What a blessing to have been raised in Memphis by a country cook who knew what she was doing. Good cooking was just a way of life in our household and among our extended family. My mother prepared the best fried chicken in Tipton County (We grew up in Memphis, but our reunions were in Tipton County.) according to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and great aunts & uncles; I have no reason to doubt their words of praise. I saw at every family reunion whose chicken was the first to go.
And my mother wasn’t the only good cook in our house. My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster chowder & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.
There’s more than just cooking going on here. The Stories dropdown in the header above leads to personal stories about things like baseball games, county dress codes, a bit of history and geography and more.
The blog entries below come from recipes we enjoy around our household; from recipes I’ve yet to try; from recipes given me by friends and family, and things I’ve read about on line or in real print. Yes, I do still subscribe to magazines that come in the mail. Also there are posts about cooking equipment, techniques, sources for more information, etc. I hope you find something of interest..
Pursued by the Magician’s Assistant
Once, at a Gridiron Show cast party, the magician's assistant made a play for me. I wasn't interested and tried to dodge her. She persisted. One of the other acts was a lady barbershop quartet. They saw what was going on. They liked me too; but weren't at all...
Potato and Sausage Casserole
Ingredients 6 medium red potatoes; sliced1 lb breakfast sausage; crumbled1 medium yellow onion; diced1/2 pound mushrooms; cleaned and sliced1/2 pound cream cheese; softened2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese1 lb frozen green peas; thawedWorcestershire Saucegarlic...
Crustless Quiche
Ingredients1 tbsp. butter8 oz. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced1 shallot, minced2 c. loosely packed spinachKosher saltFreshly ground black pepper8 large eggs1/4 c. whole milk1/4 c. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped1/4 c. freshly grated...
Chili Pie
I did a version of this for our Canterbury Students. Sherry loved the cornbread crust. I used mushrooms and spinach because I had them on hand and I wanted to "stretch" the results. For a more "Mexican" feel, you may omit these. I'm not a fan of ground beef, so I use...
Patrick Hall Moves on to Epiphany
ews from your Missioner This is the letter Patrick Hall sent to Autry House congregants - announcing his answering the call from Church of the Epiphany.________________________________________ Dear Autry House, It has been...
Volkswagen Bug
One of my favorite memories of driving a "Bug." Running out of gas, but then coasting into the next gas station. One of my WORST memories of driving a "Bug." Stepping on the brake only to find the entire pedal assembly falling over like a line of dominoes...... ...
Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2019
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 December 31, 2019 – Tony DeSare...
Beto for Senate!
eto O'Rourke for Senate!
The Magician’s Assistant
Once, at a Gridiron Show cast party, the magician’s assistant made a play for me. I wasn’t interested and tried to dodge her. She persisted.One of the other acts was a lady barbershop quartet. They saw what was going on. They liked me too; but weren’t at all...
Hindman’s Ferry Road
My brother, Dwayne, my Nephew, Jeff, and I have been having a discussion about Hindman's Ferry Road. We're not sure which of today's roads (if any) was Hindman's Ferry. Jeff decided to ask Vance Lauderdale, Contributing Editor of Memphis Magazine, about it....
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 contributes to Outsmart December 20, 2018 – Decorations...
Dodging the Flood
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 of water, though,...
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, Kaytee, Kelly, and...
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 of this. Why is it,...
Blessing for Peggy and Steele
rom 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...
Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2017
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 December 26, 2017 – Sounds of the...
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 unemployment has now been at 5 percent or below every month for a full year. The...
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 flash, and I dashed...
Coming to Houston
ack 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...
Reagan Corruption
henever 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...
More Links
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 State
Sunday School – 2016
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 Randy/Tom...
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 trash? Well, I DO think...
Quarter Beer Night
ost 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 before me" experience; at least not...
New Priest
e 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.
Mercurochrome
ole recounts his first war injury. "I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them)....
