New years Eve #82

Last day of the year is for grilling and making fritter,apple fritter,MOINKS and skewers.Damn got a writers block,sorry,I can't get my mind cleared..Gonna drink wine and trying to enjoy tonight with family...Hoping on a better 2011..Happy New Year!!

Xmas eve and the day after...#81 Lambsrack

Almost Xmas,did al the shopping and try to make the best of it,with good food,presents and friends.The Xmas eve tradition is with a winter bbq,wine and some gifts.This time I had a great present for my wife....(an Ipad).she didn't know anything about it,and came as a fully surprise.This is so much fun too see her expression on her face.....love it;-)
Back to the grilling part now, we had a nice couple of ham's on the Weber.After I started the fireplace and the grill,it was time for some wine,and wait for the ham till they are ready... They were mouth watering after 2 hours..
The day after,we saw the little bunny's running in the bench,looking for food....It is so cute to see the little bunny's.They are 4 weeks old now,so we can pick them up..Maybe next year on the grill...(not those little fellas)..
This time we had a lambsrack..I marinated it with honey,fresh thyme,pepper,garlic,onion and oil.leave it for about 4 hours in the marinade.Heat up the grill for indirect grilling.put the racks on the direct side of the grill for 2 minutes,then shove it till the indirect side and leave it there till the inside temperature is 58 degrees.Let it rest for 10 minutes in alufoil and enjoy it with french fries and a salad.This was a salad with bacon,grana padano cheese,tomato,bread crum, cucumber and a wildberry dressing..
Merry Xmas.

Mini Bunny's and Frittata #80

For the first time we had 3 baby bunny's,the last couple died in the first week.But before you know it you've got a new couple of bunny's.
This time we didn't see it,so it came as a big surprise.When I clean the bunny house,there was a nice small nest with 3 bunny's.They were so cute..after a week we can see them with some hair on it, and now,almost 3 weeks later the eyes were open and really active.



























Back to the grill.
We made a nice Frittata with a focaccia. It's so easy,all you need is 7 eggs,200gr shrimp,2fresh peppers,handful coriander,the juice of 1 lemon,a handful of cheddar cheese,pepper and salt to taste.
Mix the eggs in a large bowl,add the rest of the chopped ingredients,and put it in a casserole on the indirect grate of the Weber for about 30 minutes.In the meanwhile you can make a salad as a side dish.
Prepare the focaccia as described on the package...I don't have the time to made it myself..sorry;-)
Enjoy with a nice glass of red wine...

Cooking pear's #79

Winter is here, so the time of cooking pear is here.It's very nice as a side dish with a stew, rabbit or desert.
It's also very easy to make,al you need is a bunch of "Wilde Giesman pear's" a cinnamon stick, 3 Tbsp brown sugar and 0,5 Ltr red wine.Bring it to boil,and let it simmer for 5 hours,on low heat.

Gnocchi & Kumquats ....."challenge" dec

Gnocchi,beets,flank steak and what !!! kumquats....I've been to different store's and special store's,looking for kumquats!!! What a "challenge" everywhere I came and ask for kumquats...kumwhat !! Sorry we don't have "that"... Damn now what.... nothing....yeah sorry..This is a challenge I could win...The beets..,same shitty story,could find "fresh" beets,now I used a semi fresh beets package.
Ha now we're on the right track,The gnocchi is fresh homemade!!

Use 4 potato's and cook them done.Peel off the skin and crush them in a bowl,add 100gr flour and 3 egg yolk's. Mix very well.
Make a few roll's of the mass,and cut in piece's from 2cm. In the meantime,boil some water.Put the gnocchi in the boiled water until they float.Don't forget to heat up the beets too.

The flank steak was a perfect piece, I want it pure,only a pinch of fresh sea salt and some pepper.Heat up the Weber for direct grilling,make sure the grate's are very hot. Allow a longer grilling time because it is freezing outside..(-4).

We also had cooking pear's with it. they were absolutely fabulous..






















































The other entry's were from

Paul Haight of No Excuses BBQ – ENTRY HERE

The No Excuses BBQ website was started in January of 2009 as a way to record the author’s goal of cooking outdoors at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world. Somewhere along the way things got out of control…

Rob Bergstrom of In To The Flames- ENTRY HERE

Rob launched Into The Flames in the summer of 2010 as a way to share his passion for cooking, eating, and exploring food.

Chris of Nibble Me This – ENTRY HERE

The Nibble Me This website was created to share Chris’ misadventures in live fire cooking. ”I have no culinary training….I’m just entertaining myself with fire and food”.

