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Holy balsam, Batman!

Balsamic vinegar played a large role in tonight's fare. I made a bunch of loin lamb chops glazed with balsamic vinegar, and also balsamic-glazed mushrooms.

Here are the deets. I made Brussels sprouts by halving them, browning them in olive oil, then braising them in ho-made chicken stock. Finally, they were covered in pecorino cheese to melt. I also made a side of polenta; fairly simple, but then I threw in a ton of blue cheese for a bit of a bite. The 'shrooms were sauteed in EVOO, then I added shallots, and then deglazed with sherry before adding balsamic vinegar with dissolved brown sugar. Let that reduce to a syrupy, gloppy goo. Finally, the chops. I seared them in LOTS of butter for just 2 minutes/side. Took them out, cooled the pan with sherry, then added lots of minced garlic (4 large cloves) and fresh rosemary. When that was done enough, I added balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, some sherry, and I put the chops back in to finish cooking and glazing. I told my wife not to expect medium rare chops, because of the braising, but they were in fact done to medium rare. I got lucky on that/QUOTE]

You forgot to lick [emoji104] the plate.
 
I was hoping the sun would pop out this afternoon, but alas it didn't. No rain with the solidly overcast skies, so I started the Smokey Joe up. De-boned a turkey breast, one "fillet" was given a treatment of rosemary, fresh garlic and some olive oil (each breast section weighted about 2 1/2 lbs). The other some fajita spice and oil. Marinated both breasts for about two hours, then threw the rosemary based one and some pecan wood on the grill. After about 15 minutes and a flip, moved it to the Weber propane grill with a foil pack of apple wood on the crossover burner. Then kept the cover off and got the coals nice and hot (fanned with a broom for a few minutes), added some water soaked mesquite chips and the fajita slab. Cooked till nearly done, then finished that one off on the propane grill. Breast #1 was for dinner, #2 is for a salad topping for my wife and I the rest of the week. At least I got to grill, which always brings a bit of sunshine to my afternoon (three kegs of homemade beer in the garage doesn't hurt either).

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I'm about to post dinner pix, but lunch may have been more interesting (if simple). Casting about for ideas, I fried up some ho-made bacon, then put that on grilled cheese (half cave-aged provolone, half cheapo CoJack) on sourdough bread, with a smear of commercial basil/artichoke pesto I am trying to finish off. Came out nice for such a simple dish!

Dinner included roasted artichokes (sliced in half, de-choked, doused in lemon juice and EVOO), and simple baked potatoes. The protein was a Woo-Hoo ribeye at @JohnT back-of-truck prices. To accompany it, I had mushrooms sauteed with shallots and garlic with fresh thyme, and deglazed/saucified with sherry, and then mounted with butter. I was prepping the ingredients, and looked down at my cutting board, and it looked like a damn Pinterest picture, so I decided to nab the pic.

After dinner, I fried up that huge knot of fat in the middle of the ribeye and scarfed the remnants!

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Like everyone said, It as cold, rainy, and miserable up here in the garden state. I needed something that would really stick to my ribs!

I did some errands Saturday morning and found that my local "guy" (name is pronounced: Psst-hey-pal-commear) had veal stew meat on sale. Baby cow.. WAHOOOOO!

So it was time to once again dip into my secret, private stash of real Hungarian Paprika (once again, thanks @balatonwine !!!!)

Here are the deets..

I started by browning the meat (seasoned w/salt-n-pepper) in butter (in a screaming hot pot). Cooked until well browned and had a nice fond formed at the bottom of the pan.

I then removed the meat, added a diced medium onion, a diced shallot, and 2 big cloves of garlic. I cooked this until the onions were caramelized and brown (softer than soft).

I then added in 4 different varieties of fresh mushrooms (button, shiitake, oyster, and portabella) and stirred until cooked and most of the water (mushroom juice) had cooked off.

I then added the meat back into the pot, took the pot off the heat, and stirred in REAL HUNARIAN PAPRIKA!!! I was taught that you should stir it until the smell of the paprika hits you. Boy did it! absolute heaven!!!

Then I added chicken stock and water (50/50) and put the pot back on the heat.

Once at the simmer, I added a shot of fresh thyme and (a very small) sprig of fresh rosemary. It is times like this when I am so glad I brought my herb inside and kept them watered.

I cooked for 3 hours, until the meat was good and tender.

Side note: The more the aroma reminds me of Grandma's house, the more I know how well I got things right when cooking. Smelling this cook had me hearing... "Shackey, you must go to churdtch". (spelt the way she always say it). I also was reminded on just how much a miss her. She had shared way more than she had.

Anyway, back to cooking. In a bowl, I whisked together some sour cream, a small shot of lemon juice, and a "fork full" of flour. I then whisked this into the pot and simmered for another 15 minutes until nice, glossy, and thick. I then tossed in some home made spaetzle.

