Navy Yard Shooting BBC on D.C. Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Hello to all you foodies out in Web Land I hope all is well.  A while back I was in D.C. visiting my son, Chris, who happens to live a couple blocks from the Navy Yard where the shooting took place by Aaron Alexis who killed 12 people and wounded several others.  It was a sad day for our nations Capitol when he decided to take a shotgun and kill those twelve victim's in such a cowardly manner.   While I was there we walked down to the Navy Yard to see what was going on and took some pictures and watched as the helicopter's were taking people out of the Navy yard that day.  It was overcast and dreary that day.  We were hearing all kinds of rumors about them looking for other shooters and heard from one of the news trucks that Andrews Air Force Base had a shooting but none of that was true.  Just all rumors.  However they did find a extra badge that was with the victims that can't be explain why it was there.  It was a badge of a man that had retired in 2012 and he had turned that badge in so they still don't know how that ended up there.  Any who my friend Anne works with the victims families all day long and we took paper goods and clip boards to them and were on stand by to help them the next day.  I was interviewed by BBC live about 6 times that day.  I could only tell them what I saw and what the mood was in D.C. that day.  People were in lock down and you could hear the helicopters above your heads.  The locals said it reminded them of 9-11.  Any way you know the rest of the story.  However they did ask me about gun control and in D.C. you aren't allowed to carry a gun as a private citizen./  I told him really that someone didn't need a gun to kill someone, after all they used box cutters and airplanes to kill about 3,000 Americans as we all know.  Alexis had mental problems so they say.  Any way it doesn't help ease the pain for the victims families from such a cowardly act on unarmed people.  BBC needs to ask them what they think of gun control not me.  However it was a gun that took him down as well from a D.C. Policemen.  We went down before I left and started a memorial for the victims and no way does that make up for the pain of losing someone in a shooting but I hope it helped to show some respect for the victims and their families as a reminder of what guns and the people behind them can do.  Am so sorry for all the people who were killed that day my hear goes out to them.  I also for the thanks all the volunteers and the Victims Advocacy headed by my friend Anne Seymour for all the help they gave the victim's families in the Navy Yard Shooting.  The only season am putting up this recipe it is one we served that day.  Happy trails until we meet again.  MadJon.

Roasted Brussels Spouts

1 package Chopped Brussels Spouts
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 TBSP Olive Oil

Pre-heat you oven to about 375 degrees and roast your sprouts for about 10 minutes, turn them and roast them again for another 10 minutes.  This is a great recipe that brings out the flavor of your sprouts. You need to mix the oil, salt, and pepper together before roasting.

Cooking In Sandy Springs Les Marmitons Butternut Squash Soup

As you may know, I am the host of the Cooking With Madjon and Friends television show for ASTV95. Sometimes, I get a chance to wander off on other adventures with cooking, and in April, I was asked to join the Les Marmitons of Sandy Springs, located near Atlanta, to cook with about 20 male chefs and cooks at the Art Institute in Atlanta.

So, you may be left wondering exactly what a Les Marmitons is. Well, it’s a gentlemen’s  cooking club, and some of them may be chefs and some may just like to journey down the road for a wonderful gastronomic experience. The cooking club also is worldwide, and its name  is  French, meaning “kitchen boy, or chef’s helper.” This was not my first rodeo experience with the Les Marmitons. I also was invited last March to cook with the club from Canton, Ga.

Hello its MadJon again and hoping all is well in Web Land.  Today we will talking about cooking with the Les Marmitons Chef's at the Art Institute in Sandy Springs.  When we went to the check in desk the lady

says, I can't believe that they asked a women Chef to come in and cook, I've never seen that before.

The group not only is known for eating and drinking a lot of wine, but also for raising money for a plethora of charities. They ask top chefs to join them about eight times a year, and those chefs choose the menus. The group then chooses the types of wine to pair with the meals.

So, the night of the dinner, five dishes were served, and I drink about five glasses of wine by the time the night ended. I did, however, manage to get all the way to the end of dessert without falling over.

