Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Friday, October 13, 2017

DENVER - LOOKOUT

Denver - I'm coming for you!  I've got a plan ticket booked for October 21st through the 28th.  No real agenda other than to explore, hike, fish, and camp every single day.  Sounds like a good plan, right?  Of course it does.  I have been relying on the interwebs to provide me lists of places to go/see and things to do, but now I am asking for help from whoever I know that is there in Denver or the surrounding area to provide me with your hot spots.


I'm kidding.  I'd never ask anyone for their hot spots, but if you would be so kind as to tell me cool places to hike that have some epic views near camping and fishing, that would be killer!  I've never been to Denver or the state of Colorado, and this will definitely be my first time exploring the Rocky Mountains.  I am super stoked for the trip.

One thing I do have on my list of things to do is eat at The Buckhorn Exchange and have some Rocky Mountain Oysters.  Crazy to think that one would be excited to willingly put Bull testicles in his/her mouth, but I'm game.

Any other recommendations for places to go hike, camp, fish, must do's, and maybe your favorite brunch place.  All information is much appreciated!

Maybe I'll even get to visit with +Howard Levett




Monday, April 24, 2017

CUCUMBER SALMON BITES

I have mentioned it in the past, but my very beautiful and talented cousin Brianna has a food blog - Swinton Kitchen.  I'm not one for recipes, and usually just make things based on what I know works together.  Recently, I decided that I was going to give one of her recipes a shot.

I chose the Swinton Kitchen: Cucumber Salmon Bites, and let me tell ya...they turned out fantastic, and delicious!!!

My finished product. Devoured moments after this photo.
Next up on my Swinton Kitchen list to try are the Apple Cookies.  I'll report back.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving.
 
Eat lots of good food!
 
Don't go waiting in lines after dinner or the day after.  Get out and enjoy what's out there!  There's so many other things that you can do with your time that would be much more enjoyable than waiting in some department store line to save a few bucks.
 
I know I plan on getting out and going for a hike or possibly a quick wade on some small waters that I know won't produce any fish, because, it's that time of the year...but who cares!  It'll just be nice to get out and enjoy nature.
 
 
I have many doppelgangers, and my friends love to find them.

 
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Not The Only Blogger

I'm not the only Blogger in the Carfagnini family.  My cousin Brianna recently made her cooking/food blog public, and it is looking good!  She is one helluva talent in the kitchen, DIY projects, and crafting.

I highly recommend that you check out her blog.
FYI - It'll make you hungry.

Click Here -> Swinton Kitchen.




Monday, February 29, 2016

Driftless Winter 2016: BOB'S BITCHIN' BBQ

After Day One of my Winter Driftless trip, my buddy Adam, and I were in dire need of some food and drink.  While I was driving, Adam, was naming off places he was finding near our hotel in Dodgeville, Wisconsin....

McDonalds - No.
Burger King - No.
Hardee's - Hell No.
Culvers - Maybe.
A&W - Maybe.
Bob's Bitchin' BBQ - Did you just say bitchin'?  Really?????

I think we were both sold on the name alone, and I mean, how could you resist some barbecue.  After finding it and driving past, it didn't look like much, but once we stepped inside the place was big, and it was PACKED.  Everyone in Dodgeville and surrounding towns must have been there.  The Hostess told us it'd be an hour wait.  Starving, but intrigued by the place, we decided it was a good idea to grab a beer at the bar and wait.

The BBQ was definitely Bitchin' 
The food lived up to expectations.  I forgot what Adam had, but I ordered the sample platter and chose the beef brisket, smoked sausage, and smoked pork chop.  It came with cornbread and 2 sides of your choice, and I chose the mac n cheese, and sweet potato fries.  They had a bunch of different BBQ sauces that they make on the table.  All of them were great, but my go to was the habanero bbq sauce.

It never had a chance.
Well worth the wait, and would definitely make a return trip there in the future.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Thanksgiving, again.

I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving.  Spent lots of time with family, friends, and food.  I know I sure did, and I've been trying to work it all off ever since.  I love the food on that day so much, I decided I was going to cook a few things that I enjoy eating on that holiday, so, I can have it for dinner all week.

While I was walking through my local grocery store on Sunday, they were having a sale on turkey legs, so, I picked up 4 of them.  I've never cooked a turkey, hell, I'm not very good with ovens.  I can cook on a grill and stove top no problem, but the oven always gives me issues.

While I'm not one for following recipes, and usually just make everything off the top of my head or however I think my Mom would make things, I had to look up the temperature and time turkey needs to be cooked.

I started by placing the 4 turkey legs in a large tin or whatever it's called.


Next I just added a bunch of herbs and spices that I enjoy to a little bowl to season the turkey.

Black Pepper
Basil
Tyme
Oregano
Lemon Pepper


Chopped up some yukon gold potatoes.


Cleaned and chopped up some carrots and a white onion.


After seasoning the turkey legs, I added all of the vegetables.  I also, added some extra virgin olive oil, and water.


I let it bake in the oven at 350 degree's for 2 hours and 15 minutes.

The finished product looked fantastic!


It tasted even better!


Good thing I'm doing double days at the gym again.  Need to get back in shape, and eat all of this delicious food at the same time.  It's not easy being me. :)

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

WCF DPR FLOATILLA

This past Labor Day weekend, I got out with a bunch of guys from a local fishing forum - WindyCityFishing.com.  I believe there were 13 of us that made it out to the Des Plains River with kayaks and canoes.  It was a great time.  I got to meet some good people from the forum that I haven't met, yet.  After the float there was food and drink provided by a few guys.  

