Happy Birthday, America!

I woke up on the 4th of July at 5:30 AM, decided that was stupid and went back to sleep until 6:30. I putzed around a bit, wrote and posted the Blog and then got started on my day.

First order of business: making some coffee! Next came starting the baby back ribs. I washed each rack off and patted it dry, and then I removed that white membrane from the backside. I cut each one in half (to make them easier to work with, later) and put them both on a half-sheet pan. I made up the rub mixture and, after covering them with some apple juice and bourbon, massaged it in. Then they went into the oven at 250 degrees F. for 3 1/2 hours (low and slow, baby, low and slow).

I cleaned up the mess from that and started the dishwasher. Then (and only then) I got my first cup of coffee and went out onto the front porch to enjoy it. It's a cool morning (almost Fall-like) and it was nice to sip the hot coffee and watch the squirrels playing in my fresh-trimmed yard. I have another cup and then decide its time to go to work!

Because it is so nice and cool outside (and I have the oven on inside) I opened the kitchen window and the bedroom window (to catch the North breeze) and turned on the kitchen ceiling fan.

Now to make my two salads. I took out the quartered potatoes, inspected each one and cut the larger ones in half again (trying, as always to have a uniform size). Next, I fine-diced half of a medium-sized red onion, chopped two stalks of celery (leaves and all) and, after going out to the patio to harvest it, chop about 1/4 cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley. I added the celery and most of the onion (I held back some to make sure it's not too strong a flavor) to the potatoes and put the parsley in a small bowl.

Now, everybody makes potato salad dressing their own way. Lu, for example, always cut the mayonnaise (well, she used Miracle Whip) with milk as she didn't like it too thick. So, I would encourage you to make it however you prefer it. But here's what I did to make a typical American potato salad dressing: To the chopped parsley, I added one cup of real mayonnaise, two tablespoons of pickle relish, one tablespoon of yellow mustard (French's, in my case), the juice of 1/2 lemon, a little sprinkle of salt (my Mom's going to eat this, you see) and a lot of fresh ground pepper. I whisked that together and folded it into the vegetables. I deliberately did not add my hard-boiled eggs now, as we are still in the taste-testing phase, and if it's not good, I will need them for the "boiled" potato version.

Taste Test Time! I tried a bite and then, after a drink of water, tried another. Excellent! Very different from the somewhat bland version the boiled potatoes make. I am pleased!! When I have the time, I'll write up the recipe and when he has the time, I am sure the Webmaster will post it for you. I peel four large hard-boiled eggs and, using a paring knife instead of the egg slicer, I cut them into big chunks. I think smaller bits of egg would get lost in the bold flavor of the potatoes. I folded them into the potato salad. BTW, I did not add the rest of the diced onion. It seemed just about the right amount to me.

Next, the potato salad gets transferred to the large Tupperware bowl (the only one I own, actually) and goes into the fridge. I wash all the bowls, knives, spoons and measuring stuff and put them in the dish rack to dry. Now, onto the radish and cucumber salad. Oh, its 10:00 AM, now.

If you remember, the second time I tried this recipe, I added scallions. I liked the taste, but the presentation sucked. So, this time I am going to use the other half of the red onion, sliced thin.

So, I clean up the radishes, and cut them into 8ths. Then I peel the English (seedless) cucumber (leaving every other strip of peel on, for looks) and cut it into comparable sized chunks. Then I fine-slice the rest of the onion, using about 1/2 of it (or 1/4 of the whole onion) and add it to the radish and cucumber. I mix up the dressing on the stove, pour it on and taste. Damn good! That goes into a container and into the fridge as well (I'll let it sit out and get to room temperature before I serve it, BTW).

I again clean up the mess (for the last time, I hope) and decide I've been standing on my feet WAY too long. So, I go and watch a 1/2 hour taped cooking show. Then I get back up and light the charcoal in the grille. Next, I go up in the attic to find my sleeping bag (I have to keep the ribs warm on the trip to Lake Orion, you see).

Now comes the tricky part: Caramelizing the sauce on the grill (which cooks off the alcohol, but leaves the flavor - we don't want any drunken Grandma episodes on my watch) without burning the meat. So, I take the ribs out of the oven and prepare the grill (cleaning it off with a brush, and then oiling it with my tongs, and a kitchen towel soaked with vegetable oil).

I am using an entire bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's Hot and Spicy barbeque sauce, mixed with 1/4 cup of Jim Beam bourbon as my basting mixture. I sauce the bone sides of all four pieces and put them on. While they are getting happy, I sauce the meat side. I put down the lid and once the smoke starts to build, I peek and then turn them over. I sauce the bone side again and shut the lid. Smoke builds up; I open the lid and flip them, but this time to the outer edges (for more indirect heat) and sauce the meat side. Again, the smoke lets me know its time, so I flip them over and finish the meat side. I pulled them off, put them in a deeper half-sheet pan and pour the juices left from the oven sheet pan over them. I covered them with two sheets of tinfoil and put them back into the oven on "Warm" (170 degrees F.)

