Better Than The Chili Cook Off Chili: Tuesday, October 25 2011

Texas Chili

Last night Anderson celebrated its Thirteenth Annual Chili Cook Off.  This is a fun event that features a lot of good recipes and quality entertainment provided by Sons of Seuss. However, for the first time in years Chris and I skipped it and took the party to our own kitchen. 

First of all, Tuesdays are school nights.  I feel really old admitting that but yes, 6:30 AM comes really early and we have to make sure everyone gets a good night’s sleep. Plus, for significantly less money than we would have spent on the event, we purchased everything we needed for chili plus a good six-pack of beer to enjoy in the privacy of our own home. Chris already has one Chili Cook Off victory under her belt (in Texas, no less) so I knew the quality would be championship grade.  Even better, I did not have to pay admission or wear a silly wristband.

The Mother of All Burgers: Sunday, October 2, 2011

Anybody with two hands and some ground beef can put together a burger. Actually, if you did not have hands I bet you could use your feet but then the burgers would taste pretty gross. Maybe that explains Hardee’s?  I will check out their kitchen and get back to you on that one. In the meantime, let me tell you about burgers that you will actually want to eat.

As I watch the food channels and go out to dinner it appears as if everyone has some new, innovative twist on this old favorite. Different types of meats, wild toppings, and even stuffing the meat with a prize inside are all cool new ways of reinventing the burger. As a dedicated carnivore, I am a huge fan of all of these innovations and would like to share the version that Chris and I have been making for a few years now. 

Boston Butt On The Smoker: Sunday August 28, 2011

On Thursday we decided we were going to have a lazy Sunday and slow cook a big hunk of meat on the smoker. On Saturday we finally purchased said hunk of meat in the form of a Boston Butt.  I spent Saturday afternoon and evening listening to my wife tell me that she could not decide what she was going to do the meat before it landed on the smoker.

Should she go with a dry rub? Should she marinate it over night? What about an injection? She is the chef and I am the loving, supportive husband that keeps the smoker at the right temperature and puts fresh wood chips on the coals every thirty minutes for ten hours. Therefore I had nothing to offer but assurance that whatever she decided would taste great and I would promise not to burn it.