Smoked Garlic and Thyme Prime Rib

Prime Rib, mmmmmmmmmmmm.    So good, so yummy, so many different ways to make.

Last year at our local Rotary Auction I purchased a Ribeye loin that has been sitting in the freezer for well, a year.  Seemed as though we never really could find the time to have friends over to use it up.  Well, that changed this month.  A few friends and a prime rib dinner, wine, whiskey, beer and it was an eventful evening!  It's to bad we don't do stuff like that more often.

The thing about cooking, smoking, baking, broiling, or whatever is you can take someones idea and make it how you want.  This recipe is something I hadn't tried before and it turned out well, my friends loved it, and the meat was fantastic.  I had searched the internet for some ideas and this is what I came up with.

The loin had the bones removed and was aged for about a week.  Prior to cooking I marinated it the rib roast the night before.  This was a big piece of meat so I felt it needed a lot in the rub.

8 garlic cloves (chopped up)
1/2 package of store bought fresh thyme (chopped up) - Save the rest to put in the au jus.
2 T Cracked Black Pepper
2 T Kosher Salt
1 T Emerils Essense
1 T of Dijon Mustard ( I used Denison Mustard)

I put this in a blender and added olive oil to make it past and proceeded to rub it all over the meat.

After a night of marinating I figured it would take about 3-3.5 hours to get ready and so I wanted to smoke it and have off the smoker around 6PM before everyone arrived.

This piece of meat went into the oven at 450 F for about 2 minutes and got nice and cooked on the outside.  This sears the outside nicely.  After removing from the oven I put on my smoker (WSM) at 200F and set the thermometer so I would remove when the temperature got to 129 F.  I smoked the meat with lump charcoal and added a few lumps of hickory for the smoke.  The smoker kept getting hot and I was seeing temps of 250 but after about an hour I finally got it settled down to the right temp.  They key is to pull at the right temperature.  At 129 this will gain around 8 degrees or so and I found the middle to be just the way I like it and the ends were just the way Emily liked it.

After pulling off the smoker I wrapped in foil and left in a cooler for a little longer than an hour until we ate.

Here are some pics of the process.

Putting on the marinade.  I did this the night before.

This is the prime rib after pulling off the smoker.

A few sprigs of thyme in the au jus.

The meal was delicious.  The prime rib was perfect.  We had this with cheesy potatoes and green beans, bacon and onions.

Enjoy!

This isn't Sirloin Steak!

Yesterday was one of the nicest days of the month.  Thankfully we were able to spend most of the day outside.  Cars washed, lawn mowed, patio furniture in storage, deck power washed, a little nap, and church.  It was a busy day!  My favorite part was the nap.  Unfortunately between the kids fighting it only lasted about 20 minutes.  So now it's 5:15 in the morning, I can't sleep....so let's blog!

The plan was to have Parmesan crusted sirloin steaks for dinner.  I had pulled them out of the freezer a few days ago to let them thaw.  When I pulled them out of the fridge and unwrapped I noticed the wrapper said Sirloin Steak Tip.  Well.... change of plans.

The Tip isn't really good for steak as it's a tougher piece of meat and needs to be marinated and I simply didn't have the time.  So, we changed plans and I decided to do a whiskey glaze sirloin kebabs!  First attempt and they turned out awesome!

I looked on the internet for some recipe's and didn't find one I specifically liked so with a few modifications, this is what I came up with.

Whiskey Glaze!
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Dried Chopped Onions
1/2 T Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 T Chili Powder
1/2 T Dried Mustard
2 T Honey
4 T Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 C Whiskey
2 C Brown Sugar
A splash of Beef stock ( you could also use beef bullion cubes)
1/2 Pineapple Juice.  I didn't have juice so I threw in some pineapple.

Heat over medium heat  to a boil and then lower heat and let it simmer and reduce.  This sauce was a little sweet and a little spicy.  If you  want it thicker, use less pineapple juice.  If you want it thinner, use more juice.

The Sirloin Tip was about 3lbs.  I ended up cutting into cubes and coating with olive oil, putting some off my favorite seasonings on it, and then added a little bit to coat the cubes prior to putting on the grill.

My oldest daughter Haley is learning to cook also.  She helped with the mashed potatoes and grilling the kebabs.  If making dinner is a chore, try cooking with your kids.  They enjoy good food and have fun helping make it!


The whiskey glaze sauce.  Any whiskey will do.

 Seasoned and cubed sirloin steak tip.

 Potatoes ready to be boiled.  I like them with the skins on.

 Emily made a ceasar salad.  Came from the bag from the store.

Steak tips just off the grill!  They are still pink in the middle!

 We tossed the cubes in the Whiskey glaze.   MMMMMMmm

For the mashed potatoes - we diced up 4 potatoes, boiled, added milk, garlic salt, and parmesan cheese.  Haley mixed them up.

Dinner is Served!

Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Well, things have been crazy lately and weekends seem to disappear so I apologize for no new posts.  These weekend I'm back in full force and just had one of the best dinners ever!  I think everyone else in the house liked it as every bowl in the house is clean,  The whining by the kids silenced momentarily as they scarfed down dinner and now they are back at it....oohhh Serenity now....

