Lamb Comparison: American vs New Zealand, grain fed vs grass

I know this gorgeous weather is not helping our friends up the road for the Vancouver Olympics, but the sunshine, cherry blossoms, and crocuses poking their heads up in the garden makes me feel like shaking the winter off the Weber to do some grilling.

I went on a quest to do a side-by-side comparison of American grain fed lamb, New Zealand lamb, and American grass fed lamb. American lamb used to be far more expensive than New Zealand lamb but recently I've noticed American prices being the same or less. The animals are larger, fattier, and have a much milder flavor that their down under counterparts. Last week we ate some American grain fed lamb that was so mild it tasted like beef. It got me thinking about this blog post. The problem for me is that American grain fed lamb doesn't taste the same as the full flavored lamb I ate as a kid.

Today I wanted to see how the small local farms' pastured lamb, a growing market, compares to the other guys. I'd much rather buy fresh lamb, grown near my home, than frozen packets that travel across oceans, but I also want a product that tastes good.

I'm a bit of a lamb cheerleader. In part it's because we rarely serve it in the restaurant, so it's a change from my usual barbecue bounty. But the real reason is because I think the lamb industry has the opportunity to be responsible. It has never been a huge industry here in the US - we only consume about 1.2 pounds per capita each year as compared to about 61 pounds of beef and chicken each. Rather than join the "big bad raise 'em big and pump 'em full of drugs to keep 'em alive" beef, pork and chicken industries, lamb could take a stand.

I first went to our local PCC, because I read that they had local pastured (100% grass fed) lamb from Umpqua Valley. (I often buy lamb at farmer's markets, but none were open near me this time of year on a Thursday.) I picked a lower cost shoulder blade chop ($6.49/lb) because I wanted a cut that would have some marbling and muscle to give it more flavor. I also didn't need to buy three costly racks of lamb for this experiment.

On to Fred Meyer/Krogers where they sell American grain fed lamb at rock bottom prices. It begs the question, how did lamb get so inexpensive? Demand hasn't risen much since the 1990's, and some grids I checked have it going down a bit. Grain prices haven't decreased, and fuel is sky high. So how is it that I can buy American lamb at $4.99/lb? There is always a cost, you just might not be the one paying for it. Someone paid for that cheap t-shirt from China. Maybe it was a child working in desolate conditions, or it was paid for in damages to the environment, but there is always a cost. In the case of this particular lamb, it may be the farms themselves taking the hit in their effort to stay competitive.

Finding New Zealand lamb was a problem. Two stores I went to no longer carried it. Luckily I asked the fabulous folks at the Ballard Market meat department. If you live in the area, they are a great resource and give the same kind of service as the old butcher shops that have waned away. They love talking meat and smile wide when you ask them to slice off a two-inch T-bone. They told me to go to a competitor - Trader Joes.

Trader Joes in Ballard did have New Zealand lamb, though not the same shoulder chop. I had to purchase a better cut, a loin chop, at $9.49/lb.

On to seasoning. I kept it simple to keep the meat unfettered. I hit the cuts with a little lemon, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper, then let those marinate for a few hours. (Little El needed some playtime. She looks angelic here, but by a few minutes later she'd torn up a coloring book, covered her hands with ink pen, chucked her water off the table, and had begun to draw on the table.)

I grilled the steaks on the Weber for about 5 minutes each side with a hot fire, then raked the coals to one side and finished them indirectly, with the lid closed. I had more than enough meat for my experiment, so I rubbed half with some of my Cocoa Bliss rub (it's in the book!).

Now for the test. Clearing my pallet with bread and water between each, I dove in. It was absolutely clear. The American grain fed lamb was mild leaning toward bland. The texture and taste was almost that of beef. The New Zealand - perfect. It had the full flavor of my childhood. It was also so tender it melted in my mouth, but that was in part because it was a better cut.

The American grass fed from Umpqua Valley? Excellent! Though not as full flavored as the New Zealand, it tasted like lamb. Imagine that! The meat was tender, moist and delish.

Now it's your turn. When was the last time you ate lamb? Was it American or New Zealand, grain fed or grass? What is your favorite cut to prepare, and how? I welcome your comments!

Rib Class: March 10 at the Pacific Culinary Studio

Wednesday, March 10, 6:30-8:30 $45

Come learn all about smoking ribs slow and low. I'll be teaching a two-hour class at the beautiful Pacific Culinary Studio in Everett. For only $45 it's a deal for a class that includes dinner! We will start with the basics, like how to remove the pesky membrane, how to make a dry rub and apply it, fire and smoke techniques for all fuel types, and finishing sauces. Whether this is your first time or you just want to improve upon your ribs before the summer season hits, this class is suitable for all levels. Learn more about class registration here. Hope to see you there!

National Barbecue News - New Review for She-Smoke

It's always exciting getting a book review, but when I saw my book in the National Barbecue News, I did a little piggy dance. I particularly like that the review states, "Written under the guise of a introduction to barbecue for women, She-Smoke is an outstanding book for anyone. Author Reinhardt comes with ready cred as a barbecue restaurant owner and a KCBS sanctioned judge. As far as I can tell, she doesn’t miss a single detail in an evidently well thought-out book." You can read the entire review here. I love that I'm in company with Republic of Barbecue, the book I reviewed last week below.

