Sunday Night Dinner: Schweinshaxe

Across the USA the tradition of Sunday Dinner is well known. The day that families reconnect and come together for a special meal.

Today I cooked our Sunday dinner and I wanted to make sure it would be something special, something that the others in my home had not had the opportunity to enjoy until today. This hearty Bavarian meal is usually served with sauerkraut and potatoes or dumpling(spaetzle). Our dinner sides consisted of braised cabbage and a mock roasted garlic mash potato that uses cauliflower in place of the starchy tuber.

Serves: 2-3 hungry Bavarians

INGREDIENTS
1 lg carrot, diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 leek, chopped
2 stalk celery, diced
1 meaty pork shank
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
salt to taste
ground cumin to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the carrot, onion, leek, celery, and pork shank into a large stockpot. Add the peppercorns, and season with salt to taste. Add enough water to the pot to cover the vegetables. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 hours, or until everything is tender. Remove the shank from the water, and drain. Reserve vegetables and cooking liquid.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F ( 220 degrees C). Melt the butter in an enamel coated cast iron baking dish or pan. Place the drained pork shank, cooked vegetables, and 2 cups of the cooking liquid into the pan. Dust lightly with cumin.

3. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve with potato or dumplings, and sauerkraut . While the pork shank is roasting; strain the reserved cooking liquid and reduce to a dark rich sauce. Serve as an accompanying sauce.

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

This is the time of year for the best heirloom tomatoes around. We brought back a ton from Carmel. Many people have submitted recipes to us but we really liked this simple way to enjoy the freshness of the tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1 green heirloom tomato, sliced thin
1 red heirloom tomato, sliced thin
1 yellow heirloom tomato, sliced thin
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
3 cloves marinated garlic, shaved
2 balsamic marinated shallots, sliced
6-8 slices of french bread
1 clove of garlic, cut in half for rubbing

Directions:
Brush both sides of the french bread with olive oil and toast. Rub both sides of toasted bread with the garlic. Place one piece of cheese on the bread, then place one slice of each color of tomato onto the cheese. Place the shaved marinated garlic on the tomatoes and add the marinated shallot slices on top. Magnifico!

Submit your favorite recipes to "The Last Bite". If we choose your recipe for posting you might find a gourmet treat is on it's way to your mailbox!

For The True Chipotle Fanatic!

With so much chipotle content I decided to split off the blog and create "The Smoky Chipotle". Dedicated to everything chipotle; The Smoky Chipotle will present products, reviews, recipes, and restaurants that glorify the wonderfully pungent smoky chipotle pepper.

Click over to The Smoky Chipotle for the best chipotle content on the net. While you are there share some of your smokin' hot chipotle stuff with all the other chipotle enthusiast. Whether it's the pepper, the restaurant, a product, or a recipe, we want to hear what you have to say!

See you at The Smoky Chipotle

2008 Carmel Heirloom TomatoFest® Report

The 17th annual NatureSweet Carmel TomatoFest® was in all its glory this past Sunday at the spectacular countryside setting of Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel, California.

It all started seventeen years ago as a small get together, Gary Ibsen hosted this tasting event in his backyard for his family and a few of his chef friends for the purpose of celebrating his tomato harvest. Since then this event has grown into an annual fundraiser that attracts chefs, wineries, tomato growers and three thousand tomato lovers from across the United States.

This year’s TomatoFest® was a wondrous feast of delights that included; an unforgettable display of more than 350 heirloom tomato varieties from around the world for the tasting; exceptionally delicious and innovative tomato dishes created by 60 of America's top chefs; a tasting of more than 100 premium wines; an amazing "Salsa Showcase" tasting of 100, commercially available, tomato salsas; the pleasures of an old-fashioned country BBQ; an "International Olive Oil Tasting;" celebrity chef and gardening demonstrations; a tasting of great tomato-related specialty foods; sales of hard-to-find fresh heirloom tomatoes and heirloom tomato seeds; live music and dancing under Carmel Valley's oak covered hillsides.

Ticket price might seem to be a bit steep, starting at $95, however they did included all food, wines and activities. Children under 12, with parent, were admitted free. The net proceeds benefit several youth charities. Thus far the Carmel TomatoFest® has donated more than $210,000.00 to local, regional and national charities to benefit children.

Innuendo Enterprises LLC attended this festival to participate in the country store section featuring Dave’s Gourmet’s line of Organic heirloom Pasta Sauces. The newest flavor in this fabulous line is the Heirloom Spicy Marinara. These sauces were available at the Dave’s Gourmet booth for tasting and purchase.

Founded and operated by Gary Ibsen in 1991, the TomatoFest® has revitalized the appreciation and desire for true heirloom tomatoes over the years. Ibsen’s belief in sustainable farming and organic seed saving has inspired him to develop and grow heirloom tomato varieties for more than 30 years. For the 2008 season, he is currently growing more than 600 varieties of certified organic heirloom tomatoes from seeds originally sourced from family farms around the world. Ibsen’s hands-on production and harvest techniques ensure the highest quality product from harvest to table. For more information visit www.tomatofest.com or call 1-800-965-4827.

Extreme Heat at the Great Divide

Baboon Ass Brand GONE RABID Hot Sauce has made it to new heights; 10,759 feet to be exact. Thanks to Bill Duke of AwardWinningSauces.com our insane simian has now officially traveled farther than we have. Come to think of it This fiery monkey can be found in Germany, The UK, Canada, Australia, and Israel. Someday I would like to visit all the places that the extreme beast has been.

If you have a picture of any Baboon Ass Brand product anywhere cool, and we mean anywhere, send it to innuendofoods@pacbell.net and we will post it. When we get a bunch, we'll figure where to send some great gourmet sauces. Will you be the one to get our gourmet gift?