Thursday, June 05, 2008
Random thoughts and silly notions
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
Recent columns
It's time for another one of Old Larr's notes from around the world, down your street, and up your alley. Here's some news about one thing and another; all food-friendly information:
>> In last week's article, I failed to mention that Chubbies Philly Style Cheese Steaks and Hoagies only accepts cash. No checks. No charge cards.
As the famous old signs at the cash register used to say: In God We Trust. All Others Pay Cash. Apparently one of my good readers failed to see the posted signs and informed me that "I was lucky that they didn't come after me with a meat cleaver." Sorry. In all fairness to Chubbies (take-out only), there's hardly anything on the menu over $6.50.
>> Chef Michael Bowling has re-emerged after a terrible health scare and is probably going to show up in a Roanoke valley kitchen again soon. First Michael lost his mother; then shortly after opening on Campbell (the current Orange Dog location) his own health went south. He's informed me that he's healthy again and seeking his next big cooking gig.
>> Those who attended Tuesday night's book signing and informal talk at the Roanoke County Library, McVitty Forest, had more than a few laughs and learned a lot about funeral cooking and funeral etiquette. Appearing was Charlotte Hayes, who assisted Gayden Metcalfe, from Greenville, Mississippi with her uproarious written stories about the South and funeral cooking, called, Being Dead is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral. The book is chock-full of things familiar to we in the South: "Nobody would be caught dead without tomato aspic at a funeral.." Or "polishing silver is the southern lady's version of grief therapy." Or "Nothing whispers sympathy quite like a frozen-pea casserole...". And there's an entire chapter dedicated just to pimento cheese!
Last night, Ms Hayes, who is very funny, even shared a funeral story that isn't in the book: She told of a friend, entrusted to go out and buy a new suit for her mother to be buried in. When she finally saw her mother laid out and all dressed up she screamed, "Take it off, take off. That suit is wool and mother is allergic to wool."
Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hayes have assembled a book of wonderful stories and tons of easy to follow recipes for this final chapter of life.
It's drop-dead funny!! Having just returned from a family funeral and communal gathering, I can honestly say that some things just never change.
It's a Southern Thing.
>> And finally, an old friend, Pat Garrett wanted to share his recipe for something called "The Kenny Loaf". We just cannot seem to get past the fact that both Lendy's and Kenney's are gone and will never return. So every now and again someone asks for a recipe from one of those two famous icons of Roanoke's past. Pat not only has the recipe for Kenney's Meat Loaf, but actually made it, took pictures of it (not included for this article) and sent them to me. So here goes.
2 lbs lean ground beef
1 cups finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finally chopped onion
1/2 clove horseshoe garlic, finely chopped
1 bottle of Kenney Sauce (you can still get this stuff apparently
http://www.habitat-roanoke.org/kenney's_sauce.htm)
1 cup plain bread crumbs or two slices of bread, day-old and finely minced
Sauté' celery and onion and garlic. Let cool. Mix with the meat and crumbs and half the bottle of sauce in a big bowl. Form into a loaf. Put in casserole dish and cover with the remaining sauce. Take 90 minutes at 350 degrees. Check after an hour to make sure it's not getting too dry.
My tip of the hat to old Pat. See you at the next word reunion and feed -- at my place this summer!!
Bly For Now.