Book Review: Republic of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket

In Republic of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket, Elizabeth Engelhardt and her team of University of Texas graduate students tell the story of barbecue in Central Texas. A self-described “potluck”, they invited as many folks as they could to tell their stories without trying to define, argue about, or judge barbecue. Their interviews with restaurant owners, sausage makers, wood suppliers and customers give us a circular view around the pit. In one essay, we read how Billy Inman and father Francis run the Inman’s Ranch House today versus the “cowboy-and-horse days”, in another we read how grad student Carly Kocurek struggled doing that interview because it reminded her of the small town Texas life she left, having never fit in.

Part of what I love about barbecue is that it is more than just food; it is a story. By sheer virtue that it takes so darn long to cook, it becomes and event that we share with others. Republic of Barbecue records those stories, histories and quirky details that make a potluck “greater than its parts”. I particularly enjoyed essays like, “The Feminine Mesquite”, about female pit masters, and the open discussion of race and Austin gentrification by Ben Walsh of Ben’s Long Branch Barbecue. Full color photos fill in the faces and places around the pits.

The authors balance heavy hitters like Ruby’s Barbecue and Kreuz Market with humorous sidebars like a pie chart of pies, and a list of “Foreign Barbecue” that includes joints from China to…California. They garnish this rich feast of history with current topics such as sustainable forestry and a discussion about how modern technology, or “techno-cue”, is debated, dismissed, or in some cases, kept a secret.

This is not a cookbook, or a road book of the best Central Texas barbecue joints, but Republic of Barbecue: Stories Beyond the Brisket is a must-read for anyone interested in the people, places, and stories of barbecue. Anyone can write a recipe, but what I want to hear is the story behind that recipe. I want to know about the people that cook a particular dish, the family lore. This book delivers that story.

Buy this to keep next to your favorite cookbooks. While you wait for that brisket to tender up in the smoker, open to any page and sample from the stories like you would a dish at a potluck. You'll find some to your liking, some not so much, but plenty to keep you satisfied and coming back for seconds.

Superbowl Sunday: Simple Smoky Onion Dip

Here is an easy smoked onion dip that will make you eat way too many chips. I like to smoke onions when I'm smoking other things, but if this is all you are making, smoke extra onions to use in sauces, on sandwiches, or mixed in with other vegetables to infuse smoke flavor to your dishes.

Smoky Onion Dip

from She-Smoke: A Backyard Barbecue Book

Ingredients
Two medium onions, skins removed and halved
1 cup mayonaise
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Smoke onions for about 1 hour or more. Remove and finely chop in food processor or by hand. Mix in remaining ingredients. For a variation, add 3 tablespoons horseradish.

Superbowl Sunday: Pesto Piggy Wraps

Game days are the perfect excuse to exersize your smoker in the winter. All that cheering and beer lifting requires some protein with those chips and dips. Here is a smoked appetizer I  like to make, named by my son as Piggy Wraps. It takes three of my favorite flavors: sausage, pesto and bacon, all wrapped together.

The recipe follows. While you are smoking these tasty little piggies, throw on two onions, peeled and halved, in the smoker, to make the next recipe on my list: Smokey Onion Dip.

Pesto Piggy Wraps
makes approx. 36 appetizers

Ingredients

2 lbs pork sausage, uncased
5 T. pesto
1 egg
1/3 cup fine bread crumbs or pancake mix like Bisquick
2 packages of bacon, sliced down the middle.

1) Make a low fire in a charcoal, wood or pellet smoker, or preheat an electric smoker. Target temperature - 225-250 degrees.

2) Mix the sausage, pesto, egg and breadcrumbs/pancake mix together. Roll into 1 oz balls and wrap each one with a half a slice of bacon. Place on an old pan that can get "ruined" for the smoker, or use disposable foil pans.

3) Put wood on your heat source and Get Your Smoke On.

4) Place pans on smoker racks, indirectly from the heat source and smoke for 45 minutes.

Next up: Smoky Onion Dip

Food Poetry Friday: The Colors of Maui

Welcome to Poetry Friday. Anastasia Suen is hosting the round-up today. Here at She-Smoke, I like to focus on food poetry. Today I'm interpreting this as food for thought.

I'm calling this a photo-poem, inspired by my recent trip to Hawaii. (I know, I know, won't she ever shut up about it? She wrote 1-2-3 blog posts about it). My response is that I get very little time off, people. Or sleep. So indulge this one very last post about my Hawaiian vacation.

The colors of Maui

by Julie Reinhardt

When I stepped on to the beaches of Maui

I learned a new meaning of
 BLACK

of BROWN

RED

and WHITE

If we could see faces and think

lava sands shifting with resting Monk seals

corral crumbles sifting while Humpback Whales carouse in the bay

 shell treasures hiding along windy cliff-edged beaches

maybe then we could smile and breath and sigh and nothing else.

Aloha Hawaiian Barbecue...part 3: Back in Seattle

We've settled back in to Seattle weather after a relaxing Hawaiian vacation. In case you missed it, we sampled some tasty barbecue on our trip to Maui, recounted in part 1 and part 2.

