Ann_T

I have a new toy. A LizzQ Pellet 12" Smoking Tube. Turned my gas grill into a smoker. I ordered it two weeks ago and it arrived yesterday. I went to three stores yesterday trying to find smaller bags of pellets. I was hoping to buy a variety of woods. Unfortunately, I could only find large bags so I went with the Green Mountain Grills Premium Texas blend. So now I have a 28 pound bag of pellets that I suspect will last me all summer, if not longer. I wanted to try a rack of ribs and couldn't wait. So this morning I rubbed one rack of baby back ribs with fresh garlic, salt, pepper and a Cajun rub. Filled the tube, lite it with my new blow torch, bought for this purpose and let it burn for 10 minutes before blowing out the flame. I have a six burner grill so I put the smoker on the right hand side of the grill. Place the ribs to the left of the tube, and turned on the next two burners on low. The temperature held steady at 300°F. The ribs were tender in just under 3 hours. And had the wonderful smoked flavour I was hoping for. Moe and I just shared the rack as is. No sauces, no nothing. Just the ribs. Didn't even take time to take a photo. They were so good. There was still more than an hour of smoke time left in the tube so I decided to let the grill cool, and then try cold smoking a piece of cheddar. I'm not big on cheese, really not much of a dairy fan. But Matthew loves smoked cheese. I cut a piece off of a brick of marbled cheddar and placed it on the top rack of the grill. The pellet tube was under and just to the left of the cheese. In order to direct the smoke to the cheese, I draped a piece of foil loosely over the cheese and down so that the smoke was somewhat trapped. I turned the cheese every 10 to 15 minutes. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't melting and sticking to the rack. Here is what it looked like after about 50 minutes. You can see from the before and after photo that the cheese really took on some smoke. Smoke flavour is quite noticeable.

It was Moe's birthday today and he requested Chiles Rellenos again. And his birthday cake. It is a tradition to always have something this strawberries on his birthday. This year I made a cake that I haven't made in a few years. Strawberry Genoise from a 1984 Food and Wine Magazine. We had pizza again on the weekend. Using dough that was four days in the fridge. Baked four smaller 7" Pizzas. One Greek, one four cheeses, one with roasted tomatoes and olives and the last one pepperoni and mushrooms.

@Anna N I would love your soup for breakfast. Up early again this morning so I made Chicken Piccata with breaded zucchini spears and roasted potatoes for Moe's breakfast. I always make my Piccata using green peppercorns rather than capers. Not a fan of capers.

I probably shouldn't admit it, but I'm not really much of a dairy fan and that includes cheese. BUT, I would be tempted by that Flinders Estate Ash Brie. We had a late lunch yesterday so I never made dinner. Just dessert. Raspberry Cobbler with a Vanilla cream sauce.

I had a craving for beef stew last night. Cooked in stages in the Breville PC. I had some ground turkey breast to do something with so Monday night I made Turkey burgers seasoned with fresh basil, garlic, green onion, a couple of tablespoons of Hellmans, salt and pepper. The idea came from Food and Wine.

@gfweb I agree with @ElsieD. Really does look incredible. Last night's dinner. Blackened Poblano peppers on the grill before leaving for work. First thing I did when I got home from work was put a pot of black beans on to cook in the Breville PC. Once the beans were cooking I started the sauce for the Chiles Rellenos. Fried three white corn tortillas and shaped them around a small bowl to form bowls for the beans. When the beans were ready, I beat the egg whites and folded in the yolks to make the batter. Filled the Poblano peppers with a piece of Monterrey Jack cheese, dipped in the batter and fried until golden Chiles Rellenos platted and served with chile sauce, a "tortilla" bowl of beans and avocado. It is funny. I know that I make Moe some really good meals. But, when I make him Chiles Rellenos, he says he has no words to describe just how good they are. And it is really such a simple meal, that I should probably make it for him more often. Friday night's dinner. Peri Peri style grilled chicken.

Moe's Breakfast. Toasted sourdough baguette and a bowl of navy beans. Soaked last night and cooked in the Breville PC this morning. Not my idea of breakfast, but Moe loves this breakfast. Early morning sun lite photo.

@rotutsNo, I don't do SV. To be honest, the idea of SV is off putting to me. Not just the additional time required to SV but also I can usually tell just by looking at a picture when meat has been SV'd. Texture looks different. Not familiar with RB40 but will look into it. Usually I will just presalt a day or two in advance for beef as well as chicken, pork and lamb.

Baked three sourdough baguettes from the remaining batch of dough that had been in the fridge since Saturday. The stone in the Oster only allows for a length of 16" . Formed two slightly longer so cut off the excess and made a couple of small rolls. Sliced this morning for Moe's breakfast. Beef Dip Sandwich made from last night's leftover NY strip roast.

Last night I roasted a small New York Strip Loin roast. Served with a Yorkshire Pudding baked in the same pan the beef was roasted in.

@TicTac, rather than putting your pizza steel on the bottom, you might try Forkish's method and put the steel on the top rack. Especially if you want to get that charred blistered crust. I don't bake pizza in the oven very often, but when I do this is the method that I follow. I did a blog post the first time I used this method.

