9/6/2020 – This was a successful smoke using the MES and two Butts with a lot of tasso from trimmings.
Continue readingThis recipe was provided with one for fried green tomatoes. It would work well with other fried things. https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fried-green-tomatoes-buttermilk-feta-dressing
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces (1 cup) feta cheese, crumbled, divided
- Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, and lemon juice in a small bowl.
- Whisk in black pepper, 1/2 cup of the feta, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Sprinkle with dill and remaining 1/2 cup feta.
2/24/2020 – This began with Ina Garten’s ratio of 3:1 of mayo to ketchup. Then increased the sweet relish and added 6POGS. There were other changes such as leaving out the capers–at the level she used–that did not seem to add anything other than a little salt. Scroll down to the 7/30/2021 version for what we have made through 2023.
Continue readingReviewed various recipes for pickling spices and using advice and ingredients arrived at the recipe below we think we will like. Used it in our first-ever pickled pepperoncini. The peppers are the larger Italian ones and not the smaller Greek variety.
Ingredients:
- Enough peppers from the garden when sliced to fill three pint jars:
- Whole garlic clove lightly crushed in each
- 3″ of a fresh red cayenne pepper from the garden in each pint jar.
- Well water to white vinegar at 50:50 mix
- 1/4 tsp of Ball’s Pickle Crisp Granules in each filled pint jar
Spice Mix Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons dill seed
- 2 tablespoons allspice berries
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes from our garden
- 6 bay leaves, crumbled/chopped
Instructions:
- Prepare a one-half recipe of the Spice Mix above. [Did not want a lot of leftovers.]
- Slice the peppers into ¼” – ½” wide rings.
- Add the peppers, the crush garlic clove, and the piece of fresh red cayenne pepper to the hot sterilized pint jars.
- Add 2 tsp of the spice mix to each jar
- Pour in very hot water/vinegar brine.
- Add the pickle crisp.
- Process in boiling water for 10 minutes.
9/20/2020 – First try and they were ok. Not great as the flavor was a bit blah and the texture was almost too soft.
12/14/2020 – We have been eating from a jar for a couple of weeks and the flavor is ok but the skins are a bit tough. Next year plant the smaller Greek variety.
A steak-house style dressing inspired by the recipe by Karen Weir here.
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled, + 3 to season bread for croutons
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 5 anchovy fillets, minced
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese + 3 for the salad
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste
- salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 cups day-old bread, cubed
- 1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
Directions
- Mince 3 cloves of garlic, and combine in a small bowl with mayonnaise, anchovies, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the remaining 3 cloves of garlic into quarters, and add to hot oil. Cook and stir until brown, and then remove garlic from pan. Add bread cubes to the hot oil. Cook, turning frequently until lightly browned. Remove bread cubes from oil, and season with salt and pepper.
- Place lettuce in a large bowl. Toss with dressing, remaining Parmesan cheese, and seasoned bread cubes.
8/22/2020 – This cook was good with the pecan coins from our firewood in the kettle with the SNS and lower tray. Tried to follow the similar smoke in March 2017. Dry brined and shook on a good amount of 6POGS to set in the refer about 6 hours. Smoked the scraps on the elevated tray about 2 hours. This was a good smoke with tender, moist, flavorful meat.
Continue reading8/19/2020 and 6/17/2021 – After considering various recipes, we mixed a few batches of Mediterranean meat seasoning rubs for use on grilled chicken. After a couple of cooks, we made this, shook it moderately on dry-brined thighs, and grilled them on the little gas grill. They were very good.
As of January 2025 No. 4 below is our standard recipe. No. 4 was originally made in June 2021 that is a bit spicier version of No. 3.
Continue reading8/14/2020 – Picked our first mess of peppers–from Mary’s Garden–that is enough to fill a quart jar. Looked around for an interesting recipe and found this one. This preparation was inspired by her recipe.
Ingredients
- pepperoncini peppers – enough to fill a quart jar
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 bay leaves – They are old and not much aroma.
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tbsp peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp Ball’s Pickle Crisp Granules
Directions:
- Washed the peppers and stuck a thin knife through each one to allow the liquid and flavorings to get inside.
- Boiled the water, vinegar, and salt. Let it cool to a “very warm” level.
- Filled the quart jar with the peppers, bay leaves, garlic, Pickle Crisp, and peppercorns.
- Poured the very warm liquid over the peppers and let the liquid percolate inside the peppers. Topped off until everything stayed submerged.
- Put on a plastic lid and refrigerated for 3 days.
7/12/2020 – Made this for the first time inspired by the recipe at ChiliPepperMadness.com. Enjoyed it in wraps and sandwiches. Spread it all over one side of a 10″ spinach wrap/tortilla, filled it with chicken, red onions, cilantro, and other stuff. The sauce was noticeable but not enough zing. Could be a little hotter. The ingredients were:
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 tablespoons Sriracha chili sauce [The ChiliHead used 3T. Most other recipes called for only 2.]
- Juice from ½ a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 average garlic cloves, finely minced
- Salt to taste – Did not need any
7/24/2020 – Made this 2nd batch with 1 tsp more Sriracha and a 3rd clove of garlic. We liked it a lot and use often it in lieu of mayo on sandwiches and burgers. The amount of heat was fine.
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 Tblsp + 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce (~17% more)
- Juice from ½ a lemon
- 3 average garlic cloves, finely minced
- Salt to taste
8/30/2020 – This is a double batch and uses Rouses’ garlic-in-a-jar rather than fresh garlic. It almost filled the plastic mayo jar we are using for this.
- 2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup rounded Sriracha chili sauce
- juice from one lemon
- 3 teaspoons of Rouses’ garlic in a plastic jar. Equivalent to 6 cloves per the label.
- 4 shakes of fresh ground black pepper and four pinches kosher salt
7/7/2020 – This was inspired by Collen Leonard and the blog here.
- We trimmed the medium round tomatoes from the garden, cut them in half and removed the seeds and juice. We fixed enough to cover a ½-sheet pan with one layer; not crowded. Did the same thing with the small Romas.
- Drizzle liberally with olive oil, add chopped garlic, dried basil (did not yet have a lot in the garden), salt and pepper.
- Baked in a preheated 350-degree convection oven for 2 hours.
- Pack in zip-lock freezer bags and froze.
After 2 hours in the oven, and the house smelling great, they looked about 50% dehydrated, browned, and crusty; but still too wet to vac pack. The full trays of raw each cooked down to less than a pint in a zip-lock quart bags; i.e. we had four bags each holding less than a pint.