My Labor Day Saturday

I don't know if everybody knows or not but I am a bachelor this weekend. I put the wife on a boat Friday and sent her across Lake Michigan to visit her family in Michigan. She is due to sail back into Wisconsin on Monday.

So what am I doing this weekend in Wisconsin? Well I thought I would take advantage of being alone and study for an upcoming test. This is a perfect weekend for that. While she is gone I thought I might take advantage of the situation and cook some of the things I like and she doesn't.

We'll start with Friday night. After work I went to Sheboygan to the local fish market and bought some of my weekend supplies. I was looking for fresh shrimp and scallops, as fresh as can be found in Wisconsin anyway, for a couple of my meals for the weekend.


I love my shrimp and scallops so for Friday night I thought I would do a combo meal with them. I could have ate them right out of the frying pan but I had other ideas. I combined them with some onions, red peppers, garlic, white wine, olive oil and whole wheat pasta and came up with this...


This is a pretty darn good start to my weekend don't you think?

Saturday morning I get out of bed and the first thing I decide to do is write my post for last Sunday's Sunday Dinner Episode. While doing this I eat my breakfast which consist of extreme labor to make.....

Cinnamon Life Cereal. I have one bowl a week and it is every Saturday. I can't tell you how many years I have been eating Life cereal in one form or another but it has been a long time.

After the early morning chores are done I load up the garbage and take it to the dump. On the way back I decide to stop at our local market in Elkhart Lake to purchase a couple of items I will need later in the day. While I was there I couldn't help but stare at the doughnuts on the counter. I decide to by one and the lady says "We have some more back here in this box. They just came in and are real fresh." I checked them out and said "Give me that one."

Apple fritter, my favorite of all time. This is the plate 30 seconds later.

Nothing wrong with a good apple fritter. I glad all I bought is one because I don't need one of these everyday.

It's a beautiful day outside so I decide to mow the lawn before the Michigan game comes on. Since I have been busy for the last two weeks the lawn hasn't been mowed for three weeks. I think it needs it.

Win or lose this is an exciting day in Michigan football. This is a team that has been rolling along in the same direction for the last 40 years. Not that it was a bad direction but let's face it, it was time for a change and change Michigan did. They hired the guru of the spread offense so I was excited to see how they looked. The team they play first, Utah, has a lot of returning players who a very capable of running the spread offense. This is a good first test. Michigan's offense came out struggling and the only reason the Wolverines got the first 10 points is because Utah gave the points to them. The offense is really struggling and the defensive isn't doing any better. Utah is showing Michigan how to run the spread offense. The defense looks like they are a half a step slow right now. I thought the best part of the Michigan team was suppose to be the defense. The first half was brutal, I expected the offense to struggle but not the defense. I am disappointed.

But time for a half time snack.

Little sister brought my attention to this snack and when I saw them in the store I thought I would try them. Not bad for a potato chip. I like the pepper on them. Several years ago I switched from salt to pepper on my french fries so it makes sense it would be good on potato chips too.

On to the second half. Utah scores a quick three points but that is where the Utah scoring stops. The Michigan defense takes over and play great the rest of the game. This is the defense I thought we would see. The offense still struggles but Michigan changes quarterbacks and all of a sudden the deep threat is back. The new quarterback, Threet, has good accuracy. This will start to open up the running lanes if they can start to complete some down field passes. The offense starts to show some spark but it is to little to late and the final score is Utah 25 Michigan 23.

I'm disappointed but I also expected Michigan to play this way. They will get better as the weeks go by but I don't think Rodriguez has the quarterback he needs for his system right now. I am sure his number one priority will be a spread offense type quarterback for his recruits next year.

Now that the game is over it's time for dinner.

Portabella mushroom burger. Another food item the wife doesn't like. How does anyone get along in life without seafood and mushrooms? I can't imagine. This turns out to be a pretty darn good burger. A tapenade that includes anchovies, olives, onions, garlic and olive oil, portabello mushrooms (of course), fire roasted red peppers, and toasted buns.

