Cinco de Mayo, Olè!

Cinco de Mayo is big in Texas.

You probably didn't need me to tell you that, huh? 

Well it is! It's actually a bigger deal here than it is in Mexixo. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of freedom, but it is not Mexican Independence Day. That holiday is celebrated on September 16th.

Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of The Battle of Puebla and a celebration of Mexican Pride and heritage for Americans of Mexican Descent.

I am not Mexican, but, Olè!
Everyone is Mexican for a day on Cinco de Mayo!

Here in Texas there are celebrations everywhere.

You can find a complete guide to local happenings at The Houston Press: 2014 Houston Cinco de Mayo Guide  Some of the highlights are The Fiesta Universal in The Woodlands, featuring Mariachi Music and food trucks, and The 9th Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Trader's Village  More live music, food and fun!
Another fun event is The 18th Annual Cinco de Mayo Parade in Houston 

This year Cinco de Mayo falls on a Monday. A work day. We will be celebrating at home by having
 tacos, Margarita Spritzers and chips This is a very refreshing spin on your typical Margarita, simple, pretty and thirst quenching, but still light enough to enjoy on a work day.

Margarita Spritzer

3 oz tequila

3 oz margarita mix

3 oz lime soda

Margarita salt

Line wedge

Mix tequila and mix in a small pitcher.

          Add soda and pour into salt- rimmed glass. 

Serve with frozen fruit, like raspberries

     Simple! 

Another quick Cinco de Mayo fix is homemade chips and salsa. 

Soft corn or flour tortillas are available in any super market, both in New Jersey and Texas, although only in Texas is there an entire isle devoted to just tortillas! Yes! A WHOLE isle full. Amazing how many varieties you can find!

Anyway, grab a big pack and cut them up into fun shapes then deep fry them a handful at a time in hot oil at 350 for a few minutes, then drain them on paper towels and salt them. They really are

Better than in a bag and very simple to make. 

There are many recipes on the Internet for authentic Mexican food.

I do not specialize in Mexican cooking, so I, like you, turn to the internet for clever ideas and recipes to make my celebrations special.  My personal favorite go-to place for Authentic Mexican recipes is Hispanic Kitchen. I have a friend over there named Sonia Mendez and we share a unique friendship that has blossomed due to our common bond . Or not common, but opposite bond! You see, Sonia lived in Texas but she now lives in New York, and blogging about her Mexican family recipes.  I am a Jersey Girl, living in Texas, blogging about my Italian family recipes! See how we jive? 

Anyway, I recommend any recipe on Hispanic Kitchen, but lets explore a few favorites!

Tacos Arabes by Sonia Mendez of Hispanic Kitchen This is a delicious taco with pork and black beans and a sauce made of cilantro and yogurt. The origins of this dish trace its roots to Puebla, Mexico, so its a perfect dish for Cindo de Mayo

Chiles Rellenos with Beef By Sonia  Here is an Authentic Mexican Stuffed Pepper recipe that Sonia learned from her mother. Stuffed with a mixture of seasoned ground beef and potatoes, these potatoes are dipped in flour and then stiff egg whites then fried to perfection. Another fantastic and authentic Mexican specialty!

Sun Dried Tomato & Chipotle Guacamole  Here is Sonia's twist on Guacamole! What a great way to spice it up and add some zing, Sun dried tomatoes and Chipotle peppers! Yumm!

Mexican Pizza by Lynn Socko Another favorite chef of mine is friend and fellow Just a Pinch member, Lynn Socko. She's a native Texan creating Tex-Mex and Mexican dishes with an emphasis on making delicious dishes that are low carbs without missing any of the flavor. Her wonderful recipe for Mexican Pizza has earned her a Feature Blue Ribbon on Just a Pinch. 

Cinco de Mayo Burger Here is a fantastic recipe for a burger on a tortilla instead of a bun. My friend and fellow blogger Linda Dalton created this recipe last year and it earned her a Golden Ticket to the World Food Championships! This burger was also the inspiration for my competition burger, Quesadilla Patty Melt. Fantastic idea and really delicious!

