Friday, June 1, 2012
You've seen this sandwich before, but I improved on it...
Today's post is a tip, tomorrow will be a recipe
Dramatic presentation...
Ooozing and gushing with...
Pulled Pork
Lettuce
Provolone Cheese
Pickles
Cole Slaw
Raspberry Chipotle (my own) BBQ sauce
on a fresh made Bread Wreath
What could be better???
Look close at the next two photos...
See the difference???
I hollowed out the top of the "bun" so that it was an easier to eat sandwich (and held more of the good stuff).
BUT with the bread, it was just enough to make a...
Pulled Pork Savory BREAD PUDDING from the leftovers!
Now THAT's a BETTER SANDWICH when you make it easier to stuff more of the good stuff in, make it easier to eat AND have a beauty of a breakfast...
Come back tomorrow for the recipe to the puddin!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Grilling Asparagus
Just a quicky tip today...
I LOVE asparagus, but always had a tough time grilling them. They roll around, many end up rolling through the grate and getting an even cook was tough. Some were burnt (caramelized when i lie to my wife), some still too hard, not cooked enough.
Then I found this tip... Soak several toothpicks in olive oil. this way they slide into the hard raw asparagus easily.
Put five pieces of asparagus on the toothpick, then repeat on the other end so you have something you can move with a set of tongs.
Easy to keep an eye on them. easy to plate and much easier to get a perfect batch of grilled asparagus every time!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Cajun Crawfish Boil - Road Trip!
A Big Pot
A Big batch of Crab Boil seasonings
Corn
Red Potatoes
Garlic
Sausages
Shrimp
And a couple dozen pounds of LIVE (well, they started live anyway) Crawfish!
And as spectacular as all that sounds (and indeed it was SPECTACULAR), the fun of the day was the third annual (first for Jackie and me) "East Tennessee Blogger Get together" (now updated to East Tennessee, North Carolina and Kansas)!
I will admit that it was a bit of a drive. Quite a commitment to haul ourselves 1/4 of the way across the country just to hang out with people we had never met before for an afternoon. But all of these folks are dear friends that we had we "meet" every few days. Little by little, bit by bit all of these folks have become an important part of my life... Well worth the trip to put a face and a laugh with the friends!
And besides, just to break up the trip I got to stop at Metropolis, Il... Home of the giant Superman statue!
Jackie and I arrived the day before the get together and were invited to stay with Chris and Alexis (Chris who I introduce to my wife as the "Man with TWO Big Green Eggs", but you probably know him as the mastermind behind Nibble Me This blog).
In exchange for letting us crash in his guest room, Jackie and I offered to take his family out for dinner. Instead, he recognized the invitation for what it was... us just being polite. What I really wanted to do was to taste a bit of his talent and to see the Egg pro in action. I was not disappointed!
Chris cooked up an appetizer of " quick appetizer of grilled ribeye steak kebabs (Greek marinade) with Tzatziki sauce, olives and grilled flat bread wedges". This is my shot of Chris taking a photo for his blog. I am always intrigued by the photo set up bloggers use. To take a look at the dish and his selected image, take a hop over to his post... (Click HERE).
It was so much fun to start the weekend off watching, learning and enjoying Chris's work... the perfect host!
But of course, Saturday night with Chris and Alexis was just a prelude to the Main Event...
Sadly, I was meeting, greeting, enjoying myself so much I really do not have all the photos I need to show the day in it's total glory. But fortunately all of the bloggers there took a few shots and have already posted their take on the day. So, take a jump over to...
Larry and his wife Bev's post at Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings
Chris and his wife Alexis's post at Nibble Me This
Katherine and AJ (The REAL deal, displaced Cajun's, settled into East Tennessee and MASTER Crawfish Boil Cooks) post at Smokey Mountain Cafe
Penney and her husband Dave of the Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen blog
And last but not least, Sam and her husband Meakin of the My Carolina Kitchen blog.
There were a few extra guests enjoying the day without food blogs, but if you click the blue letters you will see how the day went for the other bloggers!
Here's the few photos I took you might enjoy...
Our cook AJ... His wife Katherine who taught us all how to "Suck the Heads"
And aside from the food... The fellowship, camaraderie and taking a "Blogger Buddy" friendship to true friendships made Larry's bit of Heaven rock with laughter throughout the day...
