Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tutorial and Dinner

Or maybe Dinner and a tutorial.

If you are not a foodie you may want to scroll down....

....but you will miss out on the most fantastic ribs ever!

As soon as the weather is warm enough to keep the horse out for longer than 10 minutes

It's BBQ time here!



What better way to kick off the BBQ season than with ribs?


I stick those bad boys in a big pot still frozen even.



My secret marinade. Shhhhh....



I don't know why, but it HAS to be A & W root beer. Don't skimp here. Just pour it on and let em soak all day!

Now don't even reach for that! We got something waaaaay better!

Home made sauce!

Roll up 2 thick slices of smoked bacon around rosemary. You can use twine to hold the bundle together or toothpicks like I did cause the kids used my twine for "something"

I don't even want to know!

Now brown it for about 3 minutes in 2 Tbs of olive oil.



Cut an onion in half and peel. Peel 2 cloves of garlic also. Add this to the pot. I use a big pot. You'll see why later. Cook this til the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups ketchup, 1/4 cup molasses and dark brown sugar, 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp each dry mustard, smoked oregano and cumin. Little pepper for taste.


Bring it all to a boil over medium heat and then lower to a simmer.

Simmer 20 mins until all the flavors have married to a wonderful taste!


Now parboil those ribs in the root beer while your sauce is thickening up.

I take the whole pot of sauce out to the grill. Dunk one side in the sauce and put on the grill. Slather lots of sauce on the other side and let her cook!

Hey! Get out of my sauce munchkin!

She loves my sauce. Along with everyone else. I got 5 orders for a jug of sauce already!

Grilled to perfection!

Some of Yvonne from Stone Gables Roasted Asparagus



Some Baked Macaroni from Giada DeLaurentiis


And my killer awesome Lime Margheritas!

The trick to them is to make your own sour mix.

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup lime juice

Add the water and sugar. Stir til blended. Add lemon and lime juice and chill.

To make a margherita?

4 oz sour mix
2oz tekillya
3/4 oz triple sec

Pour over crushed ice (my new fridge makes crushed ice!)

Shake

Pour into a sugar rimmed glass.

I need all the sweetening up I can get!

Now that I got ya all lickered up!

Onto the tutorial!

I used 2-1"x4"x2' boards



Artwork courtesy of the bitty one.

Some small nails, 2 sawtooth hangers and a hammer



Now into the snakeden of dispair to do some painting.

Don't get jealous over my gorgeous laundry room.

I guess now you know why I hate doing laundry!

Anyways.... paint one side of all the boards.


Let dry.

Nail the two boards into an "L" shape.

Paint.


Now I glued a piece of trim molding to keep the books from sliding off.

I dug this out of the snake den of dispair.

More paint!

Nail the 2 sawtooth hangers to the back....


....and voila! A book ledge!

Oooooh!



Don't forget about the party on Friday!

A very special to Jan @ Bobbypins Boardwalk for making this uber cute button.

I love it Jan and I love ya!

Now to spend some quality time with the boy.

Not because I am playing favorites.

He's just messier!




















15 comments:

Anonymous said...

mmmmm yummy. Maggie, did you have any problems with the link system for the party? Cheri said that it took too long and she finally gave up. I was just a bit concerned.

Thank you for the gracious compliment above. You're a sweetie! I'm also starving and the food looks so GOOD. You are really a gourmet cook, aren't you? You must like to cook. I, on the other hand, just like to eat!

deb said...

mmm Your ribs sound sooo good! Gonna have to try your sauce and secret soak. Clever book shelf☺

I made those appliques a couple years ago. I'll have to amke more so I can do a turorial for them!
*hugs*deb

Unknown said...

I have a rack in the freezer that just might end up being dinner tomorrow night!! yummmy

Anonymous said...

oh Maggie that dinner looks soooo yummy! I really want to try that asparagus! love the book ledge tutorial too! :) Happy Wednesday to you! :)

Southern Lady said...

My husband is always looking for rib recipes. I'll have to share this one with him. Looks Yummy. Carla

Unknown said...

What time shall I be over for cocktails??!

Those ribs sounds deeeeeelish!!! I've never made them on the grill, gasp, I always just throw them in the crock pot after a quick grill under the broiler...I'll have to give your recipe a try!

Hugs ~

:) T

Lori said...

Yummy!! Those ribs look good! I will jot down your sauce recipe and try it out the next time we BBQ ribs!

Dar said...

MMMMM, I'm making those ribs for supper...thanks for sharing the recipe...I think I also need to make a run out to the cabin to get the tequila for some of those 2die4 sippers.
Your shelves are the cutest, just like your darling girls.
Have a great day, and thanks again for supper!

Donatella said...

YOU NEED TO WRITE A COOK BOOK... YOUR STYLE OF COOKING IS UNIQUE...LOVIN THOSE RIBS!!AND THE MACARONI WITH ROASTED ASPARAGUS WOW! VERY TASTY! IT ALL GOES TOGETHER PERFECT!!

Julie Johnson said...

My husband would love these...I'm bookmarking and saving to surprise him. Thanks for the tips!!

cindy said...

Oh my....somebody needs to get her buttocks down here and teach me to cook. Seriously.

Embellished Bayou said...

Oh, yummy! I want to come to your house for dinner (and a margarita or two)!

Unknown said...

Yummy barbecue and cute blog!!!
I am your newest follower and would love if you follow me back!
XOXO
frenchy

Pam said...

Thanks for the great recipe. I have printed it out and plan to give it a try. Thanks also for visiting my blog.

Betsy said...

I am definitely going to try your ribs, I would have never thought of root beer to marinade. This is why I enjoy blogging, the ideas I find along with the recipes are endless. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Betsy