Grilling Tip

It's raining today; consequently, it's an indoor day.  A far cry from the glorious sunshine and warmth of the latter half of the week. 

I’m going to let you in on a secret to making something we call a California Burger.  Although, it has nothing remotely associated with California.  Let me explain.

Start with a 1/3 pound ground chuck patty and bakery Kaiser roll from Marchant’s in Brussels and light a fire in your Smokey Joe.

Anoint your beef with Penzey’s English prime rib rub and a spritz of EVO. Sear over hot coals taking care to turn 90 degrees for grill marks and flip only one time. Medium to medium rare. Remove to rest.

Meanwhile, toast your sliced rolls on the grill. Butter is optional (but recommended).

Assemble as follows from bottom-up.   Roll, Duke’s mayo, raw Vidalia onion, burger, two slices of tomato, lettuce, mayo and bun top.  Wavy chips on the side.

Cheese, ketchup, mustard, sautéed onions, pickles, jalapeños, etc. all optional. Make your burger your own.

The last coupla days have nearly felt almost like summer. Grilling completes the circle.

Real men grill with fire; not with electricity…. 

 

The Gift Of Fungus

Last week some neighbors of ours gave us a couple of bags of mushrooms sourced from local Brussels growers - Wild Eastons.  Oyster and Lion's Mane shrooms to be exact.  They had travel plans so we scored a gift of two big packages of beautiful fungi.  

For a couple of days I pondered what to do with them.  Pizza came to mind first.  A pasta dish next. And then a light came on; how about soup?  Homemade mushroom soup.  Consulting with the missus she agreed.  And suggested that there was a good mushroom soup recipe in the older of her two Moosewood cookbooks; the 1974 edition.  She shared that she used to make it for herself back in the day.

So I looked it-up; Mollie Katzen's Hungarian Mushroom Soup. And I had everything needed on hand to bring this recipe to life.

Upon serving, Jill declared, This is the soup I remember!  And it was fantastic; a rich and hearty mix of two mushrooms in a chicken stock accented with three kinds of dairy and a couple types of Hungarian paprika.  The only substitution I made to the recipe (linked above) was heavy cream instead of milk.  Because I could.

I'd make it again.   Come to think of it, Until now I don't ever recall knowingly eating a Lion's Mane mushroom before. Fantastic!

 

The Oriole Ranch

They're back; among the last to arrive and the first to depart. 

Some of the most colorful birds that visit Wisconsin backyards and birdfeeders during the warmer months put in serious migration miles.

Baltimore orioles, rose-breasted grosbeaks and indigo buntings all migrate far south. Birds may travel as far as 3,000 miles – sometimes over long expanses of ocean to return to their breeding habitat.

When you live halfway between the equator and the North Pole these birds have only begun to arrive in the last week.

To help migrating birds, turn off outdoor lights and close curtains at night and reduce window collisions with external screens and marker decals on the glass.

And be sure to check back for periodic updates; and the appearance of other migratory species... 

Male Baltimore oriole

Orchard oriole sparring with a Baltimore

A couple of female Baltimores

Indigo bunting

Male orchard (left) female orchard (right) 

Red-bellied woodpecker - female is characterized by a gray crown and red nape 

The help... 

 

 

Slammin' Salmon

From the other day there was this. 

 

Pan-seared Norwegian salmon teriyaki finished in a deglaze of maple syrup and honey.

Organic brown rice and peas and corn.

Pretty good chow if you can get it....

 

Friday Morning Taste Test

Professional chefs Frank Proto, Dan Richer, and Giorgia Caporuscio share their unfiltered, honest reviews of some prominent tomato sauce brands found on supermarket shelves. Which marinara packs the most bang for your buck, and which should you avoid at all costs? 

It is heartening to see a value-priced product punch above its weight.  Although, I think that once you're over five bucks for a jar of marinara sauce it's worth it to make your own from scratch.

 

Strutting Your Stuff

This year my turkey hunt was a bit of a bust; and not for a lack of trying or a shortage of turkeys.  No rain and no snow either; so I cannot blame it on the weather.  I was talking about it with my pal, Braumeister, and we both concluded turkey hunting is generally a morning gig with most birds killed before lunchtime.  Furthermore, it either happens quickly or not at all.  Bottom line it like the missus has characterized it - "That's why they call it hunting.  If it was easy it would be called shopping." 

Ain't that right.  That's why she's the brains of the organization.

Anyway, here are some digital trail camera images from the last few weeks... 

 

 

By the way, the big gobbler above (second from the bottom) is one I spent the better part of forty minutes trying to lure within range of my thunder stick.  Yup, one and the same.  He pirouetted, strutted and displayed almost 360 degrees around my blind always just out of gun range.  He was having nothing to do with it.

 

And I had three hens the entire time clucking and purring within thirty feet of me.  Sheesh.

 

Hunting.

 

Definitely not shopping....  

Pitch Perfect

With midterms looming and affordability on voters’ minds, Mr. Trump was asked whether Americans’ financial situation was motivating him to make a deal.  

Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon.*

- Donald Trump 

*No sarcasm. The President has finally spoken what needs to be said.  The deal, if it comes, must hold every red line; no enrichment, full removal of the existing stockpile, verification with teeth, the Strait open and free, permanently.  Nothing less.