The sauce is spicy. If you don’t like it spicy then adjust the amount of habenero or change the peppers totally. You could go with a chipotle, a jalapeno, or a serrano. It is hard to say how much to use because each person seems to have a different opinion as to what is spicy and the peppers can vary in heat from pepper to pepper. Let me tell you what happened to me.

I was getting the ingredients together for this sauce. Normally I taste a pepper to see how much I will want to use because I have had enough variation in heat to totally mess up a recipe. So I took a tentative nibble…they were, after all, habeneros.

Nothing. just a tiny little zap on the tongue. Sigh. I proceeded to chop about three habeneros and add them to the sauce. As I chopped the last one I popped a bit of it in my mouth.

ZOWIE. I saw stars. I became one with the universe. The top of my head came off. Again, verily, verily, I say unto you…always, always taste the peppers. EACH pepper. They vary in heat!  Quickly I pulled as many peppers as I could see from the bubbling sauce and put them in the chicken scraps. Our chickens like spicy things.

So, be sure to to check your peppers for heat and adjust your recipes accordingly.

This sauce was so good that people were spreading it on bread until it was gone.

Blueberry Habenero Sauce

• 1 large, sweet onion (like Vidalia) peeled and chopped
• 1 quart of blueberries
• 2 habenero peppers, chopped (adjust as needed)
• 1 tsp of adobo sauce from a can of chipotle in adobo, you can leave this out if you don’t have it but it adds a nice dimension
• 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
• Juice and zest of one lime
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• Olive oil for pan

1. Saute the onion in the oil until it is soft.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the lime juice, and simmer until the sauce reduces by about half. This will take ten minutes or so.
3. Add the lime juice and remove from heat.
4. Blend the sauce in the blender until smooth.
5. Brush on meat before cooking and then serve remaining sauce as a garnish.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Images:MaryeAudet

Post from: Baking Delights

There has been so much going on lately… I feel like…well you remember how, when you were a kid, you would get on a swing and twist until the chain was twisted all the way up? Then you would let go and spin? Yeah. Spinning here.

Marc is much better. He is no longer in a wheel chair and is not using crutches. He has cut way back on pain medications and is more himself rather than “Mr. Hyde”. Everyone is relaxing a little bit here and things are feeling a little more normal. Because Marc is back to himself we are also able to talk and work on some marital stuff that cropped up. All in all things are good, very good and we are moving ahead. There, you are caught up!

This sauce is incredible. Sweet, spicy, tangy, it will absolutely create a vacation moment in your mouth! It is perfect for chicken, fish, or pork, and I think it would make an awesome ice cream topping. This will be your go to sauce of summer, I promise.

I made it to use with pulled pork sandwiches and the entire family was quiet. Maybe you missed that. The entire family was quiet. Our house is never quiet..so when we are eating dinner and I hear absolute silence? Yeah. I know it is good.

By grilling the pineapple you bring out some complex flavors; slightly smoky, caramelized sugar…I grilled mine in my grill pan but it would be better on the grill outside.

You just want to peel and core the pineapple and leave it in strips. Heat your grill pan or grill up until it is very hot. Pat the pineapple dry and lay on the grill, a few minutes on each side. Not difficult to do.

Now, you are ready to make the sauce.

Roast Pineapple and Anaheim Pepper Sauce

• Grilled pineapple- fruit from one very ripe pineapple
• 1 onion, preferably a Vidalia or 1015
• 2 Anaheim Peppers, seared over a hot flame
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3 tablespoon white balsamic
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup honey
• Water as needed

1. Chop the pineapple and set aside.
2. Peel and chop the onion and the garlic.
3. Remove the skin form the Anaheim peppers and chop.
4. Add a little oil to a pan and saute the onion,  and pepper for five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to allow it to burn or it will get bitter.  Add the pineapple and about 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow the water to begin to evaporate. Stir often. You may need a little more water to keep it from getting too thick.
5. Add the honey, vinegar, and lime and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5  minutes.
6. Transfer to a blender and pulse a couple of times. You want this to be rough without being chunky.
7. Salt to taste.
8. About 1 1/2 cups depending on the size of the pineapple.

You can vary the peppers to create your own variations on this, or use a combination.

image:maryeaudet

Post from: Baking Delights

b5’s own Brewha-ha is hosting a Barbeque Event and I am always up for a little barbeque. Here in Texas bbq is a lifestyle in the summertime and you can get a black eye if you are on the wrong side of a dry rub vs. wet barbeque argument.

My favorite is still just plain old hamburgers done the way Marc does them, and served on homemade hamburger buns with homemade mayo, homemade mustard, and homemade catsup… add an iced root beer and some cold watermelon and I am good.

Here are some great BBQ recipes from past posts at Baking Delights.

