Christmas Special: The Roast Beast at the Christmas Feast

I ended up spending the entire day in the kitchen. I did this quite happily, and entirely voluntarily. Since Christmas this year was unfortunately green and there were no snowmen waiting to be made, I busied myself in the coziness of the kitchen (and I think cooking is a great alternative to lazing on the couch watching Christmas specials on TV).

While cooking a traditional holiday feast appears to be a massive undertaking that strikes terror in the hearts of home cooks everywhere, a little planning means it usually goes quite smoothly.

Because we had a modest number of diners, the turkey was not a massive beast of a bird in the oven. Our roast consisted of a turkey breast, which can still be tough to cook despite its diminutive size. Because it is so lean, it often becomes unpleasantly tough, dry, and stringy.

Leave it to Alton Brown to explain and emphasize the power of the brine. It is THE secret for a juicy bird. It is extremely simple, and after preparing turkey this way, you will never go back. The salt in the brine both seasons the meat and does something to the proteins that allows it to retain moisture better. Goodbye turkey jerky.

A few other little things about the turkey: use the canola oil specified in the recipe to coat the skin rather than butter. Starting the turkey in a 500 F oven means that you need to use oil with a high smoke point. I also like to baste it with a mixture of melted butter and maple syrup to encourage a nicely browned and sticky skin. Yum.

Besides the regular sides of roasted vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes, I made a classic bread stuffing. In order to deal with the problems of roasting the turkey with the stuffing stuffed in it (namely, that the meat is done before the stuffing is safely heated through), I baked the stuffing in a dish alongside the turkey. This recipe makes an extremely flavorful stuffing that's perfumed with onion, rosemary, thyme and sage, and punctuated with spicy sausage and sweet apple and cranberries. I probably could have had the stuffing alone for dinner and dispensed with everything else.

Overall, it was a dinner that successfully put everybody into a food coma...in a good way. I wouldn't have spent my Christmas Day any other way.

Good Eats Roast Turkey:

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
  
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Sausage, Cranberry and Apple Stuffing:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
• 3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
• 1 pound ground turkey sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup turkey stock
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.

Image property of beetsandbites
Turkey recipe credit to Alton Brown and foodtv.com
Stuffing recipe credit to Stacy Polcyn

Christmas Special: Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread and Gingerbread Men

So, I think it's about time for an update, don't you?

There was no way I could let the holiday season go by without a few festive food posts. Christmas is, after all, the most gluttonous of holidays. What other occasion encourages consecutive weeks of marathon eating? Besides that warm fuzzy feeling you get at this time of year, the abundance of great food and company make this my absolute favorite holiday.

I decided to fully embrace the holiday spirit today. So, after lighting the fireplace and blasting the carols, I did a little Christmas baking. The results: Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread, gingerbread cookies, and a house headily perfumed with spice.

These shortbread are cheerfully festive cookies. Shortbread is originally a Scottish Christmas cookie, but today its rich, crumbly, butteriness makes it a popular year-round treat. These boast that iconic red and green, which is happily achieved free of food coloring or cloyingly sweet candied cherries. These mildly sweet cookies are studded with bright ruby red cranberries and pale green pistachios for a treat that is at once tender and crunchy and chewy.

However, these shortbread only make up half of the quintessential Christmas dessert duo of fruity and spicy. The latter half is taken care of by the classic gingerbread cookie. This is my favorite recipe and I have used it for many years. As strange as it may sound, the dough has a beautiful texture to work with, even cold out of the refrigerator. The molasses keeps it soft and pliable and very easy to work with. After it bakes, it retains its chewiness while the edges crisp up. I suppose somewhat non-traditionally, I like to add a little finely ground black pepper to the dough. It imparts an extra kick of heat to bring out the spice, rather than a savory quality. The flavor improves the longer your store them (if they last that long).

(A tip for making gingerbread men: In order to make sure your shapes stay recognizable, it is advisable to chill them on the sheet pan before you bake them. It prevents them from melting into amoeboid blobs.)

This is the just the beginning of my Christmas cooking marathon. I actually need to return to the kitchen now to prepare tonight's big feast, so stay tuned for more on that.

And finally, I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. May it be filled with fun, loved ones, and of course, fantastic food!

Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread

Yield: about 48 cookies

2 1/3 cups(300 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (130 grams) unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 cup (150 grams) dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth (about 1 - 2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until smooth and creamy (about 3 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. (Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half of dough on the center of a 14 inch (35 cm) length of parchment or wax paper. Smooth and shape the dough into an evenly shaped rectangle that is about 10 inches (25 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide. Then thoroughly wrap the shaped logs in the parchment or wax paper, twists the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (The logs can also be frozen for about two months. If freezing, it is best to defrost the logs in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C) with the rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a thin bladed knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inch (.5 to 1 cm) thick cookies. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 48 shortbread cookies.

