Labor Day is really the last weekend of summer.  Kids are back in school.  Vacations are over.  Time to start settling in for a long winter.  For most of us it is the last weekend of grilling.  I know we will be getting in our fair share of charred meat and icy cold bevies this weekend.

I was thinking of sharing a new favorite cocktail with everyone this weekend;  but, then I thought again, back to this recipe.  I want you ALL to make this dish for the long weekend.  Full of beans, salty pork, spicy Chipotle, ripe peaches and sultry rye.  This baked bean recipe has depth;  not over sugary or salty, just full of flavor.  Don’t be afraid of the peaches in the BBQ Sauce, it is not fruity at all, it was used more as a natural sugar.  Trust us, you will love it.

Have a great weekend & be safe!

Do you have a favorite Baked Bean recipe?  If so, what do you consider to be the secret ingredient?

Recipe:  Baked Beans

• 4 cups dried pinto beans – will make about 8 cups after soaking
• 1/2 pound salt pork, small dice
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• salt, to taste
• 1 recipe of Peach and Rye BBQ Sauce

In a large stock pot cover the beans with cold water. Set aside to soak for 24 hours. After 24 hours, drain the beans. Put back into dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a very low simmer. Cook until the beans are tender; about 4 – 5 hours. Drain, reserving about a cup of liquid. In the same dutch oven, add the diced salt pork and minced onion, over low heat cook until the onion is soft; about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, to distribute the goodness. Add the BBQ sauce, stir, cover with a lid and bake in a 325 oven for 4 hours. Stir occasionally. Season with salt to taste. Serve. Eat.

If you like this recipe, check these out:

Baked Beans

Beer Baked White Beans 

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baked Beans, BBQ, Beans, Chipotle, Homemade, Labor Day, Peaches, Recipe, Rye, Sauce, Weekend

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We had a few of our foodie friends over for a little BBQ soiree last weekend.  When one has a “foodie” over to their house, the pressure to impress is intensified.  Our goal for the evening was to serve simple and delicious food;  easy to make, so we could enjoy the evening.  In honor of Kristina being from the south, we went with grilled ribs that were gently rubbed down with a spicy rub, homemade potato salad and baked beans.  One can not have a BBQ without a killer sauce.  Right?

Neither of us are fans of BBQ sauce as they tend to be overly sweet.  It is almost like the makers forgot the savory and tangy part of the sauce.  When I started looking at recipes, almost all of them had a lot of additional sugar added.  This was not an option.  I started thinking back to my childhood …. I remember my grandmother use to make “sauces” using ketchup and a little brown sugar as well as other added savory ingredients (usually dried mustard – come on it was the 70s).  I remember that I liked the caramelized bits that would form from this sauce cooking over the meatloaf or chicken.  It was bliss.

For this recipe I decided to make the base out of ketchup;  a bit 1970′s but traditional in my opinion.  My sweet compotent of my recipe would be very ripe peaches with a little brown sugar.  Flavor … well, we are spicy fans so I decided to add smokey chipotle peppers.  I love how the flavor of chipotle peppers linger on my taste-buds, without slapping me in the face.  Being lovers of Rye, I thought I’d add some of that just for kicks.  As well peaches and Rye are having a lusty affair these days.  And the tang came from some apple cider vinegar.  Are you hungry yet?  It was pretty frick’n amazing.  Flavor was coming from all directions.  Not overly, gooey sweet.  Slightly tang with deep smokey spice that lingered pleasantly.  You will definitely be seeing more of this over at Chez Us.

Recipe:  Peach and Rye BBQ Sauce

*makes almost 4 cups

• 2 cups ketchup
• 2 peaches, very ripe and peeled
• 1/2 cup rye
• 1/8 cup water
• 1/2 brown sugar
• 2 chipotle peppers, use canned with sauce
• 1/4 cider vinegar

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, BBQ Sauce, Chipotle, delicious, easy to make, Homemade, Peaches, Rye, Sauce, Savory, Smokey, Spicy

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San Francisco had classic, warm weather over the weekend. Blue skies. Birds chirping. People running around half naked (when the sun shines here people seem to lose their clothes).  Perfect weekend to get our grill on. We had some friends who decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather, by hosting the first grill-out of the season, complete with burgers, dogs, and lots of cold beer. No grill-out is complete without the honorary classic macaroni salad.

