DESERT COCKTAIL

A Liberal friend of mine, who has no problem salting her way through life suggested that I have a beer in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Well, why not? Lake Havasu is a retirement community and a haven for "Spring Break" visitors. ‘Happy Hour’ is an hour earlier because of the time zone. The locals have a specialty drink called the ‘Desert Cocktail’. It is a twenty two-ounce beer floated with a stuffed olive. This will cost a whopping 2 dollars and .50 cents.


One hour away from Lake Havasu is another ‘Silver Hair’ gambling and vice destination: Laughlin, Nevada. Our barbeque event had a booth promoting a casino with a spinning wheel to give away tickets for front row seats to the "Ink Spots". Guess who won?



　
I know what you are thinking. Only one member of the present group of the"Ink Spots" is a second generation of the original group. Yes it was fun and even though I did not know the words to the songs the people behind, around, and even in front were singing and swaying to the music. It was intense. The concert was over and we all danced to the buffet line to beat the six o-clock senior discount deadline. (That was a joke son) More barbeque later.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!

The ‘Formula One Racing Honda" made record time driving from the Bay Area to Lake Havasu, Arizona. This rocket ship was fueled with caffeine and the anticipation of meat treats to come. Today is the first day of ‘HavaBBQ 2012’. The National anthem has been sung and it is time to get our meat on. The first day is a day of setting up and inspections. All meat must be inspected for proper handling, appropriate meats and alterations. (Marinade). Teams from all over the nation have gathered by the lake and are preparing for battle.

The main event of cooking the four meat categories (chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and brisket) will start tonight and be judged tomorrow. Today there will be a chili contest. The public will be invited to taste and vote for their favorites. Yours truly will be a judge for this competition. If the public does not get their fill of chili there are lots of food venders. Beer battered everything was a booth that I may have to visit. Tri-tip and sausage was being prepared for the hungry masses. A booth preparing Greek food was a temptation that will have to be controlled.



Besides judging chili today, Yours truly will be judging another category called "Anything Butt". This category is anything besides the four meat categories. The competitors will try to impress the judges with steak to lobster for cash prizes. I will have to stay away from the food venders to prepare for this event.

The fun has begun. I found a hot sauce booth. I walked away with a shopping cart full of heat. The bands are beginning to play. There is a lot of food to judge and sample. Stay tuned.

CHILEBROWN BURGERS

“For a hamburger today, I will gladly grind it for you Tuesday”. My apologizes go out to J. Wellington Wimpy, for butchering your line. Actually we took fresh meat and ground it to our specifics for a flavorful burger. This simple task was easy, inexpensive and resulted in a flavor profile that rocked. The meat was purchased at our local Wally-Marts bargain meat bin. They discount packages of meat that did not sell the day before. We used a combination of chuck steak, sirloin, and pork shoulder. Once home we trimmed the steaks and removed bones or any silver skin present. The meat was put on a tray and put into the freezer for 20 minutes. This partial cooling hardened the meat for ease of grinding. The handy dandy all purpose Kitchen-Aid mixer has a grinding attachment and we put it to use with the coarse grind. The ground meat was mixed and put back into the Chilebrown ice cave.

We formed the freshly ground meat into patties for grilling. A liberal dose of salt & pepper was the only seasoning needed. Once the burgers are cooked to your liking feel free to accompany them with your favorite toppings. The flavor was stellar. The chuck and sirloin added beef flavor while the pork added richness and needed fat. We cooked our burgers to a medium doneness. They oozed with rich beef and pork flavor love. You will need extra napkins for this meat lover’s delight. Once you have ground your own burgers, you will be on board with the flavor train.

We are packing up the ‘Formula One Racing Honda’ and heading to Arizona to attend “HAVABBQ’ 2012. This is Arizona’s largest state barbeque competition. It will be our first judging duties of the year. We hope to bring you up to date coverage. See you this weekend.

OREGON DAN'S

Oregon Dan's barbeque sauces are my latest review. They are sweetened with Agave syrup. They have several flavors to try and you can read about them here.

Read Review Here

CARNE MACHACA

We are bringing you a Mad Meat Genius first; dried beef. This was spotted at Las Montanas Supermarket. I saw it on the shelf and walked right by. I got to the next aisle and stopped dead in my tracks. Dried beef? I had to investigate. The clerk explained it was used with eggs for a breakfast dish. A small amount was purchased. Once home a little more digging on the World Wide Web produced information and recipes. Carne Machaca is a form of beef jerky. Meat is marinated, cooked, shredded and then dried. It is usually sautéed with salsa and eggs to make the filling for a spicy breakfast burrito.

We are home and opened our container of dried beef. Ms. Goofy and I both took a whiff. We both simultaneously exclaimed it smells like dog food. The odor was very off putting. In the name of research we continued. Chopped onion, tomato and a Serrano pepper were cooked in a little olive oil for several minutes. The dried beef was added and cooked for several more minutes. Eggs were added and cooked. This mixture was served with salsa and a tortilla.


The dried beef was on the salty side. A little chewy with beef flavor was the verdict. It tasted fine enough, but the smell was still in the back of our mind. This is an experiment that will not be repeated.

LUCY LEMON MERINGUEY PIE

A combination of Meyer lemons and sweet puppy breath! Oh my.

JALAPENO CHEESE CORN BREAD

This recipe is a keeper. The addition of jalapeno hot sauce and pepper jack cheese is the secret for a moist and spicy cornbread. This can be cooked in the oven or outside in a Dutch oven. Cooking this bread in the Dutch oven is fun and makes for a great presentation. Either way you cook this bread, it is delicious.

Jalapeno Cheese Corn Bread

1 cup corn meal
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup diced canned jalapenos
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoons salt
1 ½ cup of buttermilk
2 eggs beaten
2 teaspoons jalapeno hot sauce
4 tablespoons melted butter
4 ounces grated pepper jack cheese.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate mixing bowl. Mix the eggs, buttermilk, hot sauce and jalapenos in a separate bowl. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Fold in cheese. In a 425 degree oven heat your cooking vessel with butter. When the butter is melted swirl pan to coat. Pour excess butter into batter mixture and combine. Pour all into buttered pan and return to oven. Cook for 30 minutes until golden brown.