pardon the terrible cell-phone picture. its the only one that had everything in it.
backstory: there was a weekend in july that the whole fam was going to be home, while brother and father played in a golf tournament. i decided to take advantage of the fact that they have a grill, and i dont, and so brother and i schemed to have a bbq one of the nights of the weekend. i looked through all my cooking magazines, and found some exciting recipes. so i stocked up at whole foods for everything on our list, grabbed my mandoline, and headed home for the weekend and a nice summer bbq.
first up? cilantro-lime slaw. it was actually rather good, and not as hot as i feared (or rather, as the fear instilled in me by mother, who pulled out rubber gloves for me to wear while chopping up the serrano chile that went into the recipe. i, of course, made wayyyy too much as i had a red cabbage from the farm share, and wanted green cabbage as well, but luckily the family was able to get through the leftovers easily.
next side? Israeli Couscous with Roasted Eggplant and Cinnamon-Cumin Dressing. also found in the bon appetit magazine. it was actually my first experience with israeli couscous, as i am much more familiar with...whatever normal (much smaller grain) couscous is. BUT it was a very favorable experience that i think i will need to repeat. the actual recipe...i am not as much a fan of. I think that maybe it needed some added salt, or SOMETHING else, but it was lacking the strong roasted flavor that i was hoping for (maybe too much oil cooled it off? maybe too much cilantro?) something to adjust in the future.
next side is one i didnt not actually make myself! this is a mango lime salsa that mary made! her recipe came from here. it is very tasty, and goes well with a lot of things. lots of lime. better with more ripe mangoes. as i have never used mangoes, i had no idea what goes into choosing one, so i selected one that was less than ripe :( bad jenn.
we also grilled some avocados (yummmmm), and i made 2 sauces for the pork and steak tips that we grilled. the pork itself got a nice rub. i cant remember exactly what i did this time, it was either garlic+salt+pepper, or it was paprika+cumin+garlic+salt. i think the second, but i vary my rubs all the time so. ANYWAY, the 2 sauces that i made? innnnnnncredible! first up, the Bourbon and Brown Sugar Barbecue Sauce. this required a lot of ingredients. some of which my mom actually already had (including liquid smoke, which shocked me). and it took quite some time to reduce to the correct consistency. but it was also incredible. like, so so good. and it improved upon re-heating. after using it at the bbq, i also used it the next week with some pulled pork i made in my crock pot. again, delicious. sauce #2 was a bit different, mostly because we had planned on doing some chicken on the grill as well. and so, i made a Red Curry Peanut Sauce. which was OMGSOGOOD. it went well on everything, and was so incredibly good. like, i want to make it ALL the time. i had some leftover the week after, and smothered some chicken with it, and it continued to be incedible on the leftovers-nights. highly highly recommended.
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