BBQ Sauce + Marinara + Leftover Pulled Pork = Barbecue Spaghetti

My parents have this dish on a regular basis so I finally got around making it and it does not disappoint! It is great for turning leftover pulled pork (or insert your meat of choice here) into an entirely new dish that is a universal crowd pleaser (who doesn’t like spaghetti?). At my dad’s recommendation, I didn’t use only BBQ sauce as the base of the sauce but a half/half combination of BBQ sauce and spaghetti sauce- BBQ sauce on it’s own for this dish is overpowering. The leftover pulled pork sauce is also great as a sloppy joe the next day- how is that for a creative use of leftovers? In reference to the Neely’s – the original idea for this recipe is based on the original recipe by Patrick and Gina Neely- you may have seen them on “Down Home With the Neely’s” on the food network. Patrick and Gina always appear like they are going to break out into a make-out session mid-show. I love me some Neely’s, they are just too funny.

Ingredients: (keep in mind this can be adapted based on how much leftover pork you are using)

Directions:

Prepare your spaghetti as directed. Meanwhile, chop up your pepper, onions and garlic. Now, heat up a sauce pan on medium heat and saute your peppers and onions. Add your garlic last so it doesn’t burn. Next add your BBQ sauce and marinara sauce, then add your chopped up chipotle peppers. Mix together and bring to a slight simmer. Now add your meat and let all the flavors meld together for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a nice salad and you have a VERY hearty meal that pairs a love for pasta with a BBQ undertone. Now this is what I call BBQ fusion!

This is my go-to coleslaw recipe, you will love this- it pairs well with everything!

I heart coleslaw. When I go to a new BBQ restaurant, if their coleslaw is not up to par, it ruins the experience for me, even if their meat is good. I’m always trying to eat low carb (hence how I got my start grilling) and am always looking for new veggies and coleslaw recipes to try that aren’t loaded in fat and calories. Great coleslaw is a paring of great flavors without swimming in mayo!

The mix of cilantro, lime juice, chipotle peppers and crisp apples make for an exotic coleslaw that pairs awesomely with fish, pulled pork, and just about anything. Plus, it is made with non fat yogurt and low fat mayo so it is a low guilt recipe! My friend Steve has eaten an entire batch of this slaw in one day, so I will take that as a compliment.

Ingredients

• half head cabbage (green or red cabbage is fine)- or half a bag of pre-shredded cabbage mix
• one medium sized apple or pear, chopped fine
• 3 tblsp. chopped fresh cilantro. (you cannot use dried cilantro.)
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion, (or half of a small onion)
• 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped (add more if you like spice!)
• 1/4 c. mayonaise (I prefer light mayo, you can’t tell the difference in this recipe)
• 1/4 c. nonfat plain yogurt or nonfat Sour Cream
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. lemon or lime juice (+ more to taste if the slaw is too dry)
• 1 tbsp. sugar or splenda (I use splenda- the lower the calories the better!)

Directions:

I mix all the wet ingredients first then add the sugar, grated apple, peppers, cilantro, etc then the cabbage at the end. Let this slaw sit for 30 minutes to marinate first.

This is my “go to” coleslaw recipe. Let me know what you think- I promise you won’t be disappointed!

These are so easy yet so good. Leftover Prime Rib really makes this sandwich but you can always buy roast beef from the deli.

What to do when you have a large amount of Prime Rib leftover? Make French Dip sammies of course! This is a quick and easy crowd pleaser that is suitable for a hearty lunch or dinner. If you don’t have prime rib in the house, you can always buy deli roast beef but it prime rib would be my first choice! This is one of those dishes that will make you look like a Culinary Goddess but is easy-peasy to make.

Ingredients:

• One baguette of French Bread or Sourdough, sliced length-wise
• 1 lb prime rib or roast beef, thinly sliced
• 8-10 slices provolone cheese
• 32 oz (1 qt) beef broth

Secretariat Dipping sauce (optional) or horseradish mayo (mayo with a little horseradish mixed in)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the baguette in half lengthwise. Place the baguette on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Layer both sides with the provolone cheese. To the side of the baguette on the cookie sheet, put the roast beef on the foil so it can heat at the same time. Bake about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Let the baguette/cheese and meat roast in the oven until the cheese is melted. Meanwhile, heat the beef stock on the stove until hot.