In all honesty, I have to say, I have not had macaroni salad since I was a kid. Okay, I have nibbled here and there, but usually, I turn my nose up at it. Most often, macaroni salad is gooey, way too creamy, over sweet, and has too many hard boiled eggs. I wanted my recipe to be light, and flavorful.  After doing some research, I came to the conclusion, that our salad would not be the typical classic macaroni salad; it was not going to have sugar, over processed yellow mustard, no carrot slivers, no sweet pickles, and no hard-boiled eggs.  I am not a hater of these things;  I just don’t believe they belong in macaroni salad.  For the record, I am a hater of over-processed yellow mustard;  Lenny is not.  We are both haters of generic sweet pickles – YUCK!

This Chez Us classic macaroni salad, is light, flavorful, and creamy.  The creamy part of this dressing is made of mayo, Dijon mustard, and sherry vinegar.  I use an organic, canola oil based mayo, that is naturally sweet, as well the sherry vinegar is slightly sweet;  no need to add more sugar to this recipe.  I seasoned the base with fresh green garlic, red onion, fresh dill, and zesty Paulie’s Pickling pickles.  I don’t normally dig pickles, but am LOVING these.  Zippy.  Zesty.  Crunchy.  Perfect addition to our macaroni salad.   For some extra crunch, I tossed in some diced celery.

Do you have a favorite way to make a “classic macaroni salad”?

Recipe:  Classic Macaroni Salad

What you need:

• 8 cups cooked elbow macaroni
• 2 cup mayo
• 3 tablespoon dijon
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon green garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon dill, minced
• 1/4 cup red onion, minced
• 1 half of a large pickle, minced
• 1/2 cup celery, minced
• sprinkle of ezpeletako bipera or paprika

What you need to do:

Cook the macaroni according to package directions.  Do not over cook.  You want the macaroni to be al a dente, not mush. While the macaroni are cooking, soak the red onions in cold water, for 15 minutes.  Drain the onions, then wrap in a flour-sack towel, or paper towel, to dry.  In a large serving bowl, add the mayo, dijon, and sherry;  whisk until smooth. Add the garlic, onion, pickle, dill, and celery;  stir until mixed.  Fold in the macaroni.  Chill for at least an hour.  Serve. Eat.

If you like this recipe, check these out:

Macaroni Salad with Eggs, Olives & Sweet Pickles

Pesto Macaroni Salad with Tomatoes, Corn & Fresh Mozzarella

Macaroni Salad with Red Peppers, Sweet Relish & Hot Sauce

© Denise for Chez Us, 2011. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Classic Macaroni Salad, Dijon, Dill, Elbow Macaroni, Ezpeletako Bipera, Green Garlic, Grill-Out, Macaroni Salad, Paulie's Pickling, Pickles, Recipe, Salad

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I have said it a million times …. okay maybe not a million but close, I LOVE RIBS!  But, Lenny doesn’t.  I love them spicy, sweet, sticky, gooey, grilled, oven baked, slow roasted, slightly charred, you name, I love it!  He tolerates me making them throughout the summer!

We had these ribs a couple nights back and they were …. sticky, gooey, slightly spicy and slightly sweet. Perfect actually! Our friend, David, asked us to try out a new product, Guava paste and I whipped up a great little marinade that went really well with these big bad beefy short ribs.

Guava paste is interesting as it comes in a big block which resembles the blocks we take cycling.  As soon as you unwrap the paste, the smell is completely intoxicating.  It is made from 100% fruit, no sugars and no preservatives, puree guava.  My first thought was to bake with it.  My second thought was to just eat it, as I cannot stop once I hope that baggie.  Then after a little brain storming with David, I decided to use some in a marinade.  The base of the marinade is fresh lime and orange juice, slightly thickened with the paste and then spiced up with some Sriracha.  I let the ribs marinade in half of the mixture and saved the other half to serve them with.

How were they?  Amazing!  The guava really came out not only in flavor but scent, it was intoxicating, really.  The spicy sriracha was the perfect match for the sweet fruit and slowly grilling them gave them a nice smoky base.  I am dying to make this again, but with a nice pork tenderloin.

* these ribs so really well with this salad

Have you tried Guava Paste?  If so, what is your favorite way to use it?

