Sushi - Dragon Roll aka. Caterpillar Roll

This roll will take some skill to make - mainly in the area of thinly slicing and fanning out the avocado on top of the roll... I love this roll mainly because it looks so dang good - it tastes good too but I just love the look. Now you will see that the photo does not jive up with the recipe - The main reason for this is that Lisa doesn't like BBQd eel so I used tempura shrimp inside. It's really dang good with the tempura shrimp...

Nori
Sushi Rice
Tempura Shrimp
1/2 Avocado
Cucumber
Unagi Sauce (Eel Sauce)

You don't quite need a whole sheet of nori for this roll but you will need 3/4ths of one. So sight half the sheet, then half again and cut along that line. Take about a cup ball of sushi rice and spread it over the dull side of the nori. Turn the nori over and put it on a plastic wrap covered rolling mat.

Sushi On!

~Nikko

--

The Chopped Brisket Sandwich from Woody's BBQ

I love ribs, but I'm pretty picky as to the ribs I will eat. I usually reserve that for just a few places in town or my own... Normally when I go out to a BBQ joint I order a chopped brisket sandwich with a side of slaw.









Step 1 - order 1 Brisket sandwich & 1 side of slaw - Make sure to ask for it on Texas Toast instead of a bun - It makes it better that way (don't argue just accept)...



















Step 2 - Remove sandwich 'lid' and dump slaw on top of sandwich - discard slaw bowl

Step 3 - Replace the sandwich lid - Roll up your sleeves - Eat & Enjoy...

If you ask me this is the only way to eat a Chopped Brisket Sandwich... If you like BBQ sauce (which I'm not all that fond of) pour it on before you add the slaw...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

Weber Grill Restaurant Chicago

How horrible is this - the only place I could go to take an update class I needed to take last year was in Chicago... Poor me right?

In the same hotel I was staying in was the Weber Grill Restaurant. I had seen a few spots about them on TV and had always wanted to check it out. I was just amazed at the size of those huge grills they used (modified Weber Ranch models) - they're ginormous! Many moons ago I inquired about a franchise, but they said they had no plans on ever franchising the concept.

Anyhoo, The food was good - It wasn't jump up and down fantastic but it was good. I had their ginger-soy marinated skirt steak with smoky grilled onions and peppers. The steak had a good flavor and it was cooked perfectly - I'd order it again if I went back. The mashers were so rich I could only handle a few bites - really I think there was a stick of butter and a cup of cream in that little portion.

One of the people with me ordered their big G's warm dutch apple pie and it looked quite amazing. I didn't try it but she said every bite was wonderful...

My favorite part of the experience was watching them work the grills. I'd suggest going if you have the time...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko




--

Tandoori Red

I'm excited to say I found an exciting new product!

Tandoori Red is an Indian Tandoori sauce that's officially a Chicken Wing and BBQ Sauce, but I can only imagine that it's good on just about anything you can think of (ok maybe not jello but you get the point).

I just got in the few bottles I bought from the site and I'm excited to see what I can come up with. I'll be doing photos and a video of each recipe and will have them up here shortly!

Until then...

You can find their website here: http://tandoorired.com

You can Tweet them here: http://twitter.com/tandoorired

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

Redneck Eggs Benedict

I love breakfast... Just so many ideas to try...

It was the 5th of July when this creation came to mind. On the 4th of July I normally go over to my buddy Tom's house bright and early and we cook enough BBQ to feed an army. The day starts off with me making enough biscuits and gravy to feed everyone and anyone who cares to have some breakfast - Then it's cases of ribs in the smoker, beer bum chicken on the grill(s), gallons or beans - slaw - tater salad all made from scratch - I'm getting hungry just thinking about it... Anyway, this was the day after and I had brought home a few racks of ribs that were left over. Eggs Benedict sounded really good, but then I saw the bottle of Redneck Pepper sitting there and Redneck Eggs Benedict came to life.

Plain white toast instead of an English muffin or a crumpet
Nice smoked rib meat off the bone instead of Canadian bacon
A fried egg with a dose of Redneck Pepper instead of a gentle poached egg
And last but not least a healthy covering of your favorite hot sauce instead of hollandaise

I had thought about making an extra spicy hollandaise but thought just hot sauce would be more redneck - and I don't think hollandaise would really work here...

4 Slices of white bread, toasted
1-2 Cup(s) warmed rib meat
4 Eggs, fried
Redneck Pepper (www.redneckpepper.com)
Hot sauce

big yum...

Smoked Chicken Wings

What better to eat on the 4th than smoked chicken wings. I decided on wings and it was a good idea to throw them on the smoker. This was a very easy process. I went to the market and bought some wings. I washed them and cut off the nubs off the end of the wings. I created the rub for these and they turned out really dang good. I go to Fast Boys and have their grilled wings every once and a while - they're really dang good - mine turned out better! It's a nice change to have them in the smoker - it really brings out a nice flavor.

Rub:
Paprika
chipotle pepper powder
jalapeno pepper powder
cayenne pepper powder
granulated garlic
shallot salt
white pepper
black pepper

So mix up the spices - coat the wings well and smoke for about 2 hours or so - or until done to your liking.

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

Mustard BBQ Sauce

Let me start by saying that I love BBQ, however I am not a BBQ Sauce fan at all - I'm a dry rub fan. If I have to put it on something I like the Bullseye one you can get at the market - but only when I have to! Get it...

This recipe however is the mac daddy of all Mustard BBQ Sauces. It's so freaking good you'll want to eat it like soup.

2 Tbs butter
1 Small onion diced
1 Tbsp whole brown mustard seeds
1/2 Tsp turmeric
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1/2 Cup prepared yellow mustard
1/2 Cup spicy brown mustard
1/4 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
2-3 Tsp hot sauce - we used Texas Pete's

Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan, add the onions and cook until they are translucent. Add the whole brown mustard seeds and cook over a medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, lemon juice, and balsamic and mix well. Add the prepared yellow and spicy brown mustard to the mix and incorporate well. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the hot sauce and mix well. Cook over low heat for another 15 minutes stirring often so things get happy happy and either cool and store in the fridge or use warm.

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

--

Coriander Paprika Spice Rub

Coriander Paprika Spice Rub

1 Tsp ground Coriander
1/2 Tsp paprika
1/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp ground black pepper

Yes it's simple but toss it with some shrimp and you'll instantly see the WOW factor reach up and smack you right in the kisser... It works well tossed with just boiled shrimp, put on the shrimp then grilled or cooked in a pan... Just try it, you'll like it...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

--

Weber Fire Starters

was given a box of the Weber Firestarters to try out. If using a chimney starter they do a great job of starting the coals. Using a few balls of newspaper does the exact same thing - they light the coals. The biggest difference in using the Weber Firestarters is that you don't have newspaper ash to deal with in the end! That makes them worth their weight in gold if you ask me. Anyhoo - Below is a video of me trying them out...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

--