Cucumber and tomato salad recipe

Summer 's here and the time is right for.... salads. Crisp, cool salads. They go perfect with all of your summertime grilling favorites, be they hot dogs, brats, hamburgers or chicken. Whatever your favorite thing to throw on the grill, beat the heat this summer and throw together this easy cucumber and tomato salad. It uses bottled salad dressing so is super easy to put together at the last minute. The bright colors of the fresh from the garden veggies make it look as good as it tastes!
Cucumber and tomato salad recipe

Twice Cooked grilled brisket

Brisket is a cut of beef that takes long slow cooking. You see it being used all the time in barbecue competitions, including the Jack Daniels World Championship Invitational Barbecue competition. If you don't have the time, or the equipment, to slow smoke your brisket, try this twice cooked method. The meat is first slowly braised in your oven for 3-4 hours, then put over hot coals and hickory wood chips to finish. The result is a perfectly cooked brisket with a nice smoky flavor. Save the resulting braising liquid for a sauce to pour over the finished beef. The oven portion of this recipe can be done the day ahead. Just take the brisket out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before smoking it.



Twice Cooked Brisket

* a 4 pounds of beef brisket
* 1/2 cup sliced onion
* 3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
* 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup dry red wine
* 1 tablespoon ketchup
* 1 tablespoon maple syrup
* 1/4 cup honey
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar



Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Place the brisket fat side down on heavy duty aluminum foil, large enough to hold the beef and have plenty to fold and wrap around it. Rub the top side of the meat with salt and pepper. Smear on the garlic, and scatter on the onions. Bring the foil up around the meat and onions, but don't close it yet. Pour in the wine and Worcestershire. Carefully close up the foil tightly to seal in the liquids and enclose the meat. Place it seam side up in a pan, deep enough to catch all the juices if the seal isn't good or a hole is developed. Braise in the oven for 3-4 hours, or until the meat registers 140 on a meat thermometer. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the juices. When cool enough to handle, carefully open the foil and pour the juices into a sauce pan. Stir in the ketchup, syrup, honey and vinegar. Bring this to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture reduce by half. It should be syrupy. One hour before you plan to serve, light your fire, if you are using a charcoal grill. If you are using a gas or electric grill, you can wait until about 45 minutes before you plan on serving. The fire/elements should be a medium heat. If you have a thermometer on your grill, it should register about 300. Prepare your chosen wood chips according to the package directions. When the charcoal or gas grill is ready, place the chips on your fire or element according to manufacturers directions. Let the chips get started. When the wood starts to smoke, place the meat on the grill, fat side down and close the lid. Allow to smoke on the fat side for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip the meat over and smoke for another 15 minutes. Be careful, you don't want to over cook it. You are basically just warming it up and giving it a smoky flavor. The meat is already cooked. Remove from the grill and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Slice across the grain and serve with the sauce.

Lemon Snaps

Great with a cup of Earl Grey tea, these cookies are a nice change from your typical gingersnaps. Try substituting orange or lime for the lemon! You can find the sparkling sugar in the baking aisle of Wal-Mart in Fayetteville.

Recipe here.

Pimento cheese

A common food in the South and the Philippines, pimento cheese is an excellent dip for chips, veggies and crackers. It is the signature dish of the Masters Tournament and an economical sandwich spread. This recipe is fancied up a bit with Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, onion and garlic powder. You can eat it as soon as you make it, but it is much better after a day or two.

Pimento Cheese Recipe

Barbecue shrimp recipe

Barbecue shrimp recipe

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Chuck's Tomato Dip

This quick and easy dip recipe is similar to a salsa. Try it in place of salsa in your favorite recipes, or just use it as the name describes, a dip. It's great with tortilla chips.

Chuck's Tomato Dip

* 1 20 ounce can of diced tomatoes
* 1 onion, finely diced
* 1 bell pepper, finely diced
* 4-6 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
* 1 clove of garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 cup vinegar
* 1/4 cup ketchup
* 1/4 teaspoon each of thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary

Place everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Serve with chips.

Ground beef pistolets

Generally known as "French rolls" pistolets are are used for stuffing, frying and handy sandwiches. If you're doing stuffed pistolets, such as these, look for rolls that aren't well browned. If you can find 4-6 inch long brown and serve dinner rolls, those would be perfect. If all you can find are browned rolls, those will be fine too.

Pistolets can be stuffed with any number of things. Crawfish, shrimp, sausage, veggies, whatever you like. It is a good way to use up bits of leftovers. This recipe is for approximately 50-60 sandwiches, or a small invasion force. Feel free to reduce the amount. One pound of meat will make about 10-12 sandwiches.

Ground beef pistolets for a crowd

* 50-60 french bread rolls, 4-6 inches long
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3 onions, diced
* 2 stalks celery, sliced
* 1 bell pepper, diced
* 5 pounds ground beef
* 1 large box Velveeta cheese
* 40 ounces of frozen chopped broccoli, defrosted and drained well
* salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Hollow out the bread by cutting off the tip and pulling out the insides. Save the tip. Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions, celery, and bell pepper and sautee. Add the ground beef and brown well. Stir in the broccoli and add in the Velveeta. Add salt and pepper if you feel it needs it. Fill the hollowed out bread with the ground beef mixture. Stick the tips back on, otherwise the filling runs out everywhere. Brush with some melted butter and arrange on baking sheets and bake for 15 minutes.

Pistolets for not so big a crowd

* 10-12 french bread rolls, 4-6 inches long
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 onion, diced
* 1 stalk celery, sliced
* 1/2 bell pepper, diced
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 small box Velveeta cheese
* 10 ounces frozen chopped broccoli, defrosted and well drained
* salt and pepper to taste.

The directions are the same as for the larger amount above.