Let's talk about an amazing meal! John had his nephew and some friends visiting from Holland this week, so we wanted to create a meal that was something they wouldn't find back at home. So we went back down South this week and created a Southern BBQ style meal in a small plate format. (And not to be fancy, really just because there were sooo many things we wanted to try!) Everyone had a spectacular time, and I hope you all enjoy...
Cocktail - Hard Strawberry Lemonade
Juiced strawberries, Stew Leonard's diet Lemonade (we cheated, sue us), and vodka. Perfect cocktail for the warm weather!!!
For Snacking - Fried Dill Pickles
Yes, we've made these before, but they are just so good we had to do them again! A couple changes this time. Instead of pickle spears, we cut up whole pickles into bite size pieces. Once again, we just took the batter ingredients and mixed it all up in 1 bowl, dunked the pickles and then fried. We tried using the deep fryer, but the pickles stuck to the basket and it didn't work. We switched over to a non-stick skillet with canola oil - perfection!
Round One - Fried Stuffed Potato Bites
So you hollow out mini potatoes. Then you FRY the potato shells until nice and crispy. Take the potato insides and blend with cheese, bacon, chives, sour cream - whatever you like - and put back in the fried shell. We then put on the grill until it browned. So delicious!
Round One - Grilled Shrimp with Honey Ginger Barbecue Sauce
Definitely a favorite of the evening. We made the sauce last night, and when you smelled it, it smelled super spicy. (So spicy that I considered tossing it and making something else.) However, once brushed on grilled shrimp, it mellowed out considerably and had a sweet tangy flavor. The only recommendation I may give is to add more ginger. I added a solid amount of ginger to the sauce, but it didn't really come through as much as I would have liked in the finished product.
Round One Final Plate
Round Two - Bourbon and Brown Sugar Pulled Pork Empanadas
Okay, so this is simple. You stuff some empanada shells with pulled pork and fry. But let's now talk about pulled pork. First off... a good pulled pork would technically use a pork shoulder or pork butt for the fat. All I had in the freezer was pork tenderloin - but end result is still just as good. Some people throw it in the crock pot with the sauce and let it go all day - bad idea. The fat from the pork just mixes with the sauce and its kind of sloppy. What I like to do is cook the pork in the crock pot in beef broth. Then I remove the pork, shred it in a bowl, clean out the crock pot, and return the pork to it with the sauce. I mix it up, and then let it cook another hour or so until I'm ready to use it. This sauce, by the way, was dynamite. My future go-to barbecue sauce!
Round Two - Chipotle-Cherry Glazed Baby Back Ribs
Here's the other favorite of the evening! Fall off the bone goodness! We used the same cooking method as before (2.5 hours at 275 degrees in the oven wrapped in foil.) We lightly dry rubbed the ribs (see last year's BBQ post for that recipe), then added the above barbecue sauce, then wrapped in foil and baked. (This was all done in advance and at this point transported from my place to John and Jenn's.) Then before serving, we simply opened up the foil, brushed with more sauce, and broiled for about five minutes. Delicious! The sauce is sweet but with a nice kick at the end that is not too spicy. Just fantastic!
Round Two - Grilled Corn with BBQ Butter
Please excuse the bad picture. This one was super easy as well. Butter was made in advance. Corn isn't in season, so we picked up frozen corn, cut it into these small pieces, and then boiled for 5 minutes. Then when almost ready to serve, we simply grilled them up, and rubbed them in the butter. The butter does have a bit of heat to it (it's Bobby Flay, come on, now!) but it was crazy good! (And you know what this butter will taste great with.... say it with me now... Steak Frites!!!)
Round Two - Macaroni and Cheese Cups
We cooked this mac and cheese recipe because of the crispy cheese crust that you can see in the second picture. This crust was amazing! The macaroni itself was a little dry, though. Next time, we'll add more cream and add some gruyere to the cheese mixture. But overall, a fantastic little dish!
Round Two Final Plate
Dessert - Apple Bread Pudding
Perfection on a plate. Just delicious! Follow the recipe exactly, do not make any changes - you will not be disappointed!
So there you go - a lovely Southern-style meal that was a home run with the table! Definitely not part of our diet plan, but when we figure out next week's menu, we'll go light. Side note - we figured out next week's menu. It's not exactly light, but its not crazy. We're going with the good old-fashioned chicken breast and making something that is gourmet and fabulous, but absolutely easy for weeknight cooking!
Next Week - Chicken Breast
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