Tangy Coffee Barbecue Sauce

There have been some major new obsessions developing in the Samuels-Minichiello relationship. Yes, I realize that our last names together are quite a mouthful. For ease sake I’ll use our celebrity name.

Wengela.

Basically, we have deeply developed some new interests in our lives that have majorly changed the way we live.

Wesley has become completely immersed in all that has to do with coffee. The kitchen is not only full of cooking gadgets but along side the emersion blenders and stand mixers and food processors there are now weigh scales, hand grinders and special airtight containers. Oh and of course we have a coffee tree.

My new obsession is a little more mainstream but has nothing to do with the kitchen. Wes has officially turned me into a football freak. A weekly pool at his work coupled with a friends fantasy football league has me craving Sundays on the couch watching football and shit talking. Sorry mom.

My parents barely recognize this pigskin obsessed freak I’ve become. Dad’s not even that happy about it. He just seems confused.  What happened to his food, garden and fashion obsessed first-born?

But with limited time on my hands, I have to work hard to combine my loves. So football Sunday is also cooking Sunday. And the best part about cooking on Sunday is that I have all day to do it. Slow cooking and barbecue have become Sunday staples.

This sauce combines everything we love into one.

Barbecue? Love it.

Football Sunday? Can’t miss it.

Coffee? Nothing happens before coffee.

Basically this is an awesome recipe for success. This sauce is great on pretty much any red meat you can think of and is awesome with chicken. I may have just had some solo because it was that good.

You will need…

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapenos, most of the seeds removed and diced

2 tablespoons California chili powder

1 cup freshly brewed coffee (plus your own coffee brewer if you have one)

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup white vinegar

1 tablepoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

½ cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat.

Add in the onion, garlic and jalapenos and cook until the onions are softened. About 6 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add in the chili powder, ketchup, brown sugar and molasses and stir just until everything is combined.

Pour in the coffee, vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Season well with salt and pepper.

Reduce the sauce to simmer and cook on a medium low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the sauce has reduced by about 1/4^th and has thickened a bit, remove from the heat.

After the sauce has cooled, blend in a food processor or in the pot with an emersion blender.

Use right away or store for up to two weeks.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Tangy Coffee Barbecue Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapenos, most of the seeds removed and diced

2 tablespoons California chili powder

1 cup freshly brewed coffee

¼ cup ketchup

¼ cup white vinegar

1 tablepoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

½ cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by heating the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat.

Add in the onion, garlic and jalapenos and cook until the onions are softened. About 6 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add in the chili powder, ketchup, brown sugar and molasses and stir just until everything is combined.

Pour in the coffee, vinegar and water and bring to a boil. Season well with salt and pepper.

Reduce the sauce to simmer and cook on a medium low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When the sauce has reduced by about 1/4^th and has thickened a bit, remove from the heat.

After the sauce has cooled, blend in a food processor or in the pot with an emersion blender.

Use right away or store for up to two weeks. 

Smoky Barbeque Dressing

Early tomorrow morning, I’m hopping on a plane headed to the south. And more importantly, I’ll be heading towards something I’ve been craving for a while now.

Barbeque.

Like many people I know, late May and early June bring on this crazy intense craving for good, grilled meats.

I’ve desperately been trying to fulfill my craving myself, but with few free weekends lately, I haven’t been able to put in the hours it would take me.

The other day, the need for some tasty barbeque got so intense I decided to get creative.

This dressing satisfied my need for smoky barbeque flavor.

You will need…

¼ cup smoky barbeque sauce

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining the sauce, oil, juice and honey in a mason jar or ball.

Whisk or shake together until well combined.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela 

Smokey Barbeque Salad Dressing

¼ cup smoky barbeque sauce

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by combining the sauce, oil, juice and honey in a mason jar or ball.

Whisk or shake together until well combined.

Season with salt and pepper and serve. 

Beef Barbacoa Sliders

In case you have forgotten, I live at home.

I don’t live at home because I’m a loser who has no friends. I don’t live at home because I’m a loser who doesn’t make enough money to live on my own. And I don’t live at home because I have mommy or daddy issues and can’t live with out my parents.

I live at home because I want to save money to buy a house so I never have to live at home again.

Not that living at home with my parents isn’t awesome. Because it is totally awesome.

My point is I’m trying to save money. Something I did a horrible job of the first couple of months I lived at home. I had all this money and had no idea what to do with it. So I spent it.

But now I am focused and back on track.

I also have a boyfriend who is trying to save money.

Which makes date night tough.

But last Tuesday (since I cooked this on Monday) we hit the taco Tuesday circuit for dollar-fifty tacos.

Followed by four-dollar movies. Yes. Four dollars. In Orange County, California.

That right there my friends is date night under twenty dollars.

Where did we find such deals? The movie theater at Triangle Square and Cafe Rio

of course.

And Cafe Rio just so happens to be the place that sparked my desire to make barbacoa.

But really, my living at home, trying to save money and becoming inspired by a Mexican grill is really not what is important.

This freaking awesome beef is important.

You will need…

2 to 3 lbs beef brisket

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can of chipotle in adobo sauce

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 red onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks

1 head garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 teaspoons ground cloves

Juice of 4 limes

½ cup cider vinegar

2 cups brown sugar

4 dry bay leaves

4 to 6 cups of chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

12 mini sweet rolls

2 cups Asian Slaw

Your favorite barbeque sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Chipotle Sauce)

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. If you have a Dutch oven, you could also use it instead.