Pull the baguette out of the oven and place on a cutting board. Place the meat evenly on the bottom baguette and place the other baguette on top. Slice into 3″ sandwiches and serve with a small single serving of beef broth per person. Serve with secretariat sauce or horseradish mayo.

Dinner is served and it took you less than 15 minutes!

Garlic Basil Butter Texas Toast- alway a crowd pleaser. Shown here with mango salsa skewers.

This is one of my most popular recipes by far and it’s SO EASY! I make grilled Texas Toast all the time at my Women’s Grilling Clinics and these are supremely addictive and there are never any leftovers. It surprising how easy it is to make creative compound butters with whatever herbs you might have on hand, and the bread gets beautiful char marks on the grill. Texas Toast loaded in butter is by no means a “healthy” option, but sometimes you just have to give in to temptation and let yourself have a piece.

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf bread, sliced into 2” pieces
• 1 batch compound butter

Directions:

Take a loaf of your favorite type of bread and slice 4-6 (or more depending on how many pieces you want to make) 2” inch pieces. Spread them generously with the compound butter.

While grilling your meat on the grill on direct heat, put your bread on indirect heat until char marks form. You can put the Texas toast on direct heat (directly above the coals or gas burner) but you will need to watch them very carefully to ensure the pieces do not burn, no more than a minute a side.

Texas Toast is done when the bread starts to get slight grill marks and butter turns golden brown.

Basil Compound Butter

A compound butter is simply butter whipped together with your favorite ingredients. Get creative and use your own herb/ingredient combination to complement your meal!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh basil
• Sea salt to taste

Directions: Let butter come to room temperature. DO NOT melt in the microwave, it will change the texture of the butter. Combine butter and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to puree the ingredients. Put in an easy to access container and store in the refrigerator.

Congratulations, you just made your first compound butter!!

A queso dip with spicy Chorizo sausage- yum! Awesome photo from John Dawson, www.patiodaddiobbq.com

John Dawson, from PatioDaddio, is part of my all star line up for my “Tailgating 2.0 Series”. No tailgate is complete without a dip, and this one is quite the crowd pleaser.

“This queso dip is great for parties, an afternoon snack, or dip for tailgating! Its ingredients include chorizo, chili beans, chile powder, and hot sauce. Adjust the hotness to your liking by playing around with the levels of chile powder and hot sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Chorizo, chopped fine
• 1 can (15 oz) Chili beans, undrained (I used Bush’s)
• 16 oz Velveeta® Mexican Mild, cubed to 1/2″
• 3/4 cup Whole milk
• 1 tsp New Mexico chili powder
• 1 tsp Your favorite hot sauce

Directions
Brown the chorizo in a non-reactive skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the beans and bring just to a simmer.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cheese and let it melt.

Add the milk, chili powder and hot sauce, then bring back to a low simmer.

Reduce heat to low.

Mash the beans gently with a potato masher and stir to recombine.

Serve warm with tortilla chips and enjoy!

Note: You can adjust the consistency of the finished dip by adding milk to make it thinner, or by letting it reduce to tighten it up.”

These are truly beautiful filets cut from the Chateaubriand. Look at that marbling!

When I got this beautiful piece of meat from Grand Western Steaks, I was a little intimidated. I mean, you don’t get to grill a Chateaubriand, the choicest cut of Beef Tenderloin available, everyday. My parents were in town so there was cause for celebration, and I was happy to have my dad in town (he is a walking encyclopedia of BBQ and grilling information) to discuss the best way to grill the beef tenderloin on the egg.

While I sliced, butterflied and grilled the tenderloin, many people will roast or grill the entire piece at once.

Chateaubriand is a special cut of beef tenderloin, and Grand Western offers Sterling Silver beef, essentially the top 2% of prime available. In other words, this is well marbled, perfectly cut piece of meat. If you want restaurant quality steaks, Grand Western now offers home delivery, giving companies like Omaha Steaks a run for the money.

Because my mom wants her piece well done, and we all want our piece rare, we decide to slice the tenderloin in thick cuts, and then butterfly the cuts for a quick grill. While most Chateaubriand is done more like a roast, we all wanted to ensure that we had a medium rare steak and since the end would cook more quickly, we decided this was the way to go. So, we sliced the chateaubriand in 4″ pieces and then butterflied them, which turned them into 2″ pieces.

After butterflying the chateaubriand pieces, I coated each piece in olive oil, then added a dash of bourbon smoked sea salt and pepper. This meat is so perfect, it doesn’t need much.