Getting out of the routine always inspires creativity. One of the first things Eric did when he got back to Smokin' Pete's BBQ was whip up a Hawaiian marinade. He dunked a whole pork butt in the marinade for four days, then seared it on the grill, smoked it, chilled it, cut thick slices and grilled them to order. The last step was to dip the slices in a glaze. I was amazed by how well it matched the barbecue we ate on our trip. It took me back.

It sounds like a lot of steps, but in reality, this is a great way to make barbecue for a party, whether at home or professionally for you caterers out there. The long marinade and smoking times are out of the way before your event. All you have to do is slice and get the meat up to temperature on the grill, making some nice crosshatch marks on each slice for presentation.

Here is the recipe for Eric's Maui Marinated Pork. Serve it with white rice and macaroni salad for an authentic Hawaiian combination.

Marinade Ingredients. Note: You will make this twice, once for the marinade, and once for the glaze.
2 T. fresh grated or powdered ginger
16 oz pineapple, orange, guava juice (Nantucket Nectars has this flavor, substitute something similar)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 cup soy sauce
1 T. pepper oil (we make our own at Smokin' Pete's, but any chili oil will do).
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar or 1/4 cup white vinegar

Combine all marinade ingredients and put one Boston butt in the marinade. Let pork marinate for 4 days in refrigerator. Turn pork a few times a day to make sure all parts get covered by marinade.

Remove pork and pat dry. Sear over direct flames of grill, then cook in smoker slow and low for about 10 hours. You want the pork to be tender but not falling apart.

Fully chill (at least 2 hours per pound). Before getting ready to heat and serve, make the marinade above again. Heat on medium low and add a little cornstarch to thicken. Keep warm near grill.

Cut 1 inch slices. Grill over direct flames for a few minutes, then rotate 30 degrees on same side to make crosshatch marks. Flip and repeat. Check that the slice is fully heated in the center.

Remove from grill and either mop with the warm glaze, or dunk the slice whole into the glaze. Serve with white rice and creamy macaroni salad.

Aloha Hawaiian Barbecue - part 2

Aloha from Hana, Maui! The road to Hana is breathtaking, both for its view and for the stomach-clenching curves, one-lane bridges, and narrow roads often just wide enough for one. Along the way we also found some tasty "Hawaiian-style" barbecue. To read about barbecue during the first part of our trip, read part 1.

Our first stop was at a shack, Ka-Haku's BBQ Smokeshack. You won't find this one in any guidebook. It was as rustic as it comes, but the young man behind the grill put plenty of love into his food. I ordered the pork, of which there was some left, plus he "added some chicken because I had it ready." I also made sure to grab a still-warm loaf of banana bread that just about every little fruit stand or craft shack sells along the way. These aren't your mama's banana breads - they are dense and gooey slabs mostly of fresh picked ripe bananas, a little flour and sugar to keep it all together. Mmmm.

I gulped when he told me it would be twenty bucks. I knew that wasn't the local price, but it was enough for two and had something other than the standard macaroni salad on the side. Instead it had a piquant salad made from the fiddleheads of the Lawai fern. I tasted a little vinegar, salt, and something else I couldn't decipher. Whatever it was, it was damn good. This same salad could be served at the spa as "Native Hawaiian, sustainably harvested fiddlehead greens from the Lawai Valley". So twenty bucks was a fair price in the end.

The meat was of the sweet kalbi-marinade grilled-style of Hawaiian barbecue. I think it spent a few days in the marinade, almost cooking it, giving it a deep sweet flavor. It was of course served with rice. The smoked pig you find at the expensive tourist luaus would be more for special occasions, while grilling seems to be the standard "everyday" barbecue. Like I said in part one, Hawaiians know the difference and do both well.

Near or in Hana proper, we've tried two other joints thus far, and a third is on our list. I tried the pulled pork sandwich at Tutu's Snack Shop down at Hana Bay. The beach there is nice and mild for the young ones, so after a day of chasing waves, my son and I worked up an appetite. The pork was lightly smoked, but was a little watery. Definite reheat. The portion was also pretty wimpy. The slaw was crisp, had a little pineapple in it which was nice, and served properly on the bun. It was about what I expected from a snack shop. Their bread and butter is from the hot dog, burger, ice cream crowd. Still, it wasn't drowned in barbecue sauce. In fact, I haven't seen a bottle of barbecue sauce since I've been here.

I felt much more barbecue love at Braddah's Hutt's BBQ Grill. It was all grilled, marinated meats as stated on the sign, "Island Styles". Grillmastah Braddah Hutt and his wife have been grilling for the public for 11 years. Located just past the general store in Hana, he has a nice set up in his yard with tables under cover, drinks, and quite a few menu offerings.

We ordered the chicken, pork, and short rib plates. I wish I had a better picture. I thought I left my camera there so I had to dash back there while the family ate. They left me plenty, but you don't see how hearty the portions were.

The chicken was the best - absolutely tender. The pork was a thick slab. I'm not sure of the cut. It seemed too lean for pork shoulder, but it could have been butt. I wanted smoked pulled pork, so the grilled slab wasn't my favorite. The short ribs were tasty. He mopped all of them in a slightly sweet brown sauce that most likely had brown sugar and soy sauce in it. All of the meats were cooked perfectly - not overdone, no char, and the short ribs on the rare side, or as he said, "medium-raw". They served each with two scoops of rice and a scoop of homemade macaroni salad. I'd definitely be back if we had the time.

