Now, I am not the worlds biggest turkey fan. But, a nicely prepared slice of bird can act as a great transportation device for one of my favorite Christmas condiments – cranberries.
I can remember many a Christmas with the obligatory ‘cranberries in a can’ sauce that was the norm in the day. However as I worked on my cooking skills, early on I found out how easy it is to make my own cranberries. Now, the recipe on the bag of berries is alright, but the folks over at Cooks Country / Cooks Illustrated / America’s Test Kitchen have a couple of great recipes. The ‘regular’ sauce is a bit nicer than the bag recipe, but my favorite is their Apricot-Ginger Cranberry Sauce.
It has a sweetness from the apricot that balances the tart cranberries, and a little hint of cayenne that gives it just a perfect amount of spice to compliment the ginger. This mix of flavours is really nice, and it complements the turkey very, very well.
Apricot-Ginger in back, regular in front
I made a big batch of each tonight, and portioned out into some containers. They will be off to the kids, and to friends of ours at the coast with a healthy portion retained for our Christmas table.
I can’t share the recipes here unfortunately as they are copyrighted. I do encourage anyone interested in cooking or food to look at an subscription to the Cooks Country / Cooks Illustrated websites. Then you have access to an amazing selection of recipes, all highly tested and very well explained.
Give homemade cranberries a try for you Christmas table. Once you have, you will never open another can again!
My return to the website in earnest has been delayed again. No sooner did I get the operating system software on my laptop re-installed and software back up and running, the computer itself decided that it had gone as far as it was prepared to and blew it’s cooling fan. Due to age it wasn’t practical to repair, and the heat build up quickly ‘baked’ the machine.
That led to the search for a new laptop, which being the research junkie I am that took some time. After securing a decent deal via Black Friday sales, I was up and running with a new laptop. Well, running being relative, as out of the box computers tend to not do too much.
After a number of hours getting everything reinstalled and set up, I am back in action. Just in time for Christmas…
I have been busy in the kitchen, getting my usual collection of Christmas baking laid up. Tarts and cookies galore, enough to get thru the season and have a stock in the deep freeze for future enjoyment.
I will be getting back into the swing of things here shortly. In the meantime, I will be spending time with friends and family over the holidays, and I hope that you will as well.
From Kathy and I, and our K9-Kids Eve and Harley, we wish you all a very happy holiday season (however you chose to celebrate), and a Healthy, Happy and Amazing 2016.
Just a quick note to everyone who has read my Burning Barrel reviews. On October 14th, Cat and Joe severed ties with the Burning Barrel. We are sad to hear this has come to pass, and we will watch to see how the restaurant does with the loss of it’s ‘pit master’. I don’t know the events that lead to the split, but I know how emotionally invested that they were in the project so I can only assume that it was something major.
BBQ is a specialty unto itself, and it isn’t something that someone can just jump into and run with. It is highly personal in how you flavour your rubs and sauces, even down to your choice of woods. It will be interesting to see how the restaurant does without Cat and Joe. I can only assume that it will change, there really isn’t much chance of it doing otherwise. I just hope that it is able to make the transition to whatever it will become, and that Cat and Joe keep the Rig rolling, and find another outlet for their creativity and customer service.
Well the last month and a half hasn’t followed the script in the slightest. I found myself out of commission with an illness for a month, and then as soon as i was back in the saddle my computer decided that it was going to get sick too.
Combine this with it being my busiest time of the year at work, I had to give a bit of a break to the site, and to cooking in general. However I am back in good health, my computer is rebuilt, work is still busy, but the kitchen is feeling my presence again.
Thanksgiving was a low key event this year, I was still under the weather and it was just the two of us. Dinner was a bit of a change, with just two of us we decided not to do a turkey this year. I am not a turkey fan, but the family likes it and that is good enough for me. But this year with it just being the two of us, I did something a bit different. Kathy loves duck, me not so much. I love roast beef, her not so much. So, the best compromise was to just do both. Add some homemade spaetzle, roasted vegetable and fresh grated horseradish and dinner was served. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner, and while we missed the kids, I didn’t miss the turkey one little bit.
I have added a new recipe to the site, Grandma Clara’s Waffles. They make a great change up from pancakes and omelette’s, light and flavourful… a great breakfast option.
I will be finishing another recipe for chocolate covered bacon, which is mind numbingly good regardless of how it sounds on paper! That will be up on the site in the next week or so.
