SPICEY BBQ Rib Sauce

Hi folks! Its good to be back. The day job has been quite busy lately and lots of travel. Fortunately, while I was traveling I was in Baton Rouge, LA for a week. I had several opportunities to enjoy the local tastes. Lots of spices down there for sure! So I thought I would take some of that local fire and turn it into a BBQ sauce for ribs! I think it turned out great! Not too hot, not too sweet....Give it a try and let me know what you think. Hope to hear from you soon! Just Harv.

**** SPICEY BBQ Rib Sauce ****
1 - cup light brown sugar
1 - 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 - medium yellow onion (small diced)
3 - cloves garlic (crushed)
3/4 cup peach preserves
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 tbsp. Worcestishire sauce
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. veg. oil

4 lbs ribs (I used beef ribs when developing this)
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In a medium saucepot, heat the 2 tbsp. vegetable oil to medium high. Add the diced onion and crushed garlic. Saute until the onion begins to look translucent.
Once sauteed, add the tomato sauce and peach preserves. Stir the preserves well to disolve them into the sauce. While constantly stirring, add the remaining ingredients one at a time with the vinegar being the last to add.

Allow the mixture to come to a slight boil and reduce the heat to LOW. Allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionaly. Take care and be safe around the sauce when it is this hot! The sugar components will make it STICK to your skin if it splashes out of the sauce pot. After simmering for 20-30 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool.
While the sauce is cooking down and thickening, lightly flour the bottom of a deep edged baking sheet. Arrange the ribs in a single layer. Cover tightly with foil.
Bake in a preheated oven for 60-70 minutes. Remove and SLOWLY peel the foil away allowing the steam to escape. Drain away any excess juices from the pan. Brush each rib section with a generous amount of the sauce. I prefer to pour some of the sauce into a large bowl and dip each rib section to insure good coverage.
Return each marinated rib to the pan. Allow the pan of ribs to rest and marinade at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Once marinated, you need to "face" up the ribs. I prefer to use a preheated gas grill for this but you can also do it under the oven broiler. If you use the broiler, place the sheet pan about 4" from the heat. Broil for 4-5 minutes or until browned. If you use the grill, place the ribs on the rack and grill each side for 3-4 minutes.
Thats all there is to it. Baked beans, mac and cheese, cole slaw, or potato salad are traditional sides but if you have other suggestions, write in and let me know. Always interested in good ideas and family favorites. Eat well!!! Hope to see ya soon!! Just Harv.

Potato Soup - A Real Winter Chill Breaker

When in Idaho...make potato soup!!

Hi all! I'm out in Idaho this week, so what better to fix for dinner than some nice hearty thick potato soup!! I added some pan fried corn bread fritters to go along with this; it really knocked out that northwest chill.
The ingredients for this soup are "super simple"! (pun intended) You probably have most all the ingredients in the pantry tonight. Give it a try and let me know what you think....Just Harv.

Super Simple Ingredients!

***** Potato Soup *****
4-lbs potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 - medium yellow onion (diced)
2 - large celery stalks (diced)
2 - medium carrots (peeled and sliced)
5 - tbsp. butter or margarine
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 - cups whole milk*
1 - tsp. Salt
1/2 - tsp. black pepper
Optional - (shredded cheddar cheese to top before serving)

* - Pre-Cooking the Potatoes - (Save that stock!)

In a 4 quart soup pot, bring about 2 -1/2 quarts of water to a boil. Slowly (and carefully) add the potatoes. Potatoes absorb salt so fast, so theres no need to salt these just yet. Bring the potatoes to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. We dont want to overcook them. A little al dente' is ok. Once cooked, remove and drain. We want to keep the water that the potatoes were cooked in and use that in the final soup.

* - Saute' the Veggies

In a 4 quart stock pot saute the onions, celery, and carrots in 3 tbsp. of butter or margarine. Add the salt and pepper. Saute around 5-7 minutes or until the onions begin to appear slightly translucent. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter and the 3/4 cup of flour. Stir well and allow to simmer an additional 1-2 minutes. We dont want to brown the base, just consolidate it.

* - Assemble the Soup

Now we have the potatoes pre-cooked and drained. The stock from boiling the potatoes was saved. We also have the veggies saute'd and have the flour added to create our soup base.  Now we want to pour three cups of the potato stock back into the soup base. Add the 2 cups of whole milk also. Add back in the pre-cooked potatoes. Slowly bring this mix back up to a boil, then lower the heat and allow to simmer 30 minutes until thickened. If you are using a lower fat milk like 2% or less, you may have trouble getting the soup to thicken. If this happens, simply disolve some more all purpose flour in water. Try 1/2 cup of flour and add some of the potato stock water (or tap water). Always add the water to the flour; never the reverese. It will just float or ball up and not disolve.... Slowly pour the flour /water mix into the soup. I added some more salt near the end. Potatoes absorb salt so quickly adding it near the end insures that the flavor enhancing property of salt doesn't disappear.
Serve hot and top with some shredded cheddar cheese or even some thinly sliced leeks. I've did this same soup with leeks in lieu of onions. It is terrific!! A pan fried corn fritter or baked corn bread works great with the soup also. (Just dont try to buying self-rising corn meal in Idaho....they've never heard of such a thing!)

So give it a try and dont forget to write and let me know what you think!!! Encourage your friends or family that like real food for real people to sign up for the blog. Its FREE...... Thanks for stopping by. Hope to hear from ya' soon....Just Harv.