What's in your fridge?

... waiting for the perfect moment.

Rumor Confirmed!

... this might be the first recipie I ever learned.

While it has been absolutely true that I've been more than my share of lazy with regard to this blog, I am pleased to report that my apparent lazyness in just that. Merely Apparent.


I am pleased to announce that the new blog goes live today. A link in the side bar has been added to this blog so you can get there easily, and here is a link to Grill For One if you would rather click now.

I've exported all of the grill related posts from this blog and they sit in the hopper over there as they are re-formatted to fit the new template. I already like the updated editor and the wider format. I may have to experiment with a new template for this blog.

Grill For One, which can be found at grill41.blogspot.com, currently has quite a pipeline of new material, and I am looking forward to posting several of my staple grill recipies. There is even some level of interest from my local cooking supply store and school. The ability to get a sponsor, sell some advertising, and perhaps even teach a class or two are all reasons behind grill41.

Now, I need to go add the Legal page to Grill 41 before the first post goes off in a few hours.

Enjoy!

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Food for Thought

I would like to know what you would put on this burger. To get you started, this is a toasted crown-cut whole-wheat Kaiser roll, a 1/2 pound Bison patty, cooked well (but oh so juicy) with a five-slice rosette of Turkey Pepperoni and about 5/8 ounce of Monterrey Jack Cheese.

Comments Requested

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Travel Day and the BBQ Frontier

It has been a long time since I sampled Texas BBQ. I was passing through Amarillo, and with assistance of the yellow-pages directory in the navigation system, I was able to locate a mini BBQ. The quality of the meat was excellent, and it was served pulled, on a bun, just like Brad's. Less smoke flavor, drier, and the sauce was not sweet and smokey, but a bit under-powered with Santa Cruz Chili Powder. That's Texas BBQ. I almost stopped at another BBQ.

I've gotten a bit better at catching trains. This is out the passenger window, using the best-shot-selector. No more blur, but you gotta time it right. There is significant lag with a digital camera.

I cleaned the windshield, and there were some sun-dogs to catch over the New Mexico desert.

Of course, everyone is asking about the sauce. Here it is, loading down the passenger side of the vehicle. Albuquerque is at the left side of the map, at the nexus. Now you know exactly where the sauce was when the photo was taken.

A quick pause at a rest-stop provided an opportunity to make some nice PS3 wallpaper. Here is a standard aspect shot of the Varga and Snow that I was driving through.

Even through the dirty windshield, a sunset shot was possible today. Enjoy this New Mexico sunset. I punched through Albuquerque, Grants and Gallup, penetrating 50 miles into Arizona before stopping for the night in Holbrook. I was jazzed about getting back to my own time zone, crossing two time zones boundaries and over 900 miles in one day of travel.

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Bad Brad's

Believe it or not, the URL for Bad Brad's Bar-B-Q appears to be broken. I've posted it anyway, and will update it as needed. They have refreshed their logo, and the menu, but everything is the same down to the multiple police vehicles in the parking lot. An officer was pulling in after me. I know I was doing the speed limit. He was making a bee-line for the door.



I had to fire the flash to get this shot. There is the fireplace that I shot from the outside yesterday. There is a second dining room as well. If the parking lots a full, just wait for a parking spot to open and there will be a seat inside. There are also picnic tables outside for extra nice days, which are coming on fast.


No blue plate. Just a wrapped sandwich and a bowl of beans. No need for an appetizer and the drink is a root-beer. Cold bottle beer is available too. There are three police cars in the parking lot. If it is noon, there is contingent of lawyers in the forward dining room. This restaurant is 1.0 miles from the county courthouse. Ergo, the one and done policy for beer and the strong preference from the root variety.


This is the original home-brew smoker. This is where the magic of BBQ happens. They let it run for a very long time, based on how deep the smoke reddening goes into the brisket. Take a really close look at the sandwich. It's sliced brisket. The shed for this smoker is new. Here's why:

There is a second smoker in the shed now. It's nearly identical to the first, but slightly updated and improved. This is where the liquid smoke for the BBQ sauce is produced. Without the magic in these two crucibles of BBQ perfection, you'd never get the sauce that comes from this place.

It is all in the taste, and the fact that I saw the liquid smoke collection system in years past. I happen to believe that the liquid smoke is more valuable than the smoked eats of all kinds that come from these kettles. Of course, the two go hand in hand. After eating here, I could qualify for a case of smoke inhalation at any hospital emergency room, and all I've done is eat BBQ. I will be tasting Bad Brad's for days.

