Pork Tenderloin with Herbed Mustard Potatoes or Idle Hands are the Devil's Something or Other....

Butterballs!
It is I (or we!) the triumphant!  Returning to you from an abnormally long hiatus.  Turns out this adulting thing can kind of take over your life and make you forget things like your hopes and dreams.

It has come to my attention that there is a lady (I assume a lady???) who has (I shit you not) adopted a cat, named it Butters (maybe, at least that's this facsimile's stage name), and purchased the domain name for Cooking with Butters.  It's not me.  I haven't the slightest how someone who apparently has so much web-based knowledge (her page is admittedly nice looking, though unattended for the last year or so...) could not be creative enough to come up with her own concept, but, alas- there are now two "Cooking with Butters" out in the universe.  To be fair, I myself have not been as attentive to this page as I could have been over the last two years or so, so I suppose I should be flattered that my concept was apparently so appealing as to be stolen by someone else.

I'm working hard to get back into things that have given me a lot of joy over the years, and learning to balance my work life (which in itself obviously gives me lots and lots of joy!) with my personal life and my numerous hobbies that have frankly become more and more neglected as I come home more and more exhausted.  I'm starting with my blog, and my endeavors into food in general!

As I take this time to re-explore my own interests, it has become abundantly clear that I am passionate about meat (*crickets chirp*).  Between my salmon smoking (stay tuned as we build a new smoker this summer- I've officially run two charcoal grills right smack into the ground.  On a related note, if anyone has access to a two drawer file cabinet in need of a home, hit me up!), and my somewhat time-consuming and abrasive habit of re-butchering anything that I purchase at the grocery store, I'm just truly interested in carnage in general.

Thankfully, grilling season is finally upon us!  We've had an unforgivably long and disgusting winter during which it was so horribly cold and wet, we hardly left the house at all, and the BBQ, at a whopping 50 feet from the back door, could've just as easily been in Siberia, so it's been a minute since we've really just toasted the crap out of anything.  The last week it's finally warmed up enough to venture one furry (yep) leg out from the comfort of my love seat, so I took the opportunity on Tuesday to make this delightful pork tenderloin.

Speaking of re-butchering, these $4 pork tenderloins from Walmart (yes, you get what you pay for) are often somewhat of a crapshoot.  This one was absolutely perfect!  Just the right amount of fat cap, two pounds of perfect tenderloin.  You'll need:

2 lb. pork tenderloin
Italian seasoning
Smoked paprika
Salt and cracked black pepper
Olive oil

For the herbed potatoes:
2 cans of whole new potatoes
2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
Olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper
1 and 1/2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
Grillin' skillet (or similar thingy)

Start by coating the tenderloin in the olive oil, then liberally rub with the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and paprika (light on the paprika).  Heat your grill to 450 degrees, clean grates and rub with olive oil.  Sear each side of the tenderloin, then turn heat down to 325, and take off of direct heat, leave for 25 minutes, turning halfway through, or until meat has reached an internal temp of 145 degrees.

For the potatoes:  Drain liquid from cans, put potatoes in bowl, coat liberally with seasoning and olive oil (reserve mustard for later).  Toss until they are coated evenly.  Place in grill pan over high heat, stir occasionally until they develop a brown crust on both sides.  Remove from heat, place potatoes in bowl, add mustard to bowl, and toss until the potatoes are coated.

I don't have a finished product photo- we gobbled it up way too fast, but here is a prep pic, complete with a glass of rose, my grilling beverage of choice as of late.

In closing, it's good to be back, my lovelies!  Stay tuned for all sorts of delightful culinary hijinx as the cat takes back the internet!

XOXO

Summer Honey BBQ Baby Back Ribs, or One Girl, Two Grills

Happy Monday to all, sweet Butterballs!

