My Ella

Yesterday we said goodbye to my Ella cat. She has been quite sick the past 4 months and so she was laid to rest. She developed a nasty tumor and her teeth were badly infected. She stopped eating and became extremely thin. While we don't have her physically anymore, she will live and be loved forever in my heart.

Nolan reading

i about lost it laughing so hard at this video....nolan was cracking us up....

First Brisket Cook

Last Friday i started my first Brisket cook on the WSM. I have done brisket before, but with just average results that I have never been very excited about. Honestly, I can't say that I've ever had any brisket that I got really excited about, especially at BBQ restaurants. But I had a friend coming to town who loves brisket so I decided to give this a shot. I bought a whole packer from Sam's Club...who knew they have angus beef brisket!?!? Anyway, this was a 12.5 pound packer. I first applied a paste rub on the underside of the meat only, no need to put it on the fat side as it wouldn't penetrate the fat. The paste rub consisted of an onion, garlic, pickled jalapenos and their juice, worcestershire sauce, green peppercorns, salt, dijon mustard, and olive oil....after i applied the paste rub i then applied a dry rub over the whole brisket. The dry rub included: ground coffee, granulated garlic, cloves, coriander, cardamom, marjoram, thyme, ground ginger, onion powder, chili powder, white pepper, salt, and a bunch of black pepper. I smoked the brisket starting at 11:40pm and by 9:30am the flat portion was done, so I separated it from the point and wrapped it in foil and continued to smoke the point for an additional 2 hours or so in order to make burnt ends....below are the pics, no pics of burnt ends....forgot :-)

Anyway, this cook has taught me how awesome brisket can be if done properly. I will say, with confidence, that this brisket turned out better than any brisket i have ever had, including at any restaurant. I am now excited for my next brisket cook and really can't wait to do it again....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gyros at Home!!

I love food. I love cooking food....and i love eating food. I have prepared a lot of really good eats before, and tonight was no different. Inspired by the Sandwich King Jeff Mauro from the Next Food Network Star, I decided to make his recipe for homemade Greek Tacos, a play on a traditional Gyro sandwich that you can do from home.

I made a homemade Tzatziki Sauce, followed by a Cucumber Relish....cooked the Lamb in Onion, garlic, red wine, oregano, and salt and pepper. Grilled some pita bread and the results were out of this world. Really. I never thought i could get that original gyro sandwich flavor at home, but these were spot on. Even my kid was devouring the lamb. Epic stuff. Here are the photos....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Singin and Swingin

Nolan got a swingset last weekend....he absolutely loves it and especially loves swingin and climbing. Sometimes when he swings, he also likes to sing. When i watch this video it just makes any hard days or stress just melt away. Pure joy:

A weekend of smoked food and fun

This weekend i really got my money's worth from the new smoker. First on the agenda was smoked salmon, corn on the cob, and grilled potatoes with a homemade smoked red pepper and tomato aioli.
here is the salmon first hitting the smoker

finished salmon on serving tray

the saturday night spread...aioli was epic

After we enjoyed our meal on saturday i began getting the ribs ready. Here are all the herbs and spices i used in this rub along with regular salt and pepper.

Two slabs of spare ribs trimmed to St. Louis style cuts. Saved the trimmings for rib tips.

One of the slabs rubbed down.....the other looked the same

Ribs on the smoker

To go with the ribs i decided to go outside of the box and create something. I had heard of this somewhere else, but decided to give it a go. There is no name for these so I called them Habanero Goat Cheese Meat Bombs. Here are the peppers.

Peppers cored out and seeded

Stuffed with goat cheese

Wrapped in breakfast sausage

Wrapped in bacon

Hitting the smoker next to the ribs

Habanero Goat Cheese Meat Bombs

Grilled Potatoes

2 slabs dry rubbed ribs

Good bark.....loaded with flavor

Habanero Goat Cheese Meatball dissected....so so good

One of the many things I love about you....

I lay here in my bed, baby monitor on, and I just listen. Listen to the sweet sound of your voice. Creating a symphony of sounds only you understand...mostly. Every once in a while i hear "mommy" or "daddy" or "la-la" (the name you gave your stuffed penguin), or something like "foot" as you are recalling various body parts. Your sentences for the most part don't make any sense to me, but your jibber-jabbering sounds like precious gold to me. It's in these moments I have time to just sit and reflect. Thinking of the changes and growth you have made in your short time with us. We have these moments every day. To sit and listen to you tell what I am sure are amazing stories. Thanks for being my son.