shuley

This looks awesome! I can't believe you typed this before eating!

After going through lots and lots of kamadoguru challenge entries there were a few things I wanted to try, but DerHusker's paella has been something I have wanted to try for a while. Original cook is here . My mom wanted to make paella last Christmas- but she isn't quite as into cooking as I am so she wanted to take lots of shortcuts- which made me so interested in what I could do taking DerHusker's recipe and only slightly altering it. I did have to make a few changes due to ingredient limitations. So I gathered my veggies and most other non protein ingredients. the rice is calsparra rice, by the way. Which is considered authentic in addition to Bomba rice. Then I began chopping i didn't dice my tomatoes and I used plum tomatoes because I remembered a technique from a Catalonian stew. You take the plum tomatoes, and use a box grater to remove the pulp from the skins, then that is cooked down with the onions for a while and thought that would apply nicely here. Then I got to working on my saffron broth. This was taken word for word from DerHusker. Crushed up saffron in a glass measuring cup then boiled with some white wine then I got to working on the proteins. First, some shrimp including some insanely HUGE shrimp. I couldn't get any prawns, so I thought these would sub nicely. I included a picture with my finger in for scale because they were definitely the largest shrimp I have ever seen i pulled off the shells, threw in a hunk of butter, seasoned and let them cook a bitadded water to cover and now let it cook for a while to make a shrimp stock after a while, I strained out the shellsThen I started prepping some of the other ingredients and started heating the paella pan I did the rest of the cooking from here on on my KK. I seasoned some bone in chicken thighs with smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt and pepper and then put some color on them with some EVOO after they had cooked a while, I added in some of the linguisa to cook as well then I removed the chicken and linguist and Began to cook the onions and red peppers. then after a few minutes I added the tomato pulpafter that cooked down I added the rice in the shape of a cross then added my shrimp and saffron broths and stirred together then I added the linguisa and submerged the thighs shut the lid for about 15 minutes and got the shellfish ready. Pulled out the clams and mussles. Went back out to my KK and this is now what it looked like- most of all that flavorful liquid was absorbed then I added some peas and the clams. on go the mussels I closed the dome for a few minutes before adding some more ingredients the monster shrimp, regular shrimp and calamari after that cooked a while I added the lemons the clams and mussels were taking forever to cook so I ended up putting them directly on the grate and they opened within a minute so it kinda ruined the picture but by this time my mouth was watering uncontrollably but did I get the socarrat? YES!!! And it was delicious too my great surprise, even with all the expensive ingredients the most amazing part was the rice. This was an absolutely fabulous meal. So glad I tried it! Thank you DerHusker!

But how did it taste!?!?!?

Nice!

One of my friends learned this week that her 21 year old son has a tumor on his pelvis. It has been devastating to say the least. I decided to make her a couple of tri tips so she didn't have to worry about cooking meat for a few days. As it turns out it is one of her son's favorites as well! getting better but still not the best at trimming then seasoned them up then put on over some pecan wood for about two hours to pick up some smoke then seared. all really easy and hopefully will slightly brighten their day!

It is a cast iron pot with three very small holes drilled in the bottom places directly over where the lot coals are. The idea is that the smoke is forced out directly into the lit flame, burning off some of the compounds in the smoke. The resulting smoke is much less harsh. I use it on all my longer cooks. I just got some more pecan wood from a tree that has been dead for a long while but has not been cut for more than a few months. The resulting smoke is very harsh when placed directly on hot coals but is milder when I use the smoke pot. Still not as good as properly dried wood.

I like apple wood but primarily use pecan wood because my father in law had a pecan tree that died. I'm advice if the wood isn't as dried as is ideal is to use a smoke pot. The smoke is much less harsh.

If you are going to do this I would recommend using a smoke pot. I have done this with and without the smoke pot and it makes a much bigger difference with unseasoned wood.

I love tri tips! Glad you enjoyed yours. I second what daninpd said. Learning to slice it properly is tricky but it makes the meat seem much more tender.

Nice looking burgers

What made this crazy? Looks good to me!

Thank you!

Tri tip is a perfect inaugural cook. Looks like you nailed that cook on your first attempt with a new grill. Mad props

I know nothing about them other than they intrigue me and I love the look of them.

So sad but I have been having so many issues with heartburn that are only getting worse despite medications and all the testing. I do have a hiatal (sp?) hernia so that's probably to blame. Anyway I asked what a good game day option would be that didn't cause heartburn and someone mentioned kabobs! I thought that sounded great. That along with the homemade sourdough bread I've been making. Served over some sushi rice. So nice and I got to sleep as well!!!