Rex and Ty's Food Blog

      When I travel to Tennessee to visit with Ty it is no secret that we like to cook new meals. We do our best to make these meals special by trying new dishes and paying attention to the details of the recipes. Most of the time we cook way too much for one setting. This time was no different. We had leftovers nearly every meal which we consumed the next day at lunch or dinner. Two of my favorite leftover meals are shown here. A Steak Salad with leftover Grilled Bourbon Steaks added to a fresh garden salad and a Penne Pasta Bowl made with our Slow-Cooker Italian Sunday Gravy . Both of these recipes were from The Complete Cook's Country TV Show Cookbook .       What makes these leftovers taste so good? I believe it is the attention to detail when we are preparing each original dish! The execution needs to be good so you will find me reading the recipe over and over, reading any tips that may be included and making sure that I understand all s...

    What is the worst meal you have tried to eat?   I can tell you the exact meal, place and the cook who made it.  The place was Grandma Herriott's kitchen, the cook was my father, Rex, and the meal was Hoppin John.  This was way before our adventurous days, probably 25 years ago or so.  My father got the inspiration from a cook book on heritage cooking.  He starved us all day, while he worked on this meal.  When he saw that the lack of food was weakening us, he sat us around the kitchen table to eat dinner.  I still remember the cautious look on my fathers face, as he plated the neon green substance that came from the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. I remember my brother and sister waiting on me to try it first.  It was Life cereal and I was Mikey.  I remember the spoon entering my mouth.  I am not sure who laughed first? Was it my siblings laughing at me trying to swallow? Maybe it was me trying to do the impossible? ...

     I have been to London. Many times in fact. No, not London, England, but London Street in Marion, Ohio. This little street, not much more than an alley, was the home of Jimbos Pizza Shop . My brother Reggie and I have made many visits to Jimbos . The owner operator was a super fellow and made a really good pizza. We believed it was the best option in town.     Reggie always gave Jimbo a lot of grief about the pizza. Not that he thought they were bad, he just liked to give Jimbo a hard time. Most of the time when Reggie ordered he would say, "don't be so stingy with the pepperoni" or maybe "put some hot peppers on it this time, we couldn't find them last time". Well this particular night Jimbo must have had enough. We ordered a pizza with banana peppers on it and Reggie gave him his favorite line over the phone. "Don't be stingy with the peppers". We picked up the pizza and returned home. Neither of us could eat it. There were peppers and...

     I like to measure the ingredients and lay them all out before starting a new recipe. The other day when Lily was going to be in the kitchen making dinner for us, I began to wonder, as I looked at my spice shelf. What is the most important ingredient or spice that I have? What is used the most? What ingredient is the most important overall? Seems like salt is used in most recipes. But what type? Sea salt, Iodized, Kosher, or Seasoned Salt. What ingredient or spice will make Lily's version of Sweet Pepper Pasta with Sausage special? All was laid out ready for Lily to add in the order the recipe called for. She executed with perfection.       As I watched her grate the Parmesan cheese that finishes the dish, it came to me. The secret ingredient. The one that for me makes every meal special. SHARING ! When finished, I realized that this really good meal, first introduced to me by my Son and Daughter-in-law, was indeed just as good as the time they served ...

      A little over ten years ago I did something very uncharacteristic for me. I fell in love with a face. It was a face on a packet of information. A face that needed help! My daughter had invited me to attend a concert at her church. Her claim was, " a friend of mine sings with this group ". Since I like live music and gospel music I agreed to go along. My granddaughter Lily, not yet one, stood on my lap and bounced with the music. It was a great time of worship.       I wasn't aware of the purpose of the concert. You see the singing quartet was representing Compassion International . This is an organization that helps impoverished children from around the world. They passed around the audience packets containing pictures and histories of individual children that were in need of help. This one face on a packet that was passed seemed to speak to me. Something in my heart said that I needed to help this little girl. But being a hardened skeptic I just pas...

     The last time I went to Tennessee to visit my son and his family I had a secret agenda. I wanted to find something I could make that my grandson Brayden would eat. Brayden has a narrow band of foods that he chooses to eat. I know this is not unusual for children. He eats well but doesn't experiment with new foods very often. His sister Tenley will eat anything you are eating.       Brayden likes hot dogs, chicken nuggets, bread sticks, pizza, macaroni and cheese and also Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. He does use milk on the cereal but doesn't use condiments with anything else. No ketchup, no mustard, not even sauces? He really knows what he wants and wants it just the way he likes it.       I made it my goal to find something I could make that he would eat. I was armed with my wife's favorite cookbook, Farm Journals Best Ever Recipes from 1977 and picked some simple items to make. I felt sure that I would make that special food he cou...

    I recently tried a recipe that was posted in Grit Magazine. It caught my eye because it was called a Shaker Lemon Pie . It was an unusual looking pie but the thing that interested me was the Shaker adjective. I did not know anything about the Shaker people or sect, until my brother Rodney made some Shaker boxes and showed them to me. He then invited me to come to his woodshop and make some of my own.     Rodney and I got really close after we were older. There is something about sibling relationships. They see you at your best and worst but seem to accept you as you are. Like me, Rodney might have had faults too, but I know where he really was his best. In his woodshop! Rodney made everything you can imagine, picnic tables, cedar chest, fine jewelry boxes and anything else you can imagine. One of my favorite projects he completed was a large cider press. He had reclaimed yellow pine wood from a neighbors' fallen barn for the reconstruction. It was beautif...