We heated the BGE to 400 degrees and grilled the tenderloin for 3 minutes each side. We then pulled them off the grill and tented them in foil for 10 minutes (tenting in foil allows for the meat to reabsorb the juices). While these steaks were only on a total of 6 minutes for perfectly medium rare steaks, keep in mind that the meat will continue to cook when you take them off the grill while they are being “tented”.

I paired this steak with baked stuffed tomatoes and a red onion relish, recipes to come soon!

We paired the Chateaubriand with stuffed tomatoes (this recipe will be coming soon) that complemented the meat well. Paired with a nice red wine, this was the perfect meal to celebrate my 33rd birthday!

Got a favorite way to grill beef tenderloin? I’d love to hear how you grill this awesome cut of meat.

Bacon + your favorite rub= grilling success and world domination!

Here’s a great recipe for a bacon paste that you can put on just about anything! Our friend Kirk Muncrief from over at albukirkyseasonings.com  used this bacon paste on chicken kebabs and it looks awesome! I never would have thought to have made a “paste” out of bacon, but the idea is ingenius! We all know that BACON MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER! Thanks for sharing Kirk, this recipe is sure to add wow factor to just about anything. Just like Kirk’s seasonings add wow factor! thanks for sharing your fun recipe Kirk!

Ingredients

4 Slices of Bacon

2 Teaspoons of AlbuKirky BBQ Rub

Directions

Blend ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly blended into a paste. Use the paste to flavor anything from chicken kabobs to burgers.  Maybe put a little on your “vegetarian” friends veggies, JK.

Atomic Buffalo Turds, perfect for your next tailgate! photo by Chris from NibbleMeThis.com

Atomic Buffalo Turds are one of the most popular appetizers with BBQ folks. These from Chris at Nibble Me This look absolutely fantastic! If you haven’t had an “Atomic Buffalo Turd” before, make this recipe and you’ll see why they’re so popular! These are great for a tailgate, or anytime as they are that good!

Great looking cowboy caviar including avocado, beans, peppers corn and tomatoes for a healthy dip at your next tailgate. Great photo and recipe courtesy of Krystal from www.recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

When I saw this recipe from Krystal on her blog “Recipesofacheapskate,” I knew this would be perfect to feature in my “Tailgating 2.0″ line up!

When I lived in Atlanta, I did a lot of tailgating at the UGA games and “Cowboy Caviar” was a tailgate staple with all my girlfriends. This dip is full of veggies, good monounsaturated fat and fiber from the beans so you don’t have to feel to guilty for noshing on this at a game or party!

Thanks again to Krystal for sharing her recipe and wonderful photo!

COWBOY CAVIAR

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn, rinsed
• 2-3 tomatoes, diced
• 1-2 bell peppers, diced
• 2-3 avocado, diced
• approx 5 green onions, chopped
• handful cilantro, minced finely
• 1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
• corn chips, for serving

Combine the above (except the chips) in a large bowl.  Stir gently, so as not to destroy the avocado, and let chill for about 30 minutes before serving so the flavors will mix together nicely.  Serve with corn chips.

As I was snapping the photo, the fire crackled and I caught it in the shot! Jalapenos + prosciutto + havarti = heaven!

None of these are EVER left over at my parties or tailgates. They are simple to make and grill, and aren’t too spicy because the seeds from the jalapeno have been removed. Sometimes I make these for dinner because I love them that much.

 Ingredients:

•  10 jalapenos- tops cut off, with seeds and insides removed
• one (6 -8 0z) package of prosciutto
• 8 ounces of havarti cheese (or your favorite type of cheese). Cut cheese into lengthwise pieces the length of the jalapenos. They will need to be skinny enough to fit inside the jalapeno after being wrapped with prosciutto.

Ready to pop in your mouth!

Directions:

After removing the tops and seeds of the jalapenos, wrap the cheese pieces with a piece of prosciutto. (Make sure to portion out the prosciutto so that there is enough for all the poppers.) After each piece of cheese is wrapped with a piece of prosciutto, stuff it inside the jalapeno as far as it will go. Repeat this process with all the poppers.

Prepare a grill for medium direct heat (about 350 degrees). Grill the poppers for about 8 minutes total, 4 minutes each side, or until nice char marks form and the cheese begins to melt.

Pull off the grill and serve! These will be the hit of the party, guaranteed!