Allow me to share this story emailed in by Rich. – CB

I’m afraid a bowl of mustard eggs is not a very interesting subject matter for a photo and neither is a photo of me for that matter. However, I’d be pleased to have Mom’s recipe included in the list of “Comfort Foods” your recent story conjured up in the minds of readers. I’m sure Mom will get a kick out of that – as she celebrates her 86th birthday this coming July.

I have a fairly extensive list of comfort foods depending on the situation or mood. But the one at the top of the list takes me back to my childhood by way of many fond memories. That food was referred to as “Mustard Eggs.’ This dish was a staple on XMAS mornings when breakfast was finally gotten around to after all the hoopla of tearing into presents was over with. Mustard Eggs is really a very simple food. For starters, a pot full of eggs are boiled for 10 minutes or until they become hard.

The eggs are peeled, mashed in a mixing bowl using a large fork and then a good portion of yellow mustard along with butter and salt & pepper are mixed into the mash to personal taste. It basically looks like egg salad. The concoction goes into the oven for warming and is served with jellied toast & washed down with my Mom’s homemade tomato juice. I tell you, my mouth is watering just writing about them. This recipe can be varied/adjusted to suit, but for me, Mom’s original Mustard Egg’s always does the ‘trick’. In fact I think I’ll get the water boiling right now. All for now. – RFM

(NOTE: This is a letter I received from a reader that I wanted to share with you all. -CB)

Well CB – I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! You always ask for pictures and I have finally managed to get a couple this time. Upon arriving Wednesday evening I was informed I would have to cook the turkey on the grill because there wasn’t enough oven space. Now I’m not scared when it comes to grilling. But this was Thanksgiving and a dozen folks were to arrive by 2 PM…I had one chance to get it right!

Pix: The hen ready for the grill.

The hen, Garlic to roast and the turkey (right) what a tight fit.

I made a dry rub of garlic powder, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a little dry Italian seasoning (Heavy on the garlic.) I rubbed it all under the skin over the entire bird. I rubbed the outside of the bird with olive oil. I chopped celery and onions and placed under the bird in a cooking bag. I placed the bag in a tin foil pan. Because this grill is much different than mine I had to insure indirect cooking so I wrapped the grid of a second smaller grill with aluminum foil and placed it just over the burner and about 2 inches below my pan. I used two thermometers one at the top and one on the grate. It stayed at 325 on the grate and 375 at the top. I thought this was going to be a problem but it worked out pretty well. I guess the bag helped. The turkey came out very moist with a nice brown surface. It took 2 hours and 45 minutes. By the time I got inside it was too late to get a good final picture of the done bird… It was sliced and headed for the table.

The hen when done. Meat falling off tender! The juice made killer gravy.

As a backup I picked up a hen because I have cooked hens on many occasions with great success. I choose to make this one a drunken hen. With some “Tony’s” garlic and herb injected. I started this hen in a round pan also but used direct heat under the pan. I wanted it to cook slowly with lots of moisture. I placed onions, garlic, liquid crab boil, celery and half a beer in the pan. I drank half the second beer and added the same ingredients in the can as the pan. I had to take the hen out of the pan and brown the bottom of her for a few minutes right at the end. She came out great and there was nothing left over of her after dinner except bones… (That’s always a good sign). Oh, I took out the hen just before the turkey so I guess about 2 1/2 hours on her.

Sorry, this was the best shot of the turkey I had a chance to get and I had to work for this one! You can still see the nice color on the left side though. I was surprised how tender it came out.

The meat was falling off the legs and wings so I think that's a good thing too.

The next day I sautéd onions, garlic and Portobello mushrooms at low heat and let the turkey just warm up in the mix. We ate every bite of that…so if you have left over turkey that’s a nice adjustment to it.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

- Terry L.G. “Way down in Alabama”

For Creamy Chimichurri Sauce – In a food processor or blender, process parsley, onion and garlic 30 seconds or until evenly chopped.  Add Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise and vinegar. Continue processing, scraping down sides,  30 seconds or until combined. While processing, add Olive Oil and  red pepper flakes and process until blended.  Season, if desired, with salt and ground black pepper; set aside. Get the complete list of ingredients and directions (Click Here)

NOTE:  Hellmann’s® is a sponsor of the 2006 Char-Broil Grilling Team and there are many recipes at their web site (Click Here)

Sometimes do you just get a hankering for a taste that won’t quit? I do. And this past weekend I kept thinking about short-ribs. After all the turkey, ham and roast beef of the holiday dinners I was hungry for the finger lickin, lip smackin and delicious taste of short ribs.

Snow on the dock and short ribs on the grill.

I stopped by the butcher on Sunday (he’s open all afternoon) and got a pound of them. Gave ‘em the once over with my dry rub recipe, added some dry Chinese mustard and curry to the mix, then laid ‘em down in some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Just for grins I added the herbs I’d cut for the thanksgiving turkey – sage, rosemary and thyme – then sealed ‘em up and tucked them into the fridge.

