Bacon Night! - Gluten Free Bacon Chicken and Dumplings

One picture sometimes really is worth 1,000 words. Creamy chicken soup with bacon, potatoes, and gluten free dumplings will warm anyone on a cold winter evening.  I love this recipe, and will definately make it again.  To deepen the flavors I used chicken thighs instead of the breast meat the original recipe called for.  The only other change I made was using gluten-free biscuit mix from BetterBatter, which worked exactly like it was supposed to, always a bonus for gluten free cooking.

The recipe is here, and you can find BetterBatter gluten free products here. 

Apple Special Announcement - The NEW iPad

Well, the event is over, and new products have been announced.

The new AppleTV came first.  Not a huge update, but good news none the less.  The AppleTV has been a long running hobby for Apple, and they are making some improvements.  1080P video (up from the 720P maximum before), a new interface that looks more like the home screen of an iOS device.  I was hoping for FaceTime with an integrated camera, but it did not come yet.  Once it does, Apple has reinvented the set-top box.  Apple just posted an update for the current AppleTV, so I will update you and let you know if the new interface comes to the "old" device.

The big news is the new iPad.  Same price, 4x graphics with the new A5x processor.  Full 1080P HD video with the new retina display, better cameras, 4G LTE internet with speeds up to 72 MB/sec.  They improved everything that has made the iPad stay ahead of the tablet game so far.

Also announced was iPhoto for iOS (no word on whether this will work with other devices), updates to iWork and iLife applications like garage band and iMovie.

Apple has now put the video up for you to watch here, and updates for all of your iDevices are available for update as well.

Dinner Time - Gluten Free Baked Ziti

I love baked ziti.  Always have.  So much cheesy goodness.  Great meat sauce.  For those of you that have never had baked ziti, think a combination of lasagna and pasticcio.

Using the best ingredients, just like anything else in cooking, makes for better food.  So when I decided to try baked ziti gluten free, I was worried about the new pasta more than anything.  

The brown rice pasta held up perfecly, as you can see from the picture.  The cheese coated it perfectly, and it didnt have flavor or texture any different than a normal wheat pasta.

Try this one, you won't be sorry!

Recipe is here.

Bacon....wait for it....Jam!

Yes, you read that right.  Bacon Jam.

I ran across this recipe on Pinterest, and the idea seemed too good to pass up.  Bacon Jam??!??  Are you kidding me? How could I not make something called Bacon Jam?

The flavors of the salty bacon combine with the brown sugar, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar to make an amazing flavor profile that cannot be missed.  I will be making more of this as soon as what I have now is gone.

Now this is why we call the place Fat Boy Heaven!

The recipe is here.

Dinner Time - Gluten Free Lasagna Cupcakes

I love lasagna. Cheesy meaty goodness can never be over stated. However, doing it wheat and gluten-free has been a struggle. I was at NewSeasons Market today, and found a gluten and wheat free lasagna noodle and thought I'd give it a try. To change it up, I decided to do them in individual servings using a muffin pan.

They came out tasting great, but didn't hold together real well.  I think more sauce may have been what it took to make it hold better.

If you can't find the gluten free noodles, you can buy a roll of pre-made polenta and thinly slice it.  Polenta is frequently used as a substitute for pasta, and would be great here.

Give it a try, the flovor was great, and the fun change with the serving had the wife and kids raving.  The recipe can be found here.

Food Cart Review: Altengartz German Brand Bratwurst

I met a buddy in downtown Portland for lunch today, and since it wasn't raining we decided to hit the food carts at Portland's oldest food cart pod, on Alder Street.  For those outside Portland the concept may be foreign, but here food carts gather like teens at the mall on a Saturday afternoon.  Large groups can be found at several locations around town, but Alder Street is the oldest and largest to be found.

We made the loop of the full city block that is the Alder Street pod getting samples of foods that looked interesting to us.  I spotted a Green Bay helmet magnet through the window of a little Brat cart, and sampled one of the best Bratwurst I have ever tasted.  My mind was made up.

Since wheat and gluten were out, all I needed to do was get my brat with kraut sans bun and I was set.  George Wittkopp, the owner of Altengartz was quick to accommodate my request, and soon the smell of a brat frying with kraut filled the air.

