Catching Up

It's been quiet on the blog and the grill for the last few days. Friday night, our non-cooking neighbors made what they make best ... reservations (thank you Shecky Green). Herme and Jim invited our other foodie neighbors Tom and Lucia to a new Pizza shop called SPIN. I am not a restaurant reviewer, and don't want to bog this blog down with pointless restaurant reviews. I simply do not go out often enough, and I suspect that my demographics are not what the hippest, trendiest places are trying to attract. But we had a marvelous time. The food was very reasonably priced; excellent wine list (all wines were $18 a bottle, including a very tasty Spanish Rioja I always have stocked in the house). The pizzas were all hand spun, and fired in a wood oven, with lots of interesting combinations. So, Overland Park, KS is home to a terrific Pizza place... In my opinion for what it is worth.

During dinner, all six of us decided to make a Saturday morning trek to the big time farmer's market they hold at the Rivermarket in downtown Kansas City. This makes my third trip in three weeks, and the treasure brought home are always worth the trip. I grew up in central Illinois, and am a sucker for sweet corn. A baker's dozen, 13 ears for just $5, in front of a hand written sign reading, "hand picked yesterday". Fast as you can say, "Bob's your uncle", there are 39 ears of corn in our neighborhood.

I have plans for a spiral stuffed Pork Loin this week, as well as an experimental new recipe. So, I wondered the stalls for ingredients and inspiration. Candy onions, green onions, lots of varieties of peppers, fresh sausage and some incredible olives. A good day is coming on the grill (actually, I am going to fire up the smoker for these).

One of my favorite stalls is the spice guy. A dollar a scoop is all it costs for some great stuff. A scoop of jerk spice, some cumin, mustard seed, cayan pepper plus a few more I needed to start making my own rub. I love the spice guy!

Tonight, I am off the grill again, as we are invited to the neighbors for grilled chicken wings. Tom's are amazing, and I am thrilled for the invite (got a feeling there may be a few ears of corn on the grill also).

Other news to look forward to, I booked a trip to New Orleans for the middle of October, right around my wife's birthday. I love N'awlens. This will be our 4th visit in the last 10 years. I already have a reservations at K-Paul's Lousiana Kitchen (home of Paul Prudhomm, the chef who introduced thousands to Creole cooking through PBS, long before the Food Network was ever thought of). W will also be celebrating my wife's birthday at her favorite restaurant in New Orleans, NOLA. NOLA is an Emeril property. I have 3 other nights to fill, so if anyone has any suggestions for a fun time in the Big Easy, let me know!