Grill it With Bobby Flay Video

Please got to Grill It With Bobby Flay and find my video. It's called California to Colorado Taco Tour and view the video and please give me a 5 star rating. I would love to get on this show and Grill with Bobby Flay.

Thank you, Shannon - Grill It then Grub It

I think I'm in love

...with mi huevo verde grande that is. I made homemade pizzas tonight for my family. For some reason, I've always been intimidated by making dough, but I got through it just fine and the dough turned out, crisp, tender and chewy, just like a good pizza crust should. Oh man, where they good. I left the dome open (while it was snowing) and within 20 minutes the Egg was up to 575 degrees. Nice

Pepperoni, mushroom and italian sausage pizza along with

my favorite Pinot Noir and one of the best cheeses in the

world, Parmigiano-Reggiano. It was a good night.
-- Drew

Grill It With Bobby Flay Video

This weekend I will be making a video to send to "Grill It With Bobby Flay". My wife will be working the camera and I will be making some Grub. I think I'm going to make Tacos. They said you should make something that represents your background and cooking history. I'm thinking Shrimp and Chorizo tacos with a tangy Tomatillo Salsa and Striped Marlin Tacos topped with a Cilantro Broccoli Slaw. Both will be served on fresh homemade Corn Tortillas that I will grill. I'm also going to make a Blanco Tequila Cucumber and Honeydew Mellon Margarita. I spent a lot of my early years fishing the Sea of Cortez with my dad and I think these tacos will be a good representation of those amazing times in my life. As soon as we have it finished we will post it to the blog. Then I will post the link so you can all vote for me.




Thank you,



Shannon

My Big Green Egg

So here's my new "gadget" that Shannon was talking about...

Here's my new Egg! Can't wait for Roy to build my table for it.

When Shannon first told me about the Big Green Egg, my response was..."big green what?". He sighed and patiently explained to me that it's just the best grill/smoker/bbq EVER. I still wasn't convinced until he took me to Lehrer Fireplace and Patio. We talked to the experts there for over an hour and when we left, I knew that this was the one. I was thinking about getting another Weber gas grill, but the benefits of the Egg blow it away. Thanks to Lehrer for taking great care of me. They definitely know their stuff.

"The original design is over 3,000 years old, with roots thought to be in China, but Japanese also adopted it and called it 'kamado', a generic word that can mean an oven, stove, heater or even fireplace. After World War II, thousands of Americans in Japan 'discovered' the strange clay cooker and brought it home to the US at a time when most Americans used metal grills for outdoor cooking. The Big Green Egg was introduced in 1974 and has earned its reputation as the World's Best Smoker and Grill." (from the manual)

I tried it out for the first time last night and made some boneless skinless chicken breasts. I put some of John Henry's Tammy's Herbal Rub on it. Everything turned out great, although I've already learned a couple lessons:
1. Use a lot more charcoal and/or more fire starter to generate a hotter fire more quickly.
2. Make sure I keep the dome open while the fire heats up. I had no problem getting it up to 350 degrees, but it didn't get much hotter than that because I had closed the dome too early. Linda, at Lehrer, mentioned that with our lack of oxygen here, she found that she needed to keep the whole dome open until the fire was hot, otherwise it wouldn't get hot enough. Of course, I had forgotten that until after I was done. Oh well, I can't wait to make some steaks or pizza on it!

Stay tuned for many more Egg posts! Grubolicious! -- Drew

Hapa

I took a really good friend and client of mine to Hapa Sushi yesterday. We had the spicy tuna nachos and some Nigiri, including Hamachi, Salmon, raw Scallop and by her suggestion......................Wasabi Tobiko. Oh. My. God. The first one I ate made my whole body shiver. I can't really repeat what she said it felt like. Just go there and get 3 or 4 orders of it. Unbelievable. Oh yeah, we finished with the Multiple Orgasm Roll. Honestly, I think I would skip that next time and just go for the Wasabi Tobiko. -- Drew

My Brother

I've always known that my brother Grant is a good cook, but in the last year or two, I've come to appreciate just how good he is. He, like me, says "hey, I just follow the recipe", but we all know it takes skill to execute a recipe perfectly. It also takes skill to know when to change a recipe for the better.

This was apparent at our last gathering for our Mom's 70th birthday. He cooked his famous smoked chicken. The best chicken I've had...period. It takes some time, but the results are outstanding. Juicy. Flavorful. Delicious. If you want a copy of the recipe, just send me an email and I'll get it to you. (This site doesn't have the ability to attach docs as links.)

