Shuley

Thank you! We had a great time!

This will be seriously pic heavy. The challenge over on the guru is to do a homemade BBQ.....in which every component has to be homemade. So this was a three day process and culminated in a very successful get together last evening. It was my last big cook before school starts again. So after shopping at 4 different stores I got to starting on my rubs for pork butt and brisket. Pork butt rub ingredients Brisket rub ingredients You may notice that I included Tasmanian pepper berries (in ample quantities) for both rubs...this was new for me. After preparing the rubs, I got to trimming and then seasoning the pork butt and brisket and then these babies went into the fridge for 24 hours Meanwhile after cleaning up I started boiling potatoes for my recently invented potato salad recipe. I assembled the ingredients... It is a highly herbaceous and garlic tasting potato salad, the perfect counterpart to a variety of grilled meats. I also sub a part of the mayo for extra virgin olive oil to make it that much lighter After all the chopping and the potatoes are done, I cooled the potatoes with ice then sliced them and mixed them together. it looks like regular potato salad, but trust me the taste is dramatically different. This was the thing that I got the most accolades for (well.... Other than the cake. But I invented the potatoes and Stella parks invented the cake) Then I set to making a simple coleslaw dressing. Then I fed my sourdough started the night before.... And lit my KK so it would be ready to go first thing in the morning. In the morning I got my smoke pot going with two large chunks of pecan and then added my meat to the main grate. I was thrilled that they both fit without having to use multiple grates... And shocked. Then I got to working on my sauces(and feeding the starter more) I started with brisket sauce which is from Aaron Franklin's book and in my opinion is the only sauce that is acceptable on brisket. All others are just gross. The only change is that I used liquid amino in place of worchestershire which I had done before and knew turned out great. After all ingredients were measured out you basically stir together and simmer just to meld the flavors. Then I got to making the hot vinegar sauce which is my preferred style of sauce for pulled pork. This sauce is just mixed, not cooked. Then I got to the cake. OK small fact you will all thank me for. I got Bravetart by Stella parks for mothers day and have been cooking through it this summer A LOT. I have made cherry pie, blueberry pie, key lime pie, lemon meringue pie, dark chocolate cream pie, yellow cake with fudge frosting cake, this chocolate cake (and the English muffins) and they have all be fabulous, I mean really really good. I'm not so into the gimmicky things like homemade oreos and I made her scones and chocolate chops cookies that were pretty good, but not like her cakes and pies. Her cakes and pies are so flippen good. If you like to bake sweets you NEED this book. I have made this chocolate cake 3 times this summer. Anyway, you start with the frosting which is the easiest thing here are the ingredients Yes, heavy cream and milk Chocolate. Heat up the heavy cream while chopping the chocolate. I used the food processer and saved my fingers this time. Then pour the super hot cream over the chocolate in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and stir until smooth. Then cover and stick in the fridge... You will whip it after about 6 hrs in the fridge Then I assembled the rest of the ingredients for the cake itself. I had to go flip the meats at 2 hrs. Cooking time (oh yeah and spraying every 30 minutes) so I neglected to take the would be riveting pictures of the cake batter.... But I have proof I flipped my meats! And then of course, here are the cakes cooling Then I got to slicing and grating for the coleslaw Of course I didn't toss with the dressing until about an hour before party time. Meanwhile I was working on my sourdough bread. Assembled all the ingredients. and set for the first rise. Then I went about checking the meat and got ready to wrap This was actually the first time I tried this method with pork butt to see if I could get more consistency in cooking time. (Spoiler alert... It worked) Then put the bread into the loaf pans and waited for their second rise. After about an hour we were ready to bake. I don't think I can over state hoe much my family loves this bread. Then I got to whipping the frosting for the chocolate cake. And decorating.... Yes I know my cake decorating skills aren't the best but I'm practicing and it tastes amazing. Very shortly before guests arrived I planned to do something different. Well different for me... I'm ALMOST a non drinker, but I decided to batch make a cocktail that made use of all of the beautiful limes on my tree and found a great recipe. Into the blender.. After this was blended more water and a cup and a half of vodka was added. This was a super good summer drink, and I'd definitely make it for gatherings again. After guests arrived, had a drink and a few snacks. Then I unveiled the pulled pork. Shredded the pork, sliced the brisket and set everything out. This was my plate with each meat with the appropriate sauce. This was a huge success. I didn't take pics of the cake sliced (I was busy and sticky!) but everyone was raving. One of my friends texted me as soon as she got home that it was the best food of her life LOL. I wouldn't go that far but it was a dang good dinner. I probably wouldnt have done another big BBQ right before going back to work if it weren't for this challenge, so it was good to have friends and family over again.

