Can you cook on a fire pit? Sure you can. It doesn’t make any difference if it’s propane-fired or a traditional wood burning pit… cooking is cooking. And you can do a lot more than S’mores, hot dogs and hamburgers.
All Spice Cafe: Fun with Chipotle Tapenade Burgers
As interesting characters at the Fiery Foods Show go, JD Cowles ranks near the top of the list. He’s usually rocking a dyed goattee and ‘stache while showing off the latest and greatest spicy offerings from his All Spice Cafe in Venice Beach, California. JD’s been going to the show for at least as long as I have, so he knows his way around making great spicy sauces, snacks, and more. Like his Chipotle Olive Tapenade.
When Arrabbiata Meets Sambal
Sambal is becoming more common, a spicy Malaysian chile paste that is widely used for a lot of Asian cuisine. You can find it in the Asian food aisle of any well-stocked grocery store. A generally straightforward mix of chiles, salt and vinegar (some have garlic and/or sugar), sambal can best be described as an Asian harrissa. It’s different from Sriracha in that it is nice and chunky with lots of seeds and bits of chile. It makes for a great shortcut to Arrabbiata and here’s the simple way to do it.
The Four Horsemen of Super Bowl Barbecue
During the Bare Bones competition at Meatopia Oakland last year, I couldn’t help but hear Chris Lilly talk to his Kingsford buddies about this year’s football season. Mostly because I was eavesdropping. That conversation mutated into the kernel of an idea which grew into a great question: what do some of the biggest and brightest in barbecue do for Super Bowl Sunday?
Oakland Raiders: Bare Bones Barbecue Brawlin’
“You can buy the whole seat but you’ll only need the eeeeedge!” Dubbing last Saturday’s Bare Bones barbecue competition a “brawl” couldn’t be further from the truth. The event was actually very laid back. It’s just hard for me not to feel a little primal when someone slow cooks dead animal over charcoal and wood.
Hunting Chicken of the Woods in Alaska
Late August is the time of year when the day-glo orange-and-yellow fungus called Chicken of the Woods crops up on the dead and dying trees in the deep woods. I recently had the pleasure of spending a few days wandering the forest around Juneau, Alaska, where I went hunting for some of this edible mushroom.
ManBQue: Shut the F%ck Up and Grill
ManBQue Meatings look like a hell of a lot of testoterone-charged and alcohol-fueled foodie fun. There might be one in a backyard near you.