Recipe:  Guava Marinade

1/4 cup guava paste

6 limes, juiced

1 orange, juiced

1 – 2 teaspoons sriracha

1/8 cup canola oil

Add the juice from the limes and orange to a small sauce pan.  Add the guava paste and slowly heat over very low heat.  Stirring often so it does not stick.  Add the sriracha, to taste.  Remove from heat and whisk in the canola.  I used half of it to marinate the ribs overnight and the other half I gently warmed and served along side the meat.  Use with your favorite meat – get creative!

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Beef, Beef Short Ribs, Grilled, Guava Paste, Marinade, Recipe, Ribs, Sriracha

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Short ribs are available year round so why do I only make them in the summer months?  I love them, I should be making them year round.  Now I cannot blame it on the balmy sunny summer weather for peaking this interest in me as we live in San Francisco.  I really should be making these more often as they are amazingly delicious.  Slightly spicy.  Slightly sweet.  And a little bit zippy thanks to the addition of fresh ginger.

I am going to apologize immediately for the recipe as it is made by taste.  I don’t measure anything, I just pour, mix and pour a little bit more.  We prefer them a little spicier so I add a lot of sriracha as well we love ginger so I go a little heavy on that.  I feel the longer you marinate them the better, so allow at least 3 hours if not overnight.  Then fire up the grill and cook them to perfection.  These ribs are perfect served with grilled white corn or a hearty green salad.  No matter what you serve with them you are going to love sinking your teeth into their meaty and juicy goodness.

Enjoy!  Have a safe and memorable long weekend!

What will you be grilling this Memorial Day Weekend?

ps… recipes are below.  Having problems with google docs & PDFs … no pretty pictures but the recipes are there.  Will try to fixed next week!

Recipe:  Sriracha Marinade

Recipe:  Grilled Corn

© Denise for Chez Us, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Beef Short Ribs, Corn, Dinner, Ginger, Grilling, Recipe, Sriacha Marinade, Sriracha, White Corn

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Charcoal. How much thought have you put into charcoal?  Or better yet, the charcoal you use?  If you are anything like us,  none!  In fact, this is how it usually is at our house:  1) I buy a bag of unnamed lump charcoal and bring it home;   2) Lenny is standing at the grill, with the charcoal, newspaper, a chimney and is cursing me;  3) I start to rant about  how I want to use charcoal that is good for the environment, blah blah blah;  4) Lenny starts saying how he &^%* sure this charcoal is not any good, and he is now ready to switch to gas;  5) I take over and start the grill and vow next time to pick up a bag of Kingsford.  Let me say this, I normally do not buy Kingsford as I was under the assumption, they use chemicals in their processing, and I want our grilling experience to be as pure as possible; hence, why we don’t use gas.

Last week Current Lifestyles, and Clorox invited us to be part of a press trip at Kingsford University. We were very intrigued about Kingford University. As well it was thrilling to be included with an outstanding group of writers, publishers and food bloggers who all shared a common interest, the love of great barbecue and wine. We hope you will enjoy the following write up which includes videos, to give you that “feel like you are there” experience as well as lots of great grilling tips from World BBQ Champion, Chris Lilly.

The event kicked off with a meet and greet dinner at Pican, in Oakland, CA, where Chef Dean Dupuis wowed us with his southern cooking.  It was the perfect way to begin our university training,  mingling with our fellow students, who where some amazing writers, chefs, bloggers, and BBQ enthusiasts.  One of the highlights for us that evening was Chef Dupuis’ amazing fried chicken with truffle honey; we have never thought to drizzle the sweet, earthy honey over chicken, what an outstanding combination.

The following morning was spent at Kingsford University learning everything there is to know about charcoal.  We started with a history lesson on Kingsford.  Did you know Henry Ford started making charcoal in the 1920′s?  Mr. Ford learned the process of turning scraps that were left over from making the Model T, into charcoal briquettes.  Kingsford was built when a relative of Fords, E.G Kingsford started the site for making Mr. Ford’s charcoal – the rest is history.  After our history lesson, the staff at Kingsford University gave us an in-depth discussion of how charcoal is produced as well as a sneak peek at their new product that will launch in 2010.  Kingsford charcoal is produced by using more than 1 million tons of wood scraps.  That is right, no trees are cut down for the production, and the only chemicals used are natural.  Using the waste wood a char is produced in a controlled environment and then mixed with coal and small amounts of borax, sodium nitrate, cornstarch and limestone.  After an educational morning, we moved out to the patio to fire up some grills, where we were wowed by Chris Lilly.

