PEPSI-COLA BBQ SAUCED CHICKEN AND RIBS

New Bern is a Pepsi town, a fact I discovered in 1992 during our first visit.  We went for lunch at the Chelsea Restaurant downtown and I ordered a Coke.  "We only serve Pepsi here," was the waitress' reply.  Then I spied the huge Pepsi mural on the wall behind the bar, painted by the now-deceased and much-revered New Bern artist, WillieTaglieri.  A 1984 postcard immortalized this beautiful painting.

The reason we're a Pepsi town is simple:  it was invented here.  Created and developed in 1898 and introduced as "Brad's Drink", it was later renamed as Pepsi-Cola on June 16, 1903, then to Pepsi in 1961. 

In honor of Caleb Bradham's creation, I've developed a recipe for barbecued chicken and ribs using Pepsi.

The BBQ sauce is sweet and spicy with mild vinegar undertones and a perfect balance of flavors.  It pairs nicely with my rub to make a succulent BBQ dinner.  There's a bit of work involved here, but the good news is you can start ahead of time by making the BBQ sauce and rub a week or more ahead of time.  You can also rub the chicken and ribs two nights ahead, and roast them both the next day and refrigerate overnight.  Then, the day of your BBQ feast, all you have to do is put the pieces on the grill with the BBQ sauce for the final cooking.  Why not give this a try for the upcoming 4th of July?

Pepsi-Cola BBQ-Sauced Chicken and Ribs
Rating:  9 out of 10
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Pepsi BBQ Sauce:
1-1/2 tsp. garlic, grated
1/8 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
1-1/2 cups Pepsi
1/4 tsp. dry powdered mustard
1/4 tsp. Grey Poupon
3/4 cups ketchup
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
1-1/2 tsp. McCormick's hot New Mexico chili powder (or 1-3/4 tsp. chili powder)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
2-1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice

In small saucepan, combine all ingredients except lime juice.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes.  Cool slightly.  Stir in lime juice.  Taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt, pepper and/or hot sauce, as desired.  (Can be made up to a week ahead and refrigerated.)

Chicken and Ribs:
2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed
2 tsp. chipotle chile powder

1 rack of Baby Back Ribs
1 whole chicken cut up, or 2-1/2 to 3 lbs. of chicken pieces 
(If chicken is no-water-added, it should be brined for one hour first in a solution of  1/4 cup salt and 2 Tbsp. honey or sugar to 1 quart of water plus garlic and any herbs of choice.)

In small bowl, combine salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano and chile powder.  Blot chicken and ribs well with paper towels to remove all excess moisture.  Lay chicken pieces on large baking sheet.  Lay whole slab of ribs on another baking sheet.  Sprinkle each with rub; turn over and sprinkle underside with rub.  Use up all the rub.  Cover each baking sheet with plastic wrap well and refrigerate at least 5 hours, or, preferably, overnight.

Remove plastic wrap from ribs.  Pour 1/2 cup water or chicken broth into pan; cover with tinfoil.  Place in 325F oven for about 2 hours, or till tender.  

Remove plastic wrap from chicken.  Pour 1/2 cup water or chicken broth in pan; cover with tinfoil.  Place pan in 325F oven and bake 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake additional 20 to 30 minutes, or till tender.  

Meats can be prepared in advance up to this point and refrigerated a day ahead, if desired.

In the meantime, heat a gas grill to 400-425F.  Cut ribs into pieces.  Pour some sauce into a small bowl, reserving some for serving.  Oil the grates well and place ribs and chicken on hot grill.  Cover grill lid and cook about 5 minutes.  Baste with sauce.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Turn pieces over.  Baste with sauce.  Cook 5 minutes.  Repeat so that both sides are basted twice.  Transfer to serving platter and serve with extra sauce.  Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen.

MOON PIE FOLLOW-UP TO MY SWOON PIES POST

Several months ago, I met a fellow food blogger from Raleigh, Pat Palmer.  Pat, a tried and true Southern gal, was in New Bern for the antique show and looked me up after having found my blog while surfing.  We spent a few enjoyable hours together, chatting away about food and blogging.

Pat has her own blog, "Gadding About with Grandpat."  Though I don't visit it as often as I would like, it's a good read.  When I posted about Southern Living's Swoon Pies, Pat left me a comment that it was serendipity because she, at almost the same time, was posting about moon pies.  It's a small blogging world, after all.  Check out Pat's post on moon pies.

SWOON PIES

Coming from the Northeast, I had heard of whoopie pies (origin Pennsylvania, or perhaps New England, depending on which story you believe).  Moon pies, though, were a new one on me.  Southern Living's February 2012 issue brought me up to speed on one of the South's most beloved sweet treats.  But they decided to put their own S'more's twist on moon pies, by making a graham cracker cookie sandwiched with marshmallow filling, then dipped in melted chocolate and chopped nuts.  The photo (above) looked so inviting -- so "swoon" worthy -- that I decided to make them.

