Third Sunday Dinner Report October

     October is the perfect month for an outside dinner party,  Third Sunday Dinner to be correct.  I have been waiting for the weather to break and start enjoying why we live in Arizona.  It certainly is not the summer heat.  

    

  When the weather cools we like to bring out the dutch ovens and do some heavy duty cooking.  This month we did Indian Fry Bread.  We like to do it at least twice a year.  It is filling and very cost effective to do.  Both are great reasons for doing it.  

      

 I hope you are having success in your food adventures from small groups to large, when we gather to enjoy great food life long friendships are formed.  That is the power of food.

Below is the picture adventure of this months Third Sunday Dinner.

Kidney beans and barley make a great topping for the Fry Bread.

  I love the youth that come and serve with happy faces.  I enjoy them so much and appreciate all they do to help make the dinners a success.

     Another Happy Working Face.   This young woman said she needed service hours so she came early and worked so hard.

So many to make and he still smiles. 

For a group that size I find the Bosch so vital in getting the job done.  We made
10 batches of dough.

The secret of fry bread is to form disc and let it rest before stretching out to fry.

After forming the disc, let rest covered. 

Dutch ovens with my camp fryer set up and ready to go.

Back yard before we set up.

Back yard set up and ready to go.

Beans and barley are cooked to perfection.  

So much fun. 

Look at them work.  Happy day.

Handsome young man.

Waiting for dinner.

This dear lady has become a great friend.  

Good friends, good food, a great time. 

The Food 

If you knew this couple you would be blessed.

The Party

My Boy.

She was enjoying the food to much to look up.  or maybe she
didn't want her picture taken.  

More people. 

And more people. 

Brother and sister.  We adore them both.

Who doesn't love the Mormon Missionaries. 

I adore these boys.  What outstanding men.  

Love that smile.

New found best friends. 

Are they sisters or mother and daughter, I am confused.

Brothers from the hood.

Happy friends. 

Smile

     Third Sunday Dinners are amazing and fun.  Each month finds me busy and often wondering how on earth I will be able to do it, but as I go forward it all works out and I am left filled with joy and peace knowing that when we are on the Lords Errands it always works out.   I hope you are finding joy in all you do.  Chef Brad

Third Sunday Dinner Report September

     Summer is over and I am so glad.  Fall is in the air.  August I never do Third Sunday Dinner.  I am in Utah at BYU Education Week and my sweet wife refuses to take over for me.  So we take off in August.   For the summer this year we changed it up a little and instead of starting at 5 o'clock we started at 7 o'clock and did ice cream and cookies.  It was a great way to avoid the heat and cool off.  I enjoyed it, but I am really glad to be back to the 5 o'clock schedule again.  This time of the year the yard shades early and the heat is not to bad.  

     This month I decided to do pasta.  It is always wonderful and filling with fresh baked bread and what ever else shows up.  It always works and is always worth the effort. 

     If you are having Third Sunday Dinner experiences please feel free to share them with me.  I would love to hear about your successes and trials.  

     So like I said I did pasta this month.  It looks like meat, but it is red quinoa and pearled barley.  I started it early in the morning in the roaster pan and let it simmer all day.  I used tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and some good Italian seasoning and just let is simmer.  I cooked the pasta in the after noon and placed it in a large plastic bucket tossed in oil and it stayed hot.  So at dinner time I placed the roaster on the table and kept and large bowl filled with pasta.  We finished off the sauce and 10 pounds of cooked bow tie pasta. 

 For the bread I made the dough up ahead of time and placed it in a large plastic bucket.  Later we divided the dough into 9 pieces and pressed it out onto jelly roll pans and let it rise and topped it with rosemary, salt, and olive oil.  

     This dish is typical of what I do in a pinch.  I had 20 small cans of green beans.  Drained them and placed them on my large with platter and topped them with BBQ sauce and a dressing.  Wow it was so good and easy and filling.  

The bread turned out so good.  There was not a crumb left.  This bread baked fast and everyone loves it.  Perfect with pasta.

All the happy faces.  I love each and every one. 

