Surly's Soap Box

It's nearing the end of February. Your starting to plan your summer events. Graduations? Family Reunions? Family Moving Out of Town? Company Picnics? Weddings?

Here's the deal: Book me between now and the end of March for a weekend event this upcoming summer or fall, and I'll knock 10% off my usual asking price.

Most oft asked for is the BBQ Pork. Not grilled. Not roasted in industrial ovens. Slow cooked smoked pork with Surly's Secret Rub. We're talking Carolina pulled pork here.

So, for a basic BBQ package: Pulled Pork, buns, sauce, baked beans, Special Recipe Cole Slaw and a dessert (Brownies or our specialty: Strawberry Shortcake Trifle), plates, flatware and napkins: 100-150 people for $9.50 per person, after discount and before tax. I work on a sliding scale, so more people cost less per head, and less people, cost, err..more. 25 person minimum for BBQ packages. Drinks are extra.

Texas Beef Brisket and appropriate sides run $12.50 a head for the 100-150 group.

This is full service: Servers, clean up of the service area, and wrapping up the left overs.

Or, at a discount, I can just drop off the fixin's and you take it from there.

I can add sides for additional cost, supply tables, chairs, tents, and even a band--brass or blues. Okay, maybe not brass, but blues, rock, and more. Of course, at an extra cost.

If your interested, just email me through the contact contact button. Tell your friends.

Yikes...It's late and I almost forgot.

I could just go and blatantly cut and paste something off the net.

I could dig something out of my files.

But my goal here is to present practical, approachable recipes. So tonight I'm going to give up one of my appetizer 'concepts'. Not really a recipe, as you will see.

Skewers

Skewers are bite size tid bits on, well, skewers. Pick up some cocktail skewers (Long tooth picks) at the store or local liqiuor store. Now think of flavors that go together. I'll give you some ideas:

Apples and Cheddar
Mozzerella and Sun Dried Tomato
Feta and Cucumber
Melon and Prosciutto Ham

Now, what you want to do is assemble them with the idea that they can be eaten in one bite, without getting a wine glass dirty. Good idea: put the cheese on the bottom of the skewer because it with 'stick' better.

And remember to watch the time and temp on these. Food at room temp is only good for a couple hours.




Cooking Food Recipes

I thought I had done this one before, but I guess not.

Apple Maple Chicken

1 lb. chicken breast or boneless thighs
½ medium onion
2 medium sized apples, sliced
½ cup maple syrup
1/3 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Use oven proof skillet

Pat the chicken dry and sprinkle with pinch salt, pinch pepper, oregano and parsley.
On the stove top, heat skillet over medium high heat. Add oil. When oil is hot add chicken. Cook 3 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.



Layer onions and apples on top of chicken, combine maple syrup and balsamic vinaigrette, and pour over chicken.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is done. Spoon sauce over chicken then serve.

Enjoy!



Cooking,Food,Recipes

Pork Loin with Ginger Peach Glaze

First, you really need to get one of these:




Cooking to temperature guarantees cooked to perfection. If you don't have a digital meat thermometer, it's worth the investment ($15.00 on up).

If you really want to be cool, you can get on of these.

On with the recipe:

1 3 1/2-4lb Center Cut Pork Loin (not tenderloin)
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme. You can use a tablespoon of dried, but fresh is preferred.
1 tablespoon chopped garlic. If that's too much garlic, cut it down to 3 teaspoons.
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon butter
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 cups (1 jar) Peach preserves
2 teaspoon dried, powdered ginger
2 teaspoon soy sauce


Preheat oven to 425°

1. Rub the loin with salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil. Salt is really hard to judge because everyone's taste is different, so you kind of have to use your experience. I'd say 2 good healthy pinches, or a teaspoon. The olive oil is necessary to 'pull' the flavor into the meat.