It is in this chamber that more magic happens. Outdoors, it is here that the smoked meat finishes it's cooking. Very slowly. This place is locked up at night, as it takes well more than 24 hours for a new piece of flesh to make it's way to you your table, and it's never chilled as far as I can see. In fact, there are stacked warmers in the prep room. Literally, this place is a continuous bar-b-q operation, as are many other pit BBQ places. Brad's has three locations in Oklahoma.

If you call ahead, they've got a drive through. There's no cord to drive over, so you have to honk. They're more likely to come out the door to do business.

But if you ask, they'll do the drive-thru thing with the little window and all. Seems a bit rushed after 1600 miles of driving, but if that's your only reason for coming, I suggest you buy a few gallons of sauce and as much smoked brisket as they will sell you. Call ahead if you need allot, an they are happy to oblige. I plan to save room for some brisket and other smoked goodies, time permitting.

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Hardcore Spin-Off

I like my new camera more than I like this pizza.

Chunked chicken does not belong on a pizza, so, I had to make another.

Any chicken here? Sure is. Plenty. I took a breast, grilled and shredded it. Mixed it with some Thai rub and a bit of BBQ sauce just to make it smokey and sweet. I used the shredded chicken-and-rub-BBQ as the sauce. Spoon it on and spread it around. The cheese here is a hard-to-melt English Coastal Cheddar, and some quality Mozzarella.

Olives were cut with a new sushi knife. Rings are forever gone. These things work much better.


Cooking is going nicely and the shape is going bowl-o. I had not expected this, but I have repeated the result many times. Here is a cooked and detailed ultra-thin dough. I've taken 1/8 of a recipe and made a 12" pizza. My neighbor loved it. I got one slice.

This was declared a paper-plate crust. Want one?

I don't deliver pizza anymore, but I will make a deal with you.

I've got enough pizza stuff to make a whole new blog, and there are some that have pestered me to purchase dough balls so that they can make their own gluten-free pizza. This tells me that I really need to make a blog just for the pizza thing. Therefore, I will do so.

Once the pizza blog is ready to go on-line, the first post will be the recipe for the classic gluten-free pizza crust that you see above. It works like a pastry and has a bit of forgiveness. Do me the honor and come back to this blog and check the "Links" section to find the haphazard, semi-live pizza blog.

Cheers!

The Free Pizza Perk

Learning to pound pizza dough is as close to a fast-food job as I got. Of course, there are those that will debate me on pizza as fast-food, but considering the quantity of it that I consumed while working for Domino's, there is a pretty good chance that it is one of the reasons that a Doctor suggested that I steer clear of gluten, wheat and dairy. Let's just say that with a request like that, it's pretty easy to see why I had high blood-pressure until I changed Doctors.

Don't get me wrong, I still like pizza. It should be a mandatory food group all it's own. Required Eating as far as I am concerned. Yet, as much as I may not have liked my former Doctor's advice, it's actually pretty good advice. When I did make an effort to cut down on wheat consumption, I noticed a difference. I switched from regular pasta to rice noodles, and learned to make all sorts of interesting dishes. All of them were fantastic, provided that I took the time to make the effort. But none of them were pizza. I was trained to make pizza. I love pizza.

Now, is Domino's Pizza, Fast Food? Well, it all depends on what you order. Get a pizza with lite sauce and lite cheese, and every vegetable on the menu, and you've got a pretty healthy pizza. Switch it over to a cholesterol fest that needs 3 paper plates just to keep your jeans clean (as if you care) as the oils from the cheese and sausages drip through the cuts, soak the crust, and make you wonder if there is a spill containment kit handy. Seriously, we're talking about a pizza so oily that it completely soaks through the box and makes a red pepperoni oil-slick on the counter. You order it, we'll make it. For the 2C3P2L (*), I suggest the thick crust, but if you want regular or thin, well, you're the customer. We don't deliver napkins.

I also got to sample a number of different pizzas. There was a ritual pizza that was known as the "Crew Pie." On a busy night, there would be an lull when there were no phones ringing, and all of the drivers were out of the store. Just the crew and the manager. Since I was working inside detail, and got to anchor the makeline once in a while, I got a chance to make a crew pie. The manager gave me a few guidelines, but basically, you could make a free pizza. The food costs were going to support a little good will. Besides, I was a college student. I was hungry.

