Grilled Short Ribs with Big Huge Flavor

I love this. So does my husband. And my kids. It's a great grilling recipe. The type of recipe that takes a little time to get the meat grilled to perfection. The type of grilling that means you lounge around outside, by the grill/BBQ. Watch the meat. Brush the meat. Sip your beer. Or Margarita. Or Pina Colada. Or whatever your grilling drink of choice is.

Grilling. Brushing. Lounging. Drinking. A very relaxing recipe. A perfect summer evening recipe.

First, before you go outside, you need to assemble your sauce. So, you need a whole lot of Soy Sauce.

Then lots of sweet honey to sweeten it down a bit.Then a whole lot of this:Garlic. Love garlic.

Followed by a bit of this:

Ginger. I buy it already minced in a tube. Love it. No peeling, no slicing or chopping or grating. No wasting, since I don't use Ginger all the time. You can use ground ginger too. Just not as much.

And then the Scallions. Or Green Onions. Whatever you call them, you need them. About three of them will do just fine. Chop chop. The white parts and green parts.

Whisk everything together, then put it in a pot.Grab those wonderful, fatty, meaty short ribs. Now you are ready to to grill.The sauce goes right on the grill too, so make sure the pot/pan you use is heat friendly. See that pot back there? It was my Grandmother's pot. My husband calls it the "camping pot" or the "army pot". Not sure why. He's never been camping in his life. Or in the army either. But this pot goes with me if we go on vacation to a cabin where I will be cooking. This pot has survived decades, generations of kitchens and now it continues to hold up it's glory by being cooked on BBQs and Grills all over Long Island. I'd cry if anything happens to that pot. They just don't make them like that anymore.

Now, here comes the lazy part. Just brush and grill. Occasionally flip. Brush and grill and flip. And sip from your drink. Brush. Grill. Flip. Sip. You get the idea.

I also threw a side on the grill in another favorite pan of mine.Great grilling pan for veggies. Shrimp too. This time, I chose frozen Sugar Snap Peas with a little Garlic. Grill.Grill.And Grill.Don't forget to keep brushing that sauce on too. Then...viola.... After grilling it low and slow, we get awesomeness.

To go with the Asian flavors, I cooked up some rice. I added a couple of teaspoons of Asian Stir Fry mix to the rice, then topped with the Sugar Snap Peas.

Yum.

But that meat....those short ribs....HUGE flavor!! Salty and juicy and meaty. Just awesome.

A Fancy Grilled Cheese

This is such a simple recipe. Only four ingredients. So good. So "adult". It's perfect for finger sandwiches. It's perfect for baby showers and wedding showers. It's perfect for Superbowl Sunday. It's perfect for Moms at your kid's birthday party when they are sick of hot dogs, burgers, and pizza. Or book club with a glass of wine. And it's a perfect lunch on a hot, hazy, Saturday afternoon. Like today.

First, you get a nice, crusty bakery bread.

French. Italian. Seeds. No seeds. Long. Short. Fat. Skinny. It doesn't matter. Just make sure it's fresh and crusty on the outside, doughy on the inside.

Slice it open.

Don't scoop out the doughy wonderfulness. I never understood why my Grandmother and Mother did that with their sandwiches and bagels. That's the best part! They would scoop that out and I would grab it and pop it in my mouth.

Take some Brie Cheese and spread it all over the top half. A lot of it.

Soft, gooey, wonderful cheese.Next, take a couple of teaspoons of this:
Spread this Raspberry Jam all over the bottom half.Then, comes the ham.Just any old Deli ham will do. I used Black Forest Deli Ham. Don't put too much ham. A nice thin layer will do just fine.Close it up. Look at that. Looks good already. Wrap it up in foil.

And do this:

Believe it or not, the sandwich is under that. It's a heavy, big ole' brick in a pan and it's pressing the sandwich down on the BBQ grill. It's a redneck version of a Panini Grill. By all means, if you have a Panini Grill then use that. But I use my BBQ grill with that brick on top.

Let it grill for about 10 minutes. Maybe even less. Just enough to get the cheese and jam all melted and mingled around that ham.

When you are done, slice it. And you'll have this:

Pure perfection. It's a grilled cheese, really. But a grilled cheese unlike anything you've had before. It's been fancified. This isn't the grilled cheese you grew up with. It's sweet. It's salty. It's smokey. It's crusty. It's doughy. It's ooey and gooey. It's perfect.

Rule of Thumb

Every ethnic family cook has some sort of tradition in their recipe. Some sort of secret ingredient. Or secret technique. A rule of thumb. It is passed down from family cook to family cook.

In my family, on the Italian side, it's how we make our sauce. Or, if it's with chopped meat, then we called it our "gravy".

