BBQ Sundae

                         

All your favorite barbecue foods in one place...on one fork...in every bite.  Heaven!  Creamy macaroni and cheese, tangy baked beans, spice-rubbed pulled pork, and vinegary coleslaw, piled on top of each other, and topped off with a dill pickle! 

The pork cooks itself in the crockpot, and you can buy the rest.  I serve mine in small mason jars, but if you're having a few friends over for Labor Day Weekend, you can assemble them in clear plastic cups and your guests can just throw them away when they're done--EASY!

Barbecue, cold beer, your closest friends, and no dishes to wash...it really doesn't get any better than this :)

-----------------------------------------------
(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

your favorite macaroni and cheese

your favorite baked beans

your favorite coleslaw
your favorite barbecue sauce

small dill pickles

corn muffins or Texas Toast

For pulled pork:
crock pot
1 5-6 pound pork butt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons table salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard 
2 small onions, peeled and quartered

Put onions in bottom of crockpot.

Mix brown sugar, both paprikas, salt and pepper, and rub all over pork roast with your hands.  Place roast in crock pot on top of onions.

This is a Western Carolina sauce so it's a vinegar base, not a tomatoey one.
In large measuring cup, mix: vinegar, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and dry mustard. Stir well and pour approx. 1/3 - 1/2 of the mixture over the roast.  Save remaining sauce for later.  Cover and cook on low approx.  8-10 hours.

When pork is fork tender, remove to large pan and shred with 2 forks.  Add some more sauce to it and mix.

Cook macaroni and cheese and baked beans.  Get coleslaw ready and put out with the pulled pork.  Layer your sundae like this:  macaroni and cheese on the bottom, baked beans, pulled pork, some barbecue sauce if you think it needs it, top with coleslaw and a pickle.

Serve with corn muffins or Texas Toast.

barbecue heaven

Rum Punch

It's been my experience that all you need is a double batch of this punch, some solo cups, and someone special to watch the sunset with.  Memories will be made my friends, trust me  :)

----------------------------
(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

1 64-oz can pineapple juice
1/2 cup coconut rum
1 cup dark rum

Make this the morning of the day that you want to serve it.  
Mix all ingredients together, and chill in the refrigerator.

Serve cold, over ice.

Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Hash with Fried Eggs

 

Such a great summer!  Little get-togethers abound again with graduation parties, birthdays, backyard barbecues, and small gatherings for drinks and nibbles with friends to catch up on what you missed last year.

I've made this dish at least 5 times this summer (for brunch, lunch, and dinner), and the one thing I discovered is this: a much-needed bubbly glass of prosecco cuts right through the richness of the egg yolk and the spiciness of the sausage. That's just a little tip from me to you, because I love you. You're welcome :)

------------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

(serves 4)

2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed

1 mild Italian sausage, casing removed

8 eggs (2 eggs per person)

4 potatoes, cut in bite size pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut in bite size pieces

1 small onion, cut into petals

fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley

paprika

garlic powder

salt/pepper

olive oil

cookie sheet/sheet pan

* NOTE:  I like to serve this with grilled bread, that's been rubbed with a garlic clove

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place potatoes, onion, and peppers on large baking sheet.  Drizzle lightly with olive oil and mix with hands until all are coated.  Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper.

Next, drop sausage in little balls all over the sheet pan.  Sprinkle all over with garlic powder and paprika.  Bake for 1 hour.

ready for the oven

Approx 5 minutes before the sausage hash is done, fry your eggs.

out of the oven, ready for the eggs

Finely chop a handful of fresh parsley and sprinkle on top of hash.  Plate, and place fried eggs on top.  Serve with grilled bread, if desired.

Grilled Skirt Steak with Avocado Chimichurri

 

The Fourth of July is upon us, king of the grilling holidays.

As you ease back into the entertaining groove you haven't felt since late 2019, give this a try:  grilled skirt steak with a piquant, vibrant, chimichurri.  It's so easy that it'll leave you time to catch up with those friends you've only seen on zoom and facetime, and toast with your chilled rose' in person to the fabulous summer memories that lie ahead. 

Eight long weeks until Labor Day--enjoy every minute of it! :) 

-------------------------------------------

(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

Enough skirt steak for your guests

2 cups parsley leaves, packed (if you like cilantro, you can use half cilantro/half parsley)

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like spice)

2 medium avocados, chopped

kosher salt/pepper

garlic powder

dried cumin

cuisinart

For Chimichurri:  add the parsley and chopped garlic to the cuisinart and pulse until fine.  Add vinegar, oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes--pulse until mixed together.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and chill in refrigerator  (I recommend only making it a few hours before eating)

Approx 1 hour before serving, add in the avocados and stir together gently, careful not to break them up.  Cover and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Grilled skirt steak:

rub lightly with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a JUST A LITTLE  dried cumin (a little cumin goes a long way, trust me.  You don't want it to taste like your moms Tuesday night hard-shell taco meat from 1976...not that there's anything wrong with that...but that's not this lol)

ready for the grill

Grill and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes before serving with chimichurri.

Chicken Corn Chowder

It's June and school is out.  That means one thing…summer!  Nothing says summer like the beach, and nothing says summer at the beach like chowder.

When my kids were little, we would rent a house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week every summer.  On the first day, while the kids were down by the water with their dad and grandmother, I would make a big pot of chicken corn chowder to have for dinner.  They would come up from the beach salty, sandy, sunburned...and hungry.  At dinner we'd eat and laugh and play games, and after dessert they'd fall asleep...HARD...until the sun and the roaring waves from the Atlantic would wake them up the next day.  And we'd do it all over again.

I’m happy to share my recipe with you here.  It’s hearty and satisfying but not too thick, and because of the ingredients, it’s a complete meal in itself.

