Not for us (because you know when you are as well behaved as us you don't need any stinkin' training), but for the folks, who have to learn all sorts of new things.
While they've been helping get the campground cleaned up from last fall's leaves and various yard work things, the main job the folks were hired for is office work. That's stuff like answering the phone, taking reservations, checking people in, running the register in the camp store. So this week they've been gone from the coach a lot during the day.
After their first day with the reservation system, the folks were babbling something about nostalgia and PF keys. Dad said he thought the software looked like it was from the 1980's, and sure enough the copyright showed it was - other than the yellow KOA background the screen looks just like the old CRT terminals the folks used when they first went to work over 25 years ago.
That's a lot in dog years!
The weather has been "mixed" since we got here, one day it's sunny and nice and the next day it's cool and rainy. They try to take advantage of the nice days to grill out, so this week we got to try a California "barbecue" dish called Santa Maria Tri Tip. It's not really barbecue (which is "low and slow" like we do it in Texas), but it had all of us drooling just the same. It was a recipe one of the guys on the Big Green Egg board posted. Mom also made the traditional side dish, Pinquito Beans to complete the meal.
Santa Maria Tri Tip
2 (3 pound) tri-tip roasts
Basting Sauce, recipe follows
Seasoning Salt Mixture: recipe follows
Seasoning Salt Mixture:
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp white pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
4 Tbs granulated garlic
6 Tbs salt
Basting Sauce:
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup garlic-infused vegetable oil
1. Mix together seasoning salt ingredients in a small bowl
2. Whisk together vinegar and oil in a small bowl.
3. Coat both sides of the tri-tip roasts with the seasoning mixture, rubbing it in as you would a dry rub. Let the seasoned tri-tip rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
Regular grill cooking:
Grill on medium-high until rare to medium rare, basting every 5-10 minutes. If you have a smoker box in your grill, use some oak chips for more authentic flavor.
Big Green Egg (BGE) cooking:
Sear each side of the tri-tip at 600 to 700 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes each. Remove seared tri-tip from the BGE, cover it with foil and let it rest while bringing the BGE temperature down to 350 to 400 degrees. During this cool down period toss in a couple of oak chunks. Put tri-tip back in the BGE and cook to an internal temperature of 125 degrees for medium rare, basting with the sauce every 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove tri-tip from the grill or Egg, cover it with foil and let it rest 15 minutes. Cut into ½” slices against the grain.
Source: Morro Bay Rich
Pinquito Beans
1 lb. pinquito (small pink) beans
4 slices (about 1/4 lb.) bacon, chopped
2 chopped onions (12 oz. total)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup tomato purée
1/2 cup red chile sauce or red enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1. Pick over and rinse beans. Place in a 6-quart pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover, take off heat and let sit 1 hour.
2. Drain beans. Cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook until tender, anywhere from 40 to 90 minutes depending on the freshness of the beans. Drain, reserving beans and 1 cup cooking liquid.
3. In a 5-quart pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon. When bacon is crisp, remove all but 1 teaspoon of fat from the pan. Add onion and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring, until onion just starts to brown. Add remaining sauces and seasonings and the pinquito beans and reserved liquid. Salt to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes to blend flavors.
Source: myrecipes.com