Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Smoke Siege BBQ Team: Inaugural Competition Season (Part 2)

This is the second post in a series about my first experience with competition barbecue. Last summer I helped my brother at a barbecue competition in Indianapolis, Indiana. This second installment in the series is quite delayed, but seems appropriate as I head out for barbecue season 2!

I am getting ready to head to Indianapolis for Smoke Siege BBQ Team's second season on the competition barbecue circuit. My brother's team has already completed one competition this season. This event will be number two of the season. We will be participating in the Wine, Brew, & Bar-B-Que, Too event hosted by the New Palestine, Indiana Lions Club. To get in the barbecue mindset, and ready for a crazy weekend, I am continuing the story of our competition day activities from last year's event. You can read about the event and our initial preparation at http://www.goodcookdoris.com/2012/11/smoke-siege-bbq-team-inaugural.html.

Official team photo

For this post I will focus on Friday at the competition - the preparation day. Turn-in and judging happens on Saturday. Friday is spent getting organized, prepping all the meats, and of course a little beer and schmoozing with the other competitors. Depending on Saturday's turn-in times, actual meat smoking doesn't start until somewhere between midnight and 2:00 am.

Once we got our work area set-up and ready, the prep work began. Rules stipulate that you can only trim meat before arrival. Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) judges have to inspect your meat and give you the all-clear to get to work. With four meats and sauce to prepare, we started around 2:00 pm. My first task was to season and prepare the chicken thighs. For smoking chicken, dark meat is going to stay more moist and hold up to a few hours in the smoke. The chicken gets a nice rub down both under and over the skin before being put in the cooler to absorb the secret spice mixture.



About halfway through the chicken prep a huge thunderstorm rolled through. We covered the meat,threw a wool blanket over our wood pile, held tight the tent, and rode it out. Thankfully we were just a little soggy and didn't lose any of our supplies.

Chicken thighs, prepped and ready to chill.
Me, a little soggy from the rain.

Note: Even though you only turn in 6 portions of each meat, you cook a lot of extra. This allows you to select the best looking and tasting pieces for the judges. And it feeds all of the friends who come out to help you during the competition. 

While I was busy massaging chicken, my brother Marc was tackling the larger cuts of brisket and pork shoulder. The meats need time to absorb flavors and you want them to stay moist throughout the cooking process. To achieve this cooks use a variety of techniques. Marc injects the meat with liquid and seasoning and then gives it a generous spice rub. I think we cooked 2-3 briskets and 2 pork shoulders.Ribs aren't treated to the injection process but do get a good helping of spice rub. Between 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm we were able to prepare all of the meats and clean up our work space.


One of the perks of this particular competition was a complimentary dinner following the mandatory cook's meeting. All 50 pro teams listened to the rules and regulations before being treated to what I would describe as a very rich dinner. I am fairly certain that everything was cooked in butter. And if it wasn't , there was a giant vat of butter in which you could dunk your corn (or burger buns...).


After swapping stories with fellow competitors and clogging our arteries, the rest of the evening was open. The opening ceremonies of the Olympics were on TV, competitors were checking each other out, and the beer was flowing. As the 11:00 pm hour approached, I bunked in to our overnight facilities and rested up for the long night ahead.


Many other experienced teams had queen size air mattresses with full sheets, others had cots, some had fully loaded RVs. For our inaugural season, we had reclining seats in the car. Around midnight the wood went into the smoker and started a slow burn to reach 250 degrees. Meats got a final prep and around 2:00 am the cooking began.

Midnight pitmaster in action.

Seasoning the meat one more time before going on. 

After the temperature was satisfactory and the meats were on the smoker, I took over the overnight pit watch duty. This entailed trying to stay awake and making sure the temperature stayed constant. Sometimes the smoker needed to be fed a little extra wood, sometimes the smoke valve needed to open up a little.

Stoking the fire around 3 am.




We made it through the night and as the sun rose over the smoker we were a little weary, but energized to face the competition head on!

Ribs, awaiting their dawn cooking time. 

Next up in the series are final cooking, presentation preparation, and a lot of good eats. I'll close by showing our schedule for the competition. To have a successful cook,  you have to start with the turn in time and work backwards. The meat needs time to rest before slicing, and everything has a different cooking time. As you can see below, Marc had a grid for the meat to go on, get wrapped in foil (prevent too much smoke flavor), if it need to be sauced, and when to take off the grill.