Perfect Gingerbread Cookies

Yield: about 2 dozen

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg yolk
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in molasses and egg yolk. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and black pepper. Stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Gather into a ball, flatten, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters. Place cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until firm at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes on the pan. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Images property of beets and bites
Shortbread recipe from joyofbaking.com

Where to eat: Buddakan NYC

Dining out at an upscale restaurant is often an experience, rather than just an opportunity to grab a meal and get on your way. For this reason, I am going to warn you that this review contains *spoilers* and if you want the full experience, stop reading now.



You have been warned...

Buddakan NYC was opened by Zagat's 2007 Restaurateur of the Year, Stephen Starr. He is also known for many restaurants in Philadelphia, and Morimoto (as in the Iron Chef Morimoto) in New York. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this meal. And in many ways, these expectations were definitely met.

The restaurant entrance is discreetly marked with one small sign next to the door, which suggests a mysterious "secret location" vibe, although the restaurant itself is definitely no secret (see fun fact below). Diners are received at the front desk which is a long counter strangely resembling a hotel concierge. They wait for their tables in the bar and lounge area. All is dimly lit by yellow overhead lighting and lamps on the tables. The atmosphere: definitely sophisticated and plush. The dining area is concealed around the corner on the lower level. The main dining room is, in a word, opulent. A long communal table stretches down the center and ornate chandeliers hang overhead from the high ceiling. The entire room is cast in a pinkish gold light. There are several dimmer, smaller dining rooms off the sides. All are equally sumptuous, and this is where I enjoyed my meal.

I was looking forward to raving about the entire meal. And at the beginning, it looked promising. They serve this divine cocktail called Fate, made with pineapple, elderflower and prosecco. It's as delicious as it sounds. I had done a light research beforehand, so I knew that we had to order the Edamame Dumplings as an appetizer. Another reviewer had said that they surely would be on the menu in heaven. I couldn't agree more. The dumplings were steamed and filled with a smooth and creamy filling. The texture was like a mousse, and tasted somewhat mushroom-y or truffle-y. They were served in a slightly tangy shallot-sauternes broth which perfectly balanced the richness of the filling. I could have had an entire meal of them.

The two main course dishes were Dungeness Crab Sticky Rice and Mao Poe Tofu. The crab rice was served in the crab shell. It was perfectly cooked and showcased the lump crabmeat well. The tofu, which came recommended by several reviews including one in the New York Times, was not quite as tasty. The tofu was cooked with ground pork and red pepper but it just was not anything special. It came with a bowl of plain ol' white rice. I could have done without that one.

Vanilla Tea Doughnuts were for dessert. These came with mandarin marmalade and vanilla ice cream. The dessert was well thought out; the bitterness of the marmalade and cold ice cream worked well with the hot and sweet doughnuts. Unfortunately, the doughnuts were heavy pieces of fried dough. They were dense and rather bland. However, they were rolled in a tea sugar which was wonderfully fragrant.

In general, Buddakan is very, very far from being a bad restaurant. The servers are nice and helpful, and the service is prompt but not rushed. The crowd is pleasant and the ambiance is amazing. The food is also great in general. Just a word of advice: order double the dumplings. And skip the doughnuts (I hear the Crying Chocolate is better anyways).

(Fun fact: Buddakan is the setting of Carrie and Big's rehearsal dinner in the Sex and the City movie.)

Eat Here:
75 9th Ave
New York, NY 10011-7006
(212) 989-6699

Image credit: francoissimon.typepad.fr

It's Aliiiive! (the blog.) and Mushroom Risotto (the food.)

Greetings, food fans! I'm back and I apologize for being rather remiss in terms of updating this... The lack of any October entries in the archive is rather sad, but I'm going to start off November correctly! I think it appropriate that the start of the month signals the beginning of the season for comfort food. The best comfort food should be both comforting to make as well as to eat. I find risotto, a traditional Italian rice, plays both roles quite well.

Making risotto is a bit of a process. It takes about 20 minutes of continuous stirring to release the starch that creates that crucial creamy consistency. The cooking liquid (broth or stock) is gradually added as the rice cooks; simply dumping it in will not result in the right texture. (I unfortunately speak from experience...) Risotto is not something to stress over (it is comfort food, after all) but it requires some patience. The slow stirring of a bubbling pot is really all that is required, and the effort is well rewarded in the end.

