Recipes for a Cheapskate: Poppin' Peppers

Too many things to do this weekend to really get the dirt under my fingernails but I did get to harvest my jalapeño plant.

As the peppers were starting to turn bright red, that signaled that the time had come.

I got 13 peppers, just enough to make into a side dish for this week's barbecue.
So what can I do? Make mini jalapeño poppers.
Easy in concept but the smaller size of these peppers make a bit hard to stuff.

Each pepper is sliced on one side, propped open, and stuffed with my homemade mixture of cream cheese, chopped serrano peppers, and bacon.

I wrap them up in foil, poke a few holes in the top, and then put on the grill with our burgers.

The finished product looks something like this.

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Tennessee Touring: On the Elvis Trail, from End to The End.

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) The 600 pound gorilla in the Memphis, Tennessee tourist agenda is of course, The King.  We've been on the Elvis Trail, starting with his birth in Tupelo, Mississippi; through to his breakthrough with Sam Phillips at Sun Studio; and now to where he lived and ended it all.

Of course, we're talking about his home in south Memphis, Graceland.

Before we left, a friend of mine said he was in Memphis but passed on Graceland because of the cost. It is kind of breathtaking that, even with the AAA discount, it was $99 for the three of us but it really is a once in a lifetime thing, so we'll bite the bullet and take it in.

Note: (prices have almost double...starting at $59 for adults before discount...since our trip - Ed)

We decided to "enhance" our experience even more by moving our last night to the Heartbreak Hotel, a themed lodging across the street adjacent to the visitor's center that is also owned by the same company.

A king suite here was just a few dollars more than the Springhill Suites we were staying at the last few nights but the hotel was a bit run down and looked as it had not been renovated since Elvis' death. The lounge (The Jungle Room) was a bit pathetic and the food choices very uninspiring. 

On the plus side, they show Elvis movies 24/7 on the TV's here...

(NOTE: The Heartbreak Hotel has since closed and been replaced with a new hotel, The Guesthouse at Graceland - Ed)

After check-in, we head over to the visitor's center, cash in the reservation we bought online, and head outside.  We're across the street from the house so visitors board shuttle buses (which have wheelchair lifts and tie-downs) for the short trip across the street, though the famous music note gates, and up to the front door.

A quick spiel about the history of the house and then you're turned loose inside with your headphones and audio tour. This is always a bit of a pain in the butt for me because Tim can never quite punch in the right code for the proper part of the tour so I'm fixing his errors, trying to get my audio back to match his, and then continue with the tour.

We get by.

You start in the foyer (which is directly under the spot where Elvis died upstairs but they don't tell you that on the tour) and view the living room with its fifteen foot long couch on the right.

Then, it's on to his parents bedroom down the hall, past the staircase (upstairs is strictly off limits), and into the dining room.

A large, dated kitchen is after that. Now, Tim gets to wait upstairs while Letty and I take turns to go down in the basement to see the rec room and bar. Tim watches a video of the same thing in the car port.

Next is the famous Jungle Room with a waterfall, animal skins and theme. It's basically a large family room.

Outside, you go past Lisa Marie's swingset and into the offices of Elvis Enterprises where his dad, Vernon, used to take care of the business side of things.

On the end of this building is an old smokehouse that was converted into a shooting range.

Past the horse pasture is the trophy room where hundreds of gold and platinum records hang on the wall.

More exhibits about Elvis in the Army and his short marriage to Priscilla. 

The last day of his life, he played raquetball in his own personal court where it has now been converted to a large display room showing more gold and platinum records plus a selection of the outfits he wore onstage. 

Outside, by the pool is the final stop on the tour which is also Elvis' final stop...the memorial garden.

Here, he rests eternally next to the graves of his mom, his dad, and his grandmother.

Back on the shuttle, Letty comments that it was smaller than expected. Indeed, the house would just barely qualify as a mansion in some places but it was a different time with different expectations.

It's back to the hotel after touring the planes and the gift shops before heading out for dinner.

Dinner time and the pickin's are slim around Graceland. Instead, a better bet is to head back downtown for some Memphis barbecue. We're heading to Charles Vergo's Rendezvous. Walking by the Peabody Hotel, one of the city's homeless citizens asks where we're from and if we've had dinner yet.

