Shelby

I was recently gifted a Cameron smoker. I thought I'd give it a test run last night using some German brats that we got for Christmas. Gosh this little smoker is fun, easy and it does a great job! Put about 4t. of wood chips in the middle, put a piece of foil down, put the rack on top, place your food, slide the lid on, put it on the burner (I did mine on low because I have a gas stove and the burner I used gets really hot). In about 20 minutes smoked tomatoes and brats

It was a bummer. I love the texture.....I saved it. I think I'll mix it into some macaroni and cheese along with a sharp cheddar. Yes--I love those noodles. I'll go down here in a bit and get the brand. I get them at the asian market.

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm so glad the holidays are once again done with. I still have my decorations up and I'm enjoying them. Might leave 'em up a while longer New Year's Eve Eve I needed Chinese food--ok American type Chinese food lol. I think @liamsaunt made me hungry for it. Drunken noodles, pork belly and egg rolls Then New Year's Eve/our 20th wedding anniversary we had some wonderful seafood given to us by my mom and step dad. Started off with some cheese I've been saving for NYE. I got it at Whole Foods. Went in asking if they had Harbison. They were sold out but the cheese monger suggested this cheese as a very good substitute. It wasn't The texture was lovely But it tastes like.......nothing......very disappointing especially considering the price of $37. I served it on this great board that my sister and brother in law gave us for Christmas. That design on the front is the family brand that is/was used for cattle. Anyway, we moved on to some oysters And then some crab cakes made from some lump crab. Ronnie said they were the best crab cakes ever. Somehow I missed a picture of the seafood bisque that I also made. Yesterday, we did the usual.....I didn't want to mess up and not have the the good luck stuff, so RG black eyed peas with a Father's ham hock, greens from our garden, mashed taters and fried chicken

Kim, you did awesome! No way could I have gotten all of that done. I'm exhausted just looking at it. I'm going for a nap.

Totally

I can't believe it's already here! It's our 20 year wedding anniversary on NYE. We had such a fun wedding up in the mountains. We set off fireworks at midnight. Couldn't get away with doing that nowadays! I don't have anything set in stone....Mom and stepdad gave us some oysters and some lump crab meat that I'm eyeing.....I think I have one last bit of foie gras in the freezer.....so something using those things. Champagne is on the porch already cold --also some interesting wine. I have a chicken brining for New Year's Day. I'm going to fry that up. I froze some collard greens from the garden and have black eyed peas from RG. Might make Texas caviar with those, or maybe not. Mashed taters and gravy of course. @liamsaunt's Chinese sounds divine. Maybe I'll do something like that tonight!

Aw, thank you! It was pretty good. No, it was just one of those "look in the fridge and see what I have" type of things. I had some stale bread, some Jimmy Dean and some mushrooms and broccoli that needed to be used. I normally don't make one of those for just the two of us, but it sounded good so I did . I think we are still eating on it lol.

LOVE this book, David---"the gin punch is a pleasant innocent beverage which is potent" 😂 And the cheese spread on potato chips.

I'd put them in both the pot pie and the soup.

Never seen those boulders before. Super cool.

@KennethT You never need to ask, we always want to see you and your wife's adventures!!

Well SHOOT. I was hoping to get some of that. I need to remember and look for it next year I guess.

I did some king crab legs on Christmas Eve. Used the CSO. So easy. Red Lobster biscuits and homemade mushroom/ricotta stuffed ravioli and a salad to go with. Somehow missed a picture of a few things. A sausage, mushroom broccoli strata thing for breakfast Christmas morning Ronnie got me a couple of really cute wine glasses so I had to try it out with some champagne I've had a 4.3 lb prime rib in the fridge drying out for a few days Kind of had a crisis due to me not planning very well. I did our last prime rib in the CSO--I do the Serious Eats method: 200F on the convection setting until the internal temp hits 125F. Remove from oven, let rest for at least 30 mins then roast at 500F for 10 mins. A 3.7 lb prime rib took about 1 hour and 15 mins to reach that temp last time. Anyway, I went to put the PR in and it was too big for the CSO. Major panic. Had to use the big oven. Took a lot longer. LOL thank goodness it was just the two of us. Anyway. we had some cheeses on a platter that I bought for myself--Harbison that I love on the left, some awful cheese on the right. Had no flavor. Simple side of bruss. sprouts and a tater

Definitely need to make this bread thing. That looks delicious!

I don't think those bad juju's care about what day it is. They just drop down and engulf us. Tomorrow WILL be a much better day

I wouldn't have the first clue how to use one of those so I think you're brave!

On low? If on low, I've done that and they are ok

Oh you brave person! That's not much notice for Christmas dinner 😳. I usually keep it on the warm setting. I'm not @kayb but my IP's run hot. I definitely do any slow cooking on the low setting and make sure to check it.

I LOVE the bean club! There is a thread around here somewhere where we used to discuss each shipment, but it kind of died out. I need to be better about posting on it. When you say sauce, you're talking broth etc. right? I do a lot of what I call "Mexican Beans"---usually a black bean or a pinto type bean in some broth--whatever I have on hand, chicken or beef. If I don't have any broth I throw in a couple bullion cubes. Spices are garlic, a bay leaf or two, cumin, salt and pepper. If I've planned ahead, I soak the beans, but more often than not, I haven't planned ahead. If the beans are a bigger type bean, they take longer (for me anyway). On average I start with an hour in the IP and do natural release. If they still aren't done to my liking, usually about 30 more minutes does it. For sure the seasoning soaks in to the beans. I see no reason why one couldn't make the beans a day or two before.

Put it close to your fire Glad you were able to get some! Let us know what you think!

Sous vide quail last night With mushroom gravy, brussels sprouts and melted potatoes

If I change my name to Moe, would you notice two Moe's in the house?

@liuzhou Your meal sounds delicious and I can picture it too. I can also picture the delighted looks on your guests faces Great looking food here, as usual, everyone! Venison cheeseburger pizza and the usual salad. I'm so happy to eat salad again. Sticky wings and drunken noodles with an egg roll I've been looking for dishes that looked Christmasy but could also be used in the middle of summer. I found these and thought they could look picnic-y too. Or maybe I'm delusional lol. Venison meatballs. Scallops that I didn't get a great sear on, but still tasted good Lasagna soup to celebrate the first day of winter

Ditto! I use it a LOT.

Ok thanks. What do you glaze yours with?