Fathers day chik'n ribs

I can't really give out the formula for this, but an abbreviated version is below!

Brine your ribs! I used a "commercial" jerk seasoning in water with more salt and lots of garlic. for these ( 3 hrs min.)

lots of smoke-put them on the smoker first (boiling/baking first ruins the whole deal-they take on the most smoke when they're fresh, put em in the oven in the end if you have to!)


hang out , drink some beer and wait (or do yard work etc.)

keep an eye on the fire/smoke the whole time, cut more wood if you have to and keep a bucket going..

if you started when you got up, these should be perfect right about 4pm, if you slacked and slept in then you'll be eating around 8 pm!

Pan fried Pork Chops with Portobello, caramelized onions and a sherry pan sauce

Here's another quick recipe, this is an adaptation of a Cook's Illustrated technique for cooking pork chops with a refined "topping".

Use 1" or thinner chops, otherwise you need to extend the cooking time a bit....

2 (or 1 chop per person) boneless chops
2 TBS butter
1 TBS Olive Oil
3 cloves garlic chopped or pressed
1 cup 1/2 ring cut onions (adjust for more chops)
1 cup sliced portobello mushrooms (you can sub almost any 'shroom for this-shitakes are nice too!)
a few ounces of sherry, madeira, wine etc. for deglazing

heat an appropiatley sized saute pan on med-high to high heat (enough to get a good sear without burning the butter up) use 1 TBS butter and the olive oil to sear the chops on each side for 1 minute, then put the heat on low and cover the pan. Cook on low for about 4 minutes a side (flipping once) Put the chops on a plate and tent with foil ( they will be undercooked at this point - the foil tent will let the residual heat cook them to perfection!)
bring the heat up to med, toss in the onions and cook until they start to become transucent; add the garlic, cook until fragrant, then the shrooms.
cook for a few more minutes until the 'shrooms begin to soften, bring heat to high, toss the pan for a minute or so, deglaze the pan with the sherry, let reduce slightly (another minute or two) then add the juices that have accumulated under the chops (hold them with the foil tent and pour off the juice!). Let this reduce just a bit, remove from heat and quickly whisk in the last TBS of butter to finish the sauce.

Plate the chops and distribute your onions, shrooms and sauce evenly and serve!

We hade these with a rhubarb and caper potato salad, but that's another recipe......

Another night of Salmon

Here are a couple shots of my salmon recipe, served as a salad.

this one had raw cashews, chilis, garlic and a touch of a jerk style marinade that I happened on in the grocery store.

(it was a spicy one-Habs, scotch bonnets, pineapple juice, but no sugar or preservatives...)