I was surfing on the net the other day, and ended up stumbling on the Emeril Lagasse channel on YouTube. I took some time and watched a few videos, one of which was an old episode of Emeril Live.
It really took me back to a day when there was quality programming for foodies on Food Network. Emeril Live and Good Eats were two flagship shows – Tyler’s Ultimate too, there were so many good and entertaining shows. I learned so much from those shows, both in technique and foods. And they entertained while they taught, I enjoyed watching the shows, and took away lessons that I could use in my own kitchen.
However, you have given yourself over to the worst of the (barely) food themed… garbage… and are filling the timeslots with it. I enjoy the ‘food on the road’ shows, You Got to Eat Here, Triple D and the like well enough, but please, enough already with the game shows, Chopped, Cutthroat Kitchen (sorry Alton) and please, what possible excuse could there be for Chef in My Ear?!?
As a food lover, and someone looking to learn about food in all it’s regional forms, your losing me as a viewer. You still have some good programming, The Pioneer Woman, Southern at Heart are two, but they seldom seem to run in primetime, the focus just keeps seeming to shift to what is basically culinary Pablum.
Can we get back to cooking and food please, and get away from gameshow nonsense that people watch while eating crappy order in pizza – Please??
This is my second favorite kitchen gadget. From measuring dry ingredients such as flour (5 oz per cup) to portioning out burger patties, it is quick and accurate.
When baking, accuracy in flour measurement is really important. Depending on temperature, humidity and method used with the measuring cup, the actual amount of flour in ‘a cup’ can very significantly enough to affect the outcome. With a scale, the weight is always the same. and it is a fair bit faster to just pour flour into a bowl on the scale until you have just enough.
Then you can zero (tare) out the scale, and add your next ingredient by weight and so on. It really does make life in the kitchen much easier – for real.
I place a bowl on the scale, and then portion out my meat patties into 6 oz patties (8 oz if Kathy isn’t looking) and then every patty is the same size and cooks in the same time as each other.
Buying meats in bulk is a great way to economize, but portioning it out into 1 lb portions then bagging it for the freezer makes it easy to use down the road.
You can even weigh a puppy prior to… no, not cooking him… figuring out how much food he should be getting!
No amimals were harmed in the taking of this photo. All dishes were cleaned prior to being used again. 😎
I have a different scale, but this one is very highly rated by a source I trust very much.
I am in the process of adding a section to the site with links to some of my favorite kitchen gear. Kitchens are a funny place – stuff accumulates with the same mysterious ways as crop circles pop up on the land (maybe their both aliens messing with us), and much of it is not actually useful. So much if the gear is useful for little other than taking up space.
Much if it is designed to ‘make life easier’ in the kitchen – As Seen On TV. Unfortunately, most of the time the bits of kit just don’t work, or worse take twice the time to use and clean up than just doing the ‘old fashioned’ way. Alton Brown is my hero when it comes to what he calls ‘unitaskers’. And the only permissible unitasker in his books is the fire extinguisher. I tend to agree.
That said, there are a few items that every cook should have in their kitchen. The first is an instant read thermometer. A top quality instant read thermometer is something you will use pretty much every time you cook. A cheap imitation will be buried in the back of your drawer faster than you can say “this piece of garbage…”. My favorite, and the one that is generally considered to be the best, is the Thermopen . Available by mail order only, it is indispensable in my kitchen. I use it to measure the temp of water to bloom yeast (105-115 degrees), the temp of baking break (200+), to check meat on the grill or in the smoker, or to gauge poultry in the oven. Tonight I used mine to make sure the smoked burger patty in the frying pan was fully cooked without having to cut into it and let the juices out.
The Thermopen is quick, accurate and has a very small tip that makes the smallest puncture in your food, which preserves juices and keeps it from looking like it got cooked on a dart board.
Some Lilies from our garden – a beautiful reminder of a summer slipping away from us day by day
Yesterday we had a visit from our friends Rick and Laurie, and their awesome kids Kyle and Caitlee. They have recently moved to our home town from the coast, and it is great to have them here.
At long last, we finally found some time to get together and have brunch here around our kitchen table. They have been busy settling into their new home, and that all takes time so between that and our busy schedules, this was our first real chance to get together and have a visit.
