A quick story about how it’s rarely a good idea to abandon proven routines & tactics. We were in Kansas City over the weekend, visiting friends. Saturday evening’s dinner choices had been narrowed to going somewhere nice in the Plaza section, or getting barbeque. We settled on barbeque, and our host mentioned that “Oklahoma Joe’s” is located in a gas station; intrigued, we agreed we had to go there…

The restaurant is indeed located in a working gas station; we arrived at about 7pm and the line was just out the door.

A view of the dining area; the order station is in the back, to the right:

I took this quick shot as we approached placing our orders:

Looking out toward the street:

When we’d decided upon Oklahoma Joe’s, I got out my MB Air and Googled the place, getting its street address. Here’s where a little research – as I normally would do -  on Yelp, Urban Spoon or Trip Advisor would’ve been really handy, but for some reason (carelessness? my fixation on BBQ ribs? my blood alcohol level? (j/k)), I didn’t bother. We went, I ordered a half slab of ribs and a side of cole slaw (the slaw was decent, the ribs were quite good) and all was well. The funky ambiance definitely added to the experience, and although there’s seating for perhaps 75 or so (a guess), we had no trouble getting a table despite the long line of customers waiting to place their orders.

The bad news: after we’d arrived home, I finally went to Yelp and checked out OK Joe’s reviews, and discovered that the killer item on the menu is the “burnt ends” sandwich (shown below). This item is available only on Wednesdays and Saturdays until they run out; here’s a brief excerpt from a review on Yelp:

At first glance the sandwich does not look that big. This is an optical illusion. It is substantial. The bbq sauce is sweet and tangy. But most importantly, the burnt ends are the most perfect morsels of food my tongue has ever tasted. They will haunt my taste buds for the rest of my life. To begin with, the meat is so tender and it melts like buttah darling. It has that pinkish color on the inside that indicates that it was perfectly cooked and the bark on the outside is so flavorful you get overwhelmed.

All is not lost, however: we’re only about 5 hours from KC, and I will have one of these sandwiches at some point in the future! The moral of the story: stick with proven routines: they’re “proven” because they work!

I hope all my U.S. readers have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving, and that all my readers have a great weekend.  Here are a few links you might enjoy, one from this blog and a couple of favorite recipes:

If you want to maximize the yield from your Thanksgiving turkey, definitely check out The frugal turkey:  how to get the most out of your Thanksgiving turkey! This is an update to a very popular post that I did last year, and it’s still apropos.

Last time I saw Emeril Lagasse, he appeared to be very close to exploding; that boy clearly likes his food!  If you’re looking for a unique and delicious way to use turkey leftovers, check out his Turkey Andouille Gumbo recipe.

Serious decadence:  Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce.  Drizzle this on your favorite dessert, making sure to fasten your seat belt first.  Thanks to Ree Drummond!

Have a terrific holiday/weekend!

Quick Chicken Quesadillas

Next time you’re scrambling to come up with a quick yet satisfying casual meal, consider making 5 Minute Quesadillas!

Ingredients

• Flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Mexican cheese mix or your favorite cheeses, shredded
• 1 rotisserie chicken (whatever flavor/seasoning you prefer), breast/thigh/wing meat shredded or sliced thinly
• Optional:  cilantro
• Optional:  serve with extra salsa and/or sour cream
• Makes 8 – 10 quesadillas

Shred as much chicken as required:  a single breast will provide enough meat for 3 to 4 quesadillas.  Spread cheese mixture on one half of each tortilla, top with chicken, salsa, cilantro if preferred, and more cheese.  Fold over, and heat in a saucepan over medium heat until cheese is fully melted and tortilla is browned a bit; repeat on the other side.  Serve with refried beans, black beans, rice, or whatever you prefer.

A couple of quick photos:  first, assembling a quesadilla.  You can include whatever you like or have on hand, for instance a few jalapeno slices or chopped chiles if you want some extra heat, or perhaps some guacamole…

I cover the quesadillas with a clear cover to trap the heat and ensure that everything is heated through and the cheese fully melts.  When the first side is browned a bit, flip it over for another minute or two.

When my wife is out of town and I need to come up with something quick for dinner, this is one of the things I’ll make.   They’re super easy, can be tailored exactly to your tastes, and really only take a few minutes to pull together!  Give them a try!

If you occasionally bookmark recipes on sites like allrecipes.com, foodnetwork.com, epicurious, and others, you owe it to yourself to take a few minutes to check out Beta site Plummelo.

How the site works is simple:  once you’ve created a FREE account and installed a simple widget (doing both takes just seconds), when you find a recipe you want to save, just click on the Plummelo browser button, and it’s saved instantly (ReadItLater users, note: it functions in exactly the same way).

Your recipes are stored in your account, and if you wish, you can also view recipes that other Plummelo users have saved.  At present, Plummelo works with 41 popular recipe sites, and its developers are adding new sites each week.  Here’s a quick shot of some of the recipes I’ve saved into my Plummelo account:

As you can see, there’s a “Shopping List” button which adds any recipe you wish to, what else, your grocery list.  As with some recipe sites, one of the slickest features is that you can scale recipes right in your shopping list.  In this case, I’ve doubled the recipe so that it will serve 8 (vs. 4 as originally written):

When you print your list, it is configured in a handy supermarket section-by-section format:

The site will shortly add a Meal Planning feature, which should boost its usefulness considerably.  Also of note is the site’s blog; if you’re a foodie, check out Plummelo’s Facebook page as well.  As of right now, the site is Free and without ads, although it’s likely it’ll feature advertisements in the longer term.

You can check out Plummelo by clicking here:  Plummelo – Collect Recipes, Plan Meals, Get Shopping Lists

For a list of the recipe sites that are supported by Plummelo, click here.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe, and this is one of our all time favorites…  enjoy!

First, a confession:  I don’t know where this recipe is from, and as a result, have no idea who to credit.

I believe we found this years ago in The Albany (NY) Times Union, but I’m frankly not even sure of that.  This I do know:  this recipe is as delicious as it is simple.

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Fettuccine with Tuna Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced (we use ~3!)
• 1 can (6½ oz) tuna packed in oil, drained and oil reserved
• 1 can (28 oz) tomatoes (use whole tomatoes and crush them by hand, or simply buy diced tomatoes)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 12 ounces spinach fettuccine, cooked and drained
• ¼  cup sliced black olives

In a large saucepan sauté onions and garlic in reserved tuna oil for 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes and oregano; simmer 25 minutes.  Toss with fettuccine, tuna, and olives.  Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information

Per serving:  518 calories, 24g protein, 72g carbohydrates, 15g fat, 106 mg cholesterol, 686 mg sodium

Try this dish!  It is absolutely wonderful:  simple, hearty, and utterly delicious.  If you try it and aren’t happy, let me know.  …and if you love it, please comment as well.