Week 30: The NEELY'S PULLED PORK

THE WHOLE PLATE

LIME-LEMONADE

PULLED PORK YUM!

BAKED BEANS

COLE SLAW

Carl

The best meal we have had yet the juicy pig butt was amazing. Actual it is called butt but it is actually a shoulder, Carl's little fun fact of the day. But we cooked it for about an hour and then we lathered it up with the sauce i made for hours.....it was defiantly summer BBQ time. Me and Jamie made 2 gallons of BBQ sauce.....yeah 2 GALLONS! We brought up Kelly's college mini fridge to store it. We also made cole slaw that was a topping for the pulled pork. Also we made lime-lemonade. And lastly we made baked beans that were good but not stellar.

David

There is no doubt that this was the best meal of the year so far. It was delish. It cooked a long time on the grill and everybody seemed to enjoy the meal. I loved the BBQ Sauce. Great job Carl and Jamie. The cole-slaw was terrific ON THE pulled pork sandwich.

I could have skipped the lemonade. Here is the recipe for the pulled pork:

10 pounds of pork butt.

Neely's BBQ Seasoning

1.5 cups of paprika

.75 cups of sugar

3.75 TBLSP onion powder

Mix 3 TBLSP Neely's BBQ Seasoning with 3TBLSP of pepper and 2 TBLSP salt and massage the meat and then cover for a day.

Cook on indirect heat for 6 hours. Soak some wood chips and have them smoldering in the background.

Pull the pork. Add BBQ sauce to it if you wish.

MMMMMMMMM

Week 29 Bobby Flay Tuna Burgers and

GRILLED GERMAN POTATO SALAD

TUNA BURGERS

STUFFED MUSHROOMS CAPS

Carl

Well I was in charge of forming the burgers the tuna was no great but it was being cooked so it wasn't a problem. We let them sit which helped them firm up. The mushrooms were good the had sheep's/goat cheese that had a slight tang to it which was topped with a spinch salad. Lastly the potato salad was good but im not much of a germa potato salad person. Although aunt liby injoyed the left over tuna burgers with ther green onion mayo on top she was about to eat it cold before I made her heat it up for better flava

David

We bought fresh frozen tuna for this meal. Carl chopeed it up and it really was not holding together that we. However, after Carl cooked it, it really firmed up on the grill. We got some sheep cheese for the portabella mushrooms and they were really good. Lastly, we made hot sweet German Potato Salad.

Week 28 Bobby Flay Chipotle Chicken Tenders and Grilled Figs

David

Tonight's dinner was good. We enjoyed having Taryn over. She is back from school and she "said" she liked everything. Even the figs.

The idea Bobby Flay has is that he wanted to recreate a chicken wing that was a little more healthy for you. The sauce was yogurt based. It helped to tame the heat from the chipotle. The vegetables were simply broccoli and sweet potato grilled. The dessert was grilled figs with a special sauce on it. Carl will tell you more about the specifics on that.

Carl

Well since I'm given the "specifics" here we go. It was a recreation of a hot sauce so there was chipotle and vinegar definitely not a spoon licker. The other was a blue cheese yogurt sauce which had Greek yogurt (a thicker better yogurt). I thought the hot sauce was brilliant but the blue cheese was kinda oniony but i always love blue cheese. Also i really thick that chipotle in adobo should really be a staple in peoples houses it is smokey and hot it is a very favorite of mine. When i use it i usually add it to mayo and it makes a spicy zip to my samich or add it to sauces to kick it up a notch or if you puree it it would be good as a hot sauce kinda. Well on again the figs were supposed to be fresh but we could only find dried so we had to settle and they had a bit to much natural sugar to go on the grill and burnt easily which was not great so fresh is always better on the grill. Also the Creme Fraiche (crem-fresh) the easy way to say always gets pronounced (crem-free-achie) by my dad and that is not right. Well it is a cream cheese texture with a mellow sour cream flavor making a terrific base sauce. There was also orange and vanilla which were great. in all was not a total success nothing special.

Week 27 Bobby Flay Espresso Ribs, with Zucchini Succotash

Carl

This week was my kind of week it was out there but not enough to be to out there. The ribs were a rub rib so there not lathered with sauce they are in crusted with spice and other delicious morsel (in are case coffee). They also have a Mustard Basting sauce which is very traditional to have (maybe not always mustard vinegar) because the meat retains juices but just to make it that much juicer. We didn't have espresso on are ribs though we had to have decaffeinated coffee cause some people in my family (mom, jamie, and dad) get crazy when even just a little bit of caffeine gets in there blood so imagine espresso....yeah. Secondly we had a nice grilled Succotash that was a little bit hot and defiantly very fresh.

David

This was unique for me. I have never made ribs myself before. And, the ribs that I make, I have never had before. These were ribs that did not have a sweet sauce on them, but a rub. It was very interesting. I did like the juiciness of the ribs with the rub on it. It had a little kick to it. The vegetables were excellent. We ended up forgetting the cheese on them, but they were really good. Bobby Flay has been interesting. His recipes take a little longer to make than Rachel Ray's.

Grilled Zucchini Succotash

3 zucchini halved lengthwise

2T. olive oil

salt

pepper

1 red onion finely chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1 c. lima beans (frozen and thawed)

2 ears of corn kernel removed

1 c. veggie or chicken stock

1 plum tomato chopped

1 poblano grilled peeled seeded chopped

1 jalapeno done same as poblano

Brush zucchini with oil grill 3-4 min per side flip after grilled dice.

In saucepan heat remaining T. oil cook onion 3-4 min add garlic cook 1 min add Lima beans, corn, and stock and simmer for 5 min. add tomato, chiles, and zucchini cook for 2 min then serve.

With the peppers what we do is over an open flame (stove top or grill turned on high) we char the outside of the pepper and that looses it up plus cooking it a little there adding flavor and removing the skin. When done charring just us a knife or fork to rake the charred skin away.

-Carl

Week 26 Rachel Ray Sweet N Sour Sirloin Stir Fry with Ranch Mashed Potatoes and Sesame Slaw

Dave,

Carl and I are really beginning to click. We are just working together very well putting the whole meal together. We both start picking things that need to be done first, and then we gravitate towards finishing an item. He is really fun to work with.

This meal turned out to be very good. The Slaw was a little boring, but the potatoes and stir fry were very good. Rachel Ray suggests putting the stir fry on the potatoes, which I did, and loved it. It would be good on rice as well. That is why I'm putting the recipe here:

1.5 pounds of sirloin put in the freezer before you cut it into thin strips against the grain. Maybe 1 to 3 inches long and 1/4 inch wide. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Put 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a pan and then stir fry the meat until browned. Add a sliced red and green bell pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the bunch of cut up scallions and the soybeans (Edamame) and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the sauce which is 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of ketchup, and 1/4 cup of mustard. Cook for another 2 minutes. Serve. It was easy and GOOD.

Carl

I loved this meal the beef was good the potatoes were great and the slaw was OK. The beef had edamame (soy beans) that was great and peppers that had that little crunch. The potatoes were great with a hint of hot sauce and herbs (dill, parsley, chive). The slaw wasn't great it was a sesame slaw that had a little flavor but not enough kick. Can't wait till next week.

Week 25 Rachel Ray Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Red Wine Rice with Grapes and Swiss Chard

Dave

We have a story for you. Carl and I went to the grocery store on a Wednesday night. We got our chicken and many other supplies. The next day we go and look for the groceries. They are no where to be found. They ended up being right where we left them. In the trunk of the car! That car had been in the sun all day and the food was beginning to smell. UCK. Linda rescued us and went out and bought the food all over again. Woops. Another learning lesson for the Sladkey-Sladkey team.

The Red Wine Rice with Grapes was my favorite. I loved the grapes put in later after the rice was cooked. It really made a cool texture. I will put that recipe here.

Bring 1 and 3/4 cups of dry red wine to a boil with a bayleaf in it with some 1 tablespooon of Olive Oil. Stir in 1 cup of white rice and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in 1 cup halved red seedless grapes and a little fresh parsely and let sit for 5 for minutes.

UMMMM. That was good.

Carl

The rice was OK I didn't love it it was kinda burnt on the bottom so not so appealing yo me. Also the Swiss card was bitter and not so great. Th chicken was my fav because it had a blue cheese and pecan filling and a bacon wrapping and a mustard gravy that mended well. not great my favorite.