After lunch, we headed up to Healdsburg for the next part of our Kingsford University education.  Healdsburg in our opinion is what the wine country is really all about, and there is no better time to be there then in the fall.  Warm days, crispy evenings and beautiful fall colors add to the intoxicating smell of wine being made all around you.  After checking into the lovely Healdsburg Hotel, we headed to Seghesio Vineyard for dinner.  Our hosts Peter and Cathy Seghesio made us feel like we were finally home.  They completely opened up their lives by sharing their passion of wine with us.  Seghesio has been in the Healdsburg area since the beginning.  Edoardo Seghesio planted his first zinfandel vineyard in 1895 and since then four generations of the family have been making Zinfandels and Italian varietal wines.

(this is part one of the series of videos on how to make Chris Lilly’s famed 12 hours pork butt – check out Chez Us Eats for the rest of the series)

After a wonderful meal that was served in the winery’s Redwood Room and was prepared by Chef Jon Helquis, formerly of Chez Panisse, we were formally introduced to BBQ Master, Chris Lilly. Chris is a legend among BBQ fans and has won numerous awards.  Chris is Vice President of the acclaimed Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q and is the head of their competition team. Chris took the stage and gave us an in-depth demonstration on how to make his famed 12 hour pulled pork, which he injects with water and apple cider.  I had a blast being able to get in there and do some actual hands on injecting; great way to get rid of some frustration!  And yes, these pork butts cooked for 12 hours; Chris was a champ and woke up at 3 am to man the grill!

The next day Chris continued to WOW us on the fine art of grilling.  We learned about grilling, making BBQ rubs, and finally the moment we had all been waiting for the unveiling of the 12 hour pork butt.  This our friend was well worth the wait, by far the best pulled pork we have ever had, and we are not just saying that.   After a filling lunch, we spent the afternoon with the  stellar team at Seghesio who gave us a brief course on wine blending, and everyone was able to blend their own bottle of wine.

With a free afternoon to ourselves, there was only one thing to do, and that was to take advantage of the fruits of the Healdsburg bounty and head out to do some wine tasting.  We decided to head to Michel-Schlumberger, they are considered the Healdsburg’s  Bordeaux house in a valley of zin.  Not only are they making Bordeaux style wines, but they are also doing so organically.  Now when one sees a bunch of hungry thirsty food bloggers coming through their door, one probably wants to run; instead we were greeted by staff with open arms.  Not only were they eager to have us taste their wines, which were really luscious and sexy;  but, they took us on a mini tour of the vineyard.  November at the Michel-Schlumberger is the perfect time – the colors of the vines, the coolness of the earth under your feet and the warm sun on your back – the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

After a few hours of down time at the hotel, we returned to Seghesio for our fare well dinner.  Chris continued to educate us on grilling with Kingsford, with a hands on demo on how to make perfect grilled pizzas.  These were not your ordinary pepperoni pizzas.  These pizzas were gourmet, such as Asian-influenced spicy shrimp pizzza;  yum.  Chris got everyone to don an apron, and to get there to create their own pizzas.  The group really enjoyed being hands-on.  The evening was not only fun but also very informative.  Come along by checking out these informative videos.

(this is part one of the series of videos on how to grill pizza – check out Chez Us Eats for the rest of the series)

We spent the rest of the evening eating, listening to music, talking to new friends and old, and cherishing the past three days that were not only educational but very fun.

We would like to give a special thanks to Chris Lilly, Kingsford Charcoal and Current Lifestyles.  We had no idea that learning about charcoal would be so delicious.  As well a big thank you to the Seghesio family for opening their home to us!

The big question asked of us after the event:  Would we make the switch from Brand X lump charcoal over to Kingsford?   We already have!!

Following you will find one of Chris Lilly’s recipes from his new cookbook, Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book.  It is for a beef tenderloin, which would be the perfect for your next dinner party.

Please sure to check out more photos over here and rest of the educational videos from the Kingsford University Event over at Chez Us Eats.

