Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Stay tuned for spice rack challenge round up

Too busy to type these days....look for the round up this weekend hopefully!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Spice Rack Challenge September: Mustard

For this month's challenge, I am offering an encore performance of a previously published recipe.   The fact is, deviled eggs are my potluck "go-to" dish.   Everyone loves them, and I always have the ingredients on hand. 

Deviled Eggs

7 eggs
2 T. yellow mustard
2 T. mayonnaise
paprika and capers for garnish

Check out my method for how to make easy to peel hard boiled eggs,

Slice the remaining eggs in half, and then remove the yolks and mash them in a bowl. Add the mustard and mayo - equal proportions are important. That is the key of a successful deviled egg. Stir up the mixture - it should be just moist enough to hold the yolk mash together - if you need more mayo/mustard, add it, but it should be equal proportions.

Spoon the yolk back into the whites. Sprinkle each with paprika and garnish with 3 capers. People love deviled eggs. I have a special Tupperware deviled egg tray I bought at a garage sale and it's the best thing I found to transport them to the party. I put them on a pretty plate when I get there.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

My top posts....

I can find what my top read posts are by looking at the right hand side of my blog.....or Google Analytics.   But I don't want to talk about those....I want to talk about my favorite blog posts that I've ever written. These are the ones I enjoy reading over long after I have written them. Here they are, in no particular order:

Not Rocket Science, Making Pizza at Home Thursday, December 31, 2009

Going Green=Spending Green Sunday, August 10, 2008

Pickled Eggs Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Spice Rack Challenge August: Cumin Saturday, July 30, 2011

Disconnected Saturday, November 20, 2010

Salsa Fest 2006 Sunday, September 10, 2006

So, if you are new to my blog, check them out.  These are the ones, when I read them, still make me laugh or at least in one case cry.  I hope you like them as much as I do....

Thursday, September 08, 2011

Pop vs. Soda


In case you are wondering, I call it "pop"  What do you call it?  Please comment!

Monday, September 05, 2011

Happy Fall - High Heat Brisket

For years, we have smoked beef briskets on our propane smoker "low and slow" - taking about 12 hours to cpomplete the project.   However, I have discovered the high heat method, where the brisket is smoked under a high heat and then cooked until it is fork tender.   
Here's how it works - buy a whole, untrimmed 10-12 pound brisket and trim the fat side to about 1/4 inch thick of fat.  Apply your favorite rub - mine is Rub #9 by Alton Brown....

Rub #9
5 parts brown sugar
3 parts chili powder
1 part garlic powder
1/2 part ground thyme
1/4 part cayenne
1/4 part allspice

I buy my spices in buld from Penzey's and mix up a big batch in a quart size canning jar.   Rub #9 goes great on just about anything.   Rub the brisket all over and liberally salt and pepper it and  refrigerate overnight. The next day, heat up the smoker and put some apple wood chips in a container to soak.   The high heat method uses lots of wood chips, so make sure you've got enough.  Add water to the bowl to act as a sort of "heat sink", and place the brisket on the rack above it - fat side down.   Heat up the smoker to about 325 - 375 F....I open the top vent.   Keep adding chips to make smoke as needed and cook for about 2 hours, until the brisket hits 170 F.  Take the brisket off the fire and wrap it in foil, fat side up.   Continue to cook for another 2 hours or so until the brisket is fork tender.  There's no need for smoke during this part of the cooking - you could finish it off in the oven at 350F if you wanted, or keep it on the smoker at around 325- 375 F.   Let the brisket rest in the foil for 30 minutes before slicing. 

I like so serve my brisket with Woodchick's BBQ sauce.    We had this brisket today with my family - there was acold snap in the air and it smelled like fall today.   It was great to be outside with the wood smoke and drink apple cider and enjoy the beginning of fall.  Tomorrow is the first day of school....can you believe summer is almost over?  I can't!  It was 100 degrees just a couple days ago.