Gourmet BBQ Even You Can Do

Hobo Dinner

2012-05-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

1/2 pound ground chicken

1/2 c yellow onion, chopped

1/2 c green pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 medium russet potatoes thinly sliced

2 T Butter

1/4 c BBQ sauce

Mix garlic with raw meat. Make a triple layer of foil. layer potatoes, meat and veggies. Place butter of top of the layers and add BBQ sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap tightly and place on the grill or hot coals for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

As for our outdoor meals we like to also have a dessert. Obviously one that comes straight to mind is the s'more. although delicious and able to to switched up and or tailored, that is a different post. Keeping with the "Hobo" theme I am going to delight you with the idea of a Hobo pie. Yes gadget friends there is a maker for these. As we discussed in a previous post about cast iron, we recommend these to be as well. Butter one side of two pieces of your favorite bread. Spread some fruit inside but not too much, various pie fillings are great for this. Close that puppy up and lock it into some hot coals. 5-8 minuses later you have a steamy, crispy and delicious treat. Even better dusted with powdered sugar. The possibilities are endless. What is your favorite.

Foil Pack Revival

2012-05-16T09:25:00.000-04:00

This one is and old camping/Boyscout favorite. Our kids love eating outside and foil packs are a great opportunity to get them involved.   This can even be done ahead of time in it's entirety and the cooked and a middle of the week routine buster. if the weather is nice...take advantage.

Hot Mess
1 pound of smoked sausage, fully cooked
1/2 yellow onion in quarters
1/2 each green and red pepper chopped
mix in a bowl
     1 clove of garlic, minced
     1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
     1T packed brown sugar
     1T soy sauce
     2T hot sauce
Enough servings of rice for all packets.

place all ingredients in foil. Fold up and roll down the middle, then neatly fold up the "ends". Place your pack on the grill or over hot coals 4-5minutes per side. Serve over Rice and enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day

2012-05-13T09:51:00.001-04:00

Keep Calm and Grill On

2012-05-08T15:53:00.001-04:00

As the woman of the home I am in charge of so much. I utulize time I may have during the day to fix my side for dinner ahead of time. One idea is being proactive in your menu planning by scheduling a cold pasta salad or to marinade your meat and fresh veggies (seperate bags!) gives you a few minutes to breathe while you grill. The kids and dog are playing and dinner is 75% done when you start. Another idea is foil packets. This amazing trick saves time and clean up and can be green if you eat in the foil and recyle when you are done. Now that's what I call efficient. Look here in a few days for the start of some foil packet and other easy recipies to ease you busy day.

Best Ever Guac...No Joke

2012-04-30T23:14:00.001-04:00

Continuing with my last post I am now going to share with you the secret of BlaZe’s guacamole. This is a gift of priceless value. Many a guacamole hater has turned to the dark side after sampling this recipe. So, even if you have disliked guacamole in the past we urge you to try this recipe and give the heavenly avocado a second chance. Speaking of avocados, the most difficult part of this recipe is choosing the correct one. The recipe calls for Hass avocados, and though there are other varieties Hass is the one most readily available at supermarkets at least in this area. When first picked and unripe, hass avocados are a bright green and have the density of granite (as well as the flavor). As they ripen, the avocadoes become darker and softer. The proper avocado should be mostly black and yield somewhat to a gentle squeeze. If it looks like something left too long on your bbq and collapses when gently squeezed it is overripe and rotten. Now keep in mind when you plan to use the avocado as it will continue to ripen over time. If your aren’t going to use it for several days go ahead and get a green one and let it sit on you counter, or if you plan on using it in a day or two get a ripe one and keep in the fridge. You can increase the speed at which your avocado will ripen by placing in a paper bag with an apple. Now that you have the perfect avocado at your house, what do you do with it? Well, to get at the creamy goodness we’ll need to remove the leathesque skin, as well as the substantial seed. Take a chef’s knife and cut into the avocado lengthwise, The knife should easily cut the skin and glide through the flesh of the avocado, but should catch on the large pit in the center. Once you’ve reached the pit run the knife around it similar to cutting open a peach. Now gently twist the two halves apart, one of which will have the pit. To remove the pit hold that half in your hand and tap the butt end of the knife blade into the pit so it sticks and twist the pit out of the second half. Now for our recipe simply grab a spoon and scoop the flesh out of the skins, but if you need slices or dices just slip a butter knife between the flesh and skin and then cut as needed, or you can also make your cuts in a crosshatch fashion with a butter knife before removing the chunks from the skin with your spoon. Ok, now that we have the hard part down the rest of this is quite easy.
BlaZe’s own Guacamole

3 ripe Hass avocadoes
½ red onion finely diced or minced
3 Roma tomatoes finely diced
1 bunch cilantro washed and finely chopped (as few stems as possible)
Juice of 1 lime
1tsp, kosher salt
¼ tsp. cumin
1 jalapeño seeded, ribs removed, and minced

Remove skins and pits from avocadoes. Place avocado and rest of ingredients in large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Cover tightly, pushing plastic wrap into contact with top of guacamole, and place in refrigerator for at least one hour and up to overnight before serving. Guacamole will keep 2-3 days in the refrigerator, but outside surfaces will oxidize and turn brown. Though visually unappealing, it will taste just fine. If it really bothers you or you’re serving the queen simply scrape off outside layer of guacamole and the inside should still be nice and green.