The other dish he made that night was grilled lamb with salsa verde. He marinated the lamb in the salsa verde overnight and then served more on the side. I couldn't stop eating it, it was so good. The salsa plays on the old combination of mint and lamb, but trust me, this is NOT the same mint-jelly-lamb combination. The fresh mint and balance of flavors was perfect and would go well with just about any grilled meat.

Grub on! -- Drew

5 Guys Burgers Denver

5 Guy's Burgers  Denver review,

Drew was right. Sounds odd but I'm actually not a big burger guy. Remember I grew up in the OC so In N Out was what I was raised think a burger should taste like. 5 Guys didn't let me down. They fit what I think of when I think of a burger place. Small menu and top quality in everything they do. The fries where perfect. I got the Cajun Fries. The service was fast, but most of all the burger was awesome. Very fresh bun good cheese and fresh produce. The best way to measure how much I liked a burger is by how much I finish. If the burger is just ok I will always leave some on the plate. If it's just good I will for some reason always leave one bite. If it was awesome then every bit of the burger will be gone. I finished every bite of this burger with little effort and truly enjoyed it

Wait till you see Drews' cool new kitchen gadget

That's all i'm sayin'

I got a cool new kitchen Gadget

It's a Channel Knife. It's great for garnishing drinks. It makes me look like a pro behind the bar.

Frank Bonanno

Shannon found Frank's blog the other day. We love this guy... http://blog.frankbonanno.com/index.php?blog=1   ...he-he-he... a little bit different class than ours, eh?

Grilled Ham and Cheese

...but not just any ham and cheese. My wonderful wife bought me a Breville panini press for Valentine's Day and I didn't waste any time trying it out.

We went to Whole Foods (I forgot how expensive that place is!) and bought our favorite bread (a boule of Rustic Italian), our favorite ham (Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked...so good), and an assortment of cheeses. Tanette had some cheddar on hers and I made 1/2 of mine with Comte' and 1/2 with Manchego. I actually didn't like the Comte' too much just by itself, but in the sandwich it was really good. The saltiness of the ham balanced out the strength of the Comte'. The Manchego side was really good as well, still flavorful, but not as strong.

I've got some ham and cheese left over and I'm starving. Guess what I'm going to do?!?!? -- Drew

I invented this drink over the weekend, IT IS AWESOME!!!

We finally got a Sprouts in Castle Rock so we raided the produce section for fresh produce to come up with something delicious. I'm so sick of the sugary pre packaged mixes on the market today. A long time ago I started making my Margaritas from scratch and there is no comparison.


Mixologists everywhere are trending toward fresh produce to make their drinks.

I think this is my new favorite mixed drink. I could use some help thinking of a name for it.

you take a couple of slices of fresh cucumber

one wedge of lime peel and all

one wedge of a fresh pear

about a half a teaspoon of raw sugar

muddle it all together really well add vodka, shake then strain

OH MY GOD It's GOOD

The best Happy Hour for us Foodies is Panzano Downtown Denver

Every day of the week, Saturdays and Sundays too, Panzano hosts a lively Happy Hour with exciting food and drink specials from 3 - 6pm in our Lounge. Enjoy all draft beer for $3, four different choices of wines by the glass for $4, or any of our Specialty Cocktails for $5. In addition, enjoy generous tastings of Chef Elise's signature dishes such as "Crespelle ai Funghi", "Bistecca Griglia" and "Melanzane Fritte" during Happy Hour for just $3 and $4 a plate. The way we do it is go with another couple or a few friends and order the whole Happy Hour Menu. It will cost a grand total of about $58 and it is AWESOME!! The $3 draft beers include a couple of my favorites, Stella Artios and Moretti. The $4 wines by the glas include a killer Malbec. But you have gotta try the "Grapes of Wrath" from the Specialty Drink menu which are all $5 bucks. The Grapes of Wrath is Grape Vodka - Patron Citronge - Pineapple Juice and a little Lime juice. Shannon - Get Yer Grub On

DINR Deck

The content below is from a Denver Post story. I've heard about it a few times and it sounds like a great idea.

"Thought of stuffing stockings with a deck of dinner discounts? Then look no further than the dining deal from Denver's best independent restaurants.

For $50, you get $520 in dining deals. Each of the 52 cards is good for $10 gift certificates redeemable at members of the nonprofit DINR.