We have thrown our own touches in it. Made it different ways. My Grandmother would squeeze her own tomatoes. My mother would press the garlic through a garlic press long before suburban moms everywhere thought Pampered Chef was a genius for "inventing" the garlic press.

Sometimes we used canned crushed tomatoes. Pureed tomatoes. Diced tomatoes. It had to be Red Pack. Or Rienzi. Never, ever, EVER Hunts. Or the generic store brand.

I've omitted the olive oil step. Don't feel we need the extra grease. We get enough grease from the meats that we toss into the sauce. I love to add red wine. Didn't have any tonight though. I've been known to even throw in a few dashes of bottled Italian Salad dressing. (Try it! It's actually pretty good that way!)

But...there are always the rules of thumb. Some things just can't be changed. And we have added our own rules of thumbs over the years.

My Grandmother's Rule of Thumb:

Always, Always, ALWAYS use a wooden spoon. NEVER a metal spoon!! Something about the acid in the tomatoes and the metal in the spoon....it ruins the sauce (or gravy). Not entirely sure of the scientifics behind the whole wooden spoon vs. the metal spoon, but just trust me. Not only me, but generations of italian cooks everywhere. Always use a wooden spoon.

My Mother's Rule of Thumb:

Fresh, Grated Parmesan Cheese. Right in the sauce.Sounds kooky, but oh so good. Adds great flavor. Adds saltiness. Can't make the sauce without it.

And my Rule of Thumb:

I take this...a green bell pepper.....

And I put it in the chopper and turn it to this:

Frothy.

Bubbly.

Wonderfully pureed green bell pepper. And I add it to the pot.

This is actually something I discovered one day while making an entirely different dish, but it was a tomato based dish. I had meant to save some time dicing up the pepper and threw it in my chopper. I let the blades spin just a tad bit too long and ended up with this wonderful, aromatic, pepper, green, frothy puree. Not wanting to waste it, I decided to toss it into the dish.

A few months ago, I decided to try this with my sauce. It works. It works quite well. I'm not turning back. This is my rule of thumb that I will pass on to my children when I teach them how to make this sauce.

So, what goes in the pot? Three cans of pureed tomatoes. One can of beef broth. Whatever herbs you prefer. I use dried Italian Seasoning. I never remember my Grandmother or my Mother chopping up herbs. I just remember a whole lot of shaking of little bottles over the steaming pot.

A whole lot of this:

Yum. Garlic!

Of course, the grated cheese. Kosher salt. Ground pepper. And that pureed pepper.

And I let it slowly come to a bubble while I prep these:

My meatballs. Ground Beef. Or you can use ground turkey. Ground pork. A combination of different ground meats. It's all good.

I mix it with Italian Seasoning, Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, Italian Bread Crumbs, Egg, and of course another heaping handful of that Parmesan Cheese.

Roll them into the size of your choice. I usually keep them about golf ball size. Maybe a little bigger.

Look at them. You can see the seasonings and even the little grates of cheese. (Grates of cheese? Is that the correct terminology?)

Perfect.

Another rule of thumb...they go right into the bubbling sauce. No baking! Add any other meats you wish to simmer and flavor the sauce with. I added Italian sausages, cut in half. I love to add pork. My favorite is Braciole. But for tonight, it's just the meatballs and sausage.

Let it simmer. And simmer. And simmer some more. The house will smell wonderful. And your pasta of choice will be amazing.Don't forget to stir. And don't forget to use that wooden spoon.

About Those Brats...

Remember yesterday, when I said to go ahead and defrost all the Bratwurst? Just cook them all? No matter how many mouths? No matter how many Brats?

This is why:

Leftovers.

So good. So delicious. Even better the second time around.

I put all the leftover brats in a ziplock freezer baggie. I scoop out as much as I can of the onions too and throw them in. Some of that awesome buttery beer juice goes in the back as well.

Put it in the fridge and all the flavors really get a chance mingle and meld.

Two years ago, I had a big party and made so much food. There were tons of Drunken Brats left over. I threw all the left overs in a baggie and into the fridge they went.

About a week later, I took those Drunk, Frozen Brats on a trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Something happened while they hung out in the freezer for the week. They went from delicious to AMAZING.

And they snapped back when you bit into them even more, if that was possible.

So that is why I told you to make them all. It's one of those meals that seems to get better with hanging out in the cold. Then you can nuke 'em. Heat 'em in the oven. Grill 'em in a frying pan. Or throw back on the BBQ. It's all good.

And don't forget those onions.

A Feast for A King...Only on Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day. Instead of gifts, I cook for my husband and my dad. My brother too. (Though he is WAY TO YOUNG to make me an aunt....but one day I hope he does.)

Of course, it's June. It's a man's meal. It's BBQ time.