And what is dinner without dessert? Actually I rarely eat dessert but not today, look what I have...


Oatmeal blueberry cookies. There isn't much to say here except for they will give the best chocolate chip cookies a run for their money. These are so good you will need to hide them so nobody else knows you have them.

That is about it for a Labor Day Saturday. I ended up falling asleep last night so I don't know who won the race I was watching on TV. Pretty exciting around here.

Sunday Dinner - 24 August 2008

I know I am getting later and later getting these out but I have been to busy during the week to get everthing done I need to do to get my Sunday Dinners on my blog. In fact I think I may have come up with a post idea for a later entry, Producing a Sunday Dinner Episode. But even as busy as I have been this week I still managed to get this episode on before tomorrow, Sunday.

With all the excuses out of the way let's get on with this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode. What is it? Will let's take a look.....


Barbecue country pork ribs.

Now I will admit the last couple of times I have tried to cook country pork ribs I have screwed them up terribly. Well maybe not terribly because they were still edible but believe me I have had much better. I was determined this time to get it right, after all if I didn't I would have to pull out an archived upcoming post I have planned. I can't do that because this wouldn't be a real Sunday Dinner and we can't have that. The pressure was on to perform.

This weeks episode is a two parter starting with the bbq country ribs. Here are the main players in part one of this weeks episode.


Ignore the corn they were being photo hogs this week and jumped into the picture. They actually star in part 2 of this episode. But as you can see for the country ribs it is pretty simple this week. A little salt, pepper and some homemade bbq sauce.

And to introduce the players for part 2 of this weeks episode......


You already know the corn but the rest of the players are butter, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, dried basil, and parmesan/reggiano cheese.

With all the introductions done it is time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!!"

First thing to do is get the country style ribs on and let them cook for an hour or so. While the pork is cooking we might as well get the corn ready.

The butter needs to be warm enough so all the ingredients can be mixed together. Once mixed it gets smeared all over the corn. Now it's off to the grill.


Now just let the corn cook for 15 minutes while turning frequently. Oh don't worry about those burnt, oops I mean dark areas, that is just flavor being added. At least that's what they tell me on Food Network.


Let's take a peak at the pork too to see how it's doing.


So far looking good. Here is what it looks like when everything is done.


I have to confess the baked beans were bought from our local meat market. I got to tell you once you taste these you would be hard pressed to ever make baked beans again. If you want to know something funny the baked beans cost more than the country pork ribs and corn put together. We bought the country ribs on sale for $1.99 per pound and the corn was $1.00 for three ears at the farmers market in Sheboygan. Other than the beans if you are looking for a cheap meal here you go. In that respect this is a 5 fork meal.

Like I said above a cheap meal but let's get our individual rankings done now. The country style pork ribs get a 4 out of 5 forks. The ribs themselves were excellent, nice and juicy, great flavor but the bbq sauce is holding them back today. It wasn't my best effort in bbq sauce making. The sauce had very little flavor and I am not sure why. I mean it's okay but not how I like it. The corn gets 5 out of 5 forks. This is the best corn on the cob I have ever had. Maybe we bought it at the right time, maybe it is the type of corn, maybe it is the ingredients I used on the corn before grilling it or maybe the grilling did it. It is probably a combination of the above but I will tell you again it was excellent.

Well that's this weeks Sunday Episode with one week remaining for the Sunday Episodes cooked on the grill. After this coming Sunday I am not sure what direction I will be going but I do plan on doing the Sunday Episodes. I am sure I will continue to do Sunday Episodes for time to time on the grill this fall until it gets to cold outside but I need ideas. I am thinking of tailgating episodes or fall harvest type episodes or comfort food episodes. I am think of leaving the comfort food episodes until winter and I am leaning towards tailgating episodes right now because it is football time. Let me know what you think I should do.

Well it is time to go now. I need to take the garbage to the dump and mow the lawn before the Michigan football game starts or maybe I should wait on mowing the lawn until Michigan plays just in case they stink.