Will there be a part 3? I sure hope so. So many places, so little time. Besides, we have to leave time to swim on beaches of every color - black, brown, red and white. It's like that with the barbecue here, many colors and cultures have influenced the cuisine so each little hole in the wall interprets things their own way. I love that.

Aloha Hawaiian Barbecue - part 1

Aloha from Maui! Besides playing on stunning beaches of white, black, brown and red sand, getting "mugged" by two humpback whales, and hiking along jagged lava rock trails, we've been enjoying another offering from Maui: barbecue.

I was going to write this as a daily series of each barbecue joint, but as internet service is very limited, I'll post what I can now. Cross your fingers I'm able to finish.

We started out in the super touristy area of Kaanapali, but are now in the more remote area of Hana. This is more our style. Still, we ate some tasty pig getting here.

The Kaanapali Beach Hotel boasts as being the "most Hawaiian hotel". Perhaps when compared to the other high rise corporate structures they are, but to me the place felt more like a Hawaiian-themed hotel in Vegas. I didn't feel like I was really in Hawaii. Perhaps watching native Hawaiians sweep native leaves and flowers from the non-native grass three times daily was it. We checked out after two days in search of more local digs.

I was surprised, then, by how good the pulled pork hash was at breakfast. Big tender pieces of lightly smoked smoked pork mixed with potatoes and onions. It was best early, but mighty good. The other thing "most Hawaiian" was their nightly luau. The musicians and dancers were excellent and genuinely loved what they did.

We headed to Lahaina to see some whales (and boy did we!) and to lunch at a place we'd read good things about, the Aloha Mixed Plate. It did the reviews justice - generous portions, affordable, and tasty. Eric tried the Kalbi Beef Short Ribs and I ordered the Hawaiian Plate. His ribs were classic Korean barbecue that has greatly influenced Hawaiian barbecue. In fact they seem to have three types of barbecue here - kalbi marinated then grilled meats, slow cooked pork, and mainland 'cue.

My Hawaiian plate included pulled pork and cabbage, rice (traditionally served here), a creamy macaroni salad (also traditional here), poi, a sort of yogurty-tasting apple sauce-looking dish made from taro, and lomi lomi, a salmon-tomato salsa. Everything was delicious on its own, but they especially were lovely together.

That day we went out on a whale-watching tour and got mugged by two humpback whales. That means THEY came closer than 100 feet, the closest boats can approach them. Our two humpbacks sidled up within FIVE FEET of the boat! Thousands of humpbacks come to the warm waters of Hawaii to mate and give birth. They don't eat a bit of food during their visit. It's hard to think of a creature the size of a school bus not eating anything for months. We sure couldn't do that!

We didn't stay in Lahaina, but headed toward Kihei. There we tried another great offering in Hawaii - sushi. Sansei Sushi was packed to the gills with hungry locals and tourists. I think our waitress was a little shocked by just how much we ordered, and by the fact that our one and four year olds both put away the eel like it was candy. Though Kihei looked like a great town, we decided to head a day early to the more laid back lodgings in Hana. I'll post about that next. Until then, Aloha!

Aloha Hawaiian Barbecue part 2: A trail of pork along the road to Hana.

University Book Store's Birthday Soiree 110/110 on 01/10/10

I just got back from a wonderful evening at the University Book Store, celebrating its 110th birthday. To commemorate the date, they published a book of 110-word pieces written by mostly local writers. I wrote a "Grilled Birthday Cake" recipe which I'll share below.

But first I must say, I can't put it down. I love this little book. I love reading what these amazing writers wrote in 110 words.

Stesha Brandon drew a number of author names out of a hat to read in front of everyone. I knew I was going to be called. Knew it. But it wasn't all that bad. My voice quavered a few times, but my tongue behaved and didn't stumble over itself too much. I forgot to say that I worked at UBS one winter break for a few weeks during college. I'm pretty sure I spent most of my paycheck on books there. Kind of a scam when you think about it, but one in which both parties end up happy.

You want to know the best part about it? Tom Robbins was called to read his very funny piece in the book. Now I can say I did a reading with Tom Robbins! And you know what else? My book sat right next to his new book on the 110/110 bookshelf. Yeah. Well, they were placed alphabetically. Still.

I forgot my camera, as usual, but friend and fellow contributor Holly Cupala took some pictures for me with her fancy phone. She said, "Do you want me to take it of you next to your book?", and I said, "No, I want you to take a picture of my book next to Tom Robbins' book." She laughed, but also made me get in one of the photos. I'll post them when she sends them to me.

That was the other amazing part of the evening. I knew a ton of the contributing writers at the event: Meg Lippert, Kirby Larson, Dia Calhoun, Deb Lund, Karen Cushman, Martha Brockenbrough, Jaime Temairik, Liz Gallagher, plus a few who didn't make it or I didn't see: Justina Chen Headley, Laura McGee Kvasnosky.  There, I've name dropped and linky linked. Go read their books. Better yet, buy their books at University Book Store and get a free copy of the 110/110 book!

