To Virginia and Back

Last week Sheila, Courtney and I boarded a plane to take us to Sheila's sister out in Chesapeake, VA.  After connecting in Atlanta (my first time thru that airport) we arrived at their local time at 1:00 AM.  The folks at the Avis counter were top notch in that one, and Delta Airlines managed to regain some points with me.

I had met my sister-in-law when she was here in Tucson, but I had not met the rest of her family.  They were great hosts and I felt an instant connection to my brother-in-law.  Side trips were made to Virginia's Eastern Shore and down to Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina where I got to visit the spot where the Wright brothers changed the world on one cold December morning over 100 years ago.  

While in the Tarheel State, I sampled some eastern North Carolina barbecue, which I had when I was last there in 2012.  This time it was a different place, and no offense to anyone there, but I just wasn't impressed with it.  Don't get me wrong, it had flavor, but my palate seems to be more favorable to what I had in Texas and what I've had off of my grill.  It's that I won't go out of my way for eastern NC barbecue, but I hope that sometime next year I will be in the western part of that state to try it Piedmont style.

Virginia is a beautiful state, and was when I lived in Manassas in 1975.  My memories of Manassas are very fond, and for a long time I wanted to go back there and live.  While in Arlington on business in 1989 I drove to Manassas and saw that it had changed so much that I wouldn't even consider living there now.  It's grown, the traffic was worse, and I'm sure that it's reached the intolerable point some time ago.

I should post some pictures of this, which means I might create a photo album page at some point in the future.  I'm still too jet-lagged to do anything like that today.  We got back late Wednesday night, and I'm slowly unpacking and getting things back to where they used to be before we left.  We enjoyed that trip very much and definitely want to do it again next year.  

There's still some traveling we want to do.  Our next road trip will take us over into the Land of Enchantment, as that I want to visit the Space Museum in Alamogordo as well as some other places.  After that I'm thinking Prescott and Sedona.

Before I go, one announcement that I didn't think I'd be making.

I'm giving some thought to coming out of retirement.  No, I am not bored or anything like that.  It's that some of the jobs that the recruiters have been contacting me about look like they'd be really fun and interesting to do.  I have turned down lots of interview requests recently, but I'm thinking, why not update my resume, throw it out there, and see what happens?

Ideally it would be a part time contracting gig, and one of my former employers would offer me that, and possibly another former employer.  The money would be useful and would help further my recreational pursuits.  

It's something to think about some more, but I can't tell you which way I will go on this.  

But as busy as I have been in retirement, if I go back to the workforce then I could get some rest.

To the Metroplex and Back

 Sheila and I spent most of last week in the Dallas area.  I could have told you last March that we were intending to this, but I'm not known for announcing travel plans in advance, and plus it's not a sure thing that you're going until you pop for the tickets.  Even then it's not a sure thing.  Our airlines, as good as they are (or are not?) sometimes suffer from outages of one kind or another.  Sometimes you get stranded in airports.  Getting stranded from a missed connecting flight though was not an issue as that almost all cities that are big enough to heard of will have a flight to Dallas.

Anyway, there was more than one reason to do this.  Sheila's best friend from her high school days is living in the Metroplex.  Mark, my best friend from high school, visits the Metroplex on Thanksgiving.  I was thinking, we have an opportunity here.  Why not take it?  And plus, there's that Texas barbecue.  I was also figuring that we could play tourist and visit the Grassy Knoll to look for spent shell casings.

Well we got to see Mark and his wife.  We got to see Jody and her family.  We had some really excellent Texas barbecue, and there was a most unforgettable hot pot place in Plano called Sea Pot (I highly recommend them!).  We didn't get down to Dealey Plaza though.  (Aside:  I have my own unique theories about the JFK assassination.  One is likely, another highly unlikely, but neither tend to fit the prevailing mold.  Especially my second theory).  

As for that part of Texas, I really loved it.  I have been to Waco before, I've visited east Texas, I've been to El Paso, but I had never been to Dallas, outside of connecting in DFW more times than I can remember.  If the Metroplex is really representative of the rest of the state, I'd say that Governor Abbott is doing a fine job.  But, I'm hearing some bad things about San Antonio as well as Austin,  I don't have a favorable view of El Paso either.  

It was a nice getaway, we both needed it, we have standing invitations to visit again any time from both Jody and Mark's son-in-law, and if Mark makes it out there next April well then we just might go out there too.

No..........I did not apply for work at Strumdum Industries.