At this event, I chose roasted asparagus and avocado salad, squash soup, chicken Cordon Bleu, garlic mashed potatoes and raspberry German chocolate torte. It was nice having the event at the Art Institute of Atlanta because we had two other chefs joining in on the fun, plus five culinary art students helping.  Many thanks to the students  for plating 40 meals and providing the role of soue chefs.  I also want to thank the chefs on hand for all their hard work to make the event a great success.

It took about two hours of instruction, which included cooking the dishes to bring together this wonderful delicious experience, not to mention the fellowship and new friends made along the way. All and all, I don’t think I was too hard on them, because they asked me to come back next year, and I will jump at the chance. 

There were a few things they learned along the way, such as always reading your recipes first before you  begin. Make sure you have all your ingredients. Set up your stations with the pre-measured ingredients and it is always helpful to ask your chef if you have a  question.  Oh, and  I almost forgot, they also learned a new way to crack an egg and peel an avocado. 

They also learned to improvise whenever you are cooking, because what you start out with may not be what you end with, like how they went from a torte to a parfait for the dessert. But,  all’s well that ends well, I always say. 

The Les Marmitons of Sandy Springs are a great group of men, and I take my hat off to them. To all my foodies fans out there, thanks so much for reading and watching my show, and thanks for letting me share my love for you though food. I welcome any of you to sponsor the Cooking With MadJon and Friends TV show on  ASTV 95, and here’s to your gastronomy experience. 

Bona Y’ all!  Eileen Hutson, MadJon

 

 Butternut Squash Soup 

 

(2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic minced 

4 cups chicken stock

Nutmeg pinch

 1 tsp. Thyme

       Cinnamon Pinch

  2 Cups Half and Half

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and garlic cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Add the pinch of thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the mix. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot.  Then add your half and half and simmer serve with Cheese and Crisp Bacon on top.

Serves 6

 

Judging S.C. B.B.Q. Ribs Chicken Article

Judging BBQ In SC

I attended the first seminar with the SCBA (South Carolina Barbeque Association) held in Aiken last month.  Let me tell you, there is a lot more to judging BBQ than you might think.  Did you know that there are four different types of BBQ sauces found in SC, and it depends on where you live as to which sauce is used?  You use the sauce in basting and also as a finish sauce.  The four sauces are vinegar and pepper, mustard, light tomatoes, and heavy tomatoes.  I learned that North and South Carolina share three of the four types of barbeque sauce that Americans normally use.  But South Carolina is the home of all four sauces.  The “original” barbeque sauce is vinegar and pepper, and it is found on the coastal plains of both North and South Carolina.  The second sauce is South Carolina’s own style, a mustard sauce.  It comes from a large German population that settled in the Orangeburg and Lexington areas.  The third sauce is a vinegar and pepper sauce with some ketchup and spices thrown in to give it a little sweeter taste.  This comes from the Pee Dee region of the upper coastal plain.  The fourth sauce is a heavy tomato based sauce which is more like the red sauce found in Kansas City Masterpiece and is the sauce that is most thought of as America’s sauce.  However, I learned that true BBQ that America should taste is right here in the great state of South Carolina.  Way to go SC, BBQ is what we should be all about!  True BBQ isn’t putting your meat on a grille; it’s cooking your meat on a pit with different type of woods, slow cooked to pick up the flavors.  Two different woods used are apple and pecan.  “Use whatever woods are native to your area” is what the Grill Master Chef and Master Judge, Morrey Thomas, told me.  They also cook the meats on low, slow indirect heat and use a rub, sometimes, in addition to the sauce. 

To become an SCBA Certified Judge is no easy task.  First they must complete the seminar, then judge four SCBA events and pay their dues.  To become an SCBA Senior Judge, you must judge 15 team cooking events and pay your dues.  To become an SCBA Master Judge you must judge 30 contests, 20 of which are different, cooked with at least three teams and pay your dues.   They judge the pork on appearance: texture, color, fat to lean ratio, burnt meat. Tenderness: Moist and tender vs. dry and tough.  Taste is another judging scale, sauce too hot, too mild or excessive versus a pleasing blend of sauce, spices and meat.

