May 2008 Archives

I recently has a chance to cook with some premium quality and certified organic ingredients from Whole Foods Market for the Cameron's cask night. I have not shopped in an actual grocery store for a few years now, and I dont have a car, so I visit 3 different farmers markets on my bike just about every week to get my ingredients, it's become part of my ritual to search out ingredients and some might say that it's a time consuming endeavor, I find the whole process fun, and over the years I've found myself on a first name basis with many of the people working at the markets, and I have a great relationship with a family owned butcher shop as well. I bet that I spend about 3 hours a week hunting for ingredients, and chatting with farmers at the markets. The thought of shopping at a grocery store has not passed my mind for a long time, but I have to say the quality of the ingredients from Whole Foods were awesome, although the price was also quite a bit more. -- So if you have a busy schedule and cant afford the time to search out local markets Whole Foods is a viable source to get healthy, premium, local and organic ingredients.  If you have the time though, you can find the same quality from a variety of local markets for less money.... Just my 2 cents. 

In honor of my invitation to cook for the Cameron's Let's drink the cask night this coming Thursday May 29th, I've formulated a BBQ sauce using the Cameron's Dark 266 Beer. This beer has lots of character and I was able to pretty much throw the kitchen sink at it in and still be able to pick it out in a rich bbq sauce. After a few failed experiments I think I've got a winner here, note to self.. habaneros are HOT! and not to to handled without rubber gloves.This recipe is based on a Mexican Mole sauce so it's got chocolate and lots of kick. Recipe after the jump.

This is my version of one of my Favorite Pit master's (Steven Raichlen) Chocolate & Coffee Rubs. Mines got a slightly different method and is formulated to pair with a hearty wine or strong ale. Recipe after the jump 

God I love my bear paws, it makes pulling pork sooooo much easier, I bought mine at Ontario Gas BBQ but i see they are also available at BBQ Tools a must have item if you make pulled pork.

Now that the spring season is upon us, I'm consuming more green things, as they are local, fresh and plentiful. A few of my favorite greens to eat are fiddle heads, grilled asparagus and brussel sprouts. We all know how great green veggies can be with a little butter, garlic and pepper, so why not kick things up a notch and make a sauce for them to swim in?  Use that side burner on your Q if you have it! Oh.. and in case you were wondering, the "Dragon" part of this recipe come from  the Tarragon, which is sometimes called Dragon-wort.  Recipe after the Jump

There's a few new and bunch of old things you've seen posted here over the past year or so, but some cool stuff, so check it out!























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The smoking gun! Pack this puppy with your favorite wood and it's shoots smoke into whatever vessel you choose for cooking.

I totally messed up the date, the taste patio opening is this Sunday....not Saturday

Looks like yours truly will be whipping up some more tasty vittles for the Patio opening @ Cafe Taste this Sunday May 25th from 7-11 pm, if you have an adventurious pallet and live around Toronto this is shaping up to be a great week! Visit www.cafetaste.ca for more info, or if facebook suits your fancy, check out the event page here



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I'll be doing the cooking this month for Cameron's "Lets Drink The Cask" night, on Thursday May 29th from 6pm to 8pm. It's an honor for me to be invited to prepare some delicious food to complement the always interesting one of a kind cask ale that the talented brewers over at Cameron's make just once a month.  For more information, visit the Cameron's website.
http://www.cameronsbrewing.com/caskNight.html

If you enjoy talking like a pirate, and cooking sausages, this is the gadget for you!

One day.. we will all have robots to cook bbq for us.. for now we can get some eggs cooked for us.

Found a really cool gadget for all you Weber kettle users out there.. this little gadget goes into your kettle and converts it to an offset smoker!





























http://www.smokenator.com/

I got a nice surprise when I went to the butcher today, he had fresh Bison! Bison is a lean delicious meat, It's rare for me to find fresh unfrozen bison, so I had some real fun today, there's a few caveats to making burgers with such a lean meat,  Recipe after the jump.

Now that spring is finally upon us in Ontario, make sure you are hunting for local produce at your local markets. I picked up some local asparagus this week and boy was is awesome on the grill. Hit the link to find where and when your local farmers markets are.  I made a grilled version of this Recipe
 
http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/availability.htm

I love making HUGE sandwiches to share.. this sandwich features elk meat, berkshire bacon and cumin infused cheese, with a touch of nuts and olive oil.