When it comes to smoking ribs, I'm pretty proud of how comfortable I have gotten since my first attempt at following my dad's methods. He makes consistently good ribs, easily the best you're likely to find at anybody's cookout. He is an advocate for "dry" ribs, that is they're seasoned with a rub but not finished with a sauce. Our family is split down the middle on that preference though, so we often end up saucing at least one rack to satisfy everybody's tastes. This reminded me of what I'd heard about Memphis, where barbecue joints offer a choice between dry or wet ribs. "Dry" is what I gathered to be the quintessential Memphis-style ribs, served with the dry rub seasoning sprinkled over the smoked meat. The thought sparked my curiosity enough to research the method so I could try it home. (Regional bbq differences are pretty fascinating to me. Just when you think your way is the "right" way, you'll find out there's an entirely different thing going on somewhere else of equal merit.)


I had a pretty relaxed day on the grill, up until the last hour. That's when it started pouring just as the ribs were done. It was a mad dash getting my equipment back inside and dinner served, all while chasing a toddler, arguing with a teenager, and snapping those last critical photos. The life of a food blogger, gotta love it. Speaking of hectic routines, there's a side to grilling that is frankly still a pain to me, and that's the mess. By the end of your time on the grill you will most definitely be sweaty and smelling like the inside of a charcoal pit. Every dishcloth, glove or apron you touched will be smudged with soot or grease. Kids covered in barbecue sauce (Raven wasn't happy about that at all!) Good times. Laundry is the only thing I despise more than the dishes, but there's no escaping it on grill nights.


This section contains affiliate links.

My household has recently switched to Tide PODS®, a 3-in-1 laundry solution that consists of a detergent, stain remover and brightener all in one. It's a change that has made things easier in our busy family's laundry room.  The messy and often wasteful routine of measuring detergent is now a thing of the past. I was skeptical that compact detergent pacs could thoroughly get out barbecue stains and tackle the smell of smoke, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Each load genuinely comes out smelling fresh, even the dirtiest grilling towels.


So about these ribs. My go-to formula for ribs has been a coffee-chile rub paired with my guajillo cherry bbq sauce, but that wouldn't work here. Memphis style is more in line with a classic paprika bbq rub; the optional sauce, tomato-based and not very sweet. I chose to stick with my own traditional bbq rub recipe, which is heavy on the smoked paprika. I then went back to one of my earliest homemade bbq sauce recipes, before I started getting crazy with dried chiles and fruit. I kept the framework of that basic sauce, dialing back on the sugar. My sauce utilizes canned seasoned tomato sauce, something I've always done to avoid ketchup. The main difference between the way I've been smoking ribs and Memphis' version is the addition of a mop sauce to moisten the ribs, attract smoke, and encourage caramelization (so they say; seems to be a debated practice.) Nevertheless, I opted for a very simple mix of apple juice, cider vinegar and my bbq rub.

2 cloves garlic, minced
Active Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 8 to 24 hours
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Special Equipment: Charcoal, hickory wood chunks, BBQ mopping brush and/or silicone basting brush, rib rack (optional), charcoal grill or smoker, chimney starter (highly recommended), blender or food processor

Every now and then I need an easy button. Between working on ebooks, deadlines for contracted recipe development and cooking for my client during the week, I am often feeling rushed or too worn out to do a whole lot in my free time. Having all this work coming my way is a great problem to have, it just means I need to get a lot better at managing my schedule now! Part of that means figuring out ways to cook for special occasions that are less of a time commitment than I'm used to making. A great example of this came up last month on Easter Sunday, when I volunteered to prepare dinner at a wounded veterans' retreat in my town. (It was an amazing experience personally and professionally, so more on that in another post!) With most of my day committed to working somewhere else, I wanted to whip up something for my family for brunch instead of a traditional holiday dinner. The thought literally came together the night before as I was doing some last minute shopping for the catered dinner. I needed to choose a brunch menu that wouldn't require overnight prep or creating a big mess in the kitchen since I would only have a couple hours in the morning to pull it off.


I picked up ingredients for a classic bagel platter with a couple different cream cheese flavors, smoked whitefish spread, smoked salmon, fresh tomatoes, red onions, capers and dill. To round out the meal I did a very simple ham and chive frittata and some crispy duck fat roasted potatoes. It turned out to be a beautiful spread that had a little something for everybody's taste buds. The dishes took about an hour to make and plate, giving us plenty of time to sit down as a family before I had to get started on my work for the day. It was such a simple menu compared to the kind of thing I probably would have attempted had I had a whole day to plan, but it was an "aha" moment for me in realizing that sometimes less is more. Everybody was happy, full, and I didn't have to stress out or spend a lot of money to make that happen. It gave me a ton of ideas of ways I can streamline brunch menus for my private chef opportunities too, which is always a good thing.


