BBQ Shrimp

Rebecca and family got it in to KY today and made this meal for them. Prawn wrapped in bacon smothered in a cherry BBQ sauce. Kale sauteed in the Egg with cherry tomatoes--both from the CSA. And cheese grits. Also beet chips--sliced beets deep fried in peanut oil with spicy Cajun seasoning.

Pizza Project #1

Well, I was very inspired by Peter Headley's pizza. So i'm back on task with working the Green Egg as a pizza oven. This attempt came out so-so. Key themes:

Fleishmann's pizza yeast and let rise twice.
Oven at 400.
Basic sauce: onion garlic tomatoes.

For next time:

Let charcoal tower burn to the top before dumping on Egg. Then let Charcoal in egg burn for maybe 20 min. All this to get a 600 degree temp.

Here's a pre photo:

Location:Montclair Dr,Lexington,United States

Chicken Cacciatori

The family cacciatore recipe. Well, kind of. Rebe made it from memory. Sofrito of onion, garlic, celery and carrot. Then canned tomatoes. Red pepper flakes and cinnamon. Chicken thighs dredged in rice flour and browned. Served with rice. And arrugula.

Location:Quaker Ln,Bon Air,United States

Rebe Eggs

Aunt Rebe's famous breakfast eggs: two poached eggs over jasmine rice topped with acacado and seaweed -- what kind we don't know as she can't quite make out the Kanji but it was baked with soy. And some soy sauce on top.

Location:Quaker Ln,Bon Air,United States

Last Dinner at Ocracoke: Indian Fusion

This was our last dinner at Ocracoke. Came out mostly well. Had brought a tikki masala paste with me. Added that to sauteed onions and garlic. Added cream (actually half and half). Then baked mackerel. Sadly the mackerel is a very delicate fish and it really fell apart. Then over linguine with chopped cilantro. Several sides: a chopped salad with a great Caesar vinaigrette of balsamic, olive oil, minced garlic, and an egg (thanks, Don and Barbara, for the fresh egg). Boiled potatoes that were sauteed in olive oil and sirachi sauce. Finally, brussell sprouts. The were seared then boiled in chicken broth and served with balsamic. Good eats.

Location:Harbor Cove Ln,Ocracoke,United States

Clam Bake

Well, clam steam. Went out with mom and dad's friends Don and Barbara to Portsmith and raked up 200 clams. Steamed them. The trick: let the steamer bubble up over the clams then remove the lid then let bubble one more time. Boiled potatoes in water w/ Old Bay seasoning then added corn after potatoes were close to done. Strained and added butter and more Old Bay. Dad made a seafood sauce. Oh...also served a blueberry whiskey sour made with shaken egg whites from Barbara's chickens.

Location:Harbor Cove Ln,Ocracoke,United States

Spanish Mackeral

First dinner at Ocracoke in about a year. Spanish mackeral is being caught and Dad bought quite a bit. I used my standard rub and made rice and beans.

Location:Harbor Cove Ln,Ocracoke,United States

Greek Fusion

This was another meal we made at Rebe's in Richmond. They've got a Greek festival ongoing so that inspired us to go Mediterranean.

The app was a feta croquette: boiled potato, egg, feta, fresh oregano from Rebe's garden. Chilled (that's key). Then flour-egg wash-panko and into a deep fryer. Served with a sauce of tzatziki & sirachi that was processed smooth. Came out well but needed a stronger, bolder feta. The cheap stuff from Kroger didn't stand up.

The cocktail was a Rummy Lemon drop: 1 C simple syrup, 1 C lemon juice, 1 C rum, 1T lemoncello. (Not pictured).

Then a gyro of ground lamb mixed with toasted ground cumin and coriander also lemon juice, garlic powder, s&p then in a hot oven. Served with a Greek salad.


Rebe served this excellent Italian wine with the meal:

Location:Murray Hill Dr,Midlothian,United States

Pad Tai-ish 2

Here's the recipe for the dipping sauce:

1/3 cup dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon Sirachi chile sauce.

A photo:



The pad tai was thin rice noodles and marinated chicken covered with this sauce: Dark soy sauce, sirachi chili, rice wine, Rebe's fish sauce, lime juice, cilantro, crushed peanuts.

Location:Murray Hill Dr,Midlothian,United States

Pad Thai-ish

Dinner with Rebe and Patrick. The cocktail: a Mai Tai. 1 C Grande Reserve Plantation rum, 1 C simple syrup, 1C lime juice, 1 T Grand Marnier, and 1 T Amaretto di Amore.


The App: pot stickers. Wok fried napa cabbage, green garlic, onion, sirachi chile sauce, ground pork, grated Ginger, dark soy sauce, Chinese rice wine. Wrapped in wonton wrappers and then steamed or deep fried.

Location:Jimmy Winters Rd,Bon Air,United States

Here are some additional photos.

Henry's polenta:


Woodfired shrimp:


Tanya and Henry (what a great couple):

Location:Jimmy Winters Rd,Bon Air,United States

Woodfired Pizza

Visiting my sister in Richmond and invited to Peter and Melanie's for dinner. They have this amazing outdoor oven:



Peter was making pizzas:







Out of kindness to Henry, Peter whipped up some of the best polenta I've tasted

One of their guests was Tanya Cauthen, owner of Richmond's Belmont Butchery: http://belmontbutchery.com/ I had read about her shop in Food and Wine. She and her fiancée Henry were great company.

Location:Jimmy Winters Rd,Bon Air,United States

A tasty app

Served this as an app for guests. Placed the remainder of the grilled shrimp on basil leaf then toasted bread from our favorite restaurant Belle Notte. Topped with a chimichurri sauce (olive oil, vinegar, basil, parsley, sirachi chile sauce). One guest was allergic to seafood so substituted with a thick slice of fresh mozzarella.

The Beer Trappe

The Beer Trappe is the new neighborhood bar. They have six kegs on tap in constant rotation and all are craft beers from small breweries.

Check 'em out at http://www.thebeertrappe.com/.

Yesterday, I took a growler (64 oz.) bottle to music. We sampled North Coast Brewing Co.'s Brother Thelonius, a Belgian abbey ale. Wonderful malt flavors with just a hint of that yeastiness you find in the Belgian lambics. Tasty

Location:Hart Rd,Lexington,United States