Bacon Freak

With the recent launch of Bacon Jerky at www.baconjerky.com www.baconfreak.com many of our Bacon Jerky fans have had a renewed love of jerky. We have received all sorts of questions about the Jerky and the primary one is how come no one has thought about this before? Our bacon fans are lining up to get our jerky. We want to start by saying thanks to The Food Emporium of New York. They are the first retailer to step up and say we think this Bacon Jerky product may redefine jerky and have offered to put it in all 16 of there stores that are in Manhattan. They are even considering a launch party that will of course be loaded with Bacon Jerky and Bacon Freak BLT’s.

Thinking about Jerky and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, I know I will have about a ton of turkey left over. So the obvious is Turkey Jerky. Our friends over at www.jerky.com have created a Cranberry Thanksgiving Turkey Jerky recipe for our readers.

Ingredients:
• 2 pounds of turkey (or any meat type)
• fresh cranberries
• brown sugar or regular sugar
• an orange
• water
• salt & pepper (optional)
Directions:
1. Before you touch your ingredients, go ahead and cut your meat into slices about 1/4″ thicks.
2. Next, you can either chop up your cranberries in a blender or food processor to make more juice or line the bottom of a cake pan with the cranberries and smash them with a fork adding just a little water.
3. After you have done that, lay your strips on top of the cranberry juice and salt and pepper both sides, if you like, you do not have to season at all if you’d like to maintain more of the sweet taste.
4. Go ahead and sprinkle on your sugar but not too much if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth and squeeze that orange to zest your meat strips with a light orange flavor. Turn strips over if you’d like to zest both sides.
5. Let marinate in the fridge for as long as you’d like, flipping the meat strips ever so often to soak in that juicy cranberry flavor!
6. Once you have let it sit to your preference, set your oven on the lowest temperature and transfer that cake pan from the fridge to the oven, leaving the door propped open for ventilation. Dehydration takes anywhere from 3-9 hours in an oven but check periodically. Take out if you like it more chewy or leave in longer if you like it more crispy! Hope you enjoy this great Thanksgiving appetizer!

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

In our quest to create the perfect bacon centered meal, we here at www.Baconfreak.com are using our chef connections to do just that.

We contacted Chef Jason who is known for serving up creative recipes from Salt Creek Grille Princeton’s unique natural mesquite wood grill, Executive Chef Jason Hensle specializes in putting a new spin on traditional favorites, like Kobe beef sliders and the restaurant’s famous double cut pork chop. He’s passionate about using fresh, quality ingredients to create simple recipes that bring out a dish’s full natural flavor, without heavy sauces or complex tastes. For more information about Salt Creek Grille Princeton, please visit www.saltcreekgrille.com.

Salt Creek Grille offers sophisticated fare in a casual upscale setting, putting a creative spin on traditional American favorites. Simple, flavorful dishes emphasize the freshness and quality of the ingredients, with all food made from scratch, on-site. Executive Chef Jason Hensle oversees the restaurant’s open, exhibition-style kitchen, featuring a natural mesquite wood grill that adds a subtle, savory flavor to chops, aged steaks, chicken, market-fresh seafood, grilled vegetables, and more.

Stuffed Jumbo Shrimp

“A Salt Creek House Specialty”,
Stuffed with Horseradish & Bacon-Wrapped, Chipotle Honey Sauce for Dipping
Ingredients
5 ea Prep - Bacon Wrapped Shrimp (Prep)
2 fl ounces Chipotle Honey Sauce
1 oz chopped fresh cleaned spinach

1. Pre-cook bacon until translucent.
2. Slightly split shrimp and stuff with Horseradish Mix Stuffing.
3. Wrap with pre-cooked bacon making sure to tuck the end of the bacon under the wrapped part.
4. Deep fry shrimp just before service and store on the line.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until bacon is crisp (approximately 3 minutes).
6. Place sauce in a corner of the square plate.

Visit www.saltcreekgrille.com to learn more.

Signing Off and Pigging Out,
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
www.baconfreak.com

As the proprietor of the Coastal Vineyards Wine Club I get to taste a lot of different wines to determine which wines go into our wine clubs. We welcome you to our private cellar and our video series called Message in a Bottle. Today we will be tasting the Lomond Merlot 2005.

