22nd Pig Roast 2012

So Mike and I attended the 22nd Annual Pig Roast on October 20th. His family has this roast every year and roasts a pig, well, they haven't done a whole pig for a little while so they did two shoulders. 

So we left at O'Dark thirty in the morning to arrive around 9 or 9:30 am at the cabin.

We did get the chance to see the sunrise together and it was absolutely gorgeous. Great country scenery with a beautiful sunrise. Great way to start a day.

So 3 1/2 hours of being on the road and two pit stops later we arrived at the cabin, which is located in "middle of nowhere" USA. It's not somewhere you would just think to go and the people around the area are definitely redneck. But it was definitely a gorgeous area. The colors of fall and all the foliage. Absolutely beautiful area.

So we arrived, unloaded the truck and figured out what we needed to help with. So we checked on the pig. Well, pig pieces. Mmm, couldn't wait to dig into that, but it was only 9:30 am and the pig wouldn't be ready until about 1 or 1:30. The fire was started around 4 am that morning and the pig was put on around 4:45 am. So the pig had already been slow cooking for about 5 hours. Mmmm, that's gonna fall right off the bone. Couldn't wait.

They do have this nifty little motor to spin the pig to keep the cooking even. From what I caught from conversation they pieced it together, which is actually pretty cool. Kept the pig evenly cooked and ultimately delicious. They had a fire going and had some hickory or mesquite smoker chips/bits in there too to give it a bit of flavor.

Look at that pig, ain't it beautiful and delicious looking?

Yeah we all pretty much sat around that baby a good part of the morning, munching on the snack foods like crackers, cheese, fruit and chips in eager await of the main event.

Of course waiting on food can be a little boring, not that conversing with people isn't fun. Mike took me out on the 4-wheeler for my first ride. I've never been on a 4-wheeler. I have been on a dirt bike but cannot say my experience with that was pleasant. I did hold onto him a little to hard when we first took off down the road. Mike told me on a few occasions to lighten my grip and that I didn't need to hold on so tight. Of course going 50 mph on a vehicle that doesn't have any seat belt or really any safety feature to keep you on makes me a little nervous to start out. I eventually got to the point where I just held onto the bars on the back of the 4-wheeler and started to really enjoy it. After we had stopped and saw the lake he let me drive it back. That was fun. So got to ride and drive one for the first time. How cool. :) However, Mike didn't think I drove fast enough - it's my first time, I'm not driving 50 mph. I'll stick to 30.

So when we got closer to actually eating Mike's dad began to baste it in some good old KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce. Mmmm, that just made our mouths water even more.

Mike's Uncle and cousin did the meat carving. The smoke ring on that meat was about 1/8th of an inch and it was sooo delicious. The bone literally pulled right out of the meat. It was amazing. Mike said it was the best they had had so far. There was soo much food beside the pig. There was broccoli cheese rice casserole, macaroni and cheese, fruit tray, veggie tray, bean dip (which is evidently legendary and so delicious it disappears faster than you can blink) and then there was a delicious dutch oven black forest cake that Mike's sister made. She evidently is not cooking inclined so this was something many doubted would turn out and we were all skeptical due to the instructions of specific amounts of coals on top and underneath. So it was turned and watched for 40 minutes without looking. All wondering if this thing would turn out. It actually turned out quite well. Found that it was moist and delicious. I only got a small bite because it disappeared pretty quick and I really didn't want and entire bowl of it. There was also pumpkin pie and apple pie on top of the promise of s'mores later (which I did have.)

After being stuffed to the brim and sitting back while our stomachs settled. It was a pretty great time getting to meet his aunts and uncles and cousins. Sat back, listened to stories and laughed at his dad being his dad. His family cracks me up. I truly enjoyed myself and I know Mike did too.

We stayed the night at the cabin and his mom and dad, Mike and I sat around the fire until about 9 pm and had some drinks. I had some Jack Tennessee Honey with Diet Dr Pepper while Mike had some with Coke. That's good stuff. Smoother than Jack's original Tennessee Whiskey.

The next morning we helped pack up and make sure things were picked up, put away and locked down. Mike and I took the 4-wheeler's out one last time. He made me drive my own this time. It was a beautiful crisp morning and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery and was getting more comfortable with the 4-wheeler. Came back to the cabin, loaded up the 4-wheeler's and locked up the cabin. Soon headed back to reality. I had taken Friday and Monday off to ensure a truly relaxing weekend. My weekend hadn't started off so well because Friday morning as I tried to leave I had a flat tire - not cool. So I was delayed about 2 hours from leaving my place to arrive at Mike's. Good thing we left Saturday.

So Sunday we spent the day carving a pumpkin and making dinner for ourselves and roomie and another friend. Grilled chicken with vegetable kabobs and macaroni and cheese Mike's mom had made and sent home with us. Pretty delicious if I do say so myself.

Monday we went to the gym then ate at my favorite local sandwich shop, Mighty Melt. I love the bread there. Their sandwiches are pretty good. I'm trying to replicate their bread - of course they don't give out their "secret" signature recipe and won't tell me what kind of bread it is. Grrr, means I have to figure it out on my own. Which in and of itself is frustrating but gives me an experiment and plenty of bread around the house.