Brisket 

Tomato Vinaigrette 

Easy Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns 

Pasta Salad 

Southwestern Summer Salad 

Root Beer Float Cake 

So, enjoy the Barbeque! I will be posting more Some Like It Hot items on Kettle and Cup and Simply Home Remedies.

Imae: Erin Myers, used by permission

Post from: Baking Delights

If you have never had beef brisket you have never lived in Texas.  A huge beef brisket is a must have at nearly any summer celebration from Memorial Day to a family reunion, and there are as many arguments about making a good one as there are about whether or not Texas should succeed from the Union.

If you didn’t know THAT was a common conversation then you haven’t even VISITED here.  Another thing you must know is that it can be spelled barbeque or barbecue. I will probably spell it both ways in the course of writing this because spell check doesn’t like barbeque and I don’t like little red lines…but barbeque is my normal spelling.

Anyway, brisket is one of those things that is either the best stuff in the universe  or absolutely blah.  The secret is cooking it a long time at a low temperature.

Now, many guys around here have  built their own smokers and such, and have particular ways of handling that.  I am not even going there right now because I am way out of my league when you start talking about smokers, wood chips and all.  I have done a little of that but it is  not my forte by a long shot!  However, doing a brisket in the oven? THAT I can do, and I do it very, very well.

The mistake that many people make is to douse the meat with barbecue sauce before roasting. Nope. The barbecue sauce is a go with, a side dish.  If you cook the meat in it neither tastes as good as if you do them separately.

How to Choose a Great Brisket 

Do not get a brisket that has been trimmed.  The fat allows the flavor to be intense.  If you get home and find you have an excessive amount of fat, trim sparingly if you must.  When you are looking at briskets, pick up the package and see if you can “fold” the brisket in the plastic package (obviously this won’t work if it is on a tray).  You want it to be flexible.  This will indicate it is tender.

Get a whole one. Yes a whole one.  I know it is huge.  That is fine..you can freeze what you don’t eat.  Brisket is great for OAMC because it freezes very well and thaws even more tender than when it was first cooked.  The trick to that is to slice it up and pour the meat juices over it before freezing.

Is it really that simple? Yup.

To Cook the Brisket 

Get a large pan.  Take the brisket out of the plastic cry-o-vac and rinse it.  Blot off the water, you don’t want that.

You are going to wrap the brisket in foil, so you will want to piece together a big enough sheet of foil to totally encompass the meat.  It takes 2 or 3 sheets with the edges folded together.

This is how I do the meat. It is spicy.  Seasoning a brisket is not rocket science so please adjust according to taste!

Now, lay the meat on the foil in the pan.  Douse it with liquid smoke.  Be generous, 1/4 a cup is about right, but I have been known to pour on a whole bottle.   Drizzle about a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce over it.  Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.  Now, hit it hard with cracked black pepper. I love black pepper so I make almost a coating on the meat.

Slice up an onion and lay it over the meat then peel and chop 3 cloves of garlic and lay it over the onion. Sprinkle on about a  tablespoon of dried chipotle over the top.  Seal up an the foil and allow to stand on the counter for 30 minutes while the oven is preheating.

Preheat the oven to 250. YES! 250.  The key to a tender cut is slow, very slow cooking.  You will cook your 8-12 lb brisket  for 12 hours.  Put it in before you go to bed and forget about it.

In the morning you are going to be waking up to the most heavenly odor.   That brisket is at this point scenting the whole neighborhood and don’t be surprised if you have neighbors knocking at your door with plates and forks in hand.

When the brisket is done remove it from the oven, unwrap and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

You are going to slice across the grain, thin slices, at a slight angle.  There will be a point that some of it will fall apart.  That’s o.k..that is what we use to make chopped barbeque sandwiches!

Once the meat is sliced you slather on some barbeque sauce, and start poking it in your mouth. Yeah, it is that good.

Do not slow cook your brisket in a slow cooker..it is TOO moist of a heat and the flavor an texture will not be right no matter what anyone says.

For Once A Month Cooking 

Proceed exactly as directed above.  Slice the meat up and separate into meal size portions.  Save the small bits that break up in a separate bowl.

Now, lay the meat in a casserole dish.  Pour about 1/4 c of the juice over the meat.  You may need more.  You want to have the meat soaking in the juices.  Cover carefully and freeze.  Be sure to label with what it is and the date.

For the little pieces you can just pour barbeque sauce over that and freeze it as chopped barbeque.  It makes fantastic sandwiches when piled atop crusty sandwich rolls.

Thaw in the refrigerator and heat for a quick meal.

I have several recipes for barbeque sauce. I will get the posted later this week.

Image: Marye Audet 

Post from: Baking Delights