SISKIYOU BEEF COUNTRY COOK-OFF MONTAGUE

Welcome to Montague, Siskiyou County, (Jefferson) California. The Montague ‘Rotary Club’ hosted the ‘Siskiyou Beef Country Cook-off, a KCBS sanctioned inaugural event. The town rolled out the red carpet for the visiting cooks, judges, and hungry public. Montague is a small town with a large and welcoming heart. Montague at one time was a hub for bringing cattle from Nevada, Oregon and California to be loaded on the train. The town is no longer the bustling cow town it once was but the cowboy spirit lives on.

This event was so much more than just a barbeque cook-off. The local farmers market was held showcasing lavenders, honey and produce from the area. Free snow cones were distributed to the kids. I liked the cherry flavor myself. We were entertained by actors staging bank hold-ups firing realistic guns. Wow, those guns were loud. Tractor displays, monuments and just the ambiance of this old town made for a wonderful day.

What event in Northern California would not be complete without the Clampers attending? Yes, E.C.V. the red-shirted fraternal organization had a booth selling various food treats. The smell of barbeque would make anybody hungry. This pig roasting sure looked tempting.

Most important of all, this was a barbeque competition. Once again the judges were spoiled with an air-conditioned hall to perform our tasting and scoring. The outside temperature sweltered in the nineties. The cooks shocked and awed us with their award winning entries. Bill & Yvonne Sousa of the “Big B’s Down & Dirty” team were victorious, winning the trophy of Grand Champion. Congratulations you two!  Thanks to the ‘Montague Rotary Club’ for a great event. This contest has already been put on our calendar for next year.

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.

MEAT ADVENTURE WALMART

Today’s Meat Adventure brings us to Walmart. You may ask why Walmart? They have been advertising Choice grade beef at low prices. Now before you get all bent out of shape and you are a Walmart hater please skip the review and read the disclaimer below.

Walking into s Supercenter Walmart is a surreal experience. This place is huge. I think they should give a GPS unit while entering. Luckily the food items were located in the front of the store and Ms. Goofy sniffed out the meat department. They have a large selection of various cuts of meat. We noticed the reasonable prices, meaning cheap. We always prefer the rib-eye cut of beef. We believe that this cut has the most flavor. This thick cut, well marbled hunk of beef weighed 1.67 pounds at $10.98/pound. Wow Choice grade beef at $10.98 a pound. We paid for our beef, went through metal detectors, passed by an armed guard, jumped into the ‘Racing Honda’ and sped home with our bounty of ‘Choice’ meat.

Once home we inspected our purchase. The first thing I noticed that our rib-eye steak was perfectly squared. I have never had a cut of beef so uniformly cut. We seasoned our beef with salt & pepper only. A hot mesquite fire was built. Grill marks were branded. We were going to have a steak dinner tonight.

This beef tastes great. Tender, juicy and that corn fed flavor that most of America craves. It was a little weird cooking a square steak but our pocket books thanked us. The price of this steak dinner was friendly on the wallet. The taste was what I believe beef should taste like.  Walmart steaks might not be for everybody but we enjoyed our dinner.

Disclaimer: We all make choices in life. We can choose to shop and vote for products with our dollars. If you want to buy grass fed, pasture raised local, happy, natural, free range, high price beef that is your prerogative. For all I know this beef comes from China and is raised by enslaved, tortured child labor. It does have the United States Department of Agriculture approval I have heard all the arguments about the harm Walmart has caused the community and this in not the forum to address that issue. With that said we are sampling beef today.

BACON, BACON, BACON

Pig Salt Spice Co. has several spice mixes that have made the process of making bacon convenient and tasty. Who does not love bacon? These spice mixes are the bomb. Please check out my latest review

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4th ANNUAL SMOKIN IN THE OAKS

It was smoking in the oaks at Penn Valley, California yesterday. The thermometer hovered in the nineties. This was perfect weather to have a barbeque competition. Twenty five teams braved the sweltering heat to produce award winning BBQ. The heat did not dissuade the crowd from enjoying the day. There was a long line forming before the 1:00pm start time. The public would gain free entry with a canned food item. They were then able to purchase food sample tickets for a nominal fee.

This event was held in a lovely venue. There were brand new Bocce Ball courts, swimming pool, Frisbee golf course, picnic areas and plenty of trees to hide from the sun. The judges today were especially spoiled. We were situated in an air conditioned house with all the amenities. We even had our own kitchen in case we were still hungry after judging the four meat categories. That was a joke son!

Sierra Nevada Beer had a booth that probably set a record in sales. I am sure the lemonade and ice cream venders were not far behind. Once you had your fill of BBQ and beverages it was prudent to find some shade and enjoy the music. Several bands played throughout the day. What a day it was.

Today the Grand Champion of the BBQ competition was the team of ‘Big B’s Down & Dirty’. Our friends, Bill, Yvonne and Eddie Souza are the backbone and cookers of this very special award winning team. Congratulations!!!!!!!  Last but not least a special shoutout to Scott Gomes who created a wonderful event: Scott you created a masterpiece. See you at the next competition.

FIRST TOMATO

We have been picking cherry tomato's for several weeks now.. Cherry tomato's are great in sauces and salads but are not preferable for our favorite sandwich. Our patience has finally been rewarded with the ripening of this beauty. Some pork bellies were cured and smoked in anticipation of this event. A loaf of fresh bread was picked up at our local pizza parlor. Let the BLT's begin.

SMOKIN IN THE OAKS

This weekend you will have a chance to experience and sample some of the best BBQ in the nation. Our destination is Penn Valley located in 'Gold Country' the foothills of the Sierra. This will be a beautiful venue to enjoy music, brews and barbeque. Ms. Goofy and I will be there wearing our judges badges. We hope you can make it.



Smokin In The Oaks Penn Valley July 20, 21
18560 Penn Valley Drive,  
Penn Valley, CA 95946