Sunday, October 3, 2010

Sorry.....

The Dutchess does not cook here anymore......she has moved!!

If you want to enjoy more delicious recipes of here, you better hurry to:



hope to see you there!!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Pulled Pork

Okay, I know, I promised you to post about the Pork Shoulder…..but finally... here it is!!!

Always wanted to make Pulled Pork but the fact that it would take so many hours I never thought I ever would….. Remember, I don’t have a smoker, just a regular Weber and that makes it a bit more difficult. But I did it!!
Wew! I decided to buy a small shoulder (bone in), only 2 lbs so that would mean it would be ready in about 6 hours, and that I could manage!


I choose this recipe from Noskos (sorry it’s in Dutch) and used the same rub (Southern Succor Pork Rub) and oh I can tell you it was a huge success!!! Now that I found out I can do this, I definitely will make it more often!

For the Southern Succor Pork Rub I used (not quite following the original recipe):
¼ cup (ground) black pepper
¼ cup paprika powder
¼ cup light brown / cane sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

This mixture was too much for the small amount of meat I had, but you can store it for later use.
Let the shoulder marinade for at least one day (in the fridge of course).



It was not easy keeping the temperature of the Weber at a constant low between 225 – 250F, so if you’re gonna try this too on a regular barbecue, keep an eye on the temperature!

I also used some wood chunks from Baxter's Original and I used the whiskey soaked almond chunks, oh I love whiskey! After 2 hours I sprayed the meat with a mixture of apple juice and whiskey, repeated this every hour and enjoyed the smell!!

Note: the Pork Shoulder is ready when it has reached 190F.

This might not be the usual way to make Pulled Pork, but it worked for me and that’s the most important!

The result:


I used the Pulled Pork in the baked beans (mentioned here), of course for Pulled Pork sliders with Big Butz BBQ Sauce (Original) served with coleslaw, and there’s still some pork left in the freezer that I want to use in a pasta sauce!



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Smoked Chicken with Cranberry BBQ Sauce

The title of this post should have been " Lamb with Cranberry BBQ Sauce", and it’s all my fault. On Saturday I found out that my butcher didn’t had enough lamb left…should have ordered it in advance. So that’s the reason why it’s chicken now. Anyway....

Not that I don’t like chicken, but lamb…. You know…
But the good thing is, now I could use the wood chunks “ almond/whiskey” (from Baxter's Original, see this post …and that made me smile again as soon as I realized that!

So it became smoked chicken, corn on the cob and…..scalloped potatoes! As soon as the weather gets colder that’s one of my favorite side dishes. A few years ago I bought a combi microwave oven, and that “ combi” is the big trick. Scalloped potatoes are now ready within 25 minutes!

We’re gonna start with the marinade for the chicken: in a bowl pour 1 cup olive oil, add fresh thyme leaves, black pepper, 2 tablespoons Jack Daniels (or more…) and about a tablespoon of your favorite bbq rub. Add the chicken breasts and cover it with foil. Let it marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour.



In the meantime I prepared the scalloped potatoes. Butter a large oven dish and slice potatoes. Make layers with thin red onion slices, potatoes and crumbled soft blue cheese (or another soft cheese). In a large measuring cup you pour 2 cups of cream, some crushed garlic, fresh thyme leaves, black pepper and 2 cups of milk. Pour this over the potatoes and add some aged cheese. In a combi oven this is ready within 25 minutes, in a regular oven it takes about an hour (400F). Of course I could have done this on the Weber too but I didn’t, I’m sorry….

The Weber was clean again after the Pork Shoulder Event (that’s gonna be the next post!!) and ready for a new session.

As soon as it had reached the right temperature (around 325F) it was time to put the corn on the grill because they needed more time than the chicken. Life can be so simple sometimes!
After 10-15 minutes I added (soaked in water) a few wood chunks and the chicken went on the grill, indirect, for about 10 minutes.
Move the chicken breast to the direct heat and brush them with the cranberry bbq sauce (yes the one and only from Big Butz). Repeat this every 2 minutes, keep turning and brushing the chicken.