As I whipped out a masterpiece of pizza perfection, the phone rang. One of the girls grabbed it on the start of the second ring, and took the order. I put the pizza on the slow-moving belt of the CTX oven for it's 4 minute and 54 second trip to golden crispy goodness. Then another phone rang and a returning driver pounced on it as I lumbered over to the dough station to grab the tag that was just about done being written.

By the end of the next wave of the rush, two or three drivers were still in the back. One munching on a piece of crust, and the other folding a stack of boxes. I glanced at the end of the sink where we always put the crew pie, looking for the box. No Box. In the trash, a box without a label, and cut marks. Empty. I was a college student, and I was still hungry. I managed a polite chat with the manager, and he looked up with a sheepish grin which broke into a smile.

"Do like Anchovies?"

I shook my head. I could barely handle touching those slimy things when they were fresh from the can, and if they had been in a half-gallon container for a week, forget it. You just tossed then entire container, since it was useless for anything, including a new can of 'chovies. Eat Them? No.

"Well, then you'd better learn to like Jalapenos then."

Great. Sliced Pickled Jalapenos with the seeds, and the middle. I had a choice. Stinky Fish or Hot Peppers. Not something safe and sane like an Italian Pepperoncini, no, it had to be Jalapenos. Curse the Spanish for having been here first. Jalapenos. So, in my frustration, I walked over to the makeline, and selected a pristine wheel of Jalapeno. It looked so nice, and it started out so tangy that I thought it might be a joke.

I chewed. I coughed. I chewed and swallowed. I burned. I had a pizza to make. My eyes watered. I almost ripped the dough-skin. The sauce nearly hit the edge of the pizza. I was shaking so hard that the cheese left my hands effortlessly and fell correctly, and I hardly noticed from the pain in my mouth and throat.

The anguish started to subside. I managed to finish making the pizza and snag a slice of Salami in the process. Perhaps I would be able to taste it. All I could hope was that the manager was not looking at the time. From his desk, through one-way glass, he could look straight down the makeline and watch the pizzas move toward his window, make a right turn, and go into the oven. He was also on the lookout for hand-to-mouth moves.

The next day, I made it a point to discretely interview and recall what toppings people hated the most, and my manager was correct. Anchivies and Japaneno were at the top of the list, as was Pineappple. As one of the most expensive items on the makeline, it was discouraged on crew pies, but could appear, sparingly, on half. Essentially, it was a 1/4 portion. In my case, it was a necessity.

Gathering intelligence as I had, I discovered that the big eater in driver pool had no problem with hot food, but just choked on pineapple. This meant that I had to use pineapple on crew pies, just to keep this guy limited to half of the pizza. My trick was to cross, half the pizza with Jalapenos. This way, there was a quarter of the pie that was both Pineapple and Jalapeno. To keep the drivers from picking off the toppings, I put half of the cheese on top of the toppings.

The top cheese was interesting for a few reasons. First, it was not standard practice, so the pizza was not sellable. It did not meet the standard for construction. It was a deviation. Second, the cheese browned in the presence of Pineapple. Normally, if you slop the Pineapple onto a pizza using the standard technique of middle-out building (and clearing out the middle), you get white cheese. Always. The pineapple juice prevents the cheese from bubbling and browning. It is for this reason that Pineapple was not a corporate item, but was optional at the franchise locations.

There are no rules for the crew pie. Not when I make it. This time, everything went just like before. The lul, the pie, the phone, the mini rush, and the drivers in the back room, one folding boxes, the other pissed. There's one slice left on the open pizza box at the end of the counter. Yellow and green under melted cheese, with other good stuff too. Like pepperoni and black olives, with a smattering of mushrooms. Sometimes it's good to break the rules.



* Double Cheese, Triple Pepperoni and Double Salami

Two Minutes to Pepperoni

I would prefer not to list the reasons for taking a job working for Domino's Pizza at the age of Eighteen. Suffice to say, you do what you have to do, and I met the requirements for a driving position. At the time I had a car that was seat belt exempt, which meant that I could beat my fellow drivers to the door in the hustle. Yes, this was back in the 30 minute days of Domino's, but it was just $3.00 off, not a free pizza.

While I was hanging out in the small waiting area, waiting for a chance to chat with the manager. Frankly, I needed to pick up a second job at the time so I could save up the cash I needed to pay for my first semester in College. You see, I was going to have to enroll, and the Pizza gig might work well, since there was flexibility in the schedule. That, and the fact that getting up at false dawn every morning for my other job was just not going to work.