Medicare and Ryan
The famous "Push Grandma off the Cliff" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnE83A1Z4U
On the Minimum Wage
Research suggests that a ten percent hike in the minimum wage could be expected to bring about a 1/10th of 1% hike in prices. In other words, that $100.00 cart of groceries might cost you $100.10 after giving the stock clerks a 10% raise. Those stock clerks would them...
Spinach Huevos
We do up something we call "Huevos Rancheros," but it's nothing like the dish you're familiar with. Ours is more like a chili-based casserole. Lots of cheese, tortillas torn into pieces; with several eggs added whole and allowed to sort of poach in the casserole....
What Happened to the Old Cook Book?
What We're Doing We had a problem over at blogger. I don't know for sure what happened, as Google will not discuss the matter. One morning, I returned to work on a new BLOG only to find that it had been locked. Not only did Google lock the blog from viewing;...
Networks, Blacks, and the GOP
"During Robert Dole's 1996 convention speech, network camera operators could not find any actual black people to portray as delegates who were really delegates. So as a favor to Dole and the Republicans, they focused on their own employees." Eric Alterman; What...
St. Bede’s Family Service
t 9:08 in St. Bede’s Chapel we wonder if anyone other than the core team of worship leaders will show up for the 9:15 Family Service. Then, in a matter of minutes, we have a crowd of probably 75. Babies being babies,...
Playing for Pizza
PLAYING FOR PIZZA I just finished reading John Grisham's "Playing for Pizza," a story about an NFL quarterback who takes a five-month contract to play minor league football in Italy.
Vote Suppression
"Over the past several years Republican lawmakers, citing concerns of voter fraud and of electoral calculations, have introduced voting restrictions in dozens of states, limiting polling hours, requiring difficult-to-acquire forms of identification, closing polling...
Welcome to the River City Diner
Tommy Moore | Quarter Beer Night | Mayor | Wall Jesus | Todd’s Creek | Rassling
What a blessing to have been raised in Memphis by a country cook who knew what she was doing. Good cooking was just a way of life in our household and among our extended family. My mother prepared the best fried chicken in Tipton County (We grew up in Memphis, but our reunions were in Tipton County.) according to my aunts, uncles, cousins, and great aunts & uncles; I have no reason to doubt their words of praise. I saw at every family reunion whose chicken was the first to go.
And my mother wasn’t the only good cook in our house. My daddy was a master at the grill and could throw together a variety of tasty snacks inside as well. He specialized in oyster chowder & Bleu Cheese Dressing; and sitting down with Daddy as we built snacks of smoked oysters, cheeses, crackers, olives, and anything else he could scrape together was a banquet in itself.
There’s more than just cooking going on here. The Stories dropdown in the header above leads to personal stories about things like baseball games, county dress codes, a bit of history and geography and more.
The blog entries below come from recipes we enjoy around our household; from recipes I’ve yet to try; from recipes given me by friends and family, and things I’ve read about on line or in real print. Yes, I do still subscribe to magazines that come in the mail. Also there are posts about cooking equipment, techniques, sources for more information, etc. I hope you find something of interest. By all means, feel free to write (rbyrd@rbyrd.net)..
Pursued by the Magician’s Assistant
Once, at a Gridiron Show cast party, the magician's assistant made a play for me. I wasn't interested and tried to dodge her. She persisted. One of the other acts was a lady barbershop quartet. They saw what was going on. They liked me too; but weren't at all...
Potato and Sausage Casserole
Ingredients 6 medium red potatoes; sliced1 lb breakfast sausage; crumbled1 medium yellow onion; diced1/2 pound mushrooms; cleaned and sliced1/2 pound cream cheese; softened2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese1 lb frozen green peas; thawedWorcestershire Saucegarlic...
Crustless Quiche
Ingredients1 tbsp. butter8 oz. cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced1 shallot, minced2 c. loosely packed spinachKosher saltFreshly ground black pepper8 large eggs1/4 c. whole milk1/4 c. oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped1/4 c. freshly grated...