Recipe:  Mushroom Crusted Beef Tenderloin

*printed with permission from Chris Lilly – from Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book

Cooking Method: Indirect Heat

Suggested Wood: hickory, oak, pecan

Cook Time: 1 hour

Serves: 10 to 12

Mushroom Crust

5 tablespoons butter

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

3 ½ cups minced mushrooms such as baby bella or shitake

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

¾ teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 whole beef tenderloin (approximately 6 pounds)

1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt

Melt the butter and oil together in a large skillet over medium heat.  When the butter melts, add the minced mushrooms, garlic, balsamic vinegar, oregano, and salt.  Simmer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to soften.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

Remove any silver membrane from the tenderloin with a sharp knife.  Fold the tail of the tenderloin back onto itself and tie it with cooking twine (this creates a roast with a uniform thickness to ensure even doneness).  Season the tenderloin with kosher salt.  Drain any excess liquid from the mushrooms.  Pat the mushroom mixture evenly over all sides of the entire beef tenderloin, making a thin crust.

Build a fire (wood or combination of charcoal and wood) for indirect cooking by situating the coals on only one side of the grill, leaving the other side void.  When the cooker reaches 225˚F, place the tenderloin on the void side of the grill and close the lid.  Cook for 1 hour or until the internal temperature of the tenderloin reaches 120-125˚F for rare, 130-135˚F for medium rare, or 140-145˚F for medium.  Let the tenderloin rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Beef, Charcoal, Chris Lilly, Food Blog Event, Grilling, Kingsford, Kingsford University, Mushroom, Recipe, Seghesio Vineyard

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Camping does not mean you have to have food that you need to hydrate, nor food that comes from a can and you heat  up.  One can eat well while camping by being a little prepared and ingenious!

The beginning of Sunset while we cooked & sipped on wine.

We had such a great time camping in the Sierras a couple weeks ago, that we have decided to head up for a couple nights.  We have some fun things planned like, sunning, reading, biking and of course eating – wait until you see this!  In the mean time we wanted to share some highlights from the last trip and when we get back this weekend we will let you know how you can eat well, while getting away from it all!

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© laudalino for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Camping, Chickpea, Chorizo, Grilling, Padrons, Sonora Pass, Steak, Traveling

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The first time we made grilled pizzas, Lenny thought I lost my mind.  The next time we decided to make them, I also decided our guests would make their own individual ones, he really thought I lost my mind.  Both times, he was wrong.  Grilling pizza is easy and having your guests make their own is a huge hit!

Recently, when we had a warm pre-summer evening, we invited a couple friends over for pizza and wine.   The only thing was, they would be cooking their own pizzas.  These friends were newbies to our pizza dinner party concept and they loved it!   As this was completely last minute (say 6pm) we were not prepared, so we had to use what we had in the house.  The toppings we came up with was:  black truffles, white corn, cilantro, prosciutto, caramelized fennel with red peppers, blue cheese, Parmesan cheese, and eggs.

We have been meaning to give Celine a new recipe using her wonderful truffles and used this opportunity to exactly that.  We made a luscious prosciutto and black truffle pizza with egg – it was amazing!!!  Slightly salty and earthy with the creamiest of the just cooked egg!  If you love pizza, prosciutto and truffles, this is your pizza!

Recipe:  Grilled Prosciutto & Black Truffle Pizza

pizza dough, see recipe above

parmesan cheese

good quality prosciutto

good quality black truffles

organic eggs

black truffle oil

sea salt

fresh cracked black pepper

Basically, we used our basic pizza dough recipe, topped it with Parmesan cheese, prosciutto and black truffles;  grilling it just until the dough was set and then topping it with an egg and cooking for another 3 – 5 minutes, depending on how you like your egg.  Before serving drizzling with a little black truffle oil, a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper …. amazing!

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 9 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Black Truffle Pizza, Black Truffles, Blue Cheese, Grilled Pizza, Grilling, Parmesan Cheese, Pizza, Pizza Dough, Prosciutto, Recipe

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The time has come .. the Ultimate Burger contest has officially closed!  The Head Burger Master will be announcing the winning burger tomorrow – so stay tuned.

We would love to see which one is your favorite, please vote at the end of this post!

Bison Burgers with homemade buns

Marta ~ Just Call Me Marta

Lamb Slider w/ Arugula Gremolata & Gorgonzola Mayonnaise

Caleb ~ Food Goes In Mouth

New Mexican Cheese Bleeder

Francis Keyser ~ Cooking For Zo

Turkey Burger with Feta & Date Filling

Joan ~ Foodalogue

Lettuce-Wrapped Vietnamese Pork Burgers

Greg ~ SippitySup

Banh Mi Burger

Jessica ~ Food Mayhem

© laudalino for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Beef, Bison, Burger, Contest, Food Blogging Event, Grilled, Lamb, Sliders, Turkey, Ultimate Burger Contest

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Chez Us (particularly Lenny) is hungry for a burger and not an ordinary burger such as this Chipotle  Buffalo Burger with Feta Cheese, he needs something more. The search is on for the Ultimate Burger.

