How to Smoke a Brisket

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Texas Barbecue Smoked Brisket

I am really happy in my husband, Chris’ growing interest in cooking.  I heartily encourage him to try new recipes and be more adventurous in his cooking.  Last Sunday, I was in for a real carnivore treat because Chris spent the better part of the morning smoking a brisket.  So today’s post comes from my new personal pit master (who also happens to be my personal barista).  Thanks for sharing your newfound knowledge on Texas-style barbecue, Chris!

Hello, daisy’s world readers!  I’ve wanted to do some kind of low and slow all-day cooking project for sometime now – either smoking, braising or rotisserie-cooking some kind of meat.  Then I saw an episode of Alton Brown’s show, Good Eats entitled Right on ‘Cue.  In it, he describes in great technical detail how to smoke meat.  That was it; I decided that I was going to cook with smoke. I was tempted to invest in a smoker and fancy dual temperature thermometers made specifically for smoking meats, but, in the end I decided to use the gas grill and meat thermometer we already had.  The only thing I had to buy was a disposable aluminum pan and a bag of wood chips.  I choose cherry wood chips for “medium” smokiness over mesquite or apple wood chips that only promised “light” smoke.

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Country Fried Chicken

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I woke up yesterday morning with a craving for fried chicken, and as luck would have it, we had a package of chicken thighs.  After more digging around in the freezer, I also found some leftover frozen biscuits and a package of Trader Joe’s frozen sweet potato fries.  With that, grease-laden lunch was born!  I got my Presto Fry Daddy, which does not get much use these days, and filled it with peanut oil.  While the oil was heating up to 350 degrees, I put together my wet and dry ingredients for the fried chicken.  I didn’t have any buttermilk (and didn’t want to go to the store), so I used whole milk instead.  After frying the chicken, I brought up the temperature of the oil to 375 degrees and put the sweet potato fries in the fryer for about 3 minutes.

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Slow Roasted Tomatoes

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Over the last week, I harvested over a pound of beautiful tomatoes, and I want to preserve  some of them for use later in the week.  Ignoring the stifling summer heat, I turned on my oven and roasted my tomatoes for close to 2 hours.  I was rewarded for my long, hot and sweaty wait with the sweetest, and arguably, the most intense tomato flavor I have ever tasted.  The slow roasting method really brought out the sweetness of the tomatoes, giving them a slightly caramelized, candy-like flavor.  Imagine how good it would be to squeeze the roasted garlic on a piece of crusty bread with a spoonful of roasted tomatoes garnished with sprigs of thyme.  Yummy!

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jalapeño cheese bread

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You will all be relieved to hear that there will be no jalapeño posts for awhile since we have used up the few remaining peppers to make this bread and some salsa. To be honest, I only bought the jalapeño seedlings because I thought the little peppers were “cute.” I had no idea that I would harvest more than 50 peppers from them this summer. Through my enjoyable gardening experience, I discovered that I like the flavor of jalapeños, but I am running out of ideas on how to use them. Of all the jalapeño recipes I’ve tried, this one’s my favorite. I had a slice right out of the oven with some butter and it was fantastic!

Jalapeño Cheese Bread
Yields 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 packet yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup warm water
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
2 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more if needed
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup (or more, to taste) jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and diced
1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (or more, to taste), grated

Method:
Mix together the yeast and water in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg and buttermilk and add to yeast and water. Add the salt, sugar and bread flour to the liquids and mix well. Then incorporate the semolina flour to the dough. If the dough is too wet, gradually add more bread flour 1/4 cup at a time. Place dough on a floured surface and knead for five to ten minutes until dough is smooth. Form dough into a ball and place into a bowl greased with butter. Cover the bowl, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size—about an hour.