It was exhausting for all!
Oh and one more image just in case you do not believe these guys started their day alive... Hard to eat anyone you name, but I named this guy Marvin...
Friday, April 20, 2012
How I am Going to Spend my Summer Vacation
It's a simple lunch for a simple guy...
Bed of fresh lettuce with a drizzle of fresh made vinaigrette
Truly a Rite of Spring!
But what on Earth does this have to do with my summer plans... LOTS. And you can make the same plans now too...
Have you been checking out the gardening stores and sections of hardware stores with all the plant startings and seeds. Well, I planted mine. I have containers with Cherry Tomatoes, several tomato plants, plenty of peppers and lots of herbs started. Of course, it is a bit early to harvest anything, but everything is planted and nicely growing. I even have a couple of cherry tomatoes that should be ripe in a week or so.
but while searching for all this produce I plan to have in a month or two and throughout the summer, I found a wonderful item...
It's a big pot of lettuce and assorted mixed greens (red leave, and peppery arugula among others). All ready grown and ready to be harvested.
It also serves double duty as a center piece for our outdoor table (we eat and serve a lot outside).
It is a very simple matter to take a bread knife, saw off a few leaves (be sure to leave about two inches of stalk so that it grows back). This one bowl will provide about a dozen salads every two weeks. It regrows FAST!
And instant salad! Now, shortly I will have tomatoes and peppers and herbs to add to the mix to make something glorious. But after a winter of vegetables and greens coming from thousands of miles away, it is a real treat to make a few cuts, wash a few leaves and sit in the sunshine and plot... How I am going to spend my summer vacation... Basking in the actual fruits (well, vegetables) of my garden.
But wait... There's more...
As I am sure you have heard, eRecipeCards.com and the friend to bloggers everywhere, O OLIVE OIL are putting on a HUGE cooking contest. I have looked through several of your ideas and they sound simply spectacular. Top quality Artisan ingredients with extra spices and loaded with cooking skills you all are famous for.
On advice from the good folks at O Olive Oil (if you read their website carefully, they have some wonderful uses for their products already posted), I have started using the oils and vinegars as finishing sauces. Simple fresh ingredients paired with a fresh made vinaigrette. I am drooling at the idea of picking a tomato and just a spritz or sprinkle of Tahitian Lime oil and a bit of salt... What could be better?
I lined my bottles up in front of my tomato and pepper plants to give them a little encouragement to get started already!
But until then, I can always make something special anytime I want a quick light lunch...
A Home made Vinaigrette is so easy to make.
3 to 1 mix of Olive Oil and Vinegar whisked together. Add some spices or herbs if you like. Even some fresh juice if you want to flavor your dressing.
O Olive Oil offers a wonderful "deal" on collections of their products, including a "Signature Series" Collection of a couple of bottles of Oil and even more vinegars. That collection just happens to be one of the $1,000 in prizes awarded for the contest.
It is also a wonderful way to spend your summer vacation... Pick a little lettuce, mix and match your pressed flavored Oils and Vinegars And you have a fresh summer treat!
My single serve salad (Jackie is still off to her inconvenient day job) is a handful of lettuce, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Tahitian Lime Pressed Oil whisked together with 1/2 a tsp of Champagne Vinegar.
Can't wait to see what I mix up tomorrow!
And bloggers... You too can take advantage of our biggest and most exciting contest yet...
eRecipeCards and the friend to bloggers everywhere, O OLIVE OIL are sponsering a cooking contest among bloggers... 24 bloggers will be selected to receive FREE pressed oils and gourmet barrel aged vinegars to work blogger magic.
Over $1,000 in products will be awarded and we want YOU to be a part... Click HERE for all the details!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sweet Potato Chips with Flavored Vinegar!!!
I have a new passion in my life... Sweet Potato chips.
Very easy to make, grab a handy mandolin to slice the potatoes thin, heat oil (canola or peanut oil for it's high burn temperature). Fry to just when the chips start to darken. This way they have a bit of the softness of a cooked sweet potato, but also the snappy crispness of a store bought bagged potato chip. Drain on a paper towel and enjoy!
But to really set these apart, I like to spritz them with a bit of flavored Vinegars!
You've seen those little oil spritzers. Very handy for dieters controlling the amount of calories added to a salad. But also VERY useful for infusing just a bit of extra flavor to the sweet potato chips.
