Playing With Our Food

Can't get enough bacon and/or pie? Us neither. Here is the next best thing to get your fix after you have cooked the last bacon strip and sliced the last piece of pie:

Bacon v. Pie: The Game!

Collect ingredients and create delectable bacon and pie dishes to persuade the town to cast their support for either bacon or pie!

Beta testing is currently underway, and bacon has been the big winner so far.

So far...

--Isaac.

Sometimes Cake Happens

I don't always bake a cake, but when I do, it is probably Mary's birthday and it is absolutely a banana cake. And delicioso.

I could claim that I like baking pies better because I don't get frosting all over me up to my elbow trying to frost the damn cake. But that wouldn't hold much merit as I am usually covered in flour when I finally get that pie in the oven.

I wanted to do a little different tweak on the 2013 edition of the banana birthday cake. Since I had a ton of bananas laying around even after pulverizing enough for the recipe and for quality control, I thought about trying to incorporate the fresh fruit for decoration and to kick up the banana-ness of the baked good.

I first tried to brulee some banana slices with the idea of decoratively places them around the cake top. Not good. I just ended up cooking the banana with the blowtorch and the burnt sugar didn't want to stay on the slices.

Ok, new plan: caramelized banana compote to be used as a filing.

Winner. The layer of banana filling was a perfect accompaniment in between the two cake layers in place of the standard inside layer of cream cheese frosting.

The matching purple sprinkles and purple plate seal the deal.

--Isaac.

Smokin'

The Traeger has been working overtime so far in 2013. I think some of the local livestock farmers are going to move their farms to the park down the block just to save on transportation costs from their pastures to my kitchen.

Out of all the awesomeness that has found its way onto the grill grates, the pork ribs on Super Bowl Sunday have been the clear winner so far.

Three hours in

I used the "3-2-1" method that all the BBQ professionals supposedly commonly use in competitions: Three hours on the grill at 180 degrees, two hours wrapped in foil at 225 degrees, then finished for one long final agonizing hour sauced straight back on the grill. I used a butter knife to cut up the ribs for serving when a dull, plastic spork would have likely been plenty. This is the way ribs were meant to be eaten.

I've tried pork shoulder a couple times to varying success, once for some carintas action and once for pulled pork. The recipe I am trying to follow is for a full bone-in pork shoulder, and I've been using small cuts of boneless shoulder, so I may just have to go all out one of these days.

Since the start of fun times tax season, I've haven't been able to get in much extended smoking time, and have just stuck with sub-60 minute meals.

Chicken and Veg

Brats and Onions

Delicious and Awesome.

--Isaac.