Giveaway time and Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin with Chorizo Rice

It's that time of year to fire up the BBQ pits and invite everyone over. Or if you're like us that's all year round, but now is when it kicks into full swing. The pool is finally warm enough to swim in woohoo!!

The fine folks over at Packaging Services Company have graciously offered one of Finding Inspiration In Food readers a bag of Jack Daniel's Whiskey Barrel Charcoal and Smoker Blocks (6.8 pounds). To be honest once you've tried this product you won't be buying any other brand ever again!

Whiskey Barrel® Charcoal originates from authentic Jack Daniel’s® oak aging barrels.
Barrels are emptied at maturity and a portion of the whiskey remains inside the wood. The charcoal briquet's are made with these barrel pieces. Also included are smoker blocks which are cut directly from whiskey-saturated barrel staves, the blocks capture a pleasant mix of caramel, vanilla and wood notes and will impart an extraordinary smoked flavor to grilled foods. As seasons change, whiskey is drawn in and out of the oak wood barrel.

For more product information be sure to visit www.frontiercharcoal.com

Enter to win a bag of Jack Daniel's Whiskey Barrel Charcoal and Smoker Blocks:

-Leave a comment and tell us what you would love to grill using the a bag of Jack Daniel's Whiskey Barrel Charcoal and Smoker Blocks.

-For an additional entry become a Finding Inspiration In Food follower HERE. Be sure to leave a separate comment telling me your a follower!!

-For an additional entry blog about this giveaway. Be sure to leave a separate comment for this as well as a link to your post.

Contest ends Sunday, May 9, 2010 at midnight and I'll post a winner that Monday morning.

Good Luck!!

JACK DANIEL'S and OLD NO. 7 are registered trademarks used underlicense to Packaging Service Company, Inc. This contest is courtesy of Packaging Service Company, Inc. and Jack Daniel's(r) Whiskey Barrel(r) Charcoal and is NOT being offered by Jack Daniel's(r), Lynchburg, TN.

I've got the perfect recipe for you to try once you get yourself a bag of this Jack Daniel's Whiskey Barrel Charcoal and Smoker Blocks. It's a recipe my dad designed for the state rice festival and won him an award this past year so I hope you give it a try. It's easy to prep ahead of time so you can spend time with your guest.

Sausage Stuffed Pork Loin with Chorizo Rice

(Adapted from Buddy Toepfer)

1/2 pound (1 link) Kiolbassa Brand Smoked Sausage

2 (6 inch) pieces pork loin (you can also use chicken breast)

2 tablespoons Teriyaki basting sauce

1 tablespoon Nut'n But Spice or Cajun Seasoning

Cut the sausage in half lengthwise. Cut a slit into the middle of the loin and insert the sausage slice, use toothpicks to hold together if need be. On a BBQ pit or grill, brown the loin until grill marks appear then brush with basting sauce and turn. When loin is cooked thoroughly through, sprinkle on the seasoning. Remove from grill and allow the meat to rest before slicing.

Chorizo Rice

2 links of Kiolbassa chorizo (or a high grease content chorizo)
4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
½ onion, finely chopped
1 bunch green onion tops, chopped
1 cup cooked white rice
1 ½ tablespoon Nut'n But Spice or Cajun Seasoning

While meat is resting; fry the chorizo then add the mushrooms and onions in a cast iron skillet over grill, cooking until done. Add green onion tops as well as the cooked rice to the mixture and sprinkle with seasoning.

To finish the dish:
Spoon chorizo rice in the center of the serving platter and arrange sausage stuffed pork loin around the perimeter.

Jalapeno Bites

I know I've been MIA this week. Like a crazy woman I decided to paint another room in the house! As if I don't have enough other projects going on right now. So I'm posting today and then tomorrow I'll have a giveaway woohoo!!

These little guys are a little messy to make but the taste is totally worth it. I recommend if you're gonna get messy might as well duplicate the recipe and freeze them so you can pull out how many you want to bake. If you want you can toss all the ingredients in a food processor instead of chopping the jalapenos by hand.

Here's a tip for you if you don't wear gloves while dealing with jalapenos from the burn you have on your hands from the oil. You know the burn....you can't touch your eyes and no matter how many times you wash your hands you can't seem to get it off. Well, scrub your hands with sugar. Trust me it works!!

Jalapeno Bites

(Adapted from Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
4 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeno peppers
1 large egg, beaten
3 cups dry plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, jalapenos and egg to for a paste.

Shape into balls using about 1/2 tablespoon of paste for each. Roll the balls in the bread crumbs.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm.

Meeting Trisha Yearwood and her Warm Feta Dip with Artichokes

What an exciting day yesterday was! I got in line for Trisha Yearwood's book signing for her new cookbook Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood around 1:25pm. I was about 50 people back which wasn't so bad for a signing that started at 2pm. William Sonoma passed out Chicken Poppy Seed Salad from her new cookbook. (Sadly I couldn't get a picture before everyone gobbled it up.) Then they passed out non-alcoholic pineapple margaritas. Yummy!!

Next came another recipe from her book. Key Lime Cake. I didn't get to grab one of these, but I do plan on making the cake.

Once we started moving in line we got to see what was going on. Garth nor Trisha's mom or sister where there, but Trisha was greeting everyone with a hug and taking pictures before she signed your book.

