I admit that I have a serious problem...I crave smoke! Hickory, Apple, Cherry....I crave them all! The engulfing smells that they emit....the color of the smoke...the way it softly floats from the weep holes....I have a serious problem. I admit that I am completely addicted! But hey! Admitting it is half the battle!
With my addiction though the other half of the battle is figuring out what to smoke! We are looking at a weekend of 70F with sun and that just adds fuel to my fire pit to get something on the smoker! So I am taking suggestions! Of my very few but I hope loyal followers, I would like to see your favorite recipe, favorite smoked item, favorite cooked anything!! I want to give it a try this weekend! I was leaning towards Smoked Beef Brisket but I have never smoked a brisket before, so send some suggestions cuz I need to figure out how to feed my addiction this weekend!
On a side note....I am saddened to say that Dave Duerson passed today. He took over for Todd Bell in 1985 and never looked backed. He started a run of 4 straight Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl Championship with the 85 Bears. He won another Super Bowl with the 1990 Giants but we will forgive him of that. Say hi to Halas for me Dave.......go Bears.....
Friday, February 18, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Is it the Georgia or the New York That Makes the Pizza Suck?
I think I have it all figured out. Southern pizza does NOT suck....it is that New York style of pizza that sucks and that is all they see down here. These are big, nasty, floppy flats of wet cardboard, covered in mushy slop. It blows, I am not going to lie. HOWEVER!!! Like all things, something that sucks requires someone (mainly me!) to create something better!! And I think I am on to something!
I started by taking a Chicago Style Pan Pizza recipe...which is quite close to Malnati's and Gino's East, and I rolled out the dough real thin to make a thin crust pizza for my daughter. It turned out pretty good. The great mistake that was discovered was that the simplistic sauce freakin rocked! I mean really, it is mostly just crushed tomatoes!!! But the sweet tang it puts out like filthy Vegas hooker was just outstanding! Now the dough made for an adequate crust. To use it for Chicago Style Deep Dish it was perfect, but I need to get a little more of a "cracker" crust to get good Chicago thin crust...I need to get there because I cannot stand this New York garbage they are trying to shovel here.
Here is the Chicago Style Deep Dish recipe I found. I have not tweaked the dough yet at all except for adding a little salt:
Dough Recipe
* 2 packages rapid rise dry yeast
* 2 cups warm water
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 4 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 cup cornmeal
* 5 1/2 cups flour
In the bowl of a stand mixer (e.g. KitchenAid), dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the vegetable oil, olive oil, cornmeal, and half of the flour. Beat for 10 minutes. Attach the dough hook and mix in the remaining flour. Knead for several minutes with the mixer. (Note: because the dough is very rich and moist, it would be difficult to do this by hand.)
Remove dough and place on a clean counter top. Cover with a very large metal bowl and allow to rise until double in bulk. Punch down and allow to rise again. Punch down a second time and you are ready to make pizza!
Oil your deep-dish pizza pan. Depending on the size of your pan, place some dough in the pan and push it out to the edges using your fingers. Put in enough dough so that you can run the crust right up the side of the pan. Make it about 1/8-inch thick throughout the pan.
Filling for a 9- or 10-inch Pan
* 1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
* 2 cups original crushed tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon basil
* 1 teaspoon oregano
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* Salt to taste
* 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* (I like about a teaspoon of sugar in my sauce too)
Place the cheese in tile-like layers on the bottom of the pie - you won't use it all but you want to be sure to have enough. Next put in the tomatoes and the basil, oregano, garlic, and salt, reserving the Parmesan cheese for the top. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pie and you are ready to bake.
**If you want sausage make sure you put the sausage on the cheese, UNDER the sauce. It sounds silly but it really makes a difference in the taste of the sausage and pizza! I am not lying...once I perfect this, I am so close to starting my own Pizza shop!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Super Steeler Kill The Packers Bowl Sunday!!!
