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Oldest daughter and SIL are headed back tomorrow so last night for a special home cooked meal (nobody eats at home in LA it seems) Snagged a NY Strip roast at Easter while they were on sale so onto the BGE it will go this afternoon. Seasoned with S&P and some Herbs de Provence. Gonna have some nice baked potatoes with all the fixings (also smoked on the BGE) and a nice wedge salad with home made bleu cheese dressing with tomato and bacon crumbles on top.

Film at 11:00..........

cant argue with the BGE. I have a pulled pork (turbo style) on at the moment and a bottle or 2 of winery series amarone. can't be done soon enough

cheers
 
Well I had the best ribeye tonight. Always thawed my steak out, and placed in the fridge until ready to cook. Found out that you're supposed to cook it close to room temperature so tonight I let them thaw out, placed them in a covered container with the seasoning. When I put them on the grill their temperature was 65 degrees. And they melted In your mouth.
 
Well I had the best ribeye tonight. Always thawed my steak out, and placed in the fridge until ready to cook. Found out that you're supposed to cook it close to room temperature so tonight I let them thaw out, placed them in a covered container with the seasoning. When I put them on the grill their temperature was 65 degrees. And they melted In your mouth.

I think there are a couple things at work there. One is enzymatic reactions that break down/tenderize the meat. The other is that when cooking a steak that starts consistently at that temp, it finishes more consistently throughout. So you're far less likely to have a charred on the outside, rare on the inside meal.
 
Finally a nice day around these parts. Got to get the lawn done (didn't need any farm equipment, but close), then started the lower part of the Weber bullet do do some pork loin properly. Also did some thin cut top sirloin for cheese steaks tomorrow night. Served with a variety of beers (Irish red, Ying Yang lager and a 60 minute IPA knockoff).

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I am going to make pearl cous-cous tonight, in fact. My new favorite version, with feta and fresh marjoram.

In addition, I marinated a thick pork chop (~porterhouse cut) in olive oil, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and garlic for about 3 hours. I also parboiled some green beans, and sauteed some onions, then combined them and finished them on the grill (on a perforated piece of steel). The chop was grilled on a HOT grill for 3.5' per side, basted with the delicious marinade. The pearl cous-cous was up to snuff, and it was all washed down with Chateau Ste. Michelle Pinot Gris. :db

Thank God grill season has returned!
 
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Ahhh yes the photographic evidence that a said meal actually did occur.........

I believe the BGE may be my favorite smoker. It just holds temp so dang good. Put the Strip Roast on around 3:00pm and cooked him at 250 until around 5:30, then jacked it up to around 350 the rest of the way. Used my Maverick Remote BBQ Thermometer and set it for 135F. I was thinking I would have to do a reverse sear to finish it off. I even fired up the searing station on the propane grill but once the temp hit 135F and I looked at the roast I said that was a pretty good sear on the bottom side. The top fat cap looked good as well so I said done and pulled it to rest while we ate our salad course. The ho-made Blue Cheese Dressing was to die for good. Made with sour cream, mayo, buttermilk. spices......

The baked potatoes were spot on. I microwaved them about 75% and then put them on the grill for a couple hours to smoke. Pulled them and wrapped them in foil when done and put them aside and they stayed nice and toasty without drying out till the roast was finished. The roast was perfection, not too rare, not overdone, perfectly pink. Notice that the pink is constant from center to edge, not even over done at the edge, just perfect. :hug

The meal was paired perfectly well with 2010 J. Bookwalter Foreshadow Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum no less!)

Mrs. IB prepared a Pineapple Upside Down Cake that was cooked in a cast iron skillet that was a superb finish to a wonderful family get together.

We had two out of three of our girls together which is always a special moment these days. Daughter and SIL are headed back to Cali this AM with a stopover in Scottsdale, AZ tonight to visit some of Mrs IB's family for a night, then back to Burbank tomorrow.

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That's what I as thinking. Did they taste spicy like mustard?

No, and that's what threw me off. They were tangy, which would explain the pickled part, but maybe an actual hint of sweetness. But this cleared it up for me:

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2015/08/05/pickled-mustard-seeds-the-poor-mans-caviar/

"Pickled mustard seeds are more about the added sweetness and tartness with a little bite from the seeds, whereas mustard proper is about the natural bite of the mustard seeds. The other major difference is the texture. Pickled mustard seeds are different from even whole-grain mustards in the way the little seeds pop in your mouth. It’s a crunchy adventure that’s a bit like caviar.
 
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Taco Tuesday fell on a Monday this week. (Used ground pork and mixed up my own seasonings, served with a side of Peruvian beans started yesterday in ho-made pork stock.)

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Pork chops with brussel sprouts in cast iron. Cooked a couple pieces of chopped bacon and about a quarter onion, pulled from the pan and set aside then seared the chops (seasoned with S&P Paprika and raw sugar) on one side on high heat. Killed the fire, flipped the chops then added halved sprouts cut side down and topped them with the saved bacon and onion and a couple tablespoons of water. Throw into a 425 oven uncovered for 10 mins and you're ready to go. Served with a baked potato and it's a One Pan Wonder!
Mike

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Well still trying to get rid of smoked meats! LOL Thought we had eaten all of the Turkey then opened the veggie storage and viola' another huge bag o turkey meat....

OK Round two or three of how to use what you have in the fridge. Made a Texas staple for family get togethers etc. King Ranch Casserole! Doubled the recipe pretty much and used the HOT Rotel tomatoes to kick it up a notch. Still very savory. Comfort food for sure for me. :hug

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I made roasted artichokes with garlic, thyme, and olive oil, but I was unsure what to do with the white bass I had picked up yesterday. I sort of non-committedly followed two recipes until I couldn't merge them, and had to just let the chips fall where they may. So, from one recipe, I made a tomato sauce with sauteed onions, savoy cabbage, cilantro, Amarone, Calabrian peppers, and thyme. This recipe had me poaching my white bass in this sauce, but my filets had skin on them. So, for the bass, I wound up following a different recipe to just do a simple sear on them. I dried the skin as best I could, then seared them in a HOT pan for ~3 minutes, flipped, and cooked for another minute. My aim was that the skin turned out crispy enough to eat, but that didn't quite happen. So I settled for "easy to peel the skin off." Then I went back to the first recipe, and served with a ho-made tapenade of chopped olives (kalamata+green), chopped capers, hot pepper oil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and garlic. Frankly, it all worked out just fine, and I was happy with the rustic result. Washed down with Menage a trois Gold Chardonnay.
 
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