Simple does not mean boring

Simple stuff...

Tonight Amber requested I make one of her, and my, favorites: Chicken Cacciatora. A wonderful braised chicken dish with very simple ingredients: a chicken, tomato sauce, an onion, some garlic, mushrooms, some herbs, a little red wine, some love and a little time (and thyme actually). Fairly simply ingredients. But when put together properly something wonderful comes out. Sure you could just throw them all in a pot and hope for the best, but it takes more than that. You need to brown the chicken, then the onions, mushrooms and garlic. But don't put the garlic in too early or it will burn. Toss in the herbs, do a little deglaze action with the wine, pour in the tomato sauce, bring it to a boil and let it simmer. How long? Until its done!


Traditionally dishes like Chicken Cacciatora, Coq au Vin, Boeuf Bourguignon and a ton of other slow braised dishes started out as peasant food. With Chicken Cacciatora, the cacciatora roughly translates to "hunter". This was food that was thrown in a pot and was a hearty meal for the hunters. Coq au Vin was a rooster who couldn't... well let's just say his time as the hen house stud had passed. But it was old, stringy and tough. So you marinaded him in wine and cooked him slowly. And Boeuf Bourguignon was the tough cuts of meat you couldn't sell at market. You had to take your time with these things to make them something wonderful. Maybe that is what I love about them. Humble ingredients that when put together properly become something amazing. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. I mean look at any expensive French restaurant and you are likely to see Coq au Vin or Boeuf Bourguignon on the menu commanding a pretty high price! I always chuckle to myself thinking the chef in the back must be laughing his way to the bank on the price of that recipe to make!

Case in point. On Monday we ate a Fugo de Chao. A trendy new Brazilian steakhouse or "Churrascaria". Meat is skewered on sword-length skewers and roasted over a charcoal fire. This came from the gauchos in Brazil needing a quick way to cook what they had: plenty of meat and swords! How much simpler can you get? Simple seasoning and grilled meat. The servers come around with the meat on the sword and slice you off a hunk. Yet they charge around $50 a person for this.

The fruits of my labor

So the next time you are trying to think about what to cook for dinner and get a little disappointed with no fancy ingredients take a look at a few more rustic cookbooks or recipes. I bet you find something fantastic if you are willing to take a little time and not rush things. 


Thanks for the idea, babe! It hit the spot!

A very successful attempt at smoking some ribs

Since I just started this blog, this is a few weeks late, but I thought it would be a good first post. At the end of February I attended Hava-Q in Lake Havasu, AZ with my buddy Chad's BBQ team. "Smoke Slayers" out of San Jose, CA. I worked as a "merc", not part of the team offically, just helping out. Not officially part of the team but brought my chili recipe for the chili category (took 9th out of 18, acceptable for my first time out I think) as well as making a Asian flavored pork tenderloin and some shrimp satay in Thai peanut sauce. I loved it! So I wanted to try out some smoking on my BBQ at home. 

Trimmed, rubbed and ready to go!

Now I don't have the fancy set-ups these guys have. Just a simple charcoal "barrel" BBQ with a side smoker box. So after harassing Chad for a good week prior for tips (they did after all take 8th out of 85 for their ribs), I tried out some pork ribs. I cracked open an ice cold beer, poured it into an ice cold glass and started. First got the BBQ coals going and started the applewood smoking chips soaking. I then trimmed up the ribs and then added a nice, generous BBQ rub. I set them on the grill, closed the lid, sat down with my stepdad, Gary, and my wonder-mutt, Eddie on the back porch with a 12 pack of Hoegaarden, a cigar and let them go while we shot the shit. 


Over the next couple of hours, we sat in the warm April Arizona afternoon, enjoying ice cold beer and good conversation about golf, guns and whatever while the iPod cranked out my "Classic Rock" playlist: The Stones, Led Zepp, Cream. A perfect soundtrack for the day.

Prior to saucing

Before the second phase I took a peek at the meat that's smell was starting to drive us crazy and was rewarded with this beautiful sight. I was happy. 


We cracked open a couple more beers. By this time the wifey was home and my mom had showed up, ready to eat. It was just about time sauce up the meat. So saucepot and basting brush in hand it was time to head back out to the BBQ. 

Sauced and ready to rest

Here was the sight after the sauce time. I was giddy. It turned out exactly as I was hoping. 

The "pink ring"

And now, the most important site after slicing: the pink ring: 


I had tried smoking a few times before with mixed results. Once it turned out ok, the next mediocre and the one right before this time, dreadful. I was ecstatic. I actually popped a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. 


I'm already ready to try it again!


ETA: I have to add that this wonderful result was also due in part from Johnny, the other half of Smoke Slayers. Chad advised me that it was actually Johnny's recipe that he gave me. Thanks Johnny!