My housewarming BBQ - many reviews inside

[emily]

As some of you may know, I had a housewarming bbq last Saturday. I, along with the help of a few friends - without whom I could not have pulled this off, thanks, Eva - cooked for 20 something people. There were a few glitches, as I'll explain later, but all in all the evening turned out great!

Ok, menu and reviews:

Cantaloupe wrapped w/ Prosciutto - I followed the general instructions from an old Cooking Live (http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255,16603,00.html). This is a great combination of sweet and salty, but the prosciutto doesn't hold up well when exposed to all the moisture from the cantaloupe. Oh, and after dropping a tray of slice farmer's market deliciously sweet cantaloupe on the floor and under the refridgerator :( I ended up replacing them w/ not as sweet and 7 times as expensive melon from Whole Foods :mad:

Lindrusso's Spinach Balls - These are everything all the reviews have claimed they are. Fabulous! They were claimed and eaten as they came out of the oven. I would decrease the butter by at least 1/4 next time if not half though, because they were greasy. Nevertheless, this will become a standard appetizer for me. Even though my spinach was chopped, I still processed it along with the bread crums and the balls came out with a great uniform consistency.

Beef Brisket - Well, my mom let me down. She sent me a recipe which she claimed was the best brisket she'd ever had. My 20 lbs of brisket after slow roasting for 7 hours was no where near tender or even nearly done. I cranked the heat up, gave it another hour or two and the meat was done, but not really very good. What a waste. :(

Paul's Southern Californa BBQ Sauce (http://barbeque.allrecipes.com/az/plssthrnclifrnibbqsc.asp) - I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. And while the instructions weren't quite followed, not naming any names ;), I still loved the flavor of the sauce. It's really vinegary tangy, not very sweet. Although, I do recommend boiling the vinegar before adding everything else as ours never quite thickened. I would repeat this one!

We made two potato salads:
Herbed Potato Salad with Green Beans and Tomatoes (http://cookinglight.timeinc.net/cooking/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=222899) - This one came from the recipe finder and was great! Vinegar based with fresh basil, green beans and tomatoes. It was my favorite of the two!

and Creamy Potato Salad posted by Julie (KValley). This was a hit with everyone else! I didn't like it because it tasted like traditional potato salad which is too mayonaisey for me.

For dessert, I made
Mamasue's Marshmallow Fluff Vanilla Ice Cream I had some problems with the making of the custard or in the freezing in that mine never really thickened and froze solid, but I think that part of this is due to my dying ice cream maker :( I tried on Sunday to make the Strawberry Buttermilk Gellato and it never even seemed to get cold. Guess I'm in the market for a new one... or right, back to the review, the flavor of this was great :)

Texas Sheet Cake I doubled this recipe and baked it in a half sheet cake pan and ended up with about an 1 1/2" cake that was moist and absolutely delicous. It made a smidge too much icing, but I'm not complaining. I will definately make this again (if I ever reach a point of duplicating recipes ;))

Eva made an AMAZING layer cake. I believe it came from Bon Appetit. It had a cream cheese icing, fruit filling, almond cake layers. It was decadent to say the least. Not to mention gorgeous!

*phew* I get tired just recalling the weekend.

emily

[Sami]

Thanks Emily. It sounds wonderful.

As for the brisket, I cook it fairly often, but not 20 pounds. Most of the ones I buy are 5-6 lbs, and I sometimes make 3 at once, but never have to cook them 7 hours.

I sear the meat, add everything and put it in the oven for about 3 hours. Then I slice the meat and put it back in the sauce. Freeze or refrigerate and then heat it again and it comes out fork tender.

Sami

[wallycat]

WOW...so many ambitious cooks on hot summer days...
wish I were there ;)

[aggie94]

Originally posted by emily
And while the instructions weren't quite followed, not naming any names ;)

Well with a "chef" in the kitchen barking out orders right and left, what do you expect but a few mistakes??? ;) Beggars can't be choosers, ya know. Did you want my help or not?? ;) :D (Kidding, obviously!) I had a fun time helping. The goof was purely mine and I take full responsibility for it. :o (The sauce would have been great, I'm sure, if I had followed directions!!)

