HEALTHY BACON DOG TREATS

Nothing but the best for our dog Lucy. She gets 'Health Bars' that are baked with Bacon, Egg & Cheese. They claim to be; healthy & holistic. You know any dog of mine will love bacon. I even took a bite and tried them. They actually are not bad. Lucy loves them and that is good enough for us. I will draw the line if she asks for gluten free and starts to wear a beanie.

OLD FASHION BUFFALO FRANKFURTERS

Bud's Meats in Penngrove, California has an extensive line-up of exotic meats. Ms. Goofy and I usually stock up on ground buffalo meat when ever we visit Bud's. Buffalo meat is leaner and has more flavor than traditional beef hamburger. These frankfurters begged for further inspection. We were not disappointed. They had a mellow beef like flavor. There was a hint of smoke. I would even venture to say it was more sausage like than a traditional frankfurter. They were yummy. This will definitely be in our shopping cart the next visit.

Buds Custom Meats
7750 Petaluma Hill Rd.
Penngrove, Ca.94951
(707) 795-8402

BACON DOG CHEWS

What will they think of next? Even dogs want in on the bacon craze. I prefer to call it a lifestyle choice. Lucy our highly pampered and slightly spoiled 'English Cream Golden Retriever Lap' dog now owns a bacon flavored dog chew. Does she like it? "The proof of the pudding is in the eating!"

DOGGIE BACON BISCOTTI

Do you ever have leftover bacon and wonder what do you do with it? This is a very rare occurrence at the Mad Meat Genius household. Strange as it sounds we actually have some bacon to spare today. We have found a fun recipe by the food writer and blogger Julia Van Rosendaal ' After reading the ingredients, I am not sure the dogs will even get a chance to sample this bacon studded cookie.

Doggie Bacon Biscotti
Ingredients:
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• canola or olive oil (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 tsp. baking  powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup bacon drippings or canola oil
• 2 Tbsp. honey
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a skillet set over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, reserving the drippings. Pour the drippings into a measuring cup; if you need to, add canola or olive oil until you have 1/4 cup. (If you like, discard the bacon drippings entirely and just use oil.)
3. In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats and baking powder. In a small bowl, stir together the water, eggs, bacon drippings and/or oil, and honey; add to the dry ingredients along with the cooked and crumbled bacon and stir until blended.
4. Shape the dough into a log that is about 12” long, place on an ungreased baking sheet and flatten until it’s about 6” wide. If you like, brush the top with a little beaten egg to give it a shiny finish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until firm.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 250° F. Cool the log and cut it on a slight diagonal into 1/2” -1” thick slices using a sharp, serrated knife. Place the biscotti upright on the baking sheet, keeping them spaced about 1/2” apart, and put them back into the oven for another half an hour. If you want them hard, turn the oven off but leave them inside to harden as the oven cools.
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen biscotti. Store in a tightly covered container in the fridge, or freeze.

Of course I had to try these cookies for quality control purposes. Oscar & Lucy are some lucky Golden Retriever Lap Dogs because they are going to get some tasty treats. We did use whole wheat flour from Community Grains. This ingredient may qualify this treat as being healthy for the pups. They do not seem to care, because just like me, they love BACON.
  Thankyou Julia Van Rosendaal, for allowing me to share your fun recipe.

SISKIYOU BEEF COUNTRY COOK-OFF

We are in Northern California way up in Siskiyou County in the small town of Montague attending and judging a BBQ competition. I am not sure if the World Wide Internet reaches this remote section of our golden state. Hence, we would like to show you a couple of images of Lucy at the ballpark.

The Oakland A's sponsored a bring your dog to the ballpark day. Approximately 720 dogs and their owners attempted to set a Guinness world record of most dogs at a sporting event. Ms. Goofy,The President of Cookies & Lucy attended and had a doggone good time. Lucy did not win the photo contest but we would like to Thankyou for your support. See you next week.