Now for the Grilled Birthday Cake recipe that appears in 110/110:

Ingredients
One pound cake, slightly aged
1 cup chocolate chips
½ cup heavy cream
Fresh strawberries

Cut thick slices of pound cake.

Make chocolate ganache: Heat cream on low heat. Stir in chocolate until fully melted. Keep warm.

Fire up grill on medium high. Once pre-heated, swipe grill grate with oiled rag. Place pound cake slices on direct heat for 10 seconds, or until grill marks form. Flip and repeat.

Serve warm. Drizzle chocolate ganache and serve with fresh cut strawberries or fruit in season. Insert candle and make a wish.

Happy 110th birthday, University Book Store!

1.10/110 Birthday Celebration for University Book Store

You are invited to a party! University Book Store celebrates its 110th birthday this Sunday on January 10th. Stop by the bookstore from 12-5pm for some birthday cake, sparkling cider, and signings by local authors who participated in a book they published for the event. I was one of many local authors invited to write a 110-word piece for the book. I submitted a grilled birthday cake recipe, of course.

You can read the book at the event, or receive a free copy when you purchase any of the contributing authors' books at University Book Store, while supplies last.

Come celebrate a long-standing independent bookseller!

Happy New Year: In a Kierkegaard Frame of Mind

Happy New Year everyone. I always look back more than I look forward at the new year. I had a great year - new baby daughter, new book, great reviews and growth in our business - I can't complain. Yet I found myself feeling a bit ornery on New Year's Eve. I was irritable, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. By New Year's day I had settled into a funk that was, well, Kierkegaardian. What struck me about this year was that I was too busy, as usual, but that much of this business was self-created. One of my favorite quotes from Either/Or by Kierkegaard came to mind.

"What, I wonder, do these busy folks get done? Are they not to be classed with the woman who in her confusion about the house being on fire carried out the firetongs? What things of greater account, do you suppose, will they rescue from life's great conflagration?"

Kierkegaard had this wonderful irritability at all the boring busy bodies of the world. To him, the worse offense was a life not lived with passion and authenticity.

I haven't posted even a nibble on my blog since December 18. I love writing this blog, but I find I need to let life happen sometimes apart from it. I don't want to post something because I have to, but because I want to and have something significant to share. I am not a brand. I can't always stay on message. Heck, this is a barbecue blog and I'm sitting here writing about Kierkegaard. See what I mean?

A big part of why I didn't post was because my brother and his family were visiting from afar. Since we don't get to see them as often, we try to spend every minute possible with them. And we did. After nearly 10 straight days of family gatherings, Eric and I and the kids spent the last two nights at my folks in a pre-teen-like slumber party complete with rounds of Uno, Pictionary, chocolate and talking late into the night.

That's not easy to do with a 1 and a 4 year old. We had the entire Reinhardt clan spread out on a futon and make shift bed of couch cushions and a baby mattress on the floor. Youch.

I had planned to photo document our holiday meals and post pictures, but sometimes I just want to live in the moment without a part of myself thinking about how to describe that moment at a later time. As Kierkegaard wrote,

"The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived."

My mantra for 2010? Less is More. My need to minimize some of the busy buzz of my life this year means blogging only twice a week and skipping the whole twittering thing. I never really connected with twittering anyway, so that isn't a tough one for me. Kierkegaard would both fear and tremble over twitter.

What I hope is to use that time for 1) more sleep (critical if I want to be more awake) and 2) writing the next book, be it cookbook or novel. Truth be told that since I stopped blogging for a few weeks, I started a novel, but I hate to talk about something so early in its infancy.

I'll be keeping the same headings: Barbecue 101, News, Reviews & Interviews, Food Poetry Friday and Weekend Warrior Recipes, but I'll just pick two of the four categories each week.

My other major resolution is one I may share a little later. Another one of those, "I don't want to talk about it too early, lest I jinx it" sort of things. Until then, smoke on, and may your 2010 be abundant and significant.

I know I ate a double helping of black-eyed peas last night to help bring abundance.

I'll leave you with one more quote from dear cranky Kierkegaard.

"It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important."

Food Poetry Friday: Christmas Cookies

In honor of cookie week, I wrote a poem called Christmas Cookies. Without further ado...

Christmas Cookies
by Julie Reinhardt

Green cookies
Red cookies
Candy cane stripe cookies
Drop cookies
Dot cookies
Sprinkle a lot cookies
Spritz cookies
Mince cookies
Peppermint chip cookies
Roll-out-cookies
Cut-out cookies
Eat-‘em-all-up cookies

 
The rhythm/internal rhyme scheme is one of my favorite for children's poems. Someone who does this wonderfully is Denise Fleming in her book, Beetle Bop. She illustrates her books by a method called pulp painting in which she creates the entire page by pouring shapes into handmade paper before it sets.
 
I had the amazing oportunity to attend a picture book workshop a few years ago by this hilarious and vibrant woman. She kept us laughing and cutting, cutting, cutting. Not paper, however, our words. Many of her picture books are under 100 words so every single syllable counts. Listen to a few stanzas from Beetle Bop:
 
Buzzing beetles,
humming beetles
steadily drumming beetles.
 
