My First Time

My first time cooking a brisket, that is. I've always been more attracted to high heat cooking, but I was determined to try my hand at "low and slow" since I bought my Egg. So I bought a 6 lb brisket, rubbed it up and put it in the Egg on Saturday morning around 9am. The Egg maintained 200 degrees almost perfectly for the 8 hours that I had it in there. I probably could have left it in there a couple more hours, but we were hungry!

I was happy with the way it turned out. The rub and smoky flavor from the Egg were just right. I didn't use a water pan or chips, because, well, I forgot. But I don't think I really needed it. The charcoal I use has a smoky flavor already and the Egg acts as a convection oven so it's really good at keeping the moisture in there. -- Drew

I served it with a traditional horseradish dip and my mashed potatoes.

Horseradish Dip - just the right amount of heat
3/4 C Mayo
3/4 C Sour Cream
1/4 C + 2 Tbs jarred, grated horseradish
1/2 tsp lemon zest
Salt and pepper

Mashed Potatoes - Drew's way

Iwayama - round 2

We had an unbelievable lunch today at Iwayama Sushi and da big kahuna bistro. This was my third time there and Shannon's first. Lee made us quite the feast. Everything was outstanding. Well executed with fresh ingredients and virtually everything is made in house. Lee is the MAN!! Hey, don't just take our word for it. The Denver Post Dining Critic liked it as well (review). You need to check this place out!

Buckley Bay Oysters

(could have had a couple dozen of these!)

Tuna Poke Bowl (not on menu)

Nigiri... Saba (Mackerel) with Japanese powdered sea salt, then torched

White tuna with ginger, scallion pesto

Nigiri... Salmon and Tuna

Da Big Kahuna Burger and Fries

(up there with some of the best burgers and fries in town)

Tuna on Acid roll

(spicy tuna roll with tuna on top and a sliced jalapeno)

Tempura fish tacos with mango salsa

Lobster, Frank's way

Frank Bonanno is a great chef and a Grubology favorite and when I saw that he updated his blog with how to cook a lobster, I had to post it. Here is the link to his blog... Lobster by Frank or a printable version.

The boy got skills

Our good friends and Grubology supporters Kirk and Erin Seabold had us over for a dinner meeting for the grilling competition coming this summer. As it turns out Kirk has some mad skills in the kitchen. Not only did he make what was probably the best chicken sandwich I have ever had ( seriously boneless skinless breast was perfectly cooked and that's not easy ) he also made this stuffed chili with shrimp and chorizo which was frickin' awesome. GREAT JOB SEAB'S

Maybe the best roasted chicken ever, I love my Egg too

I made a marinade of about two cups of roasted garlic with dark soy, olive oil, hoisin, lime juice and mango juice and it was insane. Then I served it with a rice concoction that I could only think of after about 4 beers. It was coconut milk. mango juice 1/2 a banana a little simple syrup and water blended it added rice to the rice steamer then chopped up fried plantains after it was cooked and folded them into the rice. It tasted so good I could not stop eating it.

Goodness

Had a Prime NY Strip cooked on the Egg with a side of pasta topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano and white truffle oil. No picture can do it justice. How do you top that? No really, how?!?!

Roast Chicken

I roasted my first chicken last night! Yes, my first. I've made all kinds of fancy dishes, but some of the basics have eluded me (fresh pasta, roasted chicken, pizza dough (got that one done)).

I cooked it on my Egg at just under 400 degrees for about an hour and this is how it turned out. Juicy, flavorful. Oh man, soooooooooo good. -- Drew

Soup

One of my favorite soups is Mulligatawny. It's a really easy Indian soup that I got from the New England Soup Cookbook. The soup gained popularity after a particular Seinfeld episode. If you love the show as much as I do, you'll know what episode it's from.

I love the combination of spices (cumin, chili powder, curry) with the coconut milk, which adds some weight and sweetness to the soup. -- Drew

Breakfast

My wife got me into eating egg sandwiches. It's really easy and they're really delicious. Just scramble some eggs, forming them into a shape that will fit on your bread, top with cheese, toast some bread and spread some mayo on. -- Drew

3 Margaritas and those elusive Wings

Shannon and I went to Guadalajara (3 Margaritas) in Castle Rock the other day. This is one of our favorite Mexican joints (without all the seeds...ok, bad joke). They're food is always good and fresh. We both had the Pollo Azado Burrito. It was filled with tons of fresh veggies, deliciously grilled chicken and smothered with their great pork green chili. Healthy and delicious!!

So, about those wings. I've had A LOT of chicken wings in my life. I've had them done all kinds of ways in all kinds of flavors. Personally, I bake mine on my Egg and toss with Frank's Red Hot. Anyway, we decided to get their wings and they were, honestly, some of the best tasting wings I've EVER had. The pieces were good sized, but not enormous, and cooked perfectly. The secret is the seasoning they put on it. I even asked the Manager, Modesto, what was on them and he wouldn't tell me!!! AAAHHHHH!!!

I had to try and recreate them so I made some wings the other day and used the following rub: garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, adobe seasoning, salt and pepper. Were they good? Oh yeah. Were they as good as Modesto's secret wings? Not even close. Damn you Modestooooooooooo!!!