Barbequed Corned Beef

Corned Beef is on the menu for St. Patricks Day. It will have a little Chilebrown twist. This brined brisket that is traditionally boiled and served with cabbage will be charred and slow cooked on a mesquite fire. It must be served with something green to keep up the festivities. The green will be Asparagus in a quiche.

"Real Leprechaun's do Eat Quiche".

There is not much of a recipe for grilling Corned Beef. Some Corned Beef that was on sale at the local Mega-market was picked up. The brisket was rinsed thoroughly of its brine. It was dried and a little a very little salt and pepper was added. A mesquite fire was built in the Weber. All the vents were opened. When the fire was nice and hot, the meat was seared on all sides. The vents were then closed by two thirds. The beef was placed directly over the fire and the lid was secured. For the next two hours, every 20 minutes the chow was turned. After this time period the Barbequed Corned Beef was removed and loosely covered with foil. After 20 minutes it was thinly sliced.

This Barbequed Corned Beef was so tender. There was a smokey exterior that surrounded the salty inner goodness. It was sliced very thin. The juices, even though it had rested, poured on to the cutting board. This barbequed brisket is a tradition at the Chilebrown house. The best part is, We will have sandwiches tomorrow.

There is something about cheese, eggs, asparagus, ham and pie crust that floats my boat. When done right quiche is very comforting and satisfying. This recipe was from a Betty Crocker cookbook from the 60's. This was served with some home made salsa and sour cream.

Whoops, I forgot the Green Beer!

MAD MEAT EXPERIMENT

There is a lot of bacon salt around the house. What to do with this plethora of flavored alkali. Let's make bacon with Bacon Salt. Will the two positives cancel each other out? Like I need an excuse to make bacon. This recipe/experiment will use 'Maple Bacon Salt', kosher salt, pink salt and pork bellies.

The rind of the pork bellies were removed. This can be a controversial maneuver. Some people believe that they need to chew on tire tread and call it cute names like bacon gum. Sorry, I am out of control sometimes. The 6 pounds of bellies were rubbed down with a mixture of:

• 1 2.5 ounce jar of Maple Bacon Salt
• 1.5 ounces of kosher salt
• 4 teaspoons of pink salt

They were then placed in a plastic garbage bag. This bag was placed in a large pan and put in the refrigerator. They will be in the refrigerator for the next 7 days. Thursday I will turn over the package to cure both sides.

When we return, We will start the smoking process.

MAN V FOOD

It is kinda funny that our TV is usually on PBS or the Food Network. Most of our Boob Tube viewing revolves around food. Why is that funny? Because we are food FREAKS!!!! We like to watch a show called, "Man V Food". It is entertaining to us. We like to watch the Host consume a Trencherman's weight of food. He usually finds a local eating challenge and goes for it. He recently went to SmokeEaters and we followed. This challenge was to eat 12 chicken wings doused in a "Crazy Stupid" amount of pepper and Habanero powder. You have to eat the 12 wings in 10 minutes with no liquid refreshments, no napkins and no brains. After you consume this throne of pain, you have to lick your hands and wait five minutes. If you still have a pulse, You will receive a T-shirt and get your picture on the wall.

That is no problem for Ms. Goofy. She was game and was ready to rumble. We were on a Meat Adventure to Dittmers anyway. This place was right around the corner. Well it was 12 minutes away by the Shinken Speck.

GPS. We arrived to a full house. SmokeEaters is right next to the campus of San Jose State University. This is the perfect location for Wings , Big Screens, Beer and Chicken Wings. There were so many T.V. screens that you actually had to pay attention sort of. There were no monitors on the Food Network.

We had to focus on the Wings. We were not ready for the challenge that SmokeEaters offered. We tried the 'Most Hottest' that they offered on their menu. These wings had crazy names such as "Inferno", "4 Alarm", "Traditional Death". "Nuclear", "Atomic". "Traditional".and"Mild".

Our choice of wings was Inferno and Atomic. The Atomic wings were syrupy sweet. Ms. Goofy did not like them. They were too full of honey with a little hint of Tabasco. They should be classified maybe as gateway wings. We were a little hesitant to try the Inferno Wings.

The Inferno Wings looked like the Atomic wings. Were these wings the promise of their name.? Would we be gasping for air? I took a bite. They were not as sweet as the Atomic wings. Whoops, the back of throat needed a cough to be cleared. Is this the End ? Yes, at first bite the Inferno wings do grab your attention. This burn did not last. It was tasty. I think maybe I tasted some Habanero. Ms. Goofy was able to stomach the Inferno, and actually did enjoy these wings. If you happened to watch this episode of 'Man V Food', Adam looked like he was ready to meet the Grim Reaper. This was not our experience.

