Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 10-12 inch frying pan over medium heat, stir onions and celery in oil until vegetables are very limp and golden, about 20 minutes. Stir in sage, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and bread crumbs. Remove from heat and add salt to taste. Lay lamb flat, boned side up between sheets of plastic wrap, pound with a flat mallet until meat is evenly 1 inch thick. Pat stuffing over meat to within 1 1/2 inches of edges. Roll up meat from a narrow side, and then tie snugly with string at 1 1/2 intervals, tucking in ends of meat. Place lamb, seam side down, on a rack in a shallow 12-15 inch roasting pan. Roast in 400 degree oven until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat indicates desired doneness, 140 degrees for rare, (55 to 60 minutes); 150 degrees for medium (about 1 hour); 150 degrees for well done ( 1 to 1 1/2 hours). Lift meat to a board or platter and keep warm. Tilt pan; skim off and discard fat. Add wine to pan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to loosen browned bits; pour into a serving dish. Discard string; garnish meat with celery leaves or parsley. Thickly slice roast lamb crosswise and offer sauce to season portions. Serves 8 to 10.

Source: PlacerGrown

In a large bowl, shuck corn and slice kernels away from the cobs. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine
basil and oil until well blended. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. In a medium pan, heat butter and sauté squash with garlic until it begins to brown and is still crisp. Remove from the pan and add to a large bowl with corn. Add green onions. Drizzle basil oil over and toss to combine. Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Source: Placer County Real Food

Mix dry ingredients and put aside.
Mix wet ingredients well. Add dry ingredients mixing until blended. Add nuts and raisin
Drop by spoonfuls on lightly greased sheets. Bake at 350 degree for about 15 minutes
Cool on wire racks

Source: Sinclair Family Farm

In a conversation with United Way staff, Brendon discussed the art of barbecuing and competition.

What is your favorite item to barbecue, and why?



We would have to say that all of our meat categories are fun and exciting every time we make them.  At every contest we compete in we are always trying to better our recipes and think of new and exciting flavors that the judges will think is a winner.  So it is an adventure every time!  We enjoy each meat group, all for different reasons. 


What is your preferred method of grilling?


Glad you mentioned “grilling”.  There is a huge difference between grilling and BBQ.  I will quote a BBQ Genius we met in Georgia. Grilling is “hot and fast”, what you would do on a gas or charcoal grill.  BBQ is smoking meats, ” Low and slow” as they say. We smoke all of our meats using three different kinds of smokers.

The “Georgia Peach” is our biggest smoker, which we use peach wood logs, cut from a local Nevada County orchard, the Smokey Mountains are a combination of charcoal and smaller peach wood chunks, and finally, our new toy, the Green Mountain Jim Bowie, bought locally from our sponsor Foxfire. This smoker is a pellet smoker and sure does cook them perfectly. Each one of our smokers give a different flavor and has “different jobs” when we compete.

We make all of our own dry rubs, injections, and BBQ sauces. This was a project that took two years to get right and we are still working on them.  By applying a flavorful dry rub to a piece of meat, wrapping it tightly and letting it sit over night before cooking, you get an amazing flavor profile. You shouldn’t have to sauce your meats heavily if you have a tasty rub on your meat.


What made you decide to compete in the United Way event?


We truly love entertaining people with great food, and about a year and a half  ago a friend of ours said “Have you guys ever thought of competing?”  Sometime after that we entered our first competition, the 2010 United Way BBQ Battle! We were Bam Dazy BBQ, just a group of three good friends, and one tiny little smoker.  We took 1st place in the Critics Choice at that competition and haven’t stopped competing since then.

So, in a way, United Way helped jump start Bam Dazy BBQ’s professional competition career! We are very excited to come back, to where it all started, and defend our title on August 25!


Have you participated in any other competitions?

We joined the KCBS (Kansas City BBQ Society) in 2010 as well as the California BBQ Association.  Within those professional organizations we have competed in over 10 competitions in California, reaching the top 5 standings in different categories within the last 4 months.  We are competing with “the big boys” this year, people who have been competing and winning for years.

We hope to be as award winning as them soon, we are giving them a run for their money.  It is a great group of people who help each other and cheer each other on.  The year 2012 is really going to be exciting for us as a professional team. We have plans to venture outside of California and take home more titles and hopefully become a nationally recognized team! 



Bam Dazy’s Smoked Beans:



2 cans of your favorite baked beans
1 cup of brown sugar

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup of your favorite bbq sauce
a pinch of cayenne pepper ( or more if you’re feeling spicy)


Mix all ingredients well in a large baking bowl. Place on your smoker @ 250 degrees for 1 hour uncovered. After one hour, take off smoker and let rest for 30 minutes before serving.

Mandarin-Cranberry Thumbprint Cookies (makes 45 cookies; total cost of recipe — $5)

1 ½ sticks of unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 ¼ c all purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 large egg
2 t mandarin juice
2 T mandarin zest

Cranberry “Jam”
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/3 c mandarin juice

Soak the dried cranberries in the mandarin juice until plump (4 hours or so) and puree until smooth. If too liquid, simply place the puree into a fine mesh strainer and allow some of the liquid to drain off until you’re left with a thicker jam. Place in a bowl and set aside. Grate the mandarins and place the zest on a plate with plenty of paper towels and blot gently to absorb some of the extra oils. This will make the zest easier to work with as it will not clump together.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until creamy & fluffy. Add the egg and mandarin juice and beat into the butter & sugar mixture. Slowly, with the mixer on its lowest speed, add the flour mixture about ½ cupful at a time. Mix until completely combined. Shape the dough into a large, flattened disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325° and prepare the baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for about 5 minutes before shaping into 1” balls. Take each ball and make a slight indentation with your finger and fill with about ¼- ½ teaspoon of cranberry jam and place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden on the bottom. These cookies are supposed to be soft and have a naturally pale color so make sure not to overbake. Cool on cookie racks for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

2 whole chickens, 3 to 4 pounds each
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic
4 sprigs thyme

Season the chickens with salt and pepper. Place garlic and thyme in cavity.
Roast on a sheet tray 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Thirty minutes into roasting, brush with half of the pomegranate glaze (below).

Glaze:
1 cub pomegranate molasses
1 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup honey
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

In a small saucepan, combine molasses and vinegar. Simmer over medium-high heat. Add honey and simmer until reduced by half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Brush chicken with about half the glaze 30 minutes into roasting.
Add pomegranate seeds to remaining glaze and serve.

Source: Placer County Real Foods cookbook

4 peaches, very ripe, cut in quarters
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup water
2 to 3 cups Champagne

In a small saucepan, heat the peaches with lime juice, honey, cinammon stock and water. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Chill at least 1 hour.

To serve, slowly stir in Champagne until desired consistency and serve in chilled glasses.

1/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 1/2 lbs. apricots, halved and pitted
Cinnamon
Powdered sugar

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Combine dry mixture and milk alternately, a little at a time, with the butter mixture. Spread in a 10 inch by 14 inch baking pan.

Top with apricots, cut side up. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Increase temperature to 375 degrees and bake 10 minutes longer or until done. Sprinkle top with powdered sugar while still hot.

Cook beans in boiling water. Let sit, covered, for an hour. Sauté onions in oil until translucent. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, cumin and chile powder. Drain beans and add 6 cups fresh water. Stir in onion-spice mixture, chipotles, vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer about 1-1/2 taste.

Source: tierravegetables.com

(Photo by John Johnson)