Monthly Archive for June, 2008

First Father’s Day at Smoque

Published
by
chrisandcamri
on June 15, 2008
in Food
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Barry was nice enough to pose for a picture.

Barry was nice enough to pose for a picture.

Camri surprised me with a trip to Smoque for Father’s day today. It was our first time, and well worth the wait in line. Great BBQ, great atmosphere, and really friendly folks helping us to get Wil-Wil a good table to eat his Mac and Cheese at.

Camri had pulled pork and shared Wil’s Mac and Cheese, I had a half rack of baby back ribs, corn bread, french fries, and a smoked sausage. The ribs were good and chewy, Camri’s pork was smoky and good, and Wil scarfed down a ton of Mac and Cheese. Our friend Jerry came too, and mixed it up with St. Louis ribs and a side of brisket. The brisket was over the top good, I think it’ll be my main course the next time we go.

As we were leaving, we ran into the owner, Barry, and got our picture taken with him. He was pretty busy, but took the time for a picture for the blog. Thanks Barry!

Doing Our Part to Reduce Global Farting

Published
by
chrisandcamri
on June 14, 2008
in Home
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One of our favorite chef’s is on a mission to cut down on American meat consumption. The first we saw of his campaign was a talk carried on Ted Talks:

It’s an eye opening talk. Bittman advocates cutting down on meat, not vegetarianism, just cutting down. His argument is health based, but it’s also a move that he explains will help slow down global warming. Because of the huge amount of meat we eat, more than ever in history, and because of the industrialization of agriculture, animals are contributing more to global warming than any car. How? Farts. Really, farts. Watch the video.

So, to do our part for fart reduction, we’ve decided to try and cut down on the total amount of meat we eat each week. Luckily, Bittman has been helping with some how-to articles in his regular New York Times column and blog. We tried his recipe for spaghetti and zucchini, just substituting parsley for mint, and adding some onion and garlic. It turned out great.

We’ll see how it all sort of shakes out…it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge for us, but we’ll do it, satisfied to know that with each bite of veggie, we’ll be cutting down on farts…somewhere.

Pretzel Casserole

Published
by
chrisandcamri
on June 7, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

Hi there, remember us? We’ve been away for a while, raising Wil McAvoy to be a little foodie. It’s hard work, and doesn’t leave much time for blogging. However, we’ve recommitted to Tastebud, and plan on putting out an article a week for the foreseeable future. Let’s get started!

Last week was Mayfest here in Lincoln Square. Camri, Wil, and I went over for Thuringers, beer, and delicious potato salad. Like all previous Mayfests, you pay for all the goodies with tickets, rather than cash. I was in charge of ticket purchasing, and ended up buying way too many. We had a few options, drink the tickets away, or buy a bunch of cake. Pre-WilWil, we probably would have just drank up the tickets, but in this post-William world, you have to consider the big picture. No one wants a picture of drunk mommy and daddy stumbling home with the baby.

Camri went to get us a load of cake, and found out that they were completely sold out. Instead, she bought five pretzels. “I have a plan,” she said, and left it at that. We went home, sober, baby-safely in tow, lugging around five pretzels. By the time we got home, we had three pretzels…they sure make good walking food.

The finished casserole.

The finished casserole.

The next day, Camri made a surprise dinner, Pretzel Casserole, which she made up her very own self. It turned out great. Clearly, when Camri has a plan, just follow her lead. Here’s the recipe, in all its glory:

1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
2 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon water
3 Mayfest pretzels, cut into 1″ chunks
3 oz cream cheese
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook onion in non-stick pan until translucent (about 5 minutes), add garlic and cook about 30 seconds
3. Mix mustards, oil and water together, add onion and garlic mixture
4. Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese
5. Coat pretzel chunks with mustard mixture, transfer to a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray
6. Take cheese mixture and break off pieces and drop into pretzel chunks, mix some in and put the remaining ones on top
7. Put the lid on the casserole dish and bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.