The Birthday Boy's Bourbon Country Style Ribs

Tony loves meat.  I mean he really loves meat.  I think if he were pressed to answer,  pork would come first, beef second and then everything else just because. 

I knew for his birthday he would want some meat.  As luck would have it I found some very reasonably priced boneless country style ribs when I was shopping.  Lucky Tony!

I made the marinade the night before and added the meat to it in the morning.  Once we tasted it I realized this marinade would be perfect for just about any meat that is being grilled. 

Can't wait to try it on some pork chops and chicken thighs! And I think this long weekend is just the time to try!

Bourbon Marinaded Country Style Ribs

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbs molasses
• 2/3 cup bourbon
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 pounds country style pork ribs

Directions

1.   Combine brown sugar, molasses, bourbon, soy sauce, and garlic in a food processor or blender to mince garlic with other ingredients. Pour over ribs, and marinate for several hours in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
3. Place ribs on grate, and cook ribs until cooked to your liking.  When finished, the internal temperature of the ribs should be 160 degrees F (70 degrees C) when taken with a meat thermometer.
   
   
   

 

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

So I am staring down the barrel of another birthday, Tony's this time, and I realize that I never got to post the strawberry cake that I made last month for my birthday!!!  And that's a real shame because it was so good.  Luckily the northern part of the country is coming into strawberry season and I am posting this for you just in time.

Now, I made this cake twice.  The first time I made it as a one layer cake in a sheet pan and it turned out perfect.  We ate it all though before I could get a single picture of it!  So being the good blogger that I am I made it again.  I made a 2 layer cake this time.  And I had high hopes for this one.  It was going to be beautiful and as light and fluffy as the first one.  It was close but not exactly the same.  I use whole eggs in this one and should have used the 6 egg whites like I did in the first one...lesson learned.

I really would have made another one for the perfect pic but I got the worse sore on the end of my tongue from all of the stinkin' strawberries I had eaten that I couldn't face another one...LOL!!!  But now that my tongue is all healed I want one and I want one bad!!!

Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (from Confections of a Foodie Bride)

Ingredients

• For the strawberry puree:
• 24 oz very ripe strawberries, hulled (or no-sugar-added frozen strawberries)
• 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
• For the cake:
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature (4 whole eggs can be substituted, but it will not be as pink or as light and fluffy!  I recommend the egg whites)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), at room temp

Instructions

1. If frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard.
2. If using fresh strawberries, just hull, slice and toss with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, until nice and juicy.
3. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.
4. Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake.
5. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting, if desired. It's also fabulous spooned over ice cream... and eaten straight with a spoon.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8- or 9-inch pans, or muffin pan, or 13"X9" pan: spray inside with baking spray with flour (or use some sort of grease/flour combination).
7. In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
8. Add wet ingredients and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds.
9. Note: The batter will not get any pinker in the oven so if you're disappointed in the color from your berries, maybe consider adding a drop or two of pink or red food coloring.
10. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.
11. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary)I found that it was about 40 minutes for the 13X9 pan and it would be about 20-25 for the cupcakes. Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).
12. To make the frosting use your favorite cream cheese frosting or this one. 
13. Once the frosting is made I added some of the leftover puree to it.  But not too much or it will become too thin.  If you wanted more pink (we avoid red dye) add some red dye to the frosting now.
14. Frost your cake and enjoy!!!

 

Strawberry Muffins

So April was a really busy month for us here.

We had a 5K run that both the girls did...

We had BMX races...

Friends that we visited...

We went fishing...

And finally we went strawberry picking and that's what this post is about!  Strawberries...

And we picked a lot of strawberries.  I made cake (post to come on that one), strawberry puree for ice cream and finally I made strawberry muffins.

I made strawberry muffins many, many times.  You know why?  The recipe that I found was awesome.  Simple, no mixer and all ingredients that you have on hand...

Strawberry Muffins (Taste of Home)

preheat oven to 375°

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt (I used papaya flavored yogurt because that's what I had on hand and it was delicious so use what you have...)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries.
• Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

These were good.  I mean really, really good.  So good that I made them for a friends birthday and I frosted them with cream cheese frosting.  Everyone liked them...