Nacho Friend...

2012-04-29T06:40:00.001-04:00

Last night was nacho night at our house. We like to sit in the family room with a big old tray of nachos, pop in a movie, and have a great time. To some people nachos means cheese wiz and pickled jalepenos. Not in our house. We go seasoned ground beef, shredded cheddar, home made salsa and guacamole.   Whatever your nacho tastes are try our traditional salsa on your next batch of nachos, or even on your grilled chicken.

Traditional Salsa:   finely chop and combine the following.
                        6 large Roma tomatoes
                        ½ red onion
                        1 bunch cilantro
                        ½ green bell pepper
                        2 seeded jalapeño chiles
                        Pinch of kosher salt
                        Juice of 1 lime
Store in a covered container in your fridge if possible overnight before serving to let the flavors meld.

Pizza My Heart

2012-04-26T20:43:00.001-04:00

Pizza, the complete food. This one is garlic and olive oil, spinach, sliced portabella caps and unexpected pepper jack shreds!

Carpe Picnic

2012-04-16T10:45:00.001-04:00

This weather makes me want to have a picnic. Today I will teach my friends the art of impromtu picnic busy mom (or dad) style.

First, have a plan and a back up. Select the location; a park, parking lot, your neighbors front yard or your living room. Usually if I choose my neighbors yard I pack more food, just sayin'. Blankets are best for sitting on as well as a serving area and I keep one in my super mom shuttle. You never know when you will need to party on a blanket.

Next food choices. I like to keep my picnics utencil free, just one less thing to deal with. Hot dogs come to mind but really any grilled meat or even portababellas will work combined with a yummy bun and the right condiments, you had me at grilled. Yes you could buy chips but I'm gonna let you in on a secret. Kale, romaine, thin sliced veggies and potatoes, olive oil, some fresh herbs and spices make great chips if grilled to crisp. My fave way to do this quick and mindless is set the convection oven for 300 and wait 10 to 15. Package in a br9own lunch bag and tada veggie and a munchie. Make a dip, salsa or guac to go with and now you don't have clean up either because the family ate it all!

Dessert and drinks are easy, homemade cookies or fruit. I always have an over abundance of sport bottles for water or juices. Enlist the kids help by telling them they are going to a party and they will have no pro9blem helping.

Ready, set and party picnic!

That's My 'Slaw

2012-03-26T20:55:00.001-04:00

I am sure you all have heard the phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Well I am not so sure it applies to food blogs, but hopefully you all are salivating in anticipation for my first post in several weeks, and thankfully Heather has been carrying the torch. As I was trying to think of the next great idea to share with you I received a text from my wife. She informed me that I had forgotten my obligations! “What did I forget!??” I had forgotten to make coleslaw for one of her co-workers. One of the lovely ladies at jenniffer and co. had our coleslaw once and fell in love. She asked Heather several days ago if we could make her some whenever we had and order. In turn Heather had asked me , and I then did my part in this information chain……I promptly forgot. So, while chopping up cabbage at midnight following a long shift at the ambulance company (for those of you who may not know, my primary source of income these days is as a paramedic) I decided this post would be on homemade coleslaw.

Pythagoras had his theorem, Boyle had his law, Dr Heimlich his maneuver, and I am now revealing the coleslaw equation!! Here it is in all its mathematical perfection: Cabbage+ acid+ sugar =coleslaw. That is coleslaw in a nutshell. If you put all that in a bowl and mix it up you’ll end up with very basic coleslaw. Of course there are a few caveats. One is the cabbage needs cut up, preferably either minced or shredded. Secondly, though one can use many different types of acidic substances for the acid part of the equation, it is preferable that you stay within the bounds of food products, Battery acid coleslaw though having quite a bite tends not to be very appetizing. Finally, do keep in mind that ratios come in to play here as well. Though you can dress the veggies to your taste remember this is a salad and not a soup. Now, like I said this is a very basic recipe and we can definitely expand here. I am going to share with you how we make coleslaw at BlaZe. Do keep in mind this is the normal preparation, not the “I just finished work and am sleeping while chopping recipe” so you’ll need to start this somewhat in advance.