HICKORY BACON MUSTARD

 I love bacon. I guess it is no secret. When I see a product that may have any association with the wonderful cured, smoked, strips of pork, I am a sucker. ‘Beaver Brand’ mustard has a ‘Hickory Bacon Mustard’ flavor that beckoned my acquisition. Once this plastic squeeze bottle of mustard was in my possession a closer inspection was needed. The label had some fine print which read; “Rich Bacon Flavor”. The ingredient list was long and actually had bacon listed as an ingredient. After wiping the drool off my beard, I popped the top. A nice mustard aroma with a faint bacon smell wafted into my senses. Red chili and red bell pepper flakes mixed throughout this dark yellow mix make for an attractive sauce. How does it taste?

Straight out of the bottle the Hickory flavor is prevalent. The mustard is on the sweet side and yes I can actually taste bacon. What better way to test bacon mustard but with a hot dog. Not just any hot dog. This hot dog will be a bacon hot dog from 4505 Meats. The bacon dog and ‘Acme’ roll was kissed by a mesquite charcoal fire. Some onions, tomatos and our bacon mustard were assembled with our dogs and rolls. This was one bacon tasty hot dog. I am in love with ‘Beaver Brand Hickory Bacon Mustard. This will be a staple in our pantry from now on.

FLOSSIE’S CORN DOG MIX

Ms. Goofy had a hankerin for corndogs. The county fair circuit does not start for several more months. We had to fill this corny desire for the ‘big dog’ of the Mad Meat Genius household. While in Las Vegas, we went shopping at the only store I actually like to shop at, ‘Bass Pro Shop’. This huge store has everything a man needs or wants for the outdoors. They also happen to sell ‘Flossie’s’ corn dog mix. Sticks are included and all you do is add water. This was perfect to inspire and fill Ms. Goofy’s corn dog wish.


Skewer your hot dog with the included stick and dip in batter. Heat the oil to 375 degrees and cook until golden brown. Four minutes later it is the county fair in our kitchen. I did throw in a couple of mushrooms into this corny batter. The corn dogs were just as you can imagine. This batter was on the sweet side. Flossie’s filled a need and delivered.

LUCY!.... I'M HOME!

Lucy! .... I'm Home! We are proud to announce a new addition to the Chilebrown home. Lucy is our bouncing, tail chasing, 'English Cream', 'Golden Retriever' puppy. She has only been here 24 hours and she rules the roost. Her and Oscar are best friends already. I hope Lucy likes barbeque.

DANGER DOG

It is the end of the world as we know it and Ms. Goofy and I are going out with a bang. Danger Dogs were on our list of things to do and a trip to ‘Uptown Oakland’ to ‘Xolo’ would satisfy our wish. It has been a strange day. We arrived at Xolo and met this man in a clean pressed military uniform. He asked us if we knew were he could find an establishment of liquor consumption. We could not help him and I asked if he was on shore leave. He said no he was only an actor waiting to be picked up at a certain corner to go film a movie. Ms. Goofy ventured to guess that it was for an Adult movie.

The ‘Danger Dog’ is a bacon wrapped hot dog, mayonnaise, mustard, pinto beans, cheese, pickled jalapenos, and avocado on a bollillo roll. It was a holy mess and I guess I deserve it on this final day. Xolo is located across from the newly renovated Fox Theater in Oakland. Chile Verde review to follow shortly.

DOG MEATHENGE STYLE

It was a beautiful sunny day at the Meathege labs. Three teams of black iron warriors were present to battle with their ductch oven pots. These teams were prepared to create and cook for a communal food finale. This was a Dutch Oven Gathering that will be remembered long after the heart burn subsides.

It was high noon and time to light the fires. We had several meat groups represented today. Smoked tri-tip that was procured from the UC Davis Meat Lab was served with some roasted potatoes. A beautiful rabbit stew sizzled and bubbled in one of the cauldrons. Chile Verde was created by the infamous Dr. Biggles. You know that this dish would be something special. Chicken roasted over a bed of potatoes and vegetables was our final dish.