Summer is the the best 9 weeks of the year. Enjoy every minute of it! :)

windblown, sunburned, showered, and ready for dinner, Summer 2004

-

------------------------------------

(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

** I serve this with biscuits.  Just buy or make your favorite kind

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 cups whole milk or cream

1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup freshly shredded Monterey jack cheese

2 cups of fresh corn cut off the cob (approx 8 ears of corn) - or - 1 16-ounce can corn, drained

1 16-ounce can creamed corn

1 4.5-ounce can chopped green chilis, undrained

2 teaspoon hot sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

salt/pepper

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and brown in large dutch oven, with butter, onion and garlic.  Sprinkle cumin over chicken mixture and brown a few minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken broth, corn, chilis, and hot sauce--simmer 10 minutes.  Stir.  Add milk and stir.  Add cheese and stir gently over low heat until melted.  Stir in tomato and heat together to mix flavors.  Serve in bowls with salt sprinkled on top (makes 2 quarts) 

Summer Luncheon: Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Charred Corn, and Caesar Salad

Memorial Day.  Up north, it’s the unofficial start of summer.  The weather’s warmed up nicely, restaurants and stores are open for business, and golf courses are full.  But here in Southwest Florida, it actually marks the end of our busy season--pretty soon, some of our restaurants and stores will close and nobody tees off after 10:30 because it’s far too hot.  The one thing we do both agree on, however, is that Memorial Day is the holiday for grilling.

This lunch looks so impressive but it can be made in half an hour.  Prepare your sauces and skewer your shrimp first, and while those are sitting in the refrigerator, wash and chop your lettuce and shuck the corn.  It’s the easiest meal you’ve made all year.  And with some cold drinks and a little music, it’s just like the season itself: laid back and fun.  So bring it, summer…we’ve been waiting for you :)

-------------------------------------------------

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

(serves 2, with leftovers)

24 peeled, deveined shrimp (16-18 count) - uncooked

4 ears corn

romaine lettuce

croutons

Your favorite caesar salad dressing 

Your favorite bottled barbecue sauce

1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley, rinsed

2 tablespoons salted butter

juice of 1/2 lemon

parmesan cheese (to be shaved on corn and salad)

salt/pepper

cayenne pepper

garlic powder

To start:  shuck corn and set side. Wash & cut lettuce, and place shrimp on skewers--place both in refrigerator until ready to use.  Tear off and chop a few handfuls of parsley--set aside.

Make sauces:  Stir occasionally while heating

Spicy barbecue sauce--place some of the barbecue sauce and a few pinches of cayenne pepper in a small sauce pan and heat over med heat until warm.

Lemon garlic butter - In a different small pan, heat butter/lemon juice/a few pinches of garlic powder/and a little of the parsley until warm.

finished barbecue and butter sauces

Preheat grill

Grill corn: I do not oil my corn, I grill it naked because it gets a really nice charred, almost nutty flavor that way.  Turn while grilling until there are marks on all sides--it will begin to make a popping sound like popcorn and then you'll know it's ready to come off. 

It only takes a few minutes.  Shave some parmesan cheese over the top and cover.

Grill shrimp:  Before you place shrimp skewers on the grill, salt and pepper lightly. 

seasoned shrimp, ready for the grill

Place on grill and continually baste with sauces while cooking.  2 skewers will have barbecue sauce and 2 will have butter sauce--this way, you get one of each.  They are done when they are firm to the touch and are no longer translucent, maybe 3-5 minutes on each side (don't overcook or they will be rubbery).  Sprinkle with some more parsley.

finished shrimp

Now assemble your meal...

Cut corn off the cob and place in bowl.  Add salt/pepper to taste.  Mix

Place lettuce in another bowl. Add croutons, salad dressing, some shaved parmesan, and freshly ground pepper.  Mix

caesar salad

Bring all to the table with the shrimp skewers

Eat until you're full and happy

Pour some drinks until your even fuller and happier

Enjoy your holiday

Spaghetti Carbonara

 

 

It's so simple to make but difficult to get just right because, like with all good things, timing is everything. If you misjudge the heat or when to add the water, you could end up with scrambled eggs. Not terrible, but not ideal either.  So when done successfully, you end up with smoky, salty, silky, cheesy pasta perfection, that I happen to know is just as good with strong coffee and bloody mary's at breakfast as it with champagne for a late night dinner. 

 Bacon and eggs all day long...I told you it's perfect :)

------------------------------

(WHAT YOU WILL NEED)

Serves 2, and can be easily doubled

1/2 pound spaghetti noodles

1 egg, and 1 egg yolk

approx 1/2 cup freshly grated cheese:  parmesan or pecorino romano

6 slices thick cut bacon, cut crosswise into pieces

fresh cracked pepper

• The cracked pepper is so essential to this dish that it's an ingredient on its own.  But never cream.  Never.
• This dish is made entirely in the time it takes to cook the pasta.  Another reason it's perfect.
• You can also make this with pancetta.  It wasn't readily available when I started making carbonara in the 90's so I used bacon and still do--I like the salty, smoky flavor it gives the sauce

Start your pasta.  In the meantime, cook your bacon.

While all this is happening, whisk your eggs together with a pinch of pepper and some cheese.  Set aside.

Now the tricky part.  All at once:

Drain grease from bacon and take the pan off the heat.

The pasta should be done so take a ladle full of hot pasta water and add it to the eggs to temper them.  Whisk together so that when you add the eggs to the pan they don't scramble.

Drain the pasta quickly and add it to the bacon in the pan that's off the heat.  Add the eggs and start mixing together.  Move the pan back to the burner you cooked it on and keep turning the pasta until its silky.  Though the burner is still off, the residual  heat will cook the eggs but not scramble them.

Serve in bowl with more grated cheese and cracked pepper.  Eat immediately.