Barbecue after the Pole Pedal Paddle

We hung out with this hilarious chef after competing in the Pole Pedal Paddle race in Bend, OR. His ribs were tasty, but the meat didn't exactly fall off the bone. Look at how he tosses those racks around. Philadelphia provides some much-needed assistance (and bits of paper towel) for the master griller.

The Master Smoker from Brian Creutzburg on Vimeo.

The Magic Hour

I was watching the NBA finals last night with someone who didn't know that Magic Johnson once had his own crappy TV show. Here's a look:


I'm a big fan of Magic on the court, but...

Trip to Costco

I bought a large bin of snack mix at Costco for $4.63. Still working on it. TBC

It's summertime again

This is becoming a rite of summer: the release of the Gathering of the Juggalos infomercial. My favorite quote: "real life carnie scrubs who just want to take your cash."



They insult you, but it's hard not to keep watching.

Ardilla

This video's a bit dated now, but it makes me miss seeing Will Ferrell's George Bush impression.

President Bush Reacts to Osama Bin Laden's Death with Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

Plus I'm a big fan of the taco bar at Sizzler

The hanging tomato experiment

Thanks to all of y'all for talking me into more blogging. Today, the amazing story of how I made my own upside down tomato hanger. The premise here is based on the commercially available topsy-turvy, a product that sells for about $10 on the internets.

To make my own, I started with two Trader Joe's grocery bags at $0.99 apiece, and a section of the Sunday New York Times.









The hardest part was threading the plant through the slit I cut in the paper.

Then I threaded the rest of the plant through a cut I made in the bottom of the bag. Nerve wracking stuff here, I know.





















Here is what the plant looked like after I finished threading it through.















And finally, I hung the two bags on a shepherd's hook next to the house. My idea here was to get some radiant heat to encourage growth during the long summer days.

Of course, this was a stupid idea now that I live in Portland, Oregon. It's been 60 degrees and raining ever since I planted.

The Stock Pot

We had some good stuff for the stock pot last night: Leeks, celery, carrots, onions, and, of course, yard bird.

The Whole Enchilada

Growing up in San Antonio, I had a love-hate relationship with the enchilada. (Think: Wednesdays, public school lunchroom, canned chili and cheap cheese.) Great stuff, until track practice at 2:30. Then you're out running on the track, no shade, hottest time of the day, sweat rolling off your temples.

Anyway, this is how I work the enchilada these days.

Home Fry Debate of 1998

Me and my Texas crew used to argue about a variety of important topics--like how to make homefries. I used to boil, then cool, cut, and fry my potatoes. Others (like my friend Mateo) chose the "high impact" method, where the raw potatoes and onions were thrown into a hot skillet, then cooked with a lid on to steam them. The high impact method had the advantage that you could skip a step (boiling the potatoes), and the disadvantage that you had to stand at the stove and monitor the situation. Brief lapses in attention would lead to burned homefries that stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Here's how I roll these days: the potatoes and onions (and in this case, whole cloves of garlic) are chopped and coated with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I then heat up the skillet on the stovetop...


Then pop the whole pan into the oven for 25 to 35 minutes. The potatoes come out great every time, and you don't have to hover over the stove while they cook.

All About Lava

Megan and I went to Lava Hot Springs for St. Valentine's day. On our way to the bar, Roy gave us a tour and history lesson.

Listen to the Illinoise

We arrived in Illinois right after an ice storm. All of the trees, power lines, fences, and blades of grass were coated with a layer of frozen rain.

On Christmas day, we deep fried a turkey...

Rarely is the question asked: "is the ass of that turkey going to cook?"

The Hansen's estate.

Thin Crust Pizza

Sticking with the food theme--thin crust pizza.




This one has mushrooms, jalapenos, red pepper, and pepperoni.

Borracho Beans

I'm still hurting for some New Mexico green chiles. Below, I made due with some dried peppers from the garden, then threw in some onions, garlic, cumin, black pepper, and salt. I then simmered this concoction for about 3 hours...

Skiing in the Logan Backcountry

Here are some video highlights from our latest couple of backcountry ski tours. Richie even brought a Jack Russell Terrier (nicknamed lil' J.R.) on one of the tours.