Detroit Lions and Michigan Wolverines - You Gotta Love It

It's that time of year again, time for both college and pro football to play some meaningful games. I excited for the football season to start and this year is no exception.

I just finished watching the Lions go 4-0 in the preseason. I know it doesn't mean anything but it still gives me hope. I mean the Patriots went 0-4 in the preseason so what does it really mean? I'm still excited though I think the Lions may be on the right track finally. And let's be honest it will be at least 8 weeks before the Lions can be eliminated from the playoffs.

My biggest problem with the Lions is at quarterback. I know Kitna is the best quarterback in the NFC North but I have never been a fan of his. He normally finds a way to lose games not win games like the Brady's and Manning's out there. I am hoping the Lions do like the Vikings did a few years ago when they had Carter and Moss as their wide receivers. It didn't matter who the quarterback was all they had to do was throw the ball up in the air downfield and either Carter or Moss would come down with it. I am hoping the same will be true of Johnson and Williams for the Lions this year.

The defense looks better so far but we will see what happens when teams start game planning against them, that will be the real test. They led the entire NFL in defense for the preseason. The key word here is preseason. What I did notice during preseason games was better tackling, a 100% better from the last few years. The defensive line is pressure quarterbacks a lot more too and if you can get pressure on the quarterbacks it makes the defensive backs better.

The next few weeks will start to tell me if I am in for another let down or not. Let's keep in mind these are the Lions.

Let's talk Michigan Wolverine football now. The mighty Wolverines, I'm not sure how mighty they will be this year but they should be fun to watch. After predictable years with Carr this year should be anything but predictable. If coach Rodriguez can do the same thing with the Wolverines he did at WVU it should be real exciting in a couple of years. That is the problem, a couple of years. UofM is young this year on offense so I am expecting some frustrating moments if not games with the Maize and Blue this year. Coach Rich as brought in some good freshman this year but that is the problem they are freshman.

The defense is returning a few starters from last year so I am expecting them to win the first few games with their defense until the offense gets untracked. I think one key factor with their defense this year is they have been practicing against the spread offense all spring and summer. They should be ready for any team running the spread this year.

Let's see if we can predict where they will finish this year.

Week 1: Utah at home - I thing the offense will struggle since it will be the first game with the spread under real game conditions. The defense will keep them in the game and they will pull out a close one. Michigan 24 Utah 17. Michigan 1-0.

Week 2: Miami of Ohio - The Offense is starting to look better this week plus they are playing a MAC team. Defense looks all world this week. Michigan 27 Miami of Ohio 10. Michigan 2-0.

Week 3: at Notre Dame - This is a pivotal game for both teams. I think who ever loses this game will go into the crapper the rest of the year. The loser won't make a bowl game. Notre Dame should be ready this year after the beating they have taken the last two years plus it is at ND. With that being said both offenses will struggle in this game and the best defense will win. Michigan 17 ND 13, sorry Sarah. Michigan 3-0.

Week 4: Wisconsin - The party stops here. Wisconsin is too good this year and too experienced for the young Wolverines. This game will be brutal if fact I end up shutting the game off before halftime and go outside and mow the lawn. Michigan 10 Wisconsin 27. Michigan 3-1.

Week 5: Illinois - Another rough week for the not so mighty Wolverines again. Illinois has their dynamic quarterback coming back and should challange OSU for the Big Ten Championship. I hate Illinois and this is a tough loss to take. I end up mowing the lawn again even though it doesn't need it. Michigan 13 The Biting Illini 31. Michigan 3-2.

Week 6: Toledo - Finally relief, a MAC team. You can't take MAC teams lightly but I think the Wolverines will be ready for this game after the last couple of weeks. The spread offense gets into high gear in this game the the defense flexes its muscle. Michigan 37 Toledo 6. Michigan 4-2.

Week 7: at Penn State - Is this JoePa's last year? I think it could be and the PSU players are trying to send him out in style. Plus the players and coaches want to get the monkey off their back and finally beat Michigan. This will be their best year to do it. Michigan has a let down after their romp over the MAC team last week and disappoints all Michigan fans across the nation. Michigan 17 Penn State 24. Michigan 4-3.