O Olive Oil has a wide variety of premium barrel aged vinegars...
11 different wine based vinegars
4 different balsamic vinegars
and even 3 different rice Asian inspired vinegars.
Looking through their products, I am in finishing sauce heaven! I chose a bottle of their HONEY APPLE...
O honey apple vinegar
The comforting aroma and rich taste of ripe Sonoma apples drenched in late harvest honey. Sparkling apple cider and the purity of honey create timeless flavors of health and wonder. Round and sweet with just the right tartness.
IMO... A perfect pairing for the chips! And, by using a spritzer, a little goes a long way, making this a very affordable option for a healthy tasty crispy treat!
And welcome to mt RITES of Spring when I start outdoor grilling again... Fancy up a hamburger with a grilled pineapple slice...
Add all the usual fixins, Pickles, lettuce, Onions and tomatoes and a drizzle of Blue Cheese sauce... And some surprising early delicious Peaches and Cream corn on the cobb...
With of course these O Olive Oil, Honey and Vinegar spritzed sweet potato chips and you have the perfect weeknight meal!
And bloggers... You too can take advantage of our biggest and most exciting contest yet...
eRecipeCards and the friend to bloggers everywhere, O OLIVE OIL are sponsering a cooking contest among bloggers... 24 bloggers will be selected to receive FREE pressed oils and gourmet barrel aged vinegars to work blogger magic.
Over $1,000 in products will be awarded and we want YOU to be a part... Click HERE for all the details!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Because your Blog Deserves FREE Olive Oil
HUGE Rites of Spring contest...
24 Bloggers needed...
Over $1,000 in prizes
read on...
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| Click the O Olive Oil Logo to visit their Home Page |
Olive Oil, We all use it, we all could use more AND we all would like a chance to try a premium gourmet oil for FREE! O Olive Oils are different and better than the run of the mill. Pressed replaces infused for a deeper, richer taste; perfect for salads, raw vegetables and light sauteed dishes... You know, the foods we have been waiting for all winter!
With a combined prize pool of over $1000, you will want to be a part of the contest and the FUN!
A word about our sponsor
O OLIVE OIL is the premier producer of California specialty olive oils and wine vinegars O was the first in this country to crush organic citrus with olives to produce our signature line of oils. Additionally, we travel the world to source the finest extra virgin olive oils. Our products are sold in gourmet, natural food and specialty stores in the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe, and Latin America.
1n 1995 Greg Hinson, co- founder and president, combined his unusual passion for citrus and healthy eating bycrushing whole organic citrus with fresh California Mission olives to create an unparalleled new product category—the extra virgin citrus olive oil. These oils are neither infused nor flavored after pressing as is common in the industry.
In 1997 Hinson turned this same respect for simple natural processes to hand crafting varietal wine vinegars. O Olive Oil is one of the few remaining vinegar makers in this country using the old world Orleans method of natural aging in wood barrels rather than mechanically force-aging the vinegars. The difference is noticeable. In 2003 Cook’s Illustrated named our O Zinfandel Vinegar, “ overall winner among gourmet brands, “ touting its “ distinctly earthy, fruity flavor.”
1n 1995 Greg Hinson, co- founder and president, combined his unusual passion for citrus and healthy eating bycrushing whole organic citrus with fresh California Mission olives to create an unparalleled new product category—the extra virgin citrus olive oil. These oils are neither infused nor flavored after pressing as is common in the industry.
In 1997 Hinson turned this same respect for simple natural processes to hand crafting varietal wine vinegars. O Olive Oil is one of the few remaining vinegar makers in this country using the old world Orleans method of natural aging in wood barrels rather than mechanically force-aging the vinegars. The difference is noticeable. In 2003 Cook’s Illustrated named our O Zinfandel Vinegar, “ overall winner among gourmet brands, “ touting its “ distinctly earthy, fruity flavor.”
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And now... The contest rules!First off, we need to select the cooks...
1... You must be registered and be a submitter at eRecipeCards.com. Registering is easy (all you need is an email address and a food blog). If you do not have an account yet, go ahead and register. Go ahead and look around and submit at least one recipe to the site (more if you like). There is a very easy, step by step guide to getting started that you can see by clicking HERE.