You are going to be sooooo addicted! It's all good though!

Yeah.... It would have been unique enough maybe.... I am planning on using this potato recipe for my BBQ on saturday but will be doing more traditional fare.

Soooooo last Thursday my husband and I celebrated 10 years years of wedded bliss. He wanted some lamb chops and I had done rack of lamb before but never chops so I had to ask Mr. Ckreef for pointers. I asked the right person because it turned out AWESOME! best lamb of my life... No joke. Served with an extremely herbaceous and citrus potato salad which I have perfected and may use for this month's challenge on the guru.... Actually I realized at the end of this cook that since everything was from scratch it would have qualified.... Had I taken pictures. I also baked bread and a three layer chocolate cake from Stella parks which is phenomenal... And collared greens and a chimichurri style sauce. Super meal.

With two gurus cooking, this is going to be epic.

Awesome! How did you find the brick cheese? We were definitely fans.

I'm also now definitely a fan! I got the crispy cheese on about half of it. Next time I'll be sure to rotate the pan halfway through. I spread the cheese all the way to the edge so I'm pretty sure that was the issue. What toppings does your combo have? I'm curious other ways to take this pizza.

Yes, the crust is more similar to a bread dough than a traditional Chicago pizza. It kiiiiind of reminded me of focaccia..... A little. But obviously not quite. And I didn't have brick cheese (I guess that is what is traditional) so the recipe called for equal parts mozerella and monterey jack. I have no idea how close that is to the original but it tasted pretty good to me.

It was delicious and one piece would have been perfect.... Except this was on a long run day, which means I'm always craving a little more. So it was 2 We had an absolutely amazing time in England and Iceland. I had never been to Iceland before, but I was completely blown away by the scenary and just how otherworldly it could be. We drove quite a bit and went on several hikes.... Amazing basalt spires in the ocean next to columns in geometric hexagons of varying heights towering over a black sand beach with glaciers in the background was just one stop....

So I have been gone for half the month to London and Iceland and now am slowly acclimating back to my time zone..... Which is really difficult. I needed to make sure that I atleast got one pizza in for this month's challenge on the guru and as always I wanted to try something new. I kept hearing about Detroit style pizza, seeing write ups in my magazines, and then some posts on here, so I went to my favorite web resource for new recipes.... Serious eats. I have NEVER had a bad recipe from serious eats, and if they are from j. Kenji Lopez-alt, they are even better. Anyway I was thrilled when he had a Detroit Pizza article and recipe. https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/how-to-make-detroit-style-pizza.html After my first post vacation long run I decided to give this a shot. First the dough This was to rise for 2 hours so I had some time to kill. Then I made the sauce which was a cooked sauce. I have been a fan of the no cook sauce for my NY style pizza, but I usually follow a recipe pretty closely the first time I try it. and let it reduce for about a half hour. During this time I was to stretch and let the dough rise some more. I did not have a Detroit pan, but this worked. Then cubed up the cheeses and got the pepperoni. Now this is where I slightly deviated from the great Kenji's recipe. It called for 12 Ounces of pepperoni.... Which would be equal to the amount of cheese called for. His was thicker cut, which I couldn't get, but I still only bought half the amount (in weight) thst was called for.... 2 full packs. His recipe called to layer pepperoni, cubed cheese to the edges than another layer of pepperoni followed by sauce layered in lines. This was so much pepperoni that I didn't end up using the two full packs..... And it was still a ton. Then onto Koko Right before taking it off... Man it smelled amazing... Dislodged it from the pan to wait a few minutes before cutting into it. Then sliced and served with some blistered shitshito peppers. This was positively delicious. The flavor reminded me somewhat of Chicago style.... Sweeter cooked thick sauce with lots of cheese and a thicker crust, but came together more quickly. Of course there were differences, the chewy but slightly crispy cheesy edge, the crust was a lot lighter.... But this will definitely in in the rotation. The next time I make it, I will reduce pepperoni by atleast half and make sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking to make sure all sides get and evenly crisp cheese crust. The family loved this one and it was fun to try a new style of pizza.