After spending literally the entire weekend on the river, I am nursing an armpit sunburn with crime dramas, leftover hotdogs from yesterday's impromptu BBQ, and doing ALL the laundry.  A few of my nearest and dearest took me on my maiden floating voyage on the Clark Fork yesterday, so I can now say that my summer just got a little more "Missoula" after completing this right of passage.  For those unfamiliar with the sport of floating, you get yourself a giant inner tube (all the local gas stations start selling these at a premium around the last week of June), some box wine (or whatever floats your, ahem, tube...), slather yourself in sunscreen to the best of your ability, and take to the river in all your lazy, sundrenched glory.  Like this:

Bonus points for velcro water sandals or a permanent sunglasses outline burned into your face.  My lovely bunch of buddies strapped five tubes to the top of a Subaru sedan.  We only had to stop twice to re-secure them.  The second time we stopped, two elderly tourists from Florida demanded that we pose with our tube-laden vehicle because, "No one's going to believe this in Boca!"

 
All this weekend warrior-ing is making me somewhat of a home-body during the week.  Last week, I decided to smoke up some more salmon for next week's appetizers while my parents are here.  While I was waiting for my fish to be wrapped up, I found a gloriously inexpensive rack of baby back ribs.  This was a new adventure for me, as generally, BBQ saucy things are not my favorite.  Matt usually demands Famous Dave's for his birthday.  I steal one of his ribs, then order the catfish for myself.  I spent the next couple of hours bouncing between the indoor kitchen, my salmon on the charcoal grill, and my ribs on the gas grill.  Matt found the whole thing hilarious and photographed it for your viewing pleasure.

Most of the work in baby back ribs is in the prep work.  Mostly prepping the sauce, and removing the membrane on the inside of the rib cage.  To remove the membrane, flip the ribs over so the meaty side is on your cutting board.  Make a small slit with a sharp knife in between two of the ribs.  Time to get dirty!  Using your fingers, separate the thin layer of membrane (looks like sausage casing) from what would be the inside of the chest wall.  Make sure you get all of it; it will make the ribs much easier to cut, and chew once they are done.

For the sauce:  I have a special spot in my heart for artisanal local beer.  My seasonal favorite is Big Sky Brewery's Summer Honey.  It was the only beer we had at our wedding, so it will always have a little soft spot in my heart, and my liver.  Usually I only reserve it for drinking with a slice of lemon, but in this case, it definitely has a starring role in the sauce.

 
Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 bottle of Summer Honey (or your favorite light summer ale)
1 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili flake
3 tablespoons (or to taste) sriracha
course ground black pepper to taste, plus a little kosher salt

Add all ingredients into a medium saucepan, adding the beer last.  Set to simmer on medium high heat, whisking until all ingredients are combined, then occasionally until the sauce has darkened, and thickened considerably.  Remove from heat, put in a bowl with a grill safe brush for glazing.

Simmering Sauce

Finished Sauce

Cut your rib rack into two smaller, equal racks.  Place your ribs over medium heat, with the remaining burners on high.  Glaze each side of the racks with BBQ sauce, 15 minutes per side, turning once.  Keep the lid closed in between glazing and flipping.  Reserve a little sauce for a final, salmonella free glazing right as they're finished.  

Let stand for about five minutes to let them cool and to let the sauce set.  Slice in between each rib.  We ate them with zucchini from the garden grilled with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Serves 2.

If you'd like, you can double the sauce recipe to make more ribs, or to put in a jar in the freezer for faster prep the next time.  Just be sure to use a bigger sauce pan to contain the mess! 

As always Butterballs, it's a pleasure cooking for you.  I hope you are enjoying the middle, hottest days of summer, and that you are staying cool with the ones you love. 

Love and best fishes!
Mwah!

Grilled Balsamic Pork Roast! Or, under-done meat, demon neighbor children, and other things you don't want at your BBQ...

Good afternoon, dear, sweet, Butterballs!
How delightful it is to be able to have the time to write to you on more than just a every so often basis!  Thanks a bunch for reading and all the shares!  It's so awesome to know that the fat cat is reaching more than just my personal audience!

