Is there anything wrong with having apple pies all year long?
I know that it sounds like I am getting a bit obsessed about apples, but this years crop has been plentiful and wonderful. There is something about a healthy tree that seems to take care of itself without a lot of intervention. No longer do I have to sneak out and grab the apples in the dead of night before Laura is aware of what is happening to ‘her’ apples… and as I have written… there are more blossoms and more apples on the way!
I plan to keep about a dozen pies on hand and give away an equal amount… which is something I haven’t been able to do in the past… that’s called ‘sharing.’ So far, everyone seems to enjoy them.
So I am wondering for the first time in my life if I will find having apple pies all year long a bit boring? I guess if I wash it down with some home made french vanilla ice cream it won’t be too bad?
There are not too many simple items that will get people talking like,”who makes the best ribs?” What always amuses me is that most folks who cook ribs take way too many shortcuts. The reason for the shortcuts is like that for all recipes: to save time and money. The major complaints I have heard about cooked ribs are: 1) too fatty, 2) too tough, and 3) some general complaints about the sauce. Each of these can be addressed easily.
Take a little more time and spend a little more money and it is all worth it.
Step 1) I like to soak my ribs in a brine solution made with beer and a few spices familiar to those who enjoy curing meat. ( 1 week)
Step 2 ) I boil the ribs until the meat begins to leave the bone.
Step 3) I season the meat with a general seasoning ( salt, black pepper and garlic powder) and follow up with a hotter seasoning containing cayenne pepper or pimenton.
Step 4) I cover the ribs with a specially prepared tomato-y bbq sauce containing the sweetness of brown sugar and the bite of things. ( I have taken shortcuts here at times with various hot sauces) ( 3 or 4 days)
Step 5) Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes….
soaking in the beer brine solution
Okay… I didn’t give you the full recipe… my mother-in-law always tried to get it from me and if she couldn’t…. well..
Isn’t everyone on Twitter, yet? Laura has 2 Twitter Accounts and so does my daughter Karen. I ‘tweet’ with one account… but I do so with a nice collection of chefs! Here’s our family twitter accounts:
Trojan Coaches huddle to discuss the day's signings!
Here are a couple of pictures from SC showing the coaches discussing and anticipating those who will sign their National Letter of Intent to compete as a Trojan!
Congratulations to Coach Carroll and his staff and Athletic Director Mike Garrett for helping Troy towards its goal of ‘Winning Forever!”
Okay, I am a big fan of sports, married a sports fanatic and have three sports enthusiasts for daughters… life is good.
So, obviously I follow SC football Head Coach Pete Carrollwhen he joined ‘twitter’... yes, I was one of the early followers. ( does that sound snooty enough?) What I have learned about ‘twitter’ I credit to my daughter Karen ( SC athlete, record holder and masters graduate from Annenberg’s impressive PR program at SC) and… yes… Pete Carroll, himself.
Coach Carroll and his staff continue to refine and focus their image, improve their message, target their audiences and present the best product year after year. Of course, this is what SC does! They are always ‘cutting edge.’ SC finds a wonderful balance between theoretical and practical, to quote a great American Psychologist:
“the truth is what works” — William James
So I captured Coach Carroll’s background image to see how he did it… and where he has it hosted: Amazon.com!
SC continues to amaze, inform and educate me… it’s what they do!
"A house is not a
home unless it
contains food and
fire for the mind
as well as the body.”
Benjamin Franklin
_____________
"Without the culinary
arts, the crudeness
of reality would
be unbearable."
Kate & Leopold
_____________
"Tell me what you
eat, and I will
tell you what you
are."
Anthelme
Brillat-Savarin
_____________
"I think it is a
sad reflection on
our civilization
that while we can
and do measure the
temperature in the
atmosphere of Venus
we do not know what
goes on inside our
soufflés."
Nicholas Kurti
_____________
The truth is that
with a gentleman I
am always a gentle-
man and a half, and
when I have to deal
with a pirate, I
try to be a pirate
and a half.
Prince
Otto Eduard Leopold
von Bismarck
_____________
Honesty is not so
much a credit as an
absolute prerequisite
to efficient service
to the public. Unless
a man is honest, we
have no right to keep
him in public life; it
matters not how
brilliant his capacity
