Getting Into the Christmas Spirit

Looking for a little Christmas spirit, we went to Mesa Monday evening and had bbq sandwiches at Waldo's.  John had the brisket sandwich on the left and I had the pulled pork on the right.



The food was good and filling.  The we were ready to set off for the Christmas light display on the Mesa LDS temple grounds.

There were the 3 wise men.

Lights around the reflecting pool in front of the temple.

The trees were lighted, the gardens and walkways.  It was truly beautiful.

As we were taking pictures, one of the volunteers offered to take our picture.

And more lights on the grounds.




Here is on last photo of the wise men and their camels with lighted palm trees in  the background.

Smokin' Competition

The BBQ competition in Laughlin was the second such event we have attended. The first was in Kansas City and it was huge with lots of well-known chefs, some we had seen on TV. The one in Nevada was not that big and we didn't recognize any of the chefs. We are familiar with the towns  several came from. Participants were mainly from California, Nevada and Arizona. The names of cooking teams are colorful.




The competition was held in one of the parking lots at the Laughlin Riverside Casino.

Jim and Gayle, did someone borrow your RV for the weekend?

This was the most interesting BBQ wagon.

When we walked among the contestants Friday evening, they were prepping their meat for smoking--cutting off fat and injecting with marinade.

Judging began at noon on Saturday. Before turn-in time styrofoam boxes were artistically filled with parsley and other greens then the portions are prepped and carefully displayed. Each contestant must submit chicken, pork shoulder and pork butt and beef brisket entries with at least 6 servings of each.

Entries are taken to the judging tent at the last minute so the meat will be hot. But being on time is important because late entries are not accepted.

When we attended the Kansas City cook-off we were disappointed we couldn't taste any of the entries. This time there was a people's choice competition. We each tasted several of the entries. We like most of them, not all. But I would hate to have to decide which was best. We didn't go down Saturday evening to find out who won.

A Test Run

We want to see how our remodeling has improved the comfort and convenience in our Airstream. How better than to go somewhere in it?

Looking for events around the area, I found a BBQ cookoff in Laughlin, Nevada, at the Riverside Casino and Hotel. It is sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society and is part of the Smoke on the Water American BBQ Championship circuit. We enjoyed attending another event like this in Kansas City in 2013 and are looking forward to this one.

I will be posting pictures from the event in the next few days, as well as our thoughts about the trailer remodel.

Not Exactly Fine Dining

But good eats for sure. We couldn't come to Texas and not eat barbecue. This is where we learned it was more than just dry, overcooked ribs. Smoked beef brisket is delicious.

So, today we drove to the barbecue capital of Texas--Lockhart. We had read about two of the leading BBQ restaurants there, Black's and Kreuz Market. We decided to try Kreuz and we loved it.

To have barbecue, you have to have lots of mesquite wood. And did they ever.

This sign explains their philosophy.

You walk in and first go to the meat counter. The menu is right on the wall.

Here is how they serve the food.

That's right, to be an authentic BBQ restaurant, they have to offer plain white bread with the meat. Here is a view of one of the dining rooms. Notice especially the roll of paper towels on each table.

This is what it looked like when we added sides of beans and German potatoes.

After we had each consumed 1/2 pound of brisket, we were on our way. Usually, I prefer chopped brisket with sauce, but this meat was so tender and so full of flavor, I didn't need either. Because you eat with your hands, each dining room has a sink where you can wash your hands before you leave.

Bar-B-Que

One of the good things about visiting Texas is the food. Yes, we enjoyed the German food in Fredericksburg, but the focus here is bar-b-Que. And not something cooked on the backyard grill. This is smoked meat. As we drove east into Texas, one stop was in Junction, where we had eaten good BBQ before. Lum's is just a few blocks from the campground we stayed in there. this year, we bought 3.5 pound of sliced, smoked brisket and enjoyed it for days.

When we first did genealogy in Belton, 10 years ago, we asked someone in the county clerk's office where we could find good BBQ. They directed us to a place just a few blocks from the courthouse. We couldn't remember, for sure, where it was, but we sniffed the air and followed our nose to this source of smoke.



It came from the smokers at Miller's Smokehouse.



We aren't sure it is the same place, but probably. And the chopped brisket sandwiches were very good. I had a side of coleslaw with mine; John had pickles and onions on the sandwich and a side of beans. We also had a delicious bar cookie, topped with chocolate chips and coconut, but I didn't take a picture of that.





We'll be in Texas for almost another week. Will we find more of this delicious food?

Kids Cooking

Since time began, mothers have been teaching their daughters to cook. In modern times, fathers tend to teach their sons how to cook on the backyard grill. We saw all that taken further Saturday at the kids bbq cook-off at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City. We watched the competition begin and these girls, ages 10 and 11, choose spots right in front of where we were standing. They were assisted by their dads and used supplies and recipes provided by an aunt who owns a barbecue restaurant and was participating in the larger competition nearby.



The meat was brought in for the contestants.



There were really good-looking steaks for contestants 11 and older.



And ground beef for the younger entrants.



Adults were there to assist, but they were not allowed to touch the meat. If they did, the child they were helping would be disqualified. The adults help set up, used sharp knives to cut and chop, and lit the charcoal with large blow torches.



Some of the children seemed to really be into the event, wearing appropriate (?) clothing.





We saw several, anxious to get started, preparing their presentation boxes with lettuce leaves or parsley before they even received their meat.



Soon, the burning coals were place in each grill.



And it was time to prepare the meat. The 11-year-old girl in front of us injected a butter mixture into her steak.



Other steaks were covered with a rub or other coating.



Burger patties were formed.



The butter-laced steak received a topping of chopped onion and was placed on the grill.



We didn't stick around for the rest of the competition, but there really is hope that the younger generations will keep the barbecue restaurants of the country in operation.