Homemade Andouille Sausage

One of the things I like to make with left over turkey is turkey gumbo so this year I decided to make the sausage for it too. I used a recipe from the cook book Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated). It is a great book all about curing and smoking meat. Defiantly worth the investment. This time I also decided to use real hog-casings, which I hadn't done before.

Making the sausage is fairly simple but takes time. and when it's done it tastes so good.

Homemade Chorizo Sausage

This Christmas I received the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. This has opened up a world of possibilities for me and my smoker when paired with Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing. I'm going to have a lot of fun and good eats.

I made my first batch of sausage to try it and made a chorizo using a recipe from Charcuterie. It turned out pretty good.

Chicken and Noodles

Something that I have always wanted to make is pasta. Why? I don't know I just think it would be cool to make my own pasta. So I finally took the plunge and tried it out. I made grilled chicken which I served over my pasta with a simple tomato sauce. For a first try it turned out ok.

I used a simple pasta recipe consisting of, 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs, 1tbls olive oil, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of garlic powder. Mixing the dough was simple but the next parts took some doing. I don't have a pasta maker. I hand rolled the dough and cut it with a pizza slicer.

Smoke-Grilled Pizza

Tonight I tried a first. Making a pizza on my cooker. I have heard about it but never tired it. All I can say is WOW! It was great. It had all the yumminess of a pizza with the extra flavor that smoke adds to food.

I made two types. One of them I made the dough from scratch and cooked it directly on the grate. For the second one we used crescent roll dough and cooked it on a stone. I liked the way the homemade crust came out but it got a little charred. The one on the stone didn't cook all the way through which was disappointing.

Next time I make pizza on the cooker I think I will make the dough and cook it for a but on the stone, add the toppings and let it finish cooking.



Here is the recipe I used for the dough:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Place 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Combine by gradually incorporating the flour into the olive oil and water, adding a little extra water if necessary. (Alternatively, combine the mixture in a food processor.)

Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes.



Our toppings.



The dough spread out waiting to cook. I cooked it directly on the grill for a bit and then added the toppings.






The pizzas on the cooker.



The final product.

Snow Day Nuggets

The last two days we have been home bound due to snow and ice. They shut down everything in SC. Today I was craving chicken nuggets so I decided to make some.

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup milk
1 egg

1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour
1 tbls rub
1/2 tbls cayenne pepper

I took the chicken breasts and cut them into cubes then set them aside.

I mixed the milk and eggs together in a bowl and set that aside also. Then I mixed the dry ingredients together. I dredged the chicken in the milk and egg mixture and then the dry mixture. After they were coated I dropped them into hot oil and cooked them until they were golden brown.

The family loved them so much I have none left for photos.