Thursday, January 21, 2010

Moinkballs!

Dead simple to make, and sure to please, MOINK (Moo+Oink=MOINK) Balls not only are guest favorites but lead to interesting conversations that start with statements like “nice balls you got there”…
Essentially MOINK Balls are frozen meatballs (you can make your own if you are real ambitious) wrapped with bacon, stabbed with a toothpick, and dusted with your favorite rub or spice mix. Optionally they can be glazed with a variety of sauces or jellies, but they taste just fine plain. I suggest you use your imagination and find what works best for you.
Start with the basic ingredients: bacon, frozen meatballs, spice mix, and toothpicks:
Get some meatballs, put them on a plate, and put them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. You don’t want to cook them, but you do need them to thaw just a bit so you can stab a toothpick through them. Alternatively, you could let them sit out for a little while if you don’t have a microwave (you get the general idea).

Cut the bacon strips in half and wrap one around each meatball. Secure by stabbing a toothpick through the bacon and meatball. Dust with your favorite spice mix or rub. For this particular batch, I used a combination of Basic Rib Rub and some Kirkland Mesquite Seasoning.

Put the assembled MOINK on the smoker (or use an indirect cooking technique and put them on your grill).

Cooking time will vary based on the temperature you are cooking with. In the picture above, the meatloaf was the primary attraction, so I had the WSM running at about 225°F. If memory serves me correct, it took almost 2 hours to where I felt the bacon was done enough to apply a glaze.
The glaze is optional, however we highly advise you give it a try. When the MOINK is close to being done, get your favorite sauce, glaze, or jelly and smear it liberally on the MOINK. We like to take a little of the Columbia Empire Farms Mango-Peach Pepper jelly, microwave it for a few seconds to loosen it up, and then drizzle it over the MOINK.
The MOINK is left on the grill for about another 10-15 minutes, long enough for a nice glaze to form. The finished product looks something like the picture below, with plain MOINK on the left side of the plate, and glazed MOINK on the right.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Cauliflower!

Great way make healthy food taste great!

Mashed cauliflower is a great substitute for mashed potatoes,and it is low in carbs and high in nutrients.

Ingredients:

one medium head of cauliflower
1 sweet onion
1/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste.
one clove minced garlic

Preparation:

Break the cauliflower up into florets, or just chop.
Dice the onion.
Steam both until tender -- a fork should easily pierce it.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mash, or use a stick (hand) blender to put it all together.

You can also use a food processor.

makes 4 servings.






Pepper Roasted Cauliflower--so EASY!!!

1 large head of caulifower, broken into florets.
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar.


Preheat oven to 450. Combine all ingrediants in a bowl and
toss to coat. Let it soak for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Put cauliflower in a single layer on the baking sheet, and roast
20 minutes or until tender.

Serve hot or a room temperature.