Top restaurants include Vesta Dipping Grill, Rioja, Mizuna, Mezcal, Black Pearl, Panzano, Il Posto, Table 5, Elway's Cherry Creek, Parallel 17, Racines, Olivea and The Avenue Grill.

The cards are valued from New Year's Day through New Year's Eve 2010, with the exception of Denver Restaurant Week in February. Proceeds go to support Denver's independent restaurants.

DINR's mission is to "support, encourage and promote independent restaurants and chefs, which are the soul, spirit and identity of Denver, through education and the formation of a restaurant network.""

Julie and Julia

I saw the movie, Julie and Julia, last night. Let me tell you, this is NOT a movie to watch late at night when you're hungry!

I thought it was a wonderful movie and I liked how they tied the two stories together. It really got me thinking about how much I love food and cooking. Although I'm in a constant battle to keep my weight down, this movie reminded me how pleasurable food can be and how I need to just let myself enjoy it. -- Drew

Mcclure's Pickles

http://www.mcclurespickles.com/
Oh SNAP! seriously, that's the sound they make when you bite them. SNAP!


I saw these pickles on The Food Networks "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" so I had to try them. Ted Allen was right, they're awesome. The Spicy ones are the only one I have tried so far and yes they are spicy. I am a spicy food lover so I didn't mind them at all. Probably one of the most addicting things I have ever eaten.

Spicy Pickles – Intermingled with cayenne and habanero peppers, these pickles have a kick. Layered, bold flavors and incredible crunch make for a unique pickle unlike others. Use the leftover spicy brine to make a killer bloody mary mix or as a marinade for cooking. You can also refill the jar with some small pickle cucumbers and voila you have more pickles in a few weeks. The only place here in Colorado you can get them that I know of is Williams - Sonoma. Any volunteers who would like to go in on a case?

Larimer Hot House closing

I was very sad to hear that Larimer Hot House is closing. Eric and Jen are awesome people and the food was great (on our Top 5 Sandwich list). I hope they land on their feet and come back with something new soon. -- Drew

Crumbs

I thought the title is good for these kinds of posts...

**Made basil oil for my father-in-law:
1. In a blender, add lots of fresh basil and puree with good olive oil and a bit of salt (remember, use Kosher or Sea Salt).
2. Let it sit for awhile so the flavors can really blend. Optional.
3. In batches, pour mixture through a sieve into a bowl, pressing the mixture with a spatula to get all the liquid out.
4. Using a funnel, transfer oil to a glass olive oil bottle.
5. Great on chicken, caprese salad, bread, or just by itself!

**Made Rick Bayless' Chorizo Queso again yesterday. It's supposed to go with corn tortillas, but I usually just serve it with good corn tortilla chips. Everyone gobbled it up!

**Made boneless buffalo chicken the other night. Wasn't happy with the goopy flour mixture, but they turned out great! Loved the flavor of them without the extra dose of hot sauce at the end. It kinda ruined the overall flavor, but adding the hot sauce into the flour mixture was an awesome idea. I use recipes from these guys all the time. I like their explanations of why things work or don't work.

**Oh, and me and Shannon are getting Big Green Eggs soon. Can't wait!!!

Grubology Staff Meeting

Today we held our Grubology staff meeting at Dickey's BBQ in Centennial on Arapaho. The food was very good. We had the Hot Links and regular Smoked Sausage as well as the Brisket. The Sausages where good but I gotta say the brisket was outstanding. The people are very friendly and the Manager was very helpful. It is a little different then I expected serving the food buffet style but as far as being a streamline business model I would think it's the best way to serve BBQ considering most of the food is long and slow cooked therefore ready to go. They seem to try to cook things to order that don't do well sitting out in a steam table like the fried stuff such as Okra and French Fries. I would return to Dickey's for sure especially if I need to grab something fast and good. Grub on - Shannon

Lunch at Cherry Cricket

Had lunch yesterday with some good friends at Cherry Cricket, one of our Top 5 Burger Joints. I had a Cricket Burger with a roasted green chile and smoked cheddar. So good. I've stopped using condiments on burgers now because with the good ones, you really don't need any! -- Drew

And I loved our waiter's t-shirt so much I had to take a picture of it...

Super Bowl Grub

Does anyone have any Super Bowl grub ideas? As of now I'm smoking Ribs and Wings I think. Chips, Dips, Chains, Whips? anything? - Shannon - Grub On