Big beetles
small beetles
crawl-up-the-wall beetles
 
Here is an excellent writing exersize to get a feel for the brevity needed in most picture books: Go to the library and check out a bunch of Denise Fleming's books. Type each one of them out in a separate document. Read them out loud. Once you are done, eat a few Christmas cookies.

Today's Poetry Friday round up is hosted by Susan Taylor Brown.

Cookie Week: Kicking it up to high production

Baking with a friend is fun, and cookie exchange parties are sweet, but when I holiday bake for real, I like to be alone in the kitchen, flour flying.

For those of you who like to have a hearty holiday cookie assortment on hand, or plan to gift your goodies, the key to making it happen without burning out (or burning the cookies) is to have a master plan. Here are a few things to consider in your plan.

• What are your cookie needs?  If you are mailing the cookies, some travel better than others. Will you be giving them to friends, or just need some on hand for company? Having cookies you can make ahead and freeze can reduce your task list so you can enjoy the holidays.
• Choose an assortment that is varied both in taste, shape, and color. That way, you only need 4 or 5 different cookies to look plentiful.
• And finally, the most important for production, pick an assortment that has a mix of short and long prep times. Many holiday cookies need to chill, so pick a few that don't while waiting for doughs to set.

This holiday, I decided I would NOT mail any cookies, but I wanted to make some ahead that I could either pull out of the freezer, or bake off a little at a time. When I mail cookies, my single most favorite cookie to make is a BOURBON-BALL. This cookie just gets better (and more potent!) with time. I'll tell you where to find that recipe below.

I chose four cookies for my assortment: A CHOCOLATE-PECAN PINWHEEL cookie, a CHERRY-WHITE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD, which I talked about earlier in the week, a NO-BAKE CEREAL CANDY COOKIE, because it was super-easy and something I could make while waiting for other doughs to chill, and some CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES, because I could make these with my son. We haven't actually made the sugar cookies yet, but the dough is ready in the fridge, and the sprinkles are in the cupboard, for when we need some distraction from the rain. I would have liked one more cookie that was on the more unusual side of flavors and/or colors. A lime-honey shortbread, a peppermint or colorful spritz cookie, or a dried fruity sort of thing. But four is enough for what I need this year.

Once I decide on my recipes, I like to make a master ingredients list. That way I don't get caught in the middle of things short on butter or other ingredient. Here is my chicken-scratch tally.

Before I begin, I lay out all the ingredients for all the cookies, get all the equipment out, and make my space. Plan to do the longest prep time cookie first. In this case it was the CHOCOLATE-PECAN PINWHEEL cookies because there were a number of steps and the dough needed to be chilled. Once those were complete, I moved on to the shortbread. While the shortbread baked, I whipped together the NO-BAKE cookies.

Because the PINWHEEL cookies are the type you can cut and bake as needed, I kept these in the fridge for a number of days before baking any of them. We've now baked off one big roll, and I still have a large roll in the refer to bake next week for Christmas, and two more in the freezer.

For the few cookie assortments I'll give away this weekend, I will add some chocolate kisses, wrap them up in cellophane, tied up with a bow. So how about some recipes?

For starters, try the WHITE CHOCOLATE-CHERRY SHORTBREAD cookies I entered in Gourmet Girl's Cookie Crawl.

Next up is the CHOCOLATE-PECAN PINWHEEL cookie. I have to say that long ago I had the perfect recipe for this cookie. Alas, I lost it. Every year I try a new recipe in hopes it will be as good as my lost recipe. This year I tried quite a few cookies from the Better Homes and Gardens cookie magazine. It didn't even come close. I re-tweaked it on my second attempt. They are pretty, and adding the orange zest and juice got them close to my lost cookie, but still not perfect. I do like the fact that they aren't as sweet as some of the other holiday cookies. Again, I doubled the quantity. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or freeze for up to three months.

Makes about 90 cookies

Ingredients:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 T all purpose flour
4 T strong coffee
2 T grated orange rind
2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
6 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Make Filling
Mix cream cheese, powdered, sugar, cocoa, coffee, 2 T flour, orange rind and juice. Stir in pecans and set aside.

Make dough
Mix dry ingredients - flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar, add eggs, vanilla and milk. Add in dry ingredients. Form into 4 balls. Wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours.

For each ball, roll out to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Make it as rectangle and even as you can. Spread 1/4 of the filling evenly, leaving a 1/2 inch border on the long sides. Roll the long side and smooth the dough at the edge with a little water. Wrap in wax paper and chill for another two hours, up to three weeks.

To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice off a little thicker than 1/4 inch cookies and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.


For the NO-BAKE CEREAL CANDY COOKIES, I mixed 1 cup of a mixed Kashi cereal. I think it was Good Friends or one of their other cereals that has a mix of shapes in it. I threw in 1/2 cup of craisins, 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows, and  melted 8oz candy "yogurt" coating. Stir in the warm candy coating to fully coat the cereal mixture and drop spoonfuls of the mix onto waxed paper. You can vary this however you like: add chocolate chips, nuts, granola...whatever is tasty in the pantry.