 You can check out more of Linda's recipes on her blog, Recipes Re-mixed 

Whatever you decide to do for Cinco de Mayo, either throwing a party, a family dinner or heading out on the town, don't forget that for this one day we are ALL Mexican, so have your margarita, and enjoy! Olè!

Parmesan and Pretzel Crusted Chicken Bites with Honey Mustard Dipping Dauce

Parmesan & Pretzel Crusted Chicken Bites

 with Honey Mustard Dip

2 lbs boneless chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp dry mustard

2 cups flour

4 eggs

1 package Pretzel Crisps Parmesan and Garlic 

1/2 shredded aged Parmesan cheese

In a medium sized bowl combine chicken pieces with buttermilk, cover and refrigerate while preparing other steps.

Mix salt, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and paprika in small bowl or shaker.

Pour flour into a zip bag or bowl

Crack eggs into a shallow bowl for dipping.

Spread pretzel crumbs and shredded cheese on a plate.

Drain buttermilk from chicken and arrange on wire rack.

I use 2 racks so they don't slip through

Dust with spice blend, flip, and dust again. Leave for 2 minutes to set. 

Put chicken into flour bag and shake, about 5 at a time, then return to rack and again, leave for 2 minutes to set. 

Dip each piece into egg, then into pretzel mix, then lay on a foil  covered, greased cookie sheet.

Bake for  22 minutes at 375.

Serve with honey mustard dip.

Mix 1/4 cup honey with 1/4 cup honey-mustard for honey mustard dip. 

Weekend Projects, and Some News, Too!

Project Weekend

Around here, weekends fall into two categories. It's either an adventure weekend, or a project weekend.

This weekend has been mostly a project weekend, but I did have an adventure on Friday. I went garage sale shopping with my friends, Ronnie and Nancy.

In Texas, garage sales are typically held on Fridays and Saturdays, instead of Saturdays and Sundays. I think, because people go to church on Sundays here.

Remember church? Yeah. They really go here. Anyway, all the good stuff gets grabbed up on Fridays, so we set out at 9am and hit up about 10 sales by noon. I picked up a wooden platter for $1 and a fantastic rocking chair for $30! Between shopping and lawn and garden chores, and my husbands never ending quest to find new ways to utilize pallet wood, we've kept ourselves pretty busy since Friday.

Pallet Project #1

Spring is in full swing here, which means temps between the 80's and 90's. There are a lot of projects we want to get finished before the heat of summer sets in!

One of our projects is this pallet garden.

We used two small pallets, about 4 by 4 in size. Hubby closed off the open ends with additional pieces of wood, then we laid them on top of a thick layer of newspaper. You can also use cardboard.

After that we filled them in with nice garden dirt from Home Depot. We used miracle grow garden dirt. It has slow release pellets.

We planted lettuce and radishes in one and onions, shallots and garlic in the other. 

The pallet garden is about 3 weeks old now. 

Birdcage Garden

I did another project with my daughter Maddie, in between cutting the grass, weeding and watering. We had tons of inpatients to pot, and ran out of things to plant them in, so we threw half a dozen into an old bird cage. Isn't this adorable??

There's that $30 rocking chair!

Pallet Project #2

Lastly, my husband spent the afternoon making me this cooler box!  

He used pallet wood, and hinges from an old cabinet. 

It doubles as a side table! Love it!

There's that awesome garage sale rocking chair again!

This project was almost totally free. We had the foam cooler, the hinges, and the wood. Hubby bought a box of nails but only used a handful. Less than a dollar! Up-cycling done right!

If you have any great ideas for free or inexpensive outdoor projects, or repurposing unused household items, share them with me! 

Finally, I spent a few hours whipping up a new recipe for potato salad.

Did you think I was gonna share that recipe? Nope! It's top-secret! I have to tuck it away for a contest, but I'll share it with you during the summer. 

Now For Some News

This week I will be blogging Cinco de Mayo events, recipes, and links.

Next weekend is the big car show, The Concours d" Elegance at La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa at Lake Conroe, and also our 23rd Anniversary weekend. 
For information and Tickets to this weekend full of fun, checkout 
Tickets: http://www.concoursoftexas.org/tickets.cfm
Event Info: http://www.concoursoftexas.org/eventinfo.cfm

Also, big news for me, I was selected to compete in the saucy mama blogger contest!

