The McRib Experience (AkA the McSponge)

Well, there has been quite a bit of hype about the return of the McRib. Or, as I call it, the Re-Return of the McHype, since this has got to be the best advertising scheme ever in existence. It's got some sort of magnetic, nostalgic, extra-terrestrial draw that keeps addicts jonesing for it and salivating over its return every year.

I myself had never tried one. I mean, it's McPork. How could it be good? But let's face it, it's been around since 1981, and a "recurring" holiday item since 1985. That's nearly 30 years of history, people. So this year... I don't know if the hype was more intense than usual or if I was just thrilled to see a commercial that WASN'T an angry Political Ad... but I decided that this year, 2010, was the year for ME to taste a McRib. I wanted to see what the Big Deal was. I mean, people literally devote fan clubs to this thing. I personally know people who sneak out of their homes AFTER DINNER to eat one... or two... for "Dessert." So, I've gotta try this thing, right?

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it. I didn't suffer from some delusion that I would take one bite and stalk, Zombie-like, to every McDonald's that I passed until the McRib's "Limited Time" was up.

And I was correct.

The McRib.


A "Formed Pork Patty" roughly in the shape of a (smallish) Pork Rib. But no bones. So, basically, it's mechanically separated pork, formed into a "Riblet" shape. Ok. I can see how people would like that. People love Chicken McNuggets. I myself have never had one of those either, but I understand that most people don't have issues with the "Chopped Formed Meat" phenomenon.
The BBQ Sauce. It's a dark, sweet sauce. It's not awful, it's not fabulous.
Pickles and Onions. Typical McD's pickles here but the onions are not the mini-chopped ones I'm used to here. They're "sliced"... sort of. They're largeish chunks of onion. And they're paired with BBQ sauce and Pickles. That's a classic combination. It works.
The Bun. The bun impressed me. I expected something dry, hard, and flavorless. This one was actually soft, yeasty, and fresh-ish. Am I clamoring to the store to try and buy its equal? No. But it was better than expected.

So, then. Back to the "Pork Patty." The essence of the McRib? It was more like a McSponge. Seriously. It rather closely resembled that sponge you remember from your Junior High School cafeteria tables. (Again, I realize that a lot of people don't mind the "Chopped Formed" food phenom, but... for me... Uck.)

The Wrap Up: While the flavor combination of Oink, BBQ Sauce, Pickles and Onions is classic and good... it's still McDonald's. I won't be rushing back for another one (I barely finished my half of this one) nor will I be eagerly anticipating its next "Limited Time" arrival. But, hey, for those of you who love this thing, Yeehaw. It's back.

(For a Limited Time.)

Turkey Salad

Simple. Basic. Old-School.

Ingredients:

1/2 Pound Smoked Turkey, Thinly Sliced
Mayonnaise

Cuisinart

Directions:

Pulse Turkey in Food Processor until uniform. Add Mayonnaise to taste. Pulse until salad is smooth.

Serve with Crackers.

Sour Cream Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream
7 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/ 2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Sift Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, & Salt in a large bowl.

Add Sour Cream to Flour Mixture

In separate bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla together Pour egg mixture into sour cream/flour mixture.

Stir gently until all ingredients are mixed well. Do NOT OVER MIX!

Grease or Butter your skillet. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto hot skillet. Cook the pancake until the edges start to brown and the center begins to bubble. Flip and cook on reverse side 2 minutes-ish. Serve with Butter and Real Maple Syrup. **Preferrably Grade B**

(Recipe inspired by SmittenKitchen adapted from Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes.)

Dark Chocolate Toffee

Ingredients:

Crushed Club Crackers (I Pulverize Mine in a Cuisinart)
1.5 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Sugar
8 oz Semi Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips
1 small metal cake-icing spatula (Works best for spreading chocolate)

Preheat Oven to 400F
Line small cookie sheet with Aluminum Foil (Jelly Roll size pan)
Spread Cracker Crumbs evenly over foil

In saucepan: Melt butter over medium heat. Stir in Sugar and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring.

Pour evenly over Cracker Crumbs.

Bake in 400 Degree Oven for 4-5 minutes (Check so it doesn't burn)

Remove and immediately sprinkle Chocolate Chips over the Toffee. Place back in oven for 30 seconds to soften chips.

Remove and spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee with the Metal Icing Spatula.

You can top with Chopped Nuts or Sprinkles if you like.

Refrigerate 5 hours to overnight until solid.

Break into bite-size pieces.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Macaroni and Cheese

Les Ingredients:
2 Acorn Squash, Split
4 Thick Cut Strips of Bacon
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2.5 Tablespoons of Flour
3 Cups Milk
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Cayenne Pepper
Kosher Salt
2.5 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (Additional for Sprinkling)
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
8 Ounces Pasta. (Shells, Elbows, Penne. Whatever.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Halve the Acorn Squash and remove the seeds. Place in Pyrex Baking Dish cut side up. Add water to bottom of pan (Maybe half an inch). Salt the top of the halved squash. Cover with Tin Foil and Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Meanwhile...

