Packing & Shipping

There are some things in life that people dislike doing. Packing an odd shaped object and shipping it is something my Dad takes a disturbing amount of pride in. When Holly and I got married my folks came down and brought down a picnic table and chairs. The only item missing was the umbrella that went with the table. A challenge was born.

Now you must understand my Dad ships more items than an Internet retailer. I regularly receive packages from my Dad. Especially at work as there is always someone to receive the package. These packages range in size and shape from a simple envelope containing a magazine and letter to a large 3'x3'x3' box containing a 5 disc DVD/CD changer with surround sound speaker system packed so tight with foam peanuts, wrapping paper, and plastic air filled cells I had to disassemble it with a reciprocating saw. The people int he mail room at work love receiving packages form my Dad. It is always a fun challenge to determine what my Dad could possibly be sending now.

I knew that the mail room was in for a surprise when my Dad called me and told me he was going to send the umbrella, but stilled needed to work on how he was going to get it down to KC. Once the packaging material was established he went to work. When it arrived in the mail room at work it looked like this:

The umbrella was packed in two concrete tube forms. To keep the umbrella from sliding out the ends, my Dad decided that nothing else would work except for custom made wood covers screwed into the ends of the tubes. To hold the tubes together another custom option was needed. He inserted two wood trapezoids where the tubes connected together in the middle and screwed four 2" wood screws into the customer wood trapezoids. I have to say that the umbrella was received without any problems, however, the mail room people are convinced that I received a large sex toy. Thanks Dad.

BBQ Season happening

BBQ. What does it mean to you? When I first moved to Missouri, BBQ, to this Chicago kid, meant chicken breasts grilled on a propane grill slathered in a sticky, sweet red sauce. My understanding of BBQ has become altered through my culinary adventures since moving to Kansas City. BBQ meccas = KC, Texas, Memphis, the Carolinas.

Barbequing is cooking a piece of subpar meat using wood powered heat and smoke at a low temp over a long period of time turning the once tough meat tender, juicy and creating "flavorplosions" (yep, I cam up with that) in your mouth. Cooking is done by heating a barbeque cooker (smoker) to 200 to 250 using wood or charcoal which infuses the meat with a smokey flavor that brings out the cave person in all of us. It is a long process, taking anywhere from 4 hours to roughly 22 hours, with a median time of 18 hours. The longest I have cooked something was 18 hours. Cooking "low and slow" breaks down the connective tissue in the meat and melts the fat causing the bbq'ed item to fall apart. BBQ food examples are brisket, pork butt (shoulder), turkey, chicken, sausages, ribs, whole fish and potatoes.

Grilling is cooking food over direct or indirect heat source using charcoal, wood, or anything else flammable on grill. Grilling is quick, convenient, and delicious. Steaks, fish fillets, whole chicken, shrimp, clams, mussels, veggies, fruit, pork chops/tenderloins, and marshmallows.

I like both methods for flavor, but I really enjoy BBQ. What other food is an event and what other food generates such positive reactions.

My smoker is a barrel smoker.

The large part of the smoker is where the meat is placed. The small part on the right is the firebox where wood is combusted. Regional BBQ and wood go hand in hand. Wood used for bbq is based on availability.

Since KC is by the Ozarks, I use Ozark pecan wood from southern MO vendors and apple wood (from Mark W.'s backyard). The wood burning in the firebox is the pecan wood.

When the smoker is in action, I control the heat by controlling the amount of air allowed into the smoker. This is done in two locations. The primary location is an adjustable air vent on the right side of the firebox or by opening or closing the flap on the top of the smoke stack on the left of the smoker. Basically, the heat and smoke flows from left to right going out the top of the smoke stack. This bathes the meat in smoky goodness. The process is long, but yields excellent results. See below.

The pics below are of a brisket which I cooked for 18 hours

The brisket is in a tin after being cooked on the grate for the first half of the process.

The brisket should be covered during the final cooking process as it keeps the brisket moist.

I use a rub whenever I BBQ. A rub is a strong spice blend made of paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and some extra spices (garlic powder, onion powder, chile powder, cumin, or anything else that sounds good)

Looks like I added some red pepper flakes to this one.

This is the pork butt I made for our float trip. Once the pork is pulled off it is important to pull it when it it hot just because it makes the process easier.
The shoulder/butt develops a nice black crust near the end of the cooking process due to the sugar in the rub used. That outside is nothing but pure flavor. Yum.

This is what the pork looks like when it is pulled. I pull the pork with two large serving forks. This just fell apart. The key is to cook the shoulder to 180 degrees. This melts the collagen and fat making the pork tender and moist. Doesn't get much better than this.

April Update

April brought about some great things. 1) An end to busy season. 2) Plants emerging 3) Outdoor activities 4) New aditions

Plants Emerging:

The blooming plants along our walkway is the carryover part of my new hobby of gardening. Holly and I planted these bulbs last fall. Weather in KC during spring is a great 60 to 70 degrees most of the time which allowed me to do some needed work on the outside of the house.

Outdoor Activities:

Inspiration came from Powell Gardens, which is a short trip from our house (~30 minutes).

After seeing this cool 'living' wall at Powell gardens I decided that I was going to pull out the landscape timbers that were along the side of the house where the fence once stood. We lost the first portion of the fence to a large pine tree in our yard which fell during the winter. The remaining portion fell because it was rotted at the base and another windstorm came through during March.

New Additions:
The best part of April was the new addition the Mike and Christy received

This is a pic of my niece Lucy! She is so adorable.

This is a pic of proud Uncle Joey. I should mention that Lucy went right for my nips after this pic was taken. Guess my man boobs have gotten large. Might be time to lose some weight. No milk there little Lucy. Sorry!

Here is a pic of Lucy with Grandpa Joe. My Dad is a good baby holder b/c he, like me, has a lot of good natural padding.

I don't have any pics of Holly with Lucy, but Holly spent a lot of time holding this little cute ham loaf.