Well it is Super Bowl Sunday and what does that mean? It means that I am in denial, dressed in all my Bears gear, cooking Jambalaya while I watch the history of the Bears. Everything but the Jambalaya is sort of a tradition for me. I guess when you grow up a Bear fan you have to make your champions through non stop propaganda.
I know one thing for sure today...I still hate the Packers and I am really hoping that the Steelers kick the crud out of them! So to get an idea of how much I dislike the Packers...I am rooting for Rapenberger and the Steelers over the Packers! Those filthy Packers! You know how you can tell you are a Packer fan? When your cousin is also your aunt, your sister, and your wife!!
Now that I have that off my chest...LET'S MAKE SOME JAMBALAYA!!!! This one is an easy one.
Ingredients
* 1 pound fully cooked kielbasa
* 1 pound andouille sausage
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped green pepper
* 7 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 can diced tomatoes, undrained - 14.5 oz
* 2 can tomato paste - 6oz
* 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined
* Hot cooked rice
Directions
1. Cut the sausage into 1/4 inch slices. Cube the chicken
2. Dice the veggies (onion, green pep, and celery)
3. Heat up a fry-pan and a dutch oven - in one tbsp of butter, brown the sausage in the dutch over and in 1 tbsp of butter, brown the chicken in the fry pan, dump the chick in the dutch oven
4. Add 1 tbsp of butter and the trinity (onion, green pepper, celery) to fry pan now and saute until translucent - add to the dutch oven.
5. Add the garlic to the dutch oven and stir.
6. Stir in the diced tomato and the paste
7. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes
8. Add the shrimp, reduce to a simmer for 4 minutes.
9. While the Jambalaya is cooking, start the rice.
10. You are ready to serve this over some rice and enjoy.
NOTES: I did add some beer to the dutch oven after I added the "trinity"...I am not sure if I really needed to add beer as much as I needed an excuse to open one and drink it while I was cooking...hardly any went into the Jambalaya.
GO BEARS!! Uhhhh, I mean Steelers!!!
I know one thing for sure today...I still hate the Packers and I am really hoping that the Steelers kick the crud out of them! So to get an idea of how much I dislike the Packers...I am rooting for Rapenberger and the Steelers over the Packers! Those filthy Packers! You know how you can tell you are a Packer fan? When your cousin is also your aunt, your sister, and your wife!!
Now that I have that off my chest...LET'S MAKE SOME JAMBALAYA!!!! This one is an easy one.
Ingredients
* 1 pound fully cooked kielbasa
* 1 pound andouille sausage
* 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup chopped green pepper
* 7 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 2 can diced tomatoes, undrained - 14.5 oz
* 2 can tomato paste - 6oz
* 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined
* Hot cooked rice
Directions
1. Cut the sausage into 1/4 inch slices. Cube the chicken
2. Dice the veggies (onion, green pep, and celery)
3. Heat up a fry-pan and a dutch oven - in one tbsp of butter, brown the sausage in the dutch over and in 1 tbsp of butter, brown the chicken in the fry pan, dump the chick in the dutch oven
4. Add 1 tbsp of butter and the trinity (onion, green pepper, celery) to fry pan now and saute until translucent - add to the dutch oven.
5. Add the garlic to the dutch oven and stir.
6. Stir in the diced tomato and the paste
7. Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes
8. Add the shrimp, reduce to a simmer for 4 minutes.
9. While the Jambalaya is cooking, start the rice.
10. You are ready to serve this over some rice and enjoy.
NOTES: I did add some beer to the dutch oven after I added the "trinity"...I am not sure if I really needed to add beer as much as I needed an excuse to open one and drink it while I was cooking...hardly any went into the Jambalaya.
GO BEARS!! Uhhhh, I mean Steelers!!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Chick-fil-A is anti-gay...and Perez Hilton is Not
Chick-fil-A donated money to a Christian organization that is against gay marriage and now we have an angry gay man trying to make an issue of it. Guess what Perez, if you don't like it then don't eat Chick-fil-A. This crazy country we live in allows us to like or not like things like gay marriage. Our world is NOT a Facebook page where you can only click the "Like" button. I don't like you. How do I handle that? I waste as little time as possible on you Mr. Hilton. You have every right to voice your opinion and support the causes that you choose to support but guess what?!?! So do we heteros.