Big thanks, to all of them for throwing this all together.

I made a video of the outing.  Everyone contributed to the video, so, I can only take credit for throwing it together.  Hope you enjoy it!  Hopefully, I'll be able to make the next one.


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Usually with stuffed peppers I either use Italian sausage or ground sirloin. I'm becoming a big fan of ground turkey, and thought, how would this taste as the meat substitute in my stuffed peppers. So, I gave it a try, and I must say, it was very tasty! While I'm still a huge fan of spicy Italian sausage, I think the turkey will be a nice change up once in awhile for future meals.

Cook the ground turkey in a frying pan, with diced/sliced mushrooms, white onions, and a lot of minced garlic. Other ingredients used during this process - Extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and pepper. Once you're able to break up the turkey, add a can of diced/sliced tomatoes. For this one I used a can that had some seasoning already added to it. I think it was garlic basil, and then let it simmer on low heat.

While the turkey is simmering, you can prepare the peppers. You can use any color your heart desires. I went with red this time. Cored the peppers, then removed any left over seeds, and spine.


Once you're done doing that, the turkey should be ready, and you can begin scooping it up and filling in the peppers. When you have the peppers all stuffed I like to add a top layer of mozzarella cheese. You can now place these in a pan suitable for however many you decide to make.


Get your oven preheated to 400 degrees, and place the peppers in the center. I let these ones bake for about 20 minutes. I like when the cheese reminds of the cheese off a pizza. That's when I know they're done.


Last step is to enjoy. Sorry there is no picture of a pepper on a plate looking good. I was distracted by how good they were, I forgot to take a picture. =)

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Chorizo stuffed Jalapeño Poppers

If you have ever watched Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, you may have seen an episode where Guy Fieri was at a burger place in Chicago. The name of the place is Kuma's Corner, and the burgers there are outstanding! Not only are the burgers delicious, the appetizers are just as good, too.

Here's a step by step on how to make these poppers. I do them a bit differently than Kuma's, and they come out just as good...in my opinion.

Ingredients
  • Jalapenos
  • Chorizo
  • Whipped Cream Cheese
  • Panko
  • 1 Egg
  • Beer (Optional) 
Step One - Open beer and take a sip. (Optional.)
Step Two - Make sure you have all of the required ingredients. If you don't, then improvise. I forgot to get panko, and was too lazy to go back to the store, so, I improvised and used Italian bread crumbs instead.



Step Three - Cut the tops off of the jalapeno peppers and clean them out.


Step Four - Cook the chorizo sausage.
Step Five - In a bowl mix the cooked chorizo sausage with the whipped cream cheese.
Step Six - Drink Beer. (Optional.)


Step Seven - Fill the jalapenos with the chorizo sausage and cream cheese mixture.
Step Eight - Prepare a bowl with the 1 egg, and another bowl with panko.
Step Nine - Take a jalapeno and soak it with egg, then coat it with panko, and place on a baking tray. Repeat until finished.
Step Ten - Pre-heat oven to 400 degree's, and bake the jalapenos until golden.
Step Eleven - Take them out of the oven.
Step Twelve - Drink beer and eat.
Done.


Not pictured is the finished product. It's because my GF bought a deep fryer, and I tried to use it for the first time with these poppers, because, Kuma's Corner deep fry's theirs. In the past I have baked mine, because, I never had a deep fryer, and they have turned out awesome. Well, not the case with the deep fryer. I was very disappointed with the finished product. I chalk it up to it being my first time using the deep fryer. I will post a picture the next time I make them.

Shout out to my beautiful sister, Jennifer, for getting me a case of one of my favorite, hard to attain beers. Zombie Dust from 3 Floyds in Munster, Indiana.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Rainbow Trout Dinner

Brought home my first stocker rainbow trout.


Gutted it.
Decapitated it.
Garlic stuffed it.
Soy sauce bathed it.
Lemon juice spritzed it.
Tinfoil wrapped it.
Baked it.
Ate it.


DELICIOUS.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Stocker Trout

I've been fairly busy these days. This past Saturday was the Fall trout opener here in Illinois. They stocked the lake down the street from me after they stocked it with a bunch of rainbow trout. The lakes been closed for 2 weeks, and now it's finally open. With the sun going down around 6:30 PM, it's only logical to fish this lake after work during the week, and now that it's stocked with trout, for as long as they last....Bonus!

That bucket has only seen a handful of fish in it's life.
Made it out on a dreary Monday evening just as the sun was starting to set. There were a ton of guys, but I was lucky and was able to get my favorite spot on the lake. I am usually 95% catch and release, but I paid for the inland trout stamp this year, because, I wanted to give these stockers a go in the kitchen. I didn't feel all too bad about it, because, it was either me or someone else taking these trout home. So, why the heck not, right!


Next stop for this rainbow...my dinner plate.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Camp food

Just going over some itinerary with Dave (Urban Assault Fly Fishing) for our upcoming Musky Country trip. Got me thinking about food...

I'm always jealous of the meals that Jeff (High Plains Fly Fisher) has cooked up on his trips. I'm curious what everyone else enjoys cooking out there.


What are some of your favorite campfire grilled meals?

Some chicken I cooked up on a Missouri float trip.