Canavera Family

2009-04-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here are my tomatoe plants with Mollie guarding against squirels and birds. Should have tomatoes soon!

2009-04-12T17:59:00.001-07:00

Wonderful Easter holiday with family, friends and great tradional food: leg of lamb, devil eggs, new potatoes, slaw, pie and ice cream.

2009-04-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

Looking for great fried chicken? I had a great time with Theresa, Jula and Aaron at Babe's in Sanger, Texas. Best fried chicken I've ever had! Everything is served family style and it's BYOB.

2009-03-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

Though brisket is a popular meat to smoke I've never prepared it for some reason. Since I was hosting a "guys" poker night this week I decided to smoke a 10 lbs. brisket. The night before cooking I rubbed the meat with oliver oil and the following powdered spices: paprika, black pepper, salt, brown sugar, chili, garlic, onion, cayenne, and sage. It sat in the frig until morning. The next day I smoked the meat for 10 hours using pecan and cherry wood. While the meat smoked I mopped (baste) with a combined dark beer, canola oil, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic and chopped onion.

The guys brought home-made potatoe salad, cole slaw, and beans. Desert was home-made apple and blueberry pies.

No left overs so it must have been good!

2009-03-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

If you ever been to Pappadeaux's you will appreciate their Alexander Sauce. We grilled a nice piece of salmon and placed it on top of brown rice. On top of that is the Alexander Sauce: chopped sweet onion cooked in butter until soft and then stir in flour to thicken, then add clam juice and whipping cream - add salt, pepper and cayenne to taste. In another pan cook shrimp and crawfish (or crabmeat) in butter. Then mix both pans together for the sauce then pour on top of the fish.
On the side Nancy made a great fresh Caesar salad.

2008-12-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

Late in the day and before opening gifts we had prime rib, Caesar salad and wild mushroom and asparagus risotto.

2008-12-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

2008-12-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

Once again Christmas is a blessing to our family and friends. The morning started with homemade donuts, latkes, applesauce, sausage and eggs.

2008-12-07T05:06:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Mollie Brown!

2008-11-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last morning together until Christmas!

2008-11-30T18:16:00.001-08:00

A family friend brought over their English Bull dog pup.

2008-11-28T21:20:00.000-08:00

2008-11-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

2008-11-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

The turkey was brined overnight and the table set.

2008-11-28T05:04:00.000-08:00

We started preparing for Thanksgiving on Wednesday with a upside down apple French toast. Real pumpkin was baked for the pie.

2008-11-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

Nancy and Theresa had a great St. Lous visit with family.

2008-11-02T10:58:00.000-08:00

One of the wonderful things about flying a light aircraft is seeing really cool things. This week I flew to Tucson and viewed a large wind farm. See the above GPS display showing the farm.

Also the photo of a unmanned ballon is one of many radar platfarms protecting our southern border against drug runners. The ballon is tethered on a heavy cable up to 15,000 feet.

2008-10-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

Nancy purchased this perfect furniture for our entertainment center. My buddy Bruce help me measure and make the cut for the cable and entertainment box.

2008-09-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

Fun week! I took some time off this week and we went to the coast for the day, visted the Witte Muesum and later we cooked a great meal of little neck clams and mussels with peppered prosciutto bread and melted brie cheese.

2008-08-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

I tried something for the first time by grilling an entire fish - and it turned out pretty good. Picking out a 3 lb. Red fish from our local HEB, I risnsed the fish with cold water and then seasoned it with extra-virgin olive oil, pepper and coarse salt. I pre-heated the grill for direct fire using charcoal and Pecan wood. Once the fire (mid-high) was ready I place direct but high above the fire and cooked each side until the skin was dark and flaky.

After cooking I fillet the grilled fish using a spoon and fork. The meat was very moist since the skin and bones protected meat from the fire yet had plenty of flavor.

The side dish was a Artichoke Salad with tomatoes, anchovies, and lots of garlic and olive oil!

2008-08-17T17:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend meal was Brazilian Beer Chicken with black beans seasoned with garlic, sage, and comino served on rice and topped with grilled onions. Desert was (again) homemade blueberry pie.

Brazilian Beer Chicken:

2 cups of dark beer

1/2 cup of vegie oil

1/2 cup of Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium onion cut thin

12 cloves of sliced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 chicken or combined pieces (3-4 lbs)

Combine the above in a bowl and then place in a large ziplock bag with the chicken and marinate overnight.

Prepare a hot direct fire grill (I used both charcoal and pecan wood). When ready to cook, remove the chicken and keep the marinate. Salt the chicken and place on the grill. If your grill level is adjustable, move it as high as possible as the marinate drippings will cause immediate flames. The chicken will cook pretty fast but use the marinate again by brushing it on the chicken right away. It adds a lot of flavor.

2008-08-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

Put the grill to work by smoking two racks of babyback ribs and beer can chicken. Desert is a home made blueberry pie.

2008-07-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

The "Grill" got a new home when Nancy put together a sand/pebble pad.

Our meal was grill steaks with artichokes and rice.

2008-07-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

My Baby is Back Home!

I've owned this 350 lbs side and direct wood burning pit for over 10 years and use it at least once a week (any weather conditions). For my birthday Nancy had it overhauled by a friend. I can't wait to cook today!

2008-07-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Our Friday date night dinner was prepared by our daughter Julia:

Cellophane Noodle Salad with Roast Pork with a really cool seasoned rice vinegar dressing that included ginger and fresh minced jalapeno chile.

2008-07-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

Since my wood burning outdoor grill is being overhauled, our July 4th meal was Chicken Marsala, polanta, with a salad and fruit. Julia made the polanta using my grandfathers wooden spoon. The same spoon he used to make polanta.

2008-06-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Friday Date Night dinner was shrimp limone'

2008-06-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

Friday date night dinner was Chile-Lime Crab Cakes with Corn and Black Bean Relish and Avocado Aioli.

2008-06-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Fathers Day dinner was steak, grill onions, asparagus, pasta, and angel food cake with blueberries and whip cream.

2008-06-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Fathers Day was a very nice relaxing afternoon after church. Mollie needed a bath and at first wouldn't come outside but finally we convinced her the water is fun.

2008-06-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a great day to pitch the best aircraft in the market, Mooney Airplane and see family and friends. The Denton Airport had a small but well organized airshow were we displayed a new Mooney Acclaim. Meeting us there were our daughters and many Mooney friends.

2008-06-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

There is Julia under the horitzontal stabilizer.

Wonderful friend and Mooney expert Jerry Johnson.

Aaron with Theresa and Nancy and Julia by the wing.

The FA-18 Super Hornet put on a dazzling show.

2008-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

On the way home, sun burned and happy! Great day!

2008-06-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Not a bad look'n swing!

2008-06-15T12:14:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty good Friday. Tom & Nancy played golf for the first time in over a year. The turtle was a (slow) fairway hazard!

2008-05-31T06:27:00.000-07:00

Our chocolate Lab says "hello."

Friday Night Date

2008-05-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

Friday night's is "date night" for Tom & Nancy. They much prefer to stay home and cook a fun meal in lieu of a noisy, crowded restaurant. Here is one of our favorite dishes: fresh seafood tossed in a light white wine sauce of pasta.

2008-05-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Go Spurs, Go!

2008-05-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY NANCY!

2008-05-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

2008-05-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

2008-05-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

2008-05-18T13:56:00.001-07:00

What a great party! Thanks to all who attened.

2008-05-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new Canavera Family blog site. In the future you will find numerous photos, postings, announcements, and most important, food we cook! Stay tuned.

2008-05-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

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