RIBS FOR MEMORIAL DAY 2007

My brother-in-law Gary does a wonderful job with ribs and this Memorial Day he again treated to that wonderful taste, that only he can bring out of ribs! Last year, if you remember, he treated on his houseboat. Well, there is no houseboat this year…just some backyard fun!

Since there was ten of us to feed, he had two grills going in order to satisfy all the appetites that hungrily watched every move he made.

I have posted his process before HERE! I just wanted to share them with you one more time and make your mouth water!

Go to the link embedded above for the details, but basically you begin by boiling them and then finish up by grilling and glazing them!

BIRTHDAY AT THE CHOP HOUSE

My daughter and her husband treated my wife and me to a May birthday dinner at The Chop House in Knoxville this afternoon. It was a wonderful meal and we enjoyed their and our granddaughter’s company very much. Just being with them would have been enough, but they insisted on paying.

Knowing their strong feelings before going, I ordered unsweetened tea instead of my usual Killian or Sierra Nevada! I do not like to order beer or liquor on someone else’s tab. It also reinforces to everyone that I am not an alcoholic! I just love my beer!

My wife and daughter ordered the small fillet (one with baked and one with sweet potato), while my son-in-law and I ordered the ribeye (one with traditional potato and I went with the sweet).

Katie Bug, trying to be completely different from us “older folk” went with the Lobster Alfredo - lobster, blue crab meat and shrimp smothered in a rich Alfredo sauce with green onions, snap peas, mushrooms, garlic and fresh tomatoes served over fettuccine. It looked delicious, but I would have made it with dried tomatoes instead of fresh for more flavors! But, I am a show off!

Of course, there were house salads around!

We are honored that at fifteen, Katie still does not mind being seen with us!

Happy Birthday Weekend to us!

I sometimes feel guilty about having birthdays, knowing that so many young men did not get to see many past their eighteenth! Let us remember them as well.

BIG RIVER GRILLE & BREWING WORKS

BIG RIVER GRILLE & BREWING WORKS downtown Chattanooga, TN was the lunch stop over on the return trip from the Roger Waters concert in Atlanta. The food is wonderful there, but we choose the pepperoni and mushroom pizza. They pizza’s are handmade and brick fired in sight of the bar!

They don’t waste time writing their microbrews names on the pulls…the taps are labeled simply Brown Ale, Pale Ale, IPA, etc. However, these labels do relate to special lagers (click) with great names. My personal favorite is the BIG RIVER VIENNA LAGER!

WHY CAN'T A VEAL CALF WALK?

Because he only has 2 feet! Such a same.

Actually he lives in a stall 22 inches wide and 56 inches long!

That's why you'll never see a recipe for veal on this site.

RUBY'S

Left to my own volition Saturday, I stopped in Ruby's for a salad and a cold Samuel Adams! It all turned out well. You can just make out the tall brew in my shades!

Ruby's has a well stocked bar for such a little town.

Sometimes I enjoy time alone.

TURKEY KIELBASA AND CORNBREAD

Want to know how to make it! Check out this earlier post - CHEESEY KIELBASA!

BANANA CARAMEL CAKE

My wife took the recipe PINKNEST posted some time back, and together we whipped up the ingredients and baked it for my sister-in-law's birthday bash Saturday evening. It was a huge hit and I personally loved the taste and consistency of the cake.

It was a little rough on us mixing the ingredients since we don't have a strong "stand" type mixer, and due to the fact that might right shoulder is still sore. However, we made it and it did turn out well.

Thanks Missy for posting the recipe!

unsalted butter and flour for the pan

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cups canola oil

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans

3 ounces 62% semisweet chocolate, chopped into chip-size chunks

1 1/2 cups diced (1/4-inch) ripe bananas (about 2 bananas)

Caramel:

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons whole milk

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12-cup (10 inch) nonstick Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and baking soda.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs, oil, granulated sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Mix in the dry ingredients, about 1/2 cup at a time, stopping to scrape the bowl as necessary.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the pecans and the chocolate. Carefully fold in the bananas; do not over mix.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, about 5 minutes before the cake is done, combine the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally as the butter and sugar melt. Once it is amber in color, remove from the heat.

Remove the cake from the oven and immediately, using a long skewer, poke holes all over the surface of the cake. Pour the hot caramel over the top, poking more holes and pushing the cake slightly away from the sides of the pan as necessary to allow the caramel to soak into the cake's top and sides.

