These Ain't Yo' Daddy's Ribs

Let's hear it for the ladies! Yeah the ladies who have boldly mastered the grill and taken over a small piece of masculinity from the men in their lives. The primal urge to conquer the fire and sear large hunks of meat over an open flame no longer calls to the testosterone laden cave men of yore. I have a new found thrill and am learning to master the grill one piece of flesh at a time.

I grew up in your typical male-dominated grill household, as probably most of us did. The difference being my Dad was/is also a rather accomplished self-made amateur chef and multi-BBQ/chili-cook off competition winner. Wheew, talk about some shoes to fill, good thing for such a tall man he's got rather small feet. Not yet having found the need to compete "professionally" I still compete internally challenging myself to master new techniques, new tools, and new foods.

Well with summer in full swing and a BBQ, seemingly every weekend, for some various celebration of sorts ribs always seem to be the holy grail of who has mastered the grill. Are they tough, are they rubbery, maybe they're too fatty for some, or flavorless for others? Were they purchased from an artisan butcher or were they the 1/2 price bargain of the day off the grocery store rack, and does it really make a difference?

Long story short I've agonized for years, yes really, about ribs. Never having really been a huge fan and always too afraid to screw 'em up and be told to never touch the grill again I had kind of written them off as a food that "others" cook. With all of my Food Network knowledge, billions of cookbooks (including a few BBQ books), and the right tools I decided what the hell just go for it! You know what the were FREAKING AWESOME! So awesome in fact my own daughter proclaimed at dinner they might just be better than her Dad's, SCORE! So to all the ladies out there pick up the tongs, fire up the grill, and grab your rack (come on, your rack of ribs). Let's get grillin' and show the good ole boys club just what the ladies can do!

Ribs for 6 (ok there'll probably be leftovers)

3 Racks of baby back ribs (doesn't matter where you get them from just make sure they're meaty and fresh)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup loose brown sugar
1/8 cup salt
1/2 cup orange juice
18 oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 tsp of chili powder

Prep the ribs by removing the silver skin from the back of the racks, slide your knife under a corner of the silver skin making a whole big enough to get a fingertip or two between the silver skin and bone, then start pullin'. Once the silver skins are removed grab a large stock pot (you may need two) and add the cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and enough water to cover the ribs. Cut the ribs into 3-4 bone sections (makes it easier to get everyone to the party and will give you more surface area for saucing later) and add them to the pot.
Preheat your grill. Depending on the number of burners you'll want them on low and preferably only the outside burners. (Charcoal you'll want to let the coals burn down and place them around the outside of the kettle.)
Boil the ribs for 15-20 minutes until they are no longer pink. Add the OJ, chili powder, and full bottle of BBQ sauce to a sauce pan and warm on low until the ribs are ready for the grill.
Once the grill is warmed up place your ribs, unsauced, on the grill for approximately 20 minutes, flipping after the first 10. Next start saucing, you'll want to apply the sauce to the ribs at this point too. Sauce one side then flip after 5 minutes, sauce the back side and flip after 5 minutes, give one final saucing to the meaty side and pull off the grill after the last 3-5 minutes. Allow the ribs to sit under foil for 5-10 minutes before cutting into individual segments and serve.

I prefer my ribs on the sweeter side and so do my kids. Add a dash of cayenne or hot sauce to the mix if you prefer a kick. And voila you've got some kick ass ribs and you did it all by your pretty lil' ole self!

Happy grillin'

Holy Sabbatical Batman

Today's totally random blog post brought to you by memories, bbqs, failures, laughter, and the Food Network.

