THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

 It was a wonderful Christmas. I do not think Ms. Goofy liked her brand new shiny toaster. Practical gifts are under appreciated in this household. Ms. Goofy did buy a very fancy American Wagyu tri-tip roast for dinner. I consulted my notes and asked some experts for cooking by reverse sear on the Big Green Egg cooker. It does take a little effort but the results are fantastic. You start out at 250 degrees in a indirect heat and cook till 105. After a 10 minute rest it is returned to a very hot direct fire to carmelize the exterior. This raises internal temperature to about 125-130 for the perfect and I do mean perfect medium rare. Merry Day after Christmas.

PAUL'S FRUITCAKE CORNER (FARMERS MARKET)

 

  Welcome to Paul’s Fruitcake Corner. Here at the corner we will try fruitcake so you do not have to. We will start today with a hardy; “WOW”. Jourdan of East Bay Artisan Italian Pantry & Bake Shop is an Italian baker that sells his baked wares at the Martinez Farmers Market. (And other various Farmers Markets). He has been reading ‘Paul’s Fruitcake Corner’ and wanted to participate. Here we go.

    This cake is huge, weighing in at 3.5 pounds for 25 dollars. I asked Jourdan for the ingredients and it is a large list too. It has 4 different kinds of raisins, ginger, pecans, almonds, dried papaya, pineapple, dates, dried & candied cherries, dried cranberries and all soaked in brandy. The exterior of the cake was firm with a sugary crust. The firm texture breaks open to reveal the interior that was moist from all the soaked fruits. I had to take a moment after the first bite. The melody of dried fruits and almonds all perfectly spiced sings a song of joy. This is fruitcake heaven. This cake was a labor of love and premium ingredients.

  You can too try East Bay Artisan Italian Pantry & Bake Shop baked goods at various Farmers Markets.  Thankyou Jourdan.

PAUL'S FRUITCAKE CORNER

 

Welcome to Paul’s fruitcake corner. Here at the corner we will try fruitcakes so you will not have to. Today’s cake is Mrs. Carvers Holiday Fruitcake. It is found at the local Lucky’s store at around 10.00 dollars for a 12 ounces piece. We here at Paul’s fruitcake corner want to love all fruitcakes. Mrs. Carvers is an unfortunate rendering and may be a good reason fruitcake sometimes has a bad reputation. It looks unappetizing. It is dry to the mouth which egg-nogg will not even rescue. Glace fruit is scattered throughout but is a weird texture feel. It is sickly sweet possibly by high fructose corn syrup. I am sorry but I would not recommend Mrs. Carvers Holiday Fruitcake 

Stay tuned! The Holiday fruitcake season has only just begun.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

 

Ms. Goofy has been on eggnog alert. She finally found one at our local grocery store. This was the only brand available. I am not sure if it is still early or there is not a demand for eggnog anymore. Bud's brand eggnog is a very decent rendering of one of my Holiday favorites. I am going to pour a glass and have a slice of fruitcake. "Ho, Ho, Ho. "

FIGGY PUDDING

 

Welcome to another episode of Chilebrown's fruitcake corner. Ms. Goofy just returned from the Dickens Faire with a Christmas Steamed Pudding. It is close enough to a fruitcake to share with you.  It is a dense moist cake with raisins, apples and cherries. Ms. Goofy knows what I like.

JANE PARKER

 Jane Parker dark fruitcake just arrived by Santa driving an Amazon van. This is a very good rendering of a traditional cake. It is chock full of pecans, raisins, molases, brown sugar and cherries on top. It is very moist and scrumdiddlyumptious. It is a delicate cake and will fall apart if your not careful. I doubt I will have a problem because it will not last long.

HOLIDAY CRAFT SALE

 Who would of ever thought I would become a fan of a local Holiday Craft Sale? Well, I am. Where else can you buy homemade pie, jams & jellies, and numerous sweet homemade treats? This sale even had a pie room where you could go to have coffee and a slice of pie. I did have some restraint and only bought jams and a pecan pie today. See you at the next Holiday Craft sale.

LEMON CURD CHEESECAKE

 

It turned to be a lemon curd cheesecake Monday and I am having a piece for breakfast right now.

RAT PACK

'Dinner & Show' was on the menu for Saturday night at the Fratalanza/Ligure Italian Club. This was a great event with fabulous food and a show for dessert. The menu was ravioli (my favorite), salad, antipasta, pork chop w/stuffing, potatoes, beans with bacon/mushrooms and a fancy dessert. The stage was a tribute band to the Rat Pack group. We all were tapping our toes and singing a long to some old standards by Frank, Deano, Sammy and Joey. What a fun night.
 

LAST BBQ COMPETITION OF THE SEASON

 

It was our last competition of the year. We traveled to Clements California to judge ribs today. It was a great send-off. There were some celebrities in the house; Elvis, Marilyn and the Duke. The teams did a great job and the judges & public left full and satisfiend. We cannot wait till next year.

 

Chompa Q bbq team took the Grandchampionship. Congratulatons

 

Elvis has left the building.

DINNER AND A SHOW

 

It is so nice to be able to be normal again. Normal with a highly inflated price tag I guess. We love to go to our local playhouse and see a show. Yesterday we saw Young Frankenstein the musical. It is a great way to spend an afternoon. Afterwards we walk across the street to enjoy a Mexican dinner.

The New Mecca is a popular restaurant that has been around forever. Today for some very unusual reason it was not crowded. New Mecca is known for their comfort, cheap and plentiful Mexican food. They do not dissapoint. It may be a good idea to take a heartburn pill but it is so good.

PIG JIG 2023

This weekend, we judged a very fun bbq contest called "Pig Jig". We got to judge Tri-tip and Ribs but what made this contest really stand out was the "Anything Goes' category. The only rule is to have 6 servings for 6 judges. The teams go all out to impress the judges. Believe you me, we were impressed. This was more than just a fun food contest. It was a corporate fundraiser for NephCure Kidney International to combat kidney desease. We were glad to have participated.