Happy Pride Month! Saturday was a busy day in the kitchen, testing some new recipes, and repeating/improving some others.
I decided to start the day with Texas Toast Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches. I love Texas toast and while you can always buy it pre-made in the frozen food section of the grocery store, you can also make it yourself. Thick cut Texas toast white bread is readily available in the bread aisle and it allows you to control the flavor. I melted some butter with some garlic, parsley, onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. I then brushed on both sides of the bread and placed them on the pre-heated griddle. I then added cheddar and provolone cheese, fresh cooked bacon, and let them go a few minutes for the bread to brown and the cheese to get all gooey.
Right before they were finished, I added a runny egg and seasoned with more salt and pepper. Now THIS is a good way to start a day!
Then it was time to start dinner. Smoked Ribs with Carolina BBQ Sauce. We had some friends over to celebrate the announcement of their engagement. I've been itching to try out our new Traeger grill/smoker so I picked up several racks of beautiful St. Louis ribs. I made a dry rub of garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, curry, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. I removed the silver skin from the back (because no one wants to eat that) and rubbed the mixture all over. After sitting for about 20 minutes, it was onto the rack in the smoker set to 225 degrees for 4-5 hours. I spritzed the meat with apple juice every 45 minutes or so to keep them moist and to add more flavor.
While the ribs were smoking, I made the sauce. Homemade BBQ sauce is easy. I sautéd onions and garlic in neutral oil, then added ketchup, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, molasses, and lots of spices such as ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, and chiles in adobo sauce for a little kick (not too spicy though). It only needs to cook for about 15 minutes and then it can sit for the flavors to come together. After the ribs reached 200 degrees, I started basting them with the sauce. Finally, the ribs went under the broiler for a little char/caramelization before serving with the extra sauce. (The sauce freezes well and can be used for other dishes.)
I had some extra bread from breakfast so I whipped up more Texas Toast to help mop up the extra sauce on the plate.
This Hash Brown Casserole might be my new favorite side dish. I took shredded potatoes from the bag and mixed them with diced ham and a cheese sauce which consists of melted butter, sautéd onions, flour, half and half, salt, pepper, and tons of shredded cheddar cheese. Once combined, I poured it into a buttered dish, sprinkled the top with grated Parmesan and more cheddar. This was the finished product and it did not disappoint.
Lastly, I made Corn on the Cob with Chili Lime Butter. Despite being relatively early in the season, the corn was quite good. I added sugar to the boiling water to help sweeten it up a bit.
For dessert, and to celebrate not only our friend's engagement, but also Pride month, I made Pride Pudding Trifle. Look complicated? Nope. Each layer is just one box of instant vanilla pudding prepared according to the package directions. I used food coloring and waited about 5 minutes in between layers for the pudding to set. I also added a layer chocolate sandwich cookies in between each color. The top is just heavy cream whipped with vanilla extract and powdered sugar, and dusted with gold sugar (aka Fairy Dust!)
My next post will include all of the Sunday cooking which includes my new take on shrimp tacos (AMAZING), and my first ever attempt at homemade AUTHENTIC Pho.
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