Lenny is on a quest and he NEEDS your help!

Do you have the Ultimate Burger? We challenge you to make us drool and want more! Get out there create that burger, snap a photo, write a post about it (be sure to include a link to the ULTIMATE BURGER CONTEST) and send an email with all the mentioned goodies over to the head burger master:   hamburger@chezus.com.

We are giving a prize for the Ultimate Burger, it is this great cookbook. “Build a Better Burger“.

If you don’t have a food site or blog, then you can still email us everything minus a link to a site.

We will update this post with the burgers as they come in!

© laudalino for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Burger, Challenge, Food Blog Event, Food Video, Grilling, Ultimate Burger, Ultimate Burger Contest, Video

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How do you make your children eat chicken?  By making this fool proof kid friendly chicken recipe, it will have your children begging you for more.  Your kids will love this!!!  Simply bbq’d chicken is basted with a sweet but tart glaze until it is golden brown.

The story of MEM.  I have never really told the story of MEM, though, I have spoke of them fondly and often.  MEM stands for Max, Ella, and Maggie;  otherwise known as, Monkey, Peanut, and Mags or Magalicious.  So you ask yourself, who are these mystery children?  No, they are not the secret children we keep hidden in our apartment!  No, they are not our nieces  and nephews – we do have 6 nephews and 2 nieces but they all live far from us.  Read on to find out ….

About 8 years ago, I became restless.  I was 35 and ready to move on with my life;  no more roommates.  At the same time the dot.com was starting to crash and people where losing their jobs left and right;  mine was becoming very unstable and I was very unhappy, despite, actually liking what I did.  After a fantastic winter of skiing and playing in Tahoe with friends, two of us decided to skip off to Bali for 3 fantastic weeks.  It was there, that I realized I needed to make some major changes in my life.  I even contemplated quitting my job and continuing my travels from there, but, then the logical part of me kicked in and I came home.  Once home that journey of change began.  Unfortunately, rents were still sky-high and no one was hiring ……. not even a waitress job that could get me out of my unhappy situation for awhile.

After 4 months of continuing the search and hitting interviews, I became pretty desperate at work one day.  While scouring the ads on Craigslist, I came across one looking for someone to care for a couple’s 3 month year old son.  Now, this was definitely not the field I was in (I was working for a start-up as a facility manager) but caring for a 3 month old could not be any more difficult then looking after an office of a bunch of 30 year olds that were equally as demanding.  So, I polished up my corporate resume and sent it off.  Not more then 30 minutes later, I got a reply, that they wanted to meet me – I am sure they just wanted to meet the insane person whose resume had no child experience;  but, hey, I had babysat most of my teens, taken care of three younger sisters and occasionally watched (played) with friend’s kids and besides I was energetic and compassionate;  I knew I would be perfect.

Long story short …. I liked them and they liked me and they had this bouncy bubbly baby boy who seemed to take to me.  They also had a one bedroom cottage with a backyard and a deck, which could be mine.  This was definitely the blessing I had been searching for.

It has been 8 years almost.   Eight adventurous and wonderful years actually.  So much as happened in those 8 years, from being able to be on my own, falling deep in love (with Laudalino), building new and exciting relationships (Will & Evelyn, et al), enjoying life more, being asked to be Mag’s godmother, and learning to live life through the eyes of a child (MEM).  Now, don’t get me wrong, there were some ups and downs, especially after days of dirty diapers, if I wondered to myself, if I had lost my mind;  but, then I would get a hug or a smile and it would all change.  Then about three years ago, I found out, that I would not be having children of my own and it all kind of came together.  There was a reason that I answered that ad.  There was a reason that we were all introduced.  And it was all starting to come together.

My role has evolved and changed the past couple of years.  The kids grew up, started school and started becoming their own persons.  I started craving being back out in the business world, so I came out from behind the scenes and  started working with Lenny at his company and now I only spend two days with MEM, which is mostly time with little M.  We try to sneak in special time whenever possible,  as well Laudalino and I still live in the little cottage, which we have grown to love, and we keep an open door policy with MEM.

