Back At It!

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OldSmoke

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Sep 5, 2020
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Oregon
Over Christmas, our over 100 year old cedar tree split at the top in a wind storm. The hotter, dryer weather is really raising heck with the western red cedars in our area. Quite a few were lost. As a result, I’ve been working nearly non-stop starting in February, to put things back together. I finished this afternoon and am enjoying a glass of wine to sooth my sore body.

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The entire family including our new granddaughter from the Netherlands are visiting in June. To get ready, I have been asked to start preparing meals.

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First on the request list is pulled pork. I have started braising the butt in a mix of bourbon and apple juice in the oven for a couple of hours to finish. It adds a nice flavor. I was looking at the juice as I was shredding the pork and dipped a piece into it. Wow. The flavor popped! I ended up drizzling some over the pulled pork and it added a great flavor. I will make up a batch of bourbon BBQ sauce later this week.

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The next request was for street tacos. I smoked the chuck roast (rubbed with taco seasoning) for five hours and then transferred it to a Dutch oven. The Dutch oven was filled with a tomato/pepper sauce. Into the oven it went for another three to four hours. When it was ready to shred, I pulled it and dumped that wonderful sauce into a blender. That is now the taco sauce. It is addicting! I could have eaten the entire roast standing at the counter.

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Since the smoker was on a roll, I tossed in a batch of Tillimook sharp cheddar and Dutch Gouda. Smoked over apple, it is so good.

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My daughter from California loves pasta, but her husband does not. I happen to have a bit of guanciale, so i am going to make her bucatini all’amatriciana. It’s the least a dad can do for his daughter! It will be accompanied by a very nice Italian red.

No diets on this visit.
 
That is a heck of a before and after pics! Nice work there.
Now onto the food.......Holy Cow! Thats a great sounding mix of eats there. Sounds like the family will be eating good.

Jim
 
You have a beautiful yard!
The food looks amazing! Might have to give that pork in the bourbon and apple juice sauce a go.
Love your lamp!

Ryan
 
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Welcome back...at it :emoji_laughing: Believe me, I can relate to having to clean up tree damage from storms. We are still cleaning up from the ice storm last February. Been a long journey, that's for sure.

Robert
 
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Our daughter and granddaughter arrived yesterday. She is vegan, her husband has celiacs. It is a little tricky to cook. So, we made a rice bowl buffet. I grilled chicken that had been brined and then marinated in a homemade GF teriyaki sauce which is outstanding. I also grilled veggies including asparagus, broccoli, onions, green onions, mushrooms, and four different peppers. It was so good!

We planned to rerun it the next day. His brother was also coming into town. We asked if they would like to join us for lunch, but they declined.

You guessed it. At the last minute, they wanted to join us.Five more people. Crap. Another trip to the store for wine and more ingredients. We had an hour to pull it together. I haven’t even held my granddaughter yet (from the Netherlands). All I am doing is cooking and cleaning!

Even though in the frenzy I dropped a bottle of teriyaki sauce on the kitchen floor, which turned into an explosion of sticky sauce and glass everywhere, we pulled it off. Everyone loved it. Sorry, no photos, I was scrambling and cussing.

The moral of the event, ALWAYS have lots of wine and beer on hand! It gives the chef a lot of breathing room.
 
BTW, thank you for the likes and comments. This month, I’m going to need all the support I can get!

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Umm yeah I'll hold the baby 👶!

Great recovery on the yard and feast!
Nothing like cooking for and spending time with the family!

Keith
 
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Today was great! We went to the Evergreen Aviation Museum. This is the home of the Spruce Goose. Fantastic! But, it gets old seeing all the aircraft I have worked on called antiques! Hueys, CH46, Bell 45, Hiller 12E. I’m still a teenager, what the heck?

The next wave of family arrives Saturday. I start cooking pasta on Sunday. Here we go!
 
Love your lamp!
Thanks, it is one of my favorites. It’s a Chesterfield from about 1880. It graces almost every meal. I like to imagine all of the conversations it has witnessed in its time. I have a nice collection from about the same time period.

I even have at least four on our sailboat!

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