Making tamales

I've never really thought much of them, but we'll see how homemade is:



I came up with the meat recipe pretty much on my own. I had a hunk of beef roast (they call it cross rib roast here, I think it's just Chuck roast, maybe a more fancy name), some homemade broth, a coupla dried peppers, garlic, some onions, a little celery, salt, typical Mexican spices and I decided to throw in a cinnamon stick. I simmered it for about 4 hours, and it was fork tender.

Late 2009 tomatoes

Late prep, late planting, we are just now picking. Let's pray for a late freeze eh?

Shrimp Ceviche cocktail

Been awhile since I tried something new that struck me with YUM, and that happened last night with a shrimp ceviche cocktail I had at a friend's BBQ. Ingredients where jotted down on my iPhone, with the obvious recognition that the quantities are not measured accurately. The surprise ingredient was Clamato! A quick Google shows lots of recipes, will be posting mine when I tweak it to my liking....

Fried cheese, an experiment

Some FoodTV dude showed making cheese crackers, which essentially was nothing but grated cheese toasted on the stove in a fry pan. I don't even recall what dish he was making, but toasted cheese sounds yummy, so I decided to experiment!! Not much method, kinda high heat, sprinkle the cheese evenly and be prepared to flip it like quick. Drain on paper towels on a plate.

Cheddar. Greasy and burns before it looks like it's burning. I'd say this one was a success, but really watch it close.

Parmesan: Major success!

Mozzarella: Sadly, a failure. Turned in to nothing but chewy.

And like I warned you, burns easily!

Blue Cheese: Major failure. Pretty much turned in to gum. Actually TASTED OK when it cooled and firmed up, but was weird and useless.

One important note, TEFLON! I at first tried it in a regular fry pan and it instantly stuck and made a huge mess. Teflon is a must! I think the lesson learned here is the less moisture in the cheese, the better it's going to turn out. If you're wondering what you can use this for, it's great on salads, creamy soups, and of course I think it makes a nice snack!

Yummy ribs, I must write down the recipe.....

I accidentally cooked some of the best ribs I've ever cooked this weekend. I say accidentally cause I didn't plan it, kinda half-assed monitored them, didn't use all my "tricks", tried a few things new and after it's all over.... I really should document what I do. Cause when you pull them off the grill and you get this remaining there, you know they're gonna be good:

Here they are plated. Those are onion rings from a home grown onion and our super special recipe. Nothing beats fresh deep fried!


Baby Back ribs, not country style or spare ribs. Baby backs are better meat, a more consistent row of meat, and tend to be more dark meat

Start them in the oven. Sure, you can do it on the grill, but you gotta be able to control the temperature. Low and slow. What I can't recall is 170 or 250 degrees.... Or how long. It was hours, was it 4? Or 6? I also blasted it on broil once with the bacon on top for more flavor.

Hold the sauce for now. Sauce has a lot of sugar in it, and sugar burns.

Get the grill ready, get it hot and let the temp drop to 250 or so.

I did dust them with a rub, something I made up a while back and think I wrote down somewhere. Lots of stuff in it.

I also swabbed it with apple sauce after a few hours of cooking.

After another hour or two, I laid a few strips of bacon on it, and one on either side to give it moisture and flavor.

When I put them on the grill, I throw some apple wood on the coals. In this case I used store bought, which is sadly like sawdust, but it smokes well. Other times I've soaked wood chunks.

By the time they're going on the grill, they're practically done, so keep the temperature down and take them off after an hour or so.

Wrapped up in aluminum foil and get the sides ready!

See why I need to write this down?

Ham, cheese & Egg cups

Try this!!! It's pretty dang easy, pretty tasty, and actually comes out kinda fancy looking! This is one of those dishes I'm going to make & serve at my pinball & dog themed Bed and Breakfast. Named Balls and Paws.... Nah....

• Thinly sliced ham (deli kind)
• Bread of whatever kind, I used hot dog buns!
• About 1 egg per large muffin tin you're going to fill, beaten.
  
• Cheese, I used grated cheddar and slices of Kraft Swiss
• Optional herb topping, I used Mexican oregano and seasoning salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Press 2-3 slices of the ham in to the muffin tin forming the cup. Stick in a few chunks of bread and cheese, cover it all with the eggs then top with more cheese. Sprinkle with whatever spices or herbs you like. Bake for about 15 minutes, keep your eye on them closely near the end.

Prepped:

Finished Product:

Pretty dang yummy Baked Potato Soup w/Cheese

There was a little snow storm here and the wifey tried to get to work but 40 minutes later, was back home, having only gone a few miles. It was very cold too, so I whipped this up, and it's a keeper. Thanks always to the Internet for the inspiration and basic recipe!

Yields: 4 Servings
Total time: Less than an hour from prep to serve

Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup Butter
• 1/3 Cup Flour
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1/2 Cup Half & Half
• 1 Cup Homemade broth (beef, chicken, whatever)
• (if you're lacking the broth & half/half above, just make sure you have enough liquid)
• 2 Large baked potatoes, unpeeled and cubed
• 1 TB chopped garlic
• 1 Tsp Seasoned Salt or S&P
• 3 slices of cooked bacon, chopped
• 3 slices (equal amount) of diced ham
• 1 Cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 Cup Sour cream
• Chives & Tarragon optional as garnish

1. In a large stockpan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour slowly until smooth and bubbly.
2. Gradually stir in the liquids, whisking until thickened (a few minutes)
3. Stir in the taters, garlic, salt, and half the meats. Bring to a boil
   
4. Reduce heat and simmer 10-20 minutes until you think to yourself, "Damn, that looks good!"
5. Stir in the sour cream and cheese until melted.
6. Serve in big bowls, top with ham, bacon, chives and tarragon if desired.