Week 8: Michigan State - Will this be the year little brother bloodies the nose of big brother? Can MSU not choke a game away in the second half this year? Can MSU hold its emotions in check for four quarters of football and not make stupid penalties? The answer - nope. Big Brother 27 Little Brother 24. Michigan 5-3.

Week 9: at Purdue - Joe Tiller has one maybe two good years and he ends up with a job for life. Somewhere you would think he would have to start producing results again. But it won't be this year. The spread offense for Michigan is on track right now and Michigan is to much for the Boilermakers to handle. Plus Michigan's defense puts on a show. Michigan 24 Purdue 6. Michigan 6-3.

Week 10: at Minnesota - What is there to talk about. The little brown jug stays in Michigan for another year. Michigan 31 Minnesota 17. Michigan 7-3.

Week 11: Northwestern - Every now and then Northwestern will play a great game with Michigan and it will be replayed on ESPN Classic for the next 5 years. Just not this year. The mighty Wolverines flex their defensive prowess on NW and shut down their spread offense. Once again the speed of Michigan's offense is too much for the TameCats to contain. Michigan 27 TameCats 13. Michigan 8-3.

Week 12: at Ohio State - I am not sure the new Michigan coach understands the magnitude of the rivalry between OSU and Michigan. I mean this is it, this is the game, this is why they play the other 11 games to get ready for this one, but I think all this is lost this year on the new coach because he won't understand the rivalry until he has experienced it once. He will next year but it will be to late this year, plus OSU is just too experienced, too good and the game is in the horseshoe. Michigan 10 The 'they make me puke eyes' 31. Michigan 8-4.

So it looks like an 8-4 record and another trip to a bowl game to keep the streak alive. I will take it, in fact I will be happy with an 8-4 record. Like I said earlier the pivotal game will be the Notre Dame game. If Michigan loses this game they may end up 4-8 instead.

The Wolverines will be better in the coming years and they will show flashes of the excitement throughout this year. They will also be frustrating at times this year but regardless I will watch them except for that one fall day when I will have to go out and mow the lawn because I am to upset to watch them anymore that day.

Sunday Dinner - 17 August 2008

Yeah I know I am a little bit behind but you know better late than never. I do have a good excuse though, my back has been bothering me for the last week. As I noted on a previous remark to a post it happens about once and sometimes twice a year. I can't explain it but it will go away as mysteriously as it appears. Today it isn't to bad so I think I can manage now.

Ahhh but you don't care about my problems you are only here to see this weeks Sunday Dinner Episode. So without further adieu let's get on with the show.

Have you ever had something stuck in your head so long that your finally decide it is time to do it? That's what happen to me this last week and how I came across this weeks Sunday Dinner. I have been telling the wife I was going to cook this weeks Sunday Dinner this whole summer so finally I decided to do it. I was a little worried because I have never ate it before and I wasn't really sure I wanted to spend a lot of money on an experiment that might fail. But like I have said before "Nothing ventured nothing gained."

So what is this weeks Sunday Dinner (or should I say last weeks?). Well here it is.................

Rack of Lamb.

Yep, never have had it. How about you? Kind of expensive to buy but, oh well, when you want to try something what else are you going to do? I have wanted to try lamb ever since our fair days but just never got around to it. It is simple to prepare, maybe one of the simplest Sunday Dinner Episodes I have done. Here are the main characters of the show....

A little salt, pepper, EVOO, and lemon thyme fresh from the herb garden. I put the wood chips in the picture because I needed something to take up space. I said is was simple, no marinading, no exoctic spice rubs just a couple simple ingrediants.

From here I probably don't need to tell you what time it is but it is time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!"


First thing to do is to brown on both sides..................


Next add the wood chips, move the racks over indirect heat, and cover (remember always grill with the lid on) and watch the beautiful smoke rise out of the grill.

I never tire of seeing that.

I always use a temperture probe when I cook meat because I can't tell when the meat is done the way I like it. Rack of Lamb is suppose to be cooked to meduim rare which is around 130 degrees.

