A lazy day calls for a grilling bag.

After Saturday's day of hiking and climbing, Sunday was most definitely a day of resting. There was a wonderfully cool breeze blowing, and I didn't get my lazy self out of bed till 10:30am. The pets must have known I needed the sleep too, as they didn't wake me early as is their usual way. There were no chores or laundry to do, as I'd done them earlier in the week, so watching movies, or catching up on television episodes was my goal for the day.

For dinner, I had salmon filets to cook up, but didn't want the typical teriyaki sauce marinade; something different was called for. I remembered I had purchased a couple of boxes of Reynold's "Hot Bags", aluminum foil cooking bags for the grill, so figured, "why not?!?"

Putting it all together was easy and so was cleanup; so my lazy day ended up being a perfectly lazy day.

Grilled Salmon with Vegetables

Ingredients:
1 each large red and orange bell peppers, cut into ¼ “strips
2 each small zucchini and yellow squash, cut into ¼ “slices
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
¼ cup olive oil
¼ tsp each salt and ground black pepper
1 tsp each onion and garlic powder
4 salmon filets, ½ lb each

Preparation:
Heat grill to 275F. Open up a Reynold’s large aluminum foil “hot bag” and spray insides with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together vegetables, oil and seasonings; spread evenly inside bag; leave 2” of empty space from opening. Place filets on top of vegetables, leaving space in between each filet; close opening with ½” folds until layered food is reached. Slide bag onto flat tray or board, then slide onto hot grill; close lid and let cook for 30 minutes.

Do not open lid of barbeque, and make sure temperature stays at 275F.
Remove bag from grill (it would have puffed up like a pillow) by sliding onto flat tray or board; let bag rest for 5 minutes before cutting an X in the top; be careful as hot steam will be escaping. Use a spatula to remove the filets; spoon vegetables and sauce over each filet.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

The Blu Pig - blues music, but awesome food!

The Blu Pig

811 S. Main
Moab, Ut, 84535

(435) 259-3333

Website: http://www.blupigbbq.com/

Saturday we spent hiking and climbing many of the off the road areas of Moab; by 4:30pm we were exhausted and just wanted cold drinks and hot food. We'd heard many mixed reviews about The Blu Pig, and decided to investigate it ourselves; and we are sure happy we did.

At that time, the parking lot was relatively empty; upon entering the restaurant we noticed the quietly playing Blues music. The indoor area is air conditioned, very clean and very inviting; and there is an outdoor patio area. We opted for the air conditioning. Mark, our waiter, had also been our greeter, and took our drink orders right away.

The menu items were described in an enticing way, and choosing was difficult. Roy opted for the Slider Sampler (an appetizer of beef brisket, pulled pork and bbq chicken), and I asked for the 2-Meat combo (beef brisket, 1/4 slab of Kansas City ribs, mac n' cheese and onion rings). Poor Mark, I was asking question after question, and he had to keep going to the kitchen for answers...ok management, that's a big hint; your wait staff need to know what they're serving.

Big plus though for The Blu Pig; all the menu food items are made in house; no boxes, frozen goods or reheated items. Big Plus!!!

Food arrived quickly and the tasting began; the pork was succulent, the beef brisket melted in the mouth, and the chicken was moist and flavorful. The meats and chicken are not sauced, so we needed to try out The Blu Pig's. They make three sauces: Chipotle (medium heat, sweet, smoky), Kansas City or KC (mild heat, sweet, bourbon taste, but Mark told us no bourbon is used), Texas (peppery hot, sweet, reminded us both of A1 steak sauce). The KC and the Texas work best with the beef and pork; the Chipotle is best with the chicken; and they enhance their flavors, not hide.

The Kansas City ribs were fall off the bone goodness; moist, succulent, lip smacking good. The mac n' cheese is made with Colby and white Cheddar; rich, creamy and a mild tang; the onion rings had a nice cripsy batter, the onions soft enough to bite through without pulling the whole onion through.

