Pulled Pork with Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce

Okay - ready for round 2 of the glorious Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce?  This time, I made it for my parents over Memorial Day weekend in NJ with pulled pork and a traditional mustard-based coleslaw.  I mean, nothing welcomes summer like a down-home southern dish north of the Mason-Dixon line.  Well that, or a Snooki sighting but we just can't have it all, can we?

Anyway, the pulled pork turned out better than the beef brisket I made a few weeks earlier.  This is definitely a direct result of my parents far-superior cooking facilities and supplies; and perhaps getting minutely better at navigating the vast world of barbeque.

Beef Brisket with Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce

In my last post, I raved about the Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce that I'd been waiting all year to make.  Well, I've made it twice so far and the first time was for a dinner party with my dear friends Michelle, Steve, Peter, Chris, and Sarah (who make up five of my 16 loyal followers).  The sauce was used with beef brisket and I must say that the meal was very well received!

Like all barbeque, this dish takes time.  My brisket was made with a stovetop/oven combo but I'd highly recommend using a crock pot, if such luxuries are available, for two reasons:  (1) my brisket was a bit tough, perhaps it was cooked a bit too long, but I believe the crock pot helps in this arena; and (2) you won't have to stay in the house on heartbreakingly beautiful days like I did.  Either way, brisket is a real treat that we should indulge every once in a while...

Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce

Last spring, my coworker Lisa gave me a bunch of rhubarb from her CSA.  It was the first time I'd ever seen the stuff up close and I had no idea what to do with it.  Sure, I've heard of rhubarb pie but I'm not much of a baker so I set out to find ways to use rhubarb outside of the dessert world.  Thanks to my favorite cooking site, Food 52,  I found this fantastic Rhubarb Red Wine BBQ Sauce that complimented pulled pork so well that I've been daydreaming about the day rhubarb hit the shelves of Whole Foods (it's only available in late spring and early summer).

The sauce is easy enough.  I've tried it on both pulled pork and beef brisket and its unbelievable on both.  My only advice is for you to RUN (don't walk!) to the nearest grocery store and pick up some rhubarb before it's too late...and try this dish!

A Labor of Love: Ricotta Chive Gnocchi

Disclaimer:  DO NOT,  I repeat, DO NOT, attempt this recipe on a work night/before going out/any time you have a show to watch but TIVO isn't working because it takes hours.  I'm really bad at reading recipes all of the way through prior to starting them, so take warning.

However - if you do have a lot of time of your hands - this recipe is SO worth it.

Or, you can just cut the recipe in half. 

Regardless, back to the good stuff:  I've seen this recipe on the Food 52 website and often wondered if homemade gnocchi was that much different than store-bought.  In my opinion, it isn't drastically different but if you really get the basics down I think it'd be easy to experiment with different flavors that you most likely wouldn't find in a store.  The funny thing about this ricotta and chive gnocchi is that it doesn't necessarily get its flavor from the primary ingredients.  The flavor really stems from the frying at the end - but isn't that always the case?

Guest Blogger: My Mom (Roasted Acorn Squash)

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I'd like to welcome my mom as the first of (hopefully) many guest blogger appearances.  She made Guy Fieri's Roasted Acorn Squash recipe and highly recommends the dish and also offers tips to make this meal a success!

For my birthday this year, my beautiful daughter Lauren gave me the new cookbook called "Guy Fieri Food, Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It".  I was very excited to try a recipe from Guy's book.  I am a big fan of his show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and decided this past weekend to tackle a recipe. The book has beautiful pictures which I love and after much reading I decided to make Roasted Acorn Squash with Turkey Sausage, Peppers and Goat Cheese. It sounded delicious, easy and somewhat healthy. All was true but I had a few mishaps on the way.  

My first challenge was cutting the acorn squash. Lesson here is to make sure you have very sharp knives something I do not have unfortunately! After struggling with that the next step was to clean out the seeds from the squash and save them to roasted in the oven. Guy suggests to rinse the seeds well which I did and dry them with a paper towel. Sounds easy except the seeds stick to the paper towel and were difficult to get the off the paper towel. The next step was finding the correct pan so the squash could in and a pan for the seeds to get roasted in. Again sounds easy except if you have a small oven as I do. After much juggling I finally was able to get everything to fit and start the cooking of the squash for 35 to 40 minutes. The next step of preparing the vegetable and turkey went smooth again probably better if I had that sharp knife but I did succeed! 

The results of my first recipe from Guy's book was great. Both my husband and I enjoyed it and I would make it again. In fact, I will probably make it for Lauren on her next visit home. Best part is the recipe had leftovers so guess what we will have the following night...which is just fine by me. Bon Appetit!

 Thanks Mom!!

Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce

Over the past few months, I've been making a very conscious effort to cut back on my meat intake so, as a result, beans have become my new best friend.  I'll admit that I still crave meat but not nearly as often as I used to, and it hasn't been completely eliminated simply because I'm still training myself on how to have a complete meal without it.  As a distance runner, I fear low iron levels, etc so hopefully more research and education will make the transition easier.

Anyway, this baked bean dish isn't entirely vegetarian as it has bacon which, in my opinion, adds immense and much needed flavor.  (This is an example of my lack of knowledge on swapping out this for that - how does one make a solid baked bean dish sans bacon?).  The dish is very filling and serves as a meal, and the measurements themselves makes a TON so be prepared for eating beans for dinner...beans for lunch...and so on. 

Roasted Vegetable Quiche

The Roasted Vegetable Quiche is the round dish in the bottom left.

I've made this roasted vegetable quiche on two separate occasions:  the first for a "Long Run Sweaty Brunch" with my track team here in DC, and the second just a few weeks ago for a tea party with friends.  So, it goes without saying that this quiche recipe was good enough to make not only once, but twice, over a year apart. 

I think what makes this dish just delicious is the roasted veggies - the crispness against the soft egg fill is nicely balanced and the blue cheese, well, that speaks for itself. However, keep in mind that when chopping the vegetables, it's going to seem like way too much to fit into the pie crust.  However, trust that it works out fine in the end.