The second "aha" moment came after I got home that night from work. I had a successful dinner but was completely exhausted from the whole weekend, which had also included some belated birthday festivities. My family had gone out to eat for Easter dinner, so there were no leftovers to dig into...womp. But, there was a little bit of smoked salmon left from brunch which I had tossed in a tupperware container with the remaining tomatoes, onions and capers. I grabbed half a bagel, slathered it with jalapeno cream cheese and just piled the leftover smoked salmon "salad" on top. It was so ridiculously perfect and even better than what I had eaten that morning. It wasn't exactly an innovative combination, I mean these are classic bagel toppings. But the way the juices from the tomato combined with the caper brine and essentially pickled the onions as it all marinated... listen. This was definitely a better version of something that is already a good thing. It reminded me of bruschetta a little bit. I was drawn to how fresh, flavorful and simple it would be to make mini versions of my bagel as crostini for a brunch party. So that's how this recipe came about. The best part of it is that there is no real cooking involved, just popping a pan of bagel halves in the oven to toast. The tomato relish can be prepared a few hours ahead of time, and would actually be even better that way so I encourage it. This would make a fun appetizer for a spring or summer brunch, such as Mother's Day which is right around the corner! I recommend taking advantage of the heirloom tomato varieties coming into season now which come in a range of vivid colors. Also, I would not judge you at all if you made a tray of these for yourself, so no party is necessary as an excuse. They're that good, that easy, and you deserve!



Ingredients:
8 mini bagels (plain, whole wheat or "everything" varieties would all work)
1/4 cup melted butter

This blog post was sponsored by Sweet Baby Ray’s, but the opinions are all my own.

We have finally made it out of the winter season and into spring! I don’t know about you, but I’m a little tired of dragging out my heavy pots and slow cookers. It’s a great time of year to get out of the kitchen and take advantage of perfect outdoor cooking weather. I’m excited to share an easy recipe for spicy, saucy, grilled chicken wraps featuring Sweet Baby Ray’s Buffalo Wing Sauce! The recipe is broken down into three major steps, starting with a buttermilk brine to tenderize and season this lean cut of chicken. Buttermilk is one of my favorite grilling marinades because it helps keep the meat moist as it cooks and creates a crusty charred surface. The marinated chicken breasts are then grilled over high heat, which can be done on a gas or charcoal grill. Halfway through the grilling process they are slathered with plenty of buffalo sauce, which was a fun change from barbecue sauce for grilled chicken. Finally, the wraps are assembled with chopped grilled chicken and all the fixings. I think a homemade blue cheese or ranch dressing really sets everything off but feel free to use your favorite and most convenient condiments here. After all, the idea is to get out of the kitchen for an afternoon and enjoy this amazing season!

Sometimes tacos fix everything, at least temporarily.

Today needed to be one of those days. It was interesting to come across an older post of mine for Ground Beef and Chorizo Tacos, in which I vented about where I was at in my life almost two years ago. Things felt pretty shaky back then. I was virtually unemployed, transitioning from blogger to chef, toying with the idea of publishing my first cookbook and adjusting to life at home with a baby. Social media was driving me crazy and my ongoing battles with mental health weren't helping in that arena. I remember feeling like my passion and determination was drowning in self-doubt. It was a pretty dark period in my personal life, so much so that I avoid dwelling on it too much. It made me a little sad to read that post, because I wish that I could have reached out and reassured my younger self that things were going to be okay. Two years later, I have in fact accomplished most of the things I was worried about. I'm working as a freelance private chef, signed with a talent management agency to expand my brand, and published three (!) cookbooks, all while raising a thriving toddler and teenager on my own. (Unfortunately social media is still a thorn in my side, for all of the same reasons.)



