This summer is screaming past so quickly – is it just me?
Remember the days when summer felt like an entire lifetime and you actually started looking forward to going back to school and seeing your friends?
Incidentally those were the same days that ALL the stores were closed on Sundays and that meant calling someone on the telephone which was attached to the kitchen wall and making plans to GO OUTSIDE and ride bikes or something while you stretched that twirly phone cord around the kitchen into the living room and probably around your body.
It’s a generational thing – I may have lost some of you on the whole twirly cord thing!
So here comes the 2nd last long weekend of the year (hence the panic) and the pressure is on to create / BBQ something just as awesome as the memories you are going to make right?
But what if all the stars align and the weather, friends family, cocktails and Instagram shots all come together and THAT meal (which was going to be super fantastic) does not?
This actually happened to us and …it sucks.
Here’s how it went:
Me: Let’s try this recipe I’ve never made before for when Kim and Ron come over
Stevo: Ok
Me: It takes 6 hours on the smoker
Stevo: Ok
Me: Done! Glad I could convince you!
I love reading magazines, I’m a reader, especially magazines relevant to my life at that time like when the kids were young, Canadian Living Magazine, when I was working, Chatelaine Magazine and to be honest any cooking magazine the likes of Rachael Ray or Taste of Home was and is always enjoyable.
The one I have always read even though it wasn’t relevant to my life (besides Style) is Cottage Life.
Recent events (living a trailer life while building a cottage) have made it relevant.
Dock – CHECK
Burn Barrel – CHECK
Forest – CHECK
Boat on Lake – CHECK
Weber Smoker BBQ – CHECK!
The last item coincided with a recipe I found in CL that was drool worthy.
Pulled Smoked Beef – right?!
Different yes but it’s crowd pleasing possibilities seemed high.
We wrangled up the ingredients in town and to be honest, I do a mean crock pot pulled pork.
The steps in this recipe weren’t adding up.
I had faith AND was feeling adventurous.
What. Could. Go. Wrong..
Let’s cut to the chase here, you can’t smoke meat uncovered for 4hrs and THEN plop it in some juices to pull apart loveliness.
Phase one:
Looks good but alas it was supposed to be falling apart on the board (like I knew it wouldn’t).
Ok, Me and Kim are like, it smells so good… lets just slice it up real thin like and it will be fine!
Looking fine…smelling AWESOME.
The juices were made up of spices, Guinness beer, roast juices, jalapeno peppers and peppers.
Ermagard (OMG) smell heaven!
Honesty time – the meat was … chewy.
Chewy is a nice way to put it.
No amount of time sitting in that pan of loveliness was going to bring that meat back.
So here’s what you do, grab some nice red wine (Red Knot is so good), throw together a summer fresh Greek salad, pile the meat alternatively with the peppers, slice some crusty bread and voila!
Sit back and enjoy great conversation, great friends and the cool breeze off the lake.
It’s not ALWAYS about the food, relax!
knot anchored 