The corn I brushed with butter and some herbs as soon as they got off the grill. And this is the result:



Really tasty and delicious!! The chicken was moist and had a really smoked taste and with the Cranberry Sauce it was super! (Excuses for the lousy picture...)
Serve with a cold Shiraz Rosé and I promise you’ll have a delicious dinner!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Meatloaf

So many recipes...so little time. Why do weekends only have two days? Who decided that anyway?? Wanna talk to that person...

Anyway, let's get started. What was on the menu last weekend? A Pork Shoulder for Pulled Pork, a meatloaf, some chicken. That was all I could manage in 2 days. The Pork will make a nice appearance later this week, and so will the chicken.
That leaves us with the meatloaf for this post. I've never made it before, so I was very curious how that would turn out. Meatloaf is not so well known here in The Netherlands, yes we do know meatballs but that's something different. Totally different!

I found a yummylicious looking recipe on the website of Noskos and because I know his recipes always work out great, I choose this one. Of course I changed the ingredients a little bit, can't resist that!

What do you need:
3 lbs minced meat (beef and pork)
2 eggs
1/3 cup Big Butz Cranberry BBQ Sauce (or another bbq sauce)
some milk (about half a 1/4 cup)
bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
dried parsley
1 tablespoon Tabasco
black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and spoon the meatloaf mixture on a foil sheet, like this:


Prepare your barbecue, and soak some wood chunks, I used plum wood chunks . Only 3 chunks and that turned out to be enough.
When the Weber had reached 350F I placed the meatloaf on the grill (indirect). After half an hour, incise the loaf (see picture) and brush it with barbecue sauce (again I used the Cranberry Sauce).


After this I also placed the baked beans (it's a recipe called Keri's Hog Apple Baked Beans and I found it here (it's the dutch version) on the Weber:


One hour later the meatloaf was ready:


Dinner is ready!! Of course this was waaay to much meatloaf for one dinner, so some went in the freezer for the next time and some I left in the fridge to eat for lunch (or breakfast...). As I said before, I served it with the baked beans (oh and btw these beans taste so good, unbelievable and definitely a keeper) and mashed potatoes with celeriac (cook them together and proceed as if you make regularly mashed potatoes. The celeriac gives it a yummy sweet taste):




Let me tell you something, this was GOOD!!

And now the question is, what do you drink with it...wine of course! A Malbec from Argentina matched perfect!

Enjoy!

Monday, September 20, 2010

A Special Package

Dear Santa,
I know you're very busy, but the package I received last week was waaaay too early!!
But I'm not complaining, please keep sending them...my new wish-list is already on it's way to the Northpole!!


Wooh!!! Now this package made my day, wait......it made my week!!! And I assume you want to know what was the content of this box (yeah you do, don't you...??) .... okay, I'll show you:


* one bag of plum wood chunks
* one bag of whiskey soaked almond wood chunks
These came from Baxter's Original

* two jars of Big Butz BBQ Sauce Original
* two jars of Big Butz BBQ Sauce Cranberry
These came from Big Butz BBQ Sauce

I have lots of ideas for great meals with it, so stay tuned!

I'm a happy Dutchess!!


#Note for my Dutch readers: make a calculation before you order such products in the USA….customs is watching you and will charge you extra : 19% over the products costs + shipping costs + ensurance! You will be charged for this when the package is being delivered at your door.
If you want to know more about this, you can check it here nederlandse douane

Monday, September 13, 2010

Bread from Max Poilâne

Yesterday I enjoyed some "petits pains" from the famous bakery Max Poilâne, from Paris. At this moment their website is under construction but you can click on their Lyon website and have a peek at the assortment.

And no, I didn't travel to Paris to buy some of this famous and delicious bread....although that wouldn't be such a bad idea!! You can buy it here in Holland, fresh delivery every day from Paris...isn't that amazing....??

At youtube I found this. You really have to watch it, it's beautiful!


If you ever have the chance to try some of his bread, don't hesitate. You'll love it!!

Sunday, September 5, 2010