The first step in making amazing coleslaw is prepping your cabbage. This you are going to need to start at least 5 hours prior to serving, though the night before is ideal, more on this in a moment. For my “software” I like to use a 1: 1/2 ratio green to red cabbage. This is an easy ratio to create as most green cabbages are 1 ½ to 2 times the size of the red cabbages. This recipe will be for a normal human amount of coleslaw (feeding 6-8 people), and will call for only half of both heads of cabbage, but as such is obviously easily doubled. So, start by washing and coring ½ of a head of both green and red cabbage. Cut the halves into quarters. Next, very finely shred the cabbage using a mandolin or very sharp knife. Now, layer the cabbage in a salad spinner (if you don’t have one a colander will do) liberally sprinkling each layer with kosher salt. Cover the salad spinner and let stand for at least 4 hours, though overnight is best. If using a colander be sure to place it in another bowl as this process will produce a surprising amount of liquid. I know you're now saying to yourself “what in earth am I doing? I wanted coleslaw not salt cabbage! With all this sodium I’ll need to serve this with a Beta-Blocker” (sorry paramedic humor), not to worry. Your blood pressure will be fine. By salting the cabbage and giving it time to work, you are removing some of the water out of the cabbage, thereby making crunchier coleslaw. As for the salt, well once we’ve let our cabbage sit the next step is to rinse the cabbage thoroughly removing the salt. Once you’ve rinsed the cabbage either let it drip dry in the colander or use your salad spinner to get as much water from the cabbage as possible. Next, dump your crunchy cabbage into a large mixing bowl and add: 2 large carrots shredded, and half a red onion cut first in half then finely sliced. In our basic equation the only 2 ingredients listed for the dressing was acid and sugar. Many a fine coleslaw has been devoured dressed with a vinegar base. These typically sweet and tart slaws fit just fine into our equation, though most of us are accustomed to having a third element in our coleslaw equation, mayonnaise. Though a delicious addition we can see not a definitive part of the base equation. I however, happen to enjoy my coleslaw nice and creamy so our recipe today calls for mayo. In a separate mixing bowl whisk together 1 ½ C mayo, ¼ C cider vinegar, 2 T balsamic vinegar, 3 drops sirachia (or your favorite hot sauce), 2T sugar, 1 T honey, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 T celery seed. Notice this did not call for any salt in the dressing. Though we thoroughly rinsed our cabbage some salt will remain. Once the slaw is assembled you’ll need to taste it to make sure it is properly seasoned. You can always add more salt later. Thoroughly mix the cabbage, carrot, onion combo and add ¾ of the dressing. Mix well, adding more dressing as needed to completely cover the veggies, but do not overdress. Remember you want to eat this with a fork not a spoon. Finally, cover your bowl and let rest inside the fridge for at least ½ an hour to let the flavors mingle a bit before serving.

That my friends, is how we do it at BlaZe! Feel free to change this recipe to suite your tastes. Change your acids from different vinegars to even citrus juice (just no battery acid please), use brown sugar or even molasses for the sweet, or even try other types of cabbage. Napa cabbage with a sweet and smoked sesame coleslaw dressing is amazing! You can also add other veggies or herbs to change the flavor profile. The sky is the limit here. So, hope you all enjoy yourself and have fun making this or your own slaw. Till next time…….Stay hungry my friends…..Oh wait I forgot I am not the most interesting man, so just have a tasty day!

Annie, get your grill!

2012-03-24T00:14:00.001-04:00

Today I want to hear it from the girls who grill. Why does charring meat bring men to mind? Am I less of a women because I like cooking on an open flame? Our house is so UN-traditional. I (Heather) like mowing and gardening. Ryan likes to have the bed made in the morning, more power to him.

I frequently tell people I cook like I mix hair color. I'm creative, but differently than Ryan is. Women cook for love, men cook for pleasure. The days that the duties around the kitchen belong to mom and the grill is for dad, usually with a beer, is over.

Ladies, if you too enjoy making lines on your main meat while your main sqeeze is in the kitchen prepping (instead of the other way around). Pour yourself a cold one, get the BBQ tongs and sound of. I would love to hear what you have to say. Guys, you may chime in too but you must be nice, remember, we have the fire!

I Come From Comfort

2012-02-28T13:54:00.000-05:00

As my heart is heavy thinking of the community of Chardon and all involved with the tragedy yesterday, I hug my school ager tight before he catches the bus. My little one tells me she is ready to eat lunch and my emotions are always a barometer for what I eat. Most of the time will power comes into play and discipline has to take up the slack. I look in the cupboard and see some whole wheat apple pie bread my husband brought home from Great Harvest. Darn him for tempting me with carbs, but today my heart needs some help. Today the kids and I feast on grilled cheese.