 This is a World Food Championships Qualifying Event in which I will be creating a recipe using one of saucy mama's wonderful sauces. 

The winner will go on to compete in the 2014 WFC, so I will be asking for lots of support from all of you, but as a thank you for that support I will be having a contest give-away soon for a prize pack from Saucy Mama for one of you! 
In the mean time, you can checkout Saucy Mama products at Saucy Mama.

As you can see, I've got a lot going on. I am so glad we got some projects done over this weekend. Cheers to all of you, hope your weekdays go fast and your weekends last long!

Grilled Pineapple

Grilled Pineapple

This simple recipe is a sure crowd pleaser. Packed with tangy sweetness and a little kick!

Grilled pineapple

1 ripe pineapple

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix dry ingredients and spread onto wide sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.

 Stand your pineapple upright, and cut the skin off  in strips by slicing downward with a bread knife.

Place pineapple directly onto hot grill, about 350 degrees.

Close lid and cook for about 15 minutes, turning every 3 minutes to achieve grill marks.

Remove from heat, then lower grill temp to low, about 225 degrees.

Roll pineapple in brown sugar mixture to evenly coat, then seal the foil around the fruit and put back on grill. 

Close lid and cook, seam side up, for another 15 minutes.

Serve with grilled ham, chicken or steak.

So darn good!

Easter Menu

~Easter Menu~

Cheese, Crackers & Fresh Fruit

Spinach Salad with Bacon & Blue Cheese

Eggplant Parmesan

Honey Baked Ham

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Dill Potato Salad

Baked Beans (Tracy Joyner's)

Honey Grilled Corn (Didi Dalaba's)

Parmesan Baked Asparagus (JAP)

Grilled Zucchini

Glazed Carrots with Baby Peas

Grilled Pineapple 

Honey Dinner Rolls &  Assorted Artisan Breads

 with Honey Butter

Chocolate Layer Cake Black Magic Cake

Coffeee & Tea

Simple Grilled Zucchini

      Simply Grilled Zucchini, using Rosemary Stem Cuttings

Spring is here and we are knee deep in garden chores in South East Texas!

 We've already begun planting our vegetable garden, and believe it or not, we've been cutting the grass again for over a month. One of the yearly chores that I do in the garden is cutting back my potted herbs. The new growth has begun and you can see it around the base if the plants.

Take this sage for example:

This plant is about 6 years old. We leave it on the porch most of the year. Water it and trim from it as needed, and bring it in the house for the 2 - 3 weeks of actual winter. 

Once spring bathes warmth over the plant it begins to wake up! These little leaves around the base are the beginning of fantastic potential, but you have to help. 

At the end (of the very long) growing season, plants will make a last ditch effort to survive. They'll shoot long leggy stems and small leaves.

They don't know I'm going to take them inside :-)

Then they enter a semi dormant stage where they stop growing and look a bit pathetic. This is the point where many give up and consider buying new plants next year. The fall is not the time to drastically cut them back, as you don't want to traumatized them before the winter. I usually cut back on watering them in the fall, move them to the warmest spot on the porch, and bring them in if the weatherman warns of freeze.

Rosemary

Then, in the spring they come alive again and can be just as productive as a new nursery plant if you take some steps to rejuvenate them. 

First, cut back the stemmy growth from last fall to give the new growth a better chance to grow. Then give your plant a good soak. If your plants have grown too big for their planter, now is a great time to replant, and treat with some miracle grow.

Your plants will thrive and you will save a few dollars by not having to replace them.

Thyme

Once you trim the plants down, don't discard your cuttings! Get creative in the kitchen, and use them, or hang them upside down in bunches to dry! The smell of drying herbs in the kitchen is very inviting! 

Sage

Here is a simple recipe to use Rosemary cuttings:

Throw a handful of cuttings into a freezer bag or plastic bowl with some zucchini sliced about 1/4 inch, long-wise. Add a few splashes of extra virgin olive oil.