That reality check was needed today, while I am feeling pretty beat up by life in general. No matter how proud I am to have gotten this far, there are so many more things I need to achieve to get back on my own feet. (As many of you know, I did attempt to go back to a full-time accounting position over the summer, which thankfully was a horrible experience and didn't last very long. I say thankfully because it isn't where I'm supposed to be.)  Everybody will tell you that starting your own business is hard, but nobody can really explain how absolutely terrifying it feels to not know when your next check is coming. They certainly don't tell you how lonely it can be to work alone, or how nerve-wracking it is to be solely responsible for your company's success or failure. Sharing my life publicly with nearly 80,000 strangers online has been both a lifeline and the source of many of my triggers. I find myself relating less to my family and friends offline, who did not choose such a crazy path. After years of both sacrificing and hiding from a social life, the phone rarely rings these days and even if it did, I'm not sure how to verbalize what it is that I'm going through. I'm not sure if I can piece together parts of my personal life that have been shattered by so much change. I'm desperately in need of exercise and a better diet yet too stressed to think about taking the first step. And as ridiculous and stupid as it sounds, Valentine's Day coming up feels like cheap table salt rubbed into freshly opened wounds.

Do I need to mention how awful the news gets every day? Ugh.

I was just looking for the tacos, but it turns out that I needed to read that two year old post today. As gut-wrenching as it can be to look back, it offered perspective and proof that life does eventually work itself out. The times in my past that felt impossible have always been periods of growth. Right now that is painful and ugly, and about as difficult as things get. The hurt comes in waves, and much like labor pains, takes my breath away at times. The last couple of days in particular have felt brutal and there were moments that I wanted to walk away from this all. But if there is anything I have learned from my own trials and tribulations, this too shall pass. I know that I have been through worse, that I possess the tenacity to stick this out. So if I can just be patient and allow the process of transformation to happen, this will all give way to something new. Spring is literally and figuratively, right around the corner. In the meantime... thank god for tacos.


Over the holidays I spent a little bit of time pushing some culinary boundaries thanks in part to my sister and brother-in-law visiting. Jordan and Fola live in London now, but Fola is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, where they lived prior to getting married. Although I haven't been able to visit them overseas yet, their love of food always inspires me to cook with an international palate in mind. The first time I ever had Nigerian food was from a cookout during their wedding celebrations a few years back, and ever since I'd been itching to attempt some of the dishes. With Jordan and Fola around to offer some feedback, I did just that. By the end of their trip, I was feeling pretty good about my jollof rice! The dish I had the most fun with was grilled beef suya, a popular Nigerian street food. It's interesting attempting to cook something you've never had, but it helps to break things down into what you do know and go from there. I know how to grill, and I was comfortable working with beef, so what it really came down to was learning how to make a proper suya spice blend. I hit the internet to do my research and got the gist of things. One of my favorite blogs, Kitchen Butterfly, provided a wealth of information on Nigerian cuisine. Fola's taste buds were final confirmation, of course!



After grinding up an aromatic blend of peanuts, ginger, paprika and other spices, I knew at once that suya spice was going to become my new addiction. Like the Frank's Red Hot lady, I've been putting that shit on everything. I did take my own advice and cooked a traditional preparation first, hence the skewered beef seasoned with a thick coating of suya spice and grilled over open flame. Fola advised me that this sort of snack would typically be served with sliced tomatoes and onions, so that's exactly what we had. It was amazing. The beef was fragrant, smoky and spicy, with the flavor of peanuts, chile pepper and ginger giving it the unmistakable essence of West African food. The tomato and onions, which I merely salted and squeezed with lime, were such a brilliantly simple accompaniment that it made me question why we'd ever bother with more complicated salads.  Everything I cooked that week made me yearn for an actual trip to Nigeria. Someday, I'll get there! For now, I'm excited to continue learning, especially the dishes that feature ingredients not often used in American cooking.

Today's post is the result of my foray into Nigerian cooking and a really terrible day that could only be fixed with tacos. I will turn anything into a taco. Let's just get that out of the way. I love tacos and they're something I've always turned to for comfort. While fusion food has become somewhat of a cliché, the challenge of taking the ingredients of one cuisine and fitting them into the formula of another is particularly well suited to tacos. So that's all I did here. Nigerian street food meets Mexican street food. It works, and the recipe is below.

(If you were compelled to endure all of my rambling tonight... thank you for listening.)

Ingredients:

For the suya spice (makes about 1 cup):
1/2 cup shelled and peeled raw peanuts
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp cayenne
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp white pepper
1 crushed bouillon cube or 1 tsp poultry seasoning (optional)

For the tacos:
1 pound thin cut boneless rib eye steaks
2 tbsp butter, melted
Kosher salt, as needed
1/2 cup suya spice (recipe above), more as needed
Neutral cooking oil, for the grill (such as canola or grape seed)
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime
Corn tortillas, preferably handmade style

Active Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: Serves 2
Special Equipment: cast iron grill pan or skillet, food processor, instant read meat thermometer