NUESKE'S SALE

I wish I received a royalty for advertising a company. I would accept all stipends in form of products from the Nueske company. They are running a sale that involves Free Shipping on all orders.(till May 20) This was an offer that I could not refuse. I ordered a Ham and some Slab Bacon. The bacon is some of the best I have ever tasted. It is the smoke bomb deluxe. If you have been existing on your local supermarket brand bacon, do yourself a favor and try bacon that is inspirational.

Nueske has been around since 1933. They are located in Wisconsin. They smoke their Meat Products with sweet apple wood smoke. It is my favorite choice of smoke. The bacon is smoked for 24 hours. I can consume a piece in 30 seconds. I cannot wait to make some stuffed mushrooms.

I have not tried the Ham yet. I just opened the package and I can taste it just by the smell. Is it Friday Yet?

CHINESE BARBEQUE PORK

Martin and I were hanging out at the Asparagus festival. He asked me if I had been using any of his recipes lately. I told him that I would break out one of my favorites from his book. He was pleased. "If Yan Can Cook, So can Chilebrown."

I used to make this dish a lot back in the day. It is one of my favorites. I have not made it in a while. Of course, I put my barbeque twist to it. We made a trip to the International Market in San Pablo. This is a great store to buy Meat and Fish on the cheap. They have a high turnover of merchandise. This makes for fresh Pork. We are heading to Alemany Market in San Francisco for our vegetables. Asparagus, Mushrooms and stuff were procured at the market. We did not see Chris from 'Zukerman Farms' today. We saw him a couple of weeks back and we are happy that he is well,

1. 1/2 cup hoisin sauce and soy sauce


2. 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil


3. 1 tablespoon dry sherry


4. 2 tablespoon kethcup


5. 1/2 teaspoon of Chineese five spice


6. 1 teaspoon of minced ginger


7. 1 tablespoon of orange peel


8. 3 pounds of pork

Cut pork into steaks and marinade with rest of the ingredients.. Cook in 350 oven for 30 minutes. I put it in the barbeque with an indirect heat for 30 minutes. Serve with Asparagus Chow Mein. Good Eats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I love you Mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHILEBROWN'S CHILE PEPPERS

What puts the Chile in Chilebrown? Well today it is the shipment of Chile Peppers I just received. The 'UPS' man left me with a package of Chile Pepper Plants on my front porch. These peppers were hatched by the 'Cross Country Nurseries'. They have a mind boggling selection of different and unusual plants. I wanted to grow a couple of Bhut Joklia peppers. They are the 5 times hotter than the Habanero pepper. I am burning with a capsicum rush already. I also procured these plants; Trinidad Perfume, Czechoslovakian Black, Devils Tongue, Black Prince, Beni Highlands , Aji Rojo and the Peter Pepper.(I will leave the last one to your imagination) This is a line up of heavy hitters. There will be Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight. What will I do with all these exotic peppers? They are beautiful plants. It will be a cornucopia of color in the pepper patch. I will make marinades and salsas. The salsa will be only for the brave. I am trying to perfect my 'Elephant Repellent'. I have had great success. There have been no Elephant raids in the garden.

Let's step back in time and reflect how I became a pepper 'FREAK'. It was in the late 70's, Rex and I went out to dinner before hitting the clubs. We went to the 'Sante Fe Bar & Grill' in Berkeley California. Mark Miller was the chef at the time. We ordered an appetizer of some barbeque skewered beef. The accompaniment was a tiny bit of 'El Yucateco' hot sauce. This sauce was bright green. It had a kick that knocked my socks off. After the burn had subsided, there actually was a great flavor. I was hooked.

This was a gateway sauce, to my burning path, for a Pepper Quest. I am searching for new chile flavors. We have attended Hot Sauce Conventions. There is a pilgrimage to Stockton California every year, to buy a 50 pound sack of roasted "New Hatch Type" peppers. Chili contests have been entered and won. Chile usually makes an appearance in all my dishes. Home made Chipotle is a week long 'Smoking Adventure'. I no longer go for the big burn but will not shy away. Chile Peppers puts the Chile in Chilebrown!!!!!