I wasn't to sure about that so I cooked one to 132 degrees and the other to 140 degrees. I think the one cooked to 140 degrees was actually better tasting than the other one. The other thing I did was (this will make the true rack of lamb conisouers cringe) after I cut the racks apart I seared them real quick on the grill.

After the rack of lamb was cooked this is what it looked like.....


And the final plating......


This photo was taken before I seared them again on the grill. If I cook them again I will definitly sear them on the grill to finish them. I thought they tasted better after I seared them. I am not sure how to score them since I have never had lamb before but I will give them a 3.75 out of 5 forks. The lamb wasn't has bad as I thought it might be or as bad as some of the horror stories I have heard about lamb. If I was comparing to pork or beef though I am afraid it would come in third place to both. I sorry but I will still take pork as number one and beef as number two. But if you are looking for something differant try rack of lamb.

Sunday Dinner - 10 August 2008

I had plans for a different Sunday Dinner Episode this week but we had trouble finding what we wanted. While we were looking there sitting in the meat case were these................

.............beef ribs. It was one of those times when the ribs kept calling my name out. I knew as soon as I saw them I would never get out of the market without them. It isn't very often I find beef ribs, at least whole beef ribs, in the meat case. In fact this is the first time I have seen them all summer. Oh I can find beef short ribs, which will be a separate Sunday Dinner Episode coming this winter, but never whole beef ribs.

I also knew I had to redeem myself because the last time I cooked beef ribs, they were beef short ribs, they didn't come out so great. They were kind of tough and not very tasty. Not a total disaster but not something I would feed to guest either. This time, however, I had a different plan.

Let's introduce the cast of characters first.......


This is the marinade ingredients. Just mix together and let marinade for a couple of hours. Next up is to make the basting sauce............


If you haven't noticed yet these ribs will have an Asian theme. The marinade included Thai Red Chili Paste and the basting sauce includes Hoisin Sauce. If you remember a while back I mentioned Hoisin Sauce is a great way to add instant flavor to just about anything. It really shines when used with beef.

The basting ingredients are all mixed together and simmered on the stove for 20-30 minutes.


This an also be done ahead of time and stored in the ice box.

When ready it is time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!"


I never get tired of the smoky smell coming from the grill.

Once the grill is ready brown the meat over direct heat and then move over to the indirect portion of the grill and cook for a couple of hours.

In the last half hour or so bast with the basting sauce.

Throw some potatoes on the grill, have the wife make a salad (again from here Taste of Home magazine) and this is what you end up with.....


I will give it a 3.75 forks out of 5. I screwed up the potatoes. This is really starting to upset me because I just can't seem to cook potatoes on the grill lately. They weren't terrible but I definitely have made better. I thought I screwed up the beef ribs too after I took them off the grill. I thought they were dried out but after one bite into them all my fears went away. Nice and tender and moist, just they way they should be. I still wouldn't trade them for pork ribs though but it is a nice change.

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha...........

................hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Oh you will have to excuse me I just listened one of the funniest things I have heard in a long time.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I'm sorry I just can't help it.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I meant to do my Sunday Dinner episode tonight but I just had to mention this.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Let's see if I can get this out with a straight face. I was just watching Monday Night Countdown on the New York Sports Channel (that's ESPN for any who doesn't know what the New York Sports Channel is) and.........................hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
...................not sure I can do this...................hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Tom Jackson said..........hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha....he said......hahahahahahaha
ok I think I can do this............haha........Jon Kitna is the best quarterback in the NFC North division..........hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.....and the funny things is everybody on the panel agreed with him........hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I don't know what kind of drugs they are on but I want some of that stuff.

Let's take a look at this one time seriously. Now that the spoiled little crybaby brat is out of Green Bay Aaron Rogers is the starting quarterback. Hmmm.....ok I will give them that one for now Kitna is better only because Rogers is an unknown. We will revisit that one at the end of the year though. How about the Minnesota Vikings, they have some quarterback with the last name of Jackson. It's a good thing they have Adrian Peterson. We'll give that one to Kitna. And the Chicago Bears, they can't decide between Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman. Need I say more.

