Feb 10, 2018 | Diner, pasta, Seafood
Bacon, Sausage, and Shrimp Tetrazinni This makes up enough to fill two half-trays (9″ x 13″). Ingredients: 1 lb breakfast sausage 1 lb bacon 24 ounces small shrimp 2 large sweet yellow onions, chopped 1 orange or red (or green) bell pepper, chopped 1 pound...
Jan 2, 2018 | Tales
Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2018 Sam Byrd is a freelance contributor to the Houston Press who loves to take in all of Houston’s sights, sounds, food and fun. He also loves helping others to discover Houston’s rich culture. PS – Sam also...
Dec 12, 2017 | Diner, Lagniappe, Meat
Instructions for the Smokenator (Instruction Booklet PDF – 2017) www.smokenator.com (Phone 888.205.1931) ________________________________________________________ LONG Cook Times – Set Up and Temperature Management A loaded Smokenator box...
Nov 24, 2017 | Diner, Sauces & Dressings
Hazael’s Salsa Our son’s good friend, Hazael, brings this over when they come to dinner. It’s superb! The card to the right is Hazael’s writing. Ingredients 3 red tomatoes, grilled and chopped1 poblano,grilled and chopped2 T olive oil1...
Nov 13, 2017 | Breads & Grains, Diner
I got this one off a package of dates. Ingredients: 1 cup chopped apples 1/2 cup chopped nuts 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup chopped dates 1/2 cup butter 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon Instructions: Cream the butter and...
Sep 21, 2017 | Diner, Lagniappe
Substitute for Canned “Creamed” Soup We’re not fans of canned soups because of their tendency to be LOADED with sodium. So when a recipe calls for a “Cream of This or That” soup, we like to use a version of this instead. ...
Sep 14, 2017 | Diner, Seafood
Pan Seared Scallops When I was a boy, I thought Studio Rassling star, Billy Wicks was a real champion for decency. He and Sputnik battled fiercely, and I hung on every body slam and sleeper hold. Ingredients 1 to 1 1/4 pounds sea scallops2 teaspoons unsalted butter2...
Sep 9, 2017 | Diner, Veggies
Sweet and Sour Cabbage We enjoyed living around the corner from a public library in Memphis. It was there I found an interesting Chinese cookbook. Each recipe was given in English on one page, and in Chinese on the facing page. When I cook this one, the family leaves...
Aug 31, 2017 | Tales
We Dodged a Bullet! Randal Byrd | August 31, 2017 | Storytelling We dodged a bullet! This picture was sent to us at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday morning (August 27, 2017). It was taken by our across the street neighbors. Our neighborhood became a river and a lake. Not one drop...
Aug 23, 2017 | Church
Murals at Palmer I just love these two murals by friends of ours from Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. They are the collaborative works of Jackie Campbell, Kaytee Esser, and Kelly Bourgeois. The murals each are about 20 feet wide. What spectacular work. Thank you,...
Aug 16, 2017 | Politics
Statue Weary Here’s a thought experiment for you. Do you have any idea what was going on in the south in 1964? Remember the 60s civil rights struggle? Remember the church bombings? Remember the police turning fire hoses on civil rights demonstrators? Then think...
Aug 13, 2017 | Church
Blessing for Peggy and Steele From June of 1996 until July of 1998, we worshiped with the good people at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Conway, Arkansas. After we moved to Houston, I entered into an arrangement by which the weekly sermons would be sent to me....
Jul 13, 2017 | Dessert, Diner
Three Ingredient Cookie 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup white sugar 1 egg, beaten Preheat the oven to 350F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the peanut butter, white sugar and egg. Mix until smooth. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet;...
May 19, 2017 | Diner, Poultry
Cola Brined Chicken Thighs Clipped from: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015992-coke-brined-fried-chicken Ingredients 5 cups Coca-Cola 1 tablespoon kosher salt 10 sprigs fresh thyme 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced 4 teaspoons mild hot sauce like Crystal 8 to...
Apr 13, 2017 | Diner, Sauces & Dressings
Neely’s BBQ Sauce Both of us always enjoyed watching the Neelys on TV. Gina is loaded with personality; and they’re from our home town. This is a recipe they say is “Kansas City” style. I don’t know about that. It’s a lot like what...