Thinks he is one Hot Pepper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE TRAPPIST

Ms. Goofy and I had a beer date with Dylan (Sourdough Monkey Wrangler) at "The Trappist" Belgian & Specialty Beer Bar. Dylan was on his way to an Oakland A's game. We were on our way to Dinner at 'Mexicali Rose'. We arrived at the bar a little before Dylan. Let me first tell you about my beer knowledge. Way back in the day, I was a beer aficionado. I hung out at one of the original Brew Pubs. This was Buffalo Bills in Hayward. Bill Owen's poured me a few beers. We made trips to Judy Ashworths "Lyons Pub in Sunol. We actually planned vacations around visiting Brew Pubs before we started having Meat Adventures.I brewed for a brief moment. I am no stranger to good beer. I know what I like and I know about different styles of beer. I do not know a lot about Belgian beers. I have tried my share of Trappist Beers. We were looking forward to visiting the Trappist. We have heard a lot of good things about this place. It has only been open for a short while. It is located in Downtown Oakland.



It is a very nice looking place. The actual bar is fairly small. There are a couple of tables in a small back room. There are about a dozen seats at the bar. We arrived shortly after they opened a little after 2 pm. We bellied up to the bar and looked over the beer list. The beer list was massive. There is 15 taps and 140 different bottles of beer. We needed some help. Ms. Goofy, Myself and one other customer were the only people at the bar. We started to quiz the bartender about what we should order. The bartender knew right off that our knowledge of Belgian Beers was lacking. We made no claims that we knew different. We were asking for his help. Well he was not much help. He read the beers on tap that were listed on the chalkboard. He recommended a beer from Lagunitas Brewing. It was a Witbiere. Witbiere is a barley/wheat top fermented beer brewed mainly in Belgium. My eyes lit up. I have always liked Lagunitas products. Bingo! I will have one of those. Ms. Goofy settled on Val Dieu Triple Beer. Fortunately Dylan walked in the door. He asked us what we ordered. He right away corrected the Bartender about my beer. It was not made by Lagunitas but Russian River Brewing. Dylan steered us to ordering a sampler. Well why didn't the bartender suggest that? Dylan knows his Belgian Beers. He rattled off a list of beers that were good. All of a sudden the Bartender became more helpful. He could match Dylan with Belgian Beer knowledge. He did not have time or inclination to help us newbies. We ordered a sample of 4 different Belgian style beers. They were most enjoyable!

That is enough of my Rant. The beer was great. The place is small and way cool. I am glad Dylan was there to help us out. The list of beers is a little overwhelming Our experience could of been a lot more enjoyable if the bartender would have had a little more patience with customers that were not Belgian Beer Experts. We defiantly will return. I still have 150 more beers to try.

The Trappist
460 8th St.
Oakland, Ca. 94607
510 238-8900

BERKSHIRE PORK

The Other,Other White Meat. Berkshire Pork is a special treat. Berkshire is a breed of hog. Today's roast comes from the Eden Farms located in Iowa. They are a cooperative of 25 small farms. These hogs are raised in a healthy ,environmentally friendly way.The hogs are raised outdoors and are allowed to roam. They receive no hormones or growth promoting antibiotics. The meat is distinctive because it is richer and has a darker color. Today's roast is called Kurobuta. This is Japanese for 'black pork'.I was able to order this roast through Prefered Meats .

I am only prepping the pork roast with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. It will be accompanied by some Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli's. They will be dressed with some Olive Pesto. These were both procured by the "Sonoma Olive Company". I had to throw in some Asparagus. You know I had to. I am cooking the roast in one of my favorite Barbeques. It was made by the 'New Brauenfels' Co. They are no longer in business as far as I know. This smoker is heavy duty. I use it for important cuts of meat. It is basically an oven. I can control the temperature with a side vent.

I trimmed some of the 'Fat Cap', of of the roast. I originally thought the fat was a little excessive for such an expensive cut of pork. I stuck the excess in a pan and fried it up for Mojo & Oscar. Oh! you lucky boys! Next time I will save it for sausage. The smell of the fat frying was like heaven. Is that sick? Well maybe. I just had my cholesterol checked, and I am one of the lucky ones. I guess it is all do to the Fava Beans and Life with Ms. Goofy!!!! How did it taste you might ask? It was ''Pork Nirvana"!!! The raviolis and asparagus just added to the bliss.

ROSES WITH CHILEBROWN !!

What do you think? If you double click you can see a close up.

We bought the House with most of the Rose's. We have had to replace a couple. I especially like the Mr. Lincoln!.

All right, Lets get off this flower stuff and cook some Meat!!!