RAISE THE FLAG

We are proudly flying the American flag on this 4th of July. This flag has very special meaning to me because it used to be my father’s flag. He would display it on all appropriate holidays. The actual flag has been replaced several times but the pole is at least a half-century old. This next shot is the Mad Meat Genius when he was only a child prodigy of all things meat. It feels good to still be able to wave the flag.

This 4th of July we had a non-traditional celebratory meal. We smoked a Snake River Corned Beef. This beautiful hunk of meat was smoked in hickory wood for 4 hours to create the most tender and flavorful pastrami ever. I cannot wait for sandwiches. I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July.

WHEN THE MOON HITS THE SKY LIKE A BIG PIZZA PIE

That's Amore. It was pizza night at the Colombo Club. The Colombo Club is the largest Italian social club on the West Coast and we were guests tonight of our friend Frankie.This was a fun filled night with so much food and beverage. Nobody, I mean nobody left this event hungry. The evening started out with a pizza tossing demonstration by the celebrity pizza chef Tony Gemignani. He has been on television numerous times, owns restaurants in Vegas & San Francisco and holds world titles in pizza tossing. He memerized and entertained this receptive crowd. The one image below is of an older paisan and a child playing toss with pizza dough. Good times.

The Colombo Club has two large full bars open and available for refreshments. Tonight they were offering wine tastings for the adults. The dinner bell was wrung and we proceeded downstairs to the dinning hall. The dinning hall is cavernous and large. I believe it holds 350 plus people. The ceilings are low and the noise levels high. It all adds to the festive atmosphere. We sit down to a plate of antipasto , bread and salad waiting for us. The meal is served family style so we help ourselves. I have been to these Italian dinners before and know to pace my self because there is a lot more food to come.

The waiters arrive with large platters of sausage and peppers. They also bring huge plates of piping hot pasta with Italian gravy. This is just a warm up to the main course of freshly baked pizza pie. The pizza arrives with a thick buttery crust topped with salami, sausage and veggies. Oh my it is so good. I hope everybody has room for the sundae and ice cream soda bar. We create our own dessert with ice cream and plenty of sugary toppings. Coffee is available too.

This was a fun filled evening full of food and pizza pie celebration. The Colombo Club sure knows how to throw a pizza party. Thanks Frankie for the invite.

LATE JULY BACON HABANERO TORTILLA CHIPS

Do I have a sticker on my back that say’s; “Kick Me”?  Once again I have been enticed to purchase a product with two of my favorite food ingredients. The “Late July” company has marketed a snack tortilla chip product with Bacon and Habanero promised on the label. Who is this ‘Late July’ company? Here on the West Coast they are a newcomer to me. Here is their mission statement;

“Since 2003, we have remained devoted to transforming the food industry by creating the most delicious snacks in the world using organic and non-GMO ingredients. We are dedicated to advancing the health and sustainability of the food industry and ensuring future generations have access to better and more delicious options.” They also donate 10 percent of their profits to causes benefiting Children & the Planet.

We will cut immediately to the chase; how do they taste. First off the bat, they taste a little stale to me. I wait for bacon and habanero flavor. It never happens. Maybe this bag is mislabeled?  Against my better judgement I look at the ingredient list. There is an ingredient called Non-GMO Bacon Habanero Seasoning. W.T.F. I must really have that sign on my back; ‘Kick Me!”. These chips are a major fail. At least 10 percent will be benefiting Children & the Planet.

HOME GROWN GARLIC STUDDED BEEF ROAST

Home grown garlic is a treat. Freshly picked garlic is pungent and strong. Last year, at the Gilroy Garlic Festival they were giving away free garlic for planting. I took a couple of heads. You break the head into cloves and plant. A little watering, weeding and patience is all you need to produce a small garden of vampire repellent. Now that we have an abundance of garlic, what shall we cook? I had the idea of studding a beef roast.

We are using a USDA Choice Sirloin roast acquired from a big block discount market. There is no real recipe here. We just separated the cloves and peeled the protective skin. We then took a sharp paring knife and cut a small hole to insert the cloves. After we had studded our roast we seasoned with the rub of the day. We cooked our roast in a bbq with indirect heat until the roasts internal temperature reached 124 degrees. After a 15 minute rest we sliced.