Also, last I checked, Chick-fil-A was a PRIVATELY owned company. They can do and say what they want. Just like you like to shoot your mouth off in any direction that you please about mostly meaningless things...Chick-fil-A can say that they believe marriage to be between a man and a woman.
Don't get your pink boa feathers all ruffled...this one is not worth it. Chick-fil-A will go on with out your support Perez....and your 15 minutes were up long ago.
No recipe today...I am still upset with the dinner we had at Rio Nuevo Cantina on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta, Ga. It sucked like Taco Bell for the price of Ruby Tuesday. Worst 65.00 bucks I ever spent!
Also, last I checked, Chick-fil-A was a PRIVATELY owned company. They can do and say what they want. Just like you like to shoot your mouth off in any direction that you please about mostly meaningless things...Chick-fil-A can say that they believe marriage to be between a man and a woman.
Don't get your pink boa feathers all ruffled...this one is not worth it. Chick-fil-A will go on with out your support Perez....and your 15 minutes were up long ago.
No recipe today...I am still upset with the dinner we had at Rio Nuevo Cantina on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta, Ga. It sucked like Taco Bell for the price of Ruby Tuesday. Worst 65.00 bucks I ever spent!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
I Love the South!!
Man I love the south! Growing up in Chicago I did not know any better...until I moved to Georgia! It is January and today it is going to be sunny and mid 60's! Way to nice to be inside! Living in the south makes it easy to cook outside year round as well. Today, I am thinking a little Grilled Chipotle-Lime Pork Chops and Spanish Rice for dinner.
There are two ways to go about this....you can make your marinade fresh like this:
1 chipotle chile, dried, re-hydrated and minced
2 teaspoons oregano
2 crushed garlic cloves (I like more than this though)
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients and pour over the chops in a plastic bag. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can so you get a lot of marinade to chops contact surface. This is good for 4 chops (bone in or boneless)
OR...you can just buy a bottle of the Chipotle-Lime Marinade and save a lot of time. Marinade for at least an hour...overnight if you can!
If you have boneless chops they will cook much faster than bone in chops. Light your grill for high heat/ direct cooking. The times below are assuming that your chops are about 1 inch in thickness.
For boneless chops cook directly over the high-heat for 4 minutes per side (chops should be about room temperature when you take them to the grill). I like to do the quarter turn after 2 minutes on the first side so that I get the nice cross hatch on one side for presentation purposes.
For Bone in cooking, I still use the direct high heat for the same time span as the boneless. When that time is up I move them to the indirect lower heat side of the grill for an additional 8 - 10 minutes.
For the Spanish rice...I wing it! I boil my rice in chicken broth for a little extra flavor, then I add a little paprika for color, some chopped onions, jalapeno (seeds and veins removed), tomato (seeds removed), salt, pepper, and cilantro. I have no idea how much of each I use....guessing, I would say about a teaspoon of each season and a 1/2 cup of each the onions and tomato to a full cup of rice....maybe one jalapeno.
Another month until pitchers and catchers report! Enjoy the day! AND if you have any topics that you would like to see discussed let me know! Otherwise you are just going to see a whole bunch of recipes!
There are two ways to go about this....you can make your marinade fresh like this:
1 chipotle chile, dried, re-hydrated and minced
2 teaspoons oregano
2 crushed garlic cloves (I like more than this though)
1/4 cup olive oil
2/3 cup lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients and pour over the chops in a plastic bag. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can so you get a lot of marinade to chops contact surface. This is good for 4 chops (bone in or boneless)
OR...you can just buy a bottle of the Chipotle-Lime Marinade and save a lot of time. Marinade for at least an hour...overnight if you can!
If you have boneless chops they will cook much faster than bone in chops. Light your grill for high heat/ direct cooking. The times below are assuming that your chops are about 1 inch in thickness.