Southern Living insisted the swoon pies, like the original moon pies, paired well with an RC cola, but I passed on that idea.  While I was swooning over the swoon pies, a friend came over.  Originally from the deep South, he said he was transported back to his childhood, when he and his friends ate moon pies and swigged down RC colas.  I'm not recommending anyone repeat that tradition, as there's plenty of sugar in these delightful cookies without the added cola.

These cookies are amazing and well worth the trouble of making them.  I wrapped up the leftovers individually in plastic wrap and froze them.  Thank you, Southern Living, for another great recipe.

Swoon Pies
Adapted from Southern Living Magazine, February 2012
Rating:  10 out of 10
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INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. Diamond kosher salt, or table salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia + 2 Tbsp. sugar)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade extract.)
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream (I used plain non-fat Greek yogurt)
Parchment paper
Marshmallow filling (recipe follows)
6 oz. (about 1/2 pkg.) semisweet chocolate morsels
2 tsp. shortening (I used butter)
Toppings:  chopped roasted salted pecans, chopped crystallized ginger, sea salt

Heat oven to 350F.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; stir in graham cracker crumbs.

Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with paddle attachment of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, beating until blended.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream (or yogurt), beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed.

Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350F 13-15 minutes or until set and bottoms are golden brown.  Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Make Marshmallow Filling:  Beat 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened unsalted butter with electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, beating well.  Add 1 cup marshmallow creme and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.  Beat until well blended.

Turn 12 cookies over, bottom sides up.  Spread each with 1 heaping tablespoonful Marshmallow Filling.  Top with remaining 12 cookies, bottom sides down, and press gently to spread filling to edges.  Freeze on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

Pour water to depth of 1 inch in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer; place chocolate and shortening (or butter) in a medium-size heatproof bowl over simmering water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5-6 minutes or until melted.  Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove cookies from freezer, and let stand 10 minutes.

Dip half of each cookie sandwich into melted chocolate mixture.  Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with desired toppings and freeze 10 minutes or until chocolate is set.  Cookie sandwiches may be covered with plastic wrap and stored in fridge up to 24 hours.  Or wrap each sandwich individually in plastic wrap and place in freeze container for longer storage.

WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR TENDER DRY-AGED RIBEYE?!!!

I've written about home dry-aging of beef before, several times.  Hubby and I have been doing it for a few years now.  In New Jersey, we had a butcher who provided us with phenomenal dry-aged beef.  After several years of trying to find that beef in or near New Bern, we finally decided to do it ourselves.

Since the ribeye is the easiest cut to dry-age at home, that's what we usually buy, though we have done a combination of wet and dry aging for filet mignon.  Sam's Club has been our favorite supplier of a whole ribeye, though we have bought a few at Harris Teeter when they go on sale, usually around Christmas time.  I'll admit it, the ribeye is a heart attack on a plate.  It should be consumed infrequently, for sure.  (Try telling that to my other half.)  All that fat marbled in the meat is what makes the ribeye so tender, juicy and flavorful.

Anyway, there is a story to tell here.  Recently, we made a trip to Greenville Sam's Club to purchase a ribeye.  The case was empty.  Hubby called the person on duty who said he would get one.  He opened a box, weighed the meat, labeled it, and off we went, meat in hand, to start another aging routine.  Twenty-three days later, we looked at the meat we just butchered:  twelve beautiful steaks stared back at us, though we both remarked that they didn't look like ribeyes.  We weren't sure what they did look like, though.

We separated scrap meat from the fat.

The scraps were cut into chunks.

 Then we ground them in the food processor.

The scraps yielded seven lovely, juicy burgers.

As for the steaks, our first bite was disappointing, to say the least.  These were not tender and juicy like previous steaks had been.  What was wrong?  It's not that the steaks were tough and dry, they just weren't as good as expected, and our senior jaws and teeth weren't happy.  The steaks were definitely chewy.

A few weeks later, on a trip to Greenville, we stopped into Sam's Club and talked to Daniel, the Meat Manager, about our disappointing steaks.  After a long discussion, Daniel told us the person on duty the day we bought the "ribeye" mistakenly sold us a loin.  Then he took us to the meat case where the loins and ribeyes sat, side by side.  Both are top-quality Black Angus, boneless and look identical, except for the labeling.  A closer inspection revealed one distinguishing pattern on the ribeye, where the ribs had been removed.  The loin had no such marks.   Daniel said it took him a few months to be able to quickly tell them apart.  Daniel admitted that, even with dry aging, the loin can never be as tender as a ribeye.  

Because Sam's Club wants to be known for the quality of its meat, Daniel gave us a new ribeye at no charge.  (I presented him with our receipt, of course.  Usually, Sam's Club also requires that the meat be returned, but I explained to Daniel that it was home in our freezer.)  We appreciate Sam's Club standing by its products, and we especially appreciate Daniel's thoroughness in analyzing what went wrong.

