ribs, legs, and wisconsin wieners: part 1

The Grillmaster 4-burner gas grill

Labor Day was first celebrated on September 5, 1882, in New York City. The Central Labor Union started the “workingmen’s holiday” which quickly became a federal holiday in 1894 after a number of workers died at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals following a Pullman strike, and President Cleveland made reconciliation with the labor movement a top political priority. The first Monday in September of each year then became the official Labor Day.

Labor Day, as outlined in the original proposal, was to be celebrated with a parade exhibiting the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations followed by a festival for the workers. Today in the minds of sports fans, Labor Day marks the start of football season, and for other Americans, it is the symbolic end of summer: a day of rest and parties and thus the barbecue.

At the start of summer, John and I gifted a grill as a housewarming present to ourselves. After consulting Consumer Reports, we settled on a Grillmaster four-burner propane grill from Lowe’s for $200. I can recall the night my then fiance lugged the box upstairs to our balcony where he proceeded to piece the thing together in order to passively avoid having to do any wedding preparations. Since Houston summers are notoriously sweltering, we only used the grill once back in May the day after our wedding to celebrate my birthday. After that, the Grillmaster donned its cover, and the balcony was abandoned except for a few anolamous balmy evenings which, sadly, I could count on one hand. Also, toward the end of summer, we finally dish out the money for a 16-foot retractable SunSetter awning after I complained my husband’s ear off about how it’s too hot and sunny on the balcony. This reason to have an awning party combined with our underused grill and the fact that it was the end of summer days, we decided to have a barbecue to commemorate the first Labor Day in our new home and as husband and wife.

Now every barbecue must have some sort of meat or meat byproduct or else it cannot be considered an authentic Texas BBQ. This time, we decided to do pork spareribs, chicken legs, and Wisconsin beer brats. As a bonus, I’m going to cram two recipes into today’s post.

Let’s start with the ribs. I love pork spareribs. I think they’re much juicier (read: fattier) than their beef or baby back counterparts. Spareribs are taken from the belly side of the rib cage below the section of back ribs and above the sternum. They’re flatter and contain more bone than meat not to mention more fat which is why they’re so succulent. On the other hand, baby back ribs are taken from the top of the rib cage between the spine and spareribs below the loin muscle. The term “baby” means the ribs are taken from a market-weight hog rather than a sow. Back ribs have meat between and on top of the bones; and are shorter, curvier, and meatier than spareribs. Needless to say, I always get pork spareribs. People often say ribs are hard to cook, but I’ve found that I have yet to mess up a rack of pork spareribs. The recipe is very simple too.

Note: Sorry there are no photos of the food–the carnivorous friends of mine were vultures and tore up all the food before we had a chance to take pictures.

Our next recipe called for the same Rudy’s dry rub but on chicken instead of pork. (See how versatile this Rudy’s dry rub is?) We chose to grill chicken legs because: (1) dark meat is juicier than white meat; (2) legs are easier to eat and less fatty than thighs; <3) they take less work than, say, burgers; and (4) they’re less expensive than breasts or beef.

Everyone marveled at how yummy the ribs and chicken turned out. And with it being this easy, why not add it to your barbecue repertoire? You can feed the masses while not having to do too much work. Stay tuned for the other chicken recipe and the Wisconsin wieners. And remember, if the Blind can Cook it, so can you.

croissant bread pudding

The third and final course from Jade and Uyen’s birthday dinner was a rich croissant bread pudding. Bread pudding is a warm, eggy dessert, so for all you egg lovers out there, this is the dessert for you. It is an easy dessert to make–it just takes a long time in the oven. I had some trouble separating the yolks from the whites but managed okay in the end. I think that the bread pudding could’ve tasted a little more yolky and sweet, but Jade liked that it wasn’t too sweet. This is because I used brown sugar instead of white. Next time, maybe I’ll double the amount of sugar if using brown. And if you’re wondering what to do with all those leftover egg whites, try putting it on your face for a healthy egg mask. (I’m not kidding–that’s exactly what I did.)

I got this recipe from my trustworthy Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I love Ina Garten’s recipes!” And remember, if the Blind can Cook it, so can you.

scallops gratineed with wine, garlic & herbs

In honor of Julia Child’s birthday (Aug. 15, 1912 – Aug. 13, 2004), here is a recipe from her classic cookbook. It also happens to be the second course for Jade and Uyen’s birthday dinner. (Yes, it’s another French dish.) I served it with a mushroom risotto on the side. Ever since our honeymoon, we have been obsessed with food, and especially French foods. This is why it’s no surprise that I have downloaded both volumes of Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking from RFB&D and lie in bed at night listening to recipe after recipe until I fall asleep. Nuts? Just a little bit.

To gratinee something or cook it au gratin means to add a layer of an ingredient(s) (e.g. bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, butter) over the top and brown it lightly in a moderately heated broiler prior to serving. This is a common technique from the French and adds flavor and texture to the dish. When I was in Paris 9 years ago, my great aunt made numerous au gratin dishes, mostly in the form of some sort of vegetable in a casserole dish with tons of butter, cheese, and eggs–those French sure know how to eat.

I find that Costco usually has the tastiest looking scallops for a reasonable price–I think I got them for $9.99/lb. Costco has fresh seafood all around, so check out their kiosk next time you’re there on a weekend. They usually have everything from lobster to king crab.

As noted in the recipe below, I have this terrible habit of overcrowding my cookware. I always try to jam things into a small mixing bowl or crowd food into a pan. It comes from my laziness–I’m trying to minimize the time and effort needed for later dishwashing. This is why my food sometimes comes out half overcooked and the other half raw. I really need to break this cycle. Spacious cooking, here I come.

And remember, if the Blind can Cook, then so can you.