BARBEQUE LASAGNA

The first week of fall has fell hard. The weather has been hovering around 90 degrees. We have an overabundance of tomato's to harvest. One of our house specialities is making spaghetti sauce. We bought a large commercial size food mill at a garage sale. It is a wonderful tool to separate seeds and skins from the tomato. We add home grown herbs and peppers to our seedless, skinless pot of tomatoes. Mushrooms , Dakota Sausage, and some baconburger meat rounds off this pot of red gold. It is simmered for a while. The house smells great. We have our fill and freeze the rest. One use of this yummy sauce is to make Lasagna. The only problem is turning the oven on will make the house hotter than necessary. No worries! The Weber barbeque will come to the rescue. I will make the Lasagna in a disposable pan and cook it with an indirect heat. The perfect Chilebrown twist.

Lasagna

1. One box of Lasagna noodles (cooked according to box directions
2. 4 cups of home made sauce
3. 1 small container ricotta cheese
4. 1 small mozzarella shredded
5. 1 cup Parmesans cheese

Take a disposable foil pan and lightly oil. Layer noodles to cover bottom. Take one cup of sauce and cover noodles. Add 1/3 mozzarella and ricotta cheese. Layer another round of noodles sauce and cheese. Repeat and cover top with more sauce and Parmesan.Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour at 375 or until cheese is bubbly and top is browned. Leave foil on for first 45 minutes and remove to facilitate browning.

We threw in some bread cooked on the wood fired oven. What a feast! The house stayed cool and We ate like Royalty!

HORSERADISH

Is horseradish a plant, vegetable, spice or the seed from hel? I sort of think it is the latter. Horseradish plants have the unique quality of taking over your yard and the neighbors too . I learned my lesson at a rental property many moons ago. I have horseradish growing in the corner of my property. Every once in a while I have to take a shovel, blow torch and a bible to contain this potent root. Horseradish is a spicy, hot plant. You can put the leaves in your salad, if you are brave. The roots are what we are looking forward too. The roots can be ground into a potent concocton. You only need to add salt and acid. The acid can be wine or vinegar. You can tame the flame with sugar or honey.

Let's just go for the gusto. Dig up your roots. Clean the beezlebob till white and pure. Dice into cubes. Add to your food processor with cup of vinegar or a cup of wine. Pulse to thick puree. Add salt to taste. Add water if too thick.

Be careful taking the lid off the food processor. If you are using fresh horseradish you may be in for a blast of spicy, hot, overwhelming fumes. They may cause spontaneous human weightlessness and gagging for air.

Tonight we are having some Rib Eye Steaks with a dollop of freshly made horseradish sauce. Oh my is this spicy. It is a good thing we have malfatti with home made sauce to calm the storm!

What Me Worry?

SUMMER BOUNTY

When life gives you tomato's, make salsa. It is that time of year that the tomato and pepper crop at the Mad Meat Genius farm is over growing with ripe produce. It is a cornucopia of colors and flavors. It is time to make salsa.

We are making Pico de Gallo and a chipotle salsa today. Pico de Gallo is an all purpose salsa. It just makes everything taste better. My favorite, is to make a cheese quesadilla and plop a dollop of pico de gallo on top. Simple and delicious! I will refer you to a past post for a recipe.


Chipotle Salsa is a smoky, hot, sweet and ketchup like type of salsa. The chipotle pepper has so many flavor nuances. I am using home smoked chipotle, but canned chipotle in adobo is readily found at your local store. This sauce is simmered for a while and then pureed in a blender.

Chipotle Salsa

1. 7 tomatoes roughly chopped
2. 4 chipotles peppers
3. salt to taste
4. 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
5. 2 tablespoons vinegar
6. 1/2 cup of water

Place all ingredients in a saute pan. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and place into a blender. Puree all ingredients. Add a little water if mixture is to thick.

That's all she wrote. Another simple but very satisfying salsa. Take some tortilla chips and enjoy the summer bounty!!!!!!!