The BOURBON BALLS I make every year come straight out of Rose Levy Beranbaum's cookbook, Rose's Celebrations. You've probably heard of her Cake Bible, and her Bread Bible. Celebrations, however, is one of those cookbooks I cherish because it's so beautiful. She organizes the recipes by holiday, with full color, full page photos and recipes noted both by volume and weight. Titled "BOURBON-PECAN BUTTER BALLS", in the Christmas section, the only thing I change is I add more bourbon! Incidentally, the balls use ground up cookies. Rose suggests one of her recipes or "packaged chocolate wafers". I usually find a great deal on a chocolate cookie wafer at Trader Joe's each year.
I know it isn't barbecue, but I do intend to try some savory smoked shortbread on the grill this weekend. I'll share it with you if it turns out, and just pretend I forgot if it doesn't, OK?

Happy cookie baking everyone. Please share your own favorite cookie recipes in the comments, or e-mail me a picture of your cookie assortments for me to post (julierbq@q.com).

We have a winner!

We have a winner for the first annual She-Smoke Barbecue Gift Pack Holiday Contest (was that a little much?). As you can see, I enlisted the help of my fabulous assistant, Xander, to help pick the name...DRUM ROLL PLEASE... Marjorie Nye!

Marjorie is a fabulous writer and school teacher. She said in her comments that she bought my book for the first night of Hanukah and was going to try the stuffed Cornish Game Hens. Can't wait to hear how your smoked hens turned out, Marjorie! She'll have another book to give to someone, plus Smokin' Pete's BBQ Spice Rub, and a bar of Barbecue Soap.

Congratulations, Marjorie!

Cookie Week! First stop: Gourmet Girl's Cookie Crawl

I love to make cookie assortments for holiday gifts, and who doesn't love getting cookies? This week I'll be posting as many cookie recipes as I make. My hope is four or five different recipes. And don't worry - I plan to barbecue a cookie too! We'll try a savory shortbread on the grill for the weekend.

But first, a contest. Gourmet Girl Magazine is hosting a virtual cookie crawl contest. People from around the world enter their cookies, a photo, and recipe. Gourmet Girl then tests each one and decides on the winner. I didn't win at my first cookie contest of the year at the SCBWI-WA meeting, so I'm hoping for a big win this time. Well, not really, but I'm making cookies anyway. Incidentally, my friend Holly Cupala won first runner-up at the SCBWI contest and posted her Peppermint Cookie recipe.

This first cookie is an adaption of Better Homes and Garden's White Chocolate-Cherry Shortbread cookie. I'm in a shortbread phase, and I knew my 4-yr old would enjoy the marachino cherries.

Here is the recipe. From the original, I changed the amount of cherries, added chocolate chips around the edge, upped the sugar a tad, nixed the red food coloring, and doubled the recipe. Christmas cookie recipes always say "makes 60" or more and they never never do. Not even close. Maybe they make cookies the size of my toenail, but I like a normal size cookie. Not as big as your face, but bigger than a toenail. Admittedly, these are some of my first attempts. The next batch was much more uniform and pretty. But the camera battery died and I couldn't run out and buy more, so what we have here are some delicious and very, erm, homemade cookies.

Note: I used a food processor for just about everything in this recipe. The BHG had it all done by hand, but the processor made it a snap. You can hand chop and hand mix, if you had to, but don't if you have the equipment.

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped. Drained again.


5 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cup sugar

2 cup cold butter

24 ounces white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon almond extract

4 teaspoons shortening

Mini chocolate chips (about 12 oz)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar. Using a food processor, pulse in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 8 ounces of the chopped chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, food coloring. Pulse until mixture forms a smooth ball.

3. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to a 1/4 inch. Smooth the edges.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Cool on cookie sheet. You can transfer to a wire rack. (I didn't but I made them at work and our prep room is so cold it's almost a legal refrigerator).
5. In a snon-stick saucepan, combine remaining 16 ounces white chocolate and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Roll dipped edge in mini chocolate chips. Place cookies on waxed paper until chocolate is set. Makes about 60-80, depending on how large you like 'em.

Food Poetry Friday: The Master Jack Prelutsky

I've had three nights in a row with next to no sleep due to one of those baby "growth spurts", so rather than first share one of my own poems, I'm going to jump right to a master poet, Jack Prelutsky. Named our country's first Children's Poet Laureate in 2006, Jack has over 30 published collections of poems. He also happens to live in Seattle so neener neener neener to those of you that don't. (I apologize for the Morkism. See above note about lack of sleep).

His Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant is one of our family regular reads. He combines machines with animals and insects, like my son's favorite - the Panthermometer. I opened his book this morning and it fell to a poem about toast. I love the poem and it just so happens I love toast.

The first four lines of  THE POP-UP TOADSTERS make me laugh every time, but what gets me excited about them as a writer is they are so deliciously perfect in rhythm, rhyme and word choice. This is what Mr. Prelutsky does in his peotry - he makes it effortless. In this particular book, he has taken on some very diffiicult combinations, like The Limber Bulboa, The Eggbeaturkey, or the Circular Sawtoise, and yet we do not stumble over the words. Have a listen:

The POP-UP TOADSTERS hop and hop,
Then startingly, abruptly stop
And place in slots atop their heads
Fresh slices of assorted breads

I 've been known to respond to the question, "What's for breakfast?" with "Fresh slices of assorted breads," waving my Vanna arms.

