COCKTAILS FROM SHASTA LAKE

Chilebrown has put a lot of hardly worked hours at the salt mine. It was time to take a break and have a Meat/Food Adventure with our favorite In-law's John and Shastina. Their abode is located in Shasta Lake California. It is a beautiful town at the base of the Lake Shasta Dam. This was the perfect place for rest, relaxation and FOOD. These beautiful falls are located at Burney. This is a beautiful State Park that we explored. Enough of nature, let's eat.

If you ever venture to the Shasta Lake/Redding area, you must take a visit to Jack's. This is a local hidden Bar & Grill that the locals want to keep to their own. It is a time tunnel back to an older glimpse of life. Simple, straight forward, meat and potatoes. Martini's are made with gin unless called. The prices are unbelievable compared to the Bay Area. One of the specialties is a filet mignon that has been marinated overnight. No sharp cutlery is needed. We had a great dinner.

The Redding farmers market was visited Saturday. This market was full of small organic farmers. We arrived two hours after the opening and a lot of the produce was gone. We did pick up some local olive oil, local mustard and some fresh peas for our Prime Rib that was to be cooked tonight. It was off to Moore's Flour Mill. This is an honest to gosh place that grinds their own flour, grains and spices. A huge (Ms. Goofy said it was heavy) sack of bread flour was obtained.

We visited North Star Brewery for a couple of cold ones. This was our marination for a barbequed prime rib dinner that we cooked at John's.

This was a great weekend! "Hey John, after we had such a great time at Burney Falls, after we bought you dinner at Jacks, and don't forget that killer prime rib, What do you think about letting me taking your Harley for a spin?"

TAQUERIA CHILE VERDE GRILL

Mad Meat Genius received a tip about a restaurant in San Francisco California called Taqueria Chile Verde Grill. This place must be conquered on our quest to find the best Chileverde. This taqueria is located in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. This neighborhood is a little gritty, rough, and the S.F. tourist buses, probably avoid this area. Once you have negotiated the streets and then the sidewalks, inside is clean and inviting. The menu was scanned, once, twice, and the third time my horror was realized. There is no Chileverde on the menu. What to do. An order of chile rellenos and a carnitas super burrito was requested from the English speaking challenged servers.

Let's start out with the good. A small complimentary order of chips and salsa comes with your meal. This salsa was great. It had avocado, tomatillo and most likely jalapeno all pureed together. It was a very delicious combination.

Next the super carnitas burrito satisfied to a tee. The meat was salty, chewy, and moist all at the same time. It had large chunks of avocado. Drench this tube of protein in the salsa and you have a beautiful experience.

On to the not so good. The chile relleno plate looked beautiful. It was colorful and looked well balanced. A fork was used to try to take a bite of this egg coated, cheese stuffed fried pepper. The fork would not cut through the pepper. A knife was looked for in the utensil dispenser. I was afraid to ask why they do not dispense knifes. This relleno did not have the skin removed from the pepper. Finally out of frustration, it was picked up in my paws and chomped on. It was cold in the middle. To complicate and worsen the situation the tomato/peppers sauce that accompanied was off tasting. It had a metallic taste. "Disaster"

So, "If you are going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flower's in your hair", just don't come here!

Taqueria Chile Verde Grill

#4 6th st.

San Francisco, California (415-522-1119)

GOOD EATS

The Great White Hunter has commissioned Chilebrown to make some bacon. His doctor has advised him to drink heavily. Wait a minute that was my financial advisor. His doctor has told him to not consume any nitrates in his diet. We found a bacon recipe that is nitrate free. You may know Alton Brown from the Food Network. His recipe has molasses, sugar, apple cider and salt. No nitrates are used. Because of The Great White Hunter's request and to celebrate Heather Lauer's new book "Bacon A Love Story" some bacon is being made.Yours truly is mentioned on page 49. Get your copy now!

Alton Browns recipe will be followed, except for the smoking. He uses a cold smoke and I am going to use a hot smoke. I feel that the hot smoke would be safer because nitrates are not used. Botulism is nothing to play around with. Peach wood is the choice of wood today.