My turn finally came around 3:30pm. I managed not to blurt out something stupid instead I asked her what is her favorite category of food to cook? Her response was "I like using salt and I really like making casseroles. Their easy to make ahead of time with our busy schedules it's the best."

After my book signing I asked her to sign my apron (even though the William Sonoma people said no, I still asked!!) Of course she said she would love to and was honored to be able to sign it. So :P to the people who or sour!! Never give up worse case she could have told me no (Hate to name drop but for example Giada) and it would have been no big deal.

Next came the funniest part. Shout to to Policeman Rich who wanted a picture with Trisha. He finally tapped her on the shoulder and he to instantly got a picture. So after getting everything signed and photos taken and 2 hugs I headed home. I wanted to share the first recipe I made which is from a magazine that Trish Yearwood posted a recipe in. It's one of my new favorites! It's best right out of the oven and at room temperature even, but I didn't care for it reheated as leftovers the next day. This is definitely one that peaks when it's fresh from the oven.

Warm Feta Dip with Artichokes (Adapted from Trisha Yearwood) 1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped

5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled 3/4 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 jar (2 ounces) pimientos, drained and diced 2 teaspoons minced garlic Melba toast or pita chips, for dipping Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together artichokes, feta, mayonnaise, Parmesan, pimientos, and garlic until combined.

Transfer mixture to small casserole or glass pie plate and bake, uncovered, 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, place casserole on a larger platter, and surround with Melba toast or pita chips. Makes about 1 2/3 cups dip or 8 servings.

Eggs Benedict with Easy Hollandaise and Winner Announced

First off congrats to our winner of the Yoplait Greek "Nourish Your Inner Goddess" contest......Christen!!! If you would please email me at crazystar32@gmail.com so I can get some info from you and get your prize out right away. Thank you to everyone who entered and everyone who follows my blog!!

So yesterday didn't turn out according what what all I had planned to do. I was supposed to go to the Daniel Merriweather meet and greet and ended up going to the vet instead. My poor baby got a shot and is now on pills twice a day after suffering from allergies like me. I love Spring time, but not so much for the pollen. I keep Benadryl in all the cars and purse and anywhere I can stash them it's that bad. Today I have a lot of planting to do to replace all the dead plants from the light snow we had over the winter.

Well on to the food. Today's recipe is more for the Hollandaise Sauce then the whole meal, but I posted everything in case you need it. I'm usually scared of Hollandaise because it seems like a complicated sauce, but after doing this it's painless.

Eggs Benedict with Easy Hollandaise

(Adapted by Martha Stewart)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 slices Canadian bacon
2 English muffins, split and toasted
4 large eggs
Easy Hollandaise (recipe below)

1.Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add Canadian bacon, and cook until well browned on both sides. Divide bacon among the English-muffin halves.

2.Fill a large deep saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. When water is barely simmering, break one egg into a small heatproof bowl. Placing lip of bowl in the water, gently tip the bowl to slide egg carefully into pan. Use a small spoon to "fold" the edges of the white over the egg, for a neater edge. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cook until whites are just set but yolks are still soft (they should still move around inside), 2 to 3 minutes. Lift out eggs with a slotted spoon or small mesh sieve; transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Trim edges of whites with a knife, if desired.

3.Gently place the egg on a bacon-topped muffin, and spoon the reserved warm hollandaise sauce over the top; serve immediately.

Hollandaise

2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon warm water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1.In a blender, combine egg yolks, water, lemon juice, and salt; blend until frothy.

2.Heat butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over medium until bubbly (do not let brown). With blender running, pour in hot butter in a very thin stream, blending until sauce is thick and emulsified.

Coconut Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Another Monday rolls around and it's looking like it'll be another busy week! I won a meet and greet with Daniel Merriweather on Tuesday. (I must confess I don't know who he is, but it seems he's a new guy so I don't feel so bad.) Can't wait to see what his music sounds like. Then on Thursday I am really excited about meeting Trisha Yearwood at her new Home Cooking book signing. I've tested a couple of recipes and so far they are pretty tasty so I can't wait to share those with you.

OMG I feel like I could eat the whole platter of this dessert! The caramel may seem overkill, but trust me it's so much better with it on there. I cheated and didn't make my own, but I used up a jar I had stashed in the fridge. (I had to make room for all the new ingredients I've been buying.) I did post the recipe for it below if you want to make your own. My only change would be to add toasted coconut on top, but either way it's to die for. If you don't want to make it in the spring form pan you could easily make individual servings in cups.

Coconut Pudding with Caramel Sauce
(Adapted from Ralph Rucci)

3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 cups freshly grated coconut
3 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 cup fresh shaved coconut
Caramel Sauce

1.Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup water, and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes. Spray a 10-inch round nonstick spring form pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2.Bring half-and-half to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add gelatin mixture and sugar and cook, stirring, until gelatin and sugar have dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

3.Stir in almond extract and grated coconut; stir in whipped cream. Transfer pudding to prepared spring form pan and transfer to refrigerator until chilled and set, 2 to 3 hours.

4.Unmold pudding onto a serving platter and sprinkle with shaved coconut. Serve with caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce
Makes about 2 cups.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 1/3 cups light-brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Heat butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Add egg yolks, cream, and salt, and cook, stirring, until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in vanilla and serve.