2. If you have a roasting pan with a rack, place loin on rack fat side up. You want to cut (score) through the fat cap about a quarter of an inch so the fat, along with salt, pepper, and other seasonings, can penetrate into the meat. Think 'crosshatch', about an inch apart. Place meat thermometer probe into the thickest part of roast and set the alarm for 150°

3. Once roast is in the oven, heat the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Once the butter is foaming, turn down to medium low and add the garlic. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. If the garlic starts spiting or popping, just take the pan off the stove and left it cool for a couple seconds.

4. Once the garlic is done, add the rest of the ingredients. Once the preserves are bubbling, turn down the heat to low. Preserves pack a lot of sugar, sugar burns easily, so be careful not to burn it.

5. When the buzzer goes off, brush glaze onto the pork loin. Use about a third of it because you want to use some for sauce. No brush? Just spoon it on. Back in to the oven for 5 minutes. At 425°, it should caramelize (crust up) pretty good.

Pull it out, cover with foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. This lets the juices redistribute and temperature even out. Buy the time it's done, the internal temp will be about 160°. Don't remove the probe until you are ready to carve.

Serve with a caramelized leek mashed potato (Recipe coming soon) or mashed sweet potatoes (I guess I can give up a recipe for that as well sometime.)

Wine? Go for a Chardonnay, like Frei Brothers.


Food
Wine
Recipes

Heading off to a Super Bowl party or hosting one, here are three easy appetizers.


Raspberry Chipolte Dip

1 bottle of Raspberry Chipolte Sauce, any brand. Refrigerated. Not dressing: Sauce.

2 8oz blocks of cream cheese (Not the 'nutfetzle', low fat variety: It has a sharp, lemon flavor that doesn't work here.)

1 box Wheat Thins (Large or Small, depending on the size of your group)

Directions:

About a 1/2 hour before serving, take one of the block of cream cheese out of the 'fridge to soften up.

Put the block of cream cheese on a large round plate, then cover with Raspberry Chipolte Sauce. Not the whole bottle, but enough too coat the out side of it, probably a quarter of the bottle.

Surround with Wheat Thins. Check on it once and a while: If the sauce is disappearing, add a little more. If it goes fast, you have another block on reserve.

***Don't let this sit out for more than 2 hours!!!***

Watch the clock. If it's out for two hours, pitch it and build another batch. It's good food safety.


Smoked Salmon Log

16 oz (2 blocks) cream cheese, cubed and softened
8 oz smoked salmon
1 teaspoon dill (fresh preferred, dry will due, just add a little more)
1 table spoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

1 cup crushed pecans

Assuming you have a food processor or stand mixer: Toss the cream cheese into the bowl of the mixer of your choice and turn it on to high.

Add the smoked salmon a little at a time. (You may want to stop half way and scrap down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Add the dill and lemon juice. Shut it down once the lemon juice is incorporated.

Taste. Does it need a little salt? Pepper? Maybe a little more dill? Be careful not to over salt.

Now, lay out some plastic wrap or parchment paper on the counter. Spoon the salmon mixture out evenly in a straight line, then pull the wrap (or paper) over the mixture and roll it out like a log. If it is to pliable, toss in the cooler for a little bit to harden it up. Once it is rounded out, roll in the crushed pecans to coat. Chill (the log, not you. But you could if you wanted to.)

Slice off 'coins' and serve with your favorite crackers (other than the 'chicken and biscuit' variety).

***Don't let this sit out for more than 2 hours!!!***

Watch the clock. If it's out for two hours, pitch it. We are talking fish and dairy: Not notorious for lasting long periods of time at room temp.


Swedish Meatballs

1 bag of prebaked meatballs. (Sam's and Costco have the best)
1 small jar grape jelly
1 bottle chili sauce. The classic Heinz variety.

Cook meatballs as directed.

In a small sauce pan, heat up the jelly and chili sauce.

Put meatballs in a slow cooker, crock pot, or roaster and stir in the sauce. You don't need to float the meatballs, just coat. Set the heat to low and set out a bunch of tooth pics.