I remember my dad eating a slice of good sharp cheddar with his homemade apple pie, and so I began. As I fire up the Foreman I slice the bread, pull fresh deli cheddar out of the fridge and found the left over turkey bacon from Sunday's breakfast. Butter is definitely in the question but moderation, I'm not completely unadulterated.

Add caption

Assembling my sandwich I realized how we come together as humans when we need it and the food we love is there for us to gather around and soothe us while we fellowship. Friends, food is the magnet that brings us together in a paramount events. Sometimes fun, sometimes somber...always a comfort.

Gather the ones close to you, put some soup in a crock, a pan of saucy pasta in the oven or some grilled cheeses on the grill and Comfort each other.

Somr Like It Hot: Part Three

2012-02-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

The final type of chile you typically can find at a supermarket is canned or jarred. I use the chopped canned green chiles, usually found in the Latin foods aisle, to put some oomph into scrambled eggs, and as a wonderful additive when making Spanish rice. As this blog goes on you will see canned green chiles used from time to time. Jarred or canned pickled jalapeños on the other hand you will probably not see. To me they are floppy mushy nuggets of spicy vinegar, and much prefer to pickle my own fresh chiles for any application they may be applied. As Alton Brown may say” they are definitely not ………well you know”. If you need their convenience or happen to have a different opinion they usually can be found by the pickles at the supermarket. The recipe that I am going to share with you uses canned chipotles in adobe sauce.

A chipotle is a smoked jalapeño that has been essentially pickled in a tomato, vinegar, and spice sauce called adobo. I know double standard, they’re both pickled jalapeños but I’m a BBQ guy and love just about anything smoked. In addition the chipotle tends to retain more of its original texture and as a bonus you get the wonderful adobo sauce along with the peppers. Canned chipotles are usually available in the Latin foods section of your supermarket. The recipe I am going to share with you is for BBQ pork pizza. It has a ton of intense flavors going on but the canned chipotles used really shine through. When we make this here at our house we usually make it on the gill, but since not everyone is as bonkers as us to be tending a fire in 30 degree weather I’ll give the recipe to ya in oven form. Note: if you have a convection setting on your oven, this will simulate BBQ style crisp on the outside and moistness on the inside.

BBQ Pork Pizza

Pork

1 Chipotle pepper in adobo, seeds removed and roughly chopped

½T of the adobo sauce from the chipotles

1C BBQ sauce

½ C cider vinegar

3T frozen apple juice concentrate

1# pork loin roast

½ red onion cut into quarters

2 cloves grarlic

Pizza

1# pizza dough

1 c BBQ sauce

1 Chipotle pepper in adobo, seeds removed and roughly chopped

½T of the adobo sauce from the chipotles

1T brown sugar

½ red onion thinly sliced

2 c shredded queso fresco or Monterey jack cheese

4T cojita or parmesan cheese, grated

Directions: for the pork,combine the chipotles, the adobo, BBQ sauce, vinegar, and juice concentrate in an oven safe Dutch oven or pot. Place on the stove and heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and add the pork loin (fat side up), onions, and garlic to the pot. Cover and place into a preheated 350 degree oven for 5-6 hours. Remove pork from pot and let cool slightly. Using two forks, shred meat into small pieces. Place back into pot and keep warm until used, or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Conversely you could use any type of prepared pulled pork. Note: This recipe will not create the tenderest pulled pork ever. The best cut of pork to use in this recipe would be a Boston butt roast, but it will require approximately double the other ingredients, take 8-10 hours to cook, and produce enough pork for like 10-15 pizzas. Of course you could have pizza tonight and pulled pork tomorrow!

Now, for the pizza. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Roll the dough out on a 16”pizza stone or well oiled sheet pan, and let rise in a warm place forn15-20 min. Meanwhile, combine the chipotles, adobo, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar into a food processor and pulse till well mixed. Once the dough has sat, using a pastry brush, spread an even coating of the BBQ sauce mixture onto the entire crust (you’ll probably have plenty left over, serve it as a dipping sauce). Spread the prepare pork and sliced onion across the pizza (not gonna give you amounts. You know how much swine you like!). Liberally sprinkle with the cheeses and then bake for 11-13 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes after removing from oven. For added heat feel free to add sliced fresh jalapeño and/or more of the chipotles cut into strips before topping with cheese.

This has been a long spicy week, but chiles are dear to my heart. I love their heat and flavor, and I hope you now will too. So, now go forth and be spicy….and have yourself a tasty day!