I'll wrap up this series, and then have a recap of our second year. I hope it is as fun as the first! I'll be tweeting & putting pictures on Instagram over the weekend. Follow along!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Boston Brunchers: BOKX 109 American Prime in Newton, MA

Brunch might be my favorite meal. I love finding new and interesting takes on brunch food - and our trip to BOKX 109 American Prime delivered! Thanks to the Boston Brunchers, the hubby, little guy and I headed to Newton for a delicious brunch experience.

BOKX 109 American Prime is located in the Hotel Indigo right next to Riverside Station. It is easily accessible by the Mass Pike, Route 16 and Route 30 (perfect for us suburbanites). For city-dwellers, it's an easy ride out on the Green Line D branch. The restaurant is located on the lower level and opens out into the pool area. 

We started with a round of drinks - mimosa, fresh squeezed orange juice, and water. As we settled in to our comfortable seats overlooking the pool, it was hard to decide on our meal choices.



Our server was attentive, but laid-back, giving us time to decide if we were going to go with lunch or breakfast items. We ordered and then sat back to relax and wait for our food to be freshly prepared. We did not have to wait long, the chef sent out a special amuse bouche that definitely woke up our palates.



The pear and mascarpone sacchetti (handmade purses of fresh pasta) were the perfect mix of sweet and savory. The adult plates were presented with a smoke-filled glass bowl on top, which let out a wonderful smell when lifted. The little guy's plate was sans-smoke, but that didn't seem to get in the way of his enjoyment.



For entrees, the hubby and I chose two different egg dishes. For my entree, I opted for the Filet and Eggs Benedict. There were so many good flavors - the perfectly medium steak, rich runny egg yolk, white truffle, and bearnaise on top of grilled ciabatta. I am not normally an eggs benedict fan, but this won me over. The confit potatoes were rich and creamy.








The hubby normally opts for a sweet breakfast, but the pancake and french toast options were a little over the top for him. He chose the Steak Bomblette - a frittata style omelet with tenderloin, smoked gouda, mushrooms and carmelized onions. The bomblette was also topped with a drizzle of balsamic. This was an eight inch flavor bomb! The only thing missing was a good piece of toast on the side.



The little guy didn't need his own entree. But if we let him, he might have eaten all of that bomblette! An order of the fresh fruit plate rounded out his meal. The large square plate had melons, grapes, berries, and pineapple. On the side was a seasonal sorbet (peach/mango) and an unnecessarily large bowl of Champagne sabayon. We  thought maybe they gave us the whole batch instead of an individual serving because the label was still on the serving bowl! Either way, it was wonderful.




To our surprise, the meal ended with a huge green apple cotton candy!! As soon as we saw it coming, the hubby and I looked at each other and thought - parenting dilemma! How can we explain to a toddler that this is mommy and daddy's pure sugar treat, and you can't have any. 


Well, we let him touch it but told him he couldn't eat it. Below is what happened when he put his hand in his mouth and figured out we were trying to pull a fast one on him.


Thanks to Boston Brunchers and BOKX 109 for a great brunch! The service, food, and atmosphere were wonderful and we hope to make it back again soon!

Disclaimer: I entered a contest to win free brunch for two at BOKX 109 through Boston Brunchers. The meal was free, but we tipped our excellent server. All opinions are honest reflect our experience at brunch during this visit. 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Traditional, with a Twist: Baked Farro “Arancini”


This is my entry to the contest hosted by Tuscan Fields to win a conference registration to Eat Write Retreat. I had a fabulous time the last two years and would love to attend again in the new Philadelphia location. I hope that you enjoy my post and that I am able to attend EWR13 thanks to Tuscan Fields!  

Connection – that is my word. Last year at Eat Write Retreat, Monica Bhide challenged us to find the one word that defined our blogs. Connection can mean many things, but for Good Cook Doris one of the main ways my “word” presents itself is connecting tradition with today through old recipes with new twists or traditional ingredients with a new spin.

This scholarship contest challenged bloggers to take farro, an ancient grain, and come up with an original recipe and post. Keeping my word in mind, I knew that my recipe would be traditional, with a twist! As with last year, I’m still squeezing cooking in along with family, work, school, and life. I wanted a recipe that would showcase the farro and be easy enough to make while having a million other things on my plate to do.

