March 12, 2007 by d_vindiola.

We had dinner with some close friends and made some new ones, Seth, Tracy, Logan and Preseton, this weekend. Jon was in town for a little sailboat racing with Harbor Yacht Club so we organized a dinner to allow me to cook and to let all of us raid his wine cellar. Anna drove out from AZ, using our shortcut route Saturday AM, while the boys and I drove PB Woody around town to provision up. We hit the PB Farmers market and got some fresh Arugula and one of my favorite spring ingredients, fava beans. Then over to Seisel’s to have my man Frank hand select some great Beef Short ribs, a quick trip next door to the fish market left us with a few dollars less in our pocket but some fresh halibut steaks. A fast trip to the local “big grocery store” as Miles calls it and we were set to head home, eat lunch and start prepping. Dinner was the above dish, recipe on the recipe tab, plus second entree of Pan Seared Halibut over Garlic Wilted Arugula with a side dish of Pasta with Bay Scallops and Pesto from Preston and a incredible salad that contained sliced Carlsbad Strawberries from Chris. Dessert was a Chocolate Torte from Extraordinary Desserts and Amaretto Macerated Berries. 9 of us drank 14 bottles of wine (yes most slept there or DD it home).  Wow…I can’t wait to get this crew back together for another meal.

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March 9, 2007 by d_vindiola.

At a recent Vindiola’s Smokealicious BBQ catered lunch the following was heard from our local Iron Chef (like) judges:

“That BBQ is the best. It has very, very,… wait… very, very good flavor. ”

” I would have to say that my first tasting, of the non-sauced meats, was delightfully peppery and spunky.  I’d give it an A.  The sauce enhanced it and gave it a more robust flavor.  I give that an A+ (I’m just a sauce person). ”

” I thought it was excellent.  It’s been a while since I last enjoyed his cooking, so it’s a little hard to compare to that experience, but what I can say is that this one seemed to be my most favorite so far.  I thought the meat was cooked excellently; the meat was moist, thoroughly done (but not overdone in the slightest) and definitely enjoyable.”

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March 4, 2007 by d_vindiola.

Smokealicious BBQ is about more than just BBQ…its about beer too. Seems part of the team started homebrewing…an enamel pot led to a bottling system which led to the dual kegerator…what will these boys do next?

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February 17, 2007 by d_vindiola.

Hey folks…head on over to thesurvivalgourmet.com and keep up to date with Bigmista of FourQ BBQ fame. He is a LA based caterer with a wealth of food knowledge and a willingness to share it. Met him on the competition circuit and he is one of the standouts. Check out his posting about Q-Fest, which was one of my stops on my 5 day RV adventure.

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February 15, 2007 by d_vindiola.

Did y’all miss it? Miss what? The Viejas contest movie….from our very own Robbie Robbins. Check it out and deduct 30 seconds from your 15 minutes. don’t forget to adjust the volume on your speakers…thanks Robbie

smokebbq-viejas.mov

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February 7, 2007 by d_vindiola.

Catering for all those Super Bowl parties was a great time. Radu and I got started Saturday night, running all four smokers into Saturday afternoon…low and slow BBQ takes some time folks. Once we had that all packaged and set aside it was time for Radu to tackle the Baked Beans and for me to get ready to make slaw and mac n cheese. By Sunday morning everything was ready for packaging and delivery. Radu’s beans took my recipe to new heights..tasty, sweet with a little heat…hope you all enjoyed them.

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January 30, 2007 by d_vindiola.

Well the orders are coming in and the planning is beginning. We plan to cook 1/2 dozen pork butts, a few briskets and some ribs (for me). Radu will be deliverying all the goodies so watch out for him on the road. As for me…I start cooking Friday and finish Sunday AM…packaging everything up and sending it on its way. National BBQ Icon Smokin Joe Jones is also catering here in San Diego…here is a link to his website and menu…. http://www.smokinjoejones.com/site/1322890/page/898662   should you need something other than Vindiola’s Smokealicious BBQ

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January 25, 2007 by d_vindiola.

After tallying all the results we are pleased to announce our  winners.                                                 

In the best packaging category - Diane Bogle with her own private label brand sauce     Best homemade sauce goes to - Joe Bitterman for his Asian Inspired BBQ Sauce  Best use of a store bought sauce - goes to whomever brought the Bull’s-eye A1 Sauce  Closest to Competition Sauce - goes to the person who brought the Sweet Baby Rays (I love that stuff)  Congrats winners…you all win an invite to the VIP lunch at the June Contest in San Diego, plus a bottle of our very own Smokealicious Competition Sauce.   

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January 23, 2007 by d_vindiola.

I served some tasty beans at the VIP Appreciation Dinner and have had quite a few requests for the recipe. Here goes…

Thanks first to the Dinasaur BBQ Restraunt..wait how strange…as I was flipping thru the Dinasaur cookbook to see how to spell restaraunt I ran across an inscription on the first page..”Christmas 2002 To add to you many talents..love Mom. Strange thing is I bought this book for myself one winter at Borders Bookstore and me Mom passed away in 1994…so seems some person not only had the distaste to return a book that was signed to them…but they returned a book their Mom sent them.may all their sauces break, bbq burn and in general may 1000 culinary curses fall upon them. (There I feel better)

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January 23, 2007 by d_vindiola.

So I got to get busy and post to the blog. The weekend VIP and Fan appreciation BBQ was a success, at least in my view. We served 80 plates o’BBQ brisket and pork sandwiches. The house was setup like a BBQ shack, 3 tables inside and 3 out on the front patio. We had a sauce competition and I still need to post the winners, stay tuned for that. After the party we headed to PB Pub for a few shots and some pool, felt like I was back working in the food industry again. Hey, don’t forget we are catering for SuperBowl Sunday. Check out our Catering page for info and a menu. http://www.smokealicious.com/Catering.html

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