Some Like it Hot: part Two

2012-02-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today
we move on to dried chiles. In a previous post I promised a recipe on how to make you own chili powder. Remember that chile (with an E) powder is nothing more than ground dried chiles whereas chili (with an I) powder is a mix of spices including chile powder, salt, cumin, garlic, and onion powder. Let’s start with making the chile (with an E) powder. You will need dried chiles. I recommend ancho chiles as they have a very pleasant fruity taste and are fairly mild as chiles go, but any dried chile will work for this recipe. You should be able to find several varieties of dried chiles at your supermarket typically in the produce department or the Latin foods aisle. If yours does not carry dried chiles try a Latin food market or at the very least they can be found online just search for “dried chile”. Once you have obtained your chiles the next thing you will need is some way to grind them. The very best and easiest method is to use an electric coffee grinder, which is a small investment at 15-20$ (note: if you already have one to grind coffee you’ll still want an additional one of these just for grinding spices as once you’ve ground a spice in the grinder you won’t enjoy the coffee you grind in it). You could also use the traditional pestle and mortar, or you can use your food processor.

Now that you have the goods to make your chile powder the first thing you want to do is cut the tops off the chiles and shake out the seeds. Then take your kitchen shears and cut the chiles into small strips. Place the strips into a preheated pan over medium heat and toss frequently for 1-2 minutes. You only want to gently heat the chiles, not cook them or more to the point burn them. Let the chiles come to room temperature then place them in your chosen grinding device and pulverize those suckers into a fine powder. Now this seems like a whole lot for something you can just pick up a jar of. TRUST ME! Try this once and you’ll never look at commercial made chill powders the same.

Sweet and Smoky Chili Powder

3T fresh ground chile (with an E) powder

2T Granulated garlic

1T smoked paprika

1T each, cumin, dried oregano, onion powder, Spanish paprika, and kosher salt

1/2T dark brown sugar

1 tsp each, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard

Directions: Thoroughly combine all ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to an airtight container, and store in a cool, dry, dark place.

Come back for one more and you will be hot to trot.

Some Like It Hot: Part One

2012-02-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

My last post there was mention of chili, and I had promised to post about CHILE’s. Not the restaurant, which I do not recommend, but the actual fruit. This promises to be one hot post!

Chile’s are fruit of plants in the genus Capsicum, and like tomatoes are in the nightshade family. Relatively speaking chiles are new to the European and Asian kitchens being brought back to Spain by Columbus in 1493 and spreading from there. On the other hand chiles have more than likely been cultivated for human consumption since 6000BC in their native South America. Chiles range in flavor from the fruity taste of a bell pepper to the nuclear heat that is the calling card of the ghost pepper. Chiles get their distinctive bite from chemical compounds called capsaicinoids. These compounds, primarily capsaicin, bind with pain receptors in the mouth that sense heat. Once activated by the capsaicinoids, these receptors send impulses to our brain telling it we have eaten something hot. The heat of a Chile is rated in scoville units. A scoville unit , or SU is basically how many times a given amount of dried chile must be diluted in a sugar water solution before the heat is undetectable. The scale goes from 0 SU of a bell pepper to 15,000,000 SU of pure capsaicin. Now, this scientific measurement is nice and all but the truth of the matter is the exact heat of a chile pepper is a function of numerous things. Things like the soil they were grown in, the weather they matured in, how long they have sat after being picked, and the list can go on and on. The take home is a general rating of heat you can expect from a given pepper in relation to other peppers. Now, there are 3 basic forms you will find chiles in the local supermarket: fresh, dried, and canned. Fresh are just that, the fresh grown chile in its natural unaltered form. Some examples are jalapeño, bell, poblano, and habenero. When a fresh chile is dried it gets a new name and usually takes on a different flavor than the chile in its fresh form. The dried chile also tends to be hotter than its fresh counterpart. A dried chile example is the Ancho pepper which is a dried poblano. As for canned/jarred there are 3 most common items found in our local supermarkets. 1) is pickled jalapeño we are all familiar with being served on nachos at the ballpark 2.) is canned chopped green chiles and 3.) the chipotle pepper, a smoked jalapeño that is usually found in a tomato/spice mixture known as adobo. I am going to give you all 3 different recipes using the three different forms of chiles, in three different posts.

Lets start with fresh. This recipe is for a condiment known as firewater. This stuff is amazing as an additive to chili’s and soups or on your morning eggs. Pretty much anyplace you might use hot sauce you can substitute the broader flavor and milder heat of firewater. The recipe is going to call for jalapeños and Serrano peppers, but you can use hotter chiles to increase the heat or milder chiles to decrease it. When working with fresh chiles it is always a good idea to wear disposable gloves to keep the capsaicin containing oils off your fingers and subsequently out of your eyes and other sensitive areas. Also, while it is true the seeds of a chile have more heat than the flesh, the majority of the capsaicin in a chile is contained in the white pithy ribs found inside the chile. So if you are cutting up chiles (which this recipe doesn’t call for) you can further reduce the heat by discarding the ribs and seeds or leave them in for a greater zing!

