Posts Tagged ‘yummy’

So there are so many games on each and every day! For the record…. I am an eternal optimist. I am a Toronto Maple Leafs Fan. For good or for bad its been a long 9 years…..

 

Lots of parties and that means super snacking and of course great munchies!!

Here are some great links to delicious munchies you can serve at your playoff parties…

  

Diva Q MOINK balls inspired by Larry Gaian from the BBQ Grail

MMM Shrimp & Sausage Bites - pork & seafood come together for a power packed bite of goodness!

4 Cheese ABT’s – stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon and smoked to yumminess!

Diva Q Jalapeno Dip & Grilled breads – so easy to make it should be illegal.

Chevaps – Because meat on sticks makes people happy!

Pizza Pizza Pizza – Everyone loves a good pizza.

 

 

 Simple Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients in saucepan.
2. Simmer until smooth and thickened to desired consistency—approximately 15 minutes.

BBQ Crawl commercial

coming to Travel & Escape

April 9 at 10:30pm EST

I think duck doesn’t get used nearly as much as it should be. Its an incredibly rich dark and forgiving meat that lends itself well to many applications.  Plus I have been watching many episodes of Duck Dynasty on A&E lately and well its been making me hungry and Si cracks me up. HEY!

 

Recipe

• 5lb Whole Young duck
• 3/4  cup maltose (or you can substitute honey or molasses)
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon 5 spice powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Preheat your smoker to 225F
2. Rinse & pat dry the duck.
3. Using your fingers separate the skin from the breast. This will help render out more fat.
4. Spatchcock the duck. See this easy step by step tutorial from Martha.
5. Use a jicard all over the duck. This will help release a lot of the fats from the duck.
6. Sprinkle Salt & Pepper on the duck and place on grill. PLEASE Note: I used my traeger wood pellet grill with hickory pellets.  It is indirect heat with a slanted heat shield that pours the fat out into a drip pot. If using a gas or charcoal grill you will absolutely need to place a pan under the grates of the duck to capture the fat and grill indirect.
7. Smoke duck for 2 hours.
8. In a small bowl mix the maltose, soy sauce, ginger, 5 spice powder, salt & pepper together. Set aside on counter.
9. After the 2 hours of smoking Turn up the grill to 300F
10. After 2 hours start saucing the duck with the soy mixture. Every 10 minutes re sauce the duck. This will bring a beautiful rich color to the duck.
11. Repeat this step until there is no sauce remaining (Approx 40 minutes)
12. After the saucing turn your grill up to high (400-450F)  for the last 10 minutes to help crisp the duck even more.
13. Remove duck from grill and let rest uncovered for 20 minutes
14. When the duck is cool enough to handle segment into portions or shred the duck chopping the crispy skin and mixing in.

I served our duck shredded with sauteed finely chopped shiitake mushrooms, chow mein noodles, chives and thin cucumber slices for crunch. Served beside a pile of iceberg lettuce cups with a side of hoisin sauce for dipping. It was a fun family meal that my kids loved.

 

 

 

 

I take biscuit making from scratch very seriously. There are times when you need to use store bought mixes or pre-made but whenever you can from scratch biscuits are always better. They are a Southern tradition and one that of course goes extremely well with all things BBQ & Grilling. Over the years I have been trying countless recipes trying different methods. I had no real benchmark to go from I just knew what I wanted:

• The flakiest of sections
• Slightly crispy buttery base
• tender interior

I can’t stand flaky people but for me a flaky tender biscuit is heaven.

Today after countless trials I achieved the very best biscuits I have ever made. They were all of my wants and more. This recipe is for a double batch I split the batch in two and added a heaping cup of shredded Old cheddar to one and shredded Jalapeno Cheddar to the other .

The very best Jalapeno Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits

• 4 ¾ cups             All-purpose Robin Hood flour sifted
• ½ lb                      Unsalted Butter frozen then grated
• 1 tsp                      baking soda
• 2 tsp                      Clabber girl baking powder
• 3 tsp                      Morton kosher salt
• 2 ½ cups             Buttermilk (keep very cold)
• 2 cups                   Shredded Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese or any other shredded cheddar

 

Place a stainless steel bowl in a freezer for 20 minutes prior to assembly.

*If you tend to have very warm hands rinse your hands under cold water for a bit. The dough and the ingredients need to stay as cold as possible.

1. Preheat your oven to 425F
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients into a chilled stainless steel mixing bowl
3. Add the grated butter to the dry mixture and combine using a pastry cutter. The texture should be coarse and crumbly. Do not use your hands for this.
4. Add buttermilk and using a spatula mix until just combined. *Do not over mix-the dough will be damp.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
6. Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the dough.
7. Working as quickly as you can pat the dough out into a rectangle and then fold in on itself a couple of times.
8. Pat the dough into a rectangle approx 1/2 ” thick and cut into 32 squares. You can use a round biscuit cutter however any scraps you have leftover will make a much tougher biscuit. By cutting them into squares there is no scrap leftovers.  Handle the dough the least amount of time possible. The more you handle the dough the tougher your biscuits will be.
9. Place 16 biscuits on each ungreased cookie sheet. The biscuits should be 1/4” away from each other for slightly soft & lightly crispy sides.
10. Chill the cut biscuit squares in the fridge for 5 minutes. If you are omitting the cheese then brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter right before placing in the oven.
11. Place baking sheets in oven on the upper and middle shelf.
12. Bake for 5 minutes then rotate racks
13. Bake for an additional 5 minutes and check for doneness. Depending on your oven they may take 10-14 minutes to bake completely. It is very important to not over bake the biscuits.
14. Remove biscuits from trays and place on cooling racks for crispier bottoms.
15. Enjoy them quickly. They will not last. Trust me on this.

