Eggs Benedict made with Smoked Salmon. And I’m not talking about lox. Nope! Instead, a delicious salmon filet slow smoked until tender and delicious, topped with a perfect poached egg and a flavorful hollandaise sauce. Eggs Benedict is my all time favorite breakfast, and one in which I judge all breakfast restaurants by. If they’re…
Food and Drink
Grilled Chicken with Ancho Chilies and Prunes
Before you say, “Whaaaaaa the? Prunes and chicken??” Just take a deep breath and trust me. The combination of grill roasted rich prunes and earthy ancho chilies mixed with grilled chicken is a winning combination! So, there’s an awesome group of wine bloggers I’m friends with and we get together (virtually) a couple times a…
Jalapeño Kettle Chip Crusted Smoked Pork Tenderloin
An incredibly flavorful way to use leftover Kettle chip crumbs (or other favored potato chip), or just to jazz up your next pork tenderloin with some great flavor! We have an unhealthy addiction to something in my household. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but we’re friends right? We have a Kettle chip addiction. But…
Pulled Pork Nachos — Great use for Leftover Smoked Pulled Pork
Got leftover pulled pork? Use it to make these incredible and indulgent smoked pulled pork nachos! Perfect to cook directly on your grill, or in your oven. Guess what? We have a new member of the family. Our grill family that is. Say hi to our new Big Green Egg! And just in time for St….
Classic All-American Cheeseburger — With a Twist!
How to add another element of great flavor to a Classic All-American Cheeseburger. There’s something fun about an over the top gigantic burger with a million additions, but there’s something comforting about a classic. We’re doing a reverse sear method using a grill and wood chunks to give your burgers incredible smoked flavor and that…
Turkey Burgers with Bacon Paste – Jazzing up Turkey Burgers
How to add incredible flavor to boring turkey burgers. Turkey burgers can tend to come out dry and flavorless. Adding bacon paste to ground turkey adds not only flavor but great moisture lacking in most turkey burgers. I’ll be the first to admit, when I transitioned from a vegetarian back into a meat eater it…
February Wine Favorites
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Carne Asada — Skirt Steak Tacos (Recipe and Video)
Carne Asada Tacos made with marinaded skirt steak, then grilled hot and fast and sliced thin for the ultimate Taco Night meal. My girlfriend Katy recently texted me a recipe for Carne Asada she made for her husband’s birthday dinner. She expressed her disappointment because of the recipe and wondered why. She followed it to a…
Grilled New York Strip Steak with Coffee Marinade and Rub
Coffee adds great flavor to both a marinade and dry rub for a grilled New York Strip Steak. This recipe for coffee marinated steak is easy enough for a weeknight, but indulgent enough for a special occasion. For years I used to give Sean a hard time for being obsessed with visiting Starbucks on a…
Wine Travel: Discover Conegliano Valdobbiadene, The home of Prosecco Superiore
Discover Conegliano Valdobbiadene, in the heart of the Veneto, in Northeast Italy, where Prosecco is made and thrives. Prosecco often gets lumped into one category — fresh, fruity, and innexpensive sparkling wine. But if you’re willing to look a little deeper, there’s so much more to Prosecco than it gets credit for. In this post,…
Blackberry Aperol Spritz (recipe & video)
A Classic Aperol Spritz Recipe, but with a Pacific Northwest twist. An Aperol Spritz is a light and refreshing Italian cocktail with the perfect balance of sweet and bitter. However, in this Aperol Spritz Recipe we give it new personality by adding some homemade blackberry simple syrup. Aperol Spritz, An Italian Cocktail Anybody who has been…
Valentine’s Day Recipes for your Smoker or Grill
Avoid the restaurants this year and dine in. Here are 10 ideas for Valentine’s Dinner you can cook on your Smoker or Grill. I used to be one of the many Valentine’s Day haters. You know the ones. Those who harp on the day for being an overly corporate holiday. Hater’s gonna hate. I…
