Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tail Gate Recipes From Terranova's

August 28, 2008

Finally it's here. Football season gets underway tonight as there are high school ballgames scheduled all over our area. Then tomorrow night there are even more high school games to enjoy. I LOVE IT! Of course, college football gets underway this weekend as well and that means folks heading out to the games early so they can do a little tail gating. Today we visited Terranova's Italian restaurant to pick up a few recipes to add to our collection for tail gating. These are a little different than your normal hot dogs, hamburgers, stew and chili. These you can fix at home, put on ice, warm up at the game and have a great meal that will have folks from all over the parking lot coming over and asking for a taste.
Here are four of Chef Paul Ackerman's recipes from Terranova's:

SPICY DILLED SHRIMP

1 lb. boiled shrimp
1/2 cup mayo
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced shallots or red onion
1 tsp. dried dill
1/4 cup sour cream
6 dashes Tabasco sauce (or to taste)

In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except shrimp. Mix well. Add shrimp and toss well to insure good coating. Refrigerate, the longer the better, then eat to your heart's content

MACARONI AND CHEESE

8 oz. grated fontina cheese
8 oz. grated American cheese
8 oz. heavy cream
16 oz. pasta (shells or elbow) cooked according to pkg. instructions
4 oz. gold fish crackers

Add heavy cream and cheese to a heavy pot and melt, stirring constantly until cheese is melted and smooth. Add the cooked pasta and stir in well to incorporate. Pour into an oven safe pan and top with crushed gold fish crackers. Cook in a 350 degree oven until the top starts to turn golden brown.

BBQ BEEF RIBS

1 rack beef ribs
2 cups water
1/4 cup Dales steak marinade
2 bay leaves
1/4 onion sliced
1 half lemon rind and juice
2 tbsp. seasoned salt
2 tbsp. liquid smoke

Add all wet ingredients to bottom of broiling pan along with bay leaves, onion and lemon. Place broiler rack on the pan. Remove membrane from back of ribs and put beef rib on the rack. Brush some of the Dales and liquid smoke on both sides of the ribs. Place ribs inside down on the rack and sprinkle additional seasoning evenly over the beef rib. Cover the whole thing tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place in oven at 225 degrees and cook for three hours.

Ribs can be chilled before grilling or you can grill them right out of the oven. Remember, when you grill them from cold, you have to start out a medium temperature to heat them up, then bring your temp up and add your favorite sauce to caramelize.

PURPLE CHICKEN

1 whole fryer chicken
1 cup raspberry walnut vinaigrette dressing
1 baking pan

Place chicken in oven safe pan (I would use disposable aluminum pan that can go from oven to frig.)
Fill basting bulb with dressing
Lift skin off the breast of the chicken but do not remove skin from breast bone. Squirt some of the dressing under the skin making sure to coat all of the breast meat. Make a small slit in the knees of chicken. Use baster to squirt more of the dressing into the drumstick and thigh parts of the chicken. Use about 2/3 of the dressing under the skin, rubbing chicken to insure even distribution. Cover with aluminum foil and place in preheated to 375 degree oven. Cook until chicken reaches internal temp of 150 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Drain off juice and add remainder of of the dressing to make a grilling baste. To grill, cut chicken into halves or quarters and place on grill inside down first. Baste generously and flip. Repeat a few more times making sure inside temp of chicken reaches 165 degrees.

This chicken can also be used to make a fantastic chicken salad using mayo, walnuts and celery to taste.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Scottsboro Meats

August 25, 2008

Talk about a kid in a candy shop, that's what I felt like when we visited Scottsboro Meat Market. Maybe it's a primal thing, but I have always been fascinated with taking a big hunk of meat and turning it into various prime cuts to cook over an open fire or roast in an oven to perfection. Whether it's beef, pork, chicken, turkey, well, you get the picture, if it is meat you can get it cut the way you want at Scottsboro Meats. They have three meat cutters on staff and will take your order and cut it fresh or you can check out the meat cases and pick and choose from the pre-packaged selection. Now don't get me wrong, you will find all kinds of groceries at Scottsboro Meats, but meat is their specialty. What I really like is being able to talk with Tommy Miller, the owner, and get his recommendations and also find about any of the specials he offers every week. Here's some information for you about that.

Scottsboro Meats is located at 116 Chestnut St in Scottsboro. The website is scottsboro-meats@yahoo.com. They have a new weekly special every week. It is always $ 19.99 and contains 4 meats and other staples. There is a Meat for the Month special and a Meat for the Week Special. They are open Monday thru Saturday from 7:30 am to 5:30pm and still carry your groceries to your car. The products are restaurant quality since they buy from foodservice suppliers. The phone number is 256-574-2626

