Whew...! How nice of the bridge to just be there when you needed it...

And how nice for my eyes to have been acute enough (just)
to recognize the location.

We had tons of food with us, much of which had no shelf life in the
car, so we loaded up the Fords' freezer whether they liked it or not.

How picnic-like... (G)

Rather, and they had all the responsibilities for leftovers
that a host would have without the advantages of having
had the picnic,

Our plan was to take them out for a local color lunch, and their
plan had been to take us out for a local color lunch, but I
overruled all that and made stuff out of what we had.

After all, there was such an abundant supply of it... :)

We should have stayed another few days to eat up all
the perishables, but Bonnie had a concert to play in
before we cut loose for across the pond.

The Fords were nonplussed but gracious, saying that they
would not turn down an opportunity to have my cooking.

Burt had called me to see if I thought you'd enjoy their Thai place in
Egypt (I think it is), and I thought probably... but I also know that
Burt does enjoy and appreciate your cooking... ;)

He said so, and afterward Shirley gave me a big old kiss,
so all must have been reasonably well.

Burt has stooped a bit and is a little plumper than he was,
his height settling into girth more or less, and Shirley is
as lovely as ever, perky despite her recent travails. I
hope they last a good long time more, enough to have them
attend at least one more picnic.

We'll just have to continue to schedule picnics close enough to them..

For sure.

... To eat is human; to digest divine.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

Title: Cajun Prime Rib
Categories: Cajun, Meats
Yield: 6 servings

4 lb Prime rib roast (10-1/2 lbs) 1/4 c Salt
1/4 c Black pepper 2 ea Onions, thinly sliced
1/4 c Garlic powder

--------------------------SEASONING MIX (OPTIONAL--------------------------
1 tb Plus 1 tsp, salt 1 tb Plus 3/4 tsp, black
pepper
1 tb Plus 2 tsp, white pepper 2 1/2 ts Dry mustard
1 tb Plus 2 tsp, fennel seeds 2 1/2 ts Ground cayenne pepper

Remove fat cap off top of meat (butcher can do this for you) and
save. Place the roast, standing on the rib bones, in a very large
roasting pan. Then with a knife make several dozen punctures through
the silver skin so seasoning can permeate meat. Pour a very generous,
even layer of black pepper over the top of the meat (the pepper should
completely cover it); repeat with the garlic powder, then the salt,
totally covering the preceding layer. Carefully arrange the onions
in an even layer on top so as not to knock off the seasoning. Place
the fat cap back on top. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Bake ribs in a 550F oven until the fat is dark brown and crispy on top,
about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Refrigerate
until well chilled, about 3 hours. (this is done so the juices will
solidify and the steaks can be cooked rare.) Remove fat cap and
disgard. With the blade of a large knife, scrape off the onions and
as much of the seasonings as possible and discard. Then with a long
knife, slice between ribs into 6 steaks (4 will have bones); trim the
cooked surface of meat from the 2 pieces that were on the outside of
the roast. Season and cook in your favorite way for steaks.
TO BLACKEN THE STEAKS: Combine the ingredients of the seasoning mix
thoroughly in a small bowl; you will have about 8 tablespoons.
Sprinkle the steaks generously and evenly on both sides with the mix.
using about 4 teaspoons on each steak and pressing it in with your
hands.
Heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat until it is beyond the
smoking stage and you see white ash on the skillet bottom--at least
10 minutes. (The skillet cannot be too hot for this method.) Place
one steak in the hot skillet (cook only one side at a time) and cook
over a very high heat until the underside starts to develop a heavy,
black crust, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook until
the underside is crusted like the first, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Repeat with the remaining steaks. Serve each steak while piping hot.
(*NOTE*: If you don't have a commercial hood vent over your stove,
this dish may smoke you out of the kitchen. It's worth it! But you
can also cook it outdoors on a gas grill; a charcoal fire doesn't get
hot enough to "blacken" the steak properly. If you have a smoke
detector in your house, you will be able to determine if it is working
correctly. This is NOT a dish to prepare in an apartment building
with a central fire alarm system wired into your smoke detector. It
causes great excitement! Also, you can be guaranteed you will meet
your landlord.)
From Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

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