Well, a couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. If you know anything about celiac, you know it is a huge lifestyle change...especially if you are a food junkie like me. Anyway, I have learned alot since my diagnosis, and while my lifestyle has changed, I have learned that I can still be a food junkie.
So here is the plan....First, if you follow me you know that I am a slacker with writing so you will have to bear with me. Anyway, the plan is this: First I plan on sharing my celiac experiences with you, we can all learn together. Second, I plan on sharing any new recipes I learn with you...I promise to keep them fairly easy and fun. Finally, I will review and suggest gluten free friendly restaurants, not just in my area but anywhere I might travel to. So let's get started...look for some posts real soon (I promise) I have quite a few restaurants in Pensacola that I want to give props to and also share with you why Disney really is the happiest place on earth....especially if you are a Celiac.
Stay tuned, it will all be here soon.
Chris
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Grilling Season is Upon Us!
Wow...almost 3 years and finally doing my second post....I promise I'll do better!
It's Spring, and with Spring comes grilling season. So what is every one's favorite dish to grill? Do you prefer charcoal or gas? Low and slow or hot and fast? It seems everyone has an opinion about grilling, but one thing most can agree on, is that it is enjoyable.
To me, grilling is relaxing and gives me an excuse to be outside with my son and enjoy an ice cold tea or beer. I have found that the more I grill, the more I can grill...there is very little I can't cook on the grill these days and not to brag, but it usually turns out delicious! Throughout this spring and summer, I will try to share with you the foods I am grilling on a particular day and how I cook it! Interested? I hope so...so here goes!
My first grilling experience for this year are my ribs. You will need to prepare time wise for these, but otherwise they are fairly easy to prepare, and I promise they will be great! One important thing about ribs on the grill is that you have to know your grill. To get tender, juicy, and flavorful ribs you will need to maintain a temperature of 250 - 300 degrees throughout cooking. So now that you have your grill temperature managed, let's get started!
Here is what you will need:
- Baby back ribs.
- A dry rub of your choice. ( I prefer a Kansas City style)
- Honey
- Barbecue Sauce of your choice. This is optional, some people like their ribs without sauce.
- Apple juice.
- Aluminum foil
The first thing we want to do is to peel the membrane off the back of the ribs. It's not a huge deal if you don't, but they fall off the bone easier if you do. If you choose to, you can brine or par boil your ribs, but you don't have to do either...I usually don't do either of these. Next we are going to coat the ribs with the apple juice. Occasionally, I'll use olive oil instead of apple juice, it just depends on what kind of mood I'm in; the apple juice will give you just a little extra sweetness in the end. So now that we have our ribs coated in the apple juice it's time to apply the dry rub...don't be shy with the dry rub, you want your ribs thoroughly coated. Now let's get cooking....wrap your coated ribs in aluminum foil, and place them on your preheated grill. One thing I recommend is to use indirect heat here, or use the upper rack on your grill if you have one.
Now that the ribs are cooking, is the tough part...waiting. You are going to cook your ribs on low heat (250 - 300) for about three hours. Once the ribs have cooked for three hours, you are going to open the aluminum foil and add your sauce (if desired) and your honey; re-wrap and cook for another hour or so (if you like the charred crust on your ribs you are going to go about 40 minutes then unwrap and place the ribs on direct heat for awhile). Remove the ribs from the grill, let rest for about 15 - 20 minutes, unwrap, and enjoy! I've made these ribs so many times now and everyone loves them...I hope you do too.
As far as my grilling preferences...I like both gas and charcoal, love my smoker, and prefer low and slow.
- Chris
It's Spring, and with Spring comes grilling season. So what is every one's favorite dish to grill? Do you prefer charcoal or gas? Low and slow or hot and fast? It seems everyone has an opinion about grilling, but one thing most can agree on, is that it is enjoyable.
To me, grilling is relaxing and gives me an excuse to be outside with my son and enjoy an ice cold tea or beer. I have found that the more I grill, the more I can grill...there is very little I can't cook on the grill these days and not to brag, but it usually turns out delicious! Throughout this spring and summer, I will try to share with you the foods I am grilling on a particular day and how I cook it! Interested? I hope so...so here goes!