Firewater

Ingredients:

5 whole jalapeño chiles

2 Serrano chiles

3 cloves garlic, crushed slightly

3 T fresh oregano

Or substitute 2tsp. dried

1T + 1tsp crushed red pepper, divided

1tsp kosher salt

3C boiling water

Directions: rinse off the chiles and make 4 or 5 slits the length of each chili leaving the tops and point ends uncut. Place the chiles, garlic, oregano,1 T crushed pepper, and salt into a large jar or container with a lid. Pour the boiling water over the ingredients and close the jar. Leave the jar on your counter overnight or for 10-12 hours. Pour the water into a clean jar, while straining out the solids. Add another tsp of the crushed red pepper to the jar (or for less heat leave out). Store the firewater in your refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Hungry for more? Look here for part two, coming soon.

Lett-uce Eat Braised Pork

2012-02-09T09:03:00.000-05:00

In my quest to eat really good food but cut out some calories, I started to toy with the idea of lettuce wraps. I remember my first bite of the odd concoction. The lettuce was cold, wet and a little hard. The meat was way too saucy and ran everywhere. I hated the fact that I looked like a child when I was done eating them. Oh how we've learned to wrap since then. There are so many elements that go into this flavorful, lo-cal, Asian inspired dish. Read on fellow calorie conscious, point counting foodie, we to can eat...

First off and I think most importantly, you need to make some amazing pulled pork. Slow roasted swine is a delicacy in our home. It is low in calories, high in protein and full of flavor. This particular little piece of piggy was braised in Dr. Pepper. I know, you're probably turned off now. I was too. Chef Ryan did not have me at 23 flavors. I asked why not diet and I was told that he didn't like the idea of the fake sugars, I was satisfied and let it be. Put a 3-4 pound boneless pork loin in a dutch oven or large oven safe pot fat side up. Pour in roughly 3 cups of Dr. Pepper or enough to cover the bottom third of the roast. Add one small onion, sliced. Two cloves of garlic peeled. Two chipotle peppers in adobo plus one tablespoon of the adobo. One tablespoon each of cumin, salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place your pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Once that has happened turn off the heat and put the lid on and place it in a 350 degree oven. Braise the roast for 4 to 6 hours flipping the roast over half way through. Add more Dr. Pepper as necessary to ensure 3/4 of the loin is covered at all times. I like to have this prepared a day or 4 ahead of time. Heck pull it out of the freezer from the pulled pork sandwiches you had last month.

Secondly, the lettuce. I love butter for wraps. It comes in a bright green and a deep purpley version too. I like to pull this out of the fridge, wash and pat dry first. By the time you are ready to "meat" them, they have come to room temperature. Easy.

Third I make the dressing. I despise store bought dressing. It is so easy to make just about any kind with ingredients you have anyway. It's fresh, yummy and you can make just enough for that night...or not. Just be sure to use it within the week if it is creamy base. I love mixing flavors like I mix hair color. Think of food like the yin and yang, light and dark, sweet and salty and then throw in something small and unexpected that makes you happy just for fun. For this dish I combined half cup safflower oil, a quarter cup rice vinegar, about 2 tablespoons of good course ground mustard, 2 Tablespoons of teryaki sauce (you can use reduced sodium soy too), one minced garlic clove and a pinch of ground ginger. Whisk, shake, blend, ninja...emulsify.

Brown rice takes for-ev-er to cook but is worth it. I am crazy about soft, moist and nutty brown rice. Mixing also is crazy. This took me a while to figure out, so listen up and I'll save your sanity and your pans. Four cups water to one cup rice. Bring the water to a boil with nothing in it. Add the rice, stir and turn down to med low for up to 30 minutes for simmering. While that is going on I shredded carrots, and finely sliced red pepper.

Now it is time to assemble. Rice in the middle of the plate. One cup is a serving. Lettuce down, place pork in the middle, no more than an ounce to an ounce and a half. Carrots and a couple of peppers on top. Drizzle your awesome homemade dressing and sprinkle some sunflower seeds and enjoy. For my weight watchers this meal works to be 10 points. A small price to pay for such a satisfying meal so chow down.

Monkeys can make Monkey Bread

2012-02-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

Our children adore the $.46 box of mac and cheese I buy them. On occasion instead of fat free milk I put heavy whipping cream in it. J.R., 6 and Charlee, almost 3 eat the whole box themselves. This post is not about mac n cheese, I will let Ryan tackle that one. Instead I am going to talk about getting the children involved in the kitchen.