Boil 8 ounces of Pasta 1-2 minutes less than package directions. Drain well.
In large saucepan over medium-low heat, render fat from and cook 4 thick strips of bacon.
Remove bacon when cooked to paper towels.
Add 2 Tablespoons of Butter and melt.
Whisk in 2.5 Tablespoons of flour to make a roux.
Stir the roux over medium heat 2-3 minutes
(At this point I add some flavoring. Freshly Grated Nutmeg and a pinch of Cayenne Pepper are my favorite)
Slowly Whisk in 3 cups of Milk. Continue whisking until it's incorporated. Stir until sauce thickens (5 minutes usually does it)
This is where I add my Kosher Salt. Coupla Pinches.
Add 2.5 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, a little at a time, stirring to incorporate each handful.
Add 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese and stir to incorporate.
Sauce should be thick but not stiff.
Return Par-Boiled Pasta to Cheese Saucepan and Mix Well.
Crumble Bacon into smaller pieces, sprinkle them over the Macaroni and Cheese and Mix to Incorporate.
***The Cheese Sauce will look like it's "Too Much" for the Pasta. It isn't. That's the key to this dish. The pasta should look "over sauced" at this point!***
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, in casserole or Pyrex dish. (I usually put it beside the squash for the last half of cooking)
Remove Baked Macaroni from oven and set on cooktop.
Remove Squash from oven, drain water and return to Pyrex.
Top each half with generous, heaping portion of Macaroni and Cheese.
Sprinkle with Cheddar and return to oven for 10 minutes, to meld and melt.

Yum. (No, seriously. YUM. This stuff ROCKS!)

Summer Pesto Pasta

...got bored. Felt like cooking.

Homemade Pesto Sauce:
Fresh Basil and Parsley
Pine Nuts
Garlic Cloves
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
In a food processor, blend everything except the oil until incorporated.
Drizzle in Extra Virgin Olive Oil while blending until flavor and consistency is as you'd like.

Veggies:
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Garlic
Eggplant
Tomatoes
Dice uniformly and drizzle with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Allow to mellow in the bowl. Preheat oven to 325. Arrange veggies in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake till just softening.

Pasta: Orichette. Cook and drain.

Fresh Mozzarella Ovoline.

Toss pasta with Pesto Sauce. Add in mozzarella Ovoline, roasted veggies, and toss.

Yum.

OMG She's Actually Updating!

Yep. It's true.

So today, I had a craving for burgers. And I had time to plan, and go to the store, and whip up a little dinner.

Et... Voila!



Sliders a'la Jady.
Served with homemade creamed garlic spinach.

Here's how it goes.

Ground Chuck 1 lb
Salt N Pep.
Crushed Garlic
Soft Rolls. Whichever ones you like. Itty Bitty ones.
Grey Poupon
Mayo
Ketch.
Half an onion, sliced thin
Coupla Shrooms. Sliced thin.
Buttah.
Flour
Milk
Nutmeg
Cayenne Pep
Spinach, fresh, roughly chopped.

Take your pound of ground chuck.
Sprinkle in some salt and pepper, and crush in a bit of garlic for that ooomph.
Mix but don't meatloaf, and shape into little pattys. I did square. -ish.
Heat 2 big skillets. One on medium for the pattys, one on medium for the spinach.
Also a small one, for caramelizing onions.

Melt some buttah in the small skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and stir to coat with butter. Saute until they begin to transluce. I don't know if that's a word but it should be. If the cooking is done slow enough, and the onions are stirred enough, they will caramelize (eventually) and turn golden brown, sweet goodness. When this happens, remove them from the pan, and saute the shroomys with a little more butter in the same pan.

Melt some buttah in the spinach skillet. Lotsa buttah, actually, we're making a light roux here. Add some crushed garlic. However much you can stand. Saute a bit to cook some of the sting out of it. Making sure you have excess butter, sprinkle or sift in some flour, stir to combine and cook the floury taste out of it. (4-5 minutes... or more. Whatever. Don't let it get dark.) Pour in milk. This part works better if the milk is warmed. I used about a cup of milk to 4 tablespoons of butter and flour. Do what works for you. Stir or whisk the milk in, lower the heat, add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and let the mixture thicken.

Add the burger pattys to the skillet and let them brown on one side.

Keep an eye on the Spinach Sauce, stirring as necessary. When the sauce has thickened, add the coarsely chopped spinach. I used a pre-washed package of baby spinach, and I didn't use all of it. Stir to coat the spinach with the cream sauce and allow the spinach to wilt.

Flip the burgers. (duh.)

Cook the spinach on low to wilt and then keep warm while the burgers finish cooking to your liking. (also add cheese and let it melt if you want cheese. This ain't rocket science.)

Add some mushrooms to the spinach, if you like, and also if you're serving the Sliders with grey poupon, a spoonful of that in the spinach certainly wouldn't hurt.

Cut your slider rolls in half, slather the bottom half with mustard 'n mayo (I mix it together in a sort of dijon aioli, 2 to one Dijon to Mayo)
Put some of the caramelized onions on each bottom bun.
Add one burger patty per bun, and top each with a coupla the sauteed shroomys.

Top with the top half of the bun slightly askew, so ketchup can be added if necessary.

I hollow out the bottoms and tops of my buns, 'cause I find them to be overwhelming with all that bread, but again, do whatcha like.

Serve the spinach either on the side or in individual bowls if you don't like runoff.

Yummers.