BLUE WATER WATERFRONT GRILL, WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC

We've lived in New Bern since 1993, but had never set foot in Wrightsville Beach until last Friday.  As we crossed the bridge to get there, I was amazed at how beautiful and well groomed the entrance was.  Blue Water Grill is right over the bridge, on the waterfront.  The restaurant has curb appeal as you enter, and only gets better once you are inside.

Clean, neat lines take your eye to the waterfront ahead.  You can eat inside or out, and we opted for out, as did most everyone else who was there.  It was a beautiful day, and the views were too outstanding to ignore.

Boaters can dock at Blue Water and come in for a quick bite or a leisurely lunch.  Service is friendly and quick and the waitresses are easy on the eye.

Guy opted for one of the day's specials:  Lump Crab Salad Pita with lettuce, tomato and avocado, served with French Fries ($9.99).

The presentation may be lacking, but Guy said the taste was there.  The lump crab meat seemed squashed, but he loved it anyway.

My Baja Fish Wrap ($9.99) was a little disappointing, though it tasted okay.  Breaded and fried fish bites -- not too many of them -- left me a little hungry.  I picked the fish bites out, leaving the wrap which I didn't want.  The fries were deliciously crisp but most of those stayed on my plate with the wrap.

The food may be a bit overpriced for the amount and quality, but we'll still go back to get more of that wonderful view.  Just how much is a view worth?  It's a personal decision, but for us it's worth a lot.  There's just something about water that soothes the soul.

'R GARDEN'S SWISS CHARD

My Sicilian mother-in-law loved Swiss chard.  In my younger years, unfortunately, I was vegetable-averse and never tried it.  In fact, it wasn't until I was at the New Bern Farmer's Market last fall that I was suddenly struck with the urge to buy Swiss chard.  It looked so fresh and beautiful at 'R Garden's stand, obviously fresh picked and still dripping from moisture.  Each leaf was bright green or deep crimson, and each one beckoned me to bring it home.

'R Garden is not totally organic, but they assert they are pesticide free and are striving to convert to chemical-free fertilizers.  Their produce is consistently good quality and I've become a regular customer.

I asked for help with cooking the chard and was told to treat it just like spinach.  In fact, it is a cousin of spinach and it's loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and also helps to regulate blood sugar.  It's one of the most healthful vegetables you can eat and tastes a lot like spinach.

My favorite way to cook spinach, and now Swiss chard, is to just saute it with a little olive oil.  First, I slice some garlic in the oil and heat it slowly in a heavy frying pan.  When the garlic is golden and sizzling, I take it out and set it aside.  Then I sprinkle some crushed red pepper onto the oil and add the greens.  Sprinkle a little sea salt on the greens and stir for about 30 seconds or till they start to wilt.  Serve with the garlic pieces on top as a garnish, if desired.  Absolutely delicious, and so very simple and easy.

FRONT STREET GRILL AT STILLWATER

Signage is on Front Street

Whenever I can find a restaurant that focuses on the quality and freshness of organic and sustainable prime ingredients and local products, I'm all in.  That's why we ate at the Front Street Grill in Beaufort.  The theme in Front Street Grill's dishes is “Coastal Food with a Southern Soul.”  Humble southern ingredients (such as local vegetables, fresh fish, smoked ham and stone ground grits)  meet Caribbean spices, for a blend of two cuisines.

Entrance is off of Front Street, towards the water

The dining room is small but tastefully done, and the views are lovely.

The first time we visited, hubby and I both ordered the organic burger ($8.95), made with beef from grass-fed cows.  Served on a toasted Brioche roll with lettuce, tomato and onion and your choice of coleslaw, fries or dressed greens, this burger made us both very happy.  


This time, we decided to branch out.  Hubby ordered the Neuske Ham and Cheese Panini (smoked spiral ham with Monterey Jack and sweet hot mustard on grilled sourdough.....$10.95), and he raved over it.

I ordered the Pit Cooked Pulled Pork sandwich with a house-made BBQ sauce and spicy 

coleslaw on a soft brioche roll ($9.95).  The pulled pork was good (what there was of it), not sure where the BBQ sauce was, but I was still remembering 12 Bones Smokehouse.  Quite honestly, no one could measure up to that.  Also, the waiter goofed on my order and brought me a side of coleslaw, but the sandwich already came with coleslaw, so I got double coleslaw, which I didn't want.  He didn't come back to check on us, so I left the roll and coleslaw and just ate the very small portion of pulled pork.  This was a little bit of a disappointment.

  

Front Street Grill at Stillwater, 300 Front Street, is located in the renovated historic Topsail marine boathouse on the beautiful Beaufort Waterfront.  Stillwater has been renovated to reflect Beaufort's port history, and the restaurant's location offers spectacular views of Carrot Island horses, Taylors Creek dolphins and panoramic sunsets.

Open Tuesday – Sunday | Closed on Mondays | Reservations 252-728-4956 Lunch 11:30 – 2:30 | Dinner 5:30 – 9:30 | Sunday Brunch 11:30 – 2:30 | Rhum Bar Menu 11:30 – close