We made room for dessert, Pecan Pie made with pralined (caramalized)pecans. This is a wicked dessert, and each sinful bite was worth the $5.75. All in all, dinner for two, with tip came to $50, and in the Moab area, that is reasonable and average for a meal of this quality. I wish we had met the owners, I would have given them a big hug.

Unfortuately, we were so tired from our day's activity, I forgot to take photos, but will amend this next time we go...yes, we will most definitely be going back. Oh, upon leaving, there was a waiting line, and the lot was almost full.

Mary Cokenour

J. Fargo’s – Good Food, Service needs an Upgrade

J. Fargo’s Family Dining and Microbrewery
1209 E. Main Street
Cortez, CO, 81321

(970) 564-0242

Website: http://jfargos.com/

Before I get started, I have to say I’ve eaten at J. Fargo’s several times for lunch and dinner, and have experienced the same for both.

When entering J. Fargo’s, the reception podium is ahead of you, and usually unmanned. To the right is the pub area, to the left is the restaurant; and you will see employees walking about; but no one at reception. So you wait, and wait, until someone takes notice of you.

After being seated and reading the menu, you wait for someone to take your drink order; and that is slow in coming, especially if you order coffee; seems they never have any ready. Then you wait for your order; if you ordered an appetizer, soup or salad, don’t be surprised if everything comes at once. If you want a refill on your drink, good luck finding your waiter or waitress; they’re usually hiding in the kitchen.

Now there are televisions on the walls, so you can bide your time with watching one of those, or with conversation; but why you should have to is a big question. Ok, so that’s the big negative for J. Fargo’s.

The food though is very good; the burgers are half pounders which you can design to your own tastes; the sandwiches are stacked; the French fries and onion rings are awesome. Their barbequed brisket or pork sandwiches are to die for; and do try the chili.

Basically, if you have a lot of time on your hands, don’t mind waiting or being ignored, and are just looking for good food, then J. Fargo’s is your place to go. Good thing I have patience, and the seating is comfortable.

Mary Cokenour

Pancakes and Johnnycakes - the anytime meal

Light and fluffy, golden brown, moist with melted butter and syrup, sometimes with fruit cooked in, or just lying on top; these round flat cakes are a staple of breakfast time.  Or that's how it used to be, but pancakes or johnny cakes can be eaten as a meal anytime.  They are filling and oh so comforting.

Making these little beauties is not difficult; all it takes, for the most part, is a mixing bowl, a few utensils and a hot griddle.  You can add fruit, nuts, even chocolate chips to the batter; you can flip them easily, or get fancy and flip 'em high, so long as you're coordinated and can catch them too.  Whole grain flour can be used, and if cutting down on sugar, try using Splenda, a sugar substitute that holds up during the heat of cooking and baking.

So, when you're in the mood for pancakes or johnnycakes, and your favorite restaurant or diner isn't serving them, just pull up my recipes and make them yourself.  Why deny yourself the pleasure?

Pancakes and Johnnycakes

In America and Canada they are referred to as pancakes, flapjacks or griddlecakes; all containing a rising agent (baking powder), flour, milk (or buttermilk) and eggs.  In Europe, the French crepe is a type of pancake, but without the rising agent and made very thin, so a filling can be rolled in them.   Archaeological evidence shows that this is one of the earliest forms of cooking invented by man; the “flour” used being ground seeds and cooked on heated rocks.

The johnnycake (New England) and hoecake (Southern USA) are similar to pancakes, but made with ground cornmeal, salt, hot water or milk.   The johnnycake/hoecake originated with the Native Americans of newly founded America, and taught to the European settlers of this new country.

Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

 1 ¼ cups flour

1 egg

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup canola oil

1/8 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

Preparation:

Preheat electric griddle, or stovetop griddle, to 300F.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, except butter, but do not over mix.  Melt the butter on the hot griddle; use a ladle to pour batter onto the griddle, forming 6 inch circles.

As the batter cooks, bubbles will appear and when the edges seem firm; flip over and cook other side.  Both sides will take 2-4 minutes each; and be golden brown.  Serve with favorite toppings or syrups.

Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Grain and Nut Pancakes

Ingredients:

¾ cup oats

¾ cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cups buttermilk

¼ cup canola oil

1 egg

¼ cup sugar

2 Tbsp each fine chopped almonds, pecans and walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat electric griddle, or stovetop griddle, to 300F.

In a blender or food processor, grind the oats till fine, like flour.  In a large bowl, combine the ground oats, wheat flour, baking soda and powder, salt.  In another bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and sugar; mix until smooth.  Add wet ingredients and nuts to the dry ingredients and mix well, but do not over mix.

Use a ladle to pour batter onto the griddle, forming 6 inch circles.  As the batter cooks, bubbles will appear and when the edges seem firm; flip over and cook other side.  Both sides will take 2-4 minutes each; and be golden brown.  Serve with favorite toppings or syrups.

Makes 6-8 pancakes.

Johnnycakes

Ingredients:

1 cup white cornmeal
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp bacon grease or butter

Preparation:

Preheat electric griddle, or stovetop griddle, to 300F

In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal and salt.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring water to a rapid boil; remove from heat.  Let the boiling water dribble onto the cornmeal while stirring constantly; stir the milk into the mixture (it will be somewhat thick, but should not be runny).

Melt the grease or butter on the griddle; drop the batter by spoonfuls and flatten the batter with a spatula to a thickness of approximately ¼ inch. Fry until golden brown, turn, and brown on the other side.  If needed, add more bacon grease or butter.

Serve hot with butter, maple syrup, or applesauce.

Makes 4 johnnycakes.

Mary Cokenour

Comfort all rolled up.

It comes out of the oven piping hot; slightly crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.  Tear it in half and spread it with butter, jam, honey or a combination; melting in your mouth, and finger licking good.  No, it's not the Colonel's fried chicken...it's the Crescent Roll.  This versatile little piece of rolled bread is more than just a side for mopping up gravy; it's the base for a sandwich, snack or dessert.

Before the dough wedge is rolled into its crescent form, fillings can be placed inside, then roll it all up, bake and enjoy.  For a dessert, try spreading Nutella, brown sugar and cinnamon, or peanut butter; press shavings or chips of chocolate, butterscotch or vanilla; after baking, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Then there is the classic hot dog roll, and the dough can be cut up small enough to use Little Smokies to make snacks or party eats. Press shredded cheese into the dough before rolling; or diced onions. However, thinly sliced meats can be used to make a crescent roll "wrap"; making the classic sandwich a little less boring.

When making crescent rolls, think about the possibilities and you'll find yourself making double batches of this dough.

Crescent Rolls

Ingredients:
2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water (about 110F)
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
½ cup butter flavored shortening
4 cups flour
¼ cup butter, melted

Preparation:
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water; add sugar; yeast will be ready to use when it begins a bubbling foam.

In a large bowl, beat together yeast mixture, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups of flour until smooth. Gradually add in remaining flour; mix until smooth; remove to a floured board and knead dough for 5 minutes. Cover with a clean linen towel and let rise until doubles in size; about 2 hours.

Punch down dough; divide in half and roll out each half to a 12 inch circle; cut into wedges depending on size desired (10-12). Starting from widest side, roll up dough to the point and place on baking sheet (nonstick or sprayed with nonstick baking spray); point side down. Cover with towel again and let rise for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400F. Brush melted butter over rolls; bake for 10-15 minutes; until golden brown.

Makes 10-12 rolls.

Mary Cokenour
May 6, 2003

Wet and cold once again.

After a beautiful weekend of near 70 temperatures, our Monday started off with a mixture of thunder, rain and hail...welcome to Monticello, Utah.  Come May 18th, we'll have been living here for two years, and still can't get over the weird weather patterns.  As some of the townsfolk tell us, it's not unusual to be wearing winter coats and seeing snow well into June; and for a warmup, we just have to take a drive into Moab.  One thing I can honestly say, the weather here keeps you on your toes.