I started off by making BBQed clams. A very simple recipe. Clams. BBQ sauce. A can of beer. A squirt of lemon juice. Put it all in a tin pan and place on the grill. Grill until they open. I don't eat clams, but my husband assured me they were good. They looked good. They smelled good. But I can't eat them unless they are those deep fried strips you find in places like the Jersey Shore and the East End of Long Island.

I made two salads. Both very simple.

Mozzarella and Tomato with Basil and Balsamic Vinaigrette.

So simple and easy. I make this a lot during the summer because of my kids. My son is a tomato freak. My daughter loves those little mozzarella balls. I know there's a name for those delightful, simple bite sized pieces of cheese...an Italian name that means "little bites" or "little mouths", but around here we call them mozzarella balls. Somewhere on Long Island there are my Italian ancestors rolling in their graves. At least I know how to pronounce mozzarella correctly, unlike most people these days.

Taco Salad.

This is my best friend in the whole wide world's recipe. I've had Taco Salad before and it involved sour cream and cold ground beef...or turkey...or some sort of ground mammal. But this...I call it Dorito Salad, because it's a salad of creamy and crunchy and cheesy Dorito crumbs. And as tacky as it sounds, it is fantastic. Something very comforting about it. Something very American. Only in America do we take something that is healthy (a salad) and turn it into junk food by adding Doritos.

It's five ingredients.

Shredded Iceberg Lettuce

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Diced tomatoes

Crushed Doritos

A Bottle of Ranch Dressing

Only Five Ingredients and a whole lot of YUM!

The highlight of the Father's Day Lunch...my Drunken Brats.

I know, it looks pathetic in the picture, but you see...my brat goes through great lengths to become the most delicious piece of BBQed meat there ever is. That is one tired brat.

First, it must travel from Omaha. Do not do my recipe and technique any injustice by buying bratwurst anywhere else. It must be from Omaha Steaks.

Then, I defrost them. No matter how many I order, I defrost them all. Even if it's just two of us eating them, I defrost all of them. I throw the brats into a big pot and cover them with cans and cans of beer. A couple of sticks of butter gets thrown in. And heaps of onions, sliced up.

It comes to a boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes. I turn it off and leave it as I go about making my sides and starting up the BBQ.

When I'm ready, I transfer all the brats, juices, and onions to a pan. I bring it outside and put the brats on the grill. I grill them up good, keeping the pan right at my side. When they are all browned and beautiful, I put them back in the pan with the juices and onions. Then I put the pan on the grill and lower the heat. They simmer some more and kept warm.

Serve on a hot dog bun with mustard and some of those soft, beer infused onions on top.

Here's my last bite.
It was so good, I forgot to take a picture of it all set up. I only make these in the summer and I've waited all year for my Drunken Brat. Taking picture for my new blog (and very first post) suddenly became the furthest thing from my mind. At least I saved one bite for the blog.

Oh...so...good. It snaps when you bite into it. The flavor...oh my! Like a Kielbasa married an Italian Sausage and had a Brat. Okay, that just sounded like a really lame, tastless joke. "What do you get when you cross a Polish with an Italian? A Brat!" Lame. Even I'm shaking my head in embarassment right now.

Of course, if I'm ordering bratwurst from Omaha Steaks, I'm going to check and see if their steaks are on sale. And they were. And since it was Father's Day...
What a perfect gift for the Dads. And I made it just how my Dad liked it. With nothing on it. No salt. No pepper. None of that "junk" my father claims I put on my meats. Just the strip of bacon it came with. That strip of bacon alone keeps it moist, tender, and gives the steak just the right amount of saltiness and smokiness. Just a touch. If you want more flavor, you can always commit the cardinal sin and drown it in A-1 sauce, like my kids do. Money spent on delicious steaks and they drown it with a bottle of 1.99 steak sauce. Next time, remind me to just give them the bottle with a straw.

And no BBQ is complete without my corn on the cob.

People love my corn on the cob. They come from miles to have my corn on the cob. Okay...maybe not miles, but I do get a lot of compliments on my corn. My Dad would rather have my corn on the cob than my Drunken Brat. I don't understand this. It's just corn. But it's summery goodness.

The corn gets those stringy tops cut off. I pull off a loose husk or two. I fill the sink with clean, ice cold water and let them soak. I think that the longer they soak, they juicier they are. But, 30 minutes should be fine. I have been known to soak them for a couple of hours and they are just divine.

Wrap each one in foil and throw them in the oven. 45-60 minutes should do it.

Some people like butter and salt. My kids and husband love to spray them down with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.

Me? I rub a wedge of lime up and down those yellow, plump kernels. Then dust it with good, old fashion black pepper. Un-Be-Lievable!

Pure summer joy in my mouth.