CHILI COLORADO

Chili Colorado is Ms. Goofy's favorite dish to order in Mexican restaurants. She had a craving for this spicy stew of red chile pepper and beef cubes. Chilebrown will come to her rescue. There will be the usual Mad Meat Genius flairs. The meat will be grilled on a Mesquite fire. Traditional chili colorado does not have tomatoes. Today's dish will have some beautiful vine ripe tomatoes from the garden. These red orbs will be grilled with some onion and garlic. This will heighten and enhance the sugars by its kiss of fire. All this will be combined with fresh chile powder and simmered slowly for an hour. I can taste it all ready.

Chil Colorado

1. 1/2 cup of New Mexican red chile powder
2. 1/2 cup of Chimayo chile powder
3. 1 tablespoon cumin powder
4. 2 teaspoons oregano
5. 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
6. 6 tomatoes
7. 1 large onion
8. 1 head of garlic
9. 4 cups of water
10. 4 pounds of chuck steak
11. 1/2 cup of your favorite rub
12. salt to taste

Wrap the garlic in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 375 or until creamy. Reserve. Rub your meat with rub and let come to room temperature. Start a hot fire. I used mesquite wood. You are going to sear the meat. The goal is not to cook entirely through. Cook meat until well browned and reserve. Roast tomatoes and onions over fire also. Place roasted onions, tomatoes, garlic and 1/2 cup of water into blender. Give it a spin. Place your mixture into large pan with rest of water. Take your meat and cut into desired size cubes. Remove all visible fat. Place in pan. Add chile powders, organo and salt. Simmer for one hour. The sauce will thicken and the meat should be tender

We served this over rice. The meat was very tender. The chili stew warmed our soul. This is comfort food all the way to the moon Alice. This chili colorado taste even better the next day. We are looking forward to tomorrows today.

BREAKFAST WITH 'BIG DADDY'

We are having breakfast with Aaron McCargo Jr. and 'Wright Brand Bacon'. Big Daddy is coming to our house and showing us how to make bacon egg cheese cups. Bacon, egg and cheese is a 'take the prize' combination. It is the breakfast of America. This is a winning way to prepare this combination. We will watch Big Daddy do his business and then we will get a Chilebrown version. Let's get cooking!

Big Daddy made some tasty treats. The Mad Meat Genius kitchen will have to give it a Chilebrown spin. We are basically going to use the same ingredients. Instead of mushrooms, some green roasted California Long Hots will be used. We will cook it in a oven, an almond wood fueled oven that is. Some terracotta dishes will be used instead of a muffin pan. We are taking our breakfast serious.

Breakfast has never tasted so good. Bacon, egg cheese cups cooked in a wood fired oven hit the spot. It takes a little while to fire up the beehive oven. Ms. Goofy will have to get up a little earlier next weekend. Well, at least I can dream.

BEANSPROUT

We love our family and our pets. Sometimes the pets understand us better than our family friends and spouses. Our pets are there for us whenever you are down and out. I would like to share this song with you. I want to dedicate this song to Cookiecrumb & Cranky in the memory of Beansprout

Beansprout we will miss you.!

Words and Music by
Carole King (Based on a track by Allstar & Joel Campbell)

You don't have to wear the weight of the
world on your shoulders
Don't you know I'll be there for you, always, always
You can tell me anything, and you know I'll understand

When you're down and out, and your soul is bare
You just turn around - you will find me there

You keep on giving everyone
so much more than your share
So many things you do in so many ways, always
But you need someone you can hold on to

When you're down and out, I will always care
You just turn around - you will find me there

When it's all gone wrong, it's falling down on you
Lean on me, I'll be strong
I will keep you safe, keep you warm
When you're down and out, I will always care
You just turn around - you will find me there

I will take your hand, I will dry your tears
I will comfort you when your hope has disappeared

When you're down and out, I will always care
You just turn around - you will find me right there

When you're down and out and you're in despair
You just turn around - you will find me there

When you're down and out, I will be right there
You just turn around, you will find me
You will find me there

CALIFORNIA LONG HOT PEPPERS

These are not Anaheim' peppers. They are not New Mexican. They are not Nu-Mex Jim's. These are California Long Hot peppers. They do not claim to be anything else. Joe's Chili Peppers located in Stockton California sells the real deal. These are long green chile's ready for roasting, stuffing and just plain enjoying. You can buy peppers picked in the morning and roasted right in front of your drooling, eye watering pepper hound mug.

