yellow Rice according to package directions.  It takes about 20 minutes to cook.  Empty the can of gandules into a small saucepan along with liquid and warm gently.  Do not boil the gandules!

In a 10" skillet heat about 3 Tbsp oil and add onions and peppers.  

 Saute over medium heat until vegetables start to carmelize.

Keep the veg moving around in the skillet.  We want flavor and color to develop, without burning!  Add a little more oil if needed.

For the chicken, I used three leftover lemon pepper breasts that I cooked on the grill for Mindy's Mother's Day dinner.  Any cooked, skinned, and deboned chicken meat can be used, however.

I sliced the chicken into medallions.  If using leg or thigh meat, simply cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add chicken to skillet mixture.  Reduce heat to medium and arrange chicken so the medallions are touching the surface of the skillet.  Allow them to gently brown, turning as needed.

Season to taste with Sazon, Adobo,  and pepper.  I used about 2 Tbsp Sazon, 1 Tbsp Adobo, 1 tsp pepper.

Sazon has become one of my go-to seasonings over the years.  It is a blend of salt, cumin, and other seasonings that define the flavor of Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban cuisine.  Adobo is another latino seasoning, consisting of salt, garlic, pepper, and ground oregano.  Be careful of the salt content and season lightly at first.  You can always add more later!

Now that your kitchen is filled with the aroma of Latino soul food ... the rice is about ready and the gandules are warmed thoroughly ... add the ingredient that makes the flavor explode:

Lime Juice!  (About 1/8 cup)  Deglaze the pan and loosen all the sticky bits of flavor from the bottom!  Turn the heat down a little, and allow the sauce to reduce.  Taste!  If the lime flavor is a bit too strong for your taste, add a couple tablespoons of water.  Or, if you prefer, a little more lime juice!

Add additional seasoning to taste.  If the sazon is strong enough but the dish needs salt, simply add a little kosher salt.

Serve over rice with a side of gandules.  ¡Provecho!  (Bon Appetit!)

Rabbit Hash ... my love of soup ... and a small town in Kentucky!

As many of you know, I come from a rather eclectic combination of family heritage.  My mother was born and raised in Coos County, New Hampshire.  When she was commissioned as a Lieutenant (in the Salvation Army Nurses Corps) and working at a Salvation Army hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was introduced to my father ... a brother of my mother's co-worker and the son of a poor truck driver who grew up during the Depression in Boone County, Kentucky.  The rest, as they say, is history.

As a classic "Boomer", I grew up with the knowledge of how hard my parents had it when they grew up during the Great Depression.  I understood that everything was scarce when they were young ... that my generation had it much better ... and it seemed like I was reminded of that fact nearly every day!  Just when things were getting better for them, along came World War II and everything was scarce again!

In our modern time (2020) and experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic first-hand, I feel fortunate that I can relate to the stories I heard from my youth of how they grew up and withstood the impact of those two major life-altering events.  If they could endure, so can I!

While growing up, we would often eat a simple soup made with whatever leftover meat we had on hand and a few fresh vegetables (usually onion, celery, potato, and carrots) mixed with whatever else was available (leftover gravy) to fortify and flavor the mixture.  Pappy always called it "Rabbit Hash" and I came to realize that this was one of the meals (along with soup-beans and cornbread) that helped sustain my ancestors during those difficult times.  I grew to appreciate not only the flavors but the God-given sustenance that those meals provided!

Rabbit Hash is also the name of a small town in Boone County, Kentucky, just a few miles south of the county seat, Burlington.  Rabbit Hash sits right along side the Ohio River, directly across from the town of Rising Sun, Indiana.  For many years, a ferry connected the two towns to the point where they became as one community.  In fact, in the mid 1800s, Rising Sun had a post office that served that region of Boone County.  Rising Sun was closer to the railroad, and they sent the mail by ferry to Rabbit Hash.

Now, how does a town come to be named "Rabbit Hash" anyway?  It seems that around the spring of 1847, when the Ohio River was running over its banks, a flood caused a quantity of small game (including rabbits) to run toward higher ground.  Local residents, hanging out at the store, began to worry about what they might be able to cook for dinner if the waters raised much higher.  One local fellow, observing the rabbits running uphill, said "we can always have rabbit hash!"

The Rabbit Hash General Store, right in the middle of the village of Rabbit Hash, was the center of that small community.

My Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Ambrose Bradford, lived in the Carleton District of Boone County back in those days.  The Carleton magisterial district of Boone County extended from the river all the way up toward Burlington.  Ambrose lived at the end of Locust Grove Road (off of East Bend Road) and his property extended down over the hill to the east to Gunpowder Creek.  He and his family were living about halfway between Burlington and Rabbit Hash, and according to Census records, were receiving their mail from Rising Sun.

Fast-forward to 2020.  This evening, I turned to my ancestral roots and once again produced a rabbit hash.  My lovely bride, Mindy, is not a big fan of soups in general, although she does admit that when I make my "stuff" it is somewhat edible!  When she got called in to work unexpectedly this evening, I took the opportunity to make one of my life-long favorites ... and it was good!

A couple of nights ago we cooked some pork loin rib-eye steaks, and had some of the pork leftover.  We also had some leftover kale, along with some rice from that dinner.  I chopped a little onion and celery ... sauteed that with some vegetable oil, and added some diced pork.  I seasoned it with a little kosher salt, pepper, and thyme.  I added a cup and a half of water, along with a cup and a half of Clamato juice.  I chopped up the kale and added it to the mixture along with some halved grape tomatoes.  I let it simmer for 45 minutes, then added the cooked rice.  Another 15 minutes or so, and it was ready to serve with some shredded parmesan cheese and a little parsley.

Yep ... pretty darned good if I say so myself!  I'm sure my Pappy would like it ... and I wouldn't be ashamed to serve it to Grandpa Ambrose either!  Try it sometime ... you may come to love Rabbit Hash ... either the leftovers or the village!