And BTW, the meat was still delicious, even if it wasn't falling-apart-off-your-fork tender. Everything else was equally delicious. I have to admit, though -- I had never had prosciutto-wrapped melon before, and while it was quite tasty, when I first saw the tray on the table, I wondered why you had set out big hunks of raw pork for people to snack on. :o :eek:

[sneezles]

Emily,
I have used the following recipe (and took 2nd place in a cookoff with it) and I thought I'd shar in case you want to try again. When we do ours in the oven I put it in a pan just about the same size as the piece of meat. A whole untrimmed brisket would take closer to 10 hours at 225º.

BARBECUED TEXAS BEEF BRISKET
Texans like their barbecue spicy, in the tradition of the Southwest, which is chili pepper country. For this recipe, you'll need to order a U.S.D.A. "choice" grade, packer-trimmed brisket: That's a brisket with none of the fat cut off. Before being cooked, the meat is seasoned with a dry rub; during cooking, it is brushed regularly with a beer-based mop. You'll need to use a smoker for the brisket (a converted barbecue won’t maintain the very low heat required), and to get the most authentic Texas flavor, seek out the natural lump charcoal specified in the recipe; it's available at barbecue stores, some natural foods stores and some supermarkets.
For dry rub
1/2 cup paprika
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

1 7 1/2- to 8-pound untrimmed whole beef brisket

For mop
12 ounces beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons minced jalapeño chilies

5 pounds (about) 100% natural lump charcoal
4 cups (about) oak or hickory wood smoke chips, soaked in cold water at least 30 minutes

1 cup purchased barbecue sauce (such as Bull's-Eye)
1 tablespoon chili powder

Make dry rub:
Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend.

Transfer 1 tablespoon dry rub to another small bowl and reserve for mop. Spread remaining dry rub all over brisket. Cover with plastic; chill overnight.

Make mop:
Mix first 6 ingredients plus reserved dry rub in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat 5 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup mop into bowl; cover and chill for use in sauce. Cover and chill remaining mop.

Following manufacturer's instructions and using natural lump charcoal, start fire in smoker. When charcoal is ash gray, drain 1/2 cup wood chips and scatter over charcoal. Bring smoker to 200°F. to 225°F., regulating temperature by opening vents wider to increase temperature and closing slightly to reduce temperature.

Place brisket, fat side up, on rack in smoker. Cover; cook until tender when pierced with fork and meat thermometer inserted into center registers 185°F., about 10 hours (turn brisket over for last 30 minutes). Every 1 1/2 to 2 hours, add enough charcoal to maintain single layer and to maintain 200°F. to 225°F. temperature; add 1/2 cup drained wood chips. Brush brisket with chilled mop in pan each time smoker is opened. Transfer brisket to platter; let stand 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool 1 hour. Wrap in foil; chill. Before continuing, rewarm brisket, still wrapped, in 350°F. oven about 45 minutes.) Combine barbecue sauce and chili powder in heavy small saucepan. Add any accumulated juices from brisket and bring to boil, thinning sauce with some of reserved 1/2 cup mop, if desired.

Thinly slice brisket across grain. Serve, passing sauce separately.

Serves 12.


Bon Appétit
July 1999



I made the spinach balls last week but didn't use a processor-I don't recall the directions for that! Mine were not the least bit greasy and like yours disappeared very quickly.

[emily]

Ahem, I prefer to think of myself not as barking but as requesting (without taking no for an answer) :p Seriously though Eva, was the best chef of the weekend - did I mention her cake?!

And sneezles, thanks for the recipe. Mine was actually very similar to that, except it had me start the meat at 300 degrees for 2 hours and then turn it down to 200 for the next 5 hours. I think your times are a better estimate. If I ever try again (which I probably won't, the meat was mainly for my guy friends not for me), I'll give yours a try.

Oh, and the Spinach Balls recipe doesn't say to use a food processor. Someone in a review mentioned they had used their's and so I also did, particullarly because my bread crumbs were in rather large chunks. :)

emily