Risotto cannot be rushed, but once it is made it needs to be consumed while it retains the perfect slumped-on-the-plate, neither-gluey-nor-soupy texture. (I remember hearing that many Italians refuse to eat leftover risotto as-is, which led to the invention of those delicious fried risotto balls, arancini.) When done right, fresh risotto can be a big bowl of bliss.

Today, I made the classic mushroom variation. Dried porcini mushrooms give the risotto a warm earthiness and "mushroominess", while the fresh wild mushrooms are dressed with a zesty lemon vinaigrette. The contrast of the two preparations is genius, to which I must credit Jamie Oliver. Here, I used portobello and crimini mushrooms, but if you have access to other varieties of mushrooms then I can think of very few better ways to use them.
(On a side note, Whole Foods would be a good place to look; I recall seeing golden chanterelles, speckled lobster and black trumpet mushrooms the last time I checked. It was rather exciting.)

On an unrelated note, a new website has wandered onto my radar: cookstr.com. It boasts an extensive collection of recipes from famous chefs and cookbook authors. The recipes span all skill levels and cuisines, and many are accompanied by the all-important hunger-inducing photos.

Grilled Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients

• 6 1/3 cups chicken stock
• Handful dried porcini mushrooms
• Olive oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 14 ounces risotto rice
• 2/3 cup vermouth or white wine
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large handfuls wild mushrooms (try chanterelles, shiitake, black trumpet or oyster - definitely no button mushrooms, please!), cleaned and sliced
• Few sprigs fresh chervil, tarragon or parsley, leaves picked and chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 handfuls freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Heat stock in a saucepan and keep it on a low simmer.

Place the porcini mushrooms in a bowl and pour in just enough hot stock to cover. Leave for a couple of minutes until they've softened. Fish them out of the stock and chop them, reserving the soaking liquid.

In a large pan, heat a glug of olive oil and add the onion and celery. Slowly fry without coloring for at least 10 minutes, then turn the heat up and add the rice. Give it a stir. Stir in the vermouth or wine - it'll smell fantastic! Keep stirring until the liquid has cooked into the rice. Now pour the porcini soaking liquid through a sieve into the pan and add the chopped porcini, a good pinch of salt and your first ladle of hot stock. Turn the heat down to a simmer and keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. This will take about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, get a dry griddle pan hot and grill the wild mushrooms until soft. If your pan isn't big enough, do this in batches. Put them into a bowl and add the chopped herbs, a pinch of salt and the lemon juice. Using your hands toss everything together - this is going to be incredible!

Take the risotto off the heat and check the seasoning carefully. Stir in the butter and the Parmesan. You want it to be creamy and oozy in texture, so add a bit more stock if you think it needs it. Put a lid on and leave the risotto to relax for about 3 minutes.

Taste your risotto and add a little more seasoning or Parmesan if you like. Serve a good dollop of risotto topped with some grilled dressed mushrooms, a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serves 4-6

Recipe courtesy of jamieoliver.com
Image property of beets and bites

Mmmmaple: Maple Walnut Cupcakes

As the summer heat dissipates, I think it is only appropriate to whip out some autumnal creations. These Maple Walnut Cupcakes not only give off the perfect fall vibe, but also showcase one of my all-time favourite flavours: maple.

The nutty cupcakes are wonderful, but I'm going to talk about the icing because it really is "the icing on the cake." Its velvety butteriness amplifies the warmth of the maple flavour. I knew I had to try this frosting recipe because, well, it uses real maple syrup, rather than that artificial stuff in a bottle. It is not a speedy one-bowl powdered sugar buttercream; this is real, silky, luscious stuff. You will need to cook the maple syrup to make this version of a French buttercream so it's a little fussy, but the results are well worth it if you are a maple lover.

I made this on an unusually warm day. If you want to stabilize such a butter-rich frosting, beat in a few tablespoons of cool shortening and a tablespoon or two of sifted cornstarch. Add just enough to give it a little structure, but not so much that you lose the silky, fragrant character of the buttercream.

Maple-Walnut Cupcakes

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups walnuts chopped medium fine

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. With the mixer still on medium, add the flour mixture in two parts, alternating with milk (begin and end with flour). Stir in walnuts with a spoon.