2... You must have a FaceBook account and you must "LIKE" both eRecipeCards and O Olive Oil. Again, setting up an account is easy. If you do not have an account and are unwilling to set up an account at this time, please drop me an email at the address at the top of this blog.
Drop me a comment on this blog once you "Like" us and that you "Like O Olive Oil.
Click http://www.facebook.com/pages/eRecipeCardscom/115234838571713 to "Like" eRecipeCards.com (and BTW, we will "Like" you back!
and Click http://www.facebook.com/pages/O-Olive-Oil/144301775611027 to "Like" O Olive Oil
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| Click the photo of the Paired Pressed Oil and Vinegar To see the 8 Freebies |
These 8 box sets will be shipped to 24 selected cooks/bloggers (one set per blogger). Each set has a $30 value. These are the products you will use to make the dish you submit for the contest. But first, you will need to be selected as one of the lucky cooks.
Each potential cook should look over the 8 options and get inspired (from Garlic pressed Oil paired with White Balsamic Vinegar to Zinfindel Vinegar paired with Clementine pressed Oil the "Natural Box" page certainly has something to inspire you).
There are two ways to be one of the 24 chosen cooks,
based on a random drawing and based on a submitted idea.
Just drop me a comment on this blog. Let me know which of the 8 pairings inspire you (and sure, you can post more than one, but please use a separate comment for each). You must say the pairing in the email. No need to say what you intend to do with the oil/vinegar, just mention which option and that you think you have a good idea. The more comments you leave (2 comments for FaceBook Likes and 1 comment for each of the pairings, the better your chance of being randomly chosen)
AND/OR
We will also select recipients based on a submitted idea.
These you need to send to:
These you need to send to:
Contact@eRecipeCards.com.
These cooks will be judged on the understanding of the product.
HINT: these are tasting oils/vinegars, not really meant for cooking and certainly not for frying. Best ideas will be salads and vegetable dishes that show off the unique aspects of the oils as finishing a dish. The O Olive Oil website features an "about the CRUSH" page that gives the story of why these are special and what the differences are from the ordinary. Plus if you check out the individual products page they give ideas for how best to use each individual bottle. A glance through their website will give you plenty of inspiring ideas of how to adapt a favorite recipe of yours with their products. Just email me an idea. You can select more than one pairing idea, no need to send separate emails. "Winners" will be chosen based on the idea and how well it matches the product, not the number of submissions. We will pick the best.
Except, sadly, due to shipping costs, the contest must be limited to bloggers living in the US and CANADA only. However I do have an idea for a way International bloggers can be a part of the fun. Drop me an email if you would like to participate but live outside of Canada or the US.
And that's it for this stage... Just be a submitting member of eRecipeCards.com, "Like" eRecipeCards.com and O Olive Oil, AND be inspired. Once we have our 24 finalists, they will win a pairing of gourmet pressed citrus O Olive Oil with a premium Vinegar to use for the contest. The actual contest will start with these 8 winners.

And now... The prizes. A separate prize will be awarded for each of the three most important aspects of a food blogger...
One Winner will be awarded a prize based on their photo and food stylings skills (Valued at $50).
One Winner will also be awarded a prize based on their writing skills (Valued at $50).
EIGHT Additional winners will be awarded a "second Place" prize of a new bottle of vinegar AND Oil from the Charcoal collection.
And finally 14 winners will be selected to win a "Third Place prize of a jar of O Olive Oils new line of citrus Tapenades ($10 value)!
And of course, we are a recipe portal. So a GRAND Prize (Valued at ONE HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS) will be awarded based on the "best" recipe.
So, in addition to the initial oil/vinegar combinations provided for the contest, every entrant will receive an additional prize ranging in value from $10 to $150!
This phase of the contest (choosing the participants) closes at midnight on April 24 (Tuesday night). Please leave all your comments on THIS BLOG by that date and email your ideas to Contact@eRecipeCards.com by that date. Winners will be contacted by email with the "rules" of the contest (Cook, post, include links to our sponsor... the rules are pretty easy)
And of course, please drop me a note if you have any questions. We worked hard on this promotion. I feel it rewards our sponsor, while at the same time provides bloggers access to a premium product not always on their shopping list. If you have any suggestions for ways to improve future contests, please drop me a note.
Good Luck all...
Dave
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