Every time I opened the door I’d give them a shake to make sure the elixir was coating and penetrating the meat. This afternoon I pulled them out and let them warm to room temperature.

At about supper time there was snow falling on the dock and I had my grill fired up – boy did the short ribs sizzle when they hit the grates! About 4 minutes a side and then off to rest for another minute or so…YOWSAH! exactly what I was wanting.

Happy Grilling!

Allison's Crème Brûlée

Make sure you read the comments below and then Click Here for the recipe.

Happy Grilling!

I am just amazed (in a wondrous sort of way) at the number of folks who wake up at 4 am to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I have friends from all walks of life who hold a wide array of beliefs and philosophies…and it didn’t seem to matter what their personal holiday celebration practices are – a handful from each sector made it out yesterday to shop until they dropped.

Personally, I celebrate the Christmas holiday and plan on doing my shopping the old fashioned way. I’ll do it online.

I made a big fuss a few weeks back about cooking the turkey in parts.  This year with only 4 of us in town to share our dinner, I decided to roast/smoke a large breast, 2 thighs and 1 Fred Flintstone size drum stick for my son.  I brined the parts over night in my trademark brine recipe. (click here for the recipe) I rinsed and patted the pieces dry, put on some dry rub (click here for the recipe) and started the breast on the pre-heated grill – because I was going “low & slow”.  At about 30 minutes into it I added the thighs and drumstick.  The entire roast/smoke was about 2 hours. I used a combination of apple, cherry and mesquite wood chips to add a very interesting smokey flavor.  Everyone was quite pleased with the results.  And the day after turkey sandwiches were delicious!

Just the popular pieces, grilled & roasted individually.

This is the presentation plate for the table I dressed up with some sage, rosemary and thyme herbs.

I remember many Thanksgiving meals with my family.  They were an all-day event. If it was to be at our house it meant moving furniture around and getting extra pieces of plywood to put on the card tables, covered with cloth before the colorful holiday table clothes were spread on them.  For food, my mother always cooked the same five dishes:  roast turkey, mashed potatoes, sage stuffing, sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows on the top and Waldorf salad. Oh, and store-bought dinner rolls.

I remember having to put at least a serving spoon sample of the waldorf salad and sweet potatoes on my plate – though I didn’t care for either – and they would pretty much remain in the same location through four or five helpings of turkey, potatoes, stuffing and gravy. The store-bought rolls were so foreign and elegant (I thought) compared to the hand-made biscuits my mother served at our regular Sunday supper and I would eat as many as I could all smeared with fresh butter and raspberry jam before she’d gently slap my hand away with a smile and say “That’s enough, finish the rest of your meal – you’re stuffing yourself like a turkey with all those dinner rolls!”  The adults, most often my much older sisters and husbands and perhaps a traveling salesman who was an guest in the motel where we lived and worked, would all laugh and proceed to comment on my height, weight and appetite.

Of course dessert was always pumpkin pie with whipped cream.  I remember when my oldest sister brought some kind of fruit pie and everyone was in a panic that we wouldn’t have pumpkin pie.  Never fear – a second and third trip to her car produced several for us to enjoy.

There have been a few Thanksgiving meals when I was away from home and on the road, much like the orphan guests we’d take in at our table. I’ve been so fortunate to be adopted for a day and taken into a family event as special as Thanksgiving. Perhaps that’s why this Thanksgiving I’ll be thinking of men and women in the armed forces overseas and on duty here at home.  I’ll be thinking of the fire fighters and police and others who stand guard so I can enjoy my life without worry. 

And I’ll be thinking about the folks who read these newsletters, try a recipe or suggestion and send me notes about their cooking experiences.  So, I guess, in many ways I am regularly invited to family tables and share in gentle moments of parents teaching children the traditions of their family. And for that I am very grateful.  - CB

Every week or so I get a lovely note from a regular reader, Marian, who lives in Southern California. She is originally from England and has quite a flare for cooking. Just click on her recipe for Tomato Pickle - to get the recipe of the week.

Marian’s Cranberry Sauce “Tip”

She also sent along a recipe ‘tip’ for adding flavor to home-made Cranberry Sauce that I’ll share with you right here: “CB – I made cranberry sauce last week and my secret ingredient for all other cranberry sauce recipes is 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, which gives the sweet taste a tart one.”

Dipping Sauce This great tasting sauce recipe was scratched out on the back of an envelope and handed to me by my doctor on the last visit.  He swears that it’s both a great dipping sauce as well as a coating for glazing grilled chicken.  I agree!

Doc Berg’s Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
1. 4 oz. goat cheese
2. ½ cup cilantro
3. 2 Serrano chilies
4. 2 cloves garlic
5. Juice from 1 medium-size lime
6. Olive oil to help emulsify (measure according to taste)
7. Sea Salt to taste
8. Ground Black Pepper to taste
Directions
Puree all ingredients in blender - use as a dipping sauce for skewers or bite-size pieces of grilled meat or as a glaze on chicken, fish or pork during the final 10 minutes of cooking.

What kind of sauces do you make for food on your holiday table? - CB

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