Have you ever "Bing mapped" your childhood home? http://binged.it/LUEjhl I did and I was sad, sad that the giant garden we had as kids was filled in and now just more sod, sad that the old full service gas station up the street had been bulldozed to make way for some other giant change store, and sad that well it just wasn't MY childhood home anymore. It brought back a flood of other memories though. The two great big Locust trees in our front yard and how every fall they would create a mess of tiny yellow leaves that would stick to everything after a rain; the memories of the shared suburban driveway leading to two tiny single car garages and learning to navigate the numerous protrusions while backing the car out when I learned to drive. The early morning visits with my wonderful retired neighbors in the wee hours of the morning when I was little; the garden window with its sharp corners that my Dad always managed to smack his head on at least once a year. The cedar siding that was more work than it was worth and the carefully crafted 10 ton wood front steps my Dad built. So many memories came flooding back and I realized what an awesome childhood I was blessed to have. If you haven't Google Earthed or Bing mapped places from memories past I recommend you do so. It can give a sense of where you've been and where you want to go.

After a sabbatical from the blog it became very obvious to me that I am great at starting things just not so great at keeping up with things that have no intended end point or goal. I think we all like to feel a sense of accomplishment, I know I do. The older I get and the more gray hairs I discover the more I realize I am at a point in my life where my goals are to keep my kiddos happy and healthy, teach them manners, respect, and how to fend for themselves. While I'd love to be climbing some corporate ladder or earning some higher degree I figure maybe just maybe with any luck I'll have lots of time to reinvent myself when they are older. Excuse, yeah probably, reality most certainly.

I figure with the amount of cooking shows I am addicted to and had watched as a kid I should have the equivalent of a culinary arts degree in about 20 years. I find GREAT joy in my culinary creations and honestly I'm not sure I would love it as much if I did it for a living. I work well under pressure when it's something someone needs me to produce for someone else, but turn the table and I get antsy and ornery and well kind of mean when the pressure is self-inflicted to produce something fabulous for others. (Make sense?) See we had a group of friends over for a casual get together and while I grilled wonderful pork tenderloins, made all the sides from scratch, and even produced dessert I was a mess and testy with everyone, who dared to cross my work zone, all day. My Food Network inspired dinner was a great outlet for my culinary prowess (kind of became my own personal version of Chopped), however why the heck did I put so much pressure on myself? It all turned out great and we all laughed and had a wonderful time.

Today's lesson: lighten up!

(Totally random blog post but eh who cares.)

Here's the menu from our summer adult bbq!

What does a nosey pepper do? Get's jalepeno business! (bwahahaha)
These jalepeno poppers have become a huge hit (thanks to my other half's sister for discovering them).
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cheese-bacon-jalapeno-rellenos-53897.aspx#.T_L8cqm1R4w.facebook
Use the full 8oz of cream cheese if you dare. I've discovered baking them for 10 minutes then about 2-5 minutes under the broiler works best for a nice crispy top.
Marinated Grilled Pork Tenderloin

http://shar.es/teQ0e

I used four tenderloins for eight people. Increase the oj and let them marinate overnight. These are fabulous and soooo easy. I prefer my pork done to about 145 degrees and slightly pink (which is now acceptable), no you won't get worms.
Smokin' Potato Salad
http://shar.es/teQeg

This is fantastic potato salad! I used quite a bit more smoked paprika but the beauty of this is making it to taste. I dressed the potatoes while they were still warm so they would absorb more of the flavor and also pureed the capers. (I have someone in my life who is anti-caper, though he never knew the difference once I snuck them in there.)

Long Beach Coleslaw
http://shar.es/teF0q

This was a totally new take on your traditional coleslaw and received rave reviews from the peanut gallery. It's a great "make-ahead", then just cut up the iceberg lettuce right before serving, mix and enjoy.

Killer White Peach Sangria

And by killer I mean yeah its so good you'll swig it back and realize you're going to have a killer headache the next day good. This is my own concoction and had everyone cheering for more.

1 giant bottle Pino Grigo or your other favorite white wine (about 8 cups)
1 regular bottle peach vodka (about 4 cups, eh or just use the whole thing like we did)
4-8 cups Sprite (for the sissies who like their booze diluted)
1 can frozen lemonade (do not dilute)
1 bag frozen fruit cut into bit size chunks (I used peaches, pineapple, and strawberries)

Freeze the Pino and Vodka overnight, then mix everybody together in a large pitcher and serve over ice.

Dessert (shhhhh I lost the recipe but I'll add it as soon as I find it)