Waldorf Salad

Waldorf Salad originated at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City over 100 years ago.  It's an elegant salad to serve on special occasions such as a ladies' luncheon, Easter, Mother's Day, but it's also a great salad to mix up and keep in the fridge to pack in week day lunches.  

Take time to chop the fruit and celery in as close to the same size as possible.  That way it's easy to get a taste of all the yummy ingredients in every bite!

Mix the wet ingredients (the dressing) together separately to have a smooth and creamy dressing to fold into the salad mixture.

Take time to lightly toast the nuts.  It adds an incredible difference in the depth of flavor.

2 cups diced tart apples, or 2 apples (I used one Granny Smith and 1 Fuji)

1 T. sugar

2 t. lemon juice

1 cup diced celery

1 cup grapes, halved (I used half red/half white)

½ cup toasted walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

2 T. sour cream

¼ cup mayonnaise

½ t. kosher salt

Add the diced apples to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and lemon juice.  Toss to coat.  Add the celery, grapes, and toasted nuts.

In another bowl, combine the sour cream and mayonnaise. Fold into the apple mixture and season with the kosher salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Chill for 1 hour or overnight.  

Adapted from www.foodcrush.com

Lolly's Pork Chops Supreme

 

There are several versions of Pork Chops Supreme all over the interwebs.  But, as y'all know, I can't leave well enough alone most times.  So I took the basic recipe and added a lot of my touches and decided I'd rename this recipe as "Lolly's Pork Chops Supreme."  

Here are my ingredients!

4 boneless pork chops (about 1/2" thick)

Hardin's Seasoning

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

8 oz. sliced white mushrooms

1 T. minced garlic

freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 - 5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick

1 small jar diced pimentos, drained

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 envelope onion soup mix

1/2 cup milk

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

thinly sliced chives for garnish

Season the pork chops liberally with Hardin's Seasoning.

Heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Brown the pork chops well on both sides and remove from the skillet to a plate.  Set aside.  You just want to brown them; they will finish cooking in the oven.

Place the onions, mushrooms, and garlic into the skillet and lower the heat to low and let them cook for 4 - 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with the black pepper.

At this point, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil spray.

Place the potato slices into the baking dish.  It's okay if they overlap.

Spread the onions, mushrooms, and garlic mixture evenly over the potatoes.

Sprinkle the diced pimentos over the veggies.

Place the browned pork chops on top.

In the same skillet, over low heat, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, milk, onion soup mix, and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a simmer.

Pour the mixture into the baking dish.

Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the potatoes are knife tender.

Sprinkle on the chives and serve immediately.

Cinco de Mayo 2019 Food!!

For our Cinco de Mayo party this year, a taco bar was the start of the show.  Grilled shrimp, chicken, and steak along with tostadas, corn taco shells, flour taco "mini boats," and flour and corn tortillas provided the anchor for the food table.  Did I mention there's also a lovely dish filled with slow cooker chipotle pulled pork?  The pork added the heat to the menu.

Toppings included shredded lettuce and cabbage, chopped tomatoes and onions, sliced radishes, diced jalapenos, and shredded cheese.

The appetizer portion of the meal included Fiesta Deviled Eggs with Jalapenos and Queso Fundido with Chorizo and Jalapenos.  Recipes for both can be found by following the links.

I used a variety of 

2025 Alabama BBQ Tour: Talladega County - The Shack BBQ, Talladega, Alabama

 

Here we are for our #16 stop on the 2025 Alabama BBQ Tour!  Talladega County is our host for this visit.  

Talladega County was established on December 18, 1832, from land ceded by the Creek Indians near the state's geographic center. The county seat was established at Talladega in 1834.

The name Talladega is derived from a Muscogee (Creek) Native American word Tvlvtēke, from the Muscogee etvlwa, meaning "town", and vtēke, or "border" – "Border Town" – a town indicating its location on the boundary between the lands of the Creek tribe and those of the Cherokee and Chickasaw.

