America's Best BBQ... Ardie Davis & Paul Kirk

 
by Larry Cox

‘America’s Best BBQ: 100 Recipes from America’s Best Smokehouses, Pits, Shacks, Rib Joints, Roadhouses, and Restaurants’
By Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk (Andrews McMeel, $19.99)

Being a seventh-generation Southerner, it’s no secret that barbecue is embedded in my DNA. I have driven hundreds of miles out of my way to sample a good barbecue joint.
In recent years, I’ve sampled such delights as the spicy pit barbeque at The Dixie Pig in Blytheville, Ark., munched my way through a platter of smoked pig snoots at Smoki O’s in St. Louis, and tracked down a Texas gourmet treat, namely brisket nachos, a staple at Tom’s Ribs in San Antonio.

Ardie A. Davis, a certified judge in several barbecue events and cook-offs, and Chef Paul Kirk, barbecue guru and winner of more than 475 cooking awards, crisscrossed America in search of the best barbecue joints in the country. After investigating some 8,000 restaurants, they listed their top 100 picks in a fascinating new book.
In addition to recipes for meat, meat and more meat, there are dozens of delicious entries for starters, sides and even desserts. This is one of the more fun collections I’ve seen and it is being published just in time for the summer backyard cooking season.
Barbecue joints from 25 states are represented including Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. The only Arizona restaurant to make the cut is Joe’s Real B-B-Q in Gilbert, renown for its Root Beer Cake.

Three recipes were tested from this collection. Coleslaw from Woody’s Bar-B-Que in Waldenburg, Ark., was a snap to prepare and required only three ingredients in addition to salt and pepper. Smoked hot links, a draw at Barbara Ann’s Bar-B-Que & Motel in Chicago, were spicy and served with baked beans.

My third and favorite tested recipe was for Glazed Barbecued Ribs, a specialty at North Main BBQ in Euless, Texas. The secret spice used is fairly easy to prepare and the finishing mop and glaze added just the right touch.

Glaze for Barbecued Ribs
Serves 6 to 8
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup seasoned salt
3 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 cup garlic salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne
2 slabs of St. Louis-style spareribs

Finishing Mop and Glaze
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 to 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup packed light brown sugar

To make the secret spice, combine all of the ingredients in an airtight container and blend well. Store in a cool, dry place until ready for use or can be saved for up to six months.
Preheat your smoker to 230-250 degrees. Season the ribs all over to taste with secret spice. You can store the rest of the secret spice for up to six months. Place in your smoker and cook for 4 to 6 hours, or until done.

When the ribs are smoking, make the finishing mop and glaze. Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
In the last 10 minutes of cooking time, mop the ribs all over with the finishing sauce.

Tucsonan Larry Cox’s “Shelf Life” book reviews and “Treasures & Trends” antiques column run Thursdays in Calendar Plus.

Story of my life... just kidding.

classmates.com/  looking through the online freshman class annual.

1975 Mesquite High School lunchroom.
Brad Feazell center, Junior Harris right not left, and me the unidentified friend.

In my prayers everyday...

These pictures we see are heartbreaking.  Animals showing more compassion than humans.  When will it stop?  Will it ever stop?  In my prayers everyday I ask the good Lord to tell me what to do.  To use me as his tool.  To help me understand how he can let this continue.  Is this his way of showing humans how we should act?  I wont stop praying, this is what we are supposed to do.  And I will act correctly, I know right from wrong.  Lord you have my word.

Ronnie Halcomb  2/14 13

John Mueller Meat Co. Opens in Exactly 7 Days...

 And I will Be There!!!!!!!!!!!!

Susan M. Pearson

I shall be a believer of all that is good in man and of all that is
deserving in animals. I shall plead for their lives, campaign for their safety and uphold their right to a natural death. I shall seek out the injured and the maimed, the unloved, and the abandoned and tend to them in their last days. I shall not forget their place in the hierarchy of life, nor that we walk in each other's paths. I shall bear witness to the wonder they bring into our lives and to the beauty they bestow upon our souls.

I shall renew their spirits when they are waning, bind their wounds when they bleed, cradle them when they whimper, and comfort them when they mourn.

I shall be near them in their hour of greatest need - a companion and friend when the time has come. I shall watch over them and console them and ask that the angels gather them in their arms. From the creatures of the earth I shall learn the fruits of compassion and undying love, and I shall be called the beloved of God. In their company I shall indeed be blessed.

~ Susan M. Pearson

BBQ with Franklin: Ribs part 1...

I Swear, I'm a good Dog!

Shelters and humane societies were created to care for stray and abused animals. They weren't meant to be a drop-off for people who don't want to be bothered with their pets anymore. Shelters, on average, take in 100 new animals or more each day. Let's face it -- there won't be enough good homes for all of them. Even the best shelters can't boast much more than a 50% adoption rate. Only the youngest, friendliest, cutest and best-behaved dogs and cats are going to be adopted.

By law, stray pets must be kept several days for their owners to reclaim them. They may not be destroyed until that period is up. These laws don't protect pets given up by their owners. They may be destroyed at any time. There just isn't enough room for all of them. Shelters today are so overcrowded that a pet could be killed the same day it arrives. 

Please help when and where you can.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Cruelty-Exposed/363725540304160 

There are around 600 million unwanted, innocent, loving, adoptable dogs in the world, many of whom are put to death, simply because selfish, greedy people keep breeding more puppies to try to make money, thoughtless people reward them & encourage them to keep breeding more by paying large amounts for these puppies when they could have saved an innocent life by adopting. Many later decide the dog is an inconvenience and get rid of it, adding yet more innocent dogs to the huge numbers already put to death (even if they take their own dogs to a 'no kill' rescue, that means death row pound dogs that could have had those lifesaving places, can't, so get put to death instead).

People who buy puppies from pet shops fund the cruelty of puppy farms ( see www.animal-rights-action.com/puppy-farms.html ) where the breeding dogs are abused terribly and inhumanely killed. Some breeders who cannot sell their puppies are known to inhumanely kill the unsold puppies using methods such as drowning.

If nobody bought and everyone adopted, nobody would breed dogs, and eventually, no innocent dogs would die. Nobody wants to admit responsibility and wants to pass the blame, but everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to make this situation better, (and people can by adopting, fostering, sponsoring, volunteering, etc,) or at least not to make it worse by buying, breeding or abandoning dogs, which people know are a lifetime commitment when they take them on.

Love your pets; they are your family too! If you agree that animals feel, suffer, love and the truth about their abuse should be exposed, please honor our work by “like” our page. Thank you! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Cruelty-Exposed/363725540304160

 

Ernesto's Fine Mexican Food Frisco Tx.

 Pretty much guessed what the food was going to taste like Wednesday night at Ernesto's Frisco.  Same as all the other good to extra good tex-mex restaurants in the North Texas area, nothing special just eatable food.  It seems like I've had that exact same taco and enchilada 50 times before.  Not sayin that's a bad thing, for the price it was about right.  There profit will come from the drinks just like all the other tex-mex places around.  Staff was really great, and the area was really clean.  Corn tortilla's very nice along with the salsa get's a A-.  I'll be back.
http://www.ernestosfinemexicanfood.com/ernestos-frisco-tx.html