 The food that they served at the SCBA seminar was provided by pit master Larry Bowling of Smokin’ Stack’s.  He placed 3nd in the state out of 80 teams.  I want to tell you that his pulled pork was excellent and I really would hate to have to judge those cook teams. The people who were there said that they are not there to sell their BBQ through a restaurant; they are there to compete and make the best slow cooked SC BBQ in the country.  It’s all about team work and cooking for the love of SC BBQ.  I hope you go and try some great BBQ the next time you hear of an event where all these pit master chefs are cooking.  There are 700 members across SC, so there is a lot of competition going on across our state. I want to say thanks for watching “Cooking with MadJon and Friend’s” on ASTV 95, the best station in Aiken.

 

 

Indirect Heat B.B.Q. Chicken

Season 04

Esp. 19

Recipe # 63

1 Chicken, cut in half

Salt and Pepper to taste

Garlic and Onion Powders

Smoked Paprika

1 cup B.B.Q. sauce

Cut your chicken in half and dry it on both sides of the meat.  Dust it with salt, pepper, onion, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.  Make sure you give it a good coating on both sides of the meat.  Then you are to place it on your grill, bone side down so your skin is on top.  You are to place it on the side of the grill that you cut off.  This process will take about 2 hours to cook the chicken but I tell you it makes it moist and very tasty.  I coat the chicken with my favorite B.B.Q. sauce while it’s still cooking, so I coat it for the last ½ hour of cooking time.  With Poultry you want to check and make sure that the chicken is done, that means no blood flowing.  The desired temperature reached for doneness of chicken should be 165 degrees.  Bon’a Y’all

 

Happy Labor Day and Let's make some Baked Beans with Pineapple and Bacon Yum Yum

Hello to all my foodies friends out there in Web Land just a shout out to say Happy Labor Day to all you hard working people out there.  Hugs to you all!  I also want to thank you for all the hard work that you do.  Any who did you know that Labor Day came about in the year 1894 when our government decided to award us hard works with a day off.  However it was after the year 1882 when we had  Hugh railroad strike and It was labor against the government to managers.  Any who it caused a big recession and etc.  You can goggle it from the Washington Post article it will tell you all about it.  Any who I made these for a shoot I did on B.B.Q. and since that is what we do on Labor day am sharing this one with you.  Happy Labor Day and Happy end of summer to us all. Happy Trails to you until we meet again.  madjon51@aol.com aikenstandard.tv Face Book Cooking With MadJon and Friends.

Onion                                                          1 onion sliced Bell Pepper                                                  1 bell pepper sliced Garlic                                                          6 gloves minced Jalapeños Peppers                                       3 slice down the middle seeds removed Onion and Garlic Powders                          1 TBSP each Mustard Yellow                                           1 TBSP Ketchup                                                        1 cup Pineapple                                                      1 ½ cup slices Bacon                                                            6 slices Brown Sugar                                                 1 ½ cups Soy Sauce                                                     ¼  Cu Pork-in-beans                                               1 large can Black Beans                                                  1 can Kidney                                                           1 can Great Northern Beans                                    1 can

 

Directions:

Open your beans and rinse off the black beans only.  Pre-heat you oven to about 375 degrees.  Take out a oblong pan and grease it and pour the beans into the pan.  Slice your pepper and onions. To the beans add the onion, garlic powders, mustard, ketchup, garlic gloves, and mix well.  Then top them with the onion and bell peppers slices.  Top the beans with the bacon and sprinkle the brown sugar on top.  Then sprinkle your soy sauce on top.  Then place the pineapple and jalapeno’s to top.  Cover and bake for about an hour then uncover and bake another 30 minutes to reduce it.