We later found out that the Wings for the Hellfire Challenge have a ton of habanero powder added.They have to be specially ordered. You do not need to take the challenge to order this death warrant of wings. We had fun visiting and tasting the wings and refreshments offered at 'SmokeEaters'. You need to take the Challenge. Your taste buds and sanity will be aroused. I will leave that up to You!

STEAK BURRITOS

It has been a lazy Saturday. We went to the market with the Reverend Biggles. He bought meat and We purchased veggies. You know that Dr. Biggles would not buy vegetables at a Farmers market. We picked up some killer asparagus and salad material. We had some 'Rib-Eye' steaks marinating and waiting at home. Today we are going to make some steak burritos.

Tomato Basil 'Smart & Delicious' tortillas were picked up from our local Mega-store. These wraps are so healthy my head is hurting. They have 12 grams of dietary fiber. I have no idea what that means. They are made with extra virgin olive oil. Zero grams of Trans fat and no partially hydrogenated oils is also claimed on the wrapper. Last but not least they are "A Smart and Delicious Start to a Healthy Gourmet Lifestyle". I am relieved because I am going to chase this burrito down with a six-pack!

The Rib-Eyes were marinated with Survival Spice and lime juice. Asparagus and the steaks were grilled over a mesquite fire. The steaks rested and were sliced. Some rice and beans were cooked up. Some home made salsa,shredded cheese and some sour cream was available. We steamed the wraps for a second and converted the ingredient into rolls of comfort.

The sign of success. Ms. Goofy is on her favorite chair. She is watching the TV with her eyes closed.

BAGELS

The Ahwanee Hotel may be shut down for two years for a seismic retrofit if they can obtain funds through the stimulus program. Huh? The Mad Meat Genius promised no religion, politics or rants, BUT, (......deleted by author......). Sorry, to get out of this funky mood, Bagels will be made. There is nothing like the smell and taste of freshly baked bread. The interesting step of making bagels is that they are boiled before they are baked. Lets get boiling.

Bagels

1. 2 cups warm water
2. 2 teaspoons yeast
3. 1 teaspoon salt
4. 3 tablespoons sugar (honey)
5. 6 cups flour (I used combination of wheat and bread flour)
6. 2 egg yolks beaten with 2 tablespoons water

Proof the yeast with water. Add sugar salt and flour. Combine and knead for 10 minutes. Place in oiled bowl and let rise for 1 hour. Take dough and divide into 18 pieces. You can make them larger or smaller to your liking. Roll into disc and push your finger into center to create a hole. Let rise for another 45 minutes. Take a large pot of water and add 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to boil. Place your dough into boiling water and cook for 5 minutes, turning a couple of times. Remove and dry dough. Place on oiled cookie sheet. Coat with egg mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Owwoohe, they smell so good. They taste even better. The World is a better place now!

MOJO'S MAJOR AWARD

Why is Mojo moping around? He just received a Major Award from Bacon Salt. Last December, Bacon Salt had a recipe contest. Mad Meat Genius went to the lab and created 'Crab Cakes a la Baconnaise'. These cakes were

'Scrumpdillyicious'. Using fresh cooked crab was the key. The Baconnaise was a perfect ingredient to put this dish over the top. The people at Bacon Salt just sent this award the other day.

Why is Mojo moping? He posed for the original review of Baconnaise. He was present in the creation and consumption of the Crab Cakes. Mojo wants to know why he never gets to try this stuff. He thinks Chilebrown is pretty darn stingy. He will sing a different tune when he gets his own special batch of Bacon Dog Cookies..

STEAMED ASPARAGUS

The Chilebrown kitchen has a new gadget. It is a tool that no kitchen should be with out. This apparatus is an Asparagus steamer. A tall stainless steel cylinder with a wire basket. It is the perfect height to stand up 'Spheres of Spring'. Pour a couple of inches of water in the bottom of the pot, insert your loaded wire basket and put glass lld on top. Ten minutes later you have perfectly steamed asparagus.

A trip to Alemany Farmer's market was in order. Our goal was to find Chris from Zukerman farms. He is our number one asparagus vendor in the Bay Area. Chris usually saves some Jumbo Asparagus for Ms. Goofy and I. They also sell the best asparagus raviolis you have ever tasted. It was quite the adventure at Alemany. A vendor passed off a counterfeit 10 dollar bill to Yours truly. The next vendor caught the said bill. Chilebrown was stuck in the middle. After returning to the original vendor and trying to avoid a HUGE scene, everything was straightened out. It seemed that these vendors are aware of a problem and the customer may become a unknowing victim. There were to many red flags to pass this off as an isolated incident. Back to the Asparagus. Chris was not there today, but his partner was running the stand. We scored some beautiful Jumbo Asparagus.

We rushed home and fired up the steamer. What did I ever do before this wonderful steamer. These spheres were steamed to perfection. The next day Ms. Goofy steamed some artichokes. She is sold on how well and easy this new utensil performs.This new gadget is a welcome addition to the Chilebrown kitchen.