Ultimate compliment from my wife

[noboundaries]

I've been cooking at home since university four decades ago.  Besides my rugged good looks and expressive charm (insert gagging and choking here) to this day I'm convinced a major selling point why my wife said "yes" when I asked her to marry me 33 years ago is the fact I could cook.........anything..........anywhere...........anytime.  I prepare probably 95% of our main meals.  She prepares probably 95% of the side dishes and desserts.  That's a formula that works on so many levels.

Now that smoked meat has been recently added to my list of food preparation skills she listened to me this morning as I was sharing my latest tidbit of knowledge learned.  Then she delivered the ultimate compliment.  She said "you know, you have completely ruined me about eating at restaurants.  I look at the items on the menu and say 'nope, everything I see is better at home.' " That my friends will keep a smile on my face for weeks.

This weekend on the Weber Kettle, Italian ABTs for Sunday football (got bored at work yesterday and created the recipe on a post-it note) plus whole chickens for dinner and leftovers.  Pictures to follow.   

 

[kathrynn]

Awwwww......I know that just made your Day!  Congrats!

You will find that the more you do....you will not want BBQ or smoked foods out ever again!

Kat

 

[tucson bbq fan]

Great compliment - and sounds like a great partnership - congratulations!

 

[eman]

 

[eman]

i we only eat out what we dont want to cook at home

 

[disco]

I know what you mean. I am ugly. I am fat. I am not the brightest spark in the fire. However, I know I married a great woman and I can make her food she likes.

Gratitude and tasty treats makes for a good marriage.

Now, are you willing to share your recipe for Italian ABT? I would like to improve my chances for next weekend.

Disco

 

[noboundaries]

I know what you mean. I am ugly. I am fat. I am not the brightest spark in the fire. However, I know I married a great woman and I can make her food she likes.

Gratitude and tasty treats makes for a good marriage.

Now, are you willing to share your recipe for Italian ABT? I would like to improve my chances for next weekend.

Disco

Disco, I resemble that remark!

I will absolutely share the recipe!  I want to play with it a little when I make it to get the spices just right, so I'll publish here with the pictures Sunday.

Thanks all for the kind remarks.  A great place.

 

[bgosnell151]

Congrats on the compliment. My wife was nothing short of unimpressed when I got a smoker. She thought it was a complete waste of money. So, like any smart man, I invited her parents over for my first smoke. I spatched a chicken and got some nice compliments at the dinner table. The next morning I woke up and had a Facebook notification. My wife put out a public apology to me about giving me crap about it and said that last night she had the best chicken she had ever tasted. Felt good. Congrats to you sir. I can only hope to achieve your level of success.

Oh, and I do all the cooking in the family. She does the baking.

 

[noboundaries]

I mixed up the filling tonight for the Italian ABTs.  If it doesn't work for the smoker (I'm sure it will) it sure as heck works as a cheese spread and vegetable dip!  My wife doesn't like "hot" so I'll be using yellow peppers on the smoker tomorrow.  Here's the recipe.  Pictures to follow tomorrow.

Italian Style ABTs

The recipe below makes two 9x13 aluminum roasters.  Halve the recipe if desired.

Filling
16 oz cream cheese (2 x 8 oz packages)
1 cup Italian 3 cheese blend grated cheese (Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano)
1 cup Seasoned Stuffing (Pepperidge Farm, Mrs Cubbinson's, etc)
1 14.5oz can diced Italian tomatoes, drained.  Drink or discard the juice.
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs Red pepper flakes (optional)
 

Peppers and Meat
20 Jalapenos or 8 Poblanos or 6 Red/Green/Yellow Peppers, halved, seeded, cleaned.  Poblanos need skin removed.
1 lb Hot or mild (or both) caseless Italian Sausage
Bacon to wrap

Directions

1. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a mixing bowl or KitchenAid type mixer.  Stir on medium speed until well mixed.

2. Spoon the cheese stuffing into the pepper halves.

3. Optional:  Sprinkle the cheese stuffed pepper with red pepper flakes if a little heat is desired.

4. The caseless Italian sausage in our local grocery comes in plastic that is kind of shaped like a cone.  Just clip off one of the pointy ends and squeeze a strip onto the cheese like putting icing on a cake.  Then wrap the ABT with a strip of bacon secured with toothpicks.

5. Put an 8x10 rack in a 9x13 aluminum roaster then put the ABTs on the rack.

6. Smoke in a 225F smoker for 2-3 hours until the bacon is brown and crisp.

 

[noboundaries]

From reading on another thread these fit the category of Sweet Buffalo Turds, not ABTs.  Definitely a great game day food.  The yellow bell peppers were good.  My wife enjoyed hers but they were way too mild for me even though I used the hot Italian sausage on mine.  Great flavor but no back end POW!  I like the POW!  Next time I'll definitely use Jalapenos, Poblanos, or New Mexico peppers for my eats, or at least load them up with red pepper flakes.  For a first attempt they were a good learning experience.  And she still said "these are better than anything we could buy," referring to stuffed peppers and poppers we've had.

Plus, they sure were purty!

We also skipped the whole chickens and went with boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.  The two cooked simultaneously on the Weber.

Sunday 9-22-13 004.jpg

• noboundaries
• Sep 22, 2013

Sunday 9-22-13 005.jpg

• noboundaries
• Sep 22, 2013

Sunday 9-22-13 006.jpg

• noboundaries
• Sep 22, 2013

 

[bgosnell151]

Look fantastic. I will absolutely be trying your "sweet buffalo turds" soon.

 

[smokinmad]

I don't know NB.......    Sounds to me like she is buttering you up and gettin ready to set the HOOK......LOL      BE CAREFUL......This could get Expensive...        Congrats on the 33 yrs, 29 for me, you don't hear that much. I think we were supposed to get New Ones about 20 yrs ago.....lol                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 SmokinMad

 

[smokinmad]

NB..... I gotta ask....after 33 yrs, do you and your better half read each others minds?.....Mine the other day had a doctor appt. at 4 pm, we eat at 5:30. I was bummed, man i'm gonna have to make dinner, sure would like a 3 meat platter from our local smokehouse rest......Had Turkey, Ribs and Pork Loin, with ranch beans, Mac an Cheese and corn bread......Yum Yum.... She scares me sometimes, only wish she would read my mind bout "other" things more fun....LOL                                                                                                            SmokinMad

 

[smokinmad]

Congrats on the compliment. My wife was nothing short of unimpressed when I got a smoker. She thought it was a complete waste of money. So, like any smart man, I invited her parents over for my first smoke. I spatched a chicken and got some nice compliments at the dinner table. The next morning I woke up and had a Facebook notification. My wife put out a public apology to me about giving me crap about it and said that last night she had the best chicken she had ever tasted. Felt good. Congrats to you sir. I can only hope to achieve your level of success.

Oh, and I do all the cooking in the family. She does the baking.

BGO......A pat on da back does feel good, especially from the In-Laws.....I did an ole' time cookout on da campfire at the lake campsite.......Chicken wrapped in Bacon, Corn that was bacon wrapped, Corn bread in a dutch oven, ranch beans in a d.o. and a peach berries cobbler in a d.o.....first time doing it on an open fire... it was fun and even I was impressed....Sounds like we could be friends if we lived closer....LOL                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    SmokinMad