Tuscan Fields is bringing farro to the US from Tuscany.  Their products are grown at Fattoria Pieve a Salti and are 100% organic. Farro has been a part of Tuscan cuisine as far back as ancient Rome! In addition to being an agriturismo, the farm is also the second largest producer of organic agriculture products in Tuscany. For my recipe, I used Tuscan Fields® Farro Perlato. For a little background on farro, I turned to the Tuscan Fields website. Here is a description in their words:  “Farro is often translated into English as ‘spelt’ – but it is actually another variety of heirloom or “ancient” grain in the wheat family. Its biological name is triticum dicoccum and it is the forerunner to spelt (Triticum Spelta) on the evolutionary wheat chain. In the U.S. triticum dococcum is also called “emmer wheat” but it is readily known worldwide as “farro”.”



I decided on a twist on risotto and arancini. Farro’s nutty flavor and slightly texture makes it perfect for many different preparations and spice additions. We eat a lot of southwestern flavors here in the Good Cook Doris kitchen which means the spices and herbs we run out of the most are cumin, chili powder, and cilantro. I wanted to incorporate these into my farro recipe, along with a delicious Queso Blanco that we picked up at last week’s winter farmers market. The cheese is locally made in Rhode Island by Narragansett Creamery .

First, I made a savory and delicious farro-risotto with onions, carrots, garlic, spices, and chicken broth. Next, I wrapped it around squares of Queso Blanco and coated it in seasoned panko breadcrumbs. After about 20 minutes in the oven, and a quick broil, the baked arancini were ready. Cutting into the middle revealed a warm, melty cheese center. The sea saltiness of the cheese paired with the creamy, spiced flavor of the favor made for a delicious bite.




In true Good Cook Doris fashion, while I was making this recipe I was also busy at work on a paper for my graduate school class this semester. I set up shop in the kitchen and in between steps tried to get a few words written. It's all about maximizing the time you have, right?



I hope you enjoy this recipe and that I have a chance to enjoy Eat Write Retreat 2013 in Philly!



Farro Risotto
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium white onion, diced small
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder (I used a red chili powder from Texas)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1.5 cups Tuscan Fields Farro Perlato (this ended up being the entire 9.1 oz package)
2 cups water
1.5 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (or 1 tablespoon freeze-dried, or dried cilantro)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

In medium saucepan add oil, onion, carrots and garlic
Cover and cook over medium-low for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally
Stir in cumin and chili powder and cook until you can smell the spices (about 1 minute)
Add farro to the saucepan and stir well, cook for about 2 minutes or until lightly toasted
Add broth and water and stir
Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5-7 minutes until farro is tender (but still has slightly chewy texture)
Remove from heat, mix in cilantro and lime juice and season with salt if desired

Note:  I did not add too much salt, knowing that I would be adding a salty cheese to the final baked product.



Baked Farro Arancini
Farro-risotto from above recipe
10 half-inch cubes of Queso Blanco
1 cup AP flour
1 egg plus a splash of water, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon dried cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Set up three shallow bowls on your work space
In one bowl, put the flour
In the second bowl, mix the egg and water
In the third bowl, mix breadcrumbs, chili powder, cumin and cilantro; add butter or olive and mix until well combined
Using an ice cream scoop (or cookie dough scoop), take a scoop of risotto and place it in your palm, flattening it slightly
Place a cube of cheese in the middle, using a smaller spoon, take about 1 tsp additional risotto and put on top of cheese
Shape the risotto into a ball, completely surrounding the cheese so you can’t see it at all, packing the ball tightly
Roll ball in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs and place on the parchment paper lined baking sheet
Repeat for as many as you would like to make
Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees
Broil for 2-5 minutes until the outside is golden brown and crispy
Serve with warm salsa (your favorite jar or homemade)



Thank you to Tuscan Fields for the opportunity to win a chance to attend Eat Write Retreat!

Disclaimer: 
I signed up to enter this scholarship contest and was one the first 50 entries which meant that I received two packages of farro from Tuscan fields to use in developing a recipe for this contest entry. To be eligible to win, I had to create an original recipe and post, and link to both Tuscan Fields and Eat Write Retreat. For full details of the contest, you can click here



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