Now you are probably asking yourself what does this all have to do with ‘Candy Chicken‘.  This past weekend, I stayed with MEM for three nights while W & E, took a long weekend.  It is always fun for the four of us to have these “SUPER BIG SPECIAL NIGHTS” as it means lots of fun, games, playtime and cooking together (the girls loved peeling shrimp & making meatballs this time around) Unfortunately, we do have to schedule time to EAT!  Evelyn as well as her mother, make this great grilled chicken. ‘Candy Chicken’.  This is a great dish, that any child will love, young or old.  It is moist, crispy, slightly tart and slightly sweet.  We served it with steamed white corn and melted butter.

MEM is crazy for chocolate and not just any old chocolate, it has to be dark chocolate.  I wanted to make something fun, so I thought a gooey LAVA cake would be perfect!  I remembered one that I made a couple years ago, unfortunately, my recipes are packed away, so I went by memory on this recipe – it turned out great!

Recipe:  Candy Chicken

1 cut up chicken, cleaned, patted dry

1/2 cup butter

1 lemon, juiced

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon paprika

kosher salt

Melt butter.   Add sugar and lemon juice, stir over low heat, until sugar is melted.  Stir in paprika and season with salt, to taste.

Lightly season chicken with salt.  Heat bbq according to your directions.  Grill chicken until almost cooked through.  The last 15 minutes, lightly baste all sides of the chicken and continue grilling until golden.  Serve.  Eat.

Recipe:  Lava Cake

4 oz chocolate

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 egg yolks

2 eggs

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 teaspoons flour

Heat oven to 375.  Melt butter and chocolate over very low heat until melted.  Beat eggs, egg yolks and sugar until light and slightly thickened.  Add vanilla.  Drizzle in chocolate mixture with mixer running, beat until mixed, about 3 minutes.  Add flour and beat for another 3 minutes.

Butter and flour 5 ramekins.  Divide the batter between ramekins.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and invert onto serving plates.  Serve.  Eat.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Candy Chicken, Chicken, Chocolate, Grilled Chicken, Kid Friendly, lava cake, Recipe, White Corn

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In Greece they make Souvlaki by marinating chunks of meat, usually pork or lamb, in olive oil, lemon juice and oregano, then they grill it over an open fire.  This dish is easy to make at home and we show you how you can make it with a grill pan if you do not have access to a BBQ or open fire.

We love Greek Food but never seem to eat it that often.  Over dinner tonight we reminisced about how much we really enjoy it and that we only seem to eat it when we are in Hawaii or Paris – some of favorite Greek restaurants are there.

This recipe is fantastic as it brings Greece into your dining room, in under an hour.   I used fresh Meyer Lemons and oregano for the marinade;  it was incredibly aromatic while sitting out on the counter as well as when cooking.  It filled our tiny kitchen with fresh scents of citrus and grilled meat just as it is on the streets of Greece … okay, we have not been to Greece, but we have a feeling this is what it would smell like, as it does in one of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris.

Pork Souvlaki is about to become our favorite summertime grilled meals, I cannot wait to try it with lamb.  You will love it was well!

Recipe: Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki

* adapted from Food & Wine

1 1/4 pounds trimmed pork shoulder, cut into 3-by- 1/2-inch strips or you can use lamb

1 large onion, cut through the root end into 1/2-inch wedges

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 meyer lemons squezzed, reserve the juice

1/8 cup chopped fresh oregano

2 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

7 oz Greek-style whole-milk yogurt

1/2 European cucumber, seeded and finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Warm pita, for serving

n a medium bowl, toss the pork strips and onion wedges with the olive oil, lemon juice, chopped oregano and garlic paste. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper and let stand for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the yogurt, cucumber,  and the mint.  Season the tzatziki with salt and pepper.

Heat a large cast-iron griddle or grill pan until very hot. Add the pork and onion wedges along with any marinade and cook over high heat, turning once or twice, until the pork and onion are tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pork and onion to plates and serve with the tzatziki, and pita.

© Denise for Chez Us, 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: BBQ, Greek, Greek Style Yogurt, Grilling, Lamb, Meyer Lemon, Mint, Oregano, Pork, Souvlaki, Tzatziki

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