tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38903438502199383642011-07-07T15:04:21.269-07:00Documenting my trials and tribulations (and occasional successes) in learning more about food in general, and meats in particular, with the odd rant now and thenliteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-88868670635335857082010-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:002010-07-24T11:34:22.171-07:00

By now you’ve figured out that I like to smoke meat. I LOVE to smoke meat…. And yet, sometimes I HATE to smoke meat.Like most guys, I love the process of building a fire and using it to cook a chunk of dead animal flesh. The process of taming a fire… making it submit to your will… harnessing its destructive nature to your own ends… taking a piece of meat and turning it into something succulent…

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-87884276758065227502010-06-13T20:12:00.000-07:002010-06-13T21:10:41.217-07:00

I'm Baaaaaaaacccckkkk....Yeah, yeah, I know... I been busy.But I finally got some time to try something new. Something I've been wanting to try for several years now and lacked the info and nerve to try.Guess I'm getting older, and maybe a bit wiser... or at least I found a good reference to show me the basics on......TAMALES...Yep, those little corn wrapped logs of Mexican lovin...I've loved

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-65616566445006337342009-10-23T21:04:00.000-07:002009-10-24T13:07:58.493-07:00

Seems like any interest in cooking or blogging pretty much went out the door when the summer heat rolled in.I hate hot weather. Hate it. But I do love all the fresh food summertime has to offer… so I guess you take the bad with the good. I decided to get back to blogging by writing up something that I know fairly well. Over the summer, I got hooked up on Facebook with a lot of old high school

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-79084069731092453982009-05-11T18:01:00.001-07:002009-05-11T19:09:33.743-07:00

I know.... you're telling me "don't think too hard, you might hurt something".... and usually you'd be right.But this is a good rethinking...I'm currently reading "The Soul Of A Chef" by Michael Ruhlman, and must admit, it's a fascinating book. I'm only about halfway through it so far, but there's a section where Brian Polcyn is working through one of his CMC tests (that's 10 days of non-stop

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-76132869409410157042009-05-10T12:59:00.000-07:002009-05-10T13:37:22.536-07:00

I made myself a New Year's resolution (well, actually, I made several, but this is the only one I seem to be having any luck with...) to learn how to cook at least one new dish a month this year. And not just any dish, but one that I really like and have, for whatever reason, been reluctant to try on my own.So far this year, I've knocked out the following:Chile VerdeChile RojaTonnato SauceItalian

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-8344373475063608202009-05-03T19:43:00.000-07:002009-05-03T20:27:02.909-07:00

Recently, I finally got around to taking a stab at homemade sausage. What took so long was the fact that none of the meat markets in my immediate vicinity sell fatback or even pork fat over the counter, or even to the weird dude that walks up to the counter and asks for it.So... I had to wait until I was ready for another round of bacon (which is worth a post all it's own... the best I've done to

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-10737243323306085582009-04-20T20:04:00.001-07:002009-04-20T20:24:15.794-07:00

Ever have one of those culinary moments where you're deep into a dish and suddenly start to question your sanity?No?Too bad... sometimes the most delicious of results come from the wildest ideas. Take tonight for example. A friend and I have started a software business, and as you can imagine, time is suddenly a scarce commodity (as the number of blog entries will attest to...).So tonight, after

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-38252342084970971012009-03-31T18:41:00.000-07:002009-05-02T07:07:57.527-07:00

... to an earlier post. This isn't about food... directly. But a good sharp knife is essential to a good sharp cook.A few weeks ago, my son and I attended a knife making class hosted by Tom McGinnis, owner of Ozark Knife Makers just outside Springfield, Missouri.Tom and crew are world class craftsmen who put on one heckuva two day class. The class itself is oriented to the novice who thinks

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-79993597595159483872009-03-24T19:49:00.000-07:002009-03-24T20:07:20.432-07:00

In an earlier post (okay, okay... a couple of days ago) I snuck in a shot of some beef jerky I was making with my new handy dandy electric meat slicer.Not only was slicing the meat an absolute breeze, but the ability to carefully dial in the thickness was pretty dang cool.I love jerky. No, I mean I LOVE jerky. I can eat this stuff for breakfast. In fact I sometimes snag a piece out of the jerky

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-46473937279764472672009-03-23T20:13:00.000-07:002009-03-23T20:33:51.024-07:00

... is my new Chef's Choice Model 610 electric meat slicer.Got this little gem last week on the day we departed for knifemaking school, so it sat all weekend... boxed up and waiting... until tonight.Stopped by the store tonight to lay in provisions for the hungry horde, and while I was there I snagged a couple of rump roasts that looked pretty nice. I had jerky on my mind... especially since I

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-18806445117486839182009-03-22T20:31:00.000-07:002009-03-22T20:35:12.423-07:00

... more to come. Just got back home a little while ago, and dead tired.Top one is my son's... bottom one is mine. Handmade (from scratch) Damascus Steel Knives.