Some catching up to do.......

Life had been something of a whirlwind during the first ten days of this month.  When things slowed down I did some much-needed goofing off, or maybe I should say that I decided that I needed some "down" time.  Well, I've had my down time, but I am behind in my emails and there are a few folks out there who I need to call.  I also realized that I needed to catch up here, so I'm here.

Let's get started.

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I was not the only one who came across the burning bush last month.  After seeking out some counsel and asking lots of questions, I decided to respond to the call.  What this means is that I am going to be giving up some free time, but I feel that the need that I'm being asked to fill is important.  And, I'm not going in this alone.  Ten of us are getting involved and we'll be helping some people out, behind the scenes, who need the help.

That's all I'm going to say for now on this.

* * * * * * *

Things are changing for me at work.  When I returned to work after an extended weekend from the Fourth, well, I was made aware that things were going to change soon.  All I can say is that another project pulled some strings, and I was more or less encouraged to take this new assignment.

No, I'm in no way bitter about this.  It's just the nature of the business.

And seeing as how this is about work, that's all I'm going to say for now on this one as well.

* * * * * * *

Here at home, I've been experimenting a lot with the barbecue.  I had a pair of hamburgers for the evening meal, but this time I did them differently.

I had them rubbed down with olive oil (that's now a standard procedure here), and after the olive oil I sprinkled some Thai seasoning on them.  I then cooked them as I usually do, but in the final five minutes of cooking I put some Thai chili paste on them.

I was really pleased with how they turned out!  The side effect that I may suffer from later on could come in the form of some absurd dreams or possibly nightmares.  We'll see.

I do know from an experience several years ago that spicy Montreal steak seasoning on hamburgers will give you nightmares!  Back when I was in the townhouse I made generous use of that seasoning; going on to blacken those burgers like I was some sort Cajun cook.

They were tasty, but later on that night I paid for it.

I still use McCormick's spicy Montreal steak seasoning in cooking, but not like that anymore.

By the way, I did some research on that Montreal steak seasoning.

People in Montreal didn't come up with it.

Instead, someone at McCormick came up with a blend of spices, and since they wanted to sell a lot of it, they called it Montreal seasoning.  There's more than one variety of Montreal seasoning that you can get, and I'm partial to their spicy steak seasoning.  It does go good on a ribeye, and on hamburgers if you don't overdo it.

* * * * * *

I need to catch up on some other things here, so I'm going to sign.

Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!

Beef Ribs! Yeah!

Temperatures in Tucson have broken the triple digit barrier.  One weather forecast said this would happen by Memorial Day and another had it yesterday or maybe it was today.  Anyway, it's hot out, and I'm not hanging out in the man cave (the garage, that is) as much as I used to.

I am making some more frequent use of the BBQ grill.  Safeway keeps having beef ribs marked down, and I keep buying them.  I think this is going to be the fifth consecutive Sunday where I've had them on the grill.  Thing of it is, is that the ribs have been previously frozen, so re-freezing them really isn't an option.  So what do you do?

If you live in Tucson, you fire up the grill.

* * * * * * *

One advantage to living in southern Arizona is that you can fire up the grill at practically any time of year that you want to.  I don't view barbecuing as a summer activity, so to speak.  If I feel like firing it up on Christmas Day, then I'll fire it up on Christmas Day.

That must run in the family.  I've seen my dad fire up the grill on Christmas Day.  Hey, why not?  Who says a Christmas dinner has to be turkey?  Why can't it be ribs, or salmon, or tri-tip?

* * * * * * *

My beef ribs recipe evolved over several years, and I think it's still evolving.  There was a period of time ten years ago when I was "done" with the recipe.  I would season the things overnight with a rub recipe that I stole from the Weber website.  They called it a Kansas City rub.  I don't think it was a true Kansas City rub as that other KC rub mixes call for brown sugar and this one didn't.

However, the Weber KC rub was mighty tasty!  A friend of mine from Texas who so much liked the way I did beef ribs once offered to buy them for me if I would just only cook them.  That's a real compliment when you stop to think about it.  I think when a Texas native compliments you on your BBQ skills, that's just as good as a manager in a Japanese company telling you in a written letter that the test procedure you sent his company was "completely correct and easy to follow".  I still have that letter, and I should fish it out sometime and frame it.

* * * * * * *

Getting back to beef ribs, one change I made was in the cooking time.  I used to slow-cook them for ninety minutes but I recently changed that to two hours.  I have not noticed any change to them except that the meat is more tender.

