Had to take the heat to get out of the kitchen!

Yes I know that's not the phrase, but that is what I had to do! We have now had 30 days of over 110 degrees. I haven't BBQ'd, grilled, smoked or even just sat outside and enjoyed a beer since the end of May. I was about to lose my mind! I have also been having a craving for fajitas. And there is only one proper way to make fajitas and that is to grill them. And I was dying to get out of the kitchen and cook with FIRE!

Well with the high of yesterday of about 111, I had 2 choices: not make the fajitas or brave the heat. So with the flank steak marinated, the guacamole made, onions and peppers sauteed and I went outside to the grill. I stoked it nice and hot with some natural lump charcoal and brought the meat out. Right before I put the meat on I toss a couple handfuls of mesquite chips for a little added Tex-Mex flavor. Turned out great! Nice grill marks, tender meat with a nice campfire-cooked taste.

We had a great meal and I satisfied my craving and saved my sanity!

I don't "get" pale ales

I love beer. No one that knows me would argue that. My brother has even called me a "beer snob" on several occasions. I'm OK with that. I love wheat beers like Belgian whites and hefeweizens are probably my favorites. Rock Bottom is my normal choice for lunch on the weekend. Although since Gordon Biersch bought them and changed the recipe on some beers and took the Asian lettuce wraps off the menu I'm not so happy, but that may be another blog entry. I have recent really been liking stouts and some porters. But the one beer that no matter how much I try to like is a pale ale. Whether a normal pale ale or even worse an India pale ale, I just don't "get" it. They are so bitter that any other flavor gets over powered. They are so dry and hoppy I just want to drink water. My buddy Chad loves them. And my favorite bartender at Rock Bottom loves them too. "The hoppier the better" he has been known to say. But I just can't get into them. So many good breweries make them and I keep trying to like them. I drink them with an open mind when I get a sampler at a store or a microbrewery but I just can't do it.

Oh well. I guess you can't like everything. I stick to my spicy wheats and creamy stouts.

A home cooked classic for a classic - Pot Roast for Mom!

On Mother's Day this year I planned to have mom over for dinner. I was going to cook my chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, but that morning I was watching Guy's Big Bite and he made this amazing looking pot roast. I knew I had to make it.

I grew up eating pot roast my mom made from one of those packets of seasonings and an oven bag and I still make that to this day. I love it! All the veggies, carrots were my favorite and boiled potatoes you smash and pour the gravy on. All of this brings back great memories. So I thought this would be fun. Making mom a classic she made for me for years, but a little different.

Now this may shock you a bit, me being a trained chef, but I have never made any pot roast but the oven bag, pre-mix seasoning kind. Crazy right? So I thought what the hell. The recipe called for me to use chuck, which I love, as well as my favorite cooking vessel: my cast iron Dutch oven. I was happy before I even started.

All the ingredients ready to go!

Now this had quite a few ingredients: chuck roast, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, fresh thyme, dried savory, tomato paste, red wine (for me and the recipe!) and beef stock. It also called for dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated and part of the liquid from that, which I thought was different. I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but I like prepping food. Something about cutting up the stuff is soothing for me, sorta of a Zen-like activity. Strange I know. I'm sure a psychologist would analyze the hell out of that, particularly when I mention I really like cutting meat...

Anyways, this type of recipe is one of my favorites as I have mentioned before. Simple and cheap ingredients, put together just the right way and then allowed to cook slowly to become something special. What I really liked that was different about this recipe is that the "gravy" was made by pureeing all the veggies in the juices after the cooking was done. What came out was a thick, rich "gravy" that really made a different. It was then served on buttered egg noodles, instead of potatoes. We had just had baked potatoes the night before and I figured Amber wouldn't mind a pasta product. So I used some of Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle (which is awesome!) and some butter and then plated it on a platter and served it family style. Amber and mom agreed the recipe was a keeper. I sent some home with mom for Gary and had leftovers for lunch the next day.

Hit me up if you want me to direct you to the recipe. Its definitely worth a little extra effort.

Dinner is served, mom!

The sweet smell of smoke

First off, let me say thanks Chad! I mean that seriously and sarcastically. All I can think about lately is firing up the smoker and throwing some meat on. Tonight I tried out some cornish game hens. I brined them for about 4 hours, then did a nice rub and let them come up to room temp while I fired up the grill. I used a combination of 100% all natural hardwood lump charcoal and then hickory chunks. Amber was a little bummed as the skin was a bit too bitter and smoky to eat and that's her favorite part. But the meat was tender, juicy and the dark meat was falling off the bone. I think I will try smoking a whole chicken soon. The hens may have been too small and that is why they got bitter. Every experience is an opportunity to learn.

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!