Food, Friends, and Fun

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This weekend was an exceptionally great weekend. It was filled with Food, Friends, and Fun. My wife and I started the weekend off very early Saturday morning in preparations for Dinner that evening with another couple. I had decided to smoke a Boston Butt, and let me tell you I could not have asked for a better day. The temperature was perfect, the sun was shining, the humidity level was spot on, the cosmos aligned and the world was in a perfect place. But I will move on and get to the meat of the matter.

As a general rule of thumb, I try to smoke my meat for 1.5 hours for every pound of meat. I also like the temp on my smoker to be around 220 degrees. These times and temps will vary for each smoker, climate, and personal cooking style. We used a dry rub made with Woody’s seasoning and brown sugar. I also placed it in the smoker with the fat side up. I did this so that all the fat and juices would run down into the proteins of the meat. I must say this turned out really well. The only thing I might have done differently was to apply more dry rub at the beginning to really drive home the flavor. But as for the tenderness and smoky flavor of the meat it was fantastic. It was smoked with cherry wood which seemed to really enhance the flavor. As I pulled the meat off the smoker the aroma was the most sweet, smoky, seductive smell that I have ever had the pleasure to experience. As I let it rest on the counter the anticipation was more than I could stand. I tore (not cut) a rather small portion for tasting. I was not disappointed. The meat literally melted in my mouth. At that moment the joy I experienced was an other worldly experience. As I had my wife taste as well she agreed that the entire process turned out well this time. It is like anything else we may encounter in life, it doesn’t always turn out the way we want but it did this time. We immediately began to pull the pork apart no knife and fork needed here. I also decided to leave part of it chunked because it was just plain good. Lets move on to the sides shall we?

My wife is fast becoming the sides expert in our home. We decided to make brown and serve rolls to save on time. I was not let down they turned out great. They were light, fluffy, little buttery delights. Next  up Cream Cheese Corn, this dish is super easy and fun the trick is the pepper jelly. You add pepper jelly to give it extra zip and a real flavor boost. Moving on is grilled beans with mild sausage and mustard (yes mustard). They were packed full of flavor and tasted great. fire up the grill pre-heat to 350 degrees leave them for around 30 to 45 minutes top. Much longer than that and you will burn them. Lets face it no one wants burned beans. I have done that and it was not a fun time. Now for the dessert, our friends brought two desserts. The first was truly the best take on Banna Pudding I have ever had. The secret which they so graciously provided me with was real vanilla. That’s right real imported vanilla from Mexico. That one dish alone made me a believer. It was so delicious and was just a wonderful finish to a great meal. There was one more surprise. It was a dessert that was new to me and I must say I was impressed. The name of the dish was called Fluff and that’s just what it was light airy and low-fat to boot. It was made with oranges, pineapples, and cool-whip. It was something you could eat a ton of and not feel guilty about it.

Of course no evening is complete without a riveting game of Pictonary and Scooby-Doo Clue. I was refreshed to have an evening filled with good food, good friends, and good fun.