California has 3 growing seasons for much of what we do and we are entering our second apple producing season here in San Luis Obispo, California and I expect a bumper crop! Now, I have only one producing tree, but it has been shaped to be a mega producer and very unlike the row after row of readily harvested apple trees. In fact, it’s beautiful!
I half expected to find Laura out putting ribbons on the branches she selected as her own… she loves apple sauce and likes to think of the apples as her own … but I suspect that I will be able to make a few pies as well… so it’s going to work out fine this year.
People who know me, know that I won’t let anyone cook for me. The fact is, I am usually always disappointed. I like my lamb a certain way and , yes, I seldom like anyone else’s Baklava. Laura ordered a little dessert of cookies to start and I inspected the Baklava… and it was excellent. ( maybe not as good as mine, but then no one could afford to make and sell it … so what does it matter? )
Although it may have been the seduction in great service, atmosphere or wonderful company, but I do believe the food helped make a truly wonderful evening and an experience to remember.
My hardest choices were in the choice of lamb… ribblets or chops? The Arnisia Pleurakla or Paidakia? As for desserts the creative and distinctive Baklava ice cream was a smooth sweet perfection!
Karen is now well prepared to go to Athens to meet family, friends and do a little business!
Roger Freberg
Special thanks to former classmate Cathy Morley Foster for confirming that this is the place for me!
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..
Every mother deserves some special treatment on this special day! Laura wanted a very simple luncheon of artichoke, my spicy and cheesy bread sticks and a nice dessert. The only challenge for me was that our Marinara sauce takes hours and hours, so it was a pedal to the metal to get this simple meal ready! Laura loved it and that’s all that matters.
When you say that you make the best meatball in the world, be prepared to take on the world! Virtually every country can lay claim to the humble meatball! Whether it be Laplanders with their reindeer meatballs, meatballs from China or America, talking about making ‘meatballs’ always gets someone’s attention!
So, with that said, here is our humble recipe tribute to those who love meatballs!
