The trick is to smoke the meat and not make the meat smoke
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Prep Tip

Why Do You Take So Many Pictures?

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If you’ve been elsewhere on this site, the title of this blog may seem self evident. But what caused me to have to answer this question, was a visit from a friend when I was doing a practice run for a Christmas side dish. I was snapping multiple pictures of every phase of what I was doing and he finally said: “I had no idea you shot so many pictures of the things you make. Why do you take so many pictures when you could just take the pictures you need to use on your site?” While I was answering his question, it occurred to me there might be a blog in this. Some of the answers are obvious and some equally good reasons are not obvious. So here is a list of the reasons I document in pictures all the new recipes I make, from start to finish. Read More...
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Zero Tare Scale Tip

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Now here is a case where I may just be slow and I am the last person to pick up on this capability of a zero tare scale. But in case I am not, here is a way to make quick work out of measuring out ingredients for a recipe where you have the weights. A couple clarifications first. A zero tare digital scale has the ability to ignore the weight of the items on the scale’s platform and reset itself to zero. This allows you to put a plate or a bowl on the platform. The scale is zeroed out so it ignores the bowl and just weighs the content you add. As you may have noticed, I tend to pre-measure my ingredients into bowls. Baking recipes often have the measurements by volume and weight. I like to use weight because it is more accurate than volume. The zero tare feature made it easy: I would put the bowl for that ingredient on the scale, zero it out and add the ingredient. I would do this for each ingredient and then add them to a large bowl to mix together. This was a fairly fast and accurate way to work for sure, but today I found a better way. Read More...
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Emile Henry Pizza Stone

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I never thought I’d own a pizza stone. After all I don’t make pizza in my oven, and I like making pizza on the grill without the stone. I like being able to grill both sides of the crust as opposed to baking one side like you do with a pizza stone. Until two weeks ago I had no reason to want a pizza stone. Then I started making bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. This book recommended using a pizza stone for the crispiest crust. Since I was really happy with the results so far on the recipes that didn’t call for a pizza stone, I figured these authors knew what they were talking about. My initial breads were made in loaf pans and a stone wasn’t required. I was going to be graduating to loaves cooked without a loaf pan. The authors said you could use a metal pizza pan, but highly recommended a pizza stone. So suddenly a pizza stone was on my radar. The author’s web site had a blog entry on pizza stones and the Emile Henry Pizza Stone was a dark horse favorite. I noticed it was sold at Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table, which meant it was a serious pizza stone. Poking around and looking at critics reviews of pizza stones on the internet, I found this topped many lists as the best pizza stone. Santa came early this year and I picked up my stone. I really like it a lot and while I may not grill with mine, I figured there are others out there with smaller or round grills who may need to use a pizza stone. That is the reason for this blog. Read More...
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Be Prepared

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Perhaps I’m a chicken, but when it comes to holiday meals or other special occasions I like to play it safe. I like to do dry runs ahead of time for dishes that are new to me so there are no last minute surprises. I don’t want to be one of the family holiday horror stories that get retold every year. There are enough things that can go wrong when you are prepared, there is no sense adding in a whole bunch of surprises to the mix. This blog will talk about some of my reasons for advanced prep and test runs, complete with real world examples. Read More...
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Artisan Bread - A Follow Up

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Two weeks ago when I wrote the blog entry ARTISAN BREAD IN 5 MINUTES A DAY I had only just begun to use this book. I am back to report that it is just too good, not too good to be true. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to reach into the fridge, pull out a ball of dough and in about 2 minutes you have a loaf of bread started. About two hours later, after a rise, a bake and a cool down your are cutting into fresh baked bread as good as any I’ve tried. This process really works well. You make a particular “master dough recipe” which can be stored for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. On baking day you cut off a piece of the dough and make the bread. Many recipes have variations for the types of bread you can make from the master dough recipe. The same loaf you get a baguette from, can make a delicious pizza crust from. In fact let me say not just delicious, it was the best pizza crust I’ve ever made or tasted. I’ve now made this bread for several people who are long time bakers themselves and they were blown away when they tasted the bread. Read More...
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Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

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This blog title is the title of an amazing cookbook I just picked up that sounds too good to be true, but so far it sure doesn’t seem to be. Now before you wonder why I am talking bread in my barbecue blog, just think about it: Bread plays a key part in most everything we eat. This book uses a series of simple starter recipes to create all types of breads from A to Z. With the recipes in this book I will be able to make rye breads for grilled paninis, pizza dough for grilled pizza, flatbreads, rolls, etc. Read More...
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Sweet - FoodSaver Canister Tip

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This blog entry is a quick tip on a great use for FoodSaver canisters. I figured this one was a no brainer, but I’ve found many folks with FoodSavers only use them for leftover food that they’ve cooked. I’d mention this use and often they hadn’t thought of it before this. So I’m sharing it here as a quick tip. Read More...
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Don’t Be a Turkey, Play it Safe, Play it Smart

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I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately and when I do that I tend not have time to write here. It is time to make up for lost time. This blog entry covers a somewhat last minute decision I have been wrestling with regarding how to cook my Thanksgiving turkey. Read More...
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Successfully Carving a Stuffed Roast

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This is a case of me cribbing the idea for this blog from myself. This past week I was describing a method I’d learned for cutting a stuffed roast to someone in writing. They didn’t understand and asked me to take a picture of it the next time I did it. I wasn’t sure when I’d be making the next stuffed roast. Plus this method can involve 2 people and 3 or 4 sets of hands. Adding a 3rd person and a 4th and 5th set of hands in tight quarters didn’t seem ideal, so I made a diagram illustrating the process. A day or so after I did that, I realized it would be a good thing to share here. Read More...
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Everything is Panning Out

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This blog will be more words than pictures. I will attempt to illustrate the many uses I have found for modular sized sheet pans that you find in better cooking stores or restaurant supply houses. About 4 years ago I started using full sheet pans to help with my grilling chores. They proved very versatile and I ended up with two that I bought and two that were given to me. Within the last two years I added 1/2 and 1/4 sheet pans to my arsenal. The modular nature of these pans opens up all kinds of possibilities. Four 1/4 sheet pans fit in a full pan, two 1/4’s in a half sheet pan, two 1/2s in a whole. Better yet there are gridded inserts for these pans. The inserts for the 1/2 sheet pans are non-stick and are a perfect fit for the 1/2 sheet pans. These non-stick inserts came from Williams-Sonoma. The ones for the 1/4 pans are stainless steel and aren’t quite a perfect fit but close enough. These grids open up all sorts of additional possibilities, which I will attempt to show in the pictures. Read More...
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