BBQ Meatballs (Recipe)

I've been loving my slow cooker lately and here is yet another slow cooker recipe. These go well in a sandwich on a bun, over some pasta with your favorite pasta sauce, or just by themselves as an appetizer.

Ingredients for the meatballs are as follows:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 egg
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
3 heaping tbsp. dark brown sugar
3 tbsp. corn starch
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. molasses
1 tbsp. dry chives
1 tsp. liquid smoke
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry chili flakes
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

What to do for the meatballs:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and combine well with your hands. This recipe yields about 19-20 walnut-sized meatballs. Feel free to use your 1/4 cup measuring scoop or an ice cream scooper to get uniform-sized meatballs. After forming the meatballs, place in your slow cooker. It's okay to have more than one layer.

Ingredients for the BBQ sauce are as follows:
1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce (in this case, I used Stubb's Sweet Heat)
1 cup bourbon whiskey (in this case, I used Jim Beam)
1/2 cup steak sauce (in this case, I used A1)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. coriander
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. chili flakes
1 tsp. pepper

What to do for the sauce:
Whisk everything together in a bowl or 4-cup capacity measuring cup and pour over the meatballs.

Once this is done, put the cover on and set your slow cooker on low for 3 hours. During that time, feel free to make some homemade buns or just relax and let dinner cook itself.

San Francisco International Chocolate Salon 2013

I can't believe I missed this event the last six years. This was the 7th annual SF Chocolate Salon and also the first year I heard about it. It was absolutely worth it. $20 for an early bird ticket at the Fort Mason Center gained me entry, free demos/talks, and unlimited tastings of chocolate, wine, balsamic vinegar, tea, skin care items and spirits. There was even one beer vendor. It didn't hurt that the chocolate and non-chocolate vendors at this event were award winners. Here were a few of my favorites.

Amella
http://www.amellacaramels.com/
Salted caramels are all the rage right now and there were many chocolate vendors handing out samples of their version. These were, in my humble opinion, the best salted caramels at this whole event, or that I've ever tasted. Too bad they are a Los Angeles company. But lucky for us, online ordering is available.

Plumeria Flours
http://www.plumeriaflours.com/
Inspired by the Hawaiian flower, this Walnut Creek-based company not only makes confections and cookies, but they also cater. I ended up purchasing a couple flavors of their caramel popcorn. Online ordering is also available.

SpringLoaf
http://www.springloaf.com/
This Lafayette catering and event planning company gave out samples of a super chewy, chocolatey, moist and not too sweet brownie. I had to mention them just because of the brownie. I will definitely keep them in mind for any future catering needs I may have. Yum.

Toffee Talk
http://cjstoffeetalk.com/
Very delicious toffee. The sample I tried had roasted almonds in it which gave it a nice toasty aroma along with the buttery toffee that wasn't too sweet and had a very nice texture. These can also be ordered online.

Marich Premium Chocolates
https://www.marich.com/
This vendor had a variety of chocolates including chocolate-covered nuts and dried fruit as well as jelly beans and caramels. I ended up going home with their chocolate-covered Chipotle roasted almonds and some chocolate covered blueberries. Online ordering is available.

Raff Distillerie
http://www.raffdistillerie.com/
I love supporting the small, craft distilleries, and these were a surprisingly tasty Absinthe Dieu and Dry Gin. They also mixed each one into cocktails they designed and they were very good. I ended up with a bottle of each. The distillery is located at Treasure Island, but their spirits can be found at several retail locations.

Alquimia Organic Tequila
http://www.tequilaalquimia.com/
I would have never considered tequila a sipping spirit, until I tried this line. Alquimia is also the first eco-friendly and sustainable tequila maker I've ever heard of and they make an exceptional product. My favorite was the Anejo. Very smooth and full of flavor.

Overall, this event was two hours well spent. I will definitely be looking forward to it next year to discover other amazing chocolate and non-chocolate products.

Braised Lamb Shank (Recipe)

I've been on a braised meat kick lately and this latest recipe is lamb shank braised in a tomato-based gravy. A slow cooker works best for this. Here's what I did.

I started off with two 1-pound lamb shanks, salted and peppered, then placed in a small slow cooker. In a 4-cup capacity measuring cup, I added 1 cup chicken broth, 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce, 1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste, 1/2 cup dry sherry, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 cup raisins, 4 heaping tbsp. dark brown sugar, 2 tbsp. dijon mustard, 2 tbsp. ground coriander, 1 tbsp. cumin, 1 tbsp. dry parsley flakes, 1 tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives, (dried would be fine too), 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cardamom, 1 tsp. smoked paprika, 1 tsp. celery salt, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. dry chili flakes, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper.

I then whisked this all together and poured it over the lamb shanks. The lamb shanks should be completely submerged. I then pushed 3 dry bay leaves into the top of the sauce (these should be removed after cooking), put the lid on and turned my slow cooker on low. After 11 hours, I served my super tender lamb over some steamed brown rice.

Any leftover sauce can be used to cook chicken, shrimp, pork, fish, veggies or even cook some ground beef in it and pour it over pasta. It's so versatile and delicious!

Braised Ox Tail (Recipe)

I've been trying to re-create one of my favorite ox tail dishes from my favorite food truck, Go Streatery. I don't think this is 100% the same, but I think it's pretty darn close. Here's what I did.

I first took 2 lbs. of ox tails and trimmed off as much fat as I could. Ox tail can be found at your local latin or asian market. I think even Costco carries them now too. I then put them at the bottom of my slow cooker. In a 4-cup capacity measuring cup, I added 3/4 cup dry sherry, 3/4 cup port wine, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/8 cup red wine vinegar, 1/8 cup tomato paste, 1/8 cup dijon mustard, 2 heaping tbsp. dark brown sugar, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper. I then whisked everything together and poured it over the ox tails. The ox tails should be completely submerged in the liquid. After that I added 2 dry bay leaves, one onion (quartered) and two large carrots (cut in half) on top. The veggies serve a dual purpose: keeping the ox tails submerged and also flavoring the sauce. I then put the lid on and let it braise on low in the slow cooker for 14 hours.

After the 14 hours, I turned the slow cooker off, discarded the onion and carrots and skimmed off as much fat off the top as I could. I then removed the ox tails with a slotted spoon and served them over steamed rice. To the remaining liquid, I added 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice, stirred that in, poured this gravy over each dish, sprinkled some fresh lemon zest over the top and chowed down. Not exactly the same, but quite tasty in its own right.