Rex and Ty's Food Blog

    There was a platter in some of my grandmothers things that my father had brought home years ago. There is a picture of a turkey on the face of the platter. It is still in fair condition considering that I am sure grandma used it a lot. We celebrated every holiday and lots of Sundays eating at her house. And since she didn't have a lot of "stuff" stored around in her small house, I'm sure I have seen it setting on the table with hams, turkeys or meat loafs to be served.      It wasn't until I turned it over that the true value of this platter was revealed to me! No it wasn't a makers mark from a fine china company in Japan or Germany. Nothing to convince me that this was valuable fine china. It was a piece of adhesive tape right in the middle of the back. Written in grandma's hand writing was a note. It read, From Mary Kathryn and Robert Lee, 1953. It was a gift to her from my parents in the year that I was born. Priceless!     The first thing I d...

     The first time I had Osso Bucco was at a restaurant in Traverse City, Michigan. My son Ty and his wife Samantha suggested we go there. The restaurant was right on and above the Bay and we sat on the patio watching the boats going by. I ordered Rainbow Trout, Ty ordered Osso Bucco. I had never heard of the dish, so he let me try his and I have been hooked since.     I have learned that traditionally Osso Bucco is made with cross cut veal shanks braised with vegetables in Wine and broth and usually served over rice or polenta. It was a way to use up a cut of meat that otherwise may have been discarded or ground up. I understand it used to be a very low cost item. I haven't found this to be true now. When I am able to find the shanks, because it is so good, I will make it.      This time I purchased some Venison shanks and thought I would try them. I also served over mashed potatoes instead of rice or polenta. I definitely prefer it over rice....

     Dang it! Every restaurant is closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and I really wanted some Mexican style chips and salsa. I told papa about this conundrum and his solution was to go online and find a recipe to make our own.      We found a recipe on YouTube from Laura Vitale, called Restaurant Style Salsa . We added Jalapeno and Serrano peppers instead of just Jalapeno peppers. I was worried that the extra peppers would be too spicy, especially for my mom. We also used lemon instead of lime. I was nervous that the lemon would change the flavor for the worse but that changed quickly after I tried the salsa.      After I served the salsa to the whole family, my papa, Rex, told me that I was going to write a guest blog! I was thrilled as I had asked before if I could do one but never actually made anything. Me being a seventh grader I was worried that nobody would want to read it or it wouldn't be good enough for the blog.   ...