Brunch was the usual fare, Pop’s Pancakes, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit and a few toppings were the main course. A few drinks, both adult and something for the kids topped it off. But hands down, the best part was the company. The kids are great, Caitlee ran the feet off of Eve and Harley, a bit of Call of Duty on the PS3 let Kyle show me exactly how bad… no, pathetic I am at video games. It was really nice visit just hanging for the afternoon with R&L, and catching up on life.
One of the things I love most about food in general and cooking with or for friends, is the social aspect that goes along with it. Going out for brunch or dinner is great, but it is on a schedule with people all around and severs bustling to and fro. Cooking at home is so much more relaxed and social, brunch can go 5-6 hours without a server coming to ask if you are EVER going to leave, and you can just sit back, relax and enjoy. It doesn’t have to be grandiose, the point is the people at the table, the food is just the excuse to get together.
We had a great relaxed visit, and there is no better way to spend a day in my books. Taking a few hours from our hectic schedules to just stop and ‘smell the roses’ is something that we all need to do more often. Time passes, and before we know it we have lost touch with some of those who mean the most. Take a few min, put on a pot of coffee and call some friends over for a social afternoon. It is time that will pay you back with memories to keep dear.
Thanks to Rick and Laurie and the kids for a wonderful and memorable afternoon! We look forward to seeing you guys again soon!
Best Budz!One pooched puppy – dreaming of his next time with his new playmate
On October 14th, Cat and Joe announced they have parted ways with the Burning Barrel. I don’t know what the reasons were, but we are sad to hear this as we know how excited that they were with the restaurant. We wish them the best, and time will tell how the BB does without thier passion for the Q and customer service.
————————————————————————————-
On the long weekend, Kathy and I made our second trip to The Burning Barrel Cookhouse. As I promised in my first review, we showed up ready to get our meat on… I should state here that I am a fan of Cat and Joe and what they are doing. I am not affiliated with them, or receiving any inducements or benefit for any review. This is just me excited about a really cool couple putting out one of my favorite foods.
After reviewing the menu, we decided to go for the sample platter. It is a selection of ribs, chicken, pulled pork, brisket and then three sides.
For $55, it is a pile of food. The menu says enough for 4, and maybe 4 normal people it might be. However, we (two) put the vast majority of it away, with just a small snack left over to take home. None the less, it was great value and a good way to try all of the meats on the menu.
The smoke and flavour runs all the way thru these ribs
Everything was very good. BBQ is one of those things that there are as many ways prepare as there are people preparing it. It differs from area to area, and pit master to pit master. Cat and Joe’s take on the ‘Q is solid, and the flavours great. With the exception of the brisket. What was it about the brisket you ask… well… it was probably the BEST brisket I have ever had opportunity to try. It was truly extraordinary.
I have had brisket done a great number of ways, and largely it is hit or miss. Sometimes it’s like pulled pork, sometimes it’s fatty, sometimes it’s like a dried out chunk of shoe leather. None of that is present here. Joe nails his brisket, the taste and texture are EXACTLY what I am looking for. It is firm, tender, juicy with just enough of the fat to add awesome flavour without being cloying. It definitely is my favorite of all of the items tried thus far.
The brisket is currently a weekend only item, and given the difficulty in making it well, I certainly understand why. However I will definitely be back for a full serving very soon.
Cat and Joe are doing a great job, handling the bumps in the road well, and I look forward to many more great meals at their table.
This monster was constructed with one of my Savoury Italian Burger patties
Well, today was a day of hamburger making. I decided that it was a good day to knock out my recipe for Savory Italian Burgers, and to spark up the smoker and put up a few dozen smoked burger patties in the freezer.
This is why Food Stylists exist – to make food look as good as it tastes. Smoked burger patties don’t look like much, but they are tasty
Fall has arrived it seems, quite suddenly at that, and being in the interior of BC my smoking season will come to an end before too much longer. As a result, I have been running a bunch of meat thru the smoker the last little while and putting the product in the freezer so that thru the winter we can still get a smoky taste of summer.
At the end of the day, I have ended up with 4 dozen smoked burger patties, a dozen smoked Italian Sausage and a hell of a messy smoker. Over the winter, I will do up another couple of batches of the burger, but it will go to towards pan grilled burgers, or using the meat in pasta sauce or other hearty winter eats.
I hope everyone is having a great Labour Day long weekend!