The Jack Link's 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h) and was the first race at Talladega Superspeedway that was not interrupted by a caution period.

Woo hoo!!! That's some speed isn't it?  Now let's speed on over to these yummy food pictures and descriptions!

With a name like The Shack BBQ, you wouldn't expect a five star atmosphere with cloth napkins.  But what you would expect is exactly what you get:  old school bbq in a down home setting with great service that feels like you're a member of the family.

And here's the menu!

        

A few years ago, we visited The Shack and I remembered how much I enjoyed the lemonade.  I knew that was a must for this visit.  

We were warmly greeted and instructed to sit anywhere we'd like.  Drink orders were taken immediately:  Said lemonade for me and sweet tea for Sweet Harold.  It's always nice to be able to sit down and order when you want time to check out the menu.  We weren't rushed in the least and took our time making our selections.   The lemonade was as delicious as I remembered.

After we received our meals (within minutes), it was obvious that we had chosen wisely.

There are three BBQ sauce options available.  While each of the sauces were delicious in their own way, I found the sweet paired well with my ribs and the mild was perfect for the pulled pork.  The hot?  Well, it was a delicious dipping sauce for my onion rings!

Here's my combo pulled pork and rib plate with onion rings and fries.

First of all there was enough food on this plate to feed three people.  Yes, I brought food home.

Let's start with those HUGE ribs.

No discernable dry rub or seasoning on the exterior of the ribs.

Of all the ribs we've had on the tour up to this point, these were far the largest and meatiest of the lot.  These ribs look like ribs you'd have at your favorite neighbor's backyard feast.  Now for that first bite test.

Perfect!  These were juicy, smoky, tender smoked ribs.  Thumbs up!

The serving size of the pulled pork was extremely generous.  You can request it sliced or chopped.  I had the chopped version with the sauce to be added at the table.  The pork had a lightly smoked flavor and wasn't quite as tender as I expected it to be.  

However, there were pieces of crunchy bark mixed in which always adds texture to the serving.

Now to the side dishes.  The fries (thankfully) were served hot, but did need some seasoning at the table.

The onion rings were thick sliced and had a light(er) crust than some we've had recently.  Decent onion ring.

Sweet Harold requested his usual smoked chicken, but was told they only smoke pork here at The Shack.  So he decided it was time to try a bbq sandwich.  His sides were beans and slaw.

Again, there's enough pork here for three sandwiches.  

He raved about this sandwich and declared he would order it again.

The beans had a small amount of added pork to the mix.  This is another "baked bean" which aren't technically baked, but rather heated through with a few add ins.  

The slaw is the mayo based version and was fresh and crisp.

As he told me, it's neither the worst I've had, but it's not the best.  So we have started referring to these side dishes that are really just ordinary as "plate fillers."

We were too full for desserts!

Standouts:  Ribs, lemonade, pork sandwich, table service, real forks and glasses, wonderful service

Point Takeaways:  Average sides

Our Score:  90

2025 Alabama BBQ Tour: Shelby County - Martin's BBQ Joint, Vestavia Hills, Alabama

 

Shelby County was named for Isaac Shelby, a hero of the King's Mountain Battle during the Revolutionary War. Also, he was the first governor of the state of Kentucky, and had refused election to a second term as governor in order to fight the Indian wars.

Our semi-history lesson being complete, let's move on to the fun!  Martin's has indoor and outdoor seating.  Parking is in the back of the restaurant.  I was thrilled to see wood stacked and ready for the smoker!

There's a breezeway between the sit down restaurant dining side and the bar/eating area.

Martin's BBQ Joint began in Tennessee in 2006.  Pat Martin became intrigued with whole hog cooking over live fire cooking, smoking techniques, and the endless possibilities of flavor profiles.  All of their meats are cooked over local hickory wood for 22-24 hours!

Let's go in and see what it's all about!

The interior is inviting and filled with memorabilia from many eras.

There are several menus hanging so you can make your choices before reaching the counter to order.