    Third Sunday Dinner does not have to be hard or planned out.  It is a simple as putting out a few tables and chairs and cooking some pasta and baking some bread.  Truth be told,  the most important ingredient for success is Love.   Have a great day,  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Summer is for Smoking

    Traeger Smokers are the best.  It has changed my life in so many ways.   By now you know I love food,  that is an understatement,  I adore food.  It is the reason I wake up in the morning.  It is my purpose for all I do.  Food has been an important part of my life and I sure enjoy doing new things and learning new things.  A couple of years ago I invested in a Traeger Smoker.   I have to say it was the best investment ever.  I have a smoker, but never used it because it was just to much work.   I don't have the time to work the fire and keep it at the perfect temp.  I admire those that do and I salute them for the efforts they put out. But I am not one of those dedicated fire watching persons.  That is why I love the Traiger.  It is effortless in every way and the end result is over the top.

     The Traeger Smoker is amazing.  It has a built in augar that slowly adds amazing real wood pellets to a burner that keeps it at the perfect temperature for as long as you need it.  So in a word or a few words I can put whatever I want in the smoker, set the temperature and go and create anything else I need to do.  

     Below are a few things that I love to smoke.  It is an adventure to be sure and one that you will enjoy.  Oh,  you will enjoy it more if you have a Traeger Smoker.  

      One of my favorite things to smoke would be boneless skinless chicken thighs.  They are easy and are amazing to eat.  I use them in everything from pasta dishes to tacos.

    I place the thighs in a bowl  and cover them with a marinade.

   For the Marinade

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup agave

1/2 cup Canadian Steak Seasoning

Mix well and pour over chicken and let marinade for at least 4 hours.  Overnight is great.  Place on the Smoker on smoke for 1 hour.  Turn up smoker to 280 for 30 minutes.  Cook and remove from smoker and enjoy.  

A few more idea's for smoking. 

Brisket 

Baby Back Ribs

Meat Loaf and Pork

Sausages

Smoked sausages.

More Smoked Sausages

Turkeys,  Amazing

Pork

Pork Carnitas 

    Smoking with a Traeger is an adventure in culinary excellence.  I love mine and am so looking forward to many years of great foods done in my Smoker.  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy

Spinach Dumpling

      I love foods that are easy to make and filled with flavor and nutrition.  Dumplings are really amazing and you can do anything with a good dumpling.  This one is an adaptation from an old Italian family recipe.  I worked on it to make it a healthy version.  I love doing these and having the dough in the refrigerator.  It stores well and is a fast and easy meal and I feel like a real chef when I can whip up something like this in minutes. 

  Use fresh spinach.  One pound.  It is actually a large container.  Amazing that one pound gives you maybe two cups of steamed spinach.

   You will need to squeeze the spinach out after it has cooled from steaming.  I use paper towels to do that.  You want it moist, but not wet.

    I place all the ingredients in the mixer.  The ricotta has been drained to remove excess water.  It mixes up well and should not be soggy.  

   With the reserved flour I roll the dough out into thumb size ropes and cut them into 3/4 inch size pieces.   Dust them with flour to keep them from sticking together.

     Drop the dumplings in salted boiling water and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  The dumplings will float to the top.

     
    Sorry this picture is blurred.  I have smoked chicken sauteing in a little butter and olive oil  I add the dumplings right from the hot water.  Let them brown with the chicken.  You really could do anything from red sauce to white sauce and sausages to vegetables.

The finished product, the dumplings are light and moist and best of all whole grain. 

Enjoy  Chef Brad~America's Grain Guy 

 Spinach Ricotta Dumplings

Dumplings are easy to make and so fun to eat. I like to add roasted chicken or cooked salmon in the butter and oil right before adding the dumplings.

1 pound Ricotta Cheese, Drained for 4 hours 1 cup Fresh Ground Spelt Flour 1 pound Fresh Spinach 2 large Eggs 1 Egg Yolk

2 ½ cups Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Grated ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper 5 tablespoons Unsalted butter 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1.Drain the Ricotta. Some ricotta is very wet and some dry. It needs to be dry for this recipe. :

2.Steam Spinach and drain or squeeze dry. Set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. :

3.While water is boiling in a bowl or mixer add spinach, ricotta, eggs, egg yolk, 3/4 cup spelt flour, and 2 cups of cheese. Mix well and season with nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. :

4.Divide the dough into three pieces and dusting the counter lightly with flour, roll the dough out into a 20 inch rope about the size of your thumb. :

5.Cut the ropes in 3/4 inch pieces and roll in flour lightly. Cook in boiling water in small batches until all is done. It takes about 2 minutes. The pieces will sink to the bottom and will rise to the top. Do not over crowd the pot. :

6.In separate saute pan melt butter with oil and when ready add dumplings. Toss in butter and oil and let brown lightly, serve with remaining cheese. Serve warm.:

7.Dumplings can be a side dish or the main course.