BBQKing's blog

Try here...for at least another week.

So, haven't really posted too many recipes just yet...let's try to get it going again.

I'm not feeling particularly great today, so some soup sounds good.  I acquired a turkey carcass from my folks, so some turkey soup is in order.  I'm going to base it on this recipe, but without the pancetta or cream, and with a little vegetable oil to substitute for the pancetta drippings.  Update to follow with the actual recipe and procedure used...

I hadn't had a nice corn chowder in a while, when my dad brought some into work for lunch this week.  It was awesome, and he used half boiled corn, and half canned corn.  So I decided to up it a notch.  I'm gonna start with this recipe as a base (using this stock), and make a few modifications: bounce the half-and-half and peppers, grill the corn, roast some poblano chiles, and also add a habanero my dad just picked.  And cilantro.  lots of cilantro.

Update:
After the onion and habanero sweated for 5 minutes, I used one roasted Poblano, diced and thrown in the sweat with some garlic for another 5 minutes.  It turned out good, but not great.  I was happy with how it turned out, but it felt like something was missing.  When I made the stock, I did not use any salt or pepper (as I find most stocks pretty salty), and seasoned the soup once it was made with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Also, I made a double batch of the stock, and my roasting pan only had room for half the veggies, so only half of them were roasted.  I thought about adding some chile powder, but with the habanero, there was a nice hint of some serious back end spice, and I didn't want to turn it in to a spicy dish.  I'll see what the results are with the rest of the stock, and decide of that was the issue, or maybe just sitting overnight and letting the flavors meld a little bit will make the difference.  I guess I'll know after lunch.

I'm gonna start blogging again.  But I think I will mostly use this site to reference and document my cooking.  So if that's your thing, then I guess start checking this thing again.

Here's an article talking about high mercury levels in tuna sushi in NYC.

Were your holiday cards store bought, handmade, online, TBD or MIA?

My holiday cards were not mailed...again.  Several years ago, as part of the Maker's Mark Ambassadors, I received free Maker's Mark holiday cards.  Every year, I seem to find them right after New Year's, and then say "Oh, I'll send 'em out next year."  Didn't get mailed this year (again), but I'll send them out next year.

OK, so the new American Gladiators show starts on January 6.  If, like me, you can't fucking wait for this, maybe you'll want to check out this preview (via deadspin).

If your Vox Neighborhood had a potluck dinner tonight, what dish, drink or dessert would you bring?

Potato Au Gratin with (home-smoked) Gruyere.  About 2 lbs potatoes, 1 C grated cheese, 1 C cream, salt.  2 layers of potatoes, with half of the cheese and cream on top of each layer.  bake for 1 hour at 350.  My new favorite dish to make, mostly because I get to use my new toy.

What's been your worst experience at a restaurant?

Waitress spilled an entire beer on my lap, then gave me paper cocktail napkins to tidy up with.

Who's the most surprising rookie in the NFL this year?

The fact that Brady Quinn hasn't played yet.  I mean, the Browns with a winning record at the halfway point?  Who thought that was gonna happen?