For boneless chops cook directly over the high-heat for 4 minutes per side (chops should be about room temperature when you take them to the grill). I like to do the quarter turn after 2 minutes on the first side so that I get the nice cross hatch on one side for presentation purposes.
For Bone in cooking, I still use the direct high heat for the same time span as the boneless. When that time is up I move them to the indirect lower heat side of the grill for an additional 8 - 10 minutes.
For the Spanish rice...I wing it! I boil my rice in chicken broth for a little extra flavor, then I add a little paprika for color, some chopped onions, jalapeno (seeds and veins removed), tomato (seeds removed), salt, pepper, and cilantro. I have no idea how much of each I use....guessing, I would say about a teaspoon of each season and a 1/2 cup of each the onions and tomato to a full cup of rice....maybe one jalapeno.
Another month until pitchers and catchers report! Enjoy the day! AND if you have any topics that you would like to see discussed let me know! Otherwise you are just going to see a whole bunch of recipes!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
STOP IT!! You are forcing me to ROOT for Cutler!!
We are two days past the Bears loss to the Packers in the NFC Championship at Soldier Field. I think the wounds are healing. Actually the pain of a loss to the Packers quickly turned to anger and disgust for the people and fans that questioned the character and toughness of Jay Cutler. To make myself perfectly clear....I never liked Cutler. In fact normally his pouty mannerisms sicken me. That does not remove that he is a Bear. And the Bears come first.
To MJD - you are an ass-hat, sitting at home watching...not playing....watching the NFC Championship game. How can you possibly make a comment without knowing what the injury is? You and all your NFL counterparts should have been the first to tweet that you should not judge before you know the injury. Your ass-hatness (yup I will make up words too!) is pushing me to root for Cutler to get a chip on his shoulder and prove that he can lead this team to greener pastures.
To the fans of the Bears...any of you who watched Cutler get sacked 50+ times this year and 10 times against the Giants, yet still question his toughness...you are not welcome on the Bear Wagon. I believe in getting on a player for a poor performance. I also believe in getting on a guy when he is in a leadership position. I do not agree with getting on a guy all Bartman style because you need a scape goat after the Packers kicked the Bears ass.
Which brings me to the positives! After hearing all week how Rodgers invented the forward pass, it was refreshing to see the Bears knock his QB rating down to the 60's level. It was just as refreshing to see Peppers knock Rodgers back to the 1960's with that great, worthwhile 15 yard penalty of a hit! I only wish he could have had the chance to do it again! I applaud the Bears D for a great game.
21-14 is not a horrible loss. Sure it was painful because it was the Packers. However, we have something to build on! I for one am looking forward to the Bears 2011 season where I will be rooting for Cutler to get tough all over the NFL. Thanks for taking away my biggest complaint about the Bears.
To MJD - you are an ass-hat, sitting at home watching...not playing....watching the NFC Championship game. How can you possibly make a comment without knowing what the injury is? You and all your NFL counterparts should have been the first to tweet that you should not judge before you know the injury. Your ass-hatness (yup I will make up words too!) is pushing me to root for Cutler to get a chip on his shoulder and prove that he can lead this team to greener pastures.
To the fans of the Bears...any of you who watched Cutler get sacked 50+ times this year and 10 times against the Giants, yet still question his toughness...you are not welcome on the Bear Wagon. I believe in getting on a player for a poor performance. I also believe in getting on a guy when he is in a leadership position. I do not agree with getting on a guy all Bartman style because you need a scape goat after the Packers kicked the Bears ass.
Which brings me to the positives! After hearing all week how Rodgers invented the forward pass, it was refreshing to see the Bears knock his QB rating down to the 60's level. It was just as refreshing to see Peppers knock Rodgers back to the 1960's with that great, worthwhile 15 yard penalty of a hit! I only wish he could have had the chance to do it again! I applaud the Bears D for a great game.
