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Friday night pizza to celebrate the end of school year. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Always wanted to share this place with this group but never sure of the right place. Found this corner of the forum today so figured this would be a good spot I live in San Diego and about 90 minutes south of me and approximately 13 miles north of Ensenada is one of the most magical places I’ve ever experienced in all my travels around the world. It’s called Valle de Guadalupe and it’s an incredible region that has over 150 wineries abs some truly world class dining. The cuisine actually has its own name called “Baja-Mrs”. Mexican food meets Mediterranean. The wine valley is about 8 miles east of the beach so you get incredibly fresh seafood along with incredible local produce. It’s absolutely magical and is the source for all my cooking inspiration. My favorite restaurants cook primarily outdoor over fire using local oak wood, it’s what the region is known for one of the best places is called Deckmans El Mogor. Here are some photos of the restaurant. They recently opened a Japanese Omakase bar on site as well that I will post done pictures of. https://www.deckmans.com https://bajaomakase.com

My other favorite spot is a place called Animalon which is on the property of a famous Tijuana Chef named Javier Plascentia. Javier also has a Michelin star and he is the other god father of this type of cuisine He built Animalon as a pop up for his 50th birthday and decided to keep it open during the summers. It’s inside a massive 200 year old oak tree and everything is cooked on an open fire with oak wood https://www.animalonbaja.com http://fincaltozano.com

And the Omakase bar

Grilled some boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Direct, main grate, no smoking wood, 325F, slathered with Tabasco Garlic marinade and rubbed with Yardbird. Plated with roasted artichoke hearts and parsnips in a lemon garlic dressing, interesting mix-up of roasted chickpeas and couscous with Parm, lemon zest and parsley.

This is the place I had in mind when I started my backyard project. Originally I was gonna do a Lang offset wood smoker, a wood fired pizza oven and a Santa Maria grill....then I found the KK I used to go to Napa in the fall but haven’t been since 2012, we go south now. Wine is not nearly as good the the food scene and outdoor dining is incredible this guy Drew Deckman earned a Michelin star in Europe but now owns a farm and winery in Mexico we go down there and eat a 10 course meal with wine pairing for $100. World class food, beautiful setting, impeccable service

Here’s some food pics

G’day folks. Haven’t posted many cooks lately because I’ve been busy with a few things. Still cooking and eating 😳. One of my major distractions has just been eliminated 🤔. Another distraction has been building my time machine. It has the ability to look into the past! Here it is: Here it is looking at 2.5 million years ago: 2.5 million year old light. This is pre-processed. I’ll post the fully processed image later. Something streaked across the sky during exposure. Here’s a look at 7500 years ago. Also pre-processed.

Some of you might remember I lost everything in a wildfire five years ago. Making a long ( I mean really looooong) story short, we moved in a couple daze (not a typo...it's been a daze) ago. I designed but, did not build the kitchen cabinets. Two sinks with a dish drawer next to each one. 48" dual fuel range with 52" hood. The house has 10' ceilings with 8' doors. I am going to coffer the ceiling but not right away. The last pic is one of the dish drawers open.

@tony b it’s $100/person but again for the quality of food and the wine is very good, not exceptional it’s a great experience.

You obviously didn't order the $85 bottle of water! 😵

Beautiful!

Wow, that looks very tasty!

Wow! @Troble That looks like a really fun place. I think I could spend some time there.

@Basher good looking crust!

You’re also up early! you’ve been in the thick of things the past few years. That’s tough. Especially this summer. Unfortunately I think fires are a new reality of CA life. hope you break in that new kitchen with something nice to celebrate your long journey back home

Paul - I’m really sorry for your loss. I have friends and family in Santa Rosa that lost their homes a few years ago. Where are you located in CA? the kitchen looks great. And BTW I thought my wife was the only one who found something to do in the sink when I’m cooking! congrats on making it here. I’m sure it’s been a difficult journey. But you are here now. Congrats

Yes there are regulations (this is California) for building in fire prone areas. There's what's called the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) requirements. It states no eve vents, fireproof siding, class A fire rated decking, engineered sprinkler system inside all homes, and so on. I was talking with the Direct TV installer the other day and he was saying they can't take shortcuts and run wires through foundation vent anymore. The fire investigation found that they were running wire through vents designed to close at high temp. The wire blocked the vents from closing and fire gets sucked in. After seeing what fire can do I'm not sure anything is fireproof. A mate of mine had two, 40' sea vans (all metal ocean going shipping containers) that burned and melted to the ground. Another guy had a WWII surplus quonset hut (all metal framing and exterior) that burned/melted to the ground. Every person I know with a gun safe said they failed. I had all the underbrush cleared for more than 100' from house. All the ladder fuel on the trees was trimmed up high. I had a concrete around three sides of the house with a metal roof...and it still burned. We had granite counter tops in the kitchen and a marble bathroom which we could not find a trace of. The rock turned to dust. Fire can move very fast and it's so unpredictable. I hung around and tried to fight the fire. By the time I figured out it was a lost cause the fire was in the tree tops all around. By the time I got to my car to evacuate the outside temp was flashing 999°. I guess it went full scale but, I think it was somewhat accurate because I had to get new tires the next day.