Ms. Goofy and I make a pilgrimage every other year and buy a 50 pound sack of 'green chile nirvana'. It is very impressive when you see 5 roasters fired up. There is a blast of propane fueled rocket noises. There is sputtering and flaming that makes you wonder if you are going to launch into outer space. We may find out that the moon is made of green chile. "Hey, the World was not flat". The smell of roasted pepper's can be smelled 5 miles away. (Take that:"Spare The Air", Bureaucrats}. Our 50 pound sack of peppers is roasted in less than 5 minutes. Our expert roaster lets them cool down for another 15 minutes. He then puts them in a large plastic and paper sack. Stockton is two hours away from our Barbeque Palace. When we got home they were still smoking hot. Oh, by the by, we stopped on the way home at 'Habanero Hots'. Ms. Goofy and I were parched from all that chile smoke.

If you are a Chilehead, could you, would you pass by a restaurant called 'Habanero Hots'. Ms. Goofy was driving by her 'Chili/Meat' navigational system which steered us right into the parking lot. This place looked like a smoking hot hangout. The first thing we noticed was the Habanero challenge. Ms. Goofy was not up to the contest and I had to be a designated back seat driver. We did have a liquid refreshment and some Habanero salsa. The salsa had a pleasantly medium hot kick. Not for the chile-challenged, but nice for the chilehead nation.

We arrived home and let our chile cool down. It was one hot day! Later on, after Ms. Goofy was released from the couch, we placed our chile in different size freezer bags. These peppers freeze so well. Take a bag out of the ice cave and let it partially thaw. The blistered skin will fall away with a gentle wiping. This 50 pound sack will last us 2 years unless we give too much away. This green chile has so many uses and so little time. So little time today to enjoy California Long Hots!!!!!!

Joe's Chili Peppers
8038 E. Ratto Rd.
Stockton, Ca. 95212
209 931-2726 or 351-3002 Call a couple of days in advance if you want a 50 pound sack

Habanero Hots
1024 E Victor RdLodi, CA 95240
(209) 369-3791
http://www.yelp.com/biz_redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.habanerohots.com&src_bizid=dWZyzNWVOXA6wjSLhBkRyw&cachebuster=1252725784

BACON REVUE (SCHALLER & WEBER)

Today on stage is a double smoked bacon from Schaller and Weber. Schaller and Weber is a company based in New York. We found this smoked goodie at Drewes Bros. meat shop in San Francisco. This bacon must of had wings to make this cross country trip. Seeing double smoked on the label was the selling hook that we needed.

We opened the wrapper and a beautiful smoke aroma filled the air. It smelled delicious. A couple of pieces were sliced and thrown into a cast iron vessel. This is a good looking bacon. The meat to fat ration is perfectly proportioned. This bacon has a smoke ring from the double smoking. It had an exquisite shiny sheen surrounding the slab. It crisped up nicely. We thought the salt and sugar had great proportion. This has the balance we crave. It definitely had smoke flavor, but it was not overpowering. Lets try the bacon on some meatballs stuffed with cheese.

We took some Dakota sausage and added some chopped jalapenos. We cubed some aged gouda cheese that we purchased from the Oakdale Cheese Co. We formed the sausage around the cheese cubes. A slice of Schaller & Weber Bacon was wrapped around these meatballs and secured with a toothpick. They were placed in a lightly oiled foil pan. This pan was place in a covered Weber. There was a medium hot fire to cook these beauty's. They were cooked for 40 minutes. At the halfway mark the meatballs were turned.

