Clips and Dip

I thought I would take a break from the cooking to look back on the first year of the blog. First, I'd like to thank my readers. Between my two blogs, this one and Cooking with Alice, I have racked up over 5100 hits in the last 16 months. An alternate title for this post could have been "To Russia with Love", because behind the United States, Russia is second on the list on countries with the most views. Australia and the UK round out the top four. It has been quite a switch, from cooking nasty recipes (Alice) to only tasty ones (with an occasional visit to Mayberry or a three hour cruise thrown in for good measure). I would also like to thank my guest blogger/chefs - and I am always looking for more so please let me know if you want to be included. The good news is that I still have a few good ideas up my apron sleeve - so stay tuned.

Clip shows, best of's, highlight reels, retrospectives - all are just synonyms for writer's block in my book.
A clever ploy whenever a show (or it's writers) have run out of steam but owe the network another episode. Reverting to the memory cloud is a tried and true sitcom staple. The promise of an "All New" episode quickly fades into a "remember when..." episode that has two minutes of new content and 20 minutes of re-run flashbacks. Really, there is no shame in it. All the best shows have done it (Seinfeld, Friends, Sex in the City, the Simpsons - although they mercilessly parodied the concept). Enjoy my all new, very special clip:

The Recipe:

Get your pilot picked up by a network. Write 22 good episodes. Build a fan base. Get your fans to petition the network to renew the show despite bad first season ratings. Get a second season. Write 21 good episodes. Phone in the 22nd show with clips.

Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet

A salute to all things American, but mostly my beloved American League Champion Detroit Tigers. And there is arguably no better hot dog than a baseball stadium hot dog. Now, we take our baseball, our hot dogs and our apple pie very seriously (the Chevrolets, not so much) in this house. And, my season-long commitment to the Tigers has happily been extended. Usually, we start the season with an opening day stadium feast: hot dogs (boiled to perfection and left to sit in their own water the way they do it at the ballpark,), steamed buns, soft pretzels and peanuts. Mark usually picks up the nuts from outside the stadium on his way home. Some church group sells them as a fundraiser, resulting in his referring to them as "religious nuts".  His whit doesn't end with his nuts, he also can make a mean pie crust, and when apples are in season the pie is to die for. But that is for another time and another post. Tomorrow we will once again celebrate the first game of the World Series with our traditional baseball dinner - California here we come!



Yesterday (1975 to be exact) and today the song and the sentiment remain the same. Don't forget to root, root  for the Tigers, if they don't win it's a shame. Play the videos .

 The Recipe:

Good hot dogs (I know, I know, that is an oxymoron. However, try Hebrew National - that's as close as you'll get)
Buns, Preferably Browns Bakery, the official buns of the Detroit Tigers
Mustard, optional ( I still remember the way the hot dog vendors at Tiger Stadium used to slather on your mustard with a tongue depressor - ah, the good old days before food safety regulations got in the way)
Water

Special equipment: a large pot with steamer insert and some patience

Fill the pot with water. Bring to a boil and add dogs. Boil for one minute and then turn down heat and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes, the longer the better. Just before you are ready to eat, place steamer insert in the pot, place buns in side and cover briefly - be careful not to over steam, the result is soggy buns. And there is nothing worse than religious nuts with soggy buns, just sayin.

Car Tipping Ribs

Barbecue ribs, as delicious as they are, force eaters to make too many decisions: short ends, long ends, baby back, spareribs, St. Louis style, half slab, full slab, McRib. Really, the choices are endless. We are big rib eaters here and normally order out. Sadly, our favorite rib joint went out of business after a fatal shooting in their parking lot. It's kind of hard to recover from that, apparently. Anyway, searching for alternatives, I decided to try Bon Appetit's recipe for "The Best Barbecue Ribs Ever" - they don't mess around and honestly, I think they are little full of themselves. Turns out, good ribs take at least two days to make. First you dry rub and bake, then cool in the fridge for a day or two to let the flavor develop. Then you grill and baste. Fairly simple given the time needed. Unfortunately, they were just okay. This is one of those things that you probably need a smoker (the good kind) to have perfect results.

Flinstones, meet the Flinstones, they're a modern stone age family. Think about that for a minute....both modern and stone age. Anyway, Fred, Wilma, Pebbles, Dino and of course the neighbors, Barney, Betty and Bam-Bam. Stellar cast for a show from the town of Bedrock, they really are a page right out of history. And, wouldn't it be great if we could ride with the family down the street, courtesy of Fred's two feet? It truly is a yabba-doo time, a dabba-doo time. If only the cat would stay out for the night, we'd have a gay old time.

The Recipe:

2 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
8 lb baby back pork ribs (8 racks, not to be confused with 8-tracks) or St. Louis Style spareribs
low salt chicken broth (optional)
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Place each rack of ribs on a double layer of foil; sprinkle rub all over ribs. Wrap racks individually and divide between two baking sheets.

Bake ribs until very tender, but not falling apart, about 2 hours for baby backs and 3 for spareribs. Carefully unwrap ribs; pour juices from foil into a heatproof 4-cup measuring cup; reserve juices. Let the ribs cool completely.Rewrap ribs in foil and chill for up to three days (the longer the better). Cover and chill the juices.

Build a medium-hot charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to high. Add broth (or water) to rib juices if needed to to measure 1 1 /2 cups. Whisk in barbecue sauce to blend. Grill ribs, basting with sauce mixture and turning  frequently, until lacquered and charred in places and heated through, 7-10 minutes (mine needed a bit longer). Transfer to a cutting board; cut between ribs to separate. Serve with additional sauce. Serves 8.

Oh, Rob! Shish Kabob

Chicken kabobs, beef kabobs, shrimp kabobs, veggie kabobs - you really can't go wrong threading marinated meat or fresh produce on a metal skewer and grilling over high heat. Truly simple to make, although I will admit when I was younger buying them already assembled from the grocery store ( I mean, who can resist Kabob Jamboree Day?) but I learned that that was for suckers. I could build them, faster, better, cheaper. Your choice of meat, a marinade (and the sky is the limit here), some veg, and a metal stick (you can use wood or bamboo, but be sure to soak them in water first, trust me).  A summer rerun that is always welcome, especially with toasted pita. The best part is that there is truly no wrong answer for how and what you use. So try it, you'll like it.

The Dick Van Dyke Show, hands down the finest television comedy show ever - and I mean ever. Think about it, you know you love Bob Newhart, Mary Tyler Moore and The Carol Burnett Show, but they all came later, Dick Van Dyke paved the way. And, I contend, that if you could only watch reruns of one show for the rest of your life, you would choose Dick van Dyke (I know, this seems odd coming from such a huge Brady Bunch fan), but this show is comedy at it's highest level. From 1961 to 1966, Dick (Rob Petrie), Mary (as in Tyler Moore) as Laura Petrie his suburban New Rochelle housewife and office side kicks Sally Rogers (played by hair bow queen Rose Marie) and Buddy Sorrell (the great Morey Amsterdam) gave us 158 episodes of pure comedy gold. From the catchy opening theme and ottoman stumble, to the closing credits, this show delivered, and usually with Laura uttering her famous "Oh, Rob" warble along the way. Picking a favorite episode is a challenge, but for me it is the time Laura and Rob inherit an old roll top desk that they are sure has fortune hidden inside. Hilarity ensues when Laura, making a discovery she is sure is the treasure they've been looking for says "Oh, Rob, it's the biggest diamond I've ever seen" - but in reality it turns out to be a glass door nob. Perfect writing, perfect casting, perfect timing. A true masterpiece.

The Recipe:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks

italian or soy ginger dressing or marinade

1 green pepper, cut into chunks

cherry tomatoes

Marinade the chicken in dressing for at least an hour. Skewer pepper, meat, tomato in that order under skewer is full. Grill over high heat, turning once for 15-20 minutes. Serve with warmed pita bread and rice pilaf, not Edith Piaf.

Special Equipment: Metal skewers

Beauty and the Beet Pasta Salad

This "recipe" comes courtesy of my old high school pal, Pam. Although, none of the girls in our "gang" never seemed to have a proclivity for cooking when we were in school, we now, no matter our chosen professions, have all been domesticated to some degree or another. This shows itself when we gather for our yearly retreat and each one of us either brings a dish or makes something upon arrival (see Beignet There, Done That). So Pam is no exception, and although her pesto is delicious, I have chosen this pasta salad to post. She claims that there is no real recipe - she makes it up as she goes. I have to say, this is often the best way to cook. Follow what you love, experiment, occasionally fail, and ultimately land a few great dishes that impress even the harshest critics (i.e., high school girlfriends). She uses bow tie pasta, olives, feta, beets and most surprisingly, pepperoncini - which gave it a bit of a kick, one I didn't expect but thoroughly enjoyed. And, although I am not a big beet fan (although a huge Beat, as in English, fan) I liked it.

Beauty and the Beat, the seminal 1982 album from the best girl band ever - The Go-Gos. Part of an orginal crowd, this band featured five singing and instrument playing females - an anomoly at the time. With cute outfits and bouncy tunes, they were a formula made for a one-hit-wonder, yet these ladies managed hit after hit after hit with catchy tunes like "Our Lips are Sealed" ,We Got the Beat" and "Can't Stop the World". They even successfully followed with a second album "Vacation" featuring the hit of the same name and waterskiing music videos have never been the same. Alas, sex, drugs and new wave music proved to be the end for our fivesome, as Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin went on to solo careers and rehab. But, proving good friends and can't stay away forever, they have reunited, cooked up some new tunes and are currently touring.


The Recipe, according to Pam:

16oz bow tie pasta
one half can/jar calamata olives
 1 1/2 blocks feta (which seems like alot, but Pam is a very generous person)
 one half can/jar pepperoncini
 1/ 2 cup red onion, chopped
 one half can/jar shoe string beets
 bottled vinegar and oil style greek dressing
 dash of garlic powder
 dash of dill weed (dill weed, LOL)
 splat of mayo (and Pam does SPLAT! her mayo)
 fresh ground black pepper


Chop it, boil it, crumble it, pour it, mix it. enjoy.