Tuesday, August 30, 2011

GRAPE LEAVES

We are going to mix it up a little bit. Most of you know our son Thomas is joining the U.S. Army. I asked him to compile a list of his favorite meals. One of the items on his list is Grape Leaves. Well this turned into a "throwdown" with my production manager Karen. She has years of experience making Grape Leaves. I have never made them before. I knew I was at a disadvantage from the get go. I felt like Bobby Flay (sorry Mario), so I had to put a different spin on my Grape Leaves.
Karen with her pot of gold ready for the stove top. Karen stuck with her recipe of ground chuck, rice, salt , pepper and fresh lemon juice. You can use ground lamb instead of the ground chuck.

Karen used the pot that I was going to use. Advantage Karen!

I used a different pot which didn't allow me to pack my Grape Leaves as cozy as Karen's. I used the same ingredients as Karen, except I added a touch of cinnamon to mine.

The winner of the "throwdown" was unanimous. The judges voted 3-0 in Karen's favor. I didn't stand a chance! Google "18x".
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Sunday, August 28, 2011

FIRE-ROASTED ARTICHOKES (CARCIOFI AL CARBONE)



It's been awhile but here we go again. I made these with my production manager, Karen. I did these on the grill. Karen loves artichokes, so I just had to make these for her. I stuffed these babies with garlic, almonds, salt, pepper, and lemons and oregano from our garden. I wrapped them in foil and put them on the barbeque. My production manager said they were delicious!!
FIRE-ROASTED ARTICHOKES

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