It was insanely good. The only thing that I think I would change is to add some bacon at the beginning.

Served with a nice crusty (store bought) bread and a lovely 2018 diet coke (with lemon and ice).

Love you grandma (wherever you may be)!

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Meat must be subjugated!

Seriously, I saw this in a restaurant supply shop and snatched it up. It was made from a single billet of (what I am guessing is) titanium or, perhaps aluminum.. I use a thick board to pound on so that I do not ruin my counters. I added a penny to show scale.

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Tonight, my son decided we'd make Weber's Texas Burgers with Barbecue Sauce. I think I'm going to let him choose the meals from now on. This was quite possibly the best burger I've ever had. My son had to plan and prepare a meal as one of his Scout requirements. I had a heavy assist, but he mixed the spices/ground beef, formed up the patties, and all but made the ho-made BBQ sauce on his own (I finely diced the onion). He also marinaded some 'gus in EVOO, S&P and lemon juice for grilling. It was a fun father/son project, a great intro to cooking over fire for the boy, and a delicious meal. Grilled over charcoal with some spent oak cubes.

http://greatesthits.weber.com/CookBook Items/Texas Burger/WGH_Cookbook__TexasBurgers.pdf

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Triple like, Jim!

For me, it was pulling together weekday fare. I seared some chicken thighs, then pulled them out and sauteed up some mushrooms and leeks. Then I put the thighs back in and braised the whole shebang with ho-made chicken stock, seasoned with fennel and lots of tarragon. I made some cannellini beans the other day, so I heated some of those up with oil and handfuls of fresh cilantro. Finally, I made a side of two heads of roasted Romanesco broccoli with TONS of garlic and capers, doused in lemon juice and EVOO.

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Damn Jim... Daaaaaamn!

th


I have not had a good grilled homemade burger since summer!
 
The thaw has commenced! Pulled out one of my briskets from Costco this AM and will toss it on the Pit Boss this weekend. Weather is supposed to be sunny no wind and about 65F. Excited to try out the PartyQ temp control unit!

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The thaw has commenced! Pulled out one of my briskets from Costco this AM and will toss it on the Pit Boss this weekend. Weather is supposed to be sunny no wind and about 65F. Excited to try out the PartyQ temp control unit!

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bbq_guru_partyQ_2014-589e961a5f9b58819c85b71f.jpg
If it functions as well as the other units, you'll be thoroughly impressed!! When I started with kamado grill style cooking, it was pretty easy to master controlling the in and out air flow to maintain temps, just needed to make slight tweaks to the air flow regularly as the condition and quantity of coal changed, but this does all of the checking and adjusting for you. The most difficult thing for me was "cold smoking" with temps at 170F and lower, it was super hard to maintain the temp that low without the coal going out, it's a breeze with these units. Bet you're going to love it!!!
 
Tonight, my son decided we'd make Weber's Texas Burgers with Barbecue Sauce. I think I'm going to let him choose the meals from now on. This was quite possibly the best burger I've ever had. My son had to plan and prepare a meal as one of his Scout requirements. I had a heavy assist, but he mixed the spices/ground beef, formed up the patties, and all but made the ho-made BBQ sauce on his own (I finely diced the onion). He also marinaded some 'gus in EVOO, S&P and lemon juice for grilling. It was a fun father/son project, a great intro to cooking over fire for the boy, and a delicious meal. Grilled over charcoal with some spent oak cubes.

http://greatesthits.weber.com/CookBook Items/Texas Burger/WGH_Cookbook__TexasBurgers.pdf

View attachment 46900

Double like... :HB:HB

I need to get me some burgers done on the grill this weekend.

BTW - the link is broken. I think it is this one:
http://greatesthits.weber.com/CookBook Items/Texas Burger/WGH_Cookbook__TexasBurgers.pdf
 
Chicken Parm tonight. I was inspired by a salad I saw on The Virtual Weber Bullet and made salad of the usual suspects, but added some avocado and fresh raspberries. The raspberries inspired me to make a raspberry vinaigrette to top it off. Quite delish!
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Sometimes feel like my weekly cycle just repeats itself, over and over and over again (I think there was a movie made on that theme). Gettin' the shats of pizza, so made two pre-made pizza crust pizzas for the rest of the family, did a Cubano sandwich using pastrami instead of Cuban pork for me. Such a good change. Happened to finish out a keg while making dinner, so tapped a waiting Blonde (ale) batch. Will probably dry hop (not hump) it tonight to add some needed flavor, very good, but was expecting more (don't we always). Plan on making a repeat batch that I'll bottle to share with my brothers when we open our cabin for the season and have some FreshHops to add to the mix on this second batch. Will be nice to compare the two batches.

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