Smoking meats for Starworks Annual Meeting

We were given work space at Starworks while we are rebuilding our work building since a fire last July.

Starworks is having their annual meeting and the folks at Star are preparing the food.

Mark and I have teamed up to make smoked beef using locally raised beef from our area.

This is step one- the marinade.

I always start with red wine and soy sauce. Then I add in fresh garlic and onions- from there it can be anything you like in the amounts you like.

I added- 1/2 lemon, splash of rice vinegar, chives, ginger, chili powder, cumin, coriander, dry mustard, some hot pepper, oregano, dash salt and ground pepper.

Here is a peak at the meat which will marinate until tomorrow- turning it several times between now and then.

More tomorrow--

Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze and fresh mint

Roast Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze and fresh mint
From Barbara Kafka; Roasting a Simple Art.

1 bunch fresh mint
5-6lb chicken, wing tips removed
2 to 3 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
About 4 whole cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 1/2 cup seeds from 1 (or 2 small) large pomegranate
1/2 cup pomegranate juice from 1 large (or 2 small) pomegranate
1/2 cup of your favorite chicken stock
1. Place rack on second level from bottom of oven and heat oven to 500*.
2. Remove leaves from half of mint bunch, reserving stems.
Stack the leaves, roll, and cut them across into thin strips.
3. Remove the fat from the tail and crop end of the chicken.
Use livers, neck and giblet in stock.4. Place chicken breast side up in a 12x8x1 ½ inch roasting pan.
Sprinkle cavity with some of the salt and pepper and stuff with garlic, ½ cup pomegranate seeds, ½ bunch mint with leaves on, and reserved mint stems.
Pour ¼ cup of the pomegranate juice over chicken, Sprinkle with 1tsp salt.
Put chicken in oven, legs first.
Roast 50 minutes, moving the chicken after the first 10 minutes with a wooden spatula to keep it from sticking.
The chicken should not burn, but if it smells like it is burning, reduce heat to
400* and open oven door for a minute to lower the temperature quickly.
Continue roasting at lower temperature.
5. Chicken will be a beautiful mahogany brown color, and any liquid will seem to have disappeared. Tilt the chicken over pan, and then remove the chicken to a platter.
6. Tilt roasting pan and spoon out fat, leaving any juices. Place pan over medium-high heat. Pour in the chicken stock and the last ¼ cup pomegranate juice. Scrape hard along the bottom of the pan. Use a wooden spoon to get all the good brown gunk up from the pan.
7. Add remaining mint leaves. Lower heat. Cook 1 minute. Taste carefully, liquid will be hot. Salt and pepper to taste. Add any juices that have collected on the platter. Cook liquid 30 seconds. Pour about half of the juices over bird on platter, being careful not to overflow platter.
Top with half of the juices over bird on platter, being careful not to overflow.

Top with half of the remaining pomegranate seeds. Put the rest of the juices in a sauceboat with the rest of the seeds. Mix well and serve with chicken.

To juice pomegranates: Cut pomegranates in half like oranges and use a citrus juicer holding the cut sides down firmly and moving the pomegranate half around to extract maximum juice from the seeds.
To seed pomegranates: Cut pomegranates into quarters. Using a small spoon, or your fingers, gently pull seeds away from hard skin. Seeds are bouncy but fragile. As seeds are pulled away, they will separate. Let them drop into a measuring cup. Continue until all seeds are removed. Pick off any white membrane clinging to seeds

White chip and Craisins cookies

1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups oats; put through food processor
1 1/2 cups nuts; put through food processor

Sift flour, salt, soda and baking powder.
Stir in oats and flour.

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2-eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla.
Stir in oats and nuts.
Add 1 package white chips
and 1 cup craisins.

Bake 350 until light brown and done.
Depending on size of cookies anywhere from 12 to 17 minutes.

Chicken Patties

Mark and I discovered these last year and they have become one of the items I make once or twice a month. I like the way you can change them to suit your mood and they are great left over.

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into chunks
1 bread slice- stale processed in the food processor.
(I don’t like bread crumbs out of the can- look at the ingredients- it is a mile long- because they don’t want the stuff to ever grow mold! So, I prefer to just use the same bread I eat. I know what is in that.)
1 egg
About ¼ cup chopped onion.
Now here is where you can vary according to mood.
Tonight I added salt, pepper, basil, paprika and oregano.
¼ cup Parmesan cheese.
Other nights this could be curry.
And yet another night try water chestnuts, soy sauce and ginger.

Pulse the bread in food processor; add onion and spices pulse again.
Add egg pulse one more time.
Throw this in a bowl.
Add chicken to processor and pulse until well ground, but not mush.
Add chicken to bread crumb mixture.
Mix well using rubber gloves if you like or wet you hands a bit.
Shape into patties.
You should get 6 out of this.
Heat a skillet with some olive oil and brown on both sides until cook through.
Make a sauce with mayo and some hot or sweet.
These are great leftover.
Double the recipe if you want.
Keep some water going in the sink for all that chicken clean up.

This is not a great picture- I have to work on my presentation.
And yes that is white rice- Mark will not eat brown rice and after 36 years I don't make him.
Pick your battles!

Roasted Beets

Preheat oven to 500*
Clean about 4 pounds of beets- use the smallish ones or med size.
Trim up stems to about ½ inch
Line a pan with foil- this helps with clean up later.
Pat dry the beets- rub them with olive oil and salt.
Roast on center rack for 30-40 minutes or until you can pierce through with a sharp paring knife.
Cool to handle- then slip off skins.
I like to marinate them in olive oil and balsamic salt pepper- maybe some fresh herbs.
These keep well for several days.