The molasses added a dark color to these cured bellies. Three hours in the smoker was enough to bring these beauties to 150 degrees. One of my favorite things about making bacon, is the smell of the finished product cooling in the kitchen. The odor is intoxicating. I sure wish I had some ripe tomatoes. Tasting tomorrow, my tongue is still on fire from the Ribs from Hell.

RIBS FROM HELL

Chilebrown is still on a roll. Today we are going to have some beef ribs that are rubbed down with Habanero Rub from Hell. The last post gave Orion some business. Dr. Biggles ordered a cooker and We cannot wait to go over to Dr. Biggles house and play with his new toy. Jeeze Louise!

These beef ribs were picked up from our local mega-super-store. They were so cheap that I am embarrassed to tell you.(88/cents/pound). Smother them in Habaanero Rub from Hell and put them in the Smokenator 1000. Walk away and put in the "Song Remain's the Same 1973"(Led Zepplin) and turn it up very loud. Your neighbors will not be to pissed off until they here "Moby Dick", then they might come over and show you their Marijauna card. Whoops I still get drug tested. Damn Pott smokers!!

The ribs were delicious. You may need to be a Chilehead to enjoy heat like this. I loved them. "Would somebody help me out of the closet. Ms. Goofy came home and threw me in the dungeon

Man these ribs were hot. Is it worth it? Maybe if your a Freak like me! "And She is buying a stairway to Heaven"

ORION COOKER

Today we are going to take a peek at the Orion Cooker. Maybe, I should say lets take a look at James Camper's new toy. This is a barbeque toy/tool that I would be proud to own. Ms. Goofy has put a hold on all future barbeque acquisitions so Jimmy was graceful enough to share his cooker with us. Jimmy is a good friend and partner for our Chili cook offs.

The Orion cooker is a unique vessel. You build a charcoal fire around the base. There is also a compartment at the top for live charcoals. Wood chips are added to the bottom for smoking. You basically load this sucker up and wait a hour and 15 minutes and your ribs are done. No fuss, no turning just kick back and wait.

It is pretty amazing how well these ribs turned out. I hope Jimmy invites us back soon!

DEVILED BACON BACON BACON EGGS

Deviled eggs are almost always welcome at a party. How about adding a Chilebrown twist. These eggs will be made with Baconnaise, Bacon Salt and to really go over the top, some home made bacon will be added. This egg will be only a vessel to contain all this bacon goodness.

Lets start by cooking the eggs. Place 6 eggs in pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then turn off heat. Let sit in hot water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes plunge the eggs in an ice water bath. Peel shell from eggs. Cut in half and reserve yolks in a bowl.

Add 1 cup of baconnaise, 1 tablespoon mustard 1 teaspoon bacon salt and 1/4 cup of chopped bacon. Mix all together. Place mixed mixture into a ziplock bag. Cut the end and pipe into reserved egg halves. Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and a small piece of bacon.

Try not to eat all the eggs before you reach the picnic.

MEMORIAL DAY

Do you know what Memorial Day stands for?. Are you a Baby Boomer? This is a day that used to be called Decoration Day. It is a day to celebrate Men and Women that have died in a War.

Is it a good excuse to have a party? I think so ! My Father fought and lived throughout WWII.

Because of my Father and so many that did not survive we celebrate this Holiday.

Peace, Paul

BOO-HOO

Ferry Plaza

"SMOKE' EM IF YOU GOT ' EM"

One person's trash is another's treasure. My good friend from work, Dr. Love (Don't Ask!), was cutting down a Peach tree. He was more than glad to give me as much of the fallen wood as I wanted. What is one to do with cut down peach tree wood besides build a fire? This wood is perfect for using in the smoker. Peach wood will yield a mellow, and somewhat sweet smoke profile. Not only does this wood produce lovely smoke in my cookers, it gives one an excuse to play with a chain saw. 'Men and their toys'. The wood was cut into 2-4 inch rounds. It was then split with a hatchet. Chicken Wings will be cooked on the Smokenator 1000 for a taste test to this peachy adventure.

