Mothers Day BBQ Ribs and Shrimp

This weekend the show was one the road to beautiful Roseville and Nevada City for a quick Mothers Day jaunt to see the family and some friends.

Our good friends Stephen and Kim Zachar from Memphis brought us out this rub from the famous Rendezvous restaurant and while it is a good rub, it contains MSG so I wanted to use this and one of my own to see which one would win the battle.

My rub contained brown sugar, smoked paprika, chili powder, dry mustard, salt, pepper, a dash of cayenne.


This is the Traeger smoker that uses wood pellets and a hot rod to smoke.


The ribs have been rubbed the night before at the beautiful Roller residence in Roseville...


The two racks about 2 hours into the cooking.


While the ribs were cooking, I started some New Orleans style BBQ shrimp, ironically enough there is no use of a grill or smoker to BBQ these shrimp, just a couple of pots and pans...2 lbs of shrimp is started with removing shells (which need to be saved) and dusted with a generous portion of Cajun seasoning and wrapped and kept cool in the fridge.


To start off you need some onion and garlic, 1/2 cup of worcestershire sauce and a 1/2 cup of dry white wine, 3 lemons peeled and sectioned and a couple of bay leaves.


Cook the onion and garlic in some olive oil for a minute or two (so technical!)...


Then add all the ingredients including the removed shrimp shells a cup of water and some salt and pepper...

Turn the heat to a simmer and let it cook up for 20-30 minutes...


Then strain the sauce into a smaller sauce pan, bring to a vigorous boil and let it cook down to a syrupy conistency, about 15 more minutes, this will be the BBQ sauce...


Get a cup of cream and 2-3 tablespoons of butter ready...


Cook the shrimp in some olive oil for about 2-3 minutes over med heat and add the BBQ sauce and cream and cook for a few more minutes...


Remove the skrimps with some thongs or tongs, whatever you have available and add the butter to make even more rich and delicious...


Took the ribs off after smoking at 200 degrees for 6 hours...Whooooooo boy!

Licking my lips...



Finished the shrimp with some green onions...



Heavenly...


This finished plate with a smoked/baked potato, some brocoli rasin salad and some Bush's Baked Beans (give me a break!)

In case you were wondering who won the rib rub battle...it was MINE...sorry Rendezvous.


Next weeks meal! J/K Sally.

Osso Bucco

Mollie Stones had some nice looking veal shanks on sale for $3.99 a lb., never having tried osso bucco, or veal shanks in general, I decided Sunday is as good a day as any to prepare this slow-cooked classic.

Start things off with a uniform cut mirepoix using one yellow onion, one carrot, one rib of celery and a minced garlic clove or two...

Make a bouquet-garni with sprigs of thyme, rosemary, parsley, and a couple of whole cloves (you can use whatever whole spices and herbs you have handy)

Be sure to tie up the shanks with some butchers or cooking twine to keep the meat from falling off the bone, dredge in flour and brown in a butter and olive oil mix...do in shifts, adding more olive oil and butter if necessary...remove the shanks and add some more butter/olive oil and add the onion and some minced garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, deglaze the pan with some dry white, sherry, Marsala, chicken stock, water or whatever you have handy scrape the brown bits and add the celery and carrots and cook through, about 7 minutes...

Return the shanks and whatever juices have formed on the plate, along with a can of diced tomatoes, a cup of chicken broth and the bouquet-garni to the dutch oven and place in a 325 degree oven for about 2 hours basting with the sauce every 45 minutes. I also added a little tomato paste...
Make up a gremolate with parsley, lemon zest and a minced garlic clove...don't worry the lemon zest really subdues the raw garlic!


Optional...after 2 hours take out the osso bucco and keep in a warm oven, strain the sauce and boil til reduced to about 2 cups, it will definitely thicken up a bit! Glaze over the warming shanks a few times to reheat...


The finished product! The meat on the bone turned out to be a little fattier than I hoped, although the real star is the blackened bone marrow. You use a small instrument to retrieve the tasty goodness from the center of the bone...it's rich and decadent.

I served it with some instant Yukon gold potatoes from Costco and some green beans from Trader Joes...risotto and polenta are popular side dishes.

Leftover I have a whole lot of fresh thyme and rosemary which will be put to use in the next installment of "Tiny Kitchen Chronicles"

P.S. The food pictures will improve over time!