Place on a cooling rack to cool slightly.

When the cake has cooled, but is still warm to the touch, unmold onto a serving platter.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 12

(Recipe courtesy of "The Essence of Chocolate" by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg)

FILET FETTUCINE

Tonight, I decided to cook for the first time since my shoulder operation. As usual, there was little in the house to cook, being the middle of the week, so I had to be creative! Luckily, there was a filet left over after the steak grill out the other night (see last post).

So, what to do?

Thaw the frozen filet, slice it up into small thin strips, salt, pepper the meat, and set aside.

Cook some pasta, preferably some shells, large or small, and set the pasta aside.

Chop up half a large onion and some portabella mushrooms (you may have forgotten you had – see last post) and set them aside.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil a jar of Bertolli’s Mushroom Alfredo Sauce, turn the heat to simmer and continue with the instructions.

In a large skillet, put some olive oil, a tablespoon of butter, a large scoop of minced garlic, a large squeeze of parsley paste, a large squirt of your favorite hot sauce, over high heat.

When the mixture begins to fry, dump in the thin sliced steak strips and cook them medium well.

Then dump in the portabella mushrooms and stir for several minutes.

Then dump in the sweet onions and cook until they begin to become opaque (do not over cook either the mushrooms or the onions).

Dump the complete mixture into the drained pasta, stir, then pour on the fettuccine sauce and mix thoroughly.

Once the appropriate buzz has been reached with the George Dickel, serve in a bowl and swoon in soft tones together as you look out over the green of the backyard and rising lake!

A wonderful experience!

CROCK-POT CHICKEN AND DRESSING

My wife stole a recipe from my Aunt Carolyn the last time we were in Alabama, and this was the first time she has tried it. I did not know she had decided that was what we are having tonight for supper, so I did not get early preparation photos.

However, the smell drew me to the kitchen and I started with a shot through the lid of the crock-pot! She started by doing the following:

· 4 or 5 chicken breast cooked and cubed (save broth)
· 2 cans cream of chicken soup
· 1 tablespoon sage
· 2 eggs
· 1 stick butter softened
· 1 medium onion diced
· Salt and pepper to taste (She used garlic powder also)
· 2 ½ cups crumbled cornbread
· 1 cup crumbled biscuits (canned is ok)

Now, what do you do with all that? This:

· Combine 1 can soup with 1 can saved broth set aside.
· Combine cornbread, biscuits, butter, eggs, sage, onion, salt, pepper.
· Pour in soup/broth mixture and mix well.
· Use ½ can cream of chicken soup to cover bottom of crock-pot.
· Layer cornbread mixture and chicken until all is used up.
· Spoon the remaining ½ can soup on top.
· Cook on low for 3 hrs!

My heart just sank as I read that last instruction…I was wanting some way before that!

Finally, I got to taste the dish, served with good ol’ fashioned fresh cooked pinto beans, topped with diced onions and juicy tomato pieces! It was worth the wait!

Whose that? Just "baby girl dog," Baylee, waitin' fer a taste too!

KNOXVILLE’S IRISH TIMES PUB AND RESTAURANT

In our never-ending quest to find the perfect sports bar hangout, Ron and I visited the Irish Times Pub and Restaurant in Turkey Creek today. Since it was an Irish Pub, we tried to stay true to the theme and ordered a Smithwick’s (Smit-icks), which is the second most popular beer in Ireland. Naturally, Guinness is the most popular, but we have graduated to level – yet!

The “Smit-icks” was good going down, but left a sort of dry after taste. For the food round, I went back to Bass Ale!

The food? Wonderful! No complaints here from either one of us. In fact, our selections beat out our old standby – Bailey’s!

Ron chose the Irish Fish Sandwich - Mahi mahi served blackened or grilled on a roll with lettuce, tomato, and onion. He said, "This is better than the fish sandwich as Bailey’s."

I chose the Corned Beef & Swiss Sandwich - Home cooked, thinly sliced corned beef with Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread. Served with fries or slaw. It was absolutely the best “corned beef” I have ever eaten!

However, as a sports bar, Bailey’s wins hands down! There were 4 TVs, all flush mounted on the walls and hard to see from all angles. The upscale feel is not a place to hangout and leisurely enjoy several hours of sports, chips (which they don’t have), and drafts.

I will go back for more “corned beef” sometime soon.