We tell him we're going to the Rendezvous and he directs us to an alley half a block away.  Indeed, this lonely alley is the entrance.

Watch the Video!

Our Dinner at The Rendezvous

The restaurant is mostly downstairs with another room upstairs. Nothing is at the level of the entrance. Fortunately, the hostess sends Bob the busboy to escort us to a nearby elevator where we make the journey through the bowels of the restaurant to our table.

While trying to decide between all the pork ribs, chicken, sausage and such, our server tells us they are having a special.

"You're here during Memphis Dine week. We have a special, two brisket dinners with beer for $20.13."

Sounds good. We order that plus a plate of pork ribs.  The food is indeed special, especially the brisket. It's moist...which is the problem I have with most versions, they're too dry...and have a great smoky flavor. 

I tell Bob I love them and he says he thinks the pork ribs are even better. They are very good, tender, and flavorful but I still have to give the edge to the brisket.

One more night in the disappointing Heartbreak Hotel and our too short time in Memphis is over. In the morning, we'll be heading east on Interstate 40 towards "Music City," Nashville.

We'll see you there.

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

WEEKEND ON THE GRILL: Asian Inspired Marinated Beef

Sometimes, I get in a rut on the barbecue...steaks, chops, hot dogs, burgers, chicken...and just want to break out and do something different. Lately, we've been watching some travel shows and drooling over the food shown from Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Japan. I want to make something more like that.

A few weeks ago, we had a cheap, easy version of a teriyaki bowl featuring Trader Joe's Korean inspired Bool Kogi. Today, we're doing it from scratch.

I've put together a very tasty marinade and am letting my skirt steak soak in it overnight, then will grill it up and see how good we can get it.

First, the ingredients:

Marinade:
1/4 cup - Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup - low sodium soy sauce
3 teaspoons - honey
1 tablespoon - olive oil
1 teaspoon - Chinese five-spice powder
1 teaspoon - mince garlic

Plus:
2 lbs - skirt steak
3 - sliced green onions

Mix the ingredients for the marinade, put steak in sealable bowl or plastic bag. Pour marinade in to soak and refrigerate overnight.  Cook on grill, 3 minutes per side over direct head and 5 minutes per side over indirect heat, covered.

On the side, I'm making grilled corn on the cob, elote style. I've steamed some corn, cut each cob in half, and then cook over direct coals, 5 minutes per side. Apply some mayonnaise and parmesan cheese before serving.

In addition, I'm cooking some zucchini in foil and grilling pineapple slices...5 minutes per side direct heat...putting a few mandarin orange slices and serving all up on a bowl over rice.

Add the green onion over the top after you've put it all in a bowl.

The leftovers also make a superior steak 'n eggs omelet for the next day's breakfast.

This week's gardening:
Picking weeds out of the lawn, deadheading the roses for the last time in the season, spraying deer repellent on the front yard bushes.

Stop by the Musick Channel Garage Sale to pick up some treasures from our stash of over thirty years of collecting, like these great Liberty Falls collectibles which would look great under your Christmas tree.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Grilled Chicken in a Shitake Cream Sauce

You've got your basic four barnyard meats...beef, pork, and chicken. Oh sure, you might mix it up with a duck or some lamb.  Maybe some sausages or even fish but for the most part, you're going with the big three.

It's imperative to mix it up as much as you can, try something different, to build your recipe database and to not get bored.

This is what I did with this week's meal..we'd had steak last week and only had a pack of chicken thighs along with the beef in the freezer so I needed a new way to prepare the chicken.

Of course, the easiest way to change it up is with a new sauce...

INGREDIENTS


3 or 4 chicken thighs (we leave the skin on)
1 small, white onion
8 whole shitake mushrooms
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon tarragon
1 tablespoon strained bacon grease or lard
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste


The chicken is grilled on the barbecue according to our barbecued chicken recipe. When done, we just pour the sauce on top.


Finely dice the onion and two of the mushrooms. I use a small food processor for this.


Heat up the bacon grease (or lard) in a small sauce pan.  When hot, add the diced onion and mushroom mixture.  Cook on high until the onions are translucent.