Maple Chipotle Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon
Cedar Plank Salmon is amazing when coated with a sweet and spicy dry rub, cooked on the grill giving it that smoked influence, and finished with a maple syrup glaze. Sweet, spicy, and absolutely incredible. And if you don’t have a grill you can easily do this in a hot cast iron pan and finish…
Winter Reds — January 2018
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Smoked Chocolate Pot de Crème (no bake)
Smoked cream adds an incredible smoky undertone to a classic Chocolate Pot de Crème. It’s silky, chocolaty, and absolutely indulgent. Check out the recipe and video tutorial for more. For the longest time the hubs would make me my favorite dessert, Pot de Crème, for special occasions (we now stick to one day a year…
Spicy Mango Jalapeño BBQ Sauce (no sugar added)
This Mango BBQ Sauce gets a spicy kick from the jalapeno and is naturally sweetened with mango, there are no added sugars in this recipe. Eating a No-Sugar, Low-Sugar Diet Last year the hubs and I did a 10-day sugar detox. I know I know, these darn fad diets and challenges!!! Honestly it’s one of…
Our Top 7 Posts of 2017
Our Reader’s Favorite Recipes of 2017 We’re wrapping up this year end with a look back to the top reader favorites of 2017. I know you may be sick of these kinds of posts right now (because they’re EVERYWHERE!!!). But I honestly love them. And I truly enjoy looking back at what people enjoyed on…
Sparkling Wines to Ring in the New Year!
10 Great Sparkling Wines and Champagnes to ring in the New Year With Y’all know bubbly is our beverage of choice around here, and (almost) every Friday you can catch my weekly bubbles toast over on Instagram. We love our sparkling wine here! And while we drink bubbles weekly, we also realize it’s the time…
NewAir Black Stainless Steel Wine Cooler — Holiday Gift for Your Favorite Wine Lover!
Let’s talk about wine fridges for a minute, since it’s the holiday season and this is the time of year the questions roll in. I get asked about wine fridges (also called wine coolers) and wine storage a lot but haven’t written about it much here on the blog. That’s because over the last three…
Smoked Meatballs in a Cranberry Pinot Noir Sauce (recipe and video)
Smoked meatballs braised in a sweet and savory cranberry Pinot Noir sauce is one of our all time favorite holiday appetizers. It’s always a hit at a party! Guess what? The mystery of the Cranberry Pinot Noir Meatballs has been solved!!! The first time I wrote about this recipe I told you about how we…
Champagne vs. Prosecco — What’s the Difference?
It’s that time of year. You know what I’m talking about. Time to pop to the bubbly. Of course regular readers of this blog know I drink bubbly year round (and every Friday night if you follow my Instagram feed). But for many who don’t frequently indulge in my favorite drink it’s this time of…
Holiday Gift Guide for BBQ and Food Lovers
I have a love/hate relationship with these holiday gift guides you see everywhere right now. Mostly I’m just overwhelmed with the amount of suggestions people have. My heart beats at an unhealthy rate when I see gift guides that contain “100 stocking stuffers under $15,” or “150 gifts for him,” or “75 perfect gifts for her.”…
Holiday Gift Guide for Wine & Cocktail Lovers
This is part 2 of our Holiday Gift Guide. See part 1 here, all about ideas for BBQ, Grilling, and general foodies on your list. In part 1 I discuss my love/hate relationship with most gift guides and why we narrow it to 10 in each category, and why when it comes to our favorite…
Your First Smoked Turkey – Advice from the Pros and Joes
With Thanksgiving coming up, I’ve crowdsourced from pros, hobbyists, friends, and anyone who loves to do Thanksgiving outside for their best advice on smoking your first Thanksgiving Turkey. Now I didn’t grow up on smoked turkeys. My mom would always cook two, both roasted in the oven. One would go straight into this Green Chili…
