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31 Days to Blog: Day 6. I'm always looking for a good barbecue sauce ... I've never really found a bottled one that does it for me (and my choosier son, Evan), and frankly, I feel a little bit like a cheat if I use a bottled sauce when I'm cooking for clients. I feel like I should at least doctor it a little, a la Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade. Today we had ribs and sirloin tips and I tried a recipe from allrecipes.com. It met all my criteria:
- It was fabulous (Evan gave it the thumb's up)
- It was easy
I recommend you try it! (If you're a friend, family, or client, you may be receiving it as a gift sometime soon. I plan to make a big batch and can it.) Don't be intimidated by the number of ingredients, with the exception of liquid smoke, I bet you have everything in the house.
Big Al's K.C. BBQ sauce
2 cups ketchup
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup unsulfured* molasses
4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
*According to epicurious.com, "whether or not molasses is sulphured or unsulphured, depends on whether sulphur was used in the processing. In general, unsulphured molasses is lighter and has a cleaner sugar-cane flavor." I use Granma's brand molasses, and the only ingredient listed is molasses, it says nothing about sulphered or unsulphered. I'll keep you posted if I find out more.
Anyway, this barbecue sauce is worth making! Enjoy!
31 Days of Blog: Day 4. Our fireworks got rained out last night, and it’s too cold for the beach day we had planned, so we’re watching old videos of the kids when they were little, thinking we might call some of the friends we usually meet at the beach to have an impromptu cookout.
Last year this fabulous burger reared its lovely head at my friend, Lynne’s 4th of July extravaganza at Lake Winnepesaukee. Lynne’s parents live on an island in Lake Winnepesaukee. Her dad, Frank, and her son, Matt, both have birthdays over 4th of July weekend, and they always have a big family gathering. Last year Frank treated the family to these burgers. Lynne brought them to me via our weekly dinner group (we cook together and test out new recipes on our guinea pigs, I mean, families). These were one huge hit!
Stuffed bacon cheeseburgers
½ c cheddar cheese, shredded
4 slices
1 lb ground chuck
2 medium onions, divided use
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 clove garlic
1 T sugar
Barbecue sauce
4 large hamburger buns, split
Cook bacon in skillet until crisp. Let cool, crumble. Dice one onion and sauté in bacon drippings until translucent. Let cool. Combine cheese, bacon, and onion in a bowl. Season ground beef with salt and pepper. Create 8 flat patties from the meat mixture. Squeeze together 4 balls of the cheese mixture. Place the ball of cheese mixture between two ground beef patties; bring up the sides of the patty over the filling, making sure the cheese is completely covered by the meat. Flatten slightly for a nice patty shape. Refrigerate.
Heat grill to medium-high heat. Brush burgers with barbecue sauce and place sauce-side-down on grill. Brush top-side of burger with barbecue sauce. Grill the burgers for 7 minutes per side for medium.
Meanwhile, heat second sauté pan. Add olive oil and butter to pan. Slice second onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar, continue to cook until caramelized. Combine onions with remaining barbecue sauce.
Remove the burgers to a clean side plate while you toast the buns, if desired.
Memorial Day is Monday, May 26th, and with it comes Barbecue Season. But while you’re hanging out in the yard, loitering over the grill, sipping a cocktail, watching the kids run around, bacteria could be contaminating your meal. A watchful eye on a few key areas will go a long way to keeping your family and friend free from food-borne illness all summer long.
Thaw safely. It’s great to have food in the freezer — a spur-of-the-moment party always at the ready! But be careful how you bring it from the freezer to the table. Food safety experts recommend thawing foods in the refrigerator or the microwave oven or putting the package in a water-tight plastic bag submerged in cold water and changing the water every 30 minutes. Changing the water ensures that the food is kept cold, an important factor for slowing bacterial growth that may occur on the outer thawed portions while the inner areas are still thawing. It is not advisable to thaw meat, poultry, or fish on the counter or in the sink without cold water; bacteria multiply much more rapidly at room temperature.
Avoid cross-contamination. Grilling adds great flavor to meals, and makes summertime entertaining both fun and easy. However, once you’ve placed your raw meat on the grill, wash the plate thoroughly with hot soapy water, or get a clean plate for the cooked, ready-to-eat foods. Cooked foods should never be placed on a plate that held raw meat. Thoroughly cook all meat, poultry and seafood, especially shellfish.
Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot. Once ready to serve, you don’t want your food’s temperature in The Danger Zone (40°F–140°F) for any longer than necessary. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommends that you keep hot foods hot (use a warming tray or Sterno or votive candle under your serving dish) and cold foods cold (use a bed of ice under your food) while you serve them. Do not leave food out for more than 2 hours (this includes preparation time and the time it was in the car after you left the grocery store).
The foods that are most likely to cause illness if left unrefrigerated are:
- meat, poultry, and fish (both raw and cooked;
- salads made from starchy ingredients such as pasta, potatoes, rices, and other grains;
- anything containing raw or cooked eggs such as mayonnaise and potato salad, cream pies; and
- anything else containing dairy products.
If serving sour cream– or mayonnaise-based dips, be sure to keep the bowl on ice and avoid direct sunlight if at all possible. If holding your party at the beach, a park, on a boat, or at some other remote location, bring a cooler full of ice and keep all foods that may spoil cold until they are ready to be cooked or eaten. If possible, use two separate coolers—one for drinks and snacks, which people will be dipping into frequently, and a second one for meat and other dishes that stay closed, and therefore colder, until it’s time for the meal. Also, if possible, keep raw meats separate from cooked meats.
If you’re serving snacks and appetizers that will likely be sitting out for a while, stick to foods that don’t need refrigeration, such as fresh veggies, fresh fruit, breads with oil-based dips, nuts, and chips (tortilla chips with salsa provide a healthful addition to your menu as well).
Prepare your foods well. Thoroughly wash raw fruits and vegetables with tap water. Even those fruits and vegetables that do not have pesticides grow very close to the soil—another key bacteria-causing agent.
Cover and store leftover cooked food in the refrigerator as soon as possible. Cooked foods can also breed bacteria. Make sure you refrigerate, or place in a cooler with ice, any unused portion of cooked food (again, keep cooked meats separate from raw meats). If this is not possible, discard the leftovers.
Hot foods should be refrigerated as soon as possible within two hours after cooking. Don’t keep the food if it’s been standing out for more than two hours. Don’t taste-test it, either. Even a small amount of contaminated food can cause illness. Date leftovers so they can be used within a safe time—generally, they remain safe when refrigerated for three to five days.
If in doubt, throw it out; it’s not worth a food-borne illness for the small amount of food usually involved. Eat Well, Live Well, Be Well!
