So the grilled marinated tuna last week was good, but the marinade did not produce the punch I was hoping. I went all lazy this week for another attempt, and just poured on about 8 oz. of Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing and Marinade. These tuna steaks are bigger this week, about 1.25lb each. Hope we can eat it all, especially with the price of tuna these days.

2 tuna fillets

8 oz Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing and marinade

Marinate for 1 hour, cook over charcoal/mesquite mixture until just slightly pink in the middle. Brush marinade on tuna throughout cooking. Fed 2 - will probably feed 4 less gluttonous eaters.

1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Lemon Thyme
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
1/2 cup beer (I used Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat
1/2 cup Sutter Home White Zinfandel
1 tbsp marjoram
3 - 1 lb Fresh Tuna Steaks

Marinate for 1 hour. Grill over charcoal and hickory chunks. All fish is very easy to overcook, but because tuna is a red meat fish, you can cook it similar to the way you would cook a steak, just don't expect juices to run clear when it is ready, so be careful not to over cook. Cook until just barely pink, or just barely past pink at the thickest part of the steak.

MR.BEER Ultimate Beer Kit Brewing System

This works great with Campbell Farms Gourmet Popcorn Rice, but will also work with any white rice. I suppose it will work with brown or wild rice, but not sure. The 'Rice' button on your microwave is kinda in charge of it. At any rate, this works great at our house - no clumps, perfectly cooked.1 cup of ricebuttersaltwaterPour 2 cups water into a round 9" glass bowl with lid. Add a teaspoon of salt (maybe a little more - usually I just pour some in the palm of my hand) and stir it in. Then lay 4-5 pieces of butter on top. Put it in the microwave and push the Rice button. After cooking, let rest for at least 5 minutes with the lid on - DO NOT STIR because this will release the starches, and that is often what makes the rice clumpy.

This works great with Campbell Farms Gourmet Popcorn Rice, but will also work with any white rice. I suppose it will work with brown or wild rice, but not sure. The 'Rice' button on your microwave is kinda in charge of it. At any rate, this works great at our house - no clumps, perfectly cooked.

1 cup of rice
butter
salt
water

Pour 2 cups water into a round Pyrex bowl with lid. Add a teaspoon of salt (maybe a little more - usually I just pour some in the palm of my hand) and stir it in. Then lay 4-5 pieces of butter to lay on top. Put it in the microwave and push the Rice button. After cooking, let rest for at least 5 minutes with the lid on - DO NOT STIR because this will release the starches, and that is often what makes the rice clumpy.

In the February 2008 issue of Louisiana Cookin', they have a feature on Rice, Glorious Rice! by Poppy Tooker. The article features Campbell Farms' Popcorn Rice, our favorite rice purveyor. When the article comes online, I will link to it.

Have you ever tried Ciroc vodka?
I discovered it after seeing P Diddy on Fox and Friends one morning and was intrigued by the fact it was made with grapes instead of grain (few vodkas are made from potatoes any more). I had settled on Skyy as my everyday vodka, mostly because of smoothness, but also because it is filtered to have few impurities. Skyy is quadrupled distilled and then triple-filtered to reduce congeners, of impurities that purportedly contribute to hangovers. Skyy is still some sort of grain vodka, but so be it. I should also mention that I have had most vodkas such as Grey Goose, Chopin, Stoli, and Absolut so I have a little background. While I am on the subject, these are all good vodkas, but the worst one I have ever tasted is Titos - it has the worst burn I have ever experienced, and I think jet fuel would have better flavor. I know some think it is the best, and maybe I will try another bottle, but I doubt it.

So, on a whim, I bought a bottle of Ciroc and I have to say it is the smoothest vodka I have ever had. It has little burn, and a clean finish with just a hint of fruit. Give it a shot.

We have been traveling to Jasper, TX, Gueydan, LA, and West Monroe, LA during the Christmas holidays, and have enjoyed several days of feasting on gumbo, ettouffee, chicken and dumplings, crawfish, cracklins, boudin, and even more to come. We've toured the Campbell Farms Gourmet Popcorn Rice facility and I have video of that as well as other pictures and video of our travels. Think of Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt, but without Alton Brown, a video production crew, television, or a BMW bike. In fact, it will be just my wife and cheap camera shots once they are put up. I will keep you posted.

If you buy everyday rice from the grocery store, I assume you are used to the rather bland, flavorless taste it has. Clumpy, soul-less rice is no way to go through life. There are plenty of flavorful, colorful gourmet rices on the market, and I want to turn you on to one that we
use as our only daily rice.

Campbell Farms Popcorn Rice

This rice has a nutty, popcorn like flavor that is a compliment to any rice-based dish. I have yet to turn someone onto it that does not immediately start using it as their daily rice. In fact, it is not uncommon for us to pick up 50 - 100 lbs whenever we see the Campbells. The price is more that you would pay at a grocery store for ordinary rice, but nevertheless it is a bargain.

The mixes, hot sauces, soaps and lotions are good, too. Throw a couple in with your rice order to save on shipping costs.

The last beef brisket turned out so well, I tried another. Because Wal-Mart was out of Mequite chunks, I used hickory this time. I also used A LOT more seasoning, the same as last time. This brisket was purchased from Sams Club, and it is Angus Beef. I honestly don't know where the last one came from, but I am pretty sure it was not Angus. I was a little concerned that the fat on the brisket was not as thick or well covering as the last one, but it turned out fine.

Because Wal-Mart was out of mesquite chunks, I had to use hickory. I think I like the mesquite on beef brisket better. I also wish I had not seasoned it at all. The beef has enough flavor on its on without help. Cooking time: 6 hours on the smoker, 2 hours in the oven. Internal temperature when pulled was 214. I only rested it about 25 minutes before carving, and I think that was a little short. I carved the smaller end first and stopped a little over half way through the brisket and ate. The rest of the brisket rested for about 45 minutes, and I think was much momre tender, but it could have to do with the thickness, the additional ribbon of fat through it, or the fact that
the thick end only reached 214 - the smaller end probably hit 225 or even higher. Nevertheless, no complaints.