Monday we also went out on Mike's layout boat and tried out his new motor for it. Worked pretty well. Much faster than the push pole. Was entertaining and helped scout out areas he could hunt ducks. He's hoping to get some hunting in Tuesday this week and possibly Sunday next week.

This weekend I was involved in Rugged Maniac's 5k mud run in Weston Missouri at the Snow Creek Ski Resort. Can I just say the hills there were absolutely insane and totally not meant for running or climbing up.

It was crazy on that account on top of the fact that it was cold and had water obstacles. I ran at 12:30 and it was still only 35 degrees outside. There were 4 water obstacles. It really wasn't too bad once you got through the first obstacle. At that point your legs are numb and you just keep pushing through. I finished in roughly 51 to 53 minutes, considering my 3.15 mile time averages about 28:30 minutes so to add in around 15 obstacles that's not bad. I plan to do warrior dash in April in KC. Should be a lot of fun. I felt like a beast going up the mud wall with the rope. You really have to use a lot of upper body strength. I can't say I've ever had fantastic upper body strength but with the Insanity workout I just finished it has helped quite a bit.

Front: Before & After

Back: Before & After

I am at the very least quite impressed with my results. I wasn't expecting it honestly. Mike has had really great results as well with his, haven't taken his after pics yet. Though today we did get some good pictures together. My friend took pictures for me for my Christmas cards as well as some pictures of Mike and I. So all in all we have been doing well and not really been cooking a lot. I have baked a lot of bread and will update once I've made about 10 more loaves, I'm sure it will take that much haha. 

Tomorrow Mike is thinking about doing a smoked turkey breast or a smoked brisket. Either way it sounds delicious and I am totally jealous that I won't get any ;) Lucky roomie.

So that is all for this recap of where we disappeared to. Been busy is all.

Go out and cook folks.

Late Night Roast

Well here we are again, time for something a bit savory again.

Mike calls me up last night and asks what he should cook for dinner. He wasn't quite sure what he wanted so doing the "what are you craving" game we came up with him making a roast, which he likes to do, he then gets to carve the meat with his ninja knives.

He used a sirloin roast and cooked it at 350 degrees with 2 cups of beef bouillon stock until the meat was around 131 degrees, yes this would be under cooked to a lot of folks, however, after sitting for a little while the meat temperature will rise and after letting it rest and he sliced he said it was just under medium rare but not rare. Perfect for reheating later this week when he makes sandwiches and other meals, as well as when the roomie eats too.

He and I will tell you, if you cook meat you need a meat thermometer. It is a kitchen must, as well as a good chefs knife, not a crappy $5 Walmart knife. Yes, you will have to spend more than $20. I just recently bought a new chefs knife, I got a hell of a deal on it but I had to spend some money to get something nice and would work in my kitchen.

yes this is in my car on on my "Starry Night" window shades
Don't judge.

He served the roast beef, which was seasoned with McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning, with a roasted veggie mix which he placed in a roast pan and simply roasted. The vegetables consisted of tomatoes (large), 1 medium container of mushrooms (fresh), and one medium onion. Being that he doesn't normally like tomatoes he said he enjoyed them. 

To round out the meal he used Knorr Beef Stroganoff noodles as a starchy side dish.

Mike's finished product meal

He said it tasted good and was a good meal, of course having cooked roast it took a bit longer than he thought and he was just eating around 9pm when I was finishing my run.

Here is the ingredient list and instructions:

Sirloin Roast - size varies depending on your needs
2 cups beef stock or similar made from bouillon cubes
McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning

3 large tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 medium pkg fresh mushrooms
(you can tweak this based on what you prefer)

Knorr Beef Stroganoff Noodles, plus pkg instructions for making.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, rub meat with seasoning and place in roasting pan with beef stock. This keeps your meat moist. Roast in oven for about 2 hours, check after 1 1/2 hours for temperature. Pull out when 5-10 degrees under what you want it to end at. 130 - 135 is medium rare so if you pull out at 120-125 your meat will be close if not at medium rare after resting for 10 minutes.

Place vegetables in pan and season to your liking and roast until tender.

Follow package instructions for noodles.

Serve and enjoy.
Allez Cuisine!

What we do

We are Mike and Sarah. We love to eat and cook. So we decided we should start a blog of the things we cook together. We find that we make some pretty awesome food when we put our heads together and put the idea to work.

This is where we will clue you in on what we do. Cooking and ideas. We will even include recipes where we can and as long as we remember to. ;) we are busy so if there is a lag in posts that would be why.

So to start off our recipe/cooking posts we made roast Monday. Oh so delicious. Tender, juicy and the spice mix Mike created at the farmers market was spot on. Smoky, flavorful and a little kick at the end. We enjoyed that with green beans that had a garlic herb spice (also from the farmers market) then we had the potatoes, carrots and onions from the pan we roasted in. Just a fantastic dinner to the end of a holiday weekend.

Mike did all the chopping, that is probably his favorite part of cooking. He has excellent knife skills. I help out with what I can, giving the temp and time things should cook as well as helping prep things that he isn't currently chopping up ;)

When all is said and done we end up with a fantastic dinner. We also then have a dinner where we sit on the couch and high five each other for a job well done as well as moan about how good it was and the fact that we ate too much. Ha! In the end we have enjoyed ourselves and look forward to many more food adventures. Here is our roast and veggies.