Usually I get cooking away and I forget that I'm trying to blog.  Sorry if the pictures aren't enough but this is definitely a dinner you should make!

Here's the inspiration.  One of my favorite restaurants is Buzzard Billy's Flying Carp Cafe in Des Moines, IA.  According to their website they only have 4 locations.  They used to have a restaurant on Court Ave. before it got flooded and a few months ago we went to the new one....it's just not the same.  The old restaurant was in the basement and this was one of my favorite dishes.  We used to go and drink on the patio, play trivia on crappy beer night...oh the memories.  I thought I would try and recreate the dish and I think I came pretty close.

Today after the dogpark walk I fired up the smoker and put on three pieces of meat.  I had a whole chicken, a chuck roast, and an arm roast.  My plan is to make a bbq beef from the arm roast, use the chuck roast in a three bean chili later and the chicken goes in the gumbo.   I seasoned the beef with a store bought Tri-R-Seasoning and put a little on the chicken as well as some store bought creole seasoning.

Here's what I did

I smoked 1 store bought chicken, although you wouldn't have to.  I also smoked the sausage for a little while.  Once the chicken hit 165 or so I took off the smoker and let cool and then proceeded to remove the skin and shredded.

Roux:
1 C Oil
1 C Flour

Ingredients:
1 Onion - Minced
1 Green Pepper - Minced
1 C or so Celery - Minced
3 garlic cloves  - Minced
2 bay leaves
1 T Cayenne - You can add more if you like it spicy
1 T Pepper
1 T Salt
1 T Cumin
1 T Ground Mustard
1 T Thyme
1/2 T White Pepper
1 T Paprika
10 C Chicken Stock

To make the Roux I heated up the oil and then added the flour and kept stirring over med. high heat until it turned a nice brown-dark brown color.

 As soon as that turned a nice color I added the everything but the chicken stock, chicken, and sausage.  I cooked the ingredients for about 5-7 minutes and then added the chicken stock.  I let this boil and then reduced the heat to a nice simmer and let it simmer for about 45 minutes  It reduced down to a nice consistancy and then I added the chicken and sausage.

When it's to the point you like it put it in a bowl and add rice!  I added some scallions on top and ate the crap out of it!


Here's a pic of the chicken on the smoker!

Chopping up the ingredients

 You need to whisk the roux the entire time while it's heating up and turning brown.  You don't want it to burn!

A pic of the ingredients

Smoked Sausage!

The finale!  It was awesome!

This is a going in the file as a repeat meal!  I bet it probably took 20-30 minutes to get everything diced up and ready to go and then it's relaxing while it simmers!

Beef Fillets and Vegetables

This year at our local county fair we bought a steer to support the 4H sale and local young farmers.  It's a great way to pay support the community and you know exactly where the beef you are eating came from.  We buy it that day and the local locker/butcher will transport it to his facility.  They will also dry age the meat for 3 weeks.  The locker will make almost anything you want from beef. I'll post another day about the options, but its a great way to get what you want, and know exactly what you are eating.

So, as it sits today I have half of a side of beef in the freezer just waiting to be eaten.  When I took a peek the other day, these beef fillets were right there ready to be eaten.  MMmmmmmm.

The steaks looked great, but for some reason there's was a funky color in the picture!

I seasoned these puppies up with a little olive oil and seasoning I bought at the store.

This is something new I had never tried before.  Last year we received a gift of some Omaha Steaks products and in there were these Potatoes Au Gratin.  They are frozen and you put them in the oven for 20 minutes and they turn out fantastic. I would think these would be great at holidays or other occasions where time is a premium and you have other thing to worry about.  They turned out delicious and the only time you spend is the time it takes to open the bag and put them on the pan!

I don't know if the Schwan's man stops everywhere.  Some people think they are somewhat expensive and they kind of are.  You are also paying for convenience and one of the easy things we like is the vegetable blend.  You can do it on the grill or stove.  They taste delicious and my kids eat em up!

The finished product.  Steaks were on the grill.  I grill them for a few minutes on each side with the grill as hot as I can get it!  My Weber does 550-600 degrees.  Time to Eat!

Wine Country

Our best vacation ever.  Recently we took a long weekend trip to California with some friends and explored wine country. All I can say is WOW!  What a trip.  This is one of those trips that I want to do every single year.

I'm not a wine connoisseur but I do enjoy a glass of wine.  I prefer red wine but really couldn't begin to tell you all the subtle nuances between a syrah or a malbec.  So I was really looking forward to this weekend to not only learn a couple of things, but also enjoy some wine with friends.

In Iowa we have a little saying "Is this Heaven, No it's Iowa."  I gotta tell you, I think Heaven  is Sonoma Valley.  I like a good corn field like the next guy, but that area of California is amazing.  Beautiful Redwood trees, the ocean, Mountains, great views. I want to live there. I really want to live there. 

So here's something interesting.  There are three different types of grapes on this plate.  I believe the Cabernet grapes are on the left and they are much larger than the Pinot Grapes in the middle and I think it was a Chardonnay grape on the right.  On average it takes 1,000 Pinot grapes to make a bottle of wine!  Each vine will make on average 2-3 bottles annually!