My first grilling experience for this year are my ribs. You will need to prepare time wise for these, but otherwise they are fairly easy to prepare, and I promise they will be great! One important thing about ribs on the grill is that you have to know your grill. To get tender, juicy, and flavorful ribs you will need to maintain a temperature of 250 - 300 degrees throughout cooking. So now that you have your grill temperature managed, let's get started!
Here is what you will need:
- Baby back ribs.
- A dry rub of your choice. ( I prefer a Kansas City style)
- Honey
- Barbecue Sauce of your choice. This is optional, some people like their ribs without sauce.
- Apple juice.
- Aluminum foil
The first thing we want to do is to peel the membrane off the back of the ribs. It's not a huge deal if you don't, but they fall off the bone easier if you do. If you choose to, you can brine or par boil your ribs, but you don't have to do either...I usually don't do either of these. Next we are going to coat the ribs with the apple juice. Occasionally, I'll use olive oil instead of apple juice, it just depends on what kind of mood I'm in; the apple juice will give you just a little extra sweetness in the end. So now that we have our ribs coated in the apple juice it's time to apply the dry rub...don't be shy with the dry rub, you want your ribs thoroughly coated. Now let's get cooking....wrap your coated ribs in aluminum foil, and place them on your preheated grill. One thing I recommend is to use indirect heat here, or use the upper rack on your grill if you have one.
Now that the ribs are cooking, is the tough part...waiting. You are going to cook your ribs on low heat (250 - 300) for about three hours. Once the ribs have cooked for three hours, you are going to open the aluminum foil and add your sauce (if desired) and your honey; re-wrap and cook for another hour or so (if you like the charred crust on your ribs you are going to go about 40 minutes then unwrap and place the ribs on direct heat for awhile). Remove the ribs from the grill, let rest for about 15 - 20 minutes, unwrap, and enjoy! I've made these ribs so many times now and everyone loves them...I hope you do too.
As far as my grilling preferences...I like both gas and charcoal, love my smoker, and prefer low and slow.
- Chris
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Welcome
Hi!
If you are reading this chances are you know me somehow so there is really no point in introducing myself, but in the event you don't know me and want to know a little bit about me...look to the right side of the page.
It only takes one look at me to know that I love food...I love to cook food, talk about food, and yes eat food! I have a passion for food, and if you know me you know how strong that passion truly is. I love the culinary experience, i truly do. Food shouldn't be routine or mundane it should be an experience, it should be exciting, it should be fun! Like many people out there, I can't afford to travel the world, so what better way to experience different cultures than through food?
I also love to cook. I take great pleasure standing in front of a grill, stove, or oven and cooking for others; I am not happy until they absolutely love what I have made for them. When I try something in a restaurant that I really like, I want to go home and figure out how to make it...unfortunately not always successfully. I rarely cook by recipe and when I do it's more of a guideline than a rule, but I do my best to make sure my family and friends eat well when I cook for them.
So why am a writing this blog? Well as I said, I love to talk about food: whether it's an amazing restaurant or an amazing recipe I want everyone to know "hey I had this great food and this is where it came from!" So I am starting this blog to try to maybe share some recipes with you from time to time, maybe tell you about some restaurants or particular dishes and just have a general food discussion. I hope I can give you a new recipe, a new lunch spot, or a new hot spot for date night. I probably won't update this daily but I will update as often as I can.
Unfortunately I am going out of town at the end of this week so I probably won't update anything until next week so I will leave you with a couple of different things here:
My favorite restaurants in the Pensacola Area: ( I will talk in more detail about these restaurants later but you should try one or two in the meantime.)
- Aegean Breeze, Gulf Breeze - Simply amazing...the calamari is the best ever, but you won't go wrong with anything here.
- Peg Leg Pete's - Seriously? You haven't been here already? Oysters...need I say more?
- Atlas Oyster House - Grits a Ya Ya among others.
- McGuire's - They are famous for a reason.
- Felix's Fish Camp, Spanish Fort, AL - It's a drive (maybe not the Pensacola area) but it's worth it! Nothing is bad I swear! My favorite is the grilled pork chops over grits topped with crawfish sauce!