These bacon wrapped spicy meatballs were 'oh so awesome'. Sometimes you just hit the mark with great ingredients. Today we enjoyed some great eats. Schaller & Weber will receive a rating of 4 stars out of 5. It sort of hurts a little to give Kudos to a company from New York. This is some quality bacon.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Cost: 6.99/pound

Where: Can be found at Drewes Bros or check their website. Schaller & Weber

TRIXIE NORTON, "QUEEN OF THE ROOST"

Oh yeah, Trixe Norton has taken over the household. We have purchased a huge jungle jim that she climbs over constantly. Well, unless she is climbing over poor Mojo and Oscar. Our kitty has become the Queen of the Roost. She goes wherever she wants. She sometimes terrorises the Doggies. She is only playing, but our Golden Lap Dogs have been very patient.

Sometimes Mojo will play with the Queen Trixie, unless he is using her as an eye shade.

It has been fun and sometime trying to get our family to get a long. It is a good thing that barbeque has been there for us. Well at least for Ms. Goofy and I.. All I can say is that we are family

.

We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up ev'rybody and sing

Grill on the Go

Impulse shopping, we are all guilty as charged. The candy bars and celebrity gossip rags at the checkout counter are temptations hard to pass by. I usually control myself and resist the latest news about Britney Asparagus Spears. The chocolate bars are a little more difficult to pass by. Our local Mega-Food-Barn had a stack of "Grill On The Go's" stacked right next to the wall of chocolate treats. It is not fair to dangle the carrot in front of the Mad Meat Genius. I was driven/lead to part with my 6 dollars for you dear readers. This purchase is in the name of barbeque research.

Grill on the Go is packed in a neat and tidy food decorated box.The food that is pictured happens to be all vegetables. Where is the beef? There are three grills included in each box. That actually sounds like a good deal. Less than two dollars for a portable disposable source of charcoal heat. The box claims one hour of cooking time. They also say it is easy to use and will be ready to cook in just five minutes. There are a couple of other instruction, like do not pick up grill when lit and do not use indoors. That sounds like sound advise to me.

More packaging was removed to reveal a grill that had some lighter fluid drenched diaper on top of the coals.A match was lit and instantaneous human combustion occurred. Well actually it was just the grill. The box claimed 5 minutes until ready to use. I waited 10 minutes to be sure all the lighter fluid was burned off. Grill on the Go actually performed very well. We cooked some corn first and then followed with some burgers. The heat was hot and consistent. A wok lid was used to melt some cheese on our burgers. We had plenty of fuel left over after our meal were done.

Grill On the Go is an inexpensive, portable and disposable charcoal source. This would work great at a tailgate. I am even thinking of bringing it to work and cooking some burgers in the parking lot. That might not go over to well with the Salt Mine managers. I was not to keen on the lighter fluid soaked diaper. We did not taste any chemical flavor with these charcoal. If you happen to see a box at your local store, Go-for-it. The Mad Meat Genius gives Grill on The Go a thumbs up. Happy BBQ!

JALAPENO POPPERS AND TOMATO GOODNESS

SMOKE ON THE WATER

It was a great weekend! Lots of great BBQ. The weather was perfect. There was a very decent size crowd. They may have been their to see Captain Phis Harris, but they ended up witnessing and tasting some great barbeque. The public was allowed to purchase tastes from the different competitors. For one to two dollars the public was treated to pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, brisket chicken and many other smoked grilled treats. This was a separate category of competition. The people voted by purchasing the barbeque food items. The money that was collected was split between the winners at the end of the festival. This was a inexpensive and great way to taste competition level cooking.

The day progressed as my stomach stretched. Sometimes I even amaze myself on the amount of food that was consumed. The awards were presented at 600pm in the casino. It was a very festive gathering. Some happy people walked away with trophies and cash. We walked away with a smile and barbeque sauce on our face. Ms. Goofy was very happy because she got to sit with Josh from the 'Deadliest Catch' at the judging table. I sat next to the executive chef of the resort. It was very interesting and rewarding talking to him.