A few brave Dutch oven cookers created some bread. A wonderful slow rise whole wheat bread was the first entry. Jalapeno cheese bread which happens to be my signature bread dish was the follow up entry. It was a gooey and cheesy delight. Both these bread were still warm when they were consumed. It does not get any better than that.

All of the Meat dishes were winners. We were all judges and came to a unanimous decision that every dish was a gold star winner. The Chile Verde may be the dish we have been searching for. It had all the right moves. The tri-tip was smoky fun. The rabbit was tender and mild. It was seasoned to perfection. Last but not least, the chicken was tender and had a nice spice rub to kiss your palate.

Thank you Doctor Biggles for sponsoring the Dutch Oven Gathering at your abode. Once I am able to leave the couch, I will give you a call to personally  thank you. Congratulation to all of the participants, It was a good day to fire up some Black Iron.

CARSON CITY BBQ HOT SAUCE

The Meatmen and Meatwoman cooked up a storm at the Rendezvous festival this year. We needed something to bring our dishes to the next level. We needed a sauce to spice up our food. We reached out for a bottle of "Carson City BBQ Hot Sauce".
This bottle has a devil on the label, promising some Rippin Hot delights. Will it deliver? We have brought in a special taster today. His name is Oscar and he is a dog. Oscar is a hot sauce aficionado. His resume for hot sauce expertise is extensive. One time he ate a whole jalapeno and did not even flinch. We did have to clean the carpets.

Oscar tried some Carson City Hot Sauce on a cookie. Here is his review:"Woof, Woof, Woof, meow, Woof, Woof and Woof" (Taste's like a weak Tobasco with a little smoke.)

There you have it from one happy Doggy.

HOW TO GET IN TROUBLE WITH YOUR WIFE!

Mad Meat Genuis is going to share a recipe with you that I really do not recommend trying. The way I prepared it has put me in the Dog House. I am posting this from the neighbors. The actual meal is very good if you do not mind eating it by yourself. Let's cut to the chase. This is a Chile and Chicken Mole recipe with a Chilebrown twist. You just have to make sure that you do not use the twist that I used.

Ingredients

1. 1 chicken with the back cut out and flattened
2. 6 dried chiles (2 Anaheim,2 chipotle 2 pasilla)
3. 3 cloves garlic
4. 1 onion sliced into thirds
5. 3 cups of chicken broth
6. 2 corn tortillas
7. 1/4 cup of rub
8. salt & pepper to taste
9. 4 peppers to taste (Hot and Sweet from the garden)
10. 2 slices of bacon
11. 1 teaspoon cumin and oregano
12. 1 teaspoon sugar
13. 3 tomatoes

Rub the chicken with rub and set aside. Take a Cast Iron Skillet and lay all ingredients except chicken,spices,sugar and broth on bottom of pan. Lay the chicken on top, skin side up, on the vegetable tortilla chile mixture

Build a medium hot fire in a Weber. Lay the coals evenly throughout the kettle. Place the Cast Iron Pan in the middle of the grate. Put the lid on with all vents open and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove chicken and reserve. Take all the ingredients in the bottom of the skillet and place them in a food processor.

TIME OUT

The next step is how to get in trouble with your wife. I do not recommend this to anybody. Place all the Hot ingredients in a food processor. Add a little broth and let it whirl. WARNING step back. This sucker is going to blow. The ingredients spun for 20 seconds and all of a sudden the lid came off and sprayed the kitchen and Myself with hot liquid. It is a good thing that I was wearing my safety sunglasses. This was not a pretty site. There was liquid all over the kitchen. The ceiling, walls, stove, refrigerator, dogs and the floor were covered with food. I went outside and told Ms. Goofy what had happened. I have been outside ever since. I heard dinner was pretty good from what was salvaged. I will tell you the rest of the recipe, but be careful.

Add broth and vegetables to processor. Place mixture back in pan and simmer. Cut chicken into 8 pieces and add to simmering mixture. Add your spices,sugar and cook for 15 minutes. Serve over rice and enjoy if you are not in the Doghouse. Can I come over to your house to shower?, Please!