I open the vents on the grill to burn it all off and close the garage door. Then, I go to shave and shower just before 12:30 PM. Once I have cleaned up, I filled the cooler with two frozen containers of split pea soup, one frozen container of potato soup, the potato salad, the radish and cucumber salad and an extra bottle of the barbeque sauce (for those who think they might need it). That went in the back seat, and the ribs in their pan were wrapped in two big towels and stuck in the sleeping bag. At 1:00 PM, I am on my way!

When I turned off of I-75 onto Lapeer Road, I was about 10 minutes away. So, I called my brother Carl and, once I determined he was at the cottage already, I asked him to turn the oven on "Warm" for me. He said he'd like to, but couldn't as the oven never worked on that stove since they put it in! (Houston, we have a problem...) I drove the rest of the way to the cottage contemplating my too few options for keeping the ribs warm.

When I got there, gathered around the picnic table were my sister-in-law Jean, Greg, Mary and Haley (I'm sure its Haley, but not sure this is the correct spelling), my brother Joe and Kathy with their grandson Devon and the newest addition to the family, their granddaughter Cloe and, of course, my brother Carl. Greg was cooking brats on a portable gas grille.

I went up to say hello to Mom and then after chatting a bit, I went back to the car to bring in my food. Devon offered to help, so he carried the cooler and I carried the sheet pan of still pretty hot ribs.

Back downstairs, I offered my potato salad, ribs and the radish salad. At first I got a few polite "No, thanks, we have enough," but then they said sure. Seems my niece Mary has checked out the recipes on the website, made my bacon-wrapped meatloaf and it was a family hit! So, she grilled me about what was in each dish. The roasted potato salad was a universal favorite as were the ribs, but the radish salad got mixed reviews (Most people said they liked it, but Carl said he thought it was a bit bland. I explained I didn't dare put any salt on it and that was what was missing).

Throughout the length of my visit, the following people also showed up:

- Jean's son Rob and his friend Anna, (they had just gotten back from Peru).
- My sister Anne's daughter, Lora, Austin and Champ, their big black lab. Today was the first I'd heard that Lora is pregnant!
- Joe's daughter Julie (Cloe's mom).
- My nephew Russell and his daughter, then his brother John and his sons.
- Finally my brother Carl's daughter Hannah, he husband Kal and two of their children.

Later, some friends of Hannah's and Betty from down the street also came over.

My brother Joe has taken some cooking classes on the cruises he and Kathy have been on, so they brought me some of the recipes.

I caught up on all the latest family gossip (Cloe is about to lose her "newbie" status as Carl should be the first Great-Grandfather of us brothers sometime in the next two weeks; Joe and Kathy have three cruises scheduled this year, Alaska, Europe and the Caribbean; Russell and John, who work for my brother-in-law Terry in his painting business, are just keeping their heads above water and spending a lot of time home, as new construction starts in Michigan have all but dried up, etc.)

Mom seems to be doing just fine. She told me how frustrating it is to forget someone's name during a discussion. I told her I do it all the time, myself. Other than that, she seemed to be in her element, on her beloved front porch, entertaining visitors and watching the kids swim.

Cora mostly stayed in her bedroom. I'm not sure if it was the hubbub of all the people or she is just shy. I did talk to her, now and then, and she really likes staying out at the cottage.

Checked out the various improvements people have made to the place. Mom's bedroom has been completely rearranged (to make it easier for her to get into bed, my nephew's Russell and John rebuilt the wood on the dock, Joe and Carl bolted the shower stall to the walls in the bathroom (before, it was freestanding and a little shaky) the plumbing to the shower has been totally redone and, best of all (and the hit of the day), the low-flush handicapped toilet. Most of the guys (including myself) ended up taking off the back of the toilet and flushing it, just to see it work. It was the damnedest thing!

I started cleaning up my food offerings. Less than a small bowlful of potato salad and about the same of the radish salad was left, but I covered them up with Saran Wrap and put them in the fridge. There was one remaining rack of ribs. Mom asked me to save her some, so I sliced them all up and put them in a baggie, also in the fridge and then told Cora about them.

I made my goodbyes and left at about 5:45 PM. The ride home was uneventful, except for the large number of cars pulled over by the cops. It was a good reminder to keep my speed down. I got home just before 7:00 PM, pulled the now-cold grille back inside and emptied out the car. I put everything in to soak because I am really beat! I'll get it in the morning.

I changed clothes and then it hit me: I was having so much fun getting people to try my food, I forgot to eat any! I did, of course have a small amount of the roasted potato salad and the radish and cucumber salad during the tasting. And, I have made those ribs enough; I know exactly how good they taste. But, right now, I am hungry!

So, I warmed up the leftover pierogies, top them with sour cream and take them in the bedroom to watch TV and rest my poor knees. Not much on, so I settled for the original "Jaws" and watched that until about 9:30, when the booms outside started to come more frequently.

I wandered out to the front porch to watch the fireworks. Now, this is not a community-sponsored event, just neighbors near and far who apparently have a lot more money than common sense. Most were the medium height, sky rockets that burst into multi-colored sparkles. But some of them, the mortars shook the house windows and the bursts were as big as I've ever seen!

The poor fireflies were SO confused! It let up after an hour or so, so I went back in and went to sleep. Nice, nice day...