Saturday, February 25, 2012

Winter vacation!!!

So last week we took a family vacation to Attitash, NH. and Providence, RI.  Here are just a few of our meals.  The first few days in Attitash we cooked our own meals in the rentals units kitchen.  Not too much to work with, only 1 frying pan and a really dull kitchen knife.  The last few days we ate out a lot!!  We have certain restaurants that we have to go to when we come to town. Ye olde english fish & chips, Kay's restaurant, and Wrights farm.  I'll get more into that when we get to those pictures.



2+lb Lobster.  You can't come to New england and not have lobster.  We got a great deal at $6.99 a lb.

Cooking...

So who doesn't eat lobster in New england??   My husband, thats who.   So I made him this steak.  I let the pan get really hot, for some reason I decided to add a little butter to the pan before the steak.  As soon as the steak hit the pan it started to smoke and before I could crack the window, the smoke alarm went off!  Not just any smoke alarm but one that can only be turned off by the fire department coming into the building and reseting it!! Yeah that was fun!!  And the steak was cooked perfectly!!

Who needs Red Lobster.  

The plastic tag in the rubber band means he's over 2 lbs.



So the first stop we make once we get into Rhode Island is Ye Olde English fish & chips.
So crispy and delicious.  
The second night we went to Kay's.  I didn't take a picture of the food but basically all the serve are sandwiches.  The napkin is the menu. The menu is on a napkin.  How ever you say it, its good.  Sean and I both had Corned beef with swiss cheese.  The are known for their steak sandwiches







The third day we had lunch at the Luxe Burger in downtown Providence.  We ordered a "build your own burger" on a sheet you mark off the things you want.  We both upgraded to Kobi beef,  I went for smoked bacon, aged cheddar and a tomato.  Sean opted for pepper jack cheese and bbq sauce and he got gorgonzola tater tots.  After ice skating it really hit the spot.  

And now I've come to Wright's farm.  This is the menu.  No one orders the steak. No one.  The place is huge (seats 1000 plus 200 in the bar!!)  They are only open Thursday - Sunday. It is normal for there to be a 2 - 3 hour what time.  Reservations are recommended.  
So the server really just takes a drink order and then starts brining food.  Your choices are Salad, Pasta shells with sauce, French fries, and Chicken of course.  

This is Uncle Rick,  He usually eats at least 2 chickens worth of white meat and he eats his pasta with no sauce.  The family goes there pretty much every week.  

This was our table aftermath.

I always go in the gift shop after dinner and get some fudge.  This was the Salted caramel fudge, it was perfect.  Thats poker $$ you see in the background.  



  If you're ever in northern Rhode island I recommend you check these places out.   


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Sunday, February 5, 2012

Super duper super bowl ribs!!!

So tonight was the Super bowl!!  I don't care about the game I just care about whats for dinner.  So ribs were on the menu for tonight.  My famous ribs.  I buy them from B.j.'s, dry rub them and let them rest over night and then in the oven for a few hours.  The house starts to smell good and before you know it, it's time.  This morning I went to the Pinecrest Gardens market, I got some fresh local grown corn, carrots and tomatoes.  





This is how I buy them, 2 racks come in the pack.  Clean off any excess fat.

Place then on a sheet of foil on a baking sheet.

This is my spice rub mix.  Recipe to follow.

Thats me rubbing my ribs.  both sides.

wrap with foil, if rack is too big use extra foil.  Should be wrapped up nice and tight to keep the steam in.

Ready to go in the fridge.  Over night is best.  Take out of fridge an hour or more before its time to put them in the oven.

I use bbq sauce and some kind of fruit juice and dilute it with some water.

Add about a cup of liquid to each and rewrap.

Nice fresh veggies.


Heirloom tomatoes.

I like the dark ones.

Added some extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and oregano.

Roasted fresh carrots.

Out of the oven.







Spice rub:
Brown sugar
White sugar
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Smoked paprika
Sweet paprika
Celery salt
Coriander
Cumin
Ground sage
Ground bay leaves
Ground mustard
Oregano
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
I don't really measure, I just put it all in a jar and shake it up.  I did list in order of quantity.

will also need 
1/4 cup of bbq sauce
1/2 cup fruit juice.  i use a mango, passion, orange juice but I hear apple is good too.
1 1/4 cup water

Make spice rub and rub ribs thoroughly, wrap with foil and let rest over night.  Take out of the fridge 1 or more hours before they are set to go in the oven.  Add liquid and seal well.  Cook at 300 for the first hour.  Don't open the door.  Then reduce heat to 250.  Since i was making 2 racks I rotated them every hour.  Cook for about 4 hours total.  Drain the liquid and cut into separate ribs.  You should need a fork to eat the ribs. 

Carrots:
I par boiled them first for about 8 min then cooled in ice water.  split them in half, a little olive oil and salt and pepper and roast in oven till cooked through.  

Tomatoes:
Heirloom tomatoes
Olive oil
lemon juice
Salt
Oregano

Also made corn on the cob.