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-57261851800690325862009-02-19T16:28:00.000-08:002009-02-19T16:41:30.619-08:00

... just as it should be.Hey y'all... I'm back from the dead. Strep is gone (along with about 20 pounds). It's amazing what holing up in bed for 4 days with no food and just a few sips of water will do to jump start a diet.Whilst looking for a possible source of fatback without having to travel the 30 miles up the road to my favorite packer, I came across this link....http://

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-56852056819024657952009-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:002009-02-07T16:23:40.263-08:00

Going back to bed..... fah.

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-87151790543634819772009-01-29T17:59:00.000-08:002009-01-29T18:31:47.528-08:00

Or at least getting back to basics for tonight's meal.Seems like the menu has seen a lot of pork this week, not that that's a bad thing... It's seen Pork in Red Sauce, Parmesan Herbed Pork Chops and bacon and sausage (yep, breakfast for dinner one night), so tonight, when I opened the fridgedator and saw a couple of pork tenderloins. What to do... what to do...I didn't really feel like getting

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-37564330936985461952009-01-27T15:39:00.000-08:002009-01-27T16:15:17.506-08:00

and to top it off, we got hit with a winter storm that dropped about a half an inch of ice, and now it's snowing. For all you Northerners, don't start... I know, I know... that's a flurry where you come from... but down here, it's enough to make all the idjits on the road act like it's Armageddon.So... schools were closed today, and we closed the office to work at home. Which wound me up in the

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-83982064516181383432009-01-25T20:26:00.000-08:002009-01-25T20:56:25.173-08:00

... darn cold... last time I checked it was about 20 degrees, with the wind a blowin'. So, what's a guy to do when the wind's howlin', the temps are droppin', and his belly's a growlin'?Make some comfort food.... shuh....Today's venue was something I stumbled onto whilst perusing this internet thing for something totally different. Funny how life's like that, huh? Anyway, while looking for some

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-18825807745415536952009-01-10T17:23:00.000-08:002009-01-10T18:51:50.736-08:00

Chilebrown that is...After reading his thoughtful and insightful blog, I came to the realization that he and I both share an intense and uncompromising love of the green stuff... Chile Verde.I've had various permutations of CV over the years, some good, others not. There's a local place close to where we live that does a pretty good take on it, and you can even get it wrapped up in enchiladas.

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-83645100570705475982008-12-31T18:57:00.001-08:002008-12-31T21:31:15.926-08:00

Wow... month and a half gone by since my last post... (note to self... get yer butt back in the saddle, dude).Sorry for the lapse... Thanksgiving rolled around right after my last post, and I didn't think anyone wanted to see yet another turkey, although this year's bird was bodaciously slammin'... And then I went on vacation pretty much all of December... and I mean vacation... pretty much just

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-5897366549736417212008-11-16T13:46:00.000-08:002008-11-17T04:50:55.787-08:00

Raided the freezer for those various chicken parts I'd saved up, and made a big pot o' stock. Added some celery, onions, carrots, gently poached chicken meat and noodles.'Nuff said....

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-9714948298214396312008-11-15T21:21:00.000-08:002008-11-15T21:47:04.532-08:00

Sometimes... just every once in a while, it's perfectly acceptable for the meat portion of a dish to take a back seat to the rest of the group and just provide a tasty backdrop for the rest of the action.I know... I've walked right up to that line of heresy and I'm dangling my big toe over it... but hear me out first.One of my favorite dishes when the weather takes a cold turn is Braised Cabbage

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-17056528688545416582008-11-12T11:07:00.000-08:002008-11-12T12:17:50.615-08:00

Or at least that's what the song says... And so life imitates art yet again.While surfing for a couple of new chicken recipes this last weekend, I happened to see a link for Braised Beef Short Ribs.Now I have to admit... I've always been a rib snob. If it's ribs, it's pork... end of discussion.But I had to check myself when that thought started bouncing around my head. If it wasn't a good dish,

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-59389137080534726552008-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:002008-11-09T13:12:40.802-08:00

This post isn't about the food... the recipe... the technique or any of that stuff. This one is about passing on your enthusiasm and passion for all of that stuff.Lotsa times when we're fully engaged in the kitchen, working our mojo on all that delectable food-to-be... we get tunnel vision. Or at least I do. And it's not just cooking... when I'm heads down, fully into what I'm doing, I'm not

