Gameday Recipe - Week 9

Now that the weather is turning a bit cooler, my attention turns to more hearty, kitchen-centered recipes. Today's concoction is my Baked Penne with Italian Sausage dish, and it hasn't killed anyone yet.

INGREDIENTS
12oz. of penne
1lbs of Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onions
2-3tsp olive oil
1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce
1 (14.5oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 (6-8oz) can of tomato paste
1 cup chopped asparagus, zucchini or squash
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
1- Preheat oven to 350
2- Bring large pot of water to boil
3- Boil penne for 10mins (or according to the package), and drain
4- Brown the sausage (crumbled) and onions in a large and deep skillet with oil
5- Drain skillet of excess fat
6- Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste w/the browned sausage and onions and simmer for 10-15 minutes
7- Toss the penne into the skillet, stir, then place everything in a 9x13 baking/casserole dish.
8- Add in the asparagus, zucchini or squash and spread evenly throughout the dish.
9- Top generously with mozarella
10- Bake in oven for 20-25mins
11- You're done

This is just the bare-bones recipe. Ziti could easily substitute for penne, and my wife substituted 1lb of marinated chopped chicken breast for the sausage once and it turned out OK. Sometimes I go lighter on the cheese (down to 1 cup) if the mood strikes. Also, I add fresh chopped basil and oregano into the sauce/tomato/tomato paste mix as well.


Delizioso!

Gameday Recipe - Week 5 Edition

Below is a rib recipe for use on a gas grill. It's quick, it's easy, and it's not all that messy. Ribs on a gas grill may be blasphemy to some, but for those without smokers and/or all day to prepare, this is a dandy of a dish...

Ingredients
4-5 lbs. of pork spare ribs
3tsp table salt
3tsp black pepper
3tsp paprika
3tsp garlic powder
3tsp brown sugar
2tsp celery seed
1tsp oregano
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water

Preparation
--Preheat gas grill to LOW heat
--Remove membrane from each slab
--Mix the apple cider vinegar and water in a bowl; this is your mop sauce
--Mix the spices together; this is your dry rub
--Throw a few pinches of the dry rub into the mop sauce

Directions
1) Place each slab bone-side down over the grill. Grill for 30 to 40 minutes - on LOW - basting the slabs w/mop sauce every 10-15 minutes.

2) Flip the slabs over and grill meat-side down for 30 minutes. Continue basting with the mop sauce every 10-15 minutes.

3) Flip the slabs again, grill for 15 minutes. Add your dry rub to suit your tastes. Continue to baste with the mop sauce every 10-15 minutes.

4) Flip one more time, grill for a final 15 minutes, add more dry-rub, continue to baste every 10-15 minutes.

5) You should be done.

MISC:
If you have wood chips, use them. Soak them for 30mins or so, wrap them in foil and poke holes in the foil and place them on the grill where there's room. Either way, you still won't get that real true smoky flavor, but the ribs will be good just the same.


You are welcome

Gameday Recipe, Inaugural Edition

Every other week or so, yours truly will post a tried and true grilling recipe for your gameday consumption. You won't need anything more than a charcoal and/or gas grill, an oven, or a crock pot, and the recipes will be easy to follow. Enjoy and post a comment if you try one of these.

Today I give you my pulled pork recipe.....

Supplies
-charcoal
-a charcoal grill, preferably with a deep base such as a Weber kettle
-4-6 hickory wood chunks or a buttload of hickory wood chips
-disposable foil roasting pan
-an oven

Ingredients
-4 to 6lb bone-in pork roast (Boston butt)
-suggested rub mix: brown sugar, oregano, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt in whatever measurements you like
-whatever BBQ sauce you like

Prep time: about 2 hours
Cooking time: about 5 1/2 hours

1. Mix all rub ingredients in small bowl, apply to pork butt, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, refrigerate for at least an hour.

2. At least 1 hour prior to cooking, remove pork butt from refrigerator, unwrap, and let it come to room temperature. Soak 4 (3-inch) wood chunks in cold water to cover for 1 hour and drain. Meanwhile, light about 40 charcoal briquettes (use a chimney starter or electric starter, lighter fluid is not recommended) and burn until all the charcoal is covered with a layer of fine gray ash.

3. Empty the coals into the grill; build a modified two-level fire by spreading the coals onto one side of the grill, piling them up in a mound 2 or 3 briquettes high, leaving the other half with no coals. Open the bottom vents completely. Place the soaked wood chunks on the coals. Position the cooking grate over the coals, cover the grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for 2 seconds). Make sure the cooking grate is clean.

4. Set unwrapped pork butt in disposable pan and place it on grate opposite the fire like this:

Open grill lid vents three-quarters of the way and cover, turning lid so that vents are opposite chunks to draw smoke through the grill. Cook, adding about 8 briquettes every hour or so to maintain an average temperature of 275 degrees, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on the size of the roast.

5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place roast in pan and wrap with heavy-duty foil to cover completely. Place pan in oven and cook until meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.

6. After the 2 hours in the oven, turn oven off and let the roast sit in the oven for about 30 minutes. Transfer roast to cutting board and unwrap. When cool enough to handle, "pull" pork apart by tearing it into shreds so that it looks roughly like this:

Place shredded meat in large bowl; toss with 1/2 to 1 cup barbecue sauce, adding more to taste.

Serve the pulled pork however you like - a lot of people like pulled pork sandwiches on a toasted bun with pickles, but I prefer a big ol' plate o' pork with some sauce and whatever side dish is available.