Slice the remaining mushrooms. Add them and the chicken broth to the sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Add garlic and tarragon. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15- 20 minutes to reduce.

Turn heat off. Two minutes after turning off heat, add half and half, stir in, and ladle over chicken to serve. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Darryl Musick

Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved

An Amalgamation of Classics

Sometimes, in my kitchen or even the bar, I'm kind of like a Dr. Frankenstein...mixing different things together to get a hybrid result. Or would that be Dr. Moreau, crossing different species to rush along evolution? Anyway, this dish...very suitable for a sunny, summer day barbecue...is one of those creations

Go to Minnesota and you need to try a Juicy Lucy (or 'Jucy', depending on where you get it). This burger is a specialty here where the cheese is put inside the meat patty before cooking.

Here in Southern California, there's another local chain that has made its mark with the 50~50 burger. This burger features a patty that is half ground beef and half bacon.

Here at the Sunday Sauce blog, we figure why decide between one or the other? We'll make both, hence the 50~50 Juicy Lucy.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
2 strips cooked bacon, cut into thirds
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Slap ya' Mama
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded cheese
6 slices of colby jack (or your favorite) cheese

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (except for the bacon and cheese), cover and let chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

I cover a large cutting board with wax paper and do the same with a handy plastic bowl.  Years ago, my cousins gave me a burger press, one of the handiest gadgets I own.  I'll be using that to press out the patties.

I'm doing double burgers with two quarter pound patties.  I put about an eighth of a pound down on the wax-paper covered cutting board and sprinkle a bit of the shredded cheese on it. Another same-size bit of meat goes on top.

I press down with my press as hard as I can. Some meat will squeeze out the bottom. I lift up, put that meat back in the middle and press again.

This is the patty I get as a result.  With my fingers, I press gently all around the patty to spread it out a bit.  I like to have a finished patty that's about an inch wider in diameter than my bun because it will shrink that much in cooking. That way, I'll have perfectly sized patties for the bun.

Put the finished patties on wax paper in the plastic bowl. I'm doing six patties for three double burgers. In the end, I think maybe one patty for each one would have been plenty but make as much or little as you'd like.

Cook over the coals in direct heat for two minutes per side.

Finish with 4-6 minutes on each side over indirect heat, covered, putting cheese on top for the final few minutes.

Garnish  as you would your favorite burger and enjoy. I also put some bacon on ours.


Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

This Week's Menu: Buffalo Style Chicken Thighs and Chorizo and Eggs

Chicken wings are so good but it's a lot of work for just a few bites of meat. We fix that by using thighs instead and a homemade Buffalo sauce that's easy and out-of-this-world good.

Some farmer's market dollar-a-pound squash makes a medley for the side dish and breakfast is one of our easy staples, chorizo and eggs.

Recipes are at the links below.

DINNER: Buffalo Chicken Thighs

SIDE: A summer squash medley using our basic super side barbecue vegetable recipe

BREAKFAST: Chorizo and Egg Burritos

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

DINNER: Buffalo Style Chicken Thighs

Like wings but find the work is hardly worth it for the amount of meat you get? Then this recipe is for you.

Instead of skimpy little wings, we're substituting thighs which, in my opinion, is the tastiest part of the bird.  Other than that, it's all the same.

Here's how we do it...

INGREDIENTS
6 chicken thighs (you can do boneless but I recommend you leave the skin on)
1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce (I'm using Frank's Red Hot)
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon gremolata
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. 

Add all the ingredients except the chicken. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

On a charcoal grill, put charcoal on one half of the grill. Sear the chicken directly over the charcoal for 1-2 minutes on each side. Move to indirect heat on the other side of the grill. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on each side.

Remove the lid and place the chicken, skin-side down, directly over the coals. Monitor very closely...when the flames kick up under the chicken, move it immediately to the indirect side or a spot over the coals where there are no flames. If you leave it over the flame, the skin will burn. 

Once the flame dies down, move the chicken back over, skin-side down.  Keep doing this for 7-10 minutes. This will make the skin extra crispy but not burned.

Toss the chicken in the sauce, covering every piece completely and serve.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved