ChefJeff

BBQ Guru et al... Haven't decided yet, if I will go the BBQ Guru route. When I had my other brand of ceramic cooker, I found it easy in the beginning to maintain temps. After time, my cooker became un-reliable with temp swings. My old unit was not constructed all that air-tight. From all that Dennis has done, I know this will never be a problem in my forthcoming K.K.---that being said, a Guru of some sort might be added. Guess I should read more K.K. forum posts to see if the consensus is favorable for getting some sort of pit minder device.

Nice looking rib cook. What a delicious looking/sounding rib recipe. Thanks for sharing. From your pic, one can see that you are using a temperature probe. This is something I've never done when doing ribs. Curious as to your opinion of the reliability when it comes to inserting the probe, so close to a bone. Cheers, Jeff

Greetings all, While waiting for "Moses" to finish being created and shipped, I went ahead and ordered the cover for my K.K. I also shipped John the existing cover to my infrared grill. That cover was cracking, and each time I would take it off, I wondered if finally it was going to completely "break" into pieces. I could have purchased another Solaire cover, but what would the point be? Every two years, am I supposed to have to shell out for a new cover??? John re-created the cover using the same materials as he uses for K.K.'s., and I'm REALLY pleased with the results. This one is going to last and last. Besides which, my new cover is easier to slip on and off. Satisfied in Sherman Oaks, Jeff P.S. Thanks John P.S.P.S. Thanks to Trish and Sanny for originally suggesting the above!

Right on! Yep, it must be the Juniper berries. On the other hand, I do make a fettuccine dish with gin sauce that I dig. It has cream, parmesan, and tomato. Guess all that fat rounds out the Juniper flavor. Still can't drink gin alone.

':oops:' Then what is it about gin that makes me want to hurl?

What is it about Tequila that makes me so happy?

Hey Firemonkey, Sounds like a “winner dinner†you are cooking up. Fajitas is something I’ve always wanted to make, but haven’t as of yet. I’ll be feeding 13 tonight. We’re doing an extended cocktail hour with more appetizers than usual, as we’ll all sit down to the main course, without any type of first course. Like you, I’m doing margaritas, but tall and on the rocks, versus frothy. White wine with din-din. Apps will be the following: Caponata ---a tomato, eggplant, mushroom, garlic, olive and wine mixture that cooks for a couple of hours to almost a jam consistency. It’s chilled and then served with thin slices of baguette. Salmon and avocado mousse---this is one I’ve never made. 8 oz. smoked salmon, 8 oz. of avocado flesh, 2 tbs. dry sherry, 2 tbs. lemon juice, and pepper to taste. Puree all in a food processor. Place in a serving bowl with thin shreds of smoked salmon on top for garnish. My last appetizer is a fun way to show off my gas infrared grill. On my “fibrament†pizza stone, I’m going to grill up a 16 inch pizza----cheese, pesto and oil cured olive. I am really looking forward to my forthcoming Komodo, as I know firsthand how awesome pizzas are when cooked in a ceramic cooker. In the meanwhile, my gas grill does an excellent job too. Entrée: Chicken quarters, dry rubbed and smoked over hickory and applewood. Sour Cream Tortilla casserole Cole Slaw---another recipe I’m making for the first time. 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1/3 tsp. celery seed, 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 8 cups cored and shredded cabbage, half green and half red, 1/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion. Chopped fresh parsley for garnish if desired. Whisk together vinegars, sugar, salt, celery seed, pepper, and oil until combined. Toss cabbage and onion with vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Dessert: Chocolate Toffee Trifle Coffee/Espresso Happy mom’s day to all. Jeff Pic of the chicken is after dry rubbing this morning, chilling for some hours, and before I put in the smoker.

Greeting all, Last week we entertained friends, and I made one of the recipes in my archive that I hadn't made in probably a decade. Debbie and Michael went nutsy cuckoo over the dessert, and I thought I would pass along the recipe. Cheers Jeff Crema Catalana 8 servings (hah!---more like 4 servings) 1 cup sugar (7 oz.) 6 egg yolks, room temperature (4.05 oz.) 2 cups whipping cream (17 oz.) 1 teaspoon vanilla (5g.) 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel (1g.) Small pinch of salt 6 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons water Preheat oven to 325ºF. Combine 1 cup sugar with yolks in large bowl of electric mixer and beat at high speed until mixture forms slowly dissolving ribbon when beaters are lifted, about 5 minutes (I use the whisk attachment versus a standard beating blade). By hand, stir in the cream, gently using the removed whisk attachment as the stirrer, the vanilla, lemon peel and salt (do not beat). Pour mixture into 9x1 1/2 inch round or square pan. Cover with foil. Set into larger pan. Add enough boiling water to larger pan to come halfway up side of custard. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from water bath and cool. Freeze until firm. Combine 6 tablespoons sugar with water in heavy small skillet. Cook over low heat until sugar is dissolved, swirling pan occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high and continue cooking until syrup is caramel colored. Immediately pour thin layer of caramel onto greased marble slab or sheet of waxed paper (I use parchment paper). Let stand until cool and hardened. Crack caramel into small pieces. Soften frozen custard in refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving. Divide among individual dishes. Sprinkle with caramel.

This is the thread to definitely keep in my "favorites". Thanks again. J

Thanks you guys. A lot of "food for thought". No doubt I'll be re-reading both of your responses again, and again. I'll figure it out.

Greetings all, While my new Komodo is going through the process of being built, I'm thinking of late about the option of the gas lighter. In my old ceramic cooker that I had, I would use newspaper in a few strategic places, light it, and then be in business. After a while, I got kinda fancy. I purchased a MAPP fuel canister, and a Bernzomatic trigger. Wow was that ever POWER. Easy to use, safe enough (although I was nervous, every time I used it), and this became my preferred method of lighting the lump. Until recently I assumed that this is how "Moses" would be lit, after he makes the voyage from Indonesia to Southern California. Now I'm not so sure. The thought a dedicated gas burner sounds pretty nice, but I do have a couple of questions. If any of my forum brethren and sisthren (I think I just made up a new word) have any opinions, I'm definitely a listenin'. Question one is wondering if the gas igniter makes the cooker any less air tight, from holes in the cooker that surely must be necessary for the gas hose to connect with the igniter. Question two regards the nature in which the lump will be lit with an igniter. The lump will burn from the bottom up, as opposed to how I used to light the fire. I've heard that for long, or low and slow cooks, that it is still better to light from the top. I'd really like to know if you experienced cooks have found this to be true as well. My last question has to do with the fact that with a gas igniter (and burner), I could actually do a cook without any lump. I can't imagine ever doing this. But on the other hand, maybe the nature of a ceramic cooker's "Tandoori-like" abilities, might make charcoal free cooks, still more successful than a standard gas grill. I'd dig some thoughts on this subject too. Thanks for taking the time to answer.---and for those who have mom's or know mom's, or are mom's---have a happy Mother's day! I'll be cooking for 13 this Sunday. I am so anticipatory about my new Komodo and all of the great cooks that await---but I'm also one of those nuts who have multiple cookers. This Sunday, I'll be smoking chicken quarters in my electric, metal sealed smoker. Cheers all, Jeff

Good thing I'm not reading your reply with a full mug of hot coffee in my hand. It would have landed all over the place, from laughing.

Does this mean that Moses will be arriving with said plug?

Wow, John and Sanny, While we're all thanking folks, of course I'm thanking you both. But I'm also sending an additional thanks to Sanny for telling me to check out a certain tile color that she fancied. Turns out that our family of 2 has also flipped for it, and I'm all but certain to order the matte blue, multiple colored tile. It looks like a mosaic to me---so I'm thinking of naming him "Moses". Not for any biblical reasons, but simply because it reminds me of the word mosaic. Does this sound far fetched??? Cheers, Jeff

Yipppeee!

You must be EXCITED!

Thanks Tucker for the EZ Que information. This is a topic that I haven't been following all too closely. For some reason I thought that there was a "fix" to the slipping rotisserie. Guess I'd better get me a collar!

Hi Trish, Hi Sanny, Our patio project (the nursery) is complete. What formerly was a dirt patch, became a goodly sized cement and brick slab. Our gas grill and electric smoker live there now---and unfortunately also our air-conditioner. Our air conditioner finally bit the dust and this week our new one has been installed. The fantasy was to locate the unit on top of the roof one day, but after learning about the costs of a new air and heating system, we opted to save the extra $1200 for relocation. And Sanny---I absolutely am going to be using Johnny's services for "jammies". Thoughts on the E-Z que rotisserie? Or for that matter, a guru or stoker? Cheers, J

Yes it's true, I am expecting---and Dennis is the father! Guess I'll have some time to decide on a fitting name for my "bundle of joy", as I'm not quite sure what the gestational period is that leads to a Komodo's birth. Dennis said that I even have some time to decide on the tile color. Excited, obsessed and indecisive are all the feelings I am experiencing regarding which color to go for. Happy though, is quite the understatement, as I've waited a really long time before deciding on this addition to our family. Even before deciding on impending parenthood, what has been fun for me, is spending daily time at the Komodo forum, just to keep up to date on topics. I think I've been here for over a year, lurking a lot, and posting a little. I strongly suspect that I'll be contributing much more as I finally become a K.K. owner, as most of the forum members are. My love of ceramic cookers began with another highly rated company. I loved the cooker, and discovered taste and texture differences of foods that were off the charts ummmazing. In time though, the cooker behaved differently from one cook to another. This took away some of the joy. After much investigating, I learned that Komodo Kamado had addressed the concerns of what I was experiencing from my "other brand" cooker. The list of improvements and refinement is LONG, and I think I've taken up enough forum space in this post already. The bottom line is that I am looking forward to consistent cooks, for years and years, from Dennis's exquisitely machined cooker. Cheers all, Jeff

Mazel Tov!

Those pics! So titillating---BBQ porn to be sure.

Marco Polo's original post was in April of 07. If you are still following your post, and if you are inclined, I'd be interested in hearing about your triumphs, now that you've had your KomodoKamado for almost a year. As for me, I'm on "final approach", and am gearing up for my KK, come this spring. As someone who knows from personal experience about the magic of ceramic cooking, I happily obsess (fairly constantly too), about the cooking I will do in a ceramic cooker that is state of the art. I've noticed that so many KK fans also use the BBQ Guru. I may (or may not) fall into that group eventually. One step at a time. I will however be purchasing the rotisserie. Cheers, Jeff

Sanny, should the Hollywood writers strike never end, you can easily pick up the slack!

Hi all, Curious if anyone has had the same thinking regarding the pics of the black tiled big brother K.K. Is it "glass black", or is it a new shading of black? Could be my imagination, but it looks a little different to me. Cheers, Jeff

My soul connection was with my grandmother versus my father. While my life changed after her passing, she continues to live in me. Sad times, angry times, frustrating times---they all gave way eventually to smiles as she comes to me in conscious thoughts, or even in my dreams. I'm not special. Your dad too will keep you company for all of your days. Tears for now---smiles to come.