As a reminder our wine reviews aren’t meant to be a high society snob review. We are just going to drink and talk about the wines that we regularly feature in our wine club. So kick back, relax and enjoy.

Lomond Wines was created in 2004 in South Africa. For those of you who aren’t up on there South African wine and grape growing geography, Lomond is located in the Gans Bayi area in the valley of the Uilenkraal River. Yes I know its hard to pronounce but it drinks very well. – hey if you asked someone about napa 20 years ago, they would say what’s that or where’s that? So I didn’t expect you to know.

At first glance you will see that this merlot is a very Vibrant, lively red color. Its nose is gives off a mulberry aroma. Your palate will pick up some sweet plums and a hint of smokiness.

This wine has a great balance between fruit and wood make it a great wine!

Watch the video to see the rating we give this wine that is apart of the Coastal Vineyards South African Wine Club.

Cheers!
Rocco Loosbrock
www.cvwine.com

As the proprietor of the Coastal Vineyards Wine Club I get to taste a lot of different wines to determine which wines go into our wine clubs. We welcome you to our private cellar and our video series called Message in a Bottle. Today we will be tasting the 2007 Chumeia Vineyards Chardonnay.

As a reminder our wine reviews aren’t meant to be a high society snob review. We are just going to drink and talk about the wines that we regularly feature in our wine club. So kick back, relax and enjoy.

Chumeia has an interesting story, in the Greek, the word alchemy is Chumeia (koo-may-a). Ancient Greeks believed that by applying four basic elements: heat, air, earth and water as well as philosophical beliefs, they could transform basic elements into gold. Wine Maker Lee Nesbitt believes that not only is winemaking an alchemic process, but the grapevine and grapes has its own transformation of basic elements into great juice.

I recently visited this winery on my most recent trip to Paso Robles. The entrance is made of rock and stone and the wrought iron gate has some very impressive metal art work created with vibrant colors like that found on their wine labels. The winery and tasting room is very small, there is a table in front of the tasting room entrance that is a perfect spot for a picnic while you soak in the rolling oak trees.

The juice for this wine was grown in the San Joaquin Valley- specifically Madera. The 2007 Chardonnay was fermented for 26 days at 68 degrees in 100% stainless steel. The wine is loaded with a tropical taste, including pear, apple, pineapple and mango flavors. All of these flavors thrive lead to a solid finish!

Watch the video to see the rating we give this wine that is apart of the Coastal Vineyards Cabernet Wine Club.

Cheers!
Rocco Loosbrock
www.cvwine.com

As the proprietor of the Coastal Vineyards Wine Club I get to taste a lot of different wines to determine which wines go into our wine clubs. We welcome you to our private cellar and our video series called Message in a Bottle and our review of Kahn’s Cab Frank for our Cabernet Wine Club. Today we will be tasting the Cab Frank.

As a reminder our wine reviews aren’t meant to be a high society snob review. We are just going to drink and talk about the wines that we regularly feature in our wine club. So kick back, relax and enjoy.

Today we will bring back a classic wine that we featured a few years ago in our wine club. It is the Cab Frank which is a blend of merlot / cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. This vintage has an interesting story. The wine maker who was a Sinatra fan, played the swining sounds of Sinatra through the entire process, they even put a radio with a Sinatra CD on top of the barrel and looped the CD. Well as it turned out the Sinatra family heard of this project and actually gave approval to use the Sinatra name on the label.

This wine was hand-crafted and bottled with a passion and enthusiasm by Kahn Winery. The wine maker is Andrew Kahn who trained Fess Parker eventually becoming an Assistant Winemaker. During this time he began to experiment with small lots of wine on the side, while he made wine for a half dozen other winemakers who also used the facility.

This wine is a must try for any Sinatra fan. Good luck getting your hands on a bottle, the remaining bottle are now selling for over $150 a bottle. I only have two left my self.

Watch the video to see the rating we give this wine that is apart of the Coastal Vineyards Cabernet Wine Club.

Cheers!
Rocco Loosbrock
www.cvwine.com