Hey wait a minute we are out of teams. Could it be? Jon Kitna? The best quarterback in the NFC North? WOW! The NFC North has problems when the best quarterback in the division is Jon Kitna.

With that being said here is my prediction for the NFC North this year.

Green Bay
Minnesota
Detroit
Chicago

Now if Detroit has the best quarterback in the division why am I picking them to finish 3rd? Because you still have to play defense and I am sorry but the Lions don't know how to play defense yet. And why do I pick Green Bay to finish 1st? Because Aaron Rogers is better than people think. I don't think the Packers would let the spoiled little brat go if they didn't think he was. And Besides the Packers play defense.



Now that's funny.

Welcome to Elkhart Lake

Even though our address is Plymouth Wisconsin we actually live closer to Elkhart Lake. We are less then 2 miles from Elkhart Lake and about 5 miles from Plymouth. I am not sure why we have a Plymouth address because the next house to the north of us has a Elkhart Lake address.

Elkhart Lake is an artsy fartsy type of town. To put it another way their shit don't stink, at least they don't think so. When you drive into town the sign says population of just over 1000 but on the weekends when the rich from Chicago comes to stay at the Ostoff Resort and the surrounding area the population swells to over 2000. I like the town because it has tried to hold on to its past. Around town there are a lot of the old houses still left and most of not all are well kept. Around the town fringes the newer subdivisions and condos have sprung up but it still maintains that small town quiet rural setting.





If you have been following this blog you will know every Saturday we take a trip to the dump to take our garbage becuase we do not have garbage pickup here. It just so happens on our way back from the dump (or the recycling center as they probably call it in Elkhart Lake) we stop in Elkhart Lake at the local farmers market. It's called a farmers market but there is a lot of junk (opps I should say arts and crafts) being sold there too. I enjoy going there for the produce. We will normally buy all of our onions, green peppers and various other produce there. Today we even bought some homemade maple syrup. (Oh how I love that stuff. I pour it on ice cream, pancakes and anything else I think I can get away with pouring it on.)



The farmers market isn't as big as some others but they still have quailty produce.

There is one of the old style ice cream shops in Elkhart Lake too. Once inside it is like you just stepped back into time.


Every now and then we will drive up there on a nice evening and belly up to the ice cream bar. An older lady owns it and she has been there everytime we have stopped for ice cream. The service can be a little slow at times but you got to remember it is only one old lady running the place. But then again the pace is slow in Elkhart Lake anyway.

Like I said earlier the Ostoff Resort is the major attraction for people. This is a large resort that sets on the banks of, ......can you guess? If you said Elkhart Lake you would be correct. I was told when I first came here that the lawyers from Chicago that can't afford Door County come here. I don't know about that but from what I see the people that go there are to bad off.

There are always a lot of classic cars around. It is not unusual to see anything there.



This car was sitting across from the junk, oops I mean farmers market one day when we were there. I am assuming it is a 1967 Jaguar from the license plate. It was in perfect shape. But like I said it is not unusual to find cars like this in town on weekends.

On our visit there today look what we found.......


Anybody recognize it?



It's a mini, a real mini. It even has the steering wheel on the opposite side. It was listed for sale and it said it was a 1962. It was in fairly good shape for a '62. I looked inside of it and all there was was a speedometer and nothing else. The shift stick you operated with your left hand and the knob had the british flag on it. It was definitely the basic of transportation.

Well that is the town of Elkhart Lake or more like the village of Elkhart Lake. During the week it is a quiet town and on the weekends turns into a resort town.

Here is a little extra I thougt you might be interested in our Saturday night meal.


It started with a little bit of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cooked on the grill and ended up as a pita pocket sandwich.

In all the excitment......

...........this week I almost forgot about posting last Saturday nights meal.



It is kinda like a fish taco. If you have ever had a fish taco they are pretty good. I forget everything in a fish taco but this has grilled fish, cole slaw, and a guacamole mixture of some sorts. We will certainly be making this again.