Leave it in the fridge for a few hours, or up to 3 days. Then grill them on a pre-sprayed grill at about 275 degrees for a few minutes on each side. 

Grind some fresh sea salt over them once they hit the serving plate. 

Delicious!!

This is a great recipe for camping or tail-gating. The freezer bag packs well, and there is no rush to cook them right away as zucchini keeps well after being sliced for several days, and the rosemary flavor just gets better in a long marinade. 

Here is another little trick... After the zucchini goes on the grill, remove the rosemary from the bag and mince up about a tablespoon. Put this into a dipping cup with the infused olive oil from the bag, and use it as a flavored dipping oil with rustic bread.

Here I am using a homemade bread we call Dragon Bread.

Dragon Bread is a recipe I developed with my daughter Maddie It has red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and cheddar cheese in it :-) 

So good!

Texas BBQ - Jersey Style!

Ribs Within BBQ and Support Team, Doug & Laura Keiles, Glenn & Helene Mulvihill and George & Kimberly shore

What's big in Texas? Well, just about everything, but one thing that stands out is BBQ! 

BBQ is huge in Texas. Everyone from restaurant chefs to back yard cooks are smoking it low and slow in the Lone Star State. Almost every weekend from March to November you can find a festival, fair or backyard party that centers around BBQ. The competitions are quite an impressive deal! Usually about 50 teams come with their BBQ rigs, tents and campers, and cook all night.  The food is smoked on giant rigs that are all unique. 

When I first moved to Texas I didn't even know what BBQ was. To me, a Jersey Girl, BBQ meant a back yard party where someone uses a grill. Like, burgers and hot dogs. 

I was quickly schooled on the real definition when we went to a locally famous restaurant in Tomball, Texas, called Goodson's cafe. They're well known for their chicken fried steak, but on the day we went there the special was BBQ on a bun. Seeing as I thought BBQ was a hot dog, I couldn't understand what this dish was, so I asked. "BBQ what???"

Probably the first of a series of many blank stares I've received from Texans, at the depth of my ignorance. The waitress just didn't get that I had no clue. After a detailed explaination, Hubby was the one who took the chance and ordered it. He loved it, and this is what started his obsession with smoking foods and my new-found freedoms with his forgotten gas grill. 

Basically what I'm saying is, BBQ is the reason why I'm a burger cook. Once he started smoking he gave up control of grilling, but that's another story!

So, Texas is obsessed with BBQ. Everywhere you look there are BBQ restaurants. As many of them here as there are pizza places in NJ.

Texans take their BBQ seriously! They spend hours planning and executing a successful BBQ. They smoke everything from brisket to cheese.

They compete in cook offs for bragging rights and cash prizes and it's a wonderful culture. 
We've had a long trip from that day at Goodson's to learning to smoke in our yard but we don't fool ourselves. We are Armatures! There are people that take it so seriously that they spend tens of thousands of dollars on just the right smoker. They have trailers built with smokers in them so they can drag these contraptions clear across the country to compete in BBQ challenges. They are huge, often capable of cooking for hundreds of people. Some of them are even custom made at huge expense, to look like trains, guns, or motircycles. I even saw one that looked like an armadillo! So cool! 

Photo from blog of Leigh Winter Martin

This past weekend my hubby and I were delighted to be invited to the Cedar Fest BBQ cook-off by friends Doug and Laura Keiles of Ribs Within BBQ team. I met Doug and Laura at the World Food Championships in Vegas this past November. I was competing in The World Burger Championship, and they were competing in The World Bacon Championship. They came in second place, Bacon Champion of The WORLD! Quite an impressive accomplishment!
They live in Hillsborough NJ, and of course, being a Jersey Girl myself, this was the catalyst to make us instant friends. 

                                         

See Doug's WFC Profile here

While Doug competed, and won the title of 2nd in the world, Bacon, that's not his usual gig. He owns a BBQ catering company called Ribs Within,  sells a line of spice rubs, and has recently been approved by the FDA to produce and sell the worlds BEST bacon.

Ribs Within, Artisan Bacon

 But,  he is best known for competition BBQ.