Jan 2, 2017 | Tales
Sam Byrd is a freelance contributor to the Houston Press who loves to take in all of Houston’s sights, sounds, food and fun. He also loves helping others to discover Houston’s rich culture. PS – Sam also contributes to Outsmart 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |...
Dec 29, 2016 | Politics
Record Jobs Growth; Thank You, President Obama! Yes there are records for jobs growth. From “The Atlantic” — November, 2016 “When Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate was passing 8 percent on its way to 10 percent. But US...
Nov 18, 2016 | Poultry
Ginger Brined Chicken Wings I recently tried a cola brine, and it imparted a delicious sweet flavor to chicken thighs. Today, I had no cola, but I had plenty of ginger ale. INGREDIENTS 16 chicken wings 2 cans of Ginger Ale 3/4 cup soy sauce 1 teaspoon hot...
Nov 9, 2016 | Church
Inform Your Face This is a piece I wrote years ago at the behest of our rector. He challenged me to write an Evangelism article for our monthly newsletter. I struggled for weeks, writing, rewriting, trashing my draft, and then writing again. Then, it hit me in a...
Nov 2, 2016 | Tales
Coming to Houston Back in 1998, we were invited by Houston Baptist University to come to Houston.1998She received her call on Monday, June 29, and they flew the two of us down on Wednesday, July 1, 1998. They made their offer to hire on Thursday, July 2nd; then on...
Sep 19, 2016 | Politics
Whenever someone brings up Reagan and paints him as a hero, I like to cite this little fact from Sleepwalking Through History, by Haynes Johnson: The numbers of Reagan administration officials either indicted or the subject of criminal and ethical investigations...
Sep 16, 2016 | Diner, Poultry
Chicken and Gravy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBMqzSd3UlM Preheat oven to 375 F. Coat the chicken pieces with melted butter, working in thoroughly. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, and other seasonings as desired. Spray roasting pan with...
Sep 9, 2016 | Blog-Tech
Blog-Teck Links PicMonkey Tutorials Divi Child Themes Do an online magazine No gap between Modules Day of the Dead Divi Layouts Pop Art Portrait Lagniappe Shoe Laces Dying Jeans NYT – State by...
Sep 6, 2016 | Breads & Grains, Diner
Upside Down Onion-Corn Bread Ingredients 2 (8.5 oz.) boxes corn muffin mix 2 Vidalia onions 3 eggs 1 cup cottage cheese 1 cup corn, rinsed and drained 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled...
Sep 2, 2016 | Diner, Seafood
Oven Fried Oysters Ingredients 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2 eggs 1 cup dry bread crumbs 2/3 cup grated Romano cheese 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt 1 pint shucked oysters or 2 cans (8 ounceseach) whole...
Aug 31, 2016 | Church
Sunday School – Fall, 2016 Here it is – another school year! 9/11 Tom/Shannon 9/18 Shannon/Randy 9/25 Randy/Tom 10/2 Shannon/Randy 10/9 Randy/Yuko 10/16 Tom//Shannon 10/23 RETREAT 10/30 NO SUNDAY SCHOOL 11/6 Tom//Shannon 11/13 Shannon/Randy 11/20...
Aug 24, 2016 | Tales
Schools and Unions So much talk about this that and the other —- how about our schools? Teachers, tests, standards, on, and on, and on…. Yes, all of this is important. Did you ever think about who cooks the food? Who waxes the floors? Who carries out the...
Aug 24, 2016 | Tales
Quarter Beer Night Most of us have heard at one time or another a hair-raising tale about an event which was so harrowing that it caused the storyteller’s “whole life to flash before” him. I’m not sure I’ve ever had such a “flash...
Aug 22, 2016 | Church
We met our new associate rector at Palmer this past Sunday; and I do believe I have the distinction of being the first person she Communicated here....
Aug 19, 2016 | Breads & Grains, Diner
Skillet Pizza Ingredients ¾ cup lukewarm water 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 2 ¼ cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Instructions Stir together the water, yeast and sugar. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until foamy. Mix until...