The original recipe calls for halibut but since I was too cheap to pay over $10 per pound for halibut I substituted pollock instead. It still came out pretty darn good.

And look what else I snuck a picture of.....


The wife doesn't like me taking pictures of her stuff but when she wasn't looking I snapped this picture. Turned out pretty darn good. The frosting has a lot of orange juice in it. I think it came out of her Taste of Home magazine she gets.

I have been eating on it all week.

Sunday Dinner - 4 August 2008

When I woke up on Saturday I still hadn't decided what was on the menu for this weeks Sunday Dinner. I have been busy working on the new whippy dip for Midland and I really haven't given it much thought. I also knew on Sunday I would get out of bed around 6:30 am and not finish the drawings for the whippy dip until later that night. That is the way it always is because I never get the answers I need until the eleventh hour and I am left trying to finish everything in one weekend.

Imagine my surprise and delight when the wife came into my office and said "Honey will you make me this this weekend?" She had picked out one the simplest meals there is for cooking on the grill. What was it you ask? Take a look........

Ribeye steaks marinated in bourbon.

It is not very often we get steak around here but when I saw what she picked out I thought that will be perfect for Sunday because I knew I wouldn't have all day to prepare our Sunday Dinner. My only requirement for this Sunday was she had to make the salad to go with it. It wasn't a problem because she had a salad or two from here latest Taste of Home magazine she wanted to try.

With all that being said let's get started.

Here are this weeks supporting cast for this weeks Sunday Dinner episode.....


Well actually these are the ingredients for the marinade this week. I know, I know, if you are paying attention you will notice that is a bottle of whiskey in the picture. The reason why is because that is what I had. Besides what the hell is the difference between whiskey and bourbon anyway? I have told you before my distaste for Jack Danial's but for some reason it really works good in marinades for beef products.

Once all ingredients are mixed together the marinade will look like this........


Now here is the star of our show this week.........


Ribeye steaks, my favorite of all he steak family. When I buy it I always buy it with the bone in.

Next put the steaks in the marinade and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. About a half hour before grilling take the steaks out and let them come up to room temperature.

While this is happening it is time to soak some wood chips and this weeks choice is.........

Now what else do you think I would use when JD is the main player in the marinade?

If you have been following my post in this blog all summer you now know what time it is. It is time to "FIRE UP THE GRILL!!!!!!!"

You have to use enough charcoal to get the grill good and hot because we are after those picture taking grill marks on the steaks. You know the marks, the ones where there is no doubt that baby has been cooked on the grill.

While the grill is getting hot it is time to prepare the steaks.....


You may be wondering why are the steaks sitting on paper towels? Well this my friend is how you get those picture taking grill marks. To get the grill marks the meat has to be completely dry of any moisture. While the steaks are coming up to room temperature I pat them dry at least 3 different times.

I brush oil on the steaks and season with the ingredients you see in the picture. once this is done it's out to the grill. I put in the water soaked wood chips an slap the steaks on the grill and close the lid.

Oh how I love to see the smoke coming out of the grill. That smoke equals flavor you just can't get on the stove or in the oven.

I let the steaks cook about 4 minutes on a side......

....until medium rare, at least for me. Medium rare for me is 130 degree internal temperature. The wife likes hers more towards medium so I cook hers to about 136 to 137 degrees.

After cooking this is what I am left with.............


Mmmm, so good. I think it deserves 5 out of 5 forks. I am telling you if you ever open up a steak restaurant you will have to turn people away if you make this steak with this marinade, it is simply that good. This is as good as any steak you will ever find in the best of steak houses. This is the other reason I don't order steak at restaurants because it is one item I think I can do better than they can.

One more look.....

You gotta love those grille marks.

If you decide to try this make sure the steak you use is at least 1 to 1-1/4" thick. The thicker the steak the easier to cook. And I should also mention this will work just as good on new york steaks, porterhouses, and t-bones. Like I have said before use what you like and like what you use. This applies to everything except Jack Daniels.