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I'm going to sous vide a tri tip tonight. I'll serve it up with some grilled asparagus and rice pilaf. I may have to crack open one of my few remaining Red Mountain Cabs for this. Or maybe a LR Red Mountain Trio.
 
Very slight change of plans. Amazingly, no asparagus at the grocery store. But I got some broccolini. And I was craving some black beans, so I whipped some up.

I was thrilled to find that my local grocer sells certified Angus tri tip at $5.99/lb. It's probably my favorite cut of beef, but is hard to find. Wegman's carries it, but at almost $12/lb. The good price comes with a little odd trimming. Normally, a tri tip is triangular shaped (hence the name). These aren't, but they're definitely the same cut. So I made a modified Santa Maria style rub and applied it.



I vacuum sealed it and it was ready for a soak with the SV cooker. The 'TVWBB' is for my friends over at The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. :D



After 2.5 hours at 130F in the water bath, this is what it looked like. Notice it sorta took the texture of the foodsaver bag.



Then I threw it on the Weber over Kingsford charcoal with a little pecan wood for flavor.



After a brief rest (while I grill roasted the broc), I sliced it up.



Finally, it was plated with some Spanish rice, the broc, and some black beans. I threw together a chimichurri quickly that needed a little more oil. It still tasted pretty good though.



All in all, a successful dinner. I had probably 70% 'used' charcoal in the grill and it wasn't as hot as I'd like. So I had to leave the meat on longer than I'd like to get some good caramelization. So it wasn't as evenly done as I'd have liked. But is was still dang good.

Happy Friday!!!
 
Looks good Jim, Just still seems like a LOT of work! How diid it taste?

It was fantastic.

You know, the more I do this (only twice now, mind you), the more I find it to be easier than 'traditional' cooking. The tri tip simmered away while I leisurely took care of the sides. It did not matter if I got a few minutes behind with the rice. The tri tip was there, ready at the perfect temp, with no worry of overcooking. To me, it relieves a LOT of the pressure of trying to get things timed right. Of course, I could have simply seared an a pan or on my gas grill. But I wanted smoke. And I roasted the broc on the grill as well, so it wasn't all just for the tri tip.
 
Really nice day out. Was warmer outside than inside the house. Gotta cheap chicken and fired up the smoker. Served the finished bird with some mac and cheese and mixed veges. Yum!

Cat got some of the cooked goodies for dinner, she was much appreciative.

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While looking through the freezer, I found a couple of fillets from a whole tenderloin that I butchered a couple of months ago. Perfect for a nice sunday dinner!

I went to the store and picked up potatoes, a bag-o-salad, garlic bread, asparagus, and some fresh mushrooms.

- Sautéed the mushrooms,
- Sliced the potatoes, drizzled them with olive oil, seasoned with salt/pepper, then roasted them in a 425 oven.
- Seasoned the fillets with salt/pepper and then pan seared them in butter. Popped them into the oven to finish off.
- tossed the asparagus in salt/pepper and olive oil. Roasted them in the 425 oven for 5 minutes.

Last Picture- my plate. served with garlic bread, salad, and a nice 2014 super cab.

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Dragged the youngest to the store mid-day and grabbed a roaster and the trimmings. Tonight is roasted whole chicken, rice pilaf, home made gravy, fresh bread and a big salad.

Started a stock with the neck, innards and some wing tips I had in the freezer a few hours ago. The house smells awesome.
 
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Came home to a few pieces of pizza left. I had made three crusts this morning, so I had one hidden in the back part of the refrigerator. Let it warm up while I picked my daughter up off of the after school activities bus, then heated the grill and made a meat lovers pizza. Turkey bacon, ham and pepperoni. Crust turned out really well, crispy on the outside, soft pretzel like in the middle.

Paired it with a nice light Bolla Chianti.

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I am whipping up a quick (quickish?) lamb tagine-like object. Lamb shoulder chop, mushrooms, onions, garlic, stock, ginger, cumin, coriander, tumeric, fennel, raisins, and parsley. Pairing with baked potatoes, and lacinto kale sauteed in lamb fat, braised with stock, white wine, and sherry.

Edited to report: The lamb dish was wonderful. Complex, rich, and savory/sweet. The kale was disappointing. I almost always make my braised kale the same way, which I rather like. (I usually do: Onions, garlic, sautee the kale, braise in a salty chicken broth, supplemented with a sweet sherry.) I really thought tonight's variation would be awesome, with the addition of the lamb fat, and a REAL stock, plus add some savory spices I don't normally add. However, it had a somewhat odd umami note that did not play well with the rest. Oh, well, c'est la vie!
 
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Just got back from MIL's place for my wife's holiday family get together. 21 lb Turkey w/stuffing, smashed taters, sweet taters, some type of a brown sweet corn, cranberry stuff, gravy, mixed veges and wine. Best thing is I didn't have to cook or clean up.

I took many to choose from, the blackberry and Pinot Grigio got hit pretty well. I took an almost full bottle of Merlot/Cab Sauv/Malbec blend that was left over from racking today (had added some cellar tannins to the receiving carboy). SIL and niece wanted to try some, I warned them it was YDR (a young dry red) and wasn't necessarily brought for their enjoyment, but that I would sacrifice my palette as to not waste any.

Needless to say, there isn't any left. I did get a full two glasses before they finished it off. Told them I'd bring a bottle next year of the same batch that would be better suited for drinking.
 

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