HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 

HORMEL GHOST REAPER CHILI

 

Exotic hot chilepepper products have been the latest internet buzz. Hormel has cashed in on a Ghost Reaper chili. These are two of the hottest peppers grown. I can personally attest that these peppers need respect and should be approached cautiously. Hormel announced this offering on social media. They set up a time that this product would be available for sale and sold out within the hour. I did procure one can. Within minutes Ebay had this product at 10 times the actual price. I am not sure what to say about that. Let's give it a try.

I did read the ingredient list. Chile peppers are listed six times and they are all different types of dried and fresh chile. Ghost and Reaper pepper powder is listed towards the end of this list. I opened the can to unleash a barrage of familiar chile pepper aromas. My nose started to twitch which is a good sign meaning it was reacting to chile presence. Tonight we are serving this over a hot dog to celebrate a spicy Halloweenie. Ms. Goofy originally was going to partake in this tasting. She stuck her finger in the pot and tasted. Her reactions was; 'Oh no! This is too hot"

It was hot. I tasted fresh chile and it also had an after burn from the dried chiles. It was very decent in a Hormel Chili kind of way. With six different chile in this mix, I am not sure if I could identify ghost or reaper chile. Your senses were assaulted by fresh and dried all in a chilehead splendor kind of way. How hot was it? For most normal people I would say this concoction was very hot and you might not enjoy it. I eat some sort of chile everyday. I thought is was hot but not as hot as ghost and reaper chile can be. It was tame in this sense. Regardless of the downsizing of potential heat this mixture left my mouth on fire for quit awhile. I actually enjoyed this chili with chile. Good job Hormel.

GHOST PEPPER DOUGHNUT

 

Dunkin Doughnuts is selling a limited run of Ghost Pepper Doughnuts. I am not sure if it is for Halloween or just the novelty of using a Ghost Pepper. The Ghost pepper is an exotic chile pepper that needs to be respected for the level of heat it can generate. Since I am a bonafied chilehead, I thought it was my duty to give this a try. Plus I do like doughnuts. 

   I arrived to Dunkin and stood in line with a dozen other doughnut enthusiasts. We were all masked and keeping our distance. I bought my one doughnut and went to the parking lot to give it a try. The first impression was; this is sickly sweet. Oh my! The pepper than kicked in. It was a gentle warmth and nothing like any Ghost Pepper I have ever tried. It was warm but not anything that you could call hot. To me this doughnut was a fail. It could of been sprinkled with any variety chile and this novelty offering was unremarkable.  I still like doughnuts but not this one.

LUCY YOU ARE A GOOD GIRL

 

R.I.P.

Lucy you are a good girl. Why did you have to leave us? You have broken our hearts but have filled our hearts with all the love and affection that only you can bring. Lucy you are a brave girl. Look out Mr. Squirrel because you wanted to chase him. You greeted the postman with your faux ferocious barks and let the neighbor kids know this was your house. You were so brave when Uncle Johnny chased you with the remote car and jumped in my lap. Rocky wants to know where his sister has gone. He has some all-star wrestling moves he wants to try out on you. Rocky needs your collar to drag and pull on the morning walks. I am crying. Nobody wanted to watch Huel Howser with me but you. I did not even mind when you sat all 80 pounds in my lap. Your mommy misses you the most. You did not mind when she dressed you up in the silly costumes to go to A’s dog day at the ballpark. She loved to show you and win awards at the dog classes. You may have stayed out in the rain and got all muddy but she really did like to rinse and towel you. Oh Lucy you were so brave that you did not even want to tell us you were sick. Lucy we love you. Lucy you are a good girl.

BURNT END HOT DOGS

Burnt end hot dogs are so simple but so tasty. They are an alternative to the beef brisket burnt ends that bbq aficionados crave. They also do not take 15 hours to cook and require a bank loan to purchase. Hot dogs are slathered in mustard and then coated with your favorite bbq rub. They are smoked for an hour using you smoking wood of choice. Remove, slice and put in a hotel pan. Add butter, bbq sauce, a little brown sugar and a dash more of seasoning. Return your dogs, in pan, to a direct hot heat and cook for an additional 15 minutes stirring frequently. They will become hot, sticky and oh so decadent. This is a comfort food suitable for cocktail parties, kids parties and just plain snacking on the couch while watching your favorite television show. I was a little skeptical about this dish at first. After seeing how easy and what a comforting flavor this dish will bring. Your inner child tastebuds will reemerge to bring out happy smiles . This will be put in the recipe rotation.

 

TRI-TIP

Tri-tip is a triangular  roast from the bottom subprimal cut of sirloin. It is a staple meat in California and we may take it for granted. It is easy to cook and a little forgiving on the grill. It is cooked over a medium direct heat, turning frequently. I like to pull it at 120 degrees internal temperature which when rested will make a perfect medium well doneness. One of the nicest thing about tri-tip, if there are any leftovers, is sandwiches the next day. We love tri-tip

RORY RICHMOND R.I.P.