Season the brisket liberally with salt and pepper.

When the oil is piping hot, add in the brisket.

You should sear it for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Until all sides are browned.

While the beef is searing, add the cilantro, chipotles, garlic, cloves, lime juice, vinegar and brown sugar in a food processor or blender.

Blend until everything is completely combined.

If you are searing your meat in a Dutch oven, when the meat is finished searing add in the onions.

If you used a separate pan to sear the meat, lay down the onions in a layer in a large oven safe pot and then lay the brisket on top if it. 

Then drizzle the blended mix over the meat.

Add the chicken stock to the pot just so that it covers the meat.

Cover it with a lid and cook at 400 degrees F for 1 hour.

Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for an additional 3 hours.

When the meat has been in for 4 hours, remove the brisket from the liquid and use two forks to pull the meat apart.

Place the meat in a bowl and drizzle with the onions and some of the juices.

Toast your buns in the oven or on the grill.

Serve your sliders with a hearty heap of barbacoa, 2 tablespoons of Asian slaw and 1 tablespoon of barbeque sauce.

If you are anything like me, you will probably want to buy a little extra meat so you can have leftovers.

Love and Beer Floats

Angela

Beef Barbacoa Sliders

2 to 3 lbs beef brisket

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 can of chipotle in adobo sauce

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 red onion, peeled and chopped into large chunks

1 head garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 teaspoons ground cloves

Juice of 4 limes

½ cup cider vinegar

2 cups brown sugar

4 dry bay leaves

4 to 6 cups of chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

12 mini sweet rolls

2 cups Asian Slaw

Your favorite barbeque sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Chipotle Sauce)

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the oven is preheating, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. If you have a Dutch oven, you could also use it instead.

Season the brisket liberally with salt and pepper.

When the oil is piping hot, add in the brisket.

You should sear each side for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Until all sides are browned.

While the beef is searing, add the cilantro, chipotles, garlic, cloves, lime juice, vinegar and brown sugar in a food processor or blender.

Blend until everything is completely combined.

If are searing your meat in a Dutch oven, when the meat is finished searing add in the onions.

If you used a separate pan to sear the meat, lay down the onions in a layer in a large oven safe pot.

Then drizzle the blended mix over the meat.

Add the chicken stock to the pot just so that it covers the meat.

Cover it with a lid and cook at 400 degrees F for 1 hour.

Lower the heat to 350 degrees F and cook for an additional 3 hours.

When the meat has been in for 4 hours, remove the brisket from the liquid and use two forks to pull the meat apart.

Place the meat in a bowl and drizzle with the onions and some of the juices.

Toast your buns in the oven or on the grill.

Serve your sliders with a hearty heap of barbacoa, 2 tablespoons of Asian slaw and 1 tablespoon of barbeque sauce. 

Cupcakes. Meatloaf Cupackes

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Morgan requested (and I use this term loosely because it was more like demanded) that she make an appearance on the blog. Of course, she realized that this meant she had to actually come over for a NFT dinner. How rough... right? I asked her and her boyfriend Blake (also a long time friend) to come up with what they would really really want to eat. Big mistake. We were all chatting online and I was feeling pretty good when they came up with mashed potatoes, asparagus and here is where my heart sank... meatloaf. What? Who when they can have anything requests meatloaf??? Blake and Morgan do.

Well, I accepted their challenge but decided to do it my way. On the menu...

cream of asparagus soup with garlic Parmesan crustinis

arugula and beet salad with pecans

and...

meatloaf cupcakes with honey chipotle barbecue sauce and horseradish mashed potato frosting.

Um.... in over my head much?

While researching meatloaf, I learned one thing. You can put anything, and I mean ANYTHING in meatloaf and it will be good. I had no idea what to go with. So, my plan was to go with what I know and what I know is to do as Ina tells me. For those of you who don't know who Ina is, she is a popular food network star known as the Barefoot Contessa. You can make any of her recipes and it's pretty much a guarantee. The only other trick I had up my sleeve was bacon. Everything is better with bacon. Lots of bacon. Not to mention the best barbecue sauce I've ever had. I highly recommend Sweet Baby Ray's honey chipotle barbecue sauce. You will not be sorry.

So folks, the lesson of the day is that meatloaf is not so scary. And even though it did not end up like this...

but I bet you anything they tasted better.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon good olive oil

3 cups chopped yellow onions (3 onions)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup canned chicken stock or broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 1/2 pounds ground chuck (81 percent lean)

1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (recommended: Progresso)

2 extra-large eggs, beaten

8 pieces crisp bacon finely chopped

1 cup favorite barbecue sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not brown. Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine the ground chuck, onion mixture, bread crumbs, bacon and eggs, and mix lightly with a fork. Don't mash or the meatloaf will be dense. Divide the mixture into 6 (10 to 11-ounce) portions and shape each portion into a small loaf on a sheet pan. Spread about a tablespoon of sauce on the top of each portion. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 155 to 160 degrees F and the meat loaves are cooked through. Serve hot.

Peace and Beer Floats

Angela

P.S. After a few drinks Morgan asked if I was going to add some old pictures of us in the blog. As I was searching through old photos, I realized there were too many good ones to pick just one. So here you go... a Morgan montage.