The flavor was amazing.  A nice deep brown on the ends showed a well seasoned grill had been used, and the blend of spices was perfect.  George told me that Carlton Farms was making his sausages for him from his own recipe, and that old-world flavor shone through perfectly.  The sign of a good Brat is the lack of need to use condiments, and this one sure fit the bill.  I ate it as served and was not at all disappointed.

If you want more information on Altengartz Bratwurst, their website can be found at www.germanbratwurst.com

Definately a little piece of Fat Boy Heaven.

Cooking with Beer Wednesday: Braised Boneless Beef Ribs

Braised Beef Ribs served over riceOne of the things that happens in every household is opening the fridge and finding leftovers that are too good to toss.  Tonight I got to thinking about the leftover French onion soup I made the other night, and had an idea.  If I added a beer to it, there would be enough liquid to braise some beef!  Boneless ribs were on sale, so they got added to the plan.  Here's what I did:

Pre-heat your oven to 350.  Brown 3-4 pounds (6-8) Boneless beef ribs in olive oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven.  Add 2-3 cups of that left over french onion soup along with a bottle of beer.  Throw the covered dutch oven into the oven for 2 hours.  Increase the heat to 400 and remove the lid of the dutch oven so that about 1/3 of the liquid evaporates (about 30 minutes).

Serve over white-rice and enjoy your little slice of fat boy heaven!

Dinner Time - Gluten Free French Onion Soup...with a twist!

I love french onion soup, and this seemed like just the day to enjoy it.  I modified a recipe from AllRecipes.com to fit my tastes and our dietary needs, and it came out fantastic!

Adding the apples and bourbon gave it a very complex flavor profile, and using cheddar cheese to the top really helps set the combination of flavors off.

Recipe is here.

Dinner Time - Gluten Free Biscuits and Gravy

I know Wednesday has been cooking with Beer night, but I was craving biscuits and gravy tonight.  It's hard with needing to keep things Gluten free, but it came out really well!

Biscuits:

2/3 Cup Milk

2 cups Gluten-Free Bisquick

3 eggs

2/3 cup shortening

Directions:

1. Cut shortening into bisquick until pea-sized chunks form

2. Add milk and eggs, stiring until mixture forms into dough

3. Use tablespoon to drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 13-16 minutes

 

Gravy:

1lb Ground Beef or Sausage

3/4 cup White Rice Flour

2 cups milk or milk substitute

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Brown meat in large skillet on medium

2. Sprinkle flour over meat until all grease is absorbed and no loose flour remains in pan

3. Add milk, stirring consistantly until gravy thickens to desired consistancy.  If gravy gets too thick, milk can be added to thin it out.  Continue to stir until ready to serve.

Dinner Time - Gluten Free Bean and Corned Beef Soup

Tonight I wanted to try something different than the old standby soups I've been doing lately.  I saw a recipe idea for bean and brisket soup and modified it a bit to meet our dietary needs.

The soup turned out great, getting rave reviews from the family.  The corned beef made it a bit too salty for my taste straight from the package.  I should have maybe soaked it in water to try and get some of the curing out, but otherwise it was amazing.  As with any soup, the true test will be how it is the next day after the flavors have married together overnight, but I'm calling this one a hit.

The recipe can be found here.

Fat Boy Heaven: Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen

Display case with hand-made specialties like Knish

One of the best places in Portland for a casual night out is Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen on SW Stark at 11th in the heart of downtown. Mile high sandwiches and the best pastrami in the state can be found along side deli favorites like bagels, lox, knish, and latkes that remind me of my dad's kitchen growing up.


The counter for to-go orders

My wife and family had already ordered the signature pastrami cheese fries when I arrived, and they were almost gone. A large portion of perfectly cooked fries topped with a mound of crumbled pastrami and covered in cheddar make this a meal in itself, but we were just getting started.