Before we start cooking, I would like to bring up a controversial question to my fellow barbeque enthusiast. Bark On? or Bark Off?. There seems to be a little squabble. Some people say that leaving the bark on the smoking wood will leave a bitter taste. Some people proclaim, it does not matter. I remove the bark, if it is easily removed. Otherwise, my party lines go straight- down -the -middle. What do you think?

Salt & Pepper was the only pre-preparation for these wings.
The wings were smoked for 2 hours at 225-250 degrees . The wings were removed from the smoking chamber and reserved. A hotter fire was stoked to finish the wings. Once the heat was up to temperature the wings were crisped up about 1-2 minutes on each side. A bottled barbeque sauce was applied.

Jumpin Jeebus Jehoshaphat are these wings good. They are peachy fine. They are smoky and juicy. I am going to run to the store and find something else to smoke, as soon as the couch releases me.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

You should have a decent thermometer to bring consistent Meat Extravaganza's to the table. While cruising E-Bay a thermometer from China was found It was very, very cheap. In fact it was only a whole one dollar and four cents. The shipping was only 4.36. How can you not go wrong? I jumped at this opportunity to get something for practically nothing.

One easy way to test the accuracy of a thermometer is to measure the temperature in a glass of crushed ice and water slurry. The temperature should read 32 degrees. This probe passed the first test of approval.

Lets give it a real test. A prime rib roast was the perfect candidate. The

cooking chamber was smokey and hot. The chamber probably reached over 500 degrees. This thermometer could not handle the smoke or heat. An error code was the only reading that would register.Luckily, I had a backup of my Nu-temp thermometer to save the day.

I guess the old saying rings true. You get what you pay for.

S### HAPPENS!

Stuff Happens! Every dish is not a winner. Sometimes you have to walk a way and wait for the next competition or meal. This is an example of Cranberry Cornbread that was cooked way to long on the bottom. This would have been a disaster in competition. At the house, the bottom was sliced away, presto chango a great sweet cornbread was saved. This is why we practice!!!!

HOBNOBBING WITH NARSAI

Oh, the things people will do, to hang out with the stars. Narsai David could not resist being in a picture with Chilebrown. Narsai David is a local food celebrity. restaurateur, author, and national radio and television personality. Now he has a picture with Chilebrown to add to his resume.

Narsai

HOT SAUCE (Beta)

The Mad Meat Genius has received a super secret beta version of a green hot sauce. This was created by a fellow food blogger who wants to remain anonymous. I was sworn to secrecy. In fact the creator told me not to tell even Dr. Biggles. With that in mind, the testing will begin.

At first glance the packaging definitely needs a little work. The handwritten label is unique but not really eye catching. Let's look at the texture. A small amount was poured on to a spoon. The sauce was fairly thick. It had a pleasant chile/vinegar aroma. No seeds were present. The sauce looked like a baby puree of peppers.

Now for the taste. This sauce had a wonderful green chile flavor. I am guessing this pepper is Jalapeno. Some vinegar and salt sung with this flavor symphony. Their was a touch of heat to wake up your taste receptacles. This sauce would be a wonderful compliment to almost any dish. We tried it with a Quesadilla. I could not stop consuming this sauce. Half of the bottle was sacrificed for this first tasting.

Congratulations to the Creator of this Verde Hot Sauce. With a little work on the packaging, and plenty of free samples for the Mad Meat Genius, You will have a great product. May I suggest a couple of names for your sauce? How about "I'm Mad and I Eat Hot Sauce" or "Cranky's Revenge"?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I love you Mom!

DOG

Dutch Oven Gathering (Dog) was on the ticket today. This was a gathering of food enthusiasts and a couple of food freaks. Is there a difference? It was held at the Meathenge Labs. It was a beautiful day in Richmond, California. The thermometer was hovering around 80 degrees. We were gathered around the heated cast iron vessel and the designated smoker to practice for the Rendezvous festival next month. There were some serious food critics present. Cookiecrumb, Zoomie, Mad Meat Genius, Pluto Demoted,. Meathenge and last but not least the defunct and Funky The 5 Pints. What a crowd. One slip and you are in blogger purgatory. Everybody survived and returned to the abode with bellys full of smoked meats, vegetables, bacon and dutch oven goodness.It was a perfect afternoon. Thanks Guy!