@TicTac The pizzas were baked on a stone on the grill.

@HungryChris, your pasta with clams looks sooooo good. Even at 7:00 AM. I might have to see if I can get clams today. Pizza for Mother's Day dinner. I put two 500g batches of sourdough in the fridge just before bed Saturday night. Moe took one batch out Sunday afternoon while I was at work and it was ready to use when I got home. As soon as I walked in the door, I put some mini plum tomatoes in the CSO, drizzled with olive oil, dried basil and a number of garlic cloves, and roasted them for about 22 minutes on the bake steam setting. Made six , small 7" pizzas with different toppings. Made three for Matt. One Greek, one roasted tomatoes with Kalamata olives, and one Margherita. for Moe and I, one topped with pepperoni and mushrooms, one with pepperoni and Kalamata olives and one Margherita. Baked on a stone on the grill. Only four got eaten so I'm going to warm up one in the CSO for Moe's breakfast.

Fed my starter this week. Hadn't fed it since the beginning of February. Fed with fresh milled Canadian Organic rye. Doubled in less than six hours. Fed it again and used some of the discard to make a biga. Left overnight Sunday and made a 1000g batch of dough on Monday. Baked half the same day and the remainder on Wednesday. Same day loaf. Wednesday's bake. Sliced Thursday morning for breakfast.

A couple of Moe's breakfasts. Today's. Asparagus, buttered, salt, pepper and fresh grated Parmesan with toasted sourdough bread. Breakfast on Tuesday. Homemade sourdough out of the oven late Monday night. Toasted and topped with farm fresh poached eggs.

Moe's breakfast. Today. Meatball sandwich on homemade baguette. Fried onions and green peppers and mozzarella cheese. Baguette was warmed up in the steam oven, filled and put back into the steam oven for two minutes to melt the cheese. Moe's breakfast - Yesterday. I worked yesterday so I made dinner for Moe's breakfast and I took the same for lunch. Pan fried chicken breast, in a mushroom sauce.

I made a 1000g batch of dough yesterday and used half in three baguettes this morning and the other half tonight to make two pizzas. One Greek style. My son's favourite. Topped with seasoned potatoes. And one for Moe and I topped with Italian Sausage and mushrooms.

Winged a quick stir fry for breakfast this morning. Pork tenderloin thinly sliced and marinated with Shao Hsing, cornstarch, and sesame oil and then cooked in peanut oil. The remaining ingredients were onions, garlic, ginger, and a couple of Thai red chili peppers, stir fried in peanut oil and then Yu Chow Sum added, cooked for a minute or two, the pork added back to the wok along with a splash of chicken broth and some garlic chili sauce and a little Chinese black pepper sauce. Simmered for a few minutes until the Yu Choy Sum was tender. Didn't bother with rice or noodles. Will definitely make this again soon. Saturday's breakfast. Grilled pork chops with potato gratin made with chicken broth, roasted butternut squash and sauted Yu Chow Sum with garlic.

We started the month off with homemade Halibut Fish and Chips and we finished it the same way.

@Kim Shook, I don't often buy rotisserie chickens but when I do, it is usually for a quick lunch, either to just pick at or to make club house sandwiches, etc.. When I roast a chicken I want gravy. Either for hot chicken sandwiches or mashed potatoes. So I was happy that I could get enough brown bits to actually make a gravy. Makes for a quick and easy dinner on a work night. @scubadoo97, love salt so if that contributed, it works for me.

Last night's dinner made from a store bought rotisserie chicken. I bought a rotisserie chicken on my way to work with the idea of using some of it to make a sandwich for lunch. Instead I just ate one of the legs and brought the rest home. I removed the breasts and then added the back, other leg and wings to a cast iron pan and roasted the bones for 30 minutes, on high heat, just long enough to get some drippings and brown bits in the roasting pan. Removed the bones, added a little butter and made a gravy using chicken broth, flour, lots of pepper and some sage. Was pleasantly surprised that I could make a gravy off of a rotisserie chicken. Gravy was so good that I made mashed potatoes rather than our traditional french fries to go with hot chicken sandwiches.

@Kim Shook, I used the recipe on this blog, but added more of the sauce, and I also sauted a white onion before sauteing the white part of the green onion. Also finished with toasted sesame seeds. Bought some mini eggplants Wednesday and decided to use them this morning for breakfast. Made a Chinese style spicy pork and eggplant dish. Moe is eating as I type and I will take it to work with me for lunch.

I have breakfast and lunch covered today. Made Moe Chinese Chow Mein Noodles for breakfast and I'm taking the same with me to work for lunch.

@ImportantElements, now that is a feast. And great price on the King Crab. It was on special here recently for $8.99 a 100g or over $40.00 lb. Needless to say I didn't buy. Tonight's dinner. A favourite. Green Peppercorn Steak

I was up early again and Moe was still sleeping so I baked a batch of Cranberry Walnut scones and drizzled them with a brown butter glaze. Breakfast in bed.