Carin Berger's paper collage and paint illustrations compliment the collection beautifully. Interesting, I often am drawn to this type of mixed media illustration.

What happens next in the poem? Once the toast pops, they are snatched by shrieking TOASTERNS. Ha!

It is my goal in 2010 to read a lot more of Jack Prelutsky's poetry. I will not cry like The Tearful Zipperpotamuses, but read them methodically, like the Clocktapus.

How about you? What is your favorite Jack Prelutsky poem or book? For those of you interested in Poetry Friday, each week a different blogger hosts the round-up. This week's Poetry Friday Round-up is Random Noodling.

From Hallowmas to a Magical Metal X-mas.

For those of you that are facebook friends of mine, you may know that my 4-yr old son Xander announced after Halloween that for Christmas, he wanted to be Wolverine, and that he thought his baby sister should be a zombie. We then dug out the Christmas decorations and hung ornaments in the maze of webs covering most of our livingroom. Hallowmas was born.

"I want to put more and more and MORE decorations up all over the house, Mommy," he said. And so we continued to hang angels and Santas and shiny red balls in the hall, 'round the lamps, and on the stone gargoyle's foot.

At a certain point, however, the sheer scale of Christmas upset the delicate balance of Hallowmas. The paper spiders and tissue ghosts couldn't compete with the two-foot nutcracker or the glass cowboy Santa holding a cactus. The webs sagged, then fell with a crash from the weight of the decorations.

I decided it was time to make the transition from Hallowmas to a more traditional setting for the coming holiday.

Late one night, I took down all but one small web and a few scary paper cats still on the refrigerator. I plugged in the Christmas lights in the window, still up from the previous year, and even draped some new lights on our big jade plant.

The next day, however, Xander's best friend and neighbor showed us his Christmas tree. A colorful star-shaped bulb suddenly went off in my son's head. Without any prompting, in fact just the opposite, Xander "got" Christmas. And when I say he "got" Christmas, I mean he grasped on to the crass part of the season that includes a never-ending supply of tinsel, presents and candy. He began asking how long until Christmas and whether he could open a present NOW.

I played along with it, thinking it was funny because we'd tried to downplay the holiday with our aversion to the commercialism, the forced pageantry, and the once-a-year zealots that find Jesus just in time to get something other than coal in their stocking. Also funny, I giggled, because while my husband is a not-so-secret athiest, I secretly love Christmas. Xander and I baked cookies, made a gingerbread house, wrote Santa a letter, bought a gorgeous tree, and decked the halls, the walls, and the gargoyle's other foot.

It is now December 9th.

Today when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, my 4-yr old son immediately piped in,
"A drippy monster puppet."

"OK," I said, unfazed by this request. I could bang out a drippy monster sock puppet in no time. In fact, I could used a part of my somewhat failed drippy monster Halloween costume. Maybe Hallowmas still had a fighting chance as a holiday.

"Anything else?"

"Hmm." Xander stopped doing flips on the couch to really ponder this serious question. He tapped his finger to his mouth, having learned from a book that that was a way to show a person was really thinking hard.

"For my special present, I would like a metal X."

"A metal X?"

"Yes, a super strong metal X that nothing can break but that can stick anywhere."

"Wow," I said (scratching my head, thereby showing I was really stumped by this request), "So would it be made of steel, like Superman?" You see, I thought we were just playing.

"No, not like Superman," he rolled his eyes.

"Well steel is a really strong metal," I quipped. That cheered him out of his sulk.

"Knives are made of steel and we have knives, so you could make my special X out of those."

At this point I realized he was serious and that he thought I could weld. As if I had any chance of actually making this item, I asked him "And when you say it sticks to everything, what do you mean, like Velcro?" In my head I was already googling "metal paper weight" or "metal letter key chain", thinking I could slap on some velcro or double stick tape and call it a Merry Christmas.

"No. Not velcro or tape or anything sticky. But it can stick to the couch or the wall or anyplace."

"How?" I ask.

"By magic."

I don't know what your Christmas shopping list looks like, but I've got "magical metal X" on mine and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to find it at Macy's.

I miss Hallowmas already.

NRI Wednesday: BBQ Gift Contest

***CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST***

Win a barbecue gift ensemble for your favorite person (you can be your favorite person :)). Gift pack includes a signed copy of She-Smoke: A Backyard Barbecue Book, Smokin' Pete's BBQ Spice Rub, and a bar of barbecue soap. Barbecue soap, you ask? Yep. I make barbecue soap - it's a regular olive oil based soap scented with hickory and sandalwood. The packaging says, "For the manly man that wants to smell fresh out of the smoker." I know, I of all people shouldn't exclude women, but it's our best selling stocking stuffer at Smokin' Pete's.

The package will be gift wrapped and mailed to the person of your choice, as long as the winner gets me an address immediately upon winning. Contest runs now through December 14.

To enter: Post a comment on this blog with your name and whether you've been naughty or nice this year. I'll put all names in the hat. (I don't discriminate like Santa - even the naughty ones get to enter the contest). Enter no later than midnight on December 14. One entry per person. I will announce the winner on December 15.