Now, I grew up in a very small town about 300 miles north of Vancouver BC. We had local radio, but it was pretty mainstream for the day, and really didn’t do much to ignite much in the way of imagination. However, late at night, when the conditions were right, the signal would skip all the way to me and I could listen to the CKNW from Vancouver BC.
When it did come in, quite often what would be on late at night was Jack Cullen’s Owl Prowl. Jack had an extensive record collection, including an amazing collection of Big Band music (which I still love to this day), and so many of the great radio play series like The Shadow, Dragnet, Green Hornet… the list goes on and on. I fell in love with these stories, they were tales from a different time, and the stories told in a way that formed in your mind the images that we are now spoon fed by tv and movies. It is a totally different experience that I hope you will take a few minutes to experience.
One of the things I really enjoy about the internet, is the fact that so many of these great old radio shows are now available online. It doesn’t take much searching to find an app or website that allows you to access these great tales that are now in the public domain, the copyrights having run their course over the years.
In my exploring, I came across a story from a sci-fi series call X-Minus One. The story is called “A Logic Named Joe“. The original tale dates back to March 1946, when it was originally written as a story on paper. In 1955, it was ‘transcribed for radio’ and presented on X-Minus One.
Now, what is amazing and memorizing to me about this story, remembering it was written within a few short months of the end of WWII, is the amazingly accurate portrayal of where technology in the next 70 years would go. I am not going to spoil the story, but if you follow the links below, you can start on the three YouTube episodes that comprise this story.
I encourage you to pull up to the kitchen table with a cup of joe, dim the lights, turn off the Idiot Box and take a while to listen to what is an entertaining and indeed amazing story especially when viewed from the future it predicted.
Happy Sunday my intrepid followers (both of you), I hope you are having a great weekend. With the cooler and unsettled weather of the last couple of days, I have found myself getting the urge to do some baking.
When it comes to food, I am very seasonally driven. During the hotter months, I prefer lighter and fresher dishes. In the cooler months it tends to be heavier, stick to your ribs food. Baking is something I really enjoy, but save for special occasion cakes or pies from time to time, I don’t do a lot of it in the summer.
I found myself having some leftover buttermilk in the fridge, so I decided to use it up on some baking. Looking to do something different, I went to my go to site for recipes and general food related information.
Now I should declare here and now that I am a huge devotee of the Christopher Kimball consortium of test kitchens – America’s Test Kitchen, Cooks Illustrated and Cooks Country. I have the PVR set to catch the shows on PBS, I have print subscriptions to Cooks illustrated and Cooks Country, and website subscriptions to all three. The information on the sites is huge in volume, and very high in quality. If I am looking for a recipe, this is where I turn first before going into the office and starting to thumb thru the volumes of cookbooks I possess.
After exploring a number of options I settled on something new to me, a Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake. The tang and richness of the buttermilk, and a load of lemon flavor from both zest and juice looked to be just what I was in the mood for. The recipe is pretty straight forward, but unfortunately I can’t post it on the site here as it is of course copyrighted. Sorry!
So after carefully following the recipe, this is the finished product:
Fast forward a few hours, and it is time to try it out. Wow… With both the both lemon juice and lemon zest giving flavour to the cake, the punch of lemon was really nice. Then there is the glaze for the top that contains lemon juice, and a sugar topping to be sprinkled over the glaze that is a mix of sugar and zest.
Lemon Buttermilk Sheet Cake from Cooks Country
The recipe, as with most things I have made from the Cooks Empire, was bang on. The lemon flavour was perfect, the glaze and sugar on the top divine. This is my new favorite cake, and my Chief Food Taster is in complete agreement.
This is not really surprising as they employ very well-funded test kitchens, so each recipe is the final result of very exhaustive testing. If you are interested in learning about cooking, the recipes also include an article that details what went on during the testing, what worked, what didn’t, and what they came up with in the end. Very often there is detailed information on the reasons why something worked or didn’t, and for me anyway that is the best way to learn. I highly recommend a subscription to the websites, it will be money very well spent if you wish to expand your culinary horizons.
In the same vein, I also highly recommend Alton Browns two cook books, ‘Just here for the Food’ and ‘Just here for more Food’. These books followed up his series ‘Good Eats’ which unfortunately has been squirreled away by the Food Network so that they can feed us the current crop of game show garbage that is more mind-numbing than useful or entertaining. Anyway, that is a rant subject for another time…
Well, I hope you have all had a great weekend, and that the week coming up is a good one for you!