Turn out dough on a floured surface, and slowly knead into the dough the jalapenos and cheese, a little bit at a time. (I used the “lazy swirl method” I described yesterday since I really didn’t want to knead the dough again, hence, the swirly appearance.) When cheese and jalapenos are incorporated into the dough, place dough into a greased bread loaf pan. You can also sprinkle semolina in the bread pan for additional friction. Cover the pan and let dough rise until doubled in size (it should be at the top or a bit over the top of the pan)—about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake bread for 40-45 minutes on a center rack (when you thump the top and it sounds hollow, the bread is done). Let cool for ten minutes, and then slide it out of the pan, slice and enjoy!

Adapted from HomesickTexan

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Feta Cheese and Olive Swirl Bread

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I was actually in the middle of making another type of bread when the idea for this came to me. I opened the refrigerator for something and caught a glimpse of the feta cheese. Hmmm! How about a feta cheese and kalamata olive bread? Chris loves this combination so I decided to surprise him. I took just enough dough from the bread I was working on to make this one, but I provided the full recipe below for those of you who might be interested. The recipe for the dough is adapted from a recipe by Sheila Lukins, the author of The Silver Palate Cookbook, but the method I am sharing below is my lazy way to incorporate flavors to dough in an evenly-distributed manner without any additional kneading.

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Pickled Jalapeño Peppers

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So far this summer, I have harvested about 2 1/2 pounds of jalapeños.  Pickling these medium-hot peppers in vinegar is a fast and easy way to preserve them.  These are much better than the canned ones that are found at grocery stores.  To retain their crisp texture,  jalapeños are picked once they turn a shiny dark green color.  If left on the plant, the peppers will eventually turn red.  It is best to pickle jalapeños before they change colors because fully-ripe red ones, while sweeter, end up softer than the green ones.

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Watermelon Agua Fresca

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Agua fresca, Spanish for “fresh water”, is a non-alcoholic beverage made from fresh fruits like watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and papaya.  It is typically sold by street vendors and restaurants all over Mexico and is usually ladled from large barrel-shaped glass jars. Traditionally, agua fresca is made by combining fruit, water, and sugar. This version, agua de sandia, or literally “watermelon water”, is the perfect way to use this summer’s juicy, ripe watermelon.  It’s a colorful and festive alternative to lemonade or iced tea.

For me, having a refreshing drink like an agua de sandia while sitting out in the backyard is a great way to unwind after a long and busy day.

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Homemade Pop Tarts

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Kellogg’s Pop Tarts have been a convenient breakfast treat for many Americans growing up.  Adults turn nostalgic at the mere mention of them, usually recounting days when they ate their favorite flavor on the bus on the way to school.  I know it may be shock for many of you, but I didn’t have my first Pop Tart until after I got married.  Chris used to love the Chocolate Pop Tarts and he would eat them with ice cream.  I tried one, but I didn’t really care for the dry, cardboard-like pastry covered in super sweet icing. A couple of days ago, while perusing one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen written by Deb Perelman, I stumbled on her entry for homemade pop tarts.  Those pop tarts looked so cute, especially naked without that coat of icing. I knew that I had to make them this weekend.

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Tomato Jam

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A couple of days ago, I visited  the New York Times’ column The Minimalist by Mark Bittman to find some new recipes to try.  If you don’t know him, Mark Bittman is a food journalist, former editor of the Cook’s Illustrated magazine, and an author of several cookbooks, most notably How to Cook Everything.  He also collaborated with one of my favorite chefs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, on two cookbooks, Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef.  He has been an advocate of the minimalist approach to cooking, preparing dishes that are simple, straightforward, and unfussy.  He’s definitely my kind of cook.  Anyway, I was looking for recipes with tomatoes since I had a good supply of them.  I ran across this article and accompanying recipe and was immediately intrigued.  The recipe was pretty straightforward and I had all of the ingredients in the pantry already.  Plus, the photo that accompanied the recipe was stunning – the deep red color of the homemade tomato jam made it irresistible.