We are always trying new recipes and ideas out in what we like to call the BlaZe test kitchen. Always talking about recipes, calories, points(weight watchers) and ingredients our children have really become quite comfortable in the kitchen, almost too much. Many times I find Charlee sitting on the ceramic tile floor eating out of the strawberry container or helping herself to some cheese cubes and grapes...no really. We have also found J.R. making some strange creations that would probably make some pregnant woman happy. The most recent of these was the other day for lunch. He had toasted an everything bagel thin and smeared it with cream cheese, slapped some salami on there, but didn't stop. To top it off he squirted some mayo around and around and drizzled some chocolate sauce. Kiddie Mole? I think not. Not only did he eat it all he wanted to make me one for breakfast the next morning. Thank God Ryan filled me in on the creation or I may have let him do it. I blamed it on my weight watchers, too many points Monkey, sorry.

This though has monkey written all over it! (Not to mention its reduced fat!) This is my version of the famed monkey bread.

2 rolls of reduced fat biscuits
6 strips of turkey bacon (uncooked)
1/2 c of walnuts or pecans
1/2 c brown sugar
1T of Dark Agave
2 med to large bananas
2T butter

I'm a fan of making this at the table. Preheat oven to 350. Side note, if you convection bake this bread will get crispy on the exposed areas. Set the kids down and give them each a plastic knife. Open the biscuits for them and instruct them to cut them into chunks (1" ish). As they cut the chunks put them in a mixing bowl. the measurement are just a guideline, don't get too upset if there is more. (less is another story!) Kids aren't going to be spot on and that is what makes this fun. The turkey bacon and bananas also get cut into 1 inch chunks and tossed into the bowl. All this cutting and plastic knife work makes kids happy, just make sure they don't eat the turkey bacon, ew. I tell the "monkeys" mommy needs to chop the nuts because I'm the only one crazy enough to. Anyhow the rest as you guessed gets dumped in and drizzled with the butter. Stir and dump into a greased bread or bunt pan. Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

There are tons of other ways to safely invite your kids into the kitchen so be creative and open. Their little hands add love and sometimes flavor. Tell us you children's favorite foods.

Inside The Bowl, The lowdown on Chili

2012-02-02T09:06:00.000-05:00

The super bowl is this Sunday, and in honor of the big game I’ve decided to write about one of the quintessential super bowl party foods; Chili. Now, the best place to start with just about anything is the beginning.

Chili more than likely started with the Gauchos of the Mexican plains. Initially a simple mixture of available meat in a spicy chile sauce, it was adopted by the cowboys of the American southwest, and in typical American fashion made bigger and more complex. The cowboy’s camp cooks took that simple mixture and added tomatoes, aromatics, and additional spices to make what today’s chili purist would call ambrosia. Traditional chili is a far cry from the simmering pots of ground meat and beans most of us have on our stoves. True chili purists will tell you that chili is chunk meat in a thick and spicy tomatoes and chile broth. They look down on those of us that would even dare consider adding vegetables, or beans, and the meat definitely must be whole chunks nothing so sissified as ground meat! OK, for anyone sweating bullets that I am going to tell them they need to remove the beans from their chili or there mortal soul will burn…..relax. I am far from a purist. I love to experiment with different ingredients, and every pot of chili I make contains beans of some sort. In fact I think the greatest thing about a popular food like chili is all the variety. Traditional, red eye, green, white, turkey, buffalo, vegan and about 400 other versions exists to tempt our palates and our imagination. In our house we have tried dozens upon dozens of additional ingredients to our basic chili recipe. Some of them keepers, some of them…..well, not so much. Here is a list of some of the keepers.

· Honey

· Lager beer

· Whisky

· Chocolate (really! Try it some time. Dark is better than milk)

· Molasses

· Maple syrup

· Ground up corn chips

· Bacon (duh!)

· Strong brewed coffee

· Crushed pineapple

· Diced zucchini and summer squash

· Tomatillos instead of tomatoes

· Beans: black, red, pinto, kidney, navy, great northern, black eyed

Another way to broaden you chili's horizons is to vary the meat you use. Our favorite combo is ground sirloin, pork, and venison, but if it squeaks, squawks, flys, swims, slithers, or walks you can probably grind it up and make chili out of it. Please show some restraint though. I know you’re excited to perfect that chili recipe but let’s leave the neighbor’s cat to the Chinese takeout guy. I promise I am going to give you a recipe here but I have one last thing to mention. This recipe is going to call for chile, C-H-I-L-E powder. This is different from chili, C-H-I-L-I powder. Chili powder is the reddish brown powder found in just about every American spice cabinet. It is a mixture of ground dried chiles, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Chile powder on the other hand is just the ground up dried chiles. My recipe calls for the Chile with an “e” version. Chile powder can be found at Latin food stores or at specialty spice stores. In a future post I show you how to make your own. If you don’t want to buy another spice, or are unable to find chile powder, chili powder can be substituted in the same quantity but be sure to leave out the salt and cumin or those flavors will overpower the chili.

