grilled cheese recipe
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under food, recipe
This recipe is quite possibly the easiest one I will ever post, however, it sure is tasty. The grilled cheese is pretty much the first thing I learned to cook from my mom.
Ingredients
* Two slices of bread
* Two slices of Kraft “processed cheese product” (Kraft Singles)
* About a tablespoon of butter
Preparation
We have a gas stove top that goes from Low to 6/High. I usually keep it around 5 for this. Preheat skillet. Put half of the butter on the skillet and the assembled cheese (it’s not grilled at this point) on top. Move it in a circular motion to coat the bottom piece of bread in butter. Wait. When it’s browned to your liking, put the other piece of butter down and put the other side of the bread on it. Again move it around in a circular motion to coat the bread. When it’s browned enough for you, it’s done.
*Note: If you keep it on a little bit of a lower heat, then the cheese is more likely to melt more.
We love these and we’ve eaten them before with relish, or pickles, or tomatoes.
Tags: food, grilled cheese, recipe
elek’s 3rd birthday party
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under Personal, Picture, family, food, photo, video
This past week we had a few celebrations for our son Elek who just turned three years old. We sent miniature cupcakes to his class on the day of his birthday and made Mexican layer dish for dinner since he loves chips so much. That night he got to open a couple of presents including a soccer ball and a couple of books from Mama and Daddy as well as several puzzles from Diana’s sister Kristen. The next day, Elek got a bright red retro Radio Flyer tricycle from Gran. Grandaddy also made a visit from Beaufort, SC. He brought Elek a small fishing rod.
Thursday began his party preparations for Saturday. Nana gave Elek a ball pit (pictured to the above) that was a hit at the party. We bought ingredients to make our own pizzas. It was a great success. We used premade crusts, mozzarella, peperoni, sausage, and pasta sauce. They were quite tasty and there are enough leftovers to feed an army. There were cupcakes and single serving ice cream that the kids just loved. Annabeth was nice enough to come over and play a few songs for the children. There are some videos of that on the previous post. Elek also received a brown horse stick toy that he can ride around from Gran. Elek loves galloping sideways. Mama and Daddy gave him a small piano like in Peanuts and a whiffle bat and ball.
The next night we went over to Nana’s house to celebrate with their family. I think at this point Elek was sort of worn out, which is a good sign that he had a great birthday. Dave gave him a soft rocket launcher that shoots the rocket when you jump on an air pouch. Elek quite enjoyed this toy, though at the party he seemed a bit overwhelmed by how many people were there. He was also a little sick or maybe it was due to allergies just like his Daddy. It seemed like Elek really had a great time for his birthday this year. We hope in the future we can think of constructive things for his birthday that he will enjoy.
Tags: birthday, Elek, home made pizza, party
central bbq – best barbecue nachos in memphis
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under Personal, Picture, food, photo, restaurant
My dad drove up from South Carolina Friday night to visit for my son, Elek’s birthday. He bought Central BBQ nachos, chicken, and ribs. While I think Central BBQ has the best ribs in the city hands down, their barbecue nachos were outstanding! I can’t tell if the picture looks good or not, but let me tell you, it sure tasted great. We munched on the nachos as an appetizer, then we started in on the ribs and chicken. I prefer wet ribs rather than dry ribs because I think I’m addicted to barbecue sauce.
My grandmother, Mema, was able to make it too. I would love to learn how to cook ribs like Central BBQ does. I have a lot of the equipment now and just need to set aside four hours to cook some ribs. Every time I think of barbecue I think of Central BBQ. Another place never crosses my mind because if I’m going to eat barbecue, then I’m going to eat great barbecue. I hope you try them out.
Central BBQ
2249 Central Ave
Memphis, TN 38104-5507
(901) 272-9377
Tags: best nachos in memphis, central bbq, nachos
cheese grits recipe
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under food, recipe
Ingredients
* 1 cup uncooked cheese grits
* 1 roll Kraft Garlic cheese (6 oz.)
* 1 Stick Butter or Oleo
* 3 eggs
* 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
* milk (1 oz. or so)
* Paprika (good bit)
Preparation
Cooks grits by directions on box.
Add garlic cheese and butter.
Mix well.
Break and beat eggs.
Add milk.
Combine eggs and grits.
Pour into greased 2 quart casserole dish.
Top with grated cheese and paprika. (I used significantly more than in the recipe. More cheese makes everything better!)
Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.
May be made ahead and frozen.
Edit: Just so everyone knows, this is my mother’s recipe.
Tags: cheese grits, recipe
halloween mini-pumpkin cupcakes
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under recipe
If you have kids or even if you don’t, this looks like a fantastic recipe to try. It’s fairly quick and so colorful! Prep: 45 Minutes Total: 2 hours 20 Minutes.
Yield
24
Ingredients
* 1 cup self-rising flour
* 2/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
* 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup sour cream
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* Chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
* 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* Orange and black food coloring; orange, black, white, and yellow candies and sugar crystals
Special Equipment
* Mini muffin pans
* 1 3/4×1-inch paper liners
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 mini muffin cups with 1 3/4×1-inch paper liners. Mix flour, golden brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl. Whisk egg, canned pure pumpkin, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Add mixture to dry ingredients; stir to fully combine. Spoon batter into paper liners (batter will almost fill liners). Scatter crystallized ginger over, if desired.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on rack.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar.
Divide frosting among 3 bowls. Tint frosting in first bowl with orange coloring (or combine red and yellow coloring to make orange) and frosting in second bowl with black coloring, keeping frosting in third bowl white. Chill frosting 2 hours or until firm enough to easily spread.
Frost cupcakes; decorate using candy and sugar crystals as desired.
Nutritional Information
One serving contains the following: (Analysis includes 2 teaspoons frosting per cupcake.)
Calories (kcal) 163.9
%Calories from Fat 51.6
Fat (g) 9.5
Saturated Fat (g) 4.0
Cholesterol (mg) 27.4
Carbohydrates (g) 18.8
Dietary Fiber (g) 0.4
Total Sugars (g) 14.4
Net Carbs (g) 18.4
Protein (g) 1.4
Mini Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes: Fast Easy Fresh : bonappetit.com.
Tags: cupcakes, halloween, holiday, recipe
restaurant pizze stone on overton park in midtown memphis
Posted by Peter Owen | Filed under Memphis, food, restaurant
We tried Pizze Stone last Friday night with our neighbors Brett, Sharon, and their 3 year old Jesse. We got four pizzas for takeout and the bill was $54, which is pretty pricey for pizza. Despite it’s high cost, the pizza was probably the best I’ve had in Memphis. Most of the ingredients are made on location and their toppings are quite fresh. Their crust is I would say medium to thin. Pizzas range anywhere from $8 to $15. Though we didn’t eat in the restaurant, I could tell it is kid friendly because there were two 4 tops with at least 3 children between them seated in the main room when I picked up our four pizzas at 6:15 PM.
We got the following:
Pesto – Pesto, Goat Cheese, Mozzarella, Tomato, and Pine Nuts
Red Led – Tomato Sauce, Roasted Garlic, Fresh Oregano, and Fresh Mozzarella
Napoli – Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Pepperoni, Sausage, Oven Roasted Crimini Mushrooms
Mafioso – Meatball Pizza with Caramelized Onions
My favorite in order were probably Red Led, Pesto, Napoli, and finally Mafioso, though they were all very tasty. I encourage you to try them.
Pizze Stone
1545 Overton Park Ave
Memphis, TN 38112
(901) 725-7806
Pizze Stone Menu
Tags: Memphis, memphis tn, overton park, pizza, pizza stone, pizze stone, restaurant