The barbeque community mourns the passing of Rory Richmond. Rory wore many hats in our BBQ world. He was a judge, promoter, and most of all an ambassador spreading bbq love to all. He was the main man to host Kansas City Barbecue Society certification classes and promote the Clayton BBQ Festival. He was a fixture at many competitions promoting these great events. We all sat next to him at the judges table one time or another. His knowledge and dedication was an inspiration to us all. Rory left us way to early and it is a sad day to say goodbye. 

IT BURNS SO GOOD

Alden Miller is a Mad Hot Sauce Genius. When he sends a new hot sauce creation, it is time to be awed and humbled. His latest fermented ( one year) garlic hot sauce is a serious sauce that is not for beginners or wimps. This sauce is a controlled fermentation of exotic hot peppers that have been grown from his garden with the addition of garlic. The top is removed to release a wafting of garlic with a slight funkefied pleasant fermenty type aroma.The color is of a brick red. Past experiences have taught me to sample Alden’s sauces with caution. I had a chip for sauce delivery intake but braved it directly from the spoon. I am no wimp and chips are for sissy’s I braced myself for the burn. It did not immediately grab my heat sensors. It was a gradual heat that was in the back of my mouth. It continually climbed and rose till I begged for it to stop. My sinuses were a mess. I may have had mucous leakage from my shnoz. The burn subsided and I felt a euphoric sensation. This also included a garlic afterburner. This melody of peppers combined with the fermentation process also brings out a Umami factor. Even though it burned so good I craved another hit of this elixir. This sauce is the bomb (literally). Thankyou Mr. Miller.

PANDEMIC MEAT ADVENTURE

A scary title to a wonderful day of a Meat Adventure that Ms. Goofy and I took during these troubled times. We loaded up the Racing Honda II and put an empty ice chest in the back. We hit up three destinations of some of our favorite butcher shops. Our first stop was Lakeside Meats in Lodi. The image above is Bruce a butcher that we can call friend. Bruce remembers us from gong to Lakeside for over a decade. He invited us in back to see him in action making sausage. 

Our next stop was Lockford Meats. Lockford is famous for their sausage. We filled the chest with Dakota sausage a mild flavored meat tube that is our favorite. We had to wait inline 6ft apart of course. There is a reason for a line because of the value and quality that Lockford offers.

Our last stop was the House of Beef in Oakdale. They have a restaurant that has set up in the parking lot to adhere to the Health Departments Covid demands. We had a very nice lunch. After lunch we went inside to buy more meaty treats. Check out these Wagyu beef ribs.

To end our Meat Adventure I had to feast my eyes on  this table of pie. Oh my, I am in pie heaven. I did take home a delicious apple dumpling with a side of caramel sauce. It was great to get out of the house and stock up the Chilebrown Ice Cave. Until we meet again.

DOT"S SOUTHWEST PRETZELS

Ms. Goofy brought home some tasty snacks. They had a lot of flavor and just the slightest warmth that really made me enjoy them. Maybe I like them so much because they had these ingredients; enriched wheat flour, niacin reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, salt vegetable oil corn, canola, soybean artifcial butter, oorn syrup yest, maltodextrn, tomato powder spices celery extract, dehydrated red bell pepper, MSG, garlic powder, onion powder, yeast extract, sugar, more corn syrup, disodium inosinate and disodium guanytate, cream, paprika, jalapeno pepper, citric acid, lime juice, lactic acid, silicon dioxide and calcium stearate, Me with out my spoon

OLD GREENWOOD BBQ

We are pleased to sing the praises of a new bbq restaurant; Old Greenwood BBQ. It is located at a golf course in Sunnvale California. Our bbq friend Ryan Pang is one of the owners and head pittmaster. Ryan is no stranger to competition bbq and also has lots of experience running successful bbq establishments. We were excited to give him a visit.

Old Greenwood BBQ has an extensive outdoor patio which has a great view of the golf course. This is perfect to appease the ever changing pandemic rule masters. Ryan gave us a tour of his new restaurant. He has his line up of smokers and cookers to create his award winning bbq. He navigated us though the menu and made a suggestion of what to order. That suggestion was everything. You place your order in the clubhouse and the order is brought to your outdoor table. There is a full bar in an adjoing room for those who imbibe. 

Today's star was brisket. Ryan knows how to achieve brisket nirvana. Brian is also a master of all the side dishes. Everything was made from scratch except the cole slaw. (promises this will be temporary). We really enjoyed the house made bbq sauces especially the sweet/tart mustard based sauce. If you happen to see Ryan ask him about the house made chicharrones. These are not on the menu but I am sure Ryan will take care of you.

With the recent closure of Phat Matts bbq we were overjoyed to learn about Old Greenwood bbq. I may have to learn how to golf.

