Psuedo-live Blogging - Final Update

I like to cook. I like to bake. I like to BBQ. I don't like mean cats, but that's for a different post. So today, I have foolishly decided to BBQ/cook/bake for two separate events. The first one is for tonight, when my parents, Bubba, and Toot's Aunt K. will be coming over for dinner. The second one is for Toots' brother's birthday party, which is tomorrow evening.

Tonight's menu:
BBQ baby back ribs
BBQ chicken thighs.
Homemade pinto beans - and not the ones from the can. These are the dried ones.
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread - from scratch.

I'm getting adventurous. Or crazy.

For those that give a rat's booty, here is my process for smoking ribs. I started at 8:00 this morning:

Here is the rack, right out of the package.




Here is the rack with the inner membrane almost pulled off with a paper towel.



Here is the rack with the rub on it. I used Angelo's Beef Rub, from Fort Worth, TX.



Here she is with saran wrap on her.



Here is the rack all wrapped up in foil for the marinating.



Here are the pinto beans, soaking in water. They seem very happy there, don't they?



I forgot to mention what I am baking for the birthday party tomorrow. It's a Chocolate Expresso Cheesecake with Ganache. I'm not exactly sure what "ganache" means, but it has chocolate and cream, so it has to be good. Here is the recipe.. I also forgot to take pics during the mixing/baking process, but here is a picture of it, cooling in the oven. I'll get a pic when I get the ganache put on it. There is a small crack on the top of the cheesecake, but from what my previous ones looked like, this is a work of art. My previous ones had craters like the Grand Canyon, which is why I put the ganache on it.



If you have never cooked a cheesecake before, let me tell you it is a bit of work. In this recipe, you have to have a bunch of the ingredients at room temperature. I always forget to do that, so I end up having to wait for the ingredients to warm up. Tick, tock, tick, tock...

It's 11:43 A.M., and I've had a very busy morning so far. And it's only beginning...

Oh, one tip to remember if you decide to wrangle this cheesecake recipe, BE SURE TO USE A HEATPROOF BOWL WHEN MELTING THE CHOCOLATE! I learned that the hard way the last time I made this cheesecake. Let's just say that I had glass shrapnel all over the kitchen. No me gusta.

Update:
Here is my pride and joy, my Big Green Egg, which will be getting a workout today.



Apple and hickory wood chips taking a bath. I use about 60:40 apple to hickory. I soak them for about 1 hour.



Update #2 at 4:15 PM:

I realized that my post was getting pretty gay, so here is a pic of my Glock 9mm



I put the ribs on at 2:00, and here is the Egg smoking away.



The chicken thighs, getting ready to have a party in the Egg:



My cheesecake, cooling. It's right before I put on the ganache.



My finished cheesecake. It's OK to drool.



I've got the beans going strong, the thighs are on the egg, and the ribs have been soaking up the smoky goodness for over 2 hours. Mmmmm...

Final Update:

I was so excited about the food being finished, that I forgot to take pics of them before we devoured them. Here are the leftovers, and it was good eats!

The Walls Seem to be Closing In

Our house isn't a small house, but it ain't exactly the Taj Mahal either. I am beginning to realize that with the baby coming, our house is looking MUCH smaller. Our 3/2.5 house is going to need some serious moving of the ole furniture and a redesign of things.

About 3 months ago, we got a wall o' bookshelves for our office, which was desperately needed. The other bedroom is currently a guest bedroom, with a queen sized bed in it. So now with the Little One coming, we need a nursery. So that means that something has gotta give in terms of space. We could shoehorn in the queen bed in the office, and literally have to squeeze around it to get to the computer. I don't think that is gonna work.

Toots and I are in the process of figuring out the best way to use our house. I think that it is going to involve a moving company too, or a heavily bribed brother of mine.

It's gonna be a short post today, because I've caught a case of writer's block.

Keep on keepin' on.

I'm Back in Black

For those 1.34 former readers out there, you'll be glad to know that I actually am writing again! In my defense, sort of, I couldn't for the life of me remember what my password was to Blogger. So I would put it off for a while, and months would go by before I thought of trying to figure out what my password was.

So this morning, victory is mine! After almost 15 minutes of volleys of html links, I finally was able to reset my password. And here I am. Yippee!

Since my last post, circa 2008, not much has happened in my life. It has been pretty bland. I got married to a beautiful woman that shall be called "Toots" in this hear blog, bought a house in the 'burbs, bought a veterinary clinic, and knocked up said wife. And the last 3 events all occurred in the last 12 months. Talk about a busy year!

Toots got her first sonogram of the Little One, who at that point last week was the size of a sesame seed. As a veterinarian that has seen hundreds of horse and cattle fetuses via sonogram, I was a little unimpressed at first of our Little One. That is because all animals and people look the same at this early stage of the game. So, our Little One's sonogram pictures could be a freakin' horse for all I know. Maybe he is...*

The projected launch date of the Little One is March 31, but I am hoping for an April Fool's baby. And then the Little One would pop out 1/2 black, and Toots would say, "Little One is not yours! April Fool's!"

On second thought, I'm pulling for a March 31 shuttle launch. Speaking of launches, we have 2, count them 2, sets of couples that are going to have home births. You couldn't pay me to do that. Oh, and they are going to use cloth diapers for their babies too - and not for the money-saving part of it. I think that they want to save the world, one poo-filled cloth diaper at a time. Good luck to them!

As far as the home-delivery thing goes, I feel pretty confident that I would be fine, because after all, I've delivered plenty of babies into this world. Oh, you mean that it matters that all of the babies I've delivered were animals? Then I think that I will politely pass on the home delivery - unless the midwife comes bringing gifts of Woodford Reserve. Then I would be a-OK with it...Honey, could you pass me a glass with some ice in it - I ain't drinking this neat.

I bought the clinic in April, and it has been an interesting ride to say the least. The first week was more stressful than I ever could have imagined. But now, it's a pretty fun ride. I LOVE being my own boss. Yes, I comes with more responsibilities (like deciding on what color to paint my office, what scrubs to wear - you know, those kinds of responsibilities), but it is a heckuva lot better then being an employee. It is what I was meant to do: run my own vet clinic.

I also fulfilled a life-long dream to become a Dallas Cowboys season ticket holder. I am soooo looking forward to going to the games, tailgating, and other assorted fun, which may or may not include drinking a beer or two.

So brothers and sisters, I will be signing off now. In the future, I'll get some pictures up here and whatnot. So for now, keep on keepin' on.


* I am calling the Little One a boy.

Here is a pic, just to throw you a bone, although it has absolutely nothing to do with this post, except for the fact that Fort Worth is the greatest city...period.