Tag: annie tomasello

It’s a major undertaking to try and perfect the BBQ recipe for beef brisket. Miss Jenny and I have the Mango-Chipotle Baby Back Ribs and the Carolina-style Pulled Pork down, but the brisket is tricky and I’m burning a lot of pellets on the Traeger grill trying to perfect it. Cooked up the best one yet last weekend after making a brothy injection and patting on two dry rubs in between a coating of mustard. Smoked it, wrapped it, sprayed it with butter, let it rest and 15 hours later we carved it up. Tender, great texture, but the flavor wasn’t quite the rich beef melt-in-your-mouth I’m looking for. So, it’s back to the drawing board for fine tuning ingredients and time and temperature to get it right. Then I can serve it up for the poker boys and have an Indian summer BBQ with friends and a great bottle of 2008 Merlot from Solis Winery.

Claddagh unveiled a new menu Tuesday and our lovely waitress, under the watchful eye of hard-working owner Leslie Benson, pitched a mound of “Ultimate Fries” to our weary group. The verdict: “killer.” Healthy? No – but more than a wee bit tasty. Mixture of ranch and blue cheese dressing, Frank’s hot sauce, a few other “secret” ingredients and bits of crispy bacon. Messing with the menu never tasted so good. A tip of the green Claddagh cap  in order …