The roast was cooked to a medium rare. The garlic perfumed and flavored this beef. The cooking mellowed the garlic flavor. It did not overpower the beef flavor but added a nice compliment. I would eat the whole clove and enjoyed it. The cooking added sweetness to the garlic. Ms. Goofy passed on the garlic consumption.

This was a fun way to use garlic. It added a unique and flavorful twist to our beef roast. The next day we cut up our roast into small slices to make some very decadent beef stroganoff. I have to find some more uses with our abundance of stinking rose. No vampires were harmed in this post.

SILICON VALLEY BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP

This competition barbeque teams name sums of our day at the Silicon Valley BBQ Championship; "Fun Time". The heat wave has broke and the weather was cool and pleasant in Santa Clara California for a barbeque competition. Sixty five teams were on hand to show off their skills and we were ready to sample and judge the battle. This is what we do.

 This is our friend Andy with his brand spankin new Lang Cooker. This is one mighty powerful cooker. He is fine tuning and learning how to maximize the potential of this beauty of a cooker.

This is our friend Ben who was making pizzas for competitors and friends who wanted a little break from the bbq. This pizza cooker was run on hardwood pellets. Ben had a station to custom make your own pizza. This was some most delicious pizza. I snapped this image of the police van backed right up to the beer booth. I hope the officers where off-duty. The last image is of our friend Rick who is holding the remains of his charcoal starter. I hope he got the license number of the culprit.

Congratulations to Mar-B-Que's BBQ for winning the Grand Championship. There were some heavy hitters in the bbq competition crowd today. Speaking of crowds, todays public experienced championship bbq at its best. We were proud to be a part.

MOAB KNIVES CUSTOM 12 INCH CHEF’S KNIFE

You know I love my knives. A good sharp knife is essential for all preparation duties in the kitchen. As some of you know I have an extensive collection of custom and high quality knifes at my disposal. When you collect, one can never have enough of a good thing. (Despite Ms. Goofy’s objections) Today I would like to share my latest acquisition of a twelve inch Chef’s knife made by Moab Knives.

 Moab Knives is a one person operation created and run by David Collett. David Collet is an ironworker by day and Bladesmith by night. David hand drew the knife design, cuts, grinds heat treats, and hand finishes every blade. I asked him to create a 12 inch blade designed in a traditional Western Chef’s knife style. I also picked my handle material. Three months later, here is the finished product.

The blade is made of 1095 high carbon steel known for its edge retention and sharpenabliiy.  The handles are made of Amboyna Burl wood. I asked David to make the handle on the large side to fit my hand. The blade is 12 inches long and is sharpened to a convex edge to 20 degrees. Did I mention it is beautiful? Let’s go to the kitchen and cut up a couple of things.

My first impression is; WOW!!!!! This knife is sharp. An onion was no match for this power house of a tool. The weight and heft really makes a difference.  The handle is large and fits my hand perfectly. What I noticed was how smoothly this tool cuts and glides through its desired object. What I really enjoyed is how balanced this large knife is.  I tried my hand cutting a tomato and with surgical precision it was dispatched. I want to go around cutting up things but need to do some shopping.
I just wanted to share my beautiful new knife. This will get plenty of use. It is not only functional but beautiful to look at. The size, weight and balance are perfect for this Mad Meat Genius.

Video by Moab Knives

WE ARE HAVING A HEAT WAVE

We are having a heat wave. Here in the Bay Area when the thermometer rises above 80 degrees we begin to panic. Our house broke the century mark yesterday. We have maybe a dozen days a year when it gets this hot but even then it is not normal for us heat sensitive Bay Area residents. We reside next to a tidal bay which provides a natural air conditioner. Does it sound like I am whining about a little heat? Okay, you got me this time. We did have some great brisket burgers which we purchased from  R & R Quality Meats and Seafood

This beef had a beef to fat ratio of 80/20 which I believe is perfect for a burger. You need some beef love (fat) for flavor and moisture. I return to my heat excuse and this was a lazy cook and was done on our trusty black iron pan in the kitchen. This burger was cooked to just before medium where you can still just see a hint of pink in the center. It way juicy and beefy just as expected. It was perfect for this warm day. We are having a heat wave.