Saturday, May 14, 2011

LOW, SLOW & SMOKING PERMITTED..BBQ 101

Saturdays should be declared as the official BBQ day of the week! It the end of the stressful week and the only day that is really yours to kick back and do just what you want to do.

I wanted today to be a special bbq day since I ve been craving this all week. Furthermore this is the place that my passion for cooking started so from time to time I need to take the pilgrimage back to the place of divine intervention!

There it is ...... marinated for a couple hours in cider vinegar and other dried seasonings. Since I was using my kettle grill today and not any of the smokers I decided to get these partially cooked in the oven at 140C for 1 hour then it was off to the grill to get the charred look which took about 45 mins. I then reduced the flame and allowed these to slow cook while basting them in a marinade of seasoned pan drippings from the pre cooking process another 40 mins or so.

Once cooked through as indicated by the meat pulling away from the bones I started the glazing with the BBQ sauce and then left them a further 40 mins to be smoked with a wood chip blend.

You need some of this!



Thursday, May 5, 2011

Let me Cater to you!

On May 5th my wife's office had a breakfast sale and based on the pics I shared with her colleagues and the many samples shared, I was asked to produce 144 bite sized pastries.

My famous Donut Muffins, Pepperoni Pizza Puffs and Cheese/Garlic Biscuits were prepared with the assitance of my loving wife (she did all the sampling).

This was my first major order and based on all the +ve comments and kudos received this is the beginning of a wonderful dream.




Monday, May 2, 2011

Spinach Crostini

I have been experimenting lately with Italian bread based sides to accompany our meals. So I have entered the realm of Crostini & Bruschetta.

In the Parmesan Meatball post I added the tomato and basil crostini which were a hit not just with their appearance on the plate but the subtle yet distict taste they confer on the meal.

Tonight I made these Spinach Crostinis with Parmesan and Mozzarella and they accompanied a Corned beef stew, Lentils, my signature Parsley rice and Iceberg salad.

Look out for more combinations as these delights are as customizable and endless as a professional LEGO set!

Good Stuff!


Sunday, May 1, 2011

Bacon, Cheese, Tomato Strata. T Minus 10, 9,8......

A couple months ago I signed found an interesting recipe at the back of a can of marinara sauce and since the dish turned out great I decided to signup for additional recipes.

So periodically I receive recipes via email from HUNTS and they are usually quite easy to prepare and features one of their products which reduces preparation time by half- easily.

One of those recipes is the focus of today's post. From the first time I saw the recipe I knew I had to make it not just any day but part of the most special breakfast time at our home - Sunday Morning.

So I got up a little earlier than usual and made this fantastic dish. Prep time was about 15 minutes, bake time 30-35 minutes and the time it took for the portion in the pictures to disappear- 5 minutes which includes the before and just before the end of it all pics.

Great breakfast! Many many thanks to hunts.com!