ROCKY

We are proud to announce we have a bouncy new puppy named Rocky. He is an English Cream Golden Retriever. Ms. Goofy has her hands full. Lucy our other dog is looking on at her new brother. Hopefully Lucy will help Ms. Goofy teach Rocky the ropes.

DORADO HABANERO

Dorado Habanero is a restaurant in Colorado which also sells and makes a roasted habanero sauce by the same name. It is made with roasted habaneros and yellow bell pepper. I literally knew nothing about the restaurant and sauce but for some reason the label and mustard looking color caught my attention. I just ordered a bottle to give it a try. We would like to share our thoughts and share some images of our fantastic 4th of July dinner. 

The real star of this show was this Snake River Farm American Wagyu Corned Beef roast which we smoked in our Smokey Mountain Cooker. We smoked this small roast with a combination of hickory and apple wood. You would not believe how seductive this smelled while cooking. While it was cooking we witnessed Joey 'Jaws" Chestnut devour 74 hot dugs and buns in 10 minutes to retain his World Title. The roast was done and was sliced. We accompanied it with some fresh yellow corn from the farmers market.

The Dorado Habanero sauce was a hit. It had no mustard flavor at all. It was a touch sweet with yellow bell pepper. It also had an earthy flavor from the ingredient of cumin. The habaneros were used in restraint to add the perfect mild to medium heat. It added just the right amount of pepper warmness to grab your attention. The roasting of the habaneros brought out a little sweetness and fruity nuances this pepper will deliver. Overall this was a fantastic sauce. I took a chance and it payed off. Oh did I mention Ms. Goofy made the most decadent lemon cheesecake? What a great 4th of July. 

HOT DOG

The over/under bet is 72.5 hot dogs and buns in a 10 minute period for the World Hot Dog Eating Champion; Joey “Jaws” Chestnut. Some people may be grilling and having a picnic but we will be glued to the couch and cheering on our hero Joey . The 4th of July is so much more than a celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is the time to see if Joey will retain his World title and we will be watching.

OLIVES & FOCACCIA

It was a lazy Saturday morning which inspired us to go to the Santa Rosa Farmers market and also visit our good friend the butcher Angelo. The Santa Rosa Farmers Market is located at the Veterans building across from the fairgrounds. This is a very nice market which showcases local farmers. As some of you may know I manage a weekly farmers market in Richmond California. I really do not need to buy more fresh produce but when I visit other markets I always look for unique or local specialty items. One special vendor sells some of the most decadent olives. They have multiple flavored and types of olives. I usually buy the mixed tub which is garlicky delicious.

I told Angelo we were going to pay a visit. Angelo is a very good friend. We have been customers of his for a very long time. Angelo just has a way of making you feel like family. He is a great butcher who makes some of the best sausage, bacon and many other meat items. There is a not so secret item that Angelo makes which is fresh focaccia. This item is not generally for sale but if you ask nice I am sure he would make you some.

When we pulled into the driveway we could hear some body calling us. It was Angelo in the back kitchen beckoning us to come over. He had a big smile on his face which in turn put a smile on ours. He had a load of freshly risen focaccia that he was just about to put in the oven. Oh my where we in for a treat. We visited Angelo for a little while all the time smelling this wonderful treat baking.

Angelo also baked some seasoned pork roast which he then sauced with his own special Angelo Sauce which he sells. We then gorged ourselves on pork sandwiches made with freshly baked focaccia. It does not get any better than this. This was a wonderful lazy Saturday morning.

FIFTY SIX BLADES

Do you cringe at flabby and tough chicken skin? Sometimes in competition and home cooking chicken skin can be undesirable because of the texture. Competitors go to great length to remedy this chicken tragedy. Cooking at low and slow temperatures just does not crisp up the skin properly. We have purchased a meat tenderizer that has fifty six very sharp blades to pierce said chicken skin. The theory behind this madness is; piercing the skin in multiple locations will allow the fat to render through out the holes to allow skin to crisp. We are going to give this a try.

Warning these fifty six needle blades are sharp. Just ask Ms. Goofy who took one for the team while washing this contraption. She is okay, sporting a fresh bandaged and a sore finger. We took the tenderizer and punctured the skin of trimmed chicken thighs. This machine worked like a charm with very little effort. The very very sharp needles went right through the skin and possibly into the meat. We left several thighs un-punctured for test purposes. We cooked the seasoned thighs in an indirect fire in a covered kettle. We used a fairly high heat of about 300 degrees. We used the higher heat because we were impatient for dinner. They were cooked to about 170 degree internal temperature and then were sauced. They all looked fantastic.

You could see a visible difference in the tenderized thighs. The skin had shrunk slightly more than the unaltered thighs. We sampled the two differently prepared thighs. The tenderized chicken had a slightly crisper chicken skin, but, it was not perfectly bite through. The taste was excellent from the cooking method, seasoning and sauce. The unaltered thigh tasted good but the skin was flabby and tough. Overall this was a partial success. The tenderizing fifty six blade machine did have an effect with the texture of our finished product. It was not perfect. Combine this with other competition chicken cooking techniques and you will have that perfect bite through skin. There always is the old fashion method of cooking chicken directly over the fire and you will have crispy charred bite through skin. It sure is fun tasting our research.

7th ANNUAL SILICON VALLEY BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP

The weather heated up for the 7th Annual Silicon Valley BBQ Championship. The news cycle must of been slow because the weatherman was threatening triple digits. It was in the 90's for 40 professional barbeque teams to cook a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned four meat contest consisting of chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. Ms. Goofy donned our judges badges and this souvenir pin to judge some very fine barbequed meats. Let's take a short, hot stroll of the activities.

The beverage booth had plenty of business today. The imbibers then huddled under a tent for shade and relief from the sun. The main stage had a band and only a few brave women danced in the midday heat. 

I have to admit the judges were sequestered in an air conditioned room. Today's event was sponsored by the Santa Clara Rotary. They spoiled us as judges. They gave us a goodie bag full of candy and a souvenir pin. They also baked us three different flavored brownies to snack on after our judging duties. I ate mine and Ms. Goofy's. I crave sweets after eating so much delicious meat. Okay I crave sweets all the time.

The man wearing the yellow tank top on the left is Ryan Pang. He is a local celebrity from who has appeared on the Food Networks; Guys Grocery Games and also is the head chef at the nearby restaurant QBB. He is also a friend and all around good guy. We visited his restaurant in a past article. Review Here

The Grand Champion today was the bbq team "Burnin And Lootin". Santa Clara Silicon Valley knows how to throw a barbeque contest. The heat did not damper the mood and spirit of participants to have a great time.  Luckily the temperatures have dropped back down to the Bay Area norms. We have a little temperature bump and we panic. So until the next contest we bid adieu.

MY HAPPY PLACE

No explanation needed.