Cre`me Fraiche

This little discovery goes to my wife. She came home with a carton of cream and cultured buttermilk. I smelled the buttermilk and was disgusted with the flavor and smell. She was so excited and told me that she was gonna make some homemade sour cream. I responded with a HUGE resounding NO WAY! You aint gonna make me eat anything with that nastyness of buttermilk. She laughed and said, "Well, tough. Your going to try and thats that." She was happily excited and wanted to share the excitement with me. To make a long story very short, in turn, i learned my lesson and it was the most amazing flavored sour cream i have ever ever EVER had!!! PERIOD!

Baklava

BAKLAVA! The sweet, sticky, lemony goodness. I know Christmas is right around the corner when i am in the mood for this mana from heaven.. It is not as hard as it may seem, nor does it have anything to do with grilling or bbq. But, it is my favorite treat. The next few posts ay have nothing to do with bbq. But they can be used with bbq or grilling.
Now, baklava, is not challenging or difficult, it just takes FOR FREAKIN EVER!!!! Never ever try and make the Philo dough. Its impossible, so I just buy mine at the store for $4 a pound. Make sure to thaw out the dough before you start. Thus, said, if you want a challenge, then try and make your own Philo dough. So what are we waiting for? Lets get started!

The almighty cheese

Life has many many simple and enjoyable pleasures. One of those said pleasures is the satisfaction of making your own cheese that is so elegant that it needs its own ramekin to be displayed in. It requires more energy to cook a pot of rice then it does to make fresh Flamage Blanc or what some of the traditionalists call Farmers Cheese. It is a very mild product that goes great with walnuts, grapes, apples, crackers and my absolute favorite, homemade artisan bread. The soft and creamy texture creates an amazing pairing with the crunchy crust and custardy crumb of homemade artisan breads, which i will have to post about soon. This is a BBQ and grilling site but, i think i can make an exception.

Why do we collect things

Here is a collection of my rubs and seasoning blends that i use on a regular basis. I do not use these for competitions but they are pretty dang good. My favorite one is the seasoning salt. I use this all the time as a substitute for regular table salt on vegies, burgers, fries, and salads.
This is a simple post, not alot of info but hey its all good. So here ya go my friends and fellow brethren. (Thanks to meatwave.com for photo.)

Signiture rub basics

Instead of giving you my recipe for my rubs, oh wait i already did that. How bout i also give you the basics of how to build a basic rub and then add to it for your own signature championship style rub.. huh… sound good.
The hardest thing about rubs is balancing out the seasonings so that one seasoning does not over power another. Hopefully i will be able to explain how to accomplish this.

Wood fired pizza

Pizza is one of those strange foods that i personally do not care for one iota! I have always had problems with soggy dough,to much sauce to much this and that. As a great philospopher from the 1800's once said "“The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution” With that new knowledge, i set out for just that... a solution!

Caralina pit beef and lettuce wraps

Well, i finally broke down and had my first attempt at tri-tip. Im not gonna lie, it was pretty dang good. I actually cooked two of them. One was over on the fire pit and the other was on the rotis. Both were prepared differently but very tasty. It was truly an amazing dinner

Kebob a ran

As i was aimlessly wondering around the local grocery store, i happened to catch a glimpse of this nifty looking object that had a price tag of $3. I went over to see exactly what it was. A few short minutes later, i was at home firing up the grill.

Caveman steak

Today, I celebrate a new mile marker in my life. For 5 years i have been wanting to cook a steak caveman style. No, not naked...there are laws against that i think. Caveman style is what the Tuscans in Italy do, they slap a nice piece of beef right on the hot wood embers a of a hardwood fire

The butter of life

One of my favorite things to cook is a nice juicy steak, I prepare my steaks totally differently than most people do. I can make a $4 steak taste like Gucci prime steak. I cook over a extremely hot hot wood fire or gas fire using my grillgrates product. (http://www.grillgrate.com/).

Look at dem ribs

Sometimes a man gets a crazy notion and no matter how cold it is outside, the idea must come to pass. Today, i celebrate one of those days. This marks a historic time stamp in my life. It was freezing cold outside, some what snowy and just a bitter wind chill. I packed up the welder and headed outback to the patio.

Brew belly

This morning i woke up to the sound of chirping birds, kids playing outside and the smells of early spring. As i laid there in my gigantic California king, I pondered about the various activities planned for the day. It was super bowl Sunday and i had nothing really going on. I didnt have any friends coming over to watch the game, i didnt have any plans to cook, i had basically not much to do.

Ganache

I know this is NOT grilling, but hey, sometimes a little off topic is ok. This is a great recipe for Ganache. If you add a wee bit more cream, it will make a terrific glaze for new york cheese cake. The first part will make a crust for tart shells with a chocolate Ganache filling. The second part should be pure Ganache truffles. These little guys make a terrific Christmas gift! hint hint..

Braciole

Braciole is a fascinating Italian dish. It consists of a thinly cut piece of meat that has either been butterflied or flattened. Then it is stuffed with all sorts of mixtures, rolled, tied and either grilled on a wood fire or braised in tomato sauce. I prefer the wood fire approach for the most authentic flavors of Italy.

Oven roasted chicken

 I have a quest in life. And thats to find a roasted chicken that tastes like one from the supermarket. Some say that this one tastes better, but i still think walmarts rotisserie chicken is the best hands down. Its either because its supper salty or super lemony or both.

Smoked sirloin, yorkshire pudding, and baked brie

Tonight, my wife and i celebrated our 3 month wedding anniversary. We first went to my best friends wedding reception and enjoyed good company and great treats. My neighbor, who is a very talented 80 year old piano player, was in charge of all the piano music for the wedding. After the reception, the whole family was hungry. So i decided to cook one of my specialties.

Signiture bbq rub basics

Instead of giving you my recipe for my rubs, oh wait i already did that. How bout i also give you the basics of how to build a basic rub and then add to it for your own signature championship style rub.. huh… sound good.

Cerdo de la muerte

Cerdo de la muerte translated into English means death by pig. This recipe i learned from a friend. I just gave it a fancy title.

Bacon wrapped dates

This is a very very tasty side dish or appetizer. i have made these a few times and they are always a hit. The sweet sweet flavor of dates mixed with strong blu cheese topped with a nice smokey flavor... MMMM MMM GOOD!

Pork scalopini

One of my most favorite recipes is a mixture of Greek and Italian origins. What makes this dish so unique is the contrast between the flavors. We first start off with Stuffed Pork Braciole (bri-shol) topped with a fresh tomato Marinara sauce . We will finish off with some hot and sticky Baklava.