Latkes
It is a bit of a cold evening, so latkes were on my order tonight, along with a side of flat-top fried pastrami. I love bacon, but it would be banished from my kitchen if I had a never ending supply of that pastrami in it's place.
The latkes were perfect, a nice mixture of potato and onion with just enough matzo meal and egg to hold it together to look much like a crab cake. The fresh sour cream and home-made apple sauce completed the plate in traditional fashion.

Grilled Pastrami

If you have not yet had the pleasure of sampling the traditional fare at Kenny & Zuke's, you owe it to yourself and your taste buds to give it a try.  It really is a little piece of fatboyheaven.

Bacon Night! - Alsatian Pork and Kraut

Alsation Pork with Sauerkraut

An amazing one pot meal. A great combination of flavors and textures that will please everyone in your house. Prep takes a bit, but the results make it all worth it.  The sugar and aples take away all of the sourness usually found in kraut, and leave a nice soft flavor from the fermentation.  

Come on, how many dishes have Pork, Bacon, Sausage, and fermented cabbage?  This is a great dish, and makes for amazing leftovers as well.

You can find the recipe here.

Old-school fun for the family!

The guys and gals at ThinkGeek just sent me one of the coolest toys I've gotten so far this year.  The Retro-Duo takes the internals from both Nintendo's original NES, and those of a Super NES to allow you to pull out your old carts and give them new life.

Since most modern TV's have made the old 75ohm connectors we used to attach cable boxes to disapear, the output boards allow for composite (Yellow video, Red and White audio) or S-Video output.  I had to hunt through bins at 3 different Goodwill stores to find games (my NES stuff went bye-bye a LONG time ago), but was able to turn up Ice Hockey and Golf to give it a spin last night.  When you can find them, carts are a lot cheaper now than they used to be.  I got both games for $6.00.

10% off orders $55 or more! Enter code: cmsave10

My son and I had a blast (after I was forced to explain that these were actually good graphics when I was 10 years old).  It took him a while to get used to the strange controls, but we had a couple of good games.  I beat him, of course, but it was still some nice father-son time.

Cooking with Beer Wednesday: Crock-pot Chicken

We had some chicken in the fridge that I needed to use tonight, but it was cooking with beer night.  I wasn't sure what to do, but I figured anything cooks fine in a crock pot, right?

The kids went back for seconds, and my Daughter said it was the best thing I've made since we started the cooking with beer segment here on FatBoyHeaven.com.  Enjoy!

As always, the recipe is here.

Laser Tag to go to the big room!

Hasbro sent out a press release about the upcoming NERF LaserTag line, and I can't wait!  Pairing via BlueTooth with your smartphone will allow you to use the phone as a heads-up display for your game, including locations of virtual targets, and shot information versus human opponenents.  Out in the real world, you will be able to play versus friends and versus randomly matched opponents.  Forget spending $10 a game at laser port, now you can play anywhere!  Its on now boys!

Here is the text of the press release:

LAZER TAG 2012 PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS

From the makers of the popular NERF blasters comes the revolutionary LAZER TAG system, combining the power, precision and excitement of live-action blaster battles with the high-action, strategic, augmented reality gameplay of traditional video games. To experience the LAZER TAG game, players download the free LAZER TAG app to their iPhone or iPod touch device, connect their device to their LAZER TAG blaster, and find themselves immersed in a world where video games and real life connect. Using either single or multi-player mode, players can engage in a LAZER TAG match featuring either real life worlds or virtual opponents. Each LAZER TAG blaster equipped with a device has a virtual firing range of over 250 feet and contains a 'Heads Up Display', or HUD, which allows players to keep track of their gear and remaining power, while also providing a view of the augmented reality targets and enemies in the area. A virtual leaderboard keeps track of each player's profile and, with every successful mission, players will gain in-game access to upgradeable attacks, missions and gear. With LAZER TAG blasters, the stakes are high, the game is real. Don't just play it, live it.