Anyway, between the birthday party on Saturday and going out for Mothers' Day, I was able to get a favorite meal cooked up, Chicken Parmigiana.  Acutally, my favorite is Veal Parmigiana, but the price of veal is so outrageous!!!  This is an easy dish to make though, and using Homemade Pasta Sauce insures it's a meal to savor over. Whether you add a side of pasta, or make a sandwich; it's a meal you won't forget, and one you'll crave in the future.

Chicken Parmigiana

Ingredients:

Canola or Peanut oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 egg, beaten

1 cup Italian style dried bread crumbs

4 slices provolone cheese

1 (8 oz) package shredded Italian cheese mix

4 cups homemade pasta sauce

Preparation:

In a large skillet, pour in oil to reach 2 inches; heat on medium-high heat.  While oil is heating, prepare chicken for frying; trim away any excess fat or ligaments, dip into beaten egg and lightly coat with bread crumbs.  Oil is ready when a drop of water sizzles in skillet; carefully place breaded chicken in skillet.  Fry each side for 3 minutes; drain on paper towels; chicken will not be thoroughly cooked through.

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a 2 qt baking dish with nonstick spray and spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom.  Place fried chicken into dish; sprinkle 2 Tbsp of cheese mix over each and cover with a slice of provolone.  Pour remaining sauce over the chicken, sprinkle remaining cheese mix over all; cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove from oven, remove foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with favorite pasta; or place on toasted Italian bread to make a sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

May 5, 1982

Happy Birthday Kaiya!!!

Yesterday we celebrated the 14th birthday of Kaiya, my friend Heidi's daughter, down at Fattboyz Grillin. It was a small gathering of family, parental friends and Kaiya's friends; and everyone had a good time talking, eating and just enjoying the afternoon together. Kaiya is a lovely young lady, and the happiness and pride she gives her mom was quite evident upon Heidi's face. Kudos go to Heidi's hubby Sean too for being a good stepdad, keeping all the little kids corralled, and the lighting of the birthday candles without setting the place on fire.

Our meal at Fattboyz consisted of a barbeque sandwich with two sides, and soft drink; all awesome as per usual.  Heidi and I both made cakes for the occasion, and everyone seemed quite pleased with them.  I have to admit that the cake I made was from scratch, and it actually gave me nightmares for several nights in a row.  I plotzed over screwing it all up, but everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I must have done well. 

The cake was huge, and it was compared to one of the Red Rock formations in our area.  It consisted of three tiers, two single layers and one double layer; chocolate pudding sat in the middle of the bottom double layer and single middle layer; a layer of mini-marshmallows sat between the middle and top layers.  There were two types of frosting, first a vanilla buttercream, and after refrigerating the cake, I covered it with a vanilla whipped cream frosting.  Sprinkled cocoa powder went over the tops and sides; a sprinkle of chopped Andes candies and a few Oreo cream cookies finished off the topping.  Roy made a banner which I attached with wooden skewers.

So, Happy Birthday Kaiya, may you have many, many, many more, and always be happy and healthy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's the cake and frosting recipe, but for the vanilla frosting, I used vanilla powder instead of the cocoa powder.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

1 ½ cups flour

3 Tbsp baking cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

2 tsp chocolate syrup

¾ cup milk

¾ cup melted butter

2 eggs

Frosting:

12 Tbsp butter, softened

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

½ cup baking cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 Tbsp room temperature milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut out two circles of parchment paper that fit within two 8” cake pans; spray cake pans with nonstick baking spray; line bottom with paper circles.

In a large bowl, sift flour and mix in cocoa, baking powder and sugar.  In second bowl, beat together syrup, milk, butter and eggs; do not get mixture frothy by over beating.  Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients; mix on medium speed till smooth.  Pour half of batter into each cake pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes; until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out cleanly.  Let cakes cool before flipping out of pans; remove parchment paper before frosting cakes.

While cakes are baking, make the frosting; cream together the butter and sugar; add cocoa, vanilla extract and milk; mix until smooth, but do not over mix.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to firm up; frost cakes after they have cooled.  There will be enough frosting to frost the tops and sides of both cakes; stack cakes on top of one another; total height should be about 3 inches with frosting.

Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour