Brisket was quicker than I expected. Wrapped in parchment around 1:00 and put back on and recently pulled and wrapped in foil to rest. I expected to pull it 1.5 hours later than I did. Good thing I checked early. The smell is divine in the kitchen. Black-eyed peas, vinegar slaw, and Sierra Nevada pale ale as sides.
Going to support a local restaurant with take-out tonight. And the very thickest part of the brisket last night could have used a little more time (not much!) and I have saved that and will find a way to fix it. The thinner parts were incredible.
Tonight Ms. Jan is working her magic on another pan of smothered fried steak and gravy. The sides are a pan of cream corn, a pot of fresh pink eye peas, and a pot of white rice. Beautiful day here today which means a beautiful sunset on the back porch with cocktails and conversation with Ms. Jan. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Maybe I should start a new thread called What Are You Drinking? @74nole is drinking longnecks. I was tasked with making margaritas this evening but I don't have my favorite (within price point) tequila for margaritas: Espolon blanco. Don Julio blanco is killer but really pricey. My wife could only find the repasado version of Espolon yesterday on the way home. It will make a decent margaritia but will not be as clean. Here is my recipe for margaritas: Juice one lime for two. Add simple syrup depending on how tart the lime is. Very little if juicy and not very tart and a bit more if really tart. This is where the art is. Add Cointreau in equal proportions to the liquid already made with the lime juice and the simple syrup. If on the cheap you can use triple sec instead, but it is better with Cointreau. Add 100% agave tequila in equal proportions to what is already mixed. It will make a better margarita than almost everywhere you have had one.
Beer can chicken tonight with a twist: freshly made pesto rubbed under the skin. Using my old Ducane gas grill for this because smoke is not a good thing with this preparation and I don't want to heat up the house with the oven.
Ms. Jan has been busy today putting together her homemade chicken pot pie. It’s a larger size than you would normally buy—but I have found that most homemade dishes are. It’s in the oven and got the kitchen smelling good. Ice cold longnecks and wine are our refreshments to watch the sunset from our back porch today. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Grilling BBQ chicken halves and bi-color cob corn tonight. Inside it will be fresh steamed yellow squash and onions and steamed green cabbage. Ran the hedge trimmer today around the house and Ms. Jan worked in her flowerbeds. Back porch ice cold longnecks are especially good this afternoon. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Speaking of "What Are You Drinking?" I will be hosting an online cocktail hour with my siblings tomorrow and the husband of my older sister that died almost six years ago. Brian was my older sister's husband and it was his idea. All my siblings have bought in. I had better prepare dinner early or plan on something simple and quick.
You are sooo correct Lurk. We have a group of friends from our growing up and college years that we’ve been doing this every Saturday @ 5pm for several weeks. The visit is a blast but supper needs to be pre-made and in the oven or a pickup night.
I’m putting two racks of beef plate ribs on the Egg this afternoon over cherry wood smoke for our supper. Sides will be Ms. Jan’s homemade Mac & Cheese, fresh cream 40’s & petite butter beans, deviled eggs, and homemade banana bread. Got through with some more flower bed and mulch work, a shower, and then some back porch time will be “on tap”..... Life is good in Gator Nation!
Spent a good part of the day "making sawdust" for a new spice rack for the pantry. The frame is cut, glued, and clamped. I will just need to install the back (plywood that will sit in a rabbet) and some sort of detail on the front that will give a lip to each shelf. I haven't made a final decision on how I will do that. Grilling some steaks later today.
Going with grilling boneless country cut ribs indirect over cherry wood smoke this evening. A fresh pot of pink eye peas and okra, and we had plenty of Ms. Jan’s homemade Mac & Cheese left over so we will work on it again. The beef plate ribs turned out great yesterday. No yard work with today as we are pretty caught up but we did start the process on turning a 5-gal bucket of fresh cucumbers into Ms. Jan’s sweet pickles. Also we got 1-1/2” of rain this afternoon—much needed! Afternoon ice cold longnecks are quite enjoyable on the back porch as the rain has cooled things off some. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Medium thick pork chops tonight. Going the skillet route with them. Not quite thick enough to get the KJ treatment. Chopped collards as the side. Made a huge batch of caraway pickles today that will be ready tomorrow.
Following in Lurk’s footsteps— Cleaning out the leftovers tonight. That means a low key col’beer or three this evening on the back porch. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Freshly ground boneless chuck roast for hamburger steaks tonight. I love this time of year when so many of the fresh vegetables are available. Fresh picked green beans and new potatoes and steamed fresh yellow squash and onions. After 2 days of rain totaling 2” the yard looked like it hadn’t been touched in a couple of weeks (it was mowed 5 days ago) so it got mowed again. Back porch shade, fans, and ice cold longnecks.....perfect! Life is good in Gator Nation!
Brats tonight. Made tomato sauce today (San Marzano tomatoes, onion, garlic, olive oil, sugar, salt, fresh basil at the end) to use in making oxtail ragu tomorrow. That will set up overnight to be served on Thursday. Hoping to find some bucatini, but do have some rigatoni as a backup.
