I got my baby back . . .

Baby back, baby back ribs! L & L's A came over for a somewhat impromptu BBQ for dinner last night. L and I had originally talked about a BBQ Wednesday night, but that was when the plan was wakeboarding. Unfortunately, there was a series of complications that resulted in no wakeboarding, so I figured our dinner plans were also cancelled. But while Jim and I were eating In-N-Out for lunch, I got a text from L asking if we were still down for a BBQ. I was pretty excited to get his text, and I was actually in the midst of discussing our Friday night plans with Jim when L texted me. See, I had bought 3.14 pounds of baby back pork ribs at Nugget Thursday, and they needed to be cooked up in the next few days. I wanted to cook up the ribs anyway, and having them over made the prospect even more fun. I texted L, saying that I had the ribs, which, in retrospect, must have thrown him a bit being a vegetarian and all. At any rate, that's the short of how we ended up with company for dinner.

As I said before, we went to In-N-Out for lunch. The weather was nice enough that we were able to eat outside, which I always enjoy. We sat on the sunny side of the restaurant just to maximize the heat. I was sorely disappointed with their fries--I don't think they were quite done, and as a result, most of them were greasy, soggy, and less than palatable. Even after blotting them, they were still too oily. Oh well. It happens.

I actually didn't get off of work all that early, and after stopping by Costco for a few supplies ('shrooms, eggs, and milk), I got to Jim's house around 5:20. Jim was at the gym, teaching his private swim lessons, so I was all by myself initially. I grabbed the ribs from the fridge and opened them up, placing them on a foil-lined baking sheet. I sprinkled salt and pepper on both sides and then brushed 'em with EVOO before popping them into a 250 degree oven for an hour and a half.

While the ribs baked, I ran to Safeway for a few additional ingredients (thyme, green onions, and peach preserves) and then to my house to pick up Midget (and cumin). Jim got home sometime in the middle of all of my running around and he was straightening up the house when I got back. Midget was all excited at the change in her routine and spent the next couple of hours inspecting the backyard.

I started in on the BBQ sauce while the ribs continued baking. I used Tyler Florence's Ultimate Ribs recipe, and I actually watched the show he made them on. I'm not the hugest Tyler Florence fan, but his recipes seem pretty good. A lot of what he likes aren't Jim's favorites--for example, he's all about chicken legs, whereas Jim's favorite part of the bird is the breast. So I don't usually turn to his recipes, because his emphases aren't what Jim prefers, so it makes no sense. But I digress. This recipe was definitely one that I had wanted to try. The online reviews were absolutely glowing, and it wasn't a difficult sauce to make. I wrapped a couple of slices of bacon around a few sprigs of thyme and tossed them into a saucepan with EVOO, frying the bacon for a few minutes before adding half of an onion and three smashed garlic cloves and continuing to cook for an additional five minutes. Then I added ketchup, peach preserves, cumin, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon, and paprika and simmered the mixture for 20 minutes. That's all there was to it. I placed some in a separate bowl for basting the ribs, which I did twice over the course of 30 minutes (after the initial 1.5 hours). At this point, my job was done. I took the ribs out of the oven and gave them to the boys (L & A arrived while the ribs were still in the oven) to grill off (a deviation from the recipe, but this WAS a barbecue after all).

L & A brought over a ton of veggies--eggplant (a request from me since I forgot to buy some at Safeway), portabello mushrooms, corn (A's favorite), and asparagus, as well as a watermelon, which L couldn't wait to hack open and start in on. Despite the earliness of the season, the melon wasn't half bad. I thought it would be a lot mealier, but the texture was fine. It wasn't the sweetest, juiciest thing, but that's something that only happens in the summer. I gave the boys EVOO, salt, pepper, and aluminum foil, and after A & I washed the veggies, we washed our hands (literally) of them.

That's not to say that we weren't busy in the meantime. I whipped up a batch of Ina's cheddar and jalapeno cornbread, A buttered a loaf of sourdough bread, and I also made some hummus for my grilled lavash pizza, recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay. I cut out a lot of the EVOO that he called for after looking at a Cooking Light recipe that subbed water for a lot of the oil. But the flavorings were all Bobby, so I'm crediting the recipe to him. Besides the obvious chickpeas, tahini, and water, I added garlic, cumin, cayenne, and lemon. I omitted additional salt and pepper, as well as parsley, the former for healthiness and the latter because I simply forgot. But I was pretty happy with the taste. It had some definite kick to it and wasn't quite as creamy as it would have been had I used an extra 1/2 cup of EVOO, but it was yummy nevertheless.

I had bought some lavash bread at TJ's, which was oiled and thrown on the grill. Their first attempt at grilling it turned the flatbread into more of a cracker, which, although yummy, was not quite what I had in mind. The second bread turned out better. The first eggplants fittingly turned out cajun style and I ended up using the second batch on the lavash. All I did was slice them up and use them as toppings on the bread--the hummus was the tomato sauce. I didn't have any feta, so I went without. I apparently completely spaced on this recipe, since I missed out on both eggplant and feta, but I still liked the product.

Speaking of the grilling though, the boys seemed to have fun drinking their beer and 'cueing. L bought a pair of reefs with bottle openers on the bottom, so each one had a reef on one foot and one of Jim's flip flops on the other. Those two are quite a pair. A and I shook our heads in amazement at how boys never grow up. Their first attempt at opening the beer (had to be while wearing the flip flop, mind you) resulted in it spraying everywhere. Midget lapped up the stuff, and I was horrified at my alcoholic dog. L tried again with a Bud Light and was ecstatic with his success until Jim rained on his parade by informing him that Bud Lights are twist tops.

In summary, here's what got grilled off: asparagus, portabello mushrooms, eggplant, ribs, sourdough bread, corn, and lavash.

What burned: parts of the corn, the first batch of eggplant, and one lavash.

Anyway, the food was all ready sometime close to 9 pm and we sat down to eat. Everything turned out fantastic. As for my contributions, I was so happy that my cornbread and BBQ sauce were well-received. The bread was soo good grilled. I'm going to have to remember that cooking preparation method. I expected it to be good, since crostini always goes over well. There's something about the crispy texture and smoky flavor that pair so nicely together. I haven't had grilled corn since last year and I was so happy to eat it again. A and Jim love corn, but it's not my favorite veggie unless it's grilled. If it's grilled, I'm all about it. That is one veggie that benefits so much from the smoky, charred dimension.

It always amazes me how much of a mess barbecuing creates. It's like you make up for keeping the mess outdoors with all of the dirty dishes, tongs, and platters that are needed. But the reason why I always love having L over is that he's a fantastic guest. Not only does he bring food, but he also helps with the cleanup.

We spent the rest of the evening just hanging out. L played with his jet ski and Midget was so happy with all of the people to hang out with that she didn't know what to do. She was beside herself with excitement for most of the evening. I allowed her in the house for parts of the night, and she was partly confused and partly fascinated. She didn't really ever sit or lie down. For the most part, she wandered around, her head moving back and forth like a shark and sniffing everything. For whatever reason, the fireplace absolutely intrigued her.

Being a vegetarian, barbecues weren't something I grew up with, but I really have grown to enjoy them. It's such a social, fun thing to do, and the food is fantastic. And it's a great way to entertain even if you don't have a lot of kitchen room. All we need is to get an outdoor table, and we're all set. Plus some citronella candles. :-)