Well like everyone around here I'm sure, the holidays are a busy time for cooking and I love every minute of it. Just thought id share some of my cooking experiences from the last few days...
This weekend I cooked an appreciation lunch for about 100 people which included the employees of island harvest (a local food bank) and a Jeep club that was delivering 1000s of pounds of donated food. We cooked burgers, dogs, tri tip, and a bunch of my homemade sausages (hot links, chicken cheddar jalapeño, cheddar kielbasa, brats, Italian cheese and parsley, and hot Italian. And the best part is I got to play with one of the coolest smokers on earth which is a custom made and donated smoker from Shirley Fabrications:
It really was so much fun! And I got some nice compliments about my sausage.
Tomorrow night I am working with that same BBQ group to feed 60 families in need for thanksgiving. Each family receives appetizers, tons of sides, desserts, drinks, and a smoked turkey. I did 30
Pounds of smoked cheese as an app:
I also made 30 pounds of homemade Italian sausage as a side. Loves my blackstone for this! Was able to sauté all the onions and celery and brown all the sausage in about a half hour.
we all get together and sort all the food that we all make and then deliver to the families. We also collect supplies and food gift cards for homeless and at risk vets. So I always make a double batch of the desserts I make for Thanksgiving celebration at my cousins house so I can bring some to share with all the other volunteers. Made some maple bacon bourbon pecan pie bars and fudgy pumpkin chocolate chip bread:
And as another treat for the volunteers I repeated my Thanksgiving Fatty which is Pop's seasoned turkey sausage stuffed with mash potatoes, Italian sausage stuffing, and cranberry cheddar and smoked with some apple wood:
It's been a lot of fun cooking all of this stuff but I am ready to relax and enjoy the holidays. My cousin makes an incredible spread for thanksgiving and for once all the cooking is not up to me. So it will definitely be enjoyable!
One last thing, I encourage everyone to use all the knowledge and enthusiasm they have gained from this site to help others. It's amazing what some home cooked food can do for someone who is having a rough go at it. Every day I try to appreciate all that life has given me. I feel blessed and want others to feel that way even when it's hard to. So get out there and feed people, help people, do whatever you can to make others feel good. Sorry if this getting deep or preachy, it's just something my mom who passed many years back always drilled into my head. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Thanks for looking,
-Chris
This weekend I cooked an appreciation lunch for about 100 people which included the employees of island harvest (a local food bank) and a Jeep club that was delivering 1000s of pounds of donated food. We cooked burgers, dogs, tri tip, and a bunch of my homemade sausages (hot links, chicken cheddar jalapeño, cheddar kielbasa, brats, Italian cheese and parsley, and hot Italian. And the best part is I got to play with one of the coolest smokers on earth which is a custom made and donated smoker from Shirley Fabrications:
It really was so much fun! And I got some nice compliments about my sausage.
Tomorrow night I am working with that same BBQ group to feed 60 families in need for thanksgiving. Each family receives appetizers, tons of sides, desserts, drinks, and a smoked turkey. I did 30
Pounds of smoked cheese as an app:
I also made 30 pounds of homemade Italian sausage as a side. Loves my blackstone for this! Was able to sauté all the onions and celery and brown all the sausage in about a half hour.
we all get together and sort all the food that we all make and then deliver to the families. We also collect supplies and food gift cards for homeless and at risk vets. So I always make a double batch of the desserts I make for Thanksgiving celebration at my cousins house so I can bring some to share with all the other volunteers. Made some maple bacon bourbon pecan pie bars and fudgy pumpkin chocolate chip bread:
And as another treat for the volunteers I repeated my Thanksgiving Fatty which is Pop's seasoned turkey sausage stuffed with mash potatoes, Italian sausage stuffing, and cranberry cheddar and smoked with some apple wood:
It's been a lot of fun cooking all of this stuff but I am ready to relax and enjoy the holidays. My cousin makes an incredible spread for thanksgiving and for once all the cooking is not up to me. So it will definitely be enjoyable!
One last thing, I encourage everyone to use all the knowledge and enthusiasm they have gained from this site to help others. It's amazing what some home cooked food can do for someone who is having a rough go at it. Every day I try to appreciate all that life has given me. I feel blessed and want others to feel that way even when it's hard to. So get out there and feed people, help people, do whatever you can to make others feel good. Sorry if this getting deep or preachy, it's just something my mom who passed many years back always drilled into my head. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Thanks for looking,
-Chris
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