We are already planning on returning next year. This is a great event for the public to sample competition style cooking. Not all barbeque contests have a Peoples Choice category. Some counties will not allow competitors to serve food to the public. They have so many rules and regulations that sponsors do not want to bother with it. Thankyou Konicti Vista Casino, California Barbeque Society and the KCBS for a great event.

You can view some more pictures here CLICK HERE

SMOKE ON THE WATER (PHIL HARRIS)

Clear Lake California at Konicti Vists was the place to be for the Killer barbeque competition this Labor Day weekend.. A Crab pot full of competitors battled it out for money and bragging rights. Why a Crab Pot full?. Captain Pill Harris was in the house. He did not actually judge, but his two sons picked up the crustacean slack. His two sons Jake and Joshs were almost to Kool for school. They have reached celebrity status in a short amount of time. Josh and Jake took the CBJ oath with the rest of us . I think Jake did not know the seriousness of his job until Josh reeled him in like a big ole salmon/crab/goofball.

So much good food, It Is tough being a judge. You need to lower your head and hunker down to critique some serious Que. These Warriors have spent a lot of time, money and commitment to their entries. We take our judging serious. We would love to give everybody the perfect score of nine. Some pieces are not perfect. It is our job to take every piece of meat and judge it accordingly. You may say, "What a tuff job". We take this job with a poker face.sober deliberate and honest attitude'. It has improved our barbeque knowledge and is a great network for meating like minded people. Ms. Goofy and I have found our calling. Oh I need to take a nap

More pictures tomorrow

SMOKE ON THE WATER

Ms. Goofy and I will be judging the "Smoke On The Water' barbeque contest this Labor Day weekend at beautiful Clear Lake California. It is right at the waters edge at the Konocti Vista Casino. There will be some celebrity judging at this contest. Besides Ms. Goofy and Chilebrown, Captain Phil Harris from the 'Deadliest Catch' will be judging. I have no idea who Phil Harris is, but, Ms. Goofy has watched every episode, twice, and says she is looking forward to meeting him.(I thought he was that guy who sang the smoking song .
Phil Harris singing smoke song ). If you are at Clear Lake and happin to stop by the contest. Be sure to say Hello!. We will be the ones with the smile and barbeque sauces on our face.

DREWES BROS. MEATS

Our Meat Adventure today takes us to 'Drewes Bros Meats' located in San Francisco California. This meat market has been open since 1889 and claims to be the oldest operating butcher shop in California. Ms. Goofy and I decided that Drewes was worthy of an adventure. We wanted to experience this living history of meat purveyance. Drewes Bros. is located in the Noe Valley district of the City. Noe Valley was once a working class neighborhood. It has been magically transformed into a 'Yuppie' oasis for young urban professionals. Drewes Bros caters to this tony neighborhood.

When you first walk into Drewes, a hodgepodge disarray is the predominate decorating theme. The walls are an eclectic collection of pictures, art and clutter. Drewes runs a mailbox service that is located in a corner. There are a couple of shelves with Sundry Items. A steel beam in the ceiling runs from the meat displays to the back walk-in. It is an impressive piece of steel. At one time, meat carcasses were hung and guided a long these tracks.

Drewes has a very impressive line up of meats. They have all top shelf meat providers. Niman Ranch, Angus Meyer, Natural Hill, Petaluma Farms and the famous Rosie Organic Chicken are some of the suppliers. Another Drewes claim is: " All of our products (except for some sausages) are all natural, free-range, with absolutely no hormones, antibiotics or preservatives". I am feeling good all ready. You will pay top dollars for these superstars of the meat world. There may also be a surcharge for the privilege of shopping in Noe Valley.

The people that worked at Drewes were very friendly. Our meat adventure ended with a purchase of some smoked ham hocks and of course some double smoked bacon from Schaller & Weber We have just experienced living meat history.

Drewes Bros Meats

1706 Church St.
San Francisco, Ca. 94131
415.821.0515