Hooray for Father's Day!

Hooray for Father's Day!! Dads are definitely the unsung heroes of the family. While Mom's are typically seen as the heart and soul of a family, Dad's are often the silent heroes in the background getting things done without getting a lot of credit. Thankfully we have a day devoted just to Dads, when they can spend the day doing whatever they want, however they want, even if it's absolutely nothing! However you spent your Father's Day we hope you showed some love and appreciation to the Dad, Step-Dad or Father-figure in your life.









This weekend we were able to show some love, LiveBakeLove style, to a few of the Dads in our lives with a special Father's Day BBQ featuring an assortment of "manly" food for our every day super heroes.

When we think of "manly" food, apparently our thoughts turn to The Pioneer Woman because Yvonne and I both made some of her most popular recipes (and we didn't even plan it that way!).

Twice Baked Potatoes, Fresh Corn Casserole and Whiskey Peach BBQ Chicken. The Twice Baked Potatoes are to die for! What's not to love about bacon, cream, cheese and butter? The Fresh Corn Casserole was sweet, creamy and delicious. Making it with fresh corn is definitely the way to go. The Whiskey Peach BBQ Chicken is a great one-pot dish to make for a crowd. The whiskey evaporates and gives the sauce a slight tang while the peach preserves add the right amount of sweetness.  

And what's a BBQ without ribs? I call these my "Rainy Day" Ribs (even though there wasn't a cloud in sight). They're slathered with a Sweet-Smoky Rub and allowed to marinade several hours or even overnight, then they're baked low and slow in the oven until they're fall-off-the-bone tender. This time I finished them off on the grill, just to give them that "charcoal-grilled" flavor....shhhh don't tell the guys.

To accompany all that food, we made grilled Summer Squash Skewers and rustic homemade chili and cornbread baked in jars. Simple and cute!

And can you believe we still had room for dessert? Teresa brought her famous Monkey Bread and a beautiful fresh fruit platter for a healthy and refreshing ending to a delicious meal.

Today we're sharing the recipes for the "Rainy Day" Ribs and Chili & Cornbread Jars. We hope you'll try these delicious recipes as part of your next cook out!


"Rainy Day" Ribs

Dry Rub Ingredients

1/4 cup coarse kosher salt
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoons ground ginger

Combine all ingredients together. Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 month.

Note: This recipe makes about 1 cup of rub and can be used on pork, beef or chicken. Please be sure to use the desired amount of rub according to the amount of meat you use (usually about 2 tablespoons for each pound of meat)

Rib Ingredients:

Your favorite cut of ribs (Spare, Baby Back, St Louis Style)

Directions:
Prepare your ribs - If using Spare Ribs, remove and trim the excess fat and flap. I also like to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs to allow the rub to penetrate. Sprinkle the dry rub generously over both sides and rub into the meat. Cover and refridgerate for several hours or preferable overnight.

Before cooking, allow the meat to come to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 250

Create a foil packet and seal ribs inside the packet. Place on a baking rack on top of a baking sheet.

Bake for 3-4 hours or until tender. Remove from foil.

Place ribs back on the baking sheet bottom side facing up and turn oven to broil. Slather the bottom of the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.

Place the ribs back in the oven and broil for a few minutes. Turn over, slather the top with sauce and broil for a few more minutes.

Remove from oven and slice between the rib bones into serving size portions. Serve warm with additional sauce if desired.

Note: If finishing the ribs on the grill (instead of the broiler), simply slather the bottom of the ribs with sauce, place them on the grill with the bottom facing down, grill for a few minutes, slather the top of the ribs with sauce, turn over and grill for a few more minutes.

Remove from the grill, slice between the rib bones into serving size portions and serve warm.

Chili & Cornbread Jars

These jars are so cute and easy to make. Simply use your favorite Chili recipe. Using an appropriate size jar, fill almost full with chili. Top with cornbread batter and bake according to your cornbread recipe directions until the cornbread is done.

Here's the recipe for the Jalapeno Honey Cornbread I used. I usually make a Honey Butter to go along with my cornbread but this recipe has the honey baked right in. The combination of the sweetness of the honey and the slight heat of the jalapenos is delicious! Don't be afraid to use the whole jalapeno. I used a whole one and it was not spicy at all.

Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking
Makes enough cornbread for about 8 jars (depending upon the size), or 10 cornbread muffins or one 8" square pan

Ingredients:
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced small
1/2 cup corn kernels, drained
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Prepare your jars with chili (or grease an 8" square baking pan, or 10 of the cups of a muffin pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, sugar, melted butter and egg. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the diced jalapeno and corn kernels.

Scoop some of the batter into the jars (or scoop into the prepared muffin pan or 8" square pan).

Place the jars on a baking sheet and bake until the cornbread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Mine took about 20 minutes and I had to tent the jars with foil towards the end of the baking time to prevent over-browning.

Remove from oven and cool slightly. Serve warm.


Future super-heroes in training.....

SUPER JOHN!!

SUPER JOSHIE!!