So I kept myself occupied, and learned the ordering code. I watched the slips move from the order sheet to the make-line and onto the boxes. An organization that is going to deliver pizza in under 30 minutes has to be exactly that: Organized. Expecting them to use all the help they could get, I was surprised to see that each dough skin was prepared by hand. It was final-kneaded and toss-stretched to size by a human dough handler, put on a screen, sauced per the order and passed to the cheese station.

I was there to drive, not make pizza, but, there was the secret desire. I had seen it on Television. I might have even seen a real pizza maker toss dough in the air and catch it. It looks fun, and one day, if things went well, I might even get to learn how to toss a dough. Someday. First, I had to get the delivery job, and be a good employee.

Turned out, all you had to do was have a valid license, insurance, a car, and be Eighteen. Stop next door at the copy shop, slap the items on a xerox, and you're hired. Here's your uniform shirt and hat and name tag. Blue slacks, no blue jeans and tennis shoes. Shower before work and wash your hands if you're in doubt.

It was my home town, and I had learned to drive there. With a big tank of a car, three on the tree and a 216 cu.in. engine, there was not much trouble I was going to get in to. That is, if the breaks work. The beast needed some pumping to get it to a stop, but other than that, pizza delivery wrapped in good old American Iron was a welcome sight. Just don't tap a British Convertible. Even though they were convicted of Insurance Fraud, it meant that I was going to be an inside employee if they would have me. And I knew they would.

During my first six months at Domino's, I had passed my phone test, and was expected to answer phones, take accurate orders, write neatly and post the tags to the make-line and get the other part affixed to the box. I would work later than other drivers, and got taught how to itemize pizzas. I even closed the store with the manager a number of times. I just wanted one thing: A shot at my two-minute pepperoni.

Once a quarter, Dave, the owner, would time people on making Pepperoni Pizzas. If you managed to make a saleable large pepperoni pizza in 120 seconds or less, you got a raise. It meant that you had what it takes to knock out a pizza. There were other factors too, of course. Just to give you the specifics, you had to start with a dough ball, kneed, shape and screen the dough. Put on the correct portion of sauce, and not go over the edges. Apply the correct amount of cheese, no time to use a scale, and then position 49-53 slices of pepperoni symmetrically on the pizza, such that it could be cut properly after cooking.

If you failed, you had to put the pepperoni back and save the skin for the next customer. You also had to wait until the next pay period before you would be eligible to try again, and even then, Dave had to be in a good mood. I had to take apart my first attempt. I was over the 2-minute mark by far. Two weeks later, I turned in a 93 second pizza, and we cooked it. That was, and always will be, the best pepperoni pizza I've ever had.

Manzano Poppers

This is my most ambitious post so far, and I am applying everything I've told you about blogging to bring you a Recipe Blog. Yes, I have seen so many posts that make me hungry, it's time for my revenge. So, here are my blurry pictures that I shot without a viewfinder, and hyper-fast video clip. Note that the formatting is likey to by rather whacked. I am not an HTML expert yet, so please bear with me as I just use the old editor. Without further ado:

Gas Grilled Manzano Poppers

(um, can I get a larger font?)

Above, you will see a montage of the ingredients we're going to use, except for one. Did I mention that I don't have a viewfinder on the camera? I've played with a number of cheeses, and since it is going to melt, you want one that melts well, and sticks together. It also needs enough taste to tell you "cheese" before, well, you encounter the power of the Manzano. For this, I have chosen Fontinella.

Buried as the backdrop, you can make out the premium center cut bacon. Note, don't get thick cut bacon for this. It won't work well. Get the leanest, oddly shaped, center cut bacon. Short strips are OK, and you're not serving these for the bacon anyway. It's really window-dressing to entice your prey please your guests. It also helps to absorb some of the heat from the pepper. Yes, after cooking, peeling and eating just the bacon will lite your fire.

Ingredients

• One or more Manzano Peppers ($13.99/lb@Vons)
• Premium Center Cut Bacon, Regular Cut (not thick)
• Fontinella Cheese (or multi-cheese melty blend)
• Blue Agave Sweetner (or Honey in a bottle)

Since this is a bacon-wrapped desert appetizer you'll need toothpicks to secure the bacon to itself. I strongly suggest Bamboo Toothpicks. Not because they are environmentally correct, and are not made from trees, but because they work better.