As I pen today's blog, I am being serenaded by the dulcet screams of neighbor children.  Now, one might assume that I should be concerned for the safety of said screaming neighbor children.  No.  They're fine.  They just spend all their time screaming.  All day strong, all day long.  Poor Dexter has been spending 99.9% of his time barking wildly at them from the safety of his doggy bed in front of the window since school got out in June.  They don't limit their time to wailing at the top of their lungs in my front yard.  Oh no.  They divide the rest of their time equally between standing smack in the middle of the street playing handheld video games, racing you on their bikes when you drive into the cul de sac, and picking all of our flowers and leaving them in piles on the sidewalk.  Most recently, i.e. five minutes ago, our littlest cherub walked up to the window by our front door, and started pounding on the glass in Dexter's face, as he froths at the mouth, hoping for a sweet chunk of baby meat.  Who needs birth control, amiright?  It's because of these angelic little darlings that Matt and I have mostly retired the wine porch in front of the house, in favor of the much more private, nice and quiet back porch.  There's only so many times you can be asked, "What are you eating?  Can I have some?", by a complete stranger while trying to enjoy your hastily made porch dinner until you eventually snap.  So, Matt and I decided to build a patio in the backyard, since A. We hate watering our crappy grass, and B. Our front patio was no longer safe from the sticky little fingers of death.

It started out easy enough.  Just digging a 60 square foot hole in the grass behind our garage.

Then came the trip to Lowe's.  Then the trip to Home Depot.  Then another trip to Lowe's.  Then it was 11 o'clock and I wanted that SOB finished, so I slapped all the pavers on top of the sand and called it a deck.

We had a couple days of rain, and we weren't able to use it yet.  It wasn't until Matt was outside a couple days later, and our neighbor handed us an enormous set of dirt levelers (completely well-intentioned of course...) that we realized there was an issue.  We went out in the backyard, and everything had totally shifted and fallen apart.  Then came another trip to Lowe's.  2nd time's the charm with patio building apparently, because after some serious Googling, we eventually figured out what it was supposed to look like.  Hooray!  Now we just needed some stuff to put on it to cover the remaining physical imperfections.

If you were my first graders I might ask, "What are some things you could do outside, on a patio?"  You might answer, "Read a book!", "Play with my dog!", "Spiderman!".  All of which would be excellent answers.  Except Spiderman.  The answer I'm clearly looking for is, "Drink beer and BBQ, Mrs. Raffety!"  Yes, little Billy, you know me so well!  My parents and I went in on a grill for Matt for his birthday last Sunday, and to date, I've spent more time playing with it than he has, but no one is really surprised by that are they?  So, crack open your favorite summer ale, and join me on your half-assed patio, kids, because it's time for balsamic pork roast!

Pork roast?  How will that get done on a gas grill?  Hey, you know, it doesn't.  Not unless you give it enough time at the right temperature.  So, I'm editing this a smidge so you don't have to cut yours in half to get it finished because you are hangry, and you've already eaten all of your asparagus just hot off the grill.  Not that that happened to me or anything.  I'm a professional.  *serious cook face*.

Pork roast is a great blank canvas for whatever flavor du jour you're gunning for.  It can be a lot of fun to mess around with different flavor combos.  I can't take credit for this little factoid because I know I read it somewhere else...  But!  A good formula to stick with is acid + oil + seasoning.  So in this particular instance we went with, balsamic vinegar and chardonnay + olive oil + dijon mustard, parsley, salt, pepper and chilli flake.  Buh-bam!  Marinade.  Easy-Peasy.  Apologies in advance that there are no food photos of this particular endeavor.  Just picture a cantaloupe sized piece of meat smothered in delicious.  See?  Not so hard :)

You'll need:
a 3-4 lb. pork roast (or, turkey breast, but I tend to shy away from super strong flavor combos with turkey since it's so flavorful on it's own...)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (cheap!  You're mixing it with what I can only assume will be equally cheap white wine after all.)
1/2 cup white wine, I used chardonnay
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
a little chili flake, 'cuz that's how we do...