We hadn't had breakfast so we were ready to enjoy lunch (or breakfast or brunch).  We arrived a few minutes after 11 when they opened.  Within 5 minutes of ordering and going to our seats, the line was out the door and through the breezeway!

We'll start with mine this time.  I had the combo plate with pulled pork and brisket with handcut fries and green beans.  I added some hush puppies because I wanted to see how their version is made.

This is a very generous plate of food!  But I'm here to take one for the Fleur de Lolly Team so let's dig in!

We'll start with the pulled pork.

This was a very tender and well smoked portion.  Not much bark mixed in, but a mouthwatering sample of their pulled pork.  Yes, there's several pieces of white bread underneath.

It's served without sauce, which I appreciate as you can add some, a lot, or none as the case may be.  This version of sauce is thin with a slightly spicy note.

This bottle of sauce was also on the table and I'm still not sure if it was the same sauce as was served with the meal.  There was a definite vinegar base but no discernable mustard component.  Good, but different.

Next up, brisket!  Three large slices of smoked brisket with an ample amount of bark.  Judging BBQ competitions, I've had brisket that was crumbly, or tough like jerky, or so chewy it was almost impossible to eat.  This serving was some of the best brisket I've ever eaten.  I thoroughly enjoyed their offering.

The hand cut fries have received a lot of chatter on the review pages for this restaurant, so I wanted to give them a taste myself.  They were seasoned well and served hot.  Those are my two criteria for fries.  They passed my test.

The green beans were cooked the way green beans in the South are supposed to be cooked:  until no discernable vitamins remain!  The addition of the pulled pork added so much flavor.

After taking one bite, I was satisfied I had made a smart decision in ordering that extra side order of hush puppies.  I've eaten my weight in these little bites of fried cornbread through my lifetime, but these were as close to my homemade ones that I've found.  Kudos!

Let's see what Sweet Harold ordered!

Dry rubbed ribs, house made chips, baked beans, smoked chicken quarter, and white bread slices.

Ribs deserve to go first!  Four nice sized ribs with a semi-heavy layer of dry rub seasoning.  There was a distinct aroma/flavor of cumin, so if that's not your thing, I've told you.  To me, the more the better.  For SH, not that much.  The dry rub seasoning continued over to flavoring the chips and beans.

The ribs had a lovely smoky flavor and then it was time to take that test bite!  Remember, you want to be able to take a bite out of the middle of the rib with a smidge of resistance.  You do NOT want it falling off the bone.  What does that mean?  The rib is overcooked.  

Look at this perfect bite removed from that rib!  Good job Martin's!

Sweet Harold LOVES homemade chips.  I knew as soon as I spied them on the menu that he would order some.  Unfortunately, there were several in his serving that stayed in the fryer a little too long.  They were tough and difficult to chew.   

The beans, however, were a delight.  This serving was filled with all the extras you'd expect including chunks of brisket.  Good job on the beans!

Last, but not least, the smoked chicken quarter.

Again, you can see the dry rub on the chicken.  One thing about this restaurant, they definitely know where the spice cabinet is and how to use those flavors.  A good smoke on the chicken, but ever so slightly overcooked.  A tad dry.

I asked if they had any white sauce to enjoy with the chicken and a server brought a generous serving to the table.

This cup had so many powerful flavors.  Vinegar definitely!  Pepper, you bet!  There was definite heat here.  

If you want to purchase any of their sauces, they're all available at the counter.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, the dining area filled up QUICKLY!

We couldn't resist trying their dessert options of which there was two:  pecan pie and chocolate fudge pie.  Yes, please.

We went back and forth tasting each and realized that whatever bite we were eating was our favorite until we went to the other one.  They were both THAT delicious!

We left pleasantly full, happy with our menu choices, and with clean hands!

Standouts:  Brisket, ribs hushpuppies, fries, desserts, moist towelette 

Point Takeaways:  A little heavy handed with the cumin (but that's a personal preference, I know), overcooked chips, counter service, fix your own drink.

Our Score:  93