21-14 is not a horrible loss. Sure it was painful because it was the Packers. However, we have something to build on! I for one am looking forward to the Bears 2011 season where I will be rooting for Cutler to get tough all over the NFL. Thanks for taking away my biggest complaint about the Bears.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Well...That Sucked
That one hurt! To see Cutler go down, then Collins, then have Hanie almost lead them back....just heart breaking...my 11 year old son actually cried...not going to lie, I actually liked that! He is learning the love of the Bear! Time to move on though! Come on Blackhawks! Lets go White Sox!!!
I can honestly say that to see the Packers win the NFC in Chicago sickens me. However, apps were great! My wife (Kari) discovered a great recipe for a Chicken Bruschetta (promised in previous post). It is pretty easy too and the mix of sweet and salt is perfect! Here is the recipe:
Chicken Bruschetta
Apricot Jelly
Ciabatta bread
Olive Oil
Smoked Chicken (we get Boars Head from the deli)
Sliced Fontina
Prosciutto
Pre-heat the oven at 400. Slice the bread into appetizer sized slices. Brush olive oil on the slices and toast them in the oven. When the bread is toasted, spread a thin layer of apricot jelly...just a scrape! Top with a piece of Fontina, a slice of chicken, and a piece of prosciutto. That is it!
We also had Apple Smoked Brats. This one takes a little more time but is well worth it!
Apple Smoked Brats
Brats
Apple wood
Mustard
Onions
Light the the coals for the grill. Use the chimney smoker so that you do not get that nasty fuel taste on your food. Once the coals are ready, set up the grill for some indirect cooking. I dump the coals on one side and place the brats on the other side. Drop a couple of handfuls of water soaked apple wood chips on the fire and cover. On a Weber, close the top vents completely, leave the bottom vents wide open. Make sure you have a cast iron skillet in there so it gets real hot! Onions will go in there shortly. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Slice the onions, toss them in just a very light drizzle of olive oil. After 20 minutes drop those Onions into the skillet. Stand back and watch for a possible flare up of fire. You don't want that! When the onions are caramelized, remove the brats and cover them in onions and serve on hoagie rolls with mustard. Onions should only take about 10 minutes.
Well now that the Bears are done, it is time to start thinking about hockey and baseball....and root for whoever plays the Pack in the Super Bowl!
I can honestly say that to see the Packers win the NFC in Chicago sickens me. However, apps were great! My wife (Kari) discovered a great recipe for a Chicken Bruschetta (promised in previous post). It is pretty easy too and the mix of sweet and salt is perfect! Here is the recipe:
Chicken Bruschetta
Apricot Jelly
Ciabatta bread
Olive Oil
Smoked Chicken (we get Boars Head from the deli)
Sliced Fontina
Prosciutto
Pre-heat the oven at 400. Slice the bread into appetizer sized slices. Brush olive oil on the slices and toast them in the oven. When the bread is toasted, spread a thin layer of apricot jelly...just a scrape! Top with a piece of Fontina, a slice of chicken, and a piece of prosciutto. That is it!
We also had Apple Smoked Brats. This one takes a little more time but is well worth it!
Apple Smoked Brats
Brats
Apple wood
Mustard
Onions
Light the the coals for the grill. Use the chimney smoker so that you do not get that nasty fuel taste on your food. Once the coals are ready, set up the grill for some indirect cooking. I dump the coals on one side and place the brats on the other side. Drop a couple of handfuls of water soaked apple wood chips on the fire and cover. On a Weber, close the top vents completely, leave the bottom vents wide open. Make sure you have a cast iron skillet in there so it gets real hot! Onions will go in there shortly. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Slice the onions, toss them in just a very light drizzle of olive oil. After 20 minutes drop those Onions into the skillet. Stand back and watch for a possible flare up of fire. You don't want that! When the onions are caramelized, remove the brats and cover them in onions and serve on hoagie rolls with mustard. Onions should only take about 10 minutes.
Well now that the Bears are done, it is time to start thinking about hockey and baseball....and root for whoever plays the Pack in the Super Bowl!
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