]Sure looks delicious.[emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

A bowl of leftover Sweet and Sour Gochujang Chicken.

As you are probably keenly aware by now, how do you know when your contractor is lying to you? Their lips are moving! I've had similar problems on remodeling projects and fired folks - as you said, usually for non-performance. But, when it's all said and done, it's nice to enjoy it.

Paul, that's a gorgeous layout with fine appliances and plenty of light, natural and recessed. I wonder, are there steps you can take after a fire to prevent or minimize the threat of a fire taking your home again. Seems to me that contractor needed a fire built under his butt, you must be a patient man, Paul. Best of luck to you and yours in the new castle

Beautiful kitchen Paul. So much cupboard space and I love that Wolf oven..... shame you don’t need it now that you have a KK.[emoji2960] My mum and dad lost our family home to a fire 15 years ago. It was very traumatic for a long time. My parents built this 5 bedroom log cabin on 15 acres in 1977. My 3 brothers and I grew up in this house with a lifetime of memories. Burnt to the ground with absolutely nothing left. I am not sure if they have ever fully healed from this experience. This Xmas will be the first since the fire that we will all spend it all together- in my new back yard and the KK firing. I’m thinking a slow cooked ham with maple, or jam, or honey, and also a slow cooked lamb shoulder with balsamic vinegar and rosemary. This may end more of a northern hemisphere Xmas meal. We normally eat cold cuts like hams and prawns given Xmas day here is as hot as hell. Any other suggestions? What will you be eating on Xmas day? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don’t know how I missed this post, but here’s the chart I consult for my back yard. My skies are Bortle 4. https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/CfMtnOvrVAkey.html?1 Our local astronomy club also does observing from a local microbrewery close to this location (Bortle 3’ish): https://www.cleardarksky.com/c/FnMtnObkey.html?1 I know you saw this one on Instagram. Post it here for the locals too.

First pic fully processed. M45 - Pleiades. I have an Instagram for future pics: @starbasecrozet

This is one of those things that makes me feel good when I look at it. Angel Trumpet

I have done several prime ribs on the KK (non-rotisserie) using a reverse sear using a method similar to those described by Mcjudsten and tony b. Dry rub the roast (usually 6 - 7 pounds, boneless) and refrigerate overnight. Smoke (I use cherry and apple, either chunks or the cold/hot smoker) on the main grate at 200° - 225° F until internal temp reaches 112° (about 3 hours), then pull and open KK vent to achieve 500°. Sear all 6 sides on lowest sear grate, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Internal temp will be about 120° - 124° depending on how how much searing is done. Pull roast, wrap with foil and towel, and let rest in a cooler until desired serving temperature is achieved, 30 - 45 minutes. Very straightforward and delicious. Here are a couple pics of the last one:

Yes they diid rebuild. Then sold the house 5 years later and moved on. That’s incredible heat to melt steel like that. The firemen tried to save our home and went into the house while it was burning. They are trained to throw anything combustible out of the house and away from the fire. The one thing they threw out was an original ancestors book written in the late 1800’s on the Irvine/ Irvin/ Irving family history( its a 3 inch thick leather bound book and I think only 20 were printed) and a bunch of original letters from the clan castle in Scotland to our ancestor who pioneered NZ from 1890- 1905. They then realised it couldn’t be saved, backed out and let it burn. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I feel your family's pain. The folks that tell you, "they're just material items" have never experienced losing everything. It's devastating. It took me a long time to get over the feeling I let my ancestors down. All of the wonderful furniture and hand-downs gone on my watch. Did your parents rebuild?

Thanks @tekobo The two sinks and dish drawers are due to this nasty habit my wife has of always finding something to do at the sink as soon as I start preping a cook. Drives me crazy! I'll take some more pix and post them. The contractor we hired does good work but, it was really expensive and so slooooow! He was released due to lack of performance. Here's a pic of what the house looked like the day he was released after almost three years.