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!

MAKIN BACON IV

'When Pigs Fly'. Where did this saying come from? There is a new mascot at Mad Meat Genius. It is the flying pig. It was picked up at the Gravestein Apple Festival. The flying pig was present during the smoking of the latest bacon. This bacon was cured with salt and maple sugar. It was then smoked with Sugar Maple Wood chunks. Boy oh Boy!, the sweet smoky smell of bacon permeates the house and patio. The results are in and we are more than pleased.

Makin Bacon III started the process last week. On Sunday the salt was rinsed off of the bellies. They were placed in a big pot of water and soaked for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. They were rinsed again and dried. I put them back in the refrigerator on a cookie rack. They were left overnight. The next day they were removed and brought to room temperature. I fired up my Weber Rocky Mountain Smoker and brought it to hot smoking temperature. (225-250 degrees). They were smoked for a couple of hours until the internal temperature reached 150 degrees. They were then cooled on cookie racks. While they were cooling you could smell them through out the house. WOW!

We of course had to try the bacon on a BLT. It passed with flying colors. The soaking really made a difference. It was not overly salty. You could definitely taste the Maple flavor. "When Pigs Fly". They sure did at our house.

GRAVESTEIN APPLE FESTIVAL

The price of gas has dropped in the last couple of weeks. Gas is such a bargain priced at under 4 dollars/gallon. This could mean only one thing. Roadtrip! Our Destination today is the Gravestein Apple Festival. It is located about 1 1/2 hours from the Bay Area in Sebastapol California. I have a Gravestein apple tree in our backyard. Hopefully, some inspiration for recipes and ideas will be gained from our excursion. I hope to run into Angelo from Angelo''s Meats. He is a character that can really lighten up a festival. He also happens to make some of the best bacon on the West Coast.

The Apple festival is a local event that showcases local artists and growers in the Sonoma area. Sebastapol is famous for growing Gravestein Apples. They still grow a lot of apples, but are turning to wine like everybody else in California. This event is held in a local park. There are plenty of food booths and craftsmen to satisfy all appetites. We sampled some of the local apples and had a Microbrew from Lagunitas.(Petaluma, Ca.). We found a crafts person that created a new mascot prop for Mad Meat Genius. Willy Birds were selling their Huge, Giant Turkey Legs. We found a booth that told us to be a pig.Yeah!

We did run into Angelo. He was in prime form He was managing his barbeque fire and booth with the help of his Daughter. Of course Angelo had time to give me a lesson or two. It is very important to listen to the Master of Curing and Butchering.. He has a lot of experience and a lot of stories to tell. He was selling Tri Tip sandwiches from his booth. He was using a medium direct fire. He was standing over that fire constantly. He was turning his beef and watching for hot spots. He had an instant read thermometer in his hand. Once these Choice cuts of meat reached 120 degrees, he would put them into an ice chest for final cooking. The confidence in Angelo showed through and through. The line was 6 deep to get one of these sandwiches. Angelo told me his rub is award winning. He shared with me, that to use his rub and get a successful product, is to use a good meat and cook it properly. Those simple instructions are so true. There are no guarantee's in good barbeque. To see a Master (Angelo) at work is a treat.

OLYMPICS

EASTER ISLAND

We are smoking and cooking in preparation of the Olympics. The Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics is a much anticipated event. It just so happens that Ms. Goofy and I have the next week off. We will be glued to the Boob Toob 24/7. I always dreamed that I could compete in the Olympics I could do an Iron Cross on the Rings. I would need a lot of help to reach the rings. Oh well, lets just keep it a dream.
These are statues guarding an area of my garden. They have been collected over the years. What do they have to do with the Olympics? Not much!

PRIME RIB

You ever get a hankerin for a Fred Flinstone hunk of Beef. Ms. Goofy did. She instructed me to find a large old Dino Roast. Luckily for Dino I found one that was beef. This roast is Choice USDA , Number One, and Boneless. This is the cream of the crop . We are going to cook this beauty with respect. It will be cooked with a indirect fire on my special Smoker/Barbeque. Mesquite wood charcoal is the fuel of choice. With a quality cut of beef you do not need any fancy dressings. Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper will do the trick. One of the secrets to the perfect roast is to achieve your correct temperature. I am shooting for Medium Rare. I will be using a remote thermometer and rechecking with an instant read thermometer. To achieve Medium Rare, cook till 125 degrees. When you take it of the grill and let it rest for 15 minutes the temperature will rise to 135. This is the ideal Medium Rare!

Ms. Goofy made her special Risotto. Some fresh corn on the cob was included. We had home pickled tomatoes and cold beverages. How can it get any better?

MAKIN BACON III (MAPLE)

The Chilebrown Ice Cave is getting a little low on home made bacon. It is time to cure and smoke some pork bellies. This batch of bellies is going to receive a special treat of Maple sugar. The maple sugar was procured from the Vermont Country Store. Ten pounds of pork bellies were corralled from our local International Market. To really kick this bacon up a notch it will be smoked with sugar maple wood chunks. These were bid on and won from E-bay. This will be a first for me. I have a trick to try to cut down on the saltiness. After the initial curing stage, I will soak and rinse the bellies for a longer period of time.

The recipe is exactly the same as Makin Bacon I. The only difference is instead of brown sugar, Vermont granulated sugar will be used. They will be put in the ice box for 8 days. After 4 days I will flip the bacon over to even the curing process. They will then be soaked in clear water to rinse the salt off. I will go into more detail later when the smoking begins.

Ms. Goofy and I went to Catahoula's coffee shop in Richmond Ca. today . We went there to meet and greet Pam from Zoomie Station. We gifted her a sack of home grown apples and tomatoes. Lo and hehold the Reverend Biggles was there also. Good friends and coffee is a good way to spend a plesant morning.