Divide batter among the cups (about 1/3 cup each). Bake until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool and frost. Cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Maple Buttercream:

Makes about 2 cups

3 large egg yolks
2 cup pure maple syrup
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk, beat yolks on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring the syrup to a boil over medium high heat, cook until it reads 240F on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes.
With the mixer running, slowly pour syrup down the side of the bowl in a slow, steady stream, until completely incorporated, about 1 minute. Continue beating until the bowl is just slightly warm to the touch, 4-5 minutes. Add butter, one piece at a time, until frosting is fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
Image property of beets and bites

Crepes...Fancy French Fare?

Crepes can be a little tricky to make, but as soon as you have the "pan swirl" move down, you can impress your guests for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. (Really.)

Crepes are extremely versatile; you can make them savoury or sweet, dressed up or down. You can crisp up a crepe in a muffin tin and you have a tart shell, or stack them up to make a crepe gateau. (One of my favorite desserts in New York City is the Lady M Mille crepe. Paper thin crepes are layered with whipped cream and finished with caramelized sugar. So decadent!)

Lady M works her magic

I made these for breakfast, so they were served with whipped cream and berries. I also like them the French way: plain with a squeeze of lemon and sprinkling of sugar, known as crepes au sucre.
(If you want something absolutely lethal, fill a sweet crepe with Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread, and some chopped toasted hazelnuts. Serve it up and be showered with praise.)

Crepes:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar (for sweet crepes)

In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth. Batter may be covered and refrigerated up to 2 hours or cooked immediately. Heat crepe pan over medium high heat. A few drops of water should bounce and sizzle when heated properly. Grease pan lightly with oil. Pour scan 1/4 cup batter into pan, immediately swirling to coat evenly. When crepe is light brown around the edges and set (about 2 minutes) flip and brown on the other side.

Yield about 20 crepes

Storage: Wrap well in foil and store in refrigerator up to 3 days, or freeze up to 3 months. To thaw, place package in 300F oven for 10-15 minutes

Where to eat:

Lady M Confections
41 E 78th St
New York, NY 10075-0271

Credit to the Pillsbury Cookbook
Image property of beets and bites and uppereast.com

Savouring Summer: Barbequed Ribs and Grilled Corn

I hope everyone's enjoying the last weekend of summer. For me, one of the quintessential foods of summer is fresh corn. And when you live in British Columbia, there is nothing quite like Chilliwack Triplesweet Jubilee corn. The name is no lie; these bright yellow beauties are crunchy and sweet as sugar. They can be hard to find in supermarkets, where the Peaches and Cream variety reigns supreme. You can always drive to one of the bright yellow "Sparkes Corn Barns" to load up though.

Summer also calls for outdoor grilling. I think the best grilled item to go with all that corn is barbequed ribs. When you really take the time to baste it with saue and let it caramelize and go crunchy, there is nothing else like it. Both dishes are simple to make, and extremely tasty. Give them a try while it's still warm enough to fire up that grill!

One more note: One of the unfortunate results of the closing of summer is the start of the busy fall season. And for me, that's back to work. I will continue updating (hopefully often) but a little less frequently. Keep an eye out for time and wallet friendly dishes in coming weeks.

Best Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back ribs (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1 recipe Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut the racks of ribs in half crosswise. Rub the ribs, paying special attention to the meaty side, with 1/2 cup of the sauce. Lay the rib pieces meat side down in an 11 by 13-inch baking dish. The pieces will overlap slightly.

Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the meat begins to pull away from the ends of the bones and the ribs are just tender, about 1 hour. You can bake the ribs up to a day before and keep them refrigerated. Bring refrigerated ribs to room temperature about 1 hour before you grill them.

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat. Grill the ribs, brushing them with about half the remaining sauce, until they're crispy and heated through, about 10 minutes. Move the ribs around as they grill, the sugar in barbecue sauce makes it easy for them to burn. Let the ribs rest for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting them into 1 or 2-bone pieces. Put out the rest of the sauce for dipping or brush it over the ribs.

Classic Barbeque Sauce

1 cup water
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup tomato paste
2/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses
1 1/4 teaspoons liquid smoke
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat and whisk until smooth

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until thick.

Store in the refrigerator.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Grilled Corn

Corn on the cob-however many ears you want to make

Peel back the husks without removing them and remove the silky threads. Cover the corn again with the husks.

Soak in cold water for 30 minutes

Grill 20 minutes (give it a quarter turn every 5 minutes) or until the husks char and you smell the sweetness of the corn.

Slather on some butter and dig in.

Ribs recipe adapted from Dave Lieberman and the Food Network
Barbeque Sauce recipe from Top Secret Recipes
Corn recipe and images property of beets and bites