Church Picnic

This past Sunday our church had our annual spring picnic. Much of the afternoon was filled with tornado warnings and a tree had fallen across the street less than a mile from the church. However, we were not to be deterred. You can't tell from the pictures of the grill but there were four or five "shelves" that roated inside in the grill. This is the way to do church picnics! You can notice the propane tank at one end...this was just to get the charcoal started.

Though I can never imagine me needing a grill this size it sure was fun to see in action!

Community Group

We are a part of a neighborhood community group through our church. We have dinner each week and a great time of fellowship and prayer. This past week Robert was kind enough to cook burgers. The burgers were great. I donated a pound or so of venison burger to add to the other burgers...but Robert did it all. I didn't get a chance to ask him was marinade he used but the burgers were excellent.

Grilled Ribs

Once again spring is in the air and it is time to cook some ribs. This past Saturday was "We love Homewood Day" and was the perfect opportunity for ribs. First thing in the morning we headed to the park two blocks away for the hot-air balloon ride. Unfortunately it was too windy and rainy.



Around lunch time I began marinating the ribs. I usually marinade in a combination of fruit juice and barbecue sauce. After about three hours of soaking I wrapped them in foil and placed them on indirect heat to cook all day. The community parade took place at six and while we were there we invited two more couples to join us. Once back home I added hot dogs for the children and a couple of chicken breasts for the ladies. Also, I removed the cooked ribs from the foil packs, added my favorite dry-rub, and let them dry for about 20 minutes.


If you ever want me to cook ribs for you, please let me know. You supply the food and supplies and I will take care of the rest.

Venison and T-Bones

Okay, so venison and a beef T-bone are an unusual combination. I agree. However, upon checking the deep freeze and seeing what option we had this is what stood out. There were several t-bone steaks and plenty of venison items.

Pork Chops

We do not regularly eat pork. No specific reason. We do enjoy the taste of pork but usually keep our eyes open for chicken to go on sale. However, this weekend I decided to cook pork chops. I made a rub and a dipping sauce.

In the rub I used:

1 t. fresh pepper

1 t. paprika

1 t. brown sugar

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. onion powder

Though I do not often make a dipping sauce I do enjoy it from time to time. I am a total amateur when it comes to knowing what to include in a dipping sauce. I followed a recipe but did add to it. This is what I used:

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

2 T. sorghum

1 T. white vinegar

1 T. brown sugar

2 t. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. fresh black pepper

a few drops of Tabasco

Splash of bourbon

I combined these ingredients and cooked them on the stove top until boiling. Next time I make the dipping sauce I would probably use less water in order to have a thicker sauce. I would probably also use slightly more Tabasco.

Cedar Plank Fish

After Aunt Ellen's birthday we had two left-over catfish filets. These filets were "blackened" following a recipe that I found on All Recipes.com. That recipe called for cooking the fish in a cast-iron skillet. Instead, as you can see, I cooked them on a cedar plank. The "blackened" recipe called for:

1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

The fish took longer to cook than I anticipated but were perfect.

Grilled Catfish

Happy Birthday Aunt Ellen. Last week Aunt Ellen had a birthday and requested some type of fish. I grilled catfish and they turned out nice. To prepare them, I crushed a sleeve of crackers and added a little bit of Greek seasoning. They were dipped in melted butter, of course, to help the crackers mixture stick to the fish. Grilled on gas for about fifteen minutes.

I purchased six catfish filets. They were so large that two were saved to cook later.