Plates of Food, Out and About.

Some of these pictures are going to be from Girl's Night Out with my cousin.

Some are from actual date nights with my boyfriend.

Some are trip food.

Nutella Cheesecake.  This was at Marabella's in "little" Washington, NC.

Garlic knots at Marabella's.  

My FIRST ever Sushi.  Not a big fan of what is left on the plate.

I do love Spicy Tuna and Spicy Salmon Rolls.

Pat's King Of Steaks and Geno's in Philadelphia PA.  

We preferred Geno's.  Pat's was a little dry.

Sam and Steve's House Of Beef in Newport News, VA.

This is their "Greek Hamburger Steak" (rare).

Looks like a hot mess.. but it is delicious.

Another fave in Newport News, VA...

Gus' Hot Dog King.

El Tapitio's in "little" Washington.

My favorite Mexican Restaurant in the area.

Spanky's on OBX.

Really great place for fast food!

Jack's Tavern in "little" Washington
SCOTCH EGGS!!!!  YUM!!!

Sriracha is LIFE! Love the ROOSTER!!!! :-)

Here is just an idea I tried out... as I am sure MANY of you have.  Recently I discovered "Rooster Sauce."  I have known about it for years... used it before... but have developed an absolute love for it in the past few months.

Sriracha sauce is basically a hot sauce made from chilies and garlic.  Here is what I have been doing... as per usual with me.. no measuring.

Over a low to medium heat, place olive oil or canola oil in a pan or pot... just enough for the amount of garlic you wish to have in this sauce... I mince or use garlic press for the garlic...  let this cook... slowly ... do not let it brown..... then... add your sriracha sauce to your taste, let it kind of meld all together... then add soy sauce to make it, well... saucy.  This stuff is really good on... ANYTHING.  Steamed/fried dumplings from your fave Chinese take out or out of the freezer section.  STEAK... this sauce is good to dip steak into.  I could go on about the sauce, but I think you all know the deal here.

Next sauce.  Soy sauce, sriracha, brown sugar and applesauce.  Yeah... I typed applesauce.  Sounds crazy.  I take boneless pork chop and brown them, remove from pan.  Add the ingredients for the sauce and let it cook a minute... put the chops back in and let it reduce all together.  It makes a great BBQ sauce.  It isn't too sweet and it isn't too spicy.

Today... I have been craving, of all things... french fries and gravy.  Well I made fries.  But decided to make ranch dressing.  So while I was making the dressing (and I make it with HVR's powder but I just use buttermilk and mayo to the consistency and flavor I want with a bit of fresh ground pepper, nothing special)... and I said to myself... "What if I add sriracha to this??"  Well... I did a small amount test... and OMG it was awesome...  So I made enough to dip my fries in.  I even added a dash of soy sauce.  I licked the bowl.  I think this would be a good thing to make chicken salad out of or put as a spread on a sandwich ... or mix into some pimento cheese.  YUM!

I realize that perhaps all of you out there have quite possibly done the same thing.  If you have any other ideas, please share!  Right now... I do believe I could eat the sriracha sauce on nearly anything!

Thanks for reading!  L.

Pork BBQ

Have not been experimenting a lot of late...  but this is the first time I have ever made BBQ.

Here we go:

1  4-6 lbs  butt or shoulder  (I used a 6.5 lb butt)

Rub it with this: 

2.5 TBSP  Brown Sugar
1.5 TBSP Paprika
1    TBSP Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3    TSP  Salt
****I add these to this rub ... for my own tastes:  2 TSP EACH Garlic and Onion Powders.  1/8 TSP of Cayenne.
Mix these all together... rub your meat with this ALL OVER.  After you have rubbed it, take a little liquid smoke, up to about 1 TBSP and lightly pat it over the meat.  I put a little in my hand and literally PAT it onto the meat, after it has been rubbed.  Wrap this in plastic wrap and place in fridge for about 8 hours or longer.

Once your meat has sat around for 8 hours...

We want to put this meat in the middle of the oven...  500 degrees!  Place it in a pan on a rack.  Roast this up to 45 minutes until it is a brownness you can live with.  So while you wait... get the 6-8 quart slow cooker ready.

Place onions and carrots down on the bottom to make a "rack.".... 

Stir up:  (This sauce is a work in progress, but this was what I used the first time).

1  Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Worcestershire Sauce
A few drops of your favorite hot sauce (to taste)
1 TBSP  Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 TSP Dry Mustard
1/2 TSP Garlic Powder
1/2 TSP Onion Powder
1/4 TSP Cayenne
2 TSP Sugar
1 TSP Brown Sugar
A couple of drops of your liquid smoke (not too much)!

Now add 1/2 cup of Chicken Broth and 1/2 cup of your sauce to slow cooker.  (Add this first before you add your meat)!  Place your meat on your veggie rack in slow cooker.

Set on low for about 6 hours.  That is how long it took for mine.  So if it goes for 7-8 no biggie... just be hard to get it out of cooker.  You will DISCARD the veggie.  Save the juice if you want.  I didn't use it.  I just pulled my pork and drizzled the rest of the sauce to my taste over the meat.

Served with BBQ potatoes which I have NEVER used canned potatoes before, but decided to today.  My sauce was (in steps)  bacon grease, chopped onion... cooked till soft in grease, added some of the liquid from the potatoes, added ketchup to my taste, dashes of hot sauce,  2 TBSP of my sauce I made... let it cook and tasted to make sure it was where I wanted it... then put the potatoes in.  Let boil for just a few minutes.  Let them sit for about 15 minutes prior to serving.  They should still be warm and had enough time to absorb sauce.

I made coleslaw but everyone has their own recipe for their own usually.  And I don't measure for that anyway... I do all to taste.

And... I did a can of baked beans... yes... a can.  Sad... I know... but they were good.  :-)

Not the prettiest picture in the world, I know...