In a hurry? Want good food fairly quick and not too expensive? No chains here:
- Philly's on Creighton Rd. - Subs like those damn Yankees eat them! Wow they are good!
- Momma's Place in Milton - Real Po-Boys, french bread and all....really! And yeah its pretty good!
- Georgio's on Scenic Hwy - Good Pizza, subs, and good variety.
- Socios in Pace - Great pizza, Stromboli, and sandwiches.
Want a recipe? How about some creamy crab dip this week?
Here's what you need:
1 lb lump crab meat (drained)
1 cup mayo
1 brick cream cheese (softened)
1 tablespoon old bay
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bag shredded cheddar
preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together except hold out 1/2 bag of the shredded cheddar. Once ingredients are well mixed place in an 8x8 casserole dish and top with remaining cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden colored and bubbly. Serve with crackers, Melba toast, or french bread.
Okay folks....hope you enjoyed, that's it for the day, let me know what you think!
See you next time!
If you are reading this chances are you know me somehow so there is really no point in introducing myself, but in the event you don't know me and want to know a little bit about me...look to the right side of the page.
It only takes one look at me to know that I love food...I love to cook food, talk about food, and yes eat food! I have a passion for food, and if you know me you know how strong that passion truly is. I love the culinary experience, i truly do. Food shouldn't be routine or mundane it should be an experience, it should be exciting, it should be fun! Like many people out there, I can't afford to travel the world, so what better way to experience different cultures than through food?
I also love to cook. I take great pleasure standing in front of a grill, stove, or oven and cooking for others; I am not happy until they absolutely love what I have made for them. When I try something in a restaurant that I really like, I want to go home and figure out how to make it...unfortunately not always successfully. I rarely cook by recipe and when I do it's more of a guideline than a rule, but I do my best to make sure my family and friends eat well when I cook for them.
So why am a writing this blog? Well as I said, I love to talk about food: whether it's an amazing restaurant or an amazing recipe I want everyone to know "hey I had this great food and this is where it came from!" So I am starting this blog to try to maybe share some recipes with you from time to time, maybe tell you about some restaurants or particular dishes and just have a general food discussion. I hope I can give you a new recipe, a new lunch spot, or a new hot spot for date night. I probably won't update this daily but I will update as often as I can.
Unfortunately I am going out of town at the end of this week so I probably won't update anything until next week so I will leave you with a couple of different things here:
My favorite restaurants in the Pensacola Area: ( I will talk in more detail about these restaurants later but you should try one or two in the meantime.)
- Aegean Breeze, Gulf Breeze - Simply amazing...the calamari is the best ever, but you won't go wrong with anything here.
- Peg Leg Pete's - Seriously? You haven't been here already? Oysters...need I say more?
- Atlas Oyster House - Grits a Ya Ya among others.
- McGuire's - They are famous for a reason.
- Felix's Fish Camp, Spanish Fort, AL - It's a drive (maybe not the Pensacola area) but it's worth it! Nothing is bad I swear! My favorite is the grilled pork chops over grits topped with crawfish sauce!
In a hurry? Want good food fairly quick and not too expensive? No chains here:
- Philly's on Creighton Rd. - Subs like those damn Yankees eat them! Wow they are good!
- Momma's Place in Milton - Real Po-Boys, french bread and all....really! And yeah its pretty good!
- Georgio's on Scenic Hwy - Good Pizza, subs, and good variety.
- Socios in Pace - Great pizza, Stromboli, and sandwiches.
Want a recipe? How about some creamy crab dip this week?
Here's what you need:
1 lb lump crab meat (drained)
1 cup mayo
1 brick cream cheese (softened)
1 tablespoon old bay
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bag shredded cheddar
preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together except hold out 1/2 bag of the shredded cheddar. Once ingredients are well mixed place in an 8x8 casserole dish and top with remaining cheddar. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden colored and bubbly. Serve with crackers, Melba toast, or french bread.
Okay folks....hope you enjoyed, that's it for the day, let me know what you think!
See you next time!
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