Because they are Bamboo, they slide through the bacon (and into the pepper if need be) without grabbing and tearing like a Birch toothpick will. If you can get Bamboo Toothpicks, do so.

Here are the four peppers that we are going to get prepared and grilled. Each pepper will yield between 2 and 4 poppers, depending on how it is segmented. The pepper in the bottom left corner is triple segmented, having three septa. The rest are double septa peppers. You can tell by shining a bright light into the side wall and looking at the ends of the pepper to see what lights up.

For a three-lobed or tri-septa pepper, the goal is to bisect the septum (split the membrane) on each of the three segments. This, of course, takes three cuts. Here are three horrible photos of the three cuts. Look to the stem to see the angle. Note the depth.

The knife I am using is a 12cm paring knife, and it is very sharp.

For double chamber peppers, cut opposite the septa, to make a pair of halves, and once you can see the septa, split the halves into quarters by splitting the septa.

After the third cut, gently pry the segments apart from the bottom. You will need to make sure that all three cuts intersect at the base of the pepper. This is why it looks a little deep. It is.

And you will get three pieces, that are 90% sealed up, and almost resemble apple slices. This may be one of the reasons that "Manzano" has been translated to "Apple." The hottest part of the pepper is right next to the seeds. Preserve this if, if you're lucky, on the stemmed piece. Remember to give the stemmed pepper to a friend, and try not to blush when you do.

Use the tip of the very sharp knife to both incise into the pockets and to knock the seeds off of the central spire. Take care to hold the pepper by the outer edges. Use Nitrile or Latex gloves (powder free) if you have sensitive skin. Try NOT to touch the septa (membranes) or central pepper stem with your fingers.
Shake the seeds out of the pockets. Save the seeds for someone with a green thumb. Do not give this person a stemmed popper.


Add a small amount of Blue Agave Sweetener, or a slightly smaller amount of honey. This will add an initial sweet taste to the stuffing and prevent any early pepper pungency that can discourage timid guests. Since Manzano Peppers are up to 10 times hotter than a Jalapeno, a little regulation on the heat does not hurt.

I use grated Fontinella, and since it is fresh and sticky, it works very well in the peppers. This pepper does not have a nice septum covering it up, but it will wrap just the same. As long as the outside arc of skin is more than 90 degrees, you can stuff and wrap it. It may not be the most ideal thing, and much cheese may melt, away, but it will never be a waste.

Careful use of the toothpicks will secure the bacon in place. After the bacon starts to cook and fuse together, the toothpick is not as important. However, if you can get it to survive the grilling process, it makes a somewhat safe handle to manipulate the pepper by.

Cook over Medium-Low heat. Do not let flames encroach. After they begin to cook feel free to pour a lite coat of Agave or Honey, or whatever else you'd like to try. Experiment. After turning, coat again. Watch to make sure you don't have flare-ups do to burning sugar. If you do, move the pepper to a safer area. When in doubt, turn the poppers. I do not think you can turn them too much.

The idea is to slowly cook the bacon all the way around. The cheese will melt, don't worry about that. Some will escape. Grab a toothpick and snag the cheese. Even a small drip of cheese will lite up your life. Don't touch your eye. If you do, you are required to post your results here and tell us what happened.



Now, here's my problem. I can smell these things now. So, I have no choice but to spread the torture. For me, I can go make them. I can do them in the dark with an LED flashlight if have have to. I'm feeling a bit lazy. So, to enjoy the torture, just watch the clip below.

Oh yea. Time for a cautionary note. Capsicum Oil will atomize in the steam and smoke in a closed grill. While a closed grill is optimum for cooking Manzano Poppers, it is a pepper spray bomb waiting to be unleashed. Turn your head away from the grill when you open it. This is a mistake you will make only once, and then, your anxiousness will be tempered by the memory of the pain. Consider yourself warned.

I decided that the poppers needed another coat of Agave. They are basically done at this point.

Now, I turn the heat down to low and place a piece of folded foil on the bun-rack. As the poppers complete their cooking (yes, they are all different) onto the sheet they go for storage. It is sometimes necessary to prop one pepper on another to get the right area to cook. Bacon should be properly cooked, and in this case, just this side of crispy.

That's it. I'm done with this post, and I can not stand it any more. I am just happy that I've still got one of these fourteen poppers left. They will keep for a long time in the fridge, and they are fantastic cold, warm, re-heated on the bun warmer the next day, etc.

Just don't use a microwave.