Episode XV Postscript: Halloween

I didn't actually cook anything, but the The Wife and the Girl Child invested a lot of time setting up for a good party, so I thought I would show it off a little....






The family









The Wife aka The Evil Cocktail Doctor








Spare Eyeballs










The dinner table









Some blood punch for the little ones












Kitty litter cake for dessert









An unfortunate guest that won't be returning....








The end of the jello eating contest

Episode XV: Smoking a big fatty

So Girl Child wants to know what I'm doing this weekend and I say " helping with your Halloween party and then relaxing the next day by smoking a big fatty". She kind of gives me an "uh huhhhhh... What?" And I say "You know - a big fatty rolled in bacon and stuffed with cheese. It'll be perfect".

I think she left around then, but of course, can't let teenage girls distract you from legitimate fun.

Again, I am leaving the fold of Big Bob and going out on my own. Similar to the previous bacon explosion, I made a weave of bacon and a 2 pound layer of spicy Italian sausage, but then deviated with a layer of cream cheese, a layer of onions and pablano pepper I had grilled with bacon and garlic, and then a layer of sharp cheddar on top. Rolled her up and popped on the cooker. About 30 minutes from completion I slathered her in some sauce.

As predicted, came out Grrrreat! A few conclusions:

• 
  It was harder to spread the cream cheese than I predicted. Next time I want it at room temperature
  

• At first I was disappointed I didn't use jalapeno because the pepper didn't come through, but when we ate the left overs a couple days later, it was great. Kind of like the pepper had soaked into the cheese more. Makes me think this is a great dish to cook ahead.




• Also, I used a thinner bacon this time and I think it worked better. Still added good flavor and held it together, but the fat cooked up very well and I didn't see the kids trying to pick any off. And I just use everything left over from the weave in the veggies.

Episode XIV: Coffee Cardamon Brisket

I am sooooooo behind in posting. Ugh. And on top of that, I'm not even using a Big Bob recipe. Instead there has been a lot of conversation on the Komodo Kamado forum about this brisket rub that uses coffee and cardamon as the base. Add to that a lot of conversation about a high temp cooking method which includes a couple hours in foil and I was definitely starting to feel like wandering from the course a little. I think a long night at the House of Blues and sleeping late in the morning was a sign from the BBQ spirits that this was the perfect time to try this combo.

Prep was easy. I deviated just a little by not mixing the oil into the rub to make a paste, rather i put the oil straight on the brisket and added the rub. Seemed to work out well for me.

Cooking in foil is interesting because it is supposed to really shorten the cook time, however it accents one of my weaknesses - using my senses to determine completion rather than temp or time.

I also thought this would be a good time to try the baked potatoes again. Last time they weren't done, but using a higher temp I thought might give me more success.

How did it go? Here's my conclusions:

• I would say that I really liked the rub. Will definitely do this one again. Even though it had been foiled it still came out with an ok bark.
• Still haven't mastered the spuds. They came out very flavorful, but this time overdone. Argh!
• The high temp cooking seems to save time, but I might have pulled it off 30 minutes too early. Guidance is to stick a fork in it to check, and it seemed good, but afterwards I wasn't sure. See the problem is that the taste sample is fantastic, but when you slice and serve, it seems to dry up way to fast. Maybe I am not resting it long enough? And maybe I am rushing to cut off the point to make burnt ends? Needs more experimentation. Hmmmmm.

Episode XIV Prologue - Poop

Ok, this isn't really about poop, but I thight I'd title it that way to annoy both The Wife and the Girl Child. Always nice to get two birds with one stone.

Not many posts lately because I've been traveling and had a lot of interruptions with work. But the travel and the changes at the office have led me to the following list. It is remarkable how much toilet paper can vary from place to place and who puts a premium on it and who doesn't.

Anyway.... here's my ranking from best to worst:

1) The stuff The Wife buys (she's looking out for me)

2) Any civilized persons home and all nice hotels

3 - 50) Various other locations

51) Terminal 4 at the DFW airport (actually surprisingly nice given the location)

52) On an American Airlines plane (satisfactory)

53) Various train and bus stations through out Europe (not satisfactory, but livalble)

54 - 99) Big gap exists....

100) Hewlett Packard. Is the new stuff they just put in awful? Worse than sandpaper. Ugh. Yet another barrier to my productivity