Zeffiro's

There are some very good Italian style eateries back east. Pasquale's in Candia NH comes to mind---wonderful food. Best pasta Faggioli I ever had, and the minestrone is excellent also. And Flatbread Pizza in Portland ME---good wood fired oven crust pizzas.

But we just had lunch in a place that will give either a run for their money. Las Cruces is where one might fantasize over Mexican cuisine but Zeffiro's Pizza Napoletana will make one believe they found a little Italy. The minestrone was excellent and the pizza------we had the "Capricciosa" with fresh mushrooms, kalamata olives, prosciutto..............as good as any I've ever had. And the pirate dogs who had been confined in the Nargle absolutely scarfed the crust we brought them.

So even though there's snow on the ground (got a couple inches overnight) it's very warm in the tummy right now...........

Of Cheeseburgers and Properties

Oh, my, another weekend, another 600 miles. We need to get moved............

Our house has been on the market about 40 days with over 30 showings. I wish some of these people would open up the checkbook already!!!!! It's nice to get a lot of positive feed-back but I'd really rather have a signed contract.

Yesterday we went to Estancia, this time we met a realtor, to check out the 2 houses on 20 acres. Now the property is on the side of a hill, which makes for some great views:

There are wonderful outbuildings---a marvelous barn and a separate tack room/horse stall that would make an ideal kennel as well. Problem is that the houses are too close to the property line and the outbuildings are in better shape than the houses. One is definitely cognizant of being in a 15 year old or so double wide. I've seen manufactured houses and mobiles that are very nice. We considered one in NH before we found the Podunk place. These two are very spacious (one has 4 bedrooms, two and a half baths, formal dining room, a breakfast nook and 2 fireplaces!!!) but all in all, you're in an older trailer. Afraid I just can't do that. So hopefully we get an offer this week and can go buy the Pecos place next weekend.

Now about them burgers----as you can tell from my new profile photo on this blog, as well as the photo on Facebook, I love green chile cheese burgers. I study them. I'd drive miles for one. I'm always willing to try out a new source of one of these culinary fiestas. So when I saw that a place in Santa Fe called Bobcat Bite had won awards for its green chile cheeseburger, I had to go there. Now I'll say this---it's the largest of the good samples I've tasted. But I'm afraid I can't rate it higher than number 3, behind The Owl and The Buckhorn in San Antonio, NM. The Owl is the gold standard---home-made patties, dare I say poignant green chile, and a wonderful atmosphere. The Bite has a friendly staff, an old adobe building, and seats only 26 so there's frequently a line at the door. But the burger just doesn't stand with The Owl. But after we move to Pecos, I'm sure I'll frequent Bobcat Bite when the craving for one of my favorite foods assaults me if for no other reason than The Owl is 100 miles away.

Lazy Sunday

Well, with the three-day weekend last week, there's very little to do around the house this weekend.  So I got a little special cut (fat trimmed) brisket at the store on Saturday.  I then dug out the recipes from my file of special meals and spent Sunday making rub, sauces, and smoking a brisket.  And every time I've ever done this, it has more than lived up to the claim of  being "one of the finest meals on the planet."  These recipes are from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame cookbook.  I think the link is to the correct edition but it's been years since I've had this book.

Anyway, start with making the rub.  Just takes a few minutes if you have the ingredients and I can't imagine being in a kitchen without these ingredients.

Cookie’s Dry Rub

2 tbl. sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tbl. garlic salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Use about 2 tbl. of this rub on a 6 lb. boneless rib roast or a brisket that you plan to smoke.

Set this aside and make the sauces.  The Cowboy Barbecue Sauce takes a fair bit longer than the Beer Mopping Sauce.

Cowboy Barbecue Sauce

2 tbl. bacon grease or vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup tomato catsup

1 cup bottled chili sauce (looks like catsup)

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup lemon juice

2 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

Hot red pepper sauce to taste

Saute onion and garlic in oil.  Add everything but the hot sauce and simmer, stirring often to prevent sticking, until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes.  Add hot sauce to taste.

Cool, cover, refrigerate.  Use within 5 days.

We always have all the ingredients in the pantry.  This is perhaps the best of the tomato based grill or barbecue sauces I've ever tried.  Absolutely no comparison to that bottled stuff!!!

Beer Moppin’ Sauce

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 12 oz. bottle of beer

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tbl. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbl. prepared brown mustard

Cook onion and garlic in oil until softened, about 4 minutes.  Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, and continue cooking on low heat for about 10 minutes.