FAREWELL PHAT MATT'S

The Pandemic has taken numerous lives and created havoc throughout our nation. It has also been devastating for small business such as Phat Matt"s bbq restaurant. It is with heavy heart that I pass the notice of closure on my friends business. Charlotte & Matt Gonzales are well know and loved in the bbq community. They have been business for almost ten years at this location. Before they competed in competition barbeque. These last several month they have been forced to close because of local and state decrees. This has created financial hardships. The landlord has made it know that greed has put the last nail in the coffin. Yesterday I went to pay my respects and get one last plate of brisket. Matt & Charlotte are great people and I know they will return to the bbq community again.

NEW THINGAMAJIG

We always enjoy watching Steven Raichlen and his bbq cooking shows. He  usually is promoting and selling a line-up of his endorsed bbq products. This one caught my eye and the price was inexpensive.  They are called Stainless Steel Smoking Pucks. The theory is you load up these little pucks with wood chips or wood pellets and put them on your grill. They heat up and start to spew directional smoke in the direction you place them. We shall see.

With the miracle of instant modern logistics they arrived almost immediately at my front door. I tried them on top of the grill loaded with wood chips to cook a steak. This was not the ideal situation for smoking but it would be good enough to see how much smoke they put out. Let say they worked. Smoke did billow out of all the orifices of this contraption. Was the smoke directional? Yes and no because smoke just came out of everywhere. Would I recommend this product? Not really unless you need something to gather dust with the rest of your thingamajigs.

FIRST SIT DOWN

We had our first sit down lunch in almost three months. This was a carne asada plate with rice and beans. It was so simple but so delicious. It was also so nice to get outside and pretend like things are back to normal. We did have to drive to an adjoining county for this meal because in our county everything is still shut down. I am not sure why that is?

MEMORIAL DAY

We are proudly flying the American flag on this Memorial Day. This flag has very special meaning to me because it used to be my father’s flag. He would display it on all appropriate holidays. The actual flag has been replaced several times but the pole is at least a half-century old

DRIVE THROUGH PASTA & MEATBALLS

The Galileo Italian Club is attempting to return to normalcy and we participated last night. The club hosted a drive through pasta & meatball dinner. Fifteen dollars bought you a huge plate of pasta, meat balls, green beans and some anti-pasta of salami and cheese. It was a wonderful excuse to get out of the house and buy a dinner that we have missed the last two months.

The dinner was fantastic and very generous. A lot of business are in dire straights these days.. This dinner was only a token gesture to tell everybody that there will be light at the end of the dark tunnel. We hope it is sooner rather than later.  Mad Meat Genius out.

LEMON PIE

I may be the luckiest person in the whole wide world. Ms. Goofy made a lemon pie from our lemon tree in the back yard. Yummy.

WHOLE WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS

We have a lot of free time on our hands. How about making some English Muffins? We picked up some very pedigree whole wheat flour from Full Belly Farms. This is organic wheat with the name of Frassinento. How could we go wrong. I got my recipe off of the World Wide Web. This had a 48 hour rise time in the refrigerator. This allows time for the yeast to do its magic creating a very flavorful fermentation of the dough. It was cooked on a hot griddle. The house sure smells good when these are cooking. They were allowed to cool, sliced and then toasted. What a great breakfast...even though it took several days to make.

Note; In the past I would put a link to the recipe I used. I would love to share it with you but thanks to lawyers and you know who you are, this will not happen on Mad Meat Genius. I will give you this; search "Old-Fashioned, No-Knead English Muffins Recipe".

HAPPY EASTER

Happy Easter everyone! We are sheltering in place eating a fantastic Easter lemon cheesecake made by Ms. Goofy; Yummy

MS. GOOFY'S BIG FAT BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION DINNER TO-GO

It was Ms. Goofy's birthday yesterday. Traditionally she gets to pick where we will celebrate with a dinner. These times are crazy and most restaurants are shut down. There are several that are struggling to stay open but can only sell food to-go. Our bbq friends Brian & Liz Silveria own a bbq supply store and catering company; 'Smoked Seduction". They are located in Livermore and are licensed caterers. They were selling bbq meals to-go this weekend. It was Ms. Goofy's birthday choice with a gentle nudge from me to venture out into the pandemic waste land we call home.

We arrived at Brian & Liz's small shop. We kept our social distance. (God I hate this new politically correct catch phrase). They have a great selection of bbq supplies and I filled up a small basket full of pecan and apple smoking woods for later cooking projects. Today we had our choice of ribs, brisket, pulled pork and sausage. We had a little of everything. It was a celebration you know.

We paid our bill and headed home. Brian & Liz are professional bbq cookers and their meats and side dishes did not disappoint. We were happy to support them in these crazy times. It was also a great meal to celebrate Ms. Goofy's Big Fat Birthday Celebration.

ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

"Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" was a fun little ditty from Monty Python. It could also be an appropriate theme for these crazy times. It also helps to have a slap of peppered bacon from our good friend Angelo to cheer one up. This bacon has all the right moves. It has a great fat to meat ratio, balance of sweet, salt and with a savory pepper bite to make this a great bacon. Stay well my friends.

VISUALIZE WHIRLED PEAS

Yes, I am easily amused.