Friday, August 22, 2008

Practical Shooting Club

August 22, 2008

Wow, what fun! The Rocket City Practical Shooter's Club took us out to their shooting range near Arab for a quick course in practical shooting. It is a form of target shooting that incorporates speed, accuracy and movement with either a pistol or a rifle. The primary firearm is the pistol, but shotguns and rifles have been added to make it an all-around event. The club stresses safety in every facet of the event and is very strict in enforcing the correct way to shoot firearms. It is very educational and truly fun. I am adding a couple of websites that you can check out to learn more about the sport of practical shooting and also the Rocket City Practical Shooter's Club.
http://rocketcityshooters.com
United State Practical Shooting Association:
http://www.uspsa.org

Friday, August 15, 2008

Rocket City Rock Crawlers

August 15, 2008

Talk about having fun in the woods, the Rocket City Rock Crawlers really know how to get it done. They have a big event coming up Saturday the 23rd and it's open to the public. If you like the sound of roaring engines, vehicles getting turned every which way you can imagine, even upside down, and drivers with a velvet touch, then this is an event for you...It is family fun that stresses safety, good stewardship for the environment and tons of fun. I am putting a link to two websites for all the info concerning the King of the Hill event and also the Rocket City Rock Crawlers:
Sponsored by the Rocket City Rock Crawlers and Rocket City Off
Road.
* King of the Hill info at http://www.koth4x4.com
* Rocket City Rock Crawlers info at http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.com
* Timed event with timing provided by Tennessee Valley Region
SCCA.
* Morgan County Sheriff's Department and Morgan County Rescue
Squad EMTs will be on site for the safety of competitors and spectators.
* Concessions will be provided by the Morgan County Sheriff's
Auxiliary.
* A raffle will be held throughout the day with a portion of the
proceeds benefiting Toys for Tots. Prizes include a Warn Winch, Detroit Locker and Custom Bumper.

The gates open at 8am and the races start at 9am. The course is privately owned and only about a mile from Brewer High School. There is a map with directions on the King of the Hill website.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

First Real Vacation With Jacque

Long time coming, but better late than never...I hope you have had a chance to watch our morning program...we have been having a lot of fun visiting places that are close by and would make great vacation spots. We started with Lake Guntersville State Park, as you know, it is one of my favorite places. The view from atop the mountain overlooking the lake is breathtaking and the newly renovated rooms at the lodge are fantastic. The dining room and the food is even better than before. Terry Darcy and his crew won't let you leave hungry and the view from the restaurant is outstanding. From there, photojournalist Thad Blake and I went to Cathedral Caverns...wow, no matter how many times I visit the caverns, I come away amazed at the beauty of the rock formations. If you have never visited Cathedral Caverns or haven't been in a couple of years, you should go. The Welcome Center is just that, so welcoming and the tours are even better. Next we headed over to Joe Wheeler State Park and checked out the new cabins they have opened. Wow, they are something else! Great place to take the family for some real fun and relaxation. The rooms have a view of the lake and the restaurant faces the lake as well. The new boat docks are great for either staying for a few days or just coming in to grab a great meal. By the way, the fishing is great at either Wilson/Wheeler or Guntersville.
Then we got a close look at the new tour boat that the Tennessee Aquarium has purchased to start their Tennessee River Gorge tours. Awesome...it will hold 70 people at one time and can travel at 55mph on the river. The River Gorge Tour is a new addition to the Tennessee Aquarium and is really relaxing and educational. In the next few weeks, we will be bringing you more places to see and things to do within a one tank of gas area...including heading up to Desoto State Park on Lookout Mountain, Noccalula Falls in Gadsden and The Dismals over near the Mississppi line.
I hope you had a great 4th of July holiday, I certainly did. Jacque and I went on our first ever vacation where we were actually by ourselves. Let me explain, as many of you know, my stepson, Jeff, is autistic and can't stay by himself. Well, he went to camp for a week at Camp McDowell (gosh, what a great place and a great group of teens and adults that give their time to see that folks with special needs get to have a good time, too) and it just happened to be over the 4th. He had a great time and Jacque and I took the opportunity to take a little trip ourselves since Leslie, my stepdaughter, wanted to stay home by herself and take care of our menagerie..three cats and a dog. We went to Lake Guntersville State Lodge and spent the night before we headed up to Sewanee and Monteagle, Tennessee for their 4th of July celebration. Then we went to Chattanooga for two days and visited the Aquarium, took the River Gorge cruise, the Ghost walk around Chattanooga and then went out to the battlefield at Chickamauga. We searched and found where some of Jacque's ancestors fought in the battle. Then we rode the Incline up to the top of Lookout Mountain and walked around where the battle for Chattanooga was fought..."the battle above the clouds." We even found the spot where one of her ancestors led his men to set up and defend the lower ridge during the battle. Talk about getting your exercise, we walked and walked and walked...and had a great time doing it. We wrapped up our little trip by heading back to Lake Guntersville State Lodge and spent one more night there...sitting on the balcony and listening to the crickets, cicadas, loons and other wildlife...when it comes to pure relaxation, it just doesn't get any better. Then we headed down to Camp McDowell and picked up Jeff and headed home. He was so excited about camp, he was already talking about next year and so were we. It was great for everyone.
If you have any questions about any of the places I have mentioned, please log on and let me know and I will be happy to answer them, assuming I can.