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-23442681696010349712008-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:002008-11-04T17:46:13.459-08:00

At least that's what a couple of chickens did on my rotisserie last night. Started off with a couple of young fryers, slipped them on the spit, trussed em up a bit to hold em together, and set everything in motion.Shook on a little dry rub, garlic powder, olive oil and lemon juice, and let the old spinning wheel spin.For a long time, it seemed like....Actually, about two hours by the time

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-42789901613010638592008-11-01T17:54:00.000-07:002008-11-01T18:47:28.914-07:00

Okay, here's the deal.... my oldest and I are always sorta joking about someday opening a restaurant, and whenever a new effort in the kitchen works out beyond our wildest expectations (or is at least a pleasant surprise), we joke that it's "going on the menu".Well, tonight was one of those nights, and all the more surprising because it wasn't a magnificent main course... it wasn't a stellar side

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-88502713700623983532008-10-30T17:38:00.000-07:002008-10-30T18:08:39.749-07:00

Nothing special this post... just finally got around to finishing off the second half of that double header pork tenderloin. Everyone around the house has been down with a 24 hour flu bug, so meals have been pretty much non-existent the last couple of nights.Today, however, everyone was on the upside of things, and I had a craving from a little red meat. Chicken noodle soup only goes so far......

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-17081982811377244802008-10-27T07:51:00.000-07:002008-10-27T08:09:17.908-07:00

BREAKFAST!!!That's right guys and gals... it ain't just for dinner anymore (all due respects to Sam).Several posts ago I elaborated on one of my periodic meat smoking forays. As mentioned in that post, I take the finished product and divide it up into 'meal size' portions, vacuum seal it and toss it in the freezer for later consumption.Well, this past Saturday was one of those times. The two

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-58978920126467895192008-10-26T19:04:00.000-07:002008-10-26T19:58:16.170-07:00

Or at least for the night, anyway.The wife has been having a hankerin' for some Jambalaya, and the oldest has been after me to make some Chicken Bog, so tonight I knocked out a double header. For those who have been on another planet all their lives, Jambalaya is a staple of cajun cooking. And for those who aren't followers of Ms. Paula Dean, Chicken Bog is a hard core comfort food recipe that

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-59822522134198827672008-10-13T18:16:00.000-07:002008-10-13T18:56:21.533-07:00

To carry on with the previous post... while I was buying that big ol' pork loin, I also grabbed a double pack of pork tenderloins.Loin is good... real good... lean and juicy... but tenderloin... that's sumtin else altogether.If you're a regular partaker of the tenderloin, you know what I mean. If you're not... you don't know what you're missing.When I was growing up, tenderloin was a treat around

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-61167791366439454722008-10-12T19:08:00.000-07:002008-10-12T20:24:08.551-07:00

This post is all about getting more for less. I do all the cooking in the house, so I also do all the grocery shopping. This means I get really in tune with what things cost, as does anyone who buys the food. We're a family of 5, and we like to eat, so keeping the grocery budget in check is always a challenge.I used to just wing it without a list, but got tired of getting 90% of what I needed.

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-46616057788378544062008-09-22T08:50:00.000-07:002008-09-24T05:40:30.973-07:00

Well, it'd been way too long since I'd fired up the smoker, so I thought it was high time. Saturday, I got hold of a nice little 11 pound brisket, a 9 pound pork shoulder, three really nice racks of spareribs and about 10 pounds of bologna.Saturday night (Nosh night, see post below) after all the cleanup was done and everyone had gone to bed I started in with the prepwork. I peeled and trimmed

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-28387754941253018132008-09-20T00:23:00.000-07:002008-09-24T05:41:21.560-07:00

Every couple of months or so around our house, we have what we call 'nosh night'. What that means is I spend a couple of hours in the kitchen cooking up a variety of snack foods so that everyone can snack and generally have an easy night of it.Sounds fun, huh?I don't complain though... If I didn't like cooking, I wouldn't do it.Over time, our menu has come to include some basic staples. Pretty

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3890343850219938364.post-75291075371503214262008-09-15T20:35:00.001-07:002008-09-24T05:41:56.093-07:00

Greetings... and welcome to my blog.Been on the fence about this for awhile, simply because blogs take time, and time is getting to be a precious commodity. Having said that, I've developed a keen interest in the various techniques of preserving and preparing meat, as well as having a lifelong love of cooking... so this is my way of paying it back to all those web authors who have inspired and

liteluvrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16134195141230121310noreply@blogger.com0