With apologies to Samuel Clemens, the difference between a hot dog and a chili dog is like the difference between a lightning-bug and the lightning. A hot dog is something you eat because you're hungry. A chili dog is a meal. But, just like most canned foods, the chili you get in a can isn't worth the time it takes to toss it in the microwave. (Oh, umm ... don't actually toss the can in the microwave. That's not what I meant. That would be bad.) … [Read more...]
How To Bake A Perfect Baked Potato – BONUS Cucumber And Onion Salad
May 7, 2008 (Updated March 24, 2014) by
There are plenty of formulas people use to try to figure out how long to bake a potato. Pretty much everyone agrees that traditional baking makes for the lightest, fluffiest results, but no one knows how long to go. This simple trick makes it easy to get the perfect spud every time. … [Read more...]
How To Peel A Cucumber
May 6, 2008 (Updated March 24, 2014) by
If you already have a vegetable peeler and you know how to use it, you can go ahead and click "Back" on your browser now. You won't see anything exciting here. (Seriously. Sometimes a cucumber is just a cucumber.) … [Read more...]
How To Make Barbecue Pork Spareribs
April 30, 2008 (Updated March 23, 2014) by
I've tried lots of different marinades for my ribs, thinking I would get some great flavor into the meat before even cooking it. But with ribs it's all about the sauce. So now I go with a simple preparation to get the tenderest meat, and then finish with a good sauce either under the broiler or on the grill. For this batch I'm using the apple cider sweet onion sauce from yesterday's post. I've heard from a friend that I re-discovered North Carolina BBQ sauce. I went looking and I can't find … [Read more...]
How To Make Grandma’s Apple Cider Sweet Onion Sauce
April 29, 2008 (Updated March 24, 2014) by
Last week my wife was making hamburgers for dinner, and grilled some onions for them. She added a little sugar, something she learned from her father. As I was eating, I thought, "This would be really good on ribs." I went looking and found a bunch of recipes for onion-based barbecue sauces, but all of them had at least as much tomato paste, ketchup or chile peppers as they had onion. What you see below is the experiment that came from that. Was the experiment a success? Let's just say it's a … [Read more...]