CHEESECAKE PIE

Ms. Goofy knows how to take care of her man. She combined two of my most favorite desserts to create a masterpiece. Behold the cheesecake/pecan pie. It cannot get any better than this. I do like pie. 

AMERICAN WAGYU RUMP ROAST

 American Wagyu Rump Roast was spotted at R & R Meats in Redding California. It was reasonably priced and looked fantastic with its marbling of beef love. (fat). This was a no brainer. We are making a very special pot roast today. We are using farmers market ingredients and throwing in some home grown garlic, rosemary and herbs. I guarantee the house will smell delicious during this cooking process.

The cooking vessel will be a enameled cast iron pot that will be heated by the oven. We are following a basic pot roast recipe. The roast was seasoned with salt and pepper. It was browned on all sides. The pan was deglazed with a cup of red wine. The roast was returned to the pot with onions, garlic and four cups of beef stock. The covered roast spent three hours in a 325 degree oven. It was time to add the rest of the ingredients of; mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, rosemary, thyme and salt & pepper. Another hour of cooking perfumed the house with very intoxicating comforting aromas.

The meat and vegetables were removed from the pot. We then used a gravy strainer to remove excess fat from the very fragrant broth. The meat was sliced into large chunks. This meat was fall apart tender. The meat and vegetables were plated and the broth was spooned all over. This is pot roast that brings back memories. American Wagyu is a special treat that adds beef flavor which has to be experienced. I would make this again to just experience the aroma while cooking. What a fine dinner. 

BUCK STEELMASTER MODEL #137

The Buck Steelmaster Model #137 in June 1974 had a  list price of 12 dollars. It came with sheath. 5 inch steel with metal handle w/cam lever. The steel has one side with coarse grit and is surrounded by 3 sides with fine grit. This tool is used to sharpen knives.
  This is the latest addition to my ever growing knife collection. My collection started as kitchen knives and has lately branched out to pocket knives. I try to limit myself to the American made Buck 110 models as a subset to my collection. Can you see Ms. Goofy rolling her eyes right now?

RESTOCKING THE PANTRY

The pantry was bare. It was time to take a trip down to my favorite hot sauce shop;"Heat Hot Sauce Shop". I was a kid in a candy store. Dylan, the proprietor guided me through the latest, hottest and most flavorful sauces he had available. This should last me a few months. 

LOS ARQUITOS

The never ending search for the best Chileverde received a hot tip from our local PBS television station show "Check Please Bay Area" Los Arquitos is a small family run Mexican restaurant in Vallejo, California. Vallejo is only 15 minute away with a bridge crossing included. Parking Karma was a little challenging today because of street construction. I did get the first open parking spot after a slight detour so I will proclaim Parking Karma is good.

The inside is fairly plain with a counter for to-go orders with around a dozen tables for dining in. This is a family run restaurant and I got to meet the owners sort of. I mentioned I saw the restaurant on 'Check Please". There was a slight language barrier but she smiled and nodded. The next three customers that came in also mentioned the show. I ordered Chileverde and a side of chile relleno. Immediately she brought me chips and salsa. The chips were a little stale and the salsa had a slight pepper punch but was pedestrian
.

The chile relleno was hot and full of molten cheese. The egg batter had an oily soggy texture that tasted of frying oil that needed to be changed. This dish had a home made quality but just was not very appetizing with the tainted oil.

The Chileverde was delivered steaming hot with chile goodness. This was a very generous plate of cubed pork bathed in green chile gravy. This was comfort food that I enjoy. This plate of verde was on the mild side.  I have to mention the house made corn tortillas. All previous food transgressions are erased when home made tortillas are delivered. The thick and hot fresh tortillas really complemented my chileverde. This plate was devoured with delight.

There were some hit and misses today. We shall return for further research and fresh tortillas. This may not of been the best plate of chileverde I have had but it was comforting and satisfying. The prices are more than reasonable. This is home cooked Mexican food with an explanation point. Below is the video from Check Please that inspired this adventure. The journey continues.




Los Arquitos
630 Broadway St,
Vallejo, CA 94590

ARROW J BEEF CO.

Grass fed, all natural, no hormones, humanely raised, dry aged and a local rancher (Susanville, California) are all the right descriptors for Arrow J Beef Co. We visited their farmer’s market booth in Susanville and picked up a 7-blade roast. As some of you know I am not a big fan of grass fed beef but am willing to give it another try. The Arrow J Beef Co. is a family run business. They also have a fancy brochure that touted all the health benefits of grass fed beef. Did you know 100 % grass fed beef is high in a nutrient called conjugated linoleic acid? (CLA). CLA has health benefits from combating osteoporosis, inflammation and so much more.  We are going to make some chili today.

The first thing we notice about this well marbled three pound piece of beef is the deep red color. It is the 7 Blade roast which needs to be braised to become tender.  We are going to simmer this meat in a pot of chili but first we are going to sear it on a very hot bbq grill. We seasoned the meat with a rub. It was then cooked for aprox 5 minutes a side turning a quarter turn to give grill marks. We let the meat cool briefly and then chopped into cubes. It was then simmered for an hour in a pot with garlic, onions, tomatoes, roasted green chile’s, spices and chili powder. It was time to give our chili a try.

The beef cubes had a little chew to them. They also had a touch of gaminess typical to grass fed beef; that I have experienced. This beef also had a deep rich beef flavor. This was a great meat for chili. It was savory and the little beef love (fat) it did have rendered and flavored our chili broth. We enjoyed this flavorful pot of red. I am still not a big fan of grass fed beef but Arrow J Beef Co. produced some beefy good meat for our chili.

FALL D.O.G.

The D.A.M. Dog Society had their Fall Dutch Oven Gathering at the Galileo Club this weekend. The weather could not been more pleasant. Blue skies and no wind made for perfect weather to fire up the charcoals and heat up our black iron. This group of like minded people shared food, recipes and fellowship. This gathering revolved around the Dutch oven. With a little imagination you can cook anything that any conventional oven can .We would like to share a few images with you.

This women is folding wrappers which are filled with bananas, brown sugar and jack fruit. They are then deep fried to create the most wonderful dessert. The cake below, which was one of my favorites was a pound cake that was maple frosted and then topped with bacon. Now that is what I am talking about. Creativity was abundant today.

This was my contribution today . It was a sourdough bread made with a starter which had a name; Sally. Sally originated from a long gone restaurant in San Francisco. Cioppino stew is represented in the pot below. We saw stew, several lasagna variations, broccoli/cauliflower, fried chicken, biscuits, and so much more. You really needed to bring your appetite today.

 These are the banana desserts being fried below and the finished product above. They were delicious. Abram, one of the original members of our competitive Dutch Oven team is hamming it up in front of an old team picture.

It was dinner time. There were so many choices. This was a great afternoon to reconnect with our dutch oven friends. It never ceases to amaze me what can be cooked in a dutch oven. One is only limited by their imagination. I can guarantee nobody left this event hungry. In fact as I type this my belt is loosened a notch. I cannot wait till the next D.O.G.