Larry of the BBQ Grail ENTRY HERE

Larry’s Blog Description:
The BBQ Grail website was created in 2007, initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet and is listed on Alltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.

Bob's ENTRY HERE

Snowburgers #78

It's friday night,got home early,because of the bad weather..snow,snow snow;-)
The second time of the year to do some WinterBBQ with real snow!! love it,the sound of the crispy snow under your feet,the heat of the fireplace,a good glass of wine.. what more do you need...Snowburgers of course..
Lets see,we got meat 500gr,1 onion (sliced/diced very small),2 cloves garlic crushed,1tsp tabasco,2 eggs, breadcrum and a Tbsp granulated brown sugar.Add if you want some salad and cheddar cheese on top!
Mix everything in a large bowl,and make 4 big hamburgers or 7 smaller ones.
Heat up the Weber for direct grilling.Put the snowburgers on the hot grate, and grill them for 5 minutes each side... it could take longer,because of the cold weather...
Have good glass of wine with it and enjoy..

Lamb on the grill & chocolate mousse #77

What a great day, sun is shining, it's cold,but with good company of my sister & brother in law, Weber,wine and Fireplace on,and a nice piece of lamb on the grate...This day can't go wrong!! and we try to forget all the bad things for a while..
The lamb was done easy as 1 - 2 - 3,pinch of salt, garlic and rosemary.. 2 hours on a medium heat grill indirect.
We had sweet potato's (sliced) in a casserole with rosemary,garlic and spring onion,bacon,cream and cheese on top.
The chocolate mousse was from a recipe of Nigella Lawson.... She have nice and quick recipe's Ok here we go, boil 0,4Ltr water,and dissolve 150gr marshmellows, 250gr chocolate,50gr soft butter in the water,till you have a smooth sauce.Take the pan of the stove and let it cool down,In the meanwhile make 250ml whipped cream,and add it to the sauce.
Put it in cups and let it cool down in the fridge..It was awesome!!
Enjoy !!! of course with an red wine..

Photo shoots & quesadilla's #76

Friday was the day for a photo shoot at Hayke's cook studio "KookaandeZaan". She's having a very nice studio for cooking clinics.
The studio is located in an old factory from a famous Dutch brand "Honig"
After a few hours of shooting,drinking coffee,helping hand on fixing the hood and having some wine and a good talk,it was time for me to go home and make a quick meal..(Next week is the grand opening and will show you more picture;s)

I decide to make quesadilla's ala Nigella Lawson.Not on the Weber this time but on a grill pan..It's easy and quick to make.
You only need For 4 persons,8 flour tortilla's,75gr prosciutto,3 chicken breast (sliced),cherry tomato's, grana padano cheese and green peppers to taste and salad.
Take 4 slices of the prosciutto and put them on a half of the tortilla,add also some tomato,cheese and salad,fold it together,and put it in the grill pan until the cheese started to melt.On top you can add a Mexican salsa. Enjoy with a nice glass of red wine.

Game Hen with thyme&mashed potato #75

After an hard week with a lot of bad news,it was time to get a little of our life back.This rollercoaster won't stop in the next few years...Thank god the weather was great to do some outdoor cooking,so we got our selfs a nice "pure" pork tenderloin on friday,with some salad and a cranberry sauce Of course from the grill.














On saturday we've got some stuffed paprika's with meat,cheese and rice...also from the grill very easy, quick and easy to make too,and the kids love them.














On sunday we had the perfect combination of "game hen" stuffed with lemon,pepper,onion,thyme and garlic.Then marinated in a bag with soy,5 species and honey, for a few hours..Time to heat up the Weber again;-) for indirect cooking,place the game hen on the indirect side of the grill and leave it for 2 hours in the kettle,we made a mashed potato and some veggies with it.I had zucchini ,eggplant and thyme.The veggies were marinated with balsamico for a tryout.It has a nice flavour but the next time i'll do it on the "normal" way.
We enjoyed it with a lot of wine and trying to forget the rest of the week..

Making wine #3

Finally the last part of making the wine. It's cleared the last 4 weeks, so it was time to bottle the wine.First we have to get rid of the old grape's.Let the moist flow in a sieve in a large bowl.Now it's time to prepare the bottles to fill,Clean the bottles with sulphite and rinse with clean water.
After you cleaned the bottles it's time to fill them with the wine.But first the best part!! you can try some wine now..For me it was 10:00 a little bit early ;-).
The taste was a little dry,(I like the sweet wine more).But hey ,it was 10 AM...maybe taste better at 22:00..
Put a cork on the bottle and wait a week or 6 and try another bottle,the taste can be better then the last time..If not drink it all or give it away;-) and start over next year...