Christmas Connection at The I-X Center, Cleveland. Sous Vide, Hoodoo Browns BBQ, Ergo's New 2015 Products!

The Christmas shopping season starts here with over 600 10×10 booths offering something for everyone on your shopping list! Handmade soaps, pottery, gourmet dips, woven garments, flavored coffees, jewelry, furniture and much more will fill the aisles with Christmas cheer. Over 140 brand new vendors will be participating in this year’s event!
More Than 600 Booths to Shop From: The Christmas shopping season starts here with over 600 booths, including 140 new vendors, offering something for everyone on your shopping list, naughty or nice! Handmade soaps, pottery, gourmet dips, woven garments, flavored coffees, jewelry, furniture and much more will fill the aisles with Christmas cheer.
Live Holiday Entertainment: Holiday music throughout the weekend will get everyone into the holiday mood! Local choirs and gospel groups, Irish dance and music bands will be playing and performing all of the seasonal favorites.
Enchanted Ornament: Visit our 10-foot Enchanted Ornament and have your photo taken inside (nominal fee applies). Santa’s Castle: Bring your own camera and visit Santa in his NEW Castle for a great holiday photo.
Santa Land: Kids will have a great time with special features just for them! In SantaLand they can write and mail their letters to Santa, or stick around to meet him in person. The Sugar Plum Shoppe features over 4,000 pre-wrapped gifts (under $7 each) and is perfect for pint-sized wallets to buy special little gifts for Mom and Dad. Breakfast with Santa tickets are also available to add a little something special for your little ones! Click here for more information. Breakfast with Santa includes general admission to the I-X Christmas Connection following breakfast!
Gingerbread Square: At Gingerbread Square, the first 600 kids will have the chance to decorate – and eat! – their own holiday cookie. A giant gingerbread house will be on display to help inspire some sweet ideas. To burn off all that excitement, a children’s play area featuring child-friendly outdoor toys will be onsite.
Shop and Drop: This FREE service allows you to enjoy the event “hands free” but ensures you won’t go home empty handed! Attendees will truly appreciate the Shop and Drop which allows shoppers to place their holiday purchases in a safe place while they explore the show floor! Simply drop your purchases off for safe keeping and come back later to pick them up before you leave! Gift wrapping is also available, free of charge, right next to the Shop and Drop for all attendees.
To find out more about the show and buy tickets, click here:https://tinyurl.com/owjrhjv

Food Tricks & Kitchen Tips: Sous Vide
Everyone is talking about a new fad in cooking, Sous vide . Problem is it’s not new and has been around for years! It is a culinary technique in which vacuum-sealed food is immersed in a water bath and cooked at a very precise, consistent temperature. This technique typically involves cooking food for longer periods of time at a lower temperature, sometimes up to 96 hours! The idea of preserving and cooking food in sealed packages is ancient. Throughout culinary history, food has been wrapped in leaves, potted in fat, packed in salt, or sealed inside animal bladders before being cooked. People have long known that isolating food from air— accomplished more completely by vacuum sealing—, can arrest the decay of food. Packaging food also prevents it from drying out.
Although sous vide literally means “under vacuum” in French, the defining feature of the sous vide method is not packaging or vacuum sealing; it is accurate temperature control. A computer-controlled heater can warm a water bath to any low temperature you set, and it can keep it there for hours—, or even days, if needed.

Why Cook Sous Vide?

Cooking sous vide is easier than its name might suggest. You simply seal the ingredients in a plastic bag (you can also use a canning jar) and place them in a water bath, a combi oven, or any other cooker that can set and hold a target temperature to within a degree or two. When the food reaches your target temperature or time, you take it out, give it a quick sear or other finish and serve it. That’s it.
Sous vide is especially useful for cooking meats and seafood, for which the window of proper doneness is often vanishingly small when traditional methods are used. When you fry a piece of fish, the flesh is most succulent and tender within a very narrow temperature range. Because the cooking temperature of the pan is at least 200 °C / 392 °F hotter than the ideal core temperature of the fish, the edges will inevitably be far more cooked than the center when pan-fried.
Precise temperature control and uniformity of temperature has two other big advantages. First, it allows you to cook food to an even doneness all the way through—no more dry edges and rare centers. Second, you get highly repeatable results. The steak emerges from the bag juicy and pink every time.
A final important benefit is that the closed bag creates a fully humid environment that effectively braises the food, so ingredients cooked this way are often noticeably juicier and more tender. Food cooked sous vide doesn’t brown, but a simple sear adds that traditional flavor where needed so that you can have the best of both worlds.
We’ have been asked many times about the safety of cooking plastic bags. The bottom line is that bags made expressly for cooking sous vide are perfectly safe —as are oven bags, popular brands of zip-top bags, and stretchy plastic wrap such as Saran Wrap. The plastic that these products are made of is called polyethylene. It is widely used in containers for biology and chemistry labs, and it has been studied extensively. It is safe. But, do avoid very cheap plastic wraps when cooking. These are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and heating them presents a risk of chemicals leaching into the food. We hope you try this method and enjoy!

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Leader of the notorious “Dodge City Gang,” Hoodoo Brown was the baddest cowboy of them all.

Bank robber, cattle herder, Justice of the Peace, moonshiner and cook, Hoodoo Brown epitomized life in the Wild West. We celebrate Hoodoo Brown’s spirit and authenticity by cooking the best Texas barbecue on the planet…or at least right here in Ridgefield.
Owner Cody Sperry was inspired several years ago on a “guys trip” to Austin, Texas. There they traveled to over a dozen barbecue joints, with owner’s generously sharing their stories, secrets and passion for creating true Texas barbecue. He returned to Ridgefield with a new outlook and desire to replicate what he experienced in Texas.
He started his apprenticeship on a Big Green Egg smoker and eventually opened a barbecue catering business. Through the encouragement of his customers, friends and family, he decided to open Hoodoo Brown BBQ. He cook your barbecue low and slow, for up to 16 hours over aged hardwood on a custom Lang Smoker.
Visit their website https://hoodoobrownbbq.com/
To connect with Hoodoo Browns on Social Media: Twitter; @HoodooBrownBBQ Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/HoodooBrownBBQ/
HOODOO BROWN BBQ, 967 ETHAN ALLEN HWY, RIDGEFIELD, CT 06877 (203) 438-6033 [email protected]

Recipe
Elaine’s Rustic Cassoulet
courtesy of Elaine Giammetta

Ingredients

1/2 lb bacon, cubed
1-15 oz can white kidney beans
1-15 oz can pinto beans
1 large Spanish onion, diced
10 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 lb ground pork
1/4 lb shredded duck confit
1 T dried parsley
2 T dried thyme leaf
1 T rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 t rubbed sage
1/4 to 1/2 c sherry (I use dry)
2-3 qts water (enough to cover all ingredients )
salt and pepper
fresh parsley
Method
In a slow cooker, or large heavy bottomed pot, spread the bacon cubes, evenly over the bottom of the pan. This will be the first layer. Drain and rinse the beans. Mix beans, onion and garlic together and spread over the bacon creating the second layer. Crumble the ground pork and duck over the beans. This is the third layer. Mix all the herbs together (except the bay leaf) and sprinkle over the meat. Add water and sherry making sure all the ingredients are covered. This is important, so to ensure proper cooking. Add the bay leaf. Set temperature on very low and cook 6-8 hours or overnight if possible. If you are using a traditional pot, bring to a boil and then lower temperature and simmer on very low for 6-8 hours. After cooking is complete, gently stir in chopped parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.
Plating
Ladle into a bowl and top with a sprig of parsley. Serve with a warm baguette and a hearty glass of red wine. I chose a nice peppery Malbec. I hope you enjoy it.

Product Spotlight
This month we are spotlighting not one but three new Ergo products introduced in 2015. These are great Christmas gift for the chef’s cooks and healthy eaters in your life!
Michael Symon Cutlery

“The new knives are out!…I’m super proud of them!…Nothing touches their quality in this price point!” ~ Chef Symon
The knives are Michael Symon Cutlery and include a 9″ Chef Knife, 6″ Chef Knife, 6″ Serrated Utility Knife, 3.5″ Paring knife, 4 serrated Steak knives.

The knives feature extremely durable G10 handles finished with 2 stainless steel rivets, and a full tang and bolster, all high polished for lasting beauty. The blades are precision ground from German made carbon steel and the straight edges are sharpened to 18 degree per side for perfect slices every time. The serrated edges are single sided bevel cut into our wider D shape for smooth cuts in all your proteins. All the knives are good for both right & left handed people.

The Myron Mixon Pitmaster Grill Tool is the first tool to deliver a style and functionality that says “Game On”! The 3 in one design was specifically developed & tested for easily flipping all your proteins & large veggies on the grill with the patented flipper hook.A good sharp knife is a must to slice up your mouth watering Q, hence we use the “Workhorse” an 8” Chef knife size blade with 7″ cut for slicing up your meats and veggies, from prep to serving. The blade is high carbon stainless steel for superior durability, ground precision sharp for perfect slices. It boasts an ergonomic non-slip grip handle over a full-steel tang for strength and balance, so cutting is effortless with ultimate control. Last but not least is the bottle opener, built into the blade to keep you cool, sipping your beverage of choice. Now get grilling your favorite foods, and be the boss of your grilling domain with the ultimate “Myron Mixon Pitmaster Grill Tool”.

SPECIFICATIONS:
• Tool Weight: 8.5 Oz.
• Blade & Hook Thickness: .100″
• Blade Height: 2.200″
• Blade Length: 8″ w/ Precision Sharp 7″ Cutting Edge
• Flipper Hook: 2.750″
• Handle Size / Material: 5-3/8″ long / Non-Slip TPR
• OAL: 16.125″
• Blade Material: One Piece Carbon Stainless Steel (5Cr15MoV)
If you have any questions please call the customer service line at 877-796-0884 M-F 9am – 5pm

Only $29.99 Yours Today: https://www.ergochef.com/MyronMixon.php

The My Juicer Personal Juicer

Ergo Chef is excited about introducing a new product in Kitchen Electrics called “My Juicer(TM)” A Personal Juicer/Blender with Sport Bottle to quickly and easily blend all your Fresh or Frozen Fruits & Vegetables into delicious healthy smoothies. 

The Ergo Chef’s brand new My Juicer(TM) is made with top quality components for easily blending up healthy smoothies and shakes. The powerful 300 watt motor and 4 Stainless Steel blades are engineered for quick and easy blending of frozen fruits, veggies and even desserts. My Juicer(TM) is the first part of Ergo Chef’s new “Kitchen Collection” of electrics.  Includes: High Quality Stainless Steel & Black Plastic Base with NON-Slip Suction Feet. Durable BPA Free Plastic Sport Bottle with Removable Lid with Handle and One Juicer Blade Assembly.  Order My Juicer today and start drinking a healthier life!
To order click here: My Juicer.