I usually need to make a run to the store for the beer.  I use beer that I would drink but not necessarily a premium brew that I might keep around if you know what I mean.

After you've made all these, get the brisket ready and the fire built  Here's the directions for smoking the meat:

How to Smoke a Brisket

1 9 lb. brisket, cut in half crosswise.  Rub all over with a dry rub (Cookie’s, for instance). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.  Bring to room temp.

Place a heatproof pan, approximately the same length and width as the roast (disposable aluminum foil pans work well), on one side of the bottom of a charcoal grill.  Fill the pan with 1 inch of water.  Bank charcoal on the empty side for a hot fire.

Place the meat over the pan and immediately cover the grill.  Sprinkle some (soaked in water) mesquite chips over the coals.  Smoke the meat until very tender, 6 or 7 hours.  About every 40 minutes, baste with mopping sauce and add more hot coals and mesquite chips.

Let stand 10 minutes, then carve in thin slices across the grain.  Serve with barbecue sauce.

No, I don't always get a 9-pound brisket.  There's only 2 adults and the Pirate Dogs and Klingon Kats.  And the denizens of the dining room floor only get the scraps.  But they love being in the kitchen while the sauces are simmering---they do pleasure the olfactory nerves.  

So add a few long-neck beers to sip, kick back and this is truly one of the best ways I know to enjoy a lazy summer Sunday.

A Winter Recipe

It made a lot more sense doing something in the oven for three hours on a cold New England Sunday afternoon.  But when the winds get up to 30 or 40 MPH and it's cloudy here on the High Plains, the feeling in the soul is akin to those Eastern winter blahs.  So.....................

Rice Pudding

4 Cups Milk

3 Tablespoons long-grain rice (Texmati, Carolina, Basmati, or 

    Jasmine all work)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (depending on your taste-- I use 

a full teaspoon)

Preheat the oven to 300F and butter an 11X7 oven-proof glass baking pan.

Stir together all of the ingredients except the vanilla.  Put in the oven.  Bake for 2 hours, stirring  every half hour to keep the rice distributed.  Add the vanilla to the last stirring.  Total baking time is 3-3 1/2 hours.  

This makes the best rice pudding I've ever had and I've eaten in some diners run by Greeks that made awfully good rice pudding!!!  You can add raisins and vary the amount of rice to get a firmer texture,  I've made this with both whole and skim milk and it's always been good.   This recipe is basically the one appearing in  Atlantic Feb 2007.  Check the link for the original recipe with variations.  With the end of football season, what else is there to do on a Sunday afternoon??  

Pirate Dog-onomics

So first the meltdown, then the deal, then the no-deal, then more negotiations ad nauseam while my retirement funds shrink and shrink and shrink.........

The Pirate Dogs just don't get it. For them, economics is simple and transparent. Their favorite treat, home made bone turks, are kept in a CLEAR GLASS jar. 'Bout as transparent as it gets, right? When they want a treat, they let us know either by barking, pointing, or doing something obnoxious to get our attention, then repairing to the kitchen and staring at the jar. Simple supply and demand. They demand bone turks, we supply them. No derivatives or CDOs here. Just basic macroeconomics at work.

Maybe we should send the three of them to Washington DC???

Random Thoughts

So my brother from Washington state was here for a visit. He brought the western WA weather with him. It's been rainy and sorta cool the last week. Not at all what one would expect in New Mexico in August. So we'll blame my brother. Why not? Just to let you know how cool it was, my niece-in-law, stopping on their trip from Maine to California, commented on the weather. She expected it to be much warmer!!! And she's from Maine!!!! I think there's still snow on the ground there.

The chile harvest is in. I spent the requisite hour or so getting my chiles and having them roasted. I can relax for another year knowing that I have these freezer bags full and ready to go. Most of the fun is standing in the roasting line chatting with other shoppers and exchanging recipes. And when you get home, peel a chile, stuff some cheese in it, wrap it in a tortilla (preferably a fresh one from the local tortilleria) and microwave it.....culinary heaven.

I see politics as usual is firing up as the Olympics wind down. There was a piece tonite on BBC World News America about the Russian freeze of the Czech spring 40 years ago. The Democratic party convention starts Monday in Denver. I wonder what the cable and network news will have to say about the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968. Remember Crosby and Nash---"Please come to Chicago....We can change the world."

I wonder if we did.............................And if so, for the better??