Troble

@tony b you seem like you love your “crack” you got purple crack and green crack, what other mischievous  “cracks” have you not told us about?

@tekobo on my latest cook I didn’t marinate overnight either and it turned out great. Looking forward to seeing your results you always make everything well!

@C6Bill that looks/sounds like a killer soup well done!

Lobster season has started again in San Diego so I went down to the docks today and picked up 3 live lobsters that were caught last night. If you don’t remember from last year our CA spiny lobsters don’t have claws but they have big tails. Always fun to see the girls get excited/scared about the live lobsters and then explaining to them why they keep moving after they are dead is also somewhat entertaining 

Grilled lobster with salt, black pepper, butter, garlic & parsley grilled over mesquite wood 

Grilled asparagus with salt, pepper, garlic & olive oil

Brussels sprouts with applewood smoked bacon, red onion and balsamic vinegar

served with Laurent-Perrier Rose 

@tony b thanks for the reply but the lower part of the bird are less crispy than the skin on the breast/wing/torso. It doesn’t bother me too much it just looks kind of funny to me 

Can anyone tell me why my chickens look like they have a farmers tan on the legs? It’s so strange. I had an even distribution of coals/heat and I used a couple of small pieces of mesquite wood spread out over the coals. I also used the leftover marinade to baste evenly every 30 minutes. Very strong with the flavor and marinade but curious as to why at the end there is such stark color differentiation. Looking back at my original post from February I see the same thing 

one thing to note was I was very pleased with the marinade and I think the additional of the Alesmith Speedway Stout certainly helped with the overall flavor. (Although drinking 13% beer might not be the best idea for cooking 😀) 

Used my newly delivered Peruvian spices, also used my favorite dark/stout beer Alesmith Speedway Stout and use aji amarillo instead of jalapeños for the green sauce. Very authentic and extremely good

@RokDok I’m sure Peter was thrilled with a great cook like that. Sounds like an excellent night with good friends,  a good meal and the pub….doesn’t get much better than that. We’ll done sir 

@tekobo Aji Amarillo are used in Peruvian cooking but I’ve never been able to locate any fresh Aji Amarillo only jarred ones. I believe that using fresh peppers will push my Peruvian cooking over the top closer towards what I taste in Peru

the El Yucateco component is the block of red stuff called Achiote paste we use in the Al Pastor/Adobada recipe which is Mexican. You can make that sauce on your own bud you’d need the Annatto seeds. Here’s a couple recipes 

https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-achiote-paste-2342971

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/achiote-paste

ive never made the paste myself yet but will have to give it a try someday 

@tony bmy wife’s family was in town last weekend from Peru and they brought me a TON of spices and sauces from Peru. I’m going to be refining this recipe with some of the rubs they brought me plus my Aji Amarillo plant has about 30-40 peppers on it that are about to turn 

Apparently I did not eat enough Mexican food last week although to be fair I did not have one carne asada taco…..my wife had family in from Peru today so I made carne asada tacos. Flour tortillas, salsa rojo, salsa verde, guacamole, refried beans, cotija cheese and homemade marinated carne cooked over mesquite wood 

@jonj happy birthday!

For the grand finale my favorite restaurant Animalon. Did not disappoint. The pie looking thing with a cherry crust was the best piece of foie gras I’ve ever eaten in my life. Amazing food, amazing ambience, impeccable service. All inside a 150 year old Oak Tree. I love this place 

2 hours ago, Basher said:

Great photos Troble. Some look like a movie set.
When will you be investing in a Parilla style grill?


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I think I need to see more cooks from you to inspire me! In all seriousness we are redoing the kitchen next month, expanding the house in two years, probably add the Santa Maria grill with the house expansion in two years. Santa Maria grill is a luxury, my KK works just fine, don’t really need a Santa Maria grill but I’d like to own one some day 

Baja Omakase (cover your eyes @MacKenzie)

Thanks @tony b I saved the best for last. Amazing sushi today for lunch on the vineyard then dinner at my favorite place. Two more posts and I’ll be done!

Lunario Restaurant. First time here will definitely come back. Great food, excellent service and nice ambiance 

Happy birthday @jonj I’m sure you’ll be drinking a fantastic bottle of wine to celebrate 

today’s lunch is brought to you by Finca Altozano

@tony b that’s precisely why I don’t brew. But this place is 90 minutes from my home. We come at least once a year and it’s like the title of my thread it really inspires me to cook at home. Still got two more nights to go and tomorrow is my birthday and the two meals I’m most excited about. But everything here is cooked outdoor over wood fired grills and the food and price points are much better than I find in San Diego.

this was yesterday’s post lunch daytime activity 

Deckmans 

1 hour ago, GrillnBrew said:

Everything looks delicious, but I keep going back to that Octopus...

Which one? Had octopus twice yesterday once for lunch and again for one of the dinner dishes. They were both great. I love grilled octopus 

@bruma wine garden

crab cake

kale, sheep’s milk & garlic pizza

Short rib 

@tony b I haven’t been back to Napa for vacation since 2012 and I don’t see us retiring there anytime soon. This place is 90 minutes from my house and it’s just amazing. Going to the outdoor Santa Maria grill Mecca tonight 

@fauna 11 course tasting menu with wine pairing. $90

@Bruma Casa 8