We thought this was some type of spice like cinnamon.  Instead we found out this is different types of soil in the area.  What a difference the soil makes when growing grapes!

We thought it would be fun to go to a bottle release at a winery.  After going, I would guess this happens all the time.  SIMI is one of the oldest wineries in the area and did a wine tasting with a food pairing.  It's nice to know you can go across the country and find someone wearing the same shirt as you!

Our group enjoying the wine and company!

So I won't bore you with a lot pictures from the first day of sampling wine at various wineries.  Instead, I'll share some pics from our adventurous 2nd day.  Our base of operations was about 15 min SW of Healdsburg, CA.  This puts you about 5 minutes from a Redwood Forest and 30 minutes from the Pacific Ocean.  In a matter of an hour or so, you can be in the mountains, in a forest, and then walking on a beach.  

Driving to the Redwoods I snapped a picture of a vineyard.  This one is owned by Korbel.  Her'es an interesting fact, Champagne is Grapes with bubbles added.  Way to go Korbel, take something really good, add bubbles, and now I only want to drink your champagne on New Years Eve after lots of other drinks!  The Korbel winery was cool, and they offer free sampling!

In just a mile or two we were surrounded by Redwoods

Next thing we were out of the forest and close to the ocean.  We wanted to stop and stick our feet in the Pacific.  It would only make sense that we find the deadliest beach in all the area.  I guess that explains why no one was there!

After the scenic drive we went back to some wine tasting.  Here's a picture of one of the oldest buildings in the area.  This is the Hop Kiln Winery. What a neat building.

At the end of the day we ended up at VML winery and they had a great garden with fresh fruit.  I had never seen Almonds fresh on a tree or figs, or even a lime tree for that matter.  We have a baby lime tree at home, which the store told us would grow limes so we could have a fresh lime with our Corona's, but it has yet to bear fruit. 

Fresh figs right off the tree!

Almonds!

They were somewhat soft off the tree, not hard like I was expecting.

Grapes!  

The  view from VML winery.  This was our last stop and we loved the wine!

Sooo, did we have a good time?  YES  

Are we going back  YES.  

Should you go.  YES

Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella Sandwiches

I love beef.  I'm definitely a meat eater.  Steak, Prime Rib, Hamburgers...you name it, I love it.  So you probably wondering why I'm posting this sandwich.  I'm also enjoy just plain good tasting food, and this falls into that category.  Do this though, try it before you pass judgement.  If you really need meat, I have also eaten this with Prosciutto, which was still very good!

If you are looking for a light lunch that tastes great, look no further.  It's super easy to make, the kids love it.

So what do you need?  It's really simple

Basil, Tomato, Ciabatta Bread, Mozzarella, and some greens.  We use either spinach or spring mix.  I'm sure there is a bunch of different ways to make this, but here's mine.

In a bowl I put the sliced tomatoes and add olive oil, balsamic Vinegar, salt and pepper.  I usually do this first and let it marinate.

Then I slice the mozzarella ball.

Here's the lettuce.

Usually I buy the Ciabatta loaf and cook in the oven when making sandwiches for the whole family.  I also buy the little rolls for when I'm taking this to work.

Here's the sandwich with olive oil on the bread.  The spring mix on the bottom, Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil, and then what's left in the bowl from the tomatoes I pour on top.

Lunch is ready!

It takes longer to cook the bread than it does to make this for the entire family.  Enjoy!

BBQ Beans

When preparing the pulled pork sandwiches during Labor Day weekend I also decided to make some BBQ Beans. This was my first attempt at actually smoking beans.  I looked all over the internet for ideas on what recipe to use, how to do it, etc...

Here's what I decided for my first attempt.

1. There is no way I'm soaking beans and doing all that work.  Instead I'll buy the beans in a can and rinse them off.
2. I'm gonna make up my own recipe based upon what I have seen online and we'll see what happens.
3. I want the beans to be sweet.

Here's what I decided on for my recipe.

3 Cans of Bush beans - Drained and Rinsed
2-3 Cups of Beef or Pork.  I had leftover steak I used and chopped up finely and added to it.
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Water
1/2 C Dried Minced Onion
1/4 C of Yellow Mustard
39 oz BBQ Sauce - I used Kraft Hickory Flavor
2 teaspoons of the BBQ Pork Rub  (See below for recipe)
2 teaspoons of liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Here goes.

The beans

 

Rinsing them off

Chopping up the steak.

The final mixed product.   I made these the night before to let the flavors marinate.

I'm going to smoke the beans for 2-4 hours depending upon temperature, how much stuff I have going on, etc...

The finished product!  The beans were sweet with a little kick, and I mean a little tiny kick.  The reviews in the house were good considering it's an original recipe used for the first time.  For me, I'll use less brown sugar next time as I like it when the beans have a little kick.  Em thought they were awesome!

We served these beans with our pork and slaw sandwiches.  Delicious!



























BBQ Pork Rub Recipe

• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup paprika
• 1/3 cup garlic salt
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard