Thursday, December 17. 2009
Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers® . . 1 loaf artesian flat bread . Butter Mixture - 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 stick butter
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Toppings
- 6 Cubano peppers or chili peppers, cleaned, cut into 24 strips and rubbed with olive oil
- 1 red pepper, cleaned, cut into 12 strips and rubbed with olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced and rubbed with olive oil
- 1 cup pitted Greek olives
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- On an angle, cut bread into 12 slices.
- Melt the Butter Mixture ingredients in a small pan on the burner side of the grill. Remove from heat.
- Preheat the barbecue grill to medium and place the peppers and onions on the grill. Cook for two minutes on each side. Remove from heat.
- Place the bread on the grill and toast on both sides, remove from the grill.
- Build the “Fake Hand Off” Hot Pepper Bread right before serving. Top each slice of toast with butter mixture,
two slices of Cubano peppers, one slice of red pepper, a few onions, Greek olives and top with Parmesan cheese. These can be placed back on the grill for one minute or served as is. Enjoy as a first course. Makes four to six portions.
. TAILGATE TIP: If you plan to enjoy this away from home, we recommend that you prep the bread, Butter Mixture and Toppings at home. Transport these prepped items to your event in a cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs. Begin again with Step #3 at your event. . For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com.
Wednesday, December 16. 2009
With only 9 shopping days until Christmas people are starting to get a bit frantic about wrapping up their gift lists. I generally like to get everything done well ahead of time but invariably something comes up forcing me to have to add 3 or 4 more things to my list. You know how it goes...someone you barely talks to at work brings you a bottle of wine with a Christmas card, your family decides to do "gag gifts" or "stocking stuffers" in addition to the annual gift exchange and now you're faced with the prospect of braving the crowds at the 99 Cent store or looking through your closets for stuff to regift. . Fear not for I bring you tidings...(oops, wrong story). I do have a great gift for people that like food and you don't have to be Martha Stewart to make this work. Gourmet oil and seasoned salts are easy and inexpensive but they look like you went to a lot of trouble. . Garlic Chili Oil . You will need a nice looking glass bottle for this. Recycled dressing bottles and even drink mixer bottles with the labels removed work well or you can pick up bottles at a craft store for a dollar or two. There are 2 ways to make this infusion depending on how much time you have and how much flavor you desire. The easiest way is to put the chili flakes, garlic cloves, and red peppers into the bottle first then slowly pour in the oil and cap it off. For greater flavor you can heat the oil on the stove until the first signs of smoke form, then remove from heat, add the ingredients and let it stand until cool before bottling. (It is harder to get everything in the bottle this way but the flavor is much more intense) . 
. Rosemary Garlic Olive Oil - Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves
- 1-2 Rosemary Branches
This is the same process as the chili oil. Stuff the garlic and rosemary into the jar then slowly pour the oil in and cap it off. You can really do this with nearly any spice you wish...Cilantro, thyme, peppercorns, basil, sundried tomatos, or whatever you desire. . Gourmet Sea Salt 2 cups sea salt 1 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp dried sage 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp garlic powder
This is another easy gift idea. Just pick up a tin or a jar from somewhere and mix the dried herbs with the salt. It's great for seasoning chicken, steaks, roasts, and even mashed potatoes if you don't go overboard. .
. If you're going to give this to your mom, sister-in-law, or another woman in your life I'd recommend adding a festive bow or some ribbon to really lock in the impression you picked this up at a little gourmet boutique in town. The presentation is everything. No one needs to know you spent less than $5 and 5 minutes cranking this out. (I hope my family doesn't read this.) Just kidding mom! . Happy Shopping!
Monday, December 14. 2009
Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers® . . Dressing - 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Cholula® Hot Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Salad Fixins - 2 quarts diced red potatoes, cooked crisp
- 4 chopped hard boiled eggs
- 1 cup sliced green onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- Rinse potatoes and dice in bite-sized pieces. Place in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and
immediately reduce heat to a rolling simmer. Cook just until potato pieces are cooked crisp. DO NOT OVERCOOK. - Pour potatoes into a colander and spray with cold water to stop cooking. Place in a container and refrigerate
until completely cooled. Do not cover container tightly until completely cooled. NOTE: Steps #1 & #2 can be completed up to a day in advance. - In a mixing bowl, combine the Sauce ingredients. Cover tightly and refrigerate. NOTE: Step #3 can be
completed up to a day in advance so all the flavors combine. - When ready to enjoy, combine the Salad Fixins in a large mixing bowl. Add the sauce and combine.
- Let set for 10 minutes prior to serving so some of the sauce will be absorbed into the potatoes. Makes eight
servings.
 . TAILGATE TIP: If you plan to enjoy this away from home, we recommend that you prep everything at home. Transport these prepped items to your event in a cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs. Begin again with Step #4 at your event. . For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com.
Thursday, November 19. 2009
This is another SEMA edition of Sweet G's Shot of the Week with Courtney Hansen. You might remember her from Overhaulin and now she has a show on Spike called "Great Builds". That's suits her well because she definitely has a great build. She's kind of a staple at SEMA and I actually met her in a bar at the Las Vegas Hilton. I think she was with her boyfriend so we only exchanged pleasantries but let me tell you, she is smokin hot in person. She seems like the kind of girl you could hang out with but she would definitely blow your doors in a drag race. This girl knows cars. .
. As for the shot...I chose the Flaming Lamborghini in honor off the dude that passed us on the way out to Vegas in a bright red Lamboghini Diablo. He was only going about 80, which was curious until we realized he had company and I don't think she was searching for her contacts so in honor of him...the Flaming Lamborghini. This would be a sweet drink to make after a night game but probably not quite as awesome during the day. . . Flaming Lamborghini - 1 1/2 oz. Galliano
- 1 1/2 oz. Sambuca
- 1 1/2 oz. Blue Curacao
- 1 1/2 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
Pour Sambuca and Kahlua into a Martini Glass, layering so that the Sambuca is on top and give the drinker a straw. Pour Baileys and Blue Curacao into two separate shot glasses either side of the Martini glass. Light the Martini glass on fire and start drinking through the straw quickly so the straw doesn't melt. As the bottom of the glass is reached put out the fire by pouring the Baileys and Blue Curacao into the cocktail glass and keep drinking till it's all gone! As you can see from the video there are variations so it might take some work to find a bar that puts on this great of a show with it. . Stay Hungry My Friends...
Thursday, November 12. 2009
Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers® . . - 1 red apple, seeded and cut into 8 slices
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 tablespoon Sweet Success Seasoning Blend from The Clever Cleaver Kitchen™ OR combine
- 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 package Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits OR 1 package precooked pastry shells (read Step #3)
Toppings - 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup chocolate sauce
- Wwhipped cream
- One set of Womp ‘Em Sticks™
- Rinse and dry the apple. Core it, remove the seeds and cut into eight slices.
- Brush apple pieces with melted butter. Roll in Sweet Success Seasoning Blend OR your seasoning blend.
- To make the pastry basket, shape the biscuit dough evenly over the large wood cooking head of the Womp
‘Em Stick. Roast slowly over an open fire or barbecue grill that was heated to medium-high. When golden brown and firm to the touch remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. CLEVER TIP: If you don’t own the Womp ‘Em Stick, you can buy frozen puffed pastry shells and cook according to instructions on package. - At the same time you’re cooking the dough basket, place the apples on the grill cook for two minutes on
each side or until they are caramelized. When cooked, remove apple pieces from the grill. - To build, fill the biscuit basket a third of the way with whipped cream. Add apple pieces, chocolate sauce
and top with almonds. Makes four servings.
. 
. For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com.
Wednesday, November 11. 2009
Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers® . . - 2 pounds skirt steak
- 16 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes
Marinade - 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoon sweet Chinese chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 1 tablespoon Cholula® Hot Sauce
- 2 teaspoon lemon grass puree or 1/4 teaspoon dried lemon grass
- 2 teaspoon grated ginger
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 1/4 cup green onions, sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Trim the fat and membrane from both sides of the skirt steak. With a sharp knife, slice the skirt steak against
the grain into thin slices. - Feed the beef slices onto each skewer. Spread out the beef on the skewer to make as thin as possible.
Place all 16 skewers into a large plastic container, making sure they are flat. - In a bowl, combine the Marinade ingredients. Pour marinade over skewers, lifting the skewers to make sure
they all are covered with the marinade. Cover container and refrigerate a minimum of three hours (overnight is better). - Preheat the barbecue grill to medium-high heat. Place the skewers on the grill and discard the marinade.

. NOTE: Never re-use marinade that was used for raw meat or fish. Cook skewers on both sides until beef is cooked to your desired doneness. DO NOT OVERCOOK or meat will become tough. Makes 16 appetizer portions. . TAILGATE TIP: If you plan to enjoy this away from home, we recommend that you prep everything at home through Step #3. Transport these prepped items to your event in a cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs. Begin again with Step #4 at your event. .For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com.
Monday, October 5. 2009
Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers®, Ocean Spray® and Heinz® . . Meatball Mixture - 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 whole eggs
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
Sauce - 1 14oz. can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
- 1 12oz. bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
- In a large bowl, combine the Meatball Mixture. Divide the mixture into four equal piles. You should be able to
make eight or nine meatballs from each pile. - Preheat a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook the meatballs until they appear brown and firm.
Check one for doneness. This can also be done on the grill. - In a large saucepan, combine the jellied cranberry sauce and chili sauce. Cook over medium-low heat and
stir until smooth. - Add cooked meatballs to the sauce. Simmer for five minutes stirring occasionally and then serve.

.CLEVER TIP: If you’re in the “two-minute drill” preparing for your tailgate party, premade frozen meatballs can be substituted. Go Team! Makes approximately 30 appetizer-sized meatballs. . TAILGATE TIP: If you plan to enjoy this at home, feel free to prepare recipe and hold warm in a crock pot. If you plan to enjoy this recipe away from home, you may want to prepare the meatballs at home in advance and chill. Make the sauce at your event and add the meatballs to the sauce. Heat meatballs until hot. . For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com
Friday, October 2. 2009
Tailgatin with the Clever Cleaver Brothers . . Beer & Cheese Bisque - 1 cup minced bacon
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup 1/2"-diced onion
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1/2 cup flour
- 16 oz. beer
- 1 quart beef broth
- 1 pound 1/2"-sliced smoked sausage
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup Cholula® Hot Sauce
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- 5 oz. box of croutons
- In a small stock pot or large saucepan over medium heat, cook the minced bacon until crisp.
- Add the garlic, onion, carrot and thyme. Cook for one minute.
- Add the flour and combine to make a roux. Let this cook for three minutes, stirring continuously so the roux,
doesn’t burn. - Add the beer, beef broth, sliced sausage, paprika, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Bring this to a boil, turn to
simmer and let cook for five minutes. - Whip in the Cheddar cheese.
- Enjoy the Beer & Cheese Bisque topped with croutons. Makes half-gallon.

TAILGATE TIP: Prepare this recipe, through Step #4, at home in advance of your tailgate party and refrigerate to cool completely. Transport to the party in a sealed container(s) in a cooler with adequate ice or ice packs. Reheat at the tailgate party and complete Step #5.
. For more delicious recipes visit www.CleverCleaver.com
|