2# ground meat (I suggest sirloin and pork)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium red onion diced

2 ribs celery finely diced

1 poblano pepper diced

1 each red and green bell pepper diced

2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

2 16oz cans diced tomatoes (no salt added if you can find it)

3 T tomato paste

1 can each: black beans, pinto beans, and light red kidney beans (we use dried, also a future post)

3T Ancho Chile powder (or regular chili powder)

1T cumin

1T granulated garlic

1T oregano

1/2T Onion powder

1tsp cayenne powder

2T brown sugar

2T kosher salt

2T beef bullion

2C water

1/4C masa(a corn flour widely available at many grocery stores) or ground up corn chips

In a large pot brown the meat, and drain reserving 4 or 5 tablespoons of the drippings. Return the reserved drippings and add the garlic, onion, celery and peppers cooking over medium heat until tender. Return the meat, and add the tomatoes and tomato paste. Drain and thoroughly rinse the beans adding them to the pot. Then add the chili powder through the bullion stirring the pot well to mix. In a separate bowl add the water to the masa and mix well. Add the masa to the chili pot. Cover and simmer for at least one hour before serving. Serve with cornbread, shredded cheese, sour cream, and thinly sliced fresh jalapeños.

Use this recipe as a starting point and experiment on your own. Go find the next greatest ingredient and invite us over for a bowl! I hope we have inspired you. Leave us a message and let us know what your secret ingredients are, or what the most bizarre thing you have put in that chili pot was!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2012-01-29T13:05:00.003-05:00

Growing up Sunday was the day for family. Typical Sunday mornings included waking up and crawling into my parents bed for what started out as sleepy snuggles and ended in the week's best tickle fest. My father always made a large breakfast of eggs, an over-abundance of white buttery toast and some sort of breakfast meat. After a clean-up session with all hands on deck, the day progressed into yard work or a random home renovation. Before we knew where the day had gone, we missed lunch and mom was preparing a large feast for our hungry bellies. This meal always consisted of some sort of meat roast, fresh or blanched vegetables large amounts of pasta or potato and a salad. Today Ryan and I have come to have the same schedule. Being the only day we have sun-up to sun-down together we take advantage of the much needed family time. Today we would like to share our dinner and inspire you too, to gather.

When we eat red meat we like to make it amazing. Grass fed is best and can be found for a decent price at your local butcher and higher-end supermarkets. I hear you now, "I'm on a budget". Please keep in mind you are, for a young family of four or five you're only going to look to get between 2 and 3 pounds. This "rule of thumb" yields 3 generous steaks, one for each of the "adults" and one to split between the 2 or three kids. The thing I didn't learn from my loving parents was portion control. This is where your budget AND waistline benefit. Today our table will hold strip steaks. Known for being a good cut with decent marbling, ones with semi-bone in are fine but if you find them with the full bone...grab it and run.

Steaks are a relatively thin piece of meat and are cooked over direct heat. We like a grill on medium or a cast iron grill pan on your stove top turned to medium-high. Let your steaks come to room temperature and pat them dry with a paper towel. Ssprinkle liberally with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. As for rubs and marinades, if you insist on using them, now is the time to do so. Steaks have a wonderful texture and flavor of their own, we suggest just the salt and pepper to enhance the somewhat expensive meat's flavor rather than cover up all that meaty goodness.

Once you have placed your steak on the grill don't move it for 3-4 minutes, turning then 90 degrees for an additional 2-3 minutes. FLIP ONCE, cooking an additional 4-6 minutes turning 90 degrees half way through cook time. Once cooked remove your steak from the grill and let it set for 2-3 minutes to let all the juices come back from the cooked surfaces. Depending on your grill or cook tops temp. this should set you at a good medium. Lower the time for rare to medium rare(our fave) or up the time for well done. In our opinions for well done steaks save yourself the money and just munch on one of the charcoal briquettes. Finish the steaks off with a pat of butter(approx 1/2 teaspoon) and let it melt into the meat before serving and cutting.

With our steak dinner we will begin with a spring mix salad, homemade Greek garlic ranch and side dishes of roasted sweet potatoes tossed in olive oil, dark agave, and scallion and lemon steamed broccoli.

We hope our steak info came in handy. What did you make for your Super Sunday Family dinner?

Welcome BBQ Fanatics

2012-01-25T19:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our new blog! We have lots of amazing things to share in our future posts. Please enjoy, experiment, express your view and EAT!