Chili Pie
I did a version of this for our Canterbury Students. Sherry loved the cornbread crust. I used mushrooms and spinach because I had them on hand and I wanted to "stretch" the results. For a more "Mexican" feel, you may omit these. I'm not a fan of ground beef, so I use...
Patrick Hall Moves on to Epiphany
ews from your Missioner This is the letter Patrick Hall sent to Autry House congregants - announcing his answering the call from Church of the Epiphany.________________________________________ Dear Autry House, It has been...
Volkswagen Bug
One of my favorite memories of driving a "Bug." Running out of gas, but then coasting into the next gas station. One of my WORST memories of driving a "Bug." Stepping on the brake only to find the entire pedal assembly falling over like a line of dominoes...... ...
Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2019
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 December 31, 2019 – Tony DeSare...
Beto for Senate!
eto O'Rourke for Senate!
The Magician’s Assistant
Once, at a Gridiron Show cast party, the magician’s assistant made a play for me. I wasn’t interested and tried to dodge her. She persisted.One of the other acts was a lady barbershop quartet. They saw what was going on. They liked me too; but weren’t at all...
Hindman’s Ferry Road
My brother, Dwayne, my Nephew, Jeff, and I have been having a discussion about Hindman's Ferry Road. We're not sure which of today's roads (if any) was Hindman's Ferry. Jeff decided to ask Vance Lauderdale, Contributing Editor of Memphis Magazine, about it....
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 contributes to Outsmart December 20, 2018 – Decorations...
Dodging the Flood
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 of water, though,...
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, Kaytee, Kelly, and...
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 of this. Why is it,...
Blessing for Peggy and Steele
rom 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...
Sam’s Houston Press Articles – 2017
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 December 26, 2017 – Sounds of the...
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 unemployment has now been at 5 percent or below every month for a full year. The...
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 flash, and I dashed...
Coming to Houston
ack 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...
Reagan Corruption
henever 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...
More Links
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 State
Sunday School – 2016
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 Randy/Tom...
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 trash? Well, I DO think...
Quarter Beer Night
ost 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 before me" experience; at least not...
New Priest
e 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.
Mercurochrome
ole recounts his first war injury. "I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch (remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them)....
Medicare and Ryan
The famous "Push Grandma off the Cliff" video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGnE83A1Z4U
On the Minimum Wage
Research suggests that a ten percent hike in the minimum wage could be expected to bring about a 1/10th of 1% hike in prices. In other words, that $100.00 cart of groceries might cost you $100.10 after giving the stock clerks a 10% raise. Those stock clerks would them...
Spinach Huevos
We do up something we call "Huevos Rancheros," but it's nothing like the dish you're familiar with. Ours is more like a chili-based casserole. Lots of cheese, tortillas torn into pieces; with several eggs added whole and allowed to sort of poach in the casserole....
What Happened to the Old Cook Book?
What We're Doing We had a problem over at blogger. I don't know for sure what happened, as Google will not discuss the matter. One morning, I returned to work on a new BLOG only to find that it had been locked. Not only did Google lock the blog from viewing;...
Networks, Blacks, and the GOP
"During Robert Dole's 1996 convention speech, network camera operators could not find any actual black people to portray as delegates who were really delegates. So as a favor to Dole and the Republicans, they focused on their own employees." Eric Alterman; What...
St. Bede’s Family Service
t 9:08 in St. Bede’s Chapel we wonder if anyone other than the core team of worship leaders will show up for the 9:15 Family Service. Then, in a matter of minutes, we have a crowd of probably 75. Babies being babies,...
Playing for Pizza
PLAYING FOR PIZZA I just finished reading John Grisham's "Playing for Pizza," a story about an NFL quarterback who takes a five-month contract to play minor league football in Italy.
Vote Suppression
"Over the past several years Republican lawmakers, citing concerns of voter fraud and of electoral calculations, have introduced voting restrictions in dozens of states, limiting polling hours, requiring difficult-to-acquire forms of identification, closing polling...