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The Fruits of My Labor

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For the past three months, part of my morning routine has included spending time in my garden.  I go out there around 5:30 every morning, coffee in hand, to inspect my tomatoes and wait in anticipation for the fruit to ripen.  It’s fast becoming my favorite part of the day, a peaceful and relaxing time before the hustle and bustle of my hour-long commute and work.  Since the middle of July, I have been able to pick about 3-4 tomatoes a day from each of my two plants.  I love the convenience of having some organic, vine-ripened tomatoes for salads a couple times a week.   Luckily both varieties of tomatoes, the Sweet 100s and the Yellow Pears, are very sweet and delicious.  This week, I have been rewarded for all of my efforts and I’m happy to show off my harvest. With the help of the warm Southern California weather, regular watering, and my tender loving care, I picked about 1-1/2 pounds of tomatoes over the last four days.  Stay tuned to see what becomes of my bountiful harvest!

Chicken Adobo

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In Philippine cuisine, adobo refers to the traditional method of braising meats (mostly chicken and pork), seafood, and vegetables in a highly seasoned mixture  of vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, bay leaves and black peppercorns.  While  the type of vinegar used can be a point of debate, it is the main ingredient of this dish. The vinegar, which loses it’s acidity once it cooks, tenderizes the meats and together with the soy sauce combines to add the balanced sweet, sour and salty flavors Filipinos love.  There are as many adobo recipes as there are cooks.  Some add coconut milk for a richer sauce , while those who prefer a sweeter version add sugar.  Some purists omit the soy sauce altogether, while others add annato powder for color.

For tonight’s dinner, Chris did a quick Google search and found a good basic recipe from Foodnetwork.com.  This is the style of adobo I am accustomed to eating.  I tweaked the recipe below for a little more authentic taste.

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Dinner at Sushi on Fire

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In the ever-changing restaurant scene on Belmont Shore’s 2nd Street, the Japanese restaurant, Apengo, has recently been replaced by a new sushi bar, Sushi on Fire.  Apengo had a really good fried oyster appetizer, so I was a little sad to see that it was gone.  Chris and I decided to give Sushi on Fire a try and we were really glad we did.  The old busy decor of the former restaurant has been transformed into an open minimalist space.  The huge menu, as expected, is comprised mostly of nigiri sushi, sashimi, and sushi rolls.

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Semi-Homemade Scones

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I enjoy cooking from scratch and I have chronicled many of my kitchen adventures making cultured butter, pasta, ricotta cheese, and ice cream.  However, there are times when the convenience and ease of “semi-homemade” cooking results in something just as good, or even better.  Cooking from scratch tends to take longer and I don’t always have the time or the energy, especially after my long commute.  Also, once in a while, I get lucky and discover the perfect pre-packaged mix that is both delicious and easy to make.  Such is the case with King Arthur Flour Company’s pre-packaged scone mixes.  They come in a huge variety of flavors and convenient to make.  The mixes are a bit pricey at $7 each, but King Arthur Flour often offers discounts.

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Another Backyard Makeover

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Last week, we had the two big Japanese blueberry trees in our backyard removed.  These trees were beautiful, with green glossy foliage that turns orange in late fall.  During the summer, the trees are covered with tiny white fragrant blooms.  Their best attribute was that they blocked the views of our neighbors’ homes and turned our backyard into a secluded oasis.   However, it turns out that these trees were totally inappropriate for a tract-home backyard, growing to 30-60 feet tall and 20-30 feet wide.  Jim, our gardener suggested that we take them down while both the trees and the cost were still relatively small.  Presently, the loss of privacy is a bit disconcerting, but in the long run, we know it was the right thing to do.  Now, we have a wonderful opportunity to redesign our outdoor space with new trees, flowers, and vegetables.  We’ve had so much fun gardening and tending to our “crops” this summer and it has been nice to harvest fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes and jalapeños.  Perhaps our  “victory garden” can expand to include lettuces, onions, artichokes, carrots, and potatoes.  Any other crop suggestions?

Check out the before and after photos:

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