Your Best Healthy and Fresh Backyard Barbecue Side Dish

 

Ancient Fire and The Manly Housewife and are teaming up again, and this time we are looking for healthy and fresh side dishes for our backyard barbecues.

For the next two weeks, we are asking for visitors to submit comments to this post with a healthy and fresh recipe that they would bring to a backyard BBQ. Defining healthy could be a challenge, so we are going to keep it simple. Recipes should be low in bad fats and salt, with a reasonable calorie count and as many vitamins, minerals, and other good stuff as possible. Maximize the flavors and enjoyment while minimizing the negative impacts. You’re going to be eating burgers and dogs with it after all!

Recipes must include all ingredients with exact measurements, detailed preparation steps, expected servings, and any recommended service steps. Make sure you also tell us why you love a certain ingredient or what your goals were for combining the flavors, and of course anything else that excites you about healthy and fresh food.

The prize for the lucky winners will be a feature in each of the hosts’ blog one day the following week. The hosts will pick multiple winners randomly from all the entries we accept (see the rules above) and will contact winners for more information. Take pictures of anything applicable. If you win and you can get us photos, we’ll post them. Also include the address to contact you at for follow-ups.

Cheers!
 
--Margot & Jason

Pulled Pork with Carmelized Onions, Cole Slaw and Grilled Romaine

(This sign hangs over the island in the kitchen in Vermont. You have to visit to know the truth...)

In April when my parents, Margot and I were at our place in Vermont we were talking about the menu for Vermont house cleanup and summer kick-off weekend, from which we just returned. My mother mentioned she had a pork roast she wanted to use and Margot reminded me of the Food TV show on which we saw a recipe for slow cooked pork with Coca-Cola mentioned. My mother and I collaborated on the plan where she would bring the roast and side dishes and I would bring a dry rub to prep the roast with, the complete recipe and a willingness to pull it off.

When we arrived on Friday night I defrosted the pork and applied the rub. The recipe for the rub was posted on Foodbuzz earlier in the week. You can pick it up at http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/2255787-sweet-smoky-dry-rub.

At about 8:30 the next morning we sliced two onions, placed them in the slow cooker and put the roast on top. Any of the rub was scraped off the plate and dumped in the cooker. More flavor, more better! We then added one 12 oz can of original Coca-Cola, 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 tsp of liquid smoke and turned the cooker on to high.

After two hours we flipped the roast and turned the cooker down to low. For five hours we could smell the roast cooking and were sure we were on to something. In the early afternoon the roase was flipped again. After the five hours we turned the cooker back up to high with the expectation of serving dinner three hours later.

At 5:30 PM I took the roast out and placed it in a roasting pan covered with foil and set it in a 250 degree oven. I removed the onions from the cooker and placed them in a sauté pan with 2 Tbsp of melted butter over medium heat. The onions slowly cooked for 45 minutes and were perfectly caramelized.

The cooking juices from the slow cooker were added to a stock pot and set on medium-high heat. I added

• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1/2 cup of VT maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp of bourbon
• flour to thicken
• salt & pepper to taste

We also grilled some split heads of romaine lettuce drizzled with olive oil and a vegetable seasoning blend. When everything was ready we cut the pork down, it didn't need much, and served it with the onions, BBQ sauce, grilled romaine, cole slaw and potato salad. The picture you have all been waiting for is below.

This recipe came out better than I had expected. We paired it with a 2005 Merlot from our Ancient Fire homemade wines, a wine that was purposely left to age this long to see whether it would last. And it did. It was showing some age, but was still very drinkable. The pairing with the sweet & smoky pork was right on. I also tried it with a 2008 Shiraz, also homemade, and although the wine was fruit-forward and spicy I felt it overwhelmed the dish.

As we at the comments about the meal we were flying fast & furious. Here are a couple to give you an idea of the enthusiasm.

Mom - "That dinner would rival any BBQ dinner you would get in the Big Easy!"

Dad - "When you do pulled pork dinner, make sure you aren't a beginner."

Margot - "I love you, I love you. I feel sad for women whose husbands like sports."

I didn't really know what to say other than it was damn good and I would make it again any day.

Cheers!

--Jason

Beverage Pairings for Everyone at the BBQ

Continuing on from yesterday's backyard party inspired recipe I found a burger that will make guests at your party smile. Today I am going to offer beverage selections for everyone at the party, including children and non-drinkers.

Jennifer at the Wuthering Iris blog shared the recipe for BBQ Chip Beef Burgers which is featured in today's Foodbuzz Top 9. Check it out at:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/2205705-bbq-chip-beef-burgers

The burger will definitely have a spicy backbone so you will need some refreshing drinks to manage the heat.