Ribs Within

Doug's been competing (and winning) BBQ competitions for over 10 years! His story is an interesting one. His start began when a restaurateur he knew asked him why he never ordered the ribs. His reply? "Mines better!" He wasn't lying! He brought a sample of his cooking over for a taste and the restaurateur was shocked! His advice? Compete!

 His rise to the top started there.  His competitive nature and cooking skills combined with a genuine likable quality made him a natural in competitions. Since then he's achieved many titles and experienced many memorable events. One of the most accomplished moments for him was appearing on the Food Network show, Chopped, Grill Masters, where he took 2nd place to BBQ guru, Ernest Servantes of Texas.

Recently, the Keiles were in the market to upgrade their smokers, and turned to another friend, George Shore of Houston's own Pitmaker, LLC. George, together with Victor Howard are the Co-Owners of Pitmaker, a company that designs and creates custom BBQ Trailers, Backyard BBQ Smoker Pits, and BBQ Grills for Backyard Grillers, and fancy BBQ Trailers for Companies and Competitors alike. 

Pitmaker

 George and Victor, are also the key players that make up the award winning BBQ team Pitmaker- BBQ Addiction. They won the 2013 title of BBQ champions of the world, at the WFC. 

WFC Competitor Profile -Pitmaker-BBQ Addiction

I asked Doug why he chose Pitmaker to create his new pit and he replied, "They believed in my design." 

Doug and George had been communicating via social network for about a year before they met in person at the WFC, where they sat down to discuss  Doug's ideas for a pit design. When he presented his idea, George responded by showing some drafts that he had already designed. They had both been thinking of a similar rig, and brought their ideas together at the table that day.The idea was to create a First-of-its-kind, Gravity Fed, Duel heat-source smoker.

George and his team at Pitmaker took the design back to Houston where they custom created Doug's new pit. This past weekend it was ready for its maiden voyage, so Doug and George arranged to meet at Cedar Park for the contest. So, Cedar Park was the testing ground for the new pit.

 George gave the pit her first light in an almost ceremonial fashion in which the team all gave a big cheer!

 Doug started cooking on Friday afternoon. We stayed up late into the night, talking, laughing, eating, enjoying the company of friends, but finally we grew tired and hubby and I climbed into the back of our Explorer with some blankets and pillows and crashed. Doug, however, stayed up all night checking his food about every half an hour. He never once appeared tired, or showed any sign of deterioration. He is a true competitor! 

The following morning the team re-assembled to assist him with turn-ins.The competition required 4 turn-ins, chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. The amount of detail that goes into the preparation and presentation of this food is astounding. From preparing the boxes to the finely butchered meats. It's almost a shame to see the boxes closed and turned in!  I was lucky to witness this from start to finish, but I am sworn to secrecy so cannot share. I will say though, I learned so much from Doug and Laura. 

The pressure is all on Doug at this point, and we tried to stay out of the way while waiting for instructions. I was so thrilled to be honored with simple tasks, like heating sauce or finding the aluminum foil. Silly, but truly exciting! Hubby was given the honor of running the completed dishes to the judging tent. Trust! 

What an impressive show! For the first time using the new pit Doug didn't expect to place as high as he did. 6th over all, with a 4th in brisket! Placing 12th in Chicken, 19th in Pork and 26th in Ribs, I can't even begin to imagine what he'll be producing when he's had the time to get to know his rig.

Laura and Doug Keiles of Ribs Within BBQ Team 

6th Place Overall Cedar Fest BBQ Cook-Off 2014

In addition to learning so much about BBQ, we also had a blast walking around, seeing the other rigs, and meeting folks. So many friendly folks came over to the Ribs Within tent to say hello. Doug knew most of them but some were new friends. One stands out to me, a friendly guy named Robert Sierra of S & S BBQ .  What a joyously fun guy! He exemplifies the attitude of BBQ, good-nurtured and down to earth. 
I also had the pleasure of meeting up with my childhood friend, Trisha Ellis! She lives near by and agreed to pop over and hug me! woot!

It was wonderful to spend time with friends, learn about competition BBQ, eat good food and meet new people. I am truely loving my life in Texas.