chileheadmike

Great Jim's rand Jerry. Is the Bamboo Hut still around?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. The Gin Joint sounds like something Mrs CHM would love. It's not really my thing, I stick to mostly beer. Cheap American Macro. I know, it's a character flaw, but you like what you like. I'm sure I can get a nice cold Budweiser. FIG, SNOB, McGrady's all sound terrific. Queen 82 looks promising as well. We have a tough decision to make regarding our one super nice meal. We're heading up to the Francis Marion state forest and maybe a beach today, The Wreck sounds like a perfect stop on the way back. We didn't eat much at all yesterday. A quick nibble for breakfast at the concierge lounge. A small, late lunch at Mad Rivers. Mahi tacos were tasty for me, and a build your own salad was pronounced the best ever by my wife. The place used to be a church and is a really cool setting for a bar and grill. Dinner was at the hotel. (Damn those vouchers the hotel gave us. We (Mrs CHM)feel(s) obligated to use them up). Looking for more adventure today. Thanks again for the help.

We drove down from Lexington, KY yesterday. Beautiful drive but at 8 hours we were not ready to do any excursions last night. We checked into the Market Pavilion and had dinner at Grill 225. I was a little apprehensive about eating at the hotel restaurant, but I needn't have worried. Everything we had was excellent. Being in Charleston, I wanted seafood, but the emphasis here is on steaks. Seafood included Maine lobster, Alaskan Halibut, etc. Our server mentioned that all steaks are prime, and that they are 45 day dry aged. SOLD. I had a 12oz ribeye, Mrs CHM had the filet. Both were cooked perfectly and one of the best steaks I've ever had. We split grilled asparagus and some potatoes that had been sliced and broiled with butter and parmesan. More later, I think we're going to try and get reservations at HUSK. We're not familiar with Charleston so any recommendations are welcome.

Jerry, that pork looks incredible. Nicely done with the pollo too. Wish I was there. Mrs CHM and I are in Charleston, SC for the week so I can't keep up as much as I'd like. I'll post something over on the Southeast board about our adventures. I will say that I had the best steak of my life last night in a seafood town.

Not I. I noticed the sign in front of the cafe looks an awful lot like Gates "sruttin" logo.

I watched one episode. It's so bad and boring that I can't even poke fun at it. Plus, there's something about Bravo that just gets makes my teeth hurt. Probably the reason I quit watching Top Chef a few years ago.

I make homemade for the kids about every other weekend or so. If I eat them I just eat them plain, my anti-sweet tooth thing. Oldest daughter loves them with peanut butter. Youngest daughter with a half a ton of syrup. Preferably the HCFS kind.

I grew Mucho Nachos a couple of years ago. They were very prolific and very large, almost too big for ABT's. I've since moved to Biker Billy's. Not quite as big but noticeably hotter and just as many.

Halved, seeded, filled with cream cheese and a lil smokie. Then wrapped in a half slice of bacon and smoked for a couple hours or so. At a barbecue competition a few years ago one of my teammates brought along a turkey fryer and we battered and deep fried the previously smoked ABT's. Supergood but 2 was my limit.

Powdered Hollandaise.

I usually rub the pork butt the night before I smoke it. My rub has a lot of salt and sugar. This pulls out some of the moisture to to the surface and helps create a full flavored bark. Interesting that Jerry and I have done several competitions together but do this completely opposite. For ribs, I use less rub and let them sit at room temp until the smoker comes up to temp, about 225 or so.

Our family is kind of the same way. We only said Grace before supper. Never for breakfast or dinner (lunch). Only once that I remember when eating at a restaurant, Mom said we had to when the table next to us did. Felt strange as we were half way finished, but anything to keep Mom happy. We don't say Grace as a family, except for when Mom is over for supper.

Rules change. I think I took the course in 2004. Fall off the bone ribs would not have won anything but they would not have been disqualified. BTW Mrs CHM likes 'em fall off the bone. I usually overcook a rack for her.

Right. In fact, the KCBS instructs the judges at its cookoffs to hold up the ribs and give them a little shake to be sure that they are not "falling off the bone." If they are, they are disqualified from the competition, going on the theory that anybody can overcook meat. They tell the judges that the meat should have enough texture that you know you're eating meat and not mush, and definitely require some pressure to come loose from the bone. If they've been perfectly smoked, the bone will turn white where you take your bite and pull the meat off it. It's been a few years since I took the KCBS Judges certification, but this is news to me. We were told that "fall off the bone" ribs were overcooked and should not score high in the texture component but they were not disqualified. A disqualification would be if there were fewer than 6 separate portions in the box, marking of the box (toothpicks, brisket rosettes etc), or cutting a pork butt into smaller portions before cooking. I'm sure there's a few more but it has been a couple years.

I like Bitchin Kitchen. I must be the only one. But I think she's funny, and her food looks good. My vote is for Kelsy or Kylie or whatever her name is. I caught about 15 seconds of one of her shows on the Cooking Channel.

I always thought he was too nice to them when they do that.

The Cooking Channel had a show on this morning featuring a young Rocco and a very young Cat Cora. I think it was Melting Pot. I was working so I didn't catch all of it, but I kept looking at thinking, "Who IS that?"

I'll be watching, at least for an episode or two. This has the potential to be worse than Emeril's sitcom.

I do a marinade of: Soy sauce Grated ginger A couple of cloves of garlic A couple of fat tablespoons of Chinese red chile paste Lime juice Sesame oil And some ketchup to thicken a little and add sweetness. Let sit in the fridge for a couple hours before grilling.

Ripened jalapeños, over pecan, until dry.

Zeeman did a side by side comparison of Berkshire vs on sale $1.99 pork butts at the eG Gathering in KC a couple of years ago. There really was no comparison, the Berkshire pork was much darker and richer looking and the flavor was much better. The on sale stuff was almost white. Another benefit was the Berkshire cooked in about half of the time.

Its been a couple years since I bought any casing, but I seem to recall paying about $3.00 for about 20 ft of the stuff.

Owensboro, KY is the center of mutton barbecue. I've been to the Moonlite BBQ there: it's very good. I've recently moved to Lexington KY. The barbecued mutton at Billy's is very good. Sandwich has pickle and red onion on it. If it's better in Owensboro, it's worth the 3 hour drive each way. I've barbecued lamb shanks before. Usually for Easter. Marinate in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, white wine, S&P. Smoke over olive branches for a few hours.

Before my toaster oven went elements up, I used to cook brown rice in there. 1 cup brown rice 2 cups water Diced onion and celery Pinch or two of salt Wrap in foil, bake at 350 for about 30 minutes Perfect every time.

You bet me to it, I was going to mention this episode. I'm pretty sure it was pre-Food Network. Great fun to see Julia sucking crawfish heads with Emeril.