Serving a medium sweet iced tea infused with peach will be cool and refreshing with flavors that will balance well with the savory and spicy beef. Lipton makes a powdered iced tea mix with peach flavoring. Using such a mix allows the maker to manage how sweet and strong the tea ultimately is. For kids and those with a sweet tooth who crave soda on a hot day, the Pure Cane Strawberry Lime soda from Jones Soda will provide the fruit and sweet to go very well with the burger.

Every day beer drinkers might not give too much thought to pairing specific beers with party food, but I have had so many wonderful experiences when I have that I believe it is well worth it to try. In 2007 I made a honey lemon infused wheat ale that paired very well with everything we served in the backyard that summer. I would recomend trying the Rogue Somer Orange Honey Ale with this burger. This beer has gentle citrus aromas and flavors and a slight sweet taste on the finish. Another choice might the Allagash White. With aromas and flavors of citrus and spice and a mild wheat body it will be refreshing and subtle with any food it is paired with. Both of these beers are easily found in my area for between $7 and $9 for a 22oz/750ml size bottle.

Wine pairings with spicy barbeque food can be done in one of two ways. Medium to off-dry whites with fanciful aromas to tame the spice or fruity bold reds that join with the food to add more complexity to the flavors. I say serve both. Inevitably you will have guests that are more white or more red in their orientation and having both options will bring you much appreciation. When serving wine outdoors during warm weather you will want to keep an eye on the temperature even more than you might other times of the year. Red wines in particular do not taste any good when they are too cold or too warm, and too warm is especially an issue for reds with higher alcohol content. Storing wines in a bucket with ice coming 1/3 or so of the way up the bottle will ensure they stay cool but not cold. The Dr. Loosen QBA Riesling is a wonderful, approachable white wine with enough sweetness to manage any heat, but plenty of fruit flavors and aromas to be enjoyed on its own. This wine is also a steal at $13 and often cheaper when on sale. I have enjoyed a bottle of the Two Hands Angel's Share Shiraz with slow cooked spicy pulled pork and would recomend it here. This wine is very fruity and rich and is an wonderful example of Australian Shiraz. At $23 it is more expensive than my everyday choices, but a backyard party doesn't happen everyday!

Cheers!

--Jason

Summery Bean & Bacon Salad

The weather is starting to turn warm in New England and that is when I start looking forward to cold salads for lunch and as sides at backyard parties. Packed with fiber and protein this dish offers several good things all complimented with a little bacon. Who could ask for anything more?

Summery Bean & Bacon Salad

¾ lb fresh green beans

1 can red beans

1 can Garbanzo beans

1/3 cup roasted Piquillo peppers

2 Tbsp canned diced green chilies

6 slices bacon

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

Cook bacon, let cool and crumble. Chop onions and sauté them in the leftover bacon fat until golden . Let cool. Drain and rinse canned beans. Wash and remove the stems from the fresh beans. Cut beans in half. Chop Piquillo peppers. In a large bowl, combine the beans, peppers, chilies, onion. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper. Then, pour over the beans and toss like a salad. Add bacon and lightly toss again. This salad is best chilled in the fridge for a few hours before serving or overnight. Before serving mix well.

Cheers!

--Jason

Weekend Update

Wine stories from the weekend.

The 2008 Strawberry, 2008 Amarone #2 and the 2009 Pinot Grigio paired well with the pig roast crowd. The Strawberry lasted longer than 3 minutes, but not by much. The rich Amarone was excellent with BBQ food.

The 2009 Strawberry and 2008 Viognier well very well received at Phil and Meredith's Pampered Chef party. The dessert synched up well with the Strawberry wine, which didn't last two hours. The 2008 Viognier has matured so well from an underwhelming wine early on. Good thing I haven't been swilling it.

The 2009 Pinot Noir went into the bottle today. It is a bit hot, but will mellow with some age. It is rich and not overly assertive and should age well.

A new batch of Bordeaux blend was started today. Anurag and I talked winemaking as we bottled one and kicked off another. If these are as good as the 2007's are now in 2011, we will all be very happy!

Triple Threat

Yesterday we ended up opening 3 bottles from the Ancient Fire line, a 2009 Strawberry, 2009 White Blend RG and a 2007 Columbia Valley Riesling. What an amazing flight they ended up making!

The Strawberry was gone in under 3 minutes! This wine is a our flagship wine. This wine is our fan favorite. The smell of the Strawberry wine permeated an area around the folks with cups full. The flavor is subtle, but you sure know what you are drinking.

The White Blend RG, Riseling/Gewurztraminer, was a huge hit as well. We contrasted it with the 2007 CV Riesling which was much drier in its older age. All three went very well with backyard BBQ food on a hot day.

Thank you to Missy and Steve for the great time.

Cheers!

--Jason

BBQ Smoker Experiment

We converted a dead gas grill to a hardwood/charcoal smoker this weekend.

4 lbs ribs, 1 lb chicken and 1/2 lb steak tips later I think we got it.

The smoky flavor was what we drool over when you can get it. Many more times are needed to perfect the technique.

--Jason