 

 

SO many of my friends and healthier acquaintances talk about the virtues of kale chips. Uber delicate with terrific crunch I thought that maybe a little smoke could improve the chances of me eating them more regularly..

Kale has a lot of good crap in it  - vitamins and all that other healthy stuff that good for you.  So eating it is probably on the list of things I should do more.

 

What happened next is pretty awesome. I think I am in love with smoked kale chips.

I shit you not they tasted like bacon after I smoked them. My husband, my oldest daughter and I are all in awe of this.  Now let me say I have been doing a lot of smoking this week. Mostly pork and maybe its just my cooker that’s giving off some porky goodness extra flavoring  but seriously give these a try. Well worth your time.

• 1 large bunch kale
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp pepper

Preheat your grill to 250F Indirect. (****Very important this is indirect especially when you use frogmats)

Remove the stems from the Kale and tear into bite sized pieces. Arrange the kale in a single layer on frogmats over a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt & pepper.

Place the frogmat on the grill. * I used my Traeger grill for this and it worked out fantastic. Grill indirect for 15 minutes. Turn kale leaves over and grill another 5-10 minutes or just until crispy. They should be a bright green and should not be brown. Serve to your family or hoard them for yourself. Enjoy.

 

I have no idea how long these things last. We ate them all. You are on your own for that decision.

 

I had a hankering for a kabob today.  I love meat on sticks. Its just so much more fun. My kids love them too. I often thought if they served salad on sticks I would eat more greens. Probably not but its a nice thought. Its snowing like crazy here today so these were done on my trusty Lil Tex Traeger. I used a mixture of Oak & Hickory Pellets. Super easy to make.  Do yourself a favor & double up on this recipe. Freeze a batch for a quick midweek meal.  Can be served in a pita with Tzatziki  lettuce and thinly sliced red onions.

Recipe:

• 4 Chicken Breasts Cut into approx 1″ Cubes
•  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons dried Greek oregano
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp kosher salt

 

• Marinate for 4-6 hours or overnight if possible.

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Remove chicken from marinade & discard- Place on metal skewers grill 10 – 15 minutes until the internal temperature is 165F Serve with salad, grilled veggies or rice. This is also an excellent salad dressing recipe as well. Serves 4

We served ours tonight with basmati rice & toasted almonds plus a simple salad of baby spinach, mandarin oranges, red onion drizzled with a lemon poppy seed vinaigrette.

 

 

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Meatball Tree

 

I thought it would be a nice idea to try a new presentation for my bacon wrapped meatballs.

I have made many traditional Crockenbouche for past Christmas events and I thought the design would be super festive for meatballs. This worked really well and it was fun and easy to make.

This was fun to do and everyone at our annual Christmas party.

I started with an 8” foam core tree shape and wrapped it in foil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used extra-long “Clubhouse sandwich” toothpicks. The meat balls were 2 boxes (almost 3 lbs) of Angus Beef Meatballs from Sobeys that are pre-cooked. I wrapped them each with 1/3 slice of bacon each then sprinkled with Smoky Mountain Smokers Chipotle rub.  They were smoked on my Traeger for just over an hour at 225F. I used Hickory & Oak pellets. When I removed them I glazed them with Garland Jack’s Secret Six Hickory Spice BBQ Sauce.

Pretty simple after that point  just poke them in tightly until the tree is full. I also made a bacon star that took me a few tries to get right btw a super cute when done. The star bacon shape was baked on a silpat sheet to keep it flat. I did the star at 225F and it took 3 strips of bacon to make.

All of the bacon I used was 18/22 slice size.

The tree was simply garnished with the last sprigs of rosemary from my garden. It was a great appetizer for my Christmas party guests who have a serious love for all things bacon & BBQ.

 

Simple easy to make chicken that is drool worthy.  Love a good roast chicken. The kind that is full of flavor, juicy and the skin is crispy.

 

Here is what I used to make this beautiful chicken

• 2 – 4-5lb Chickens Cleaned & Rinsed
• 40 or 50 peeled garlic cloves (4-5 heads)
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup your favorite red wine ( I used Corte Majoli Amarone della valpolicella)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 sweet white onion
• 1/4 lb salted butter
• 2 large bunched thyme
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper

Hickory chips or pellets

Preheat your pellet grill to 325F or create an indirect fire zone on your gas or charcoal grill.

Fill each cavity of the chickens up with 20 garlic cloves. Insert a few sprigs of thyme and place 1/4 whole piece of onion at the cavity opening to seal in the garlic and thyme.

Place the birds on a BBQ safe pan and sprinkle the remaining thyme and garlic cloves around the birds.

Use your hand to separate the skin from the breast meat. Spread the butter out on the breast and pat it down with the skin.  Its messy work but well worth it.

Slather the birds with the olive oil and generously season with salt & pepper.

Fill the pan with the water and the wine. Place on the BBQ and grill until the internal temperature of the breast registers 155F and the thigh meat is 175F approximately an hour.

When the chicken is done remove and rest covered in foil.

 

 

Strain pan juices into a pan. Squish the garlic through the strainer to add to the sauce. Bring to a simmer skimming off fat and serve with the chicken. Absolutely delicious.

Make sure to make 2. You will want leftovers.

 

 

This is sure to become a family favorite at your house.