Bone marrow mash........ That sounds insane

Thank you for all of your recommendations! Especially tekobo. We are definitely looking forward to exploring London and have lots of ideas of what to do.... Its awesome to have some foods to need to try. I'm particularly interested in the tapas place and the modern Indian food. We love Indian food. Where we live, most of the Indian population is from the punjab region, so it would be very interesting to try other types of Indian food!

Thank you for all of the responses. My dear friend loves my cooking... And she is typically down for anything I cook. Except pork. She has a weird thing that she won't eat pork because pigs don't sweat. She said "hey I want to talk to you about something. I am throwing a 50th party for my husband". My instant reply was "and you want me to make brisket" and she said "no I was wondering if you would help me.". I agreed and then she told me those were his favorites. I should add that They eat tri tip medium rare-medium. It's not them. She didn't even say they wanted some well done. We just have different lunch periods and so I eat with a lot of people who are at work and I know would be there who will not touch beef that is not well done. We have had numerous discussions about it. These people actually asked me why I have never had them over for dinner (although I did smoke a turkey for friends giving) and I replied that they wouldn't eat my food. I actually cooked ribs for mothers day and because they were a little thinner than normal they finished about and hour early. So I wrapped them and thought it would hold just fine. They were disgusting. So I am really hesitant to do ribs for a crowd. They did not hold well at all.

So when I saw these pictures I had to laugh and show my husband. Our 8 year olds favorite pizza topping is anchovies.

I figured you fine people might have some suggestions for me. My family (myself, husband, and two boys aged 4 and will be having out vacation in London and Iceland (reykjavik) and while it looks like plenty to do... I am curious about any must eats while we are there. I know the British are known for their baked goods so we will be sampling those as often as possible. Any other foods we should seek out. Probably not any fine dining, as our 4 year old is generally very good in restaurants but doesn't quite have Michelin manners.

..... That looks so amazing. Was it fun to mess with? I feel like taking a trip to Georgia now lol. Too bad we just booked flights to London and Iceland.

One thing is for sure.... I will be doing some experimenting. Additionally, I want to convince her to do brisket. I think it would kill me to cook tri tip to well done (loads of people we work with want their beef well done... Which whatever floats their boat, but I'd feel like then all this effort was a waste of time.)

That will be quite the mother's day cook.

We are all quivering in anticipation.

Hmm intriguing idea! I was wondering if the upper rack would fit with the rib rack and vertical ribs in the main rack.... That's why I was assuming I'd have to use the lower rack.

Thanks for all the responses. My sous vide machine could only hold one tri tip at a time.... Maybe two. And unfourtunately I did not get to make the menu. I recommended brisket-for the very reason thst it holds well and I know they love it. Also the event will not be at my house so that sort of eliminates being able to cook things as they are needed..... My friends are from Santa Maria so tri tip is a very regional thing there and their very favorite. Pequod-do you think I could fit 7 tri tip and 4-5 racks of ribs on a 23? I have a rib rack, which I have never used so I'm pretty sure I'd be good on the ribs. That plus 7 tri tips seems a bit iffy. I could put the heat deflector on the handles of the charcoal basket and use the lower grate and probably fit 3 or 4 down there.... Maybe? I know I could fit two racks of ribs flat. Would using the rib rack on the main grate give me enough room for the remaining tri tip? And when using a rib rack I am assuming I'd rotate the ribs? I'm not really sure about how to use it. Thank you again for your help.

So my good friend is planning on throwing her husband a birthday party in September so we have lots of time to plan. She is one who raves about my cooking and she asked if I would help make tri tip and pork ribs for his birthday. Of course I said yes. However she is planning on having at least 50 people. I said I didn't think I could fit enough ribs and tri tip for 50 people on my 23. She said maybe only enough ribs for 25.....i was wondering if any of you guys thought I could possibly fit this much food in my KK.... I could also use my Akorn for a few tri tips but know those ones wouldn't be as good. Any ideas?

I think that fongs pizza is a little too out there for me.

I have never heard of such a pizza. Now there are so many types to try!