Whisk all of that together (except the pork roast... which goes without saying), reserve about a third of it for glazing as you grill.  Marinate the pork roast for about an hour, flipping a couple of times.  Heat your grill to high, sear the roast on all sides.  Turn your center burners down to medium, with the roast over those, and close the grill lid.  Turn every fifteen minutes or so (adding a coat of marinade) for about an hour, or until your pork reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  Cut into slices.  We ate it with grilled asparagus and potato salad.

Some other marinade combos you might enjoy:

• White wine + olive oil + sriracha, parsley, cumin, salt and pepper
• Lime juice + olive oil + sriracha, chili flake, garlic salt, pepper, cilantro
• Balsamic vinegar + olive oil + basil, salt and pepper
• White wine and lemon juice (be careful, it's a slippery slope) + olive oil + rosemary, salt and pepper

 Voila!  Stay tuned for more grill-tastic recipes!  Hope your summer is all the fun you've been hoping for.  Have a cold one for me!  As always, Butterballs, thanks for reading, lots of love and best fishes from me, Matt, Dexter, and the fat cat! 

El Pollo del Diablo (Or how to use a whole bottle of sriracha...)

Hey there lovely Butterballs!
My, what a lot of time we're spending together lately!  Also, thanks a bunch for reading!  My views have almost doubled in the last month or so! 

Butters, Matt and I have been doing an obscene amount of entertaining lately.  I realized just how many people have been coming and going when I went to fill the dishwasher this evening, and there were 23 cups of different varieties, and 2 plates.  This might also speak to what kind of entertaining we've been doing, but this is a family show. 

As you know, Pecker has been here for the week, and just departed this morning.  Upon her arrival last Saturday, I wanted to make something super special.  Our typical go-to for grilling is bratwurst.  You could blame our time in Austria for this, but really it's because they take little to no effort and you can eat a lot of them before you're full (or maybe that's just me...).  I put chicken legs on Matt's shopping list, but nothing else.  Then I decided I'd make a tasty marinade!  But with what?  SOOOOO MUCH SRIRACHA. 

Earlier this summer, I planted an herb garden in our former BBQ that I've painted purple and yellow.  It's life as a BBQ ended tragically short when some holes rusted through the bottom, and hot coals would fall out the bottom onto the sidewalk.  In between being a BBQ and an herb garden, it sat in the rain for a while and got all rusty.  Apparently this is the perfect storm for growing crap, because my herbs are HUMONGOUS.  Particularly my parsley.  It's almost as big as Butters, and you know that's saying something.  So my next step was to chop a lot of parsley.  My lovely pal Guido went to Albertson's to fetch me some lime juice since we didn't have a speck of citrus in the house.

To make my chicken leg marinade you will need:
Roughly 3/4 cup sriracha (Yep.  You can use more or less depending on how spicy of a product you want.  Our end product was a little more than medium spicy.)
The juice of 3 limes (or about a 1/4 cup of pre-squeezed)
1/2 cup oaky white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
5 shakes tabasco
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 - 1 tsp of chili flakes
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (normally I'm all about substitutions, but the fresh parsley is an important step for texture...)
kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Whisk it all up, and reserve half of the mixture to baste your chicken with as you grill it.  It should look like this:

Let your chicken soak in the remaining mixture at least an hour, turning frequently.  Keep the raw meat in the fridge.  Read: SALMONELLA.  Make sure it stays cold until cooking!  Once you've started to cook your meat, don't cross contaminate your different containers of marinade.  Do not use the bowl that had the chicken in it to baste your cooking chicken.  I like to use a charcoal grill.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with gas, I just like the smokey taste that the charcoal gives whatever you're cooking.  Baste your legs as you turn them, making sure to get some of the parsley on all sides (this gives them an herby crunch once the herbs dry from cooking).  Cook until juices run clear, the meat should stay fairly juicy since you'll be basting it continually.  They should look like this! 

If you have some marinade left that hasn't been exposed to raw meat, you can serve it on the side for a saucier experience!  You could use any cut of poultry or pork with this marinade.  Enjoy, apparently it makes you have big cheesy grins!

Happy cooking, Butterballs!  Don't forget to like, share and follow, and most importantly, cook!