Shuley

So I saw some very tasty Italian roast beef subs on here a while ago and I mentally bookmarked it to do this summer. Well today was the day and it was even better than I imagined. Yes， really. And so simple，this will definitely be done again.woke up this Morning，fired up the kk and set the vents to about 225. Then seasoned the meat. The run was a little salt (i went lighter than normal because the pepperoncini jar had a substantial amount of salt) fresh black pepper， ground mustard， paprika， garlic powder， and a little cayenne. Then set it naked on the grate and ran to church....well before I ran to church I realize EEEP! I forgot to add any wood! So I used the handy dandy flip up feature for the first time to add wood (i thought I would never use it because I can't imagine running out of charcoal) Ok got my wood in then ran to church. I had to trust my settings at the start of the cook because I had no time to monitor the meat. Got home 2 hours later， and whew， I did a good job setting my vents， still right at 225. Then I put it in an aluminum pan with a jar of pepperoncinis plus their juice. As well as a sliced onion， a couple smashed garlic cloves， Worcestershire， and liquid aminos.I covered that with aluminum foil and put it back in for about 6 hours. Meanwhile， towards the end of that cook， I fired up the old akorn. I hadn't done so since receiving my kk， but really I was looking forward to be able to cook on two different temperatures. So I got it around 550 and put on the corn. After these had mostly cooked， I swapped it out for an eggplant that my friend had picked from her garden about 1 hour prior to me cooking it. Now I LOVE this grilled eggplant. I hadn't done it in a kamado yet， but I was doing it like crazy before. Cooked pretty fast. Then shucked the corn and let it get a little toasty....during this time I had pulled the meat.then shredded it with bear claws. I sliced up some rolls and loaded the meat， peppers and onions in and topped with some provolone cheese. Popped those back into the ok to melt the cheese and crisp the rolls.I topped my with some horseradish sauce and a little au jus. This was my plate. Yes， I ate it ALL. Plus even more eggplant hahaha. I just let the kk keep going， because I'm about to throw a butt on for tomorrow. My friends are having a party and they asked me to bring it....kind of excited yet kind of nervous. Anyway this sandwiches were superb， and not at all difficult. I HIGHLY recommend you try them. And thank you to who ever originally posted it. Man this was good.

Whoa.

That salmon looks awesome. Also， I have never heard of reusing wood planks before.

Dang. That is a monster like of meat.

That looks superb. What kind of peppers did you use?

Hahaha I don't think any of my friends (except one couple) even know what the French laundry is! They are good people， they have differing interests. I can't comprehend why they would want to spend that much on their purses， but whatever， it's their money.

So your wife didn't enjoy it? Bummer. I'm lucky my husband worked so hard to get these reservations， I have heard how much some people have to struggle to get them.

I also rarely drink wine. (I actually rarely drink at all) I'm hoping it's not looked down upon to not get alcohol with dinner， but I want to be completely sober for the experience and I have a super low tolerance for alcohol. We may stop by some wineries， if time permits.

With audio????? Hahaha I guess that would make it easier to write a review!

So this doesn't really fall in the category of jokes， but my husband scored us reservations at The French Laundry coming up soon. I am fricken so excited， but nobody I know in real life really understands just how special this is or can comprehend why I want to spend so much money on one meal. I thought maybe someone on the forum could relate. He's been working on this for months， and it finally paid off. We will also likely be visiting Bochoun and Ad hoc. I own all three of the restaurant books (actually I have for years) and in my free time I have found myself perusing the photographs wondering what will be on the menu the nights we are there!

Those buns look fabulous. They really do.

Yeah I think that had something to do with it.

It was a jarred sauce. I tasted it to see if it needed any doctoring up. It could have used more heat but I left it as is in case my boys wanted to eat it. Good thing because my oldest did!

That looks mighty tasty. Ham was probably spectacular.

I have always been a proponent of cooking meat to the doneness that you prefer. I prefer my hamburgers medium well to well done. I know that's heresy to many people， but that's how I like them. Why would I cook my food to someone else's preferred doneness? That makes no sense. It looks like you got a good sear on those steaks.

What is instagram? Jk jk! That is cool.

That is a huge amount of charcoal.

I wanted to do something a little different for the pizza challenge. Heated the kamado and stone to 550. While that was happening， I started prepping the chicken. I made a rub for some spice. Seasoned the chicken.and browned in a CI pan. Sliced up some red onion and marinated them in cider vinegar and salt. I had let my dough rise and sit in the fridge for about a day and a half using half the yeast I had previously (i remember reading a suggestion from CKreef to try this.) punched down and seperated into three balls. Shaped the dough the way I wanted it and added the tikka masala sauce， sliced and added the chicken. Then I put on fresh grated Monterey Jack cheese and the onions. Then I threw it on my awaiting koko kamado. Short wait later， it was ready to come off and I topped with cilantro.Sliced. The bottom of the crust turned out really well As an aside....this pizza was Flippen AMAZING. One of the best pizzas I have ever had in my life.

For some reason the night I posted this on KG I couldn't get on the KK forum. So another thing I wanted to expand on a little bit this summer was my ability to bake in my kamado. I had done macaroni and cheese， but I knew that would be good if it picked up some smoke flavor since I frequently put a layer of smoked gouda in my version. I decided to try out a lasagna today. I made a relatively simple sauce and after cooking it for about 30 minutes I threw in all of the left over pulled pork I had. Mixed it up， added fresh basil 20 min later off the heat. Decided to try out these “fresh pasta sheets” from sprouts.dabbed on some ricottafollowed by mozerella and sauce. Repeated the process then covered with another layer of noodles and sauce. Then into the kamado. Then I walked away for an hour to finish up decorating my 2 year old`s room (i had painted it yesterday) and made a salad. Unfortunately I had not yet cooked at 375 so I set my vents a little off so it was actually a little over 400 when I pulled it. It still came out pretty well, the top was just a little more crunchy they I would preferred. Then I added some grated parmesan and basil while it sat for about 10 minutes while I threw together a salad with herbs. This was really good， and I felt the lasagna benefited from the subtle hint of smoke. I am also liking using my left over pulled pork in tomatoes sauce. It works really well.

That looks like a superb breakfast.

Very interesting. Any idea how much they will run or when they will be available?

Those look pretty good. I like my burgers more on the well done side (only ground meat) I always do them in the main grate though which will probably cook them through better before the outside burns.

So I am assuming that the steel and stone might be better at different types of pizza?

When you say steel, are you talking about a pizza steel? It doesn't seem like many people have them but I'm intrigued.

Thanks! I usually only add a couple teaspoons or so but I feel like it's enough to add a little brightness.