The 2012 LAZER TAG product line includes:

LAZER TAG 2 BLASTER Set
(HASBRO/Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $69.99/Available: August 1, 2012)
Get into the game with the ultimate LAZER TAG 2 BLASTER set, brought to you by the makers of the NERF brand. Set includes two LAZER TAG blasters. For enhanced augmented reality gameplay, simply download the free LAZER TAG app to an iPhone or iPod touch device and then connect the device to the blaster to activate the immersive gaming experience. When in multi-player mode, blasters are equipped with a virtual firing range of over 250 feet and an on-screen 'Heads Up Display' which, for the first time with LAZER TAG, allows players to see the lazer and keep track of their gear and remaining power. In the solo campaign, the blasters provide a view of the augmented reality targets and enemies in the area. Performing well in combat and mastering levels will increase players' stats on a virtual leaderboard, as well as unlock upgrades for attacks, missions, gear and firepower. Game may be played in single-player mode, or in multi-player mode with up to 24 people. Players can also play LAZER TAG without a device using the blaster's classic multi-player mode. Each blaster requires 6 AA batteries, not included. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

LAZER TAG Blaster
(HASBRO/Ages 8 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $39.99/Available: August 1, 2012)
Live the mission and conquer opposing forces with the innovative LAZER TAG blaster, from the makers of NERF products. For solo campaigns, players begin the game by simply downloading the free LAZER TAG app to an iPhone or iPod touch device and then connecting the device to the blaster. Players are then immersed in a live-action virtual gaming experience like no other. The on-screen Heads Up Display reveals virtual foes and targets in single-player mode and real-life worlds in multi-player mode, all while keeping track of remaining power and hits. Playing the LAZER TAG game as a single player allows players to use skill and strategy to master levels of increased difficulty, earning points and rewards along the way. Multi-player mode pits players against enemies in an epic competition where ability, energy and instinct rule. LAZER TAG blasters boast a virtual firing range of over 250 feet! Game may be played in single-player mode, or in multi-player mode with up to 24 people. Players can also play LAZER TAG without a device using the blaster's classic multi-player mode. Available in either white or yellow; each sold separately. Each blaster requires 6 AA batteries, not included. Available at most major toy retailers nationwide and on HasbroToyShop.com.

New innovation keeps coming

Just when you think everything great has already been invented, we get reminders that there are still those among us with the ability to create things we never thought of.  From self-cooling beverage cans (I hope beer companies get this together NOW) to polymers that protect your electronics from the elements, here is an article from Smithsonian.com highlighting some great things coming.

What will they think of next?

Bacon Night! - Bacon Pie

I know I am posting this late, but I was a bit under the weather this week and didn't get things posted that I should have.  I found this recipe online and adapted it to be better for those with wheat and gluten problems.  

Quick and easy prep made this a great meal, and it drew rave reviews from the family.  Cheese, Bacon, eggs and onions combine for great flavor and make for an awesome meal anytime. I did it for dinner this time, but I can see taking it to brunches as well.  We may even do this in the fifth wheel the next time we go camping.

Enjoy the picture, and you can find my version of the recipe here.

Dash - The Smartphone Radio

Kickstarter has become a force to be reconed with in a world where individuals mean more than Venture Capital.  I love looking at the great ideas people come up with, and the genrosity of people who catch the idea and the passion of others to help them realise their dreams.

 

Dash is the latest to catch MY attention, and I can't wait to see it come to market.  The idea is a dedicated head unit for your car that uses your iPhone as the control.  It accesses the audio output and plays it through your speakers, giving you access to all of your navigation, audio and other applications without needing to learn a new interface.

The idea is a great one, and the crowd-sourced funding is going to allow it to come to market pretty quickly.

Sphero has arrived!

When Sphero was first announced I thought it was an interesting idea, but didn't know if it was something I could really love. Now that it has arrived, I can't stop wondering what these guys will come up with next. I'll be playing around with them more tonight when the kids get home, but here is a quick rundown.
Sphero is a remote-controlled ball. I know, not very exciting at face value.

The thing that makes Sphero great are the applications. Golf, where you use the iPhone or iPod Touch as a virtual club. Sphero, which is just a simple remote control to play around with it. SpheroCam, which lets you shoot video and pictures of your Sphero in action. Draw&Drive let's you draw a path on the screen of your iDevice and watch the Sphero follow the path.

The exciting thing is what could come next. I can think of tons of applications. I would detail them here, but then I wouldn't be able to sell the apps.

Stay tuned for video and fun with the kids tomorrow.