Also, I've been using maple chips for smoking.  I very much believe in the use of smoking chips whenever I'm slow-cooking something.  In the past I've used hickory, mesquite, applewood, or a random combination of two woods.  I've soaked them in cheap red wine for two hours, and every twenty minutes while the ribs were cooking I'd chuck some of those chips onto the coals and then put the lid to my Weber kettle back on.

Then a few moments later, that smoke starts coming out of the top vent.  It smells good.  It smells really good.

It's probably not legal for something to smell that good.

* * * * * * *

I recently discovered somewhere, and I can't remember where, some maple chips.  Maple?  Hey, what the hey.  Maple's used for curing bacon.  Why not ribs?

I didn't want to mask the flavor so I used water instead of wine for the maple chips.  I was pleased with the results too.  That was "recipe" for what I was soaking the chips in, but one week later that changed too.

I had had, for over twenty years, this 1.75 liter bottle of dark Bacardi rum.  It had been taking up space for all this time, and the problem, or maybe it's not a problem, is that I wasn't drinking it.  I mean, I might have a shot of tequila if it's a premium reposado, but Bacardi is not tequila and I don't think it was intended for shots in the first place.

So, what to do?

I started soaking my chips in a mixture of water and Bacardi.  I liked the results!  The smell that the Bacardi imparted to the chips while they were soaking is probably also not legal.

* * * * * * *

That bottle of Bacardi was finally emptied last week, and was carried off for recycling shortly thereafter.

Now I don't have any rum.

Should I now pick up a bottle of Myers spiced rum?  Or should I pick up some Captain Morgan?

If I pick up the Captain Morgan, then I'm going to have to hold one of my legs at an angle  If someone sees me doing that, they might think that I'm weird.  I might be weird for all that I know, but I don't think I should go out in public and confirm that for anyone.

Well.....Todd knows about rum.  He knows how to make some killer drinks.  I think he's using some premium brand of rum that I never heard of before.  Whatever it is, it's great stuff.

My problem is, is that I'm not one to consume rum on a regular basis.  I might remember on New Year's Eve to make myself a Cuba Libre, but even then I don't always remember to make one on New Year's Eve.

I'll hold off on buying some rum for now.

I do know that I won't get a 1.75 liter bottle of it next time.

I might not live long enough to see it emptied, and I might get to the grave a little early if I do try to empty it quickly.

* * * * * * *

Getting this back to beef ribs, and to smoking chips, but not leaving the topic of spirits, did you know that Jack Daniels is in the smoking chip business too?

I have two bags of JD chips, from oak barrels that they used to age their whiskey in.  Some barrels get shipped off to Scotland where one of the distilleries uses them to age their whiskey.  (Or is that "whisky" in Scotland?).  Other barrels get chopped up and sold to BBQ enthusiasts such as myself.

If you're going to use the JD chips, you absolutely postively should never soak them in wine.  I don't think soaking them in wine is legal, and if it isn't illegal then it should be.

Soak them in water.  You don't want to mask that smoky flavor that it will impart to the meat that you're cooking.

If you don't believe me, then use these JD chips on a tri-tip sometime.  It'll be a tri-tip that you'll remmeber.

Ask Ken & Gillian and their children.

I'll bet that they remember that tri-tip I made for them a few years back when they were down here!

* * * * * * *

I forgot to mention that whenever you're slow-cooking ribs on the grill, you should have a drip pan underneath them.  This drip pan should have some cheap beer poured into it.  The beer will steam the meat, and impart some flavor to it.  Try this sometime.

DO NOT USE a premium imported beer for this!  Use some Budweiser instead.

The Budweiser folks will not be insulted by using Budweiser for cooking.  They don't care what you use Bud for.

But if you're going to use Moosehead or some microbrew for cooking, then you've either got more money than you have sense. or you probably shouldn't be allowed to play with matches even if you're going to use those matches on charcoal briquets.

* * * * * * *

I just realized that I should point out that what I've told you about cooking beef ribs assumes that you're using charcoal like I do.

I have nothing against gas grills; you can get some good steaks or burgers off of those.

But me, I'm a purist when it comes to BBQ, and it ain't BBQ if you ain't using charcoal.

* * * * * * *

Is it legal for me to use the word "ain't"?

Dang if I know.  Ain't like I'm going to care much about it anyway.

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Don't forget to pet a dog or a cat!