And the winner is....

And the winner of the first annual Rib Cook Off is.... Russ! That's right tonight was the rib cook off and Russ was the overall winner. Scott, Seth, and Russ all did a great job and used different styles and flavors that made it a very tough decision for the judges. More importantly the boys had a fun day of sitting outside barbecuing, drinking, and hanging out with the dogs. All the grills and dogs were brought over to our house, so that the boys and dogs could barbecue together. Meanwhile the wives in their respective kitchens were whipping up some delicious appetizers, sides, and desserts to complement the ribs.

While I cannot reveal Russ' secret rib recipes... I can tell you all about the other dishes that the girls made. I have had my eye on a pasta salad of Ina Garten's for a little while now and decided to try it out for tonight. It is called Pasta, Pesto, and Peas and it works great for picnic or rib cook since it can be made earlier in the day and is served at room temperature. To start the dish off you make a homemade pesto sauce that includes walnuts, pine nuts, lots of fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Once the pesto is complete you add frozen spinach (thawed and drained) and mayonnaise. This was a fun way to really put my food processor to work. The end result is a thick, tasty sauce that is tossed with cooked, cooled pasta. Lastly you add peas, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper to it.

The pasta salad turned out to be really tasty. Russ who used to claim he didn't like pasta salads was excited that I had doubled the recipe as he knew there would be leftovers for him. When you make the sauce it is very thick, but when tossed with the pasta it covers it in a light layer that keeps it fresh and light tasting. I used a mix of bow tie and penne which worked well with the sauce. The peas add a nice additional flavor bust that keeps it interesting. I think you could make a meal out of it by adding grilled chicken or shrimp to it. However, I think it is truly perfect for picnic style events. I anticipate this showing up again this summer or for football season this Fall.

The pasta salad was only one of many wonderful sides last night. Jess made a really tasty and light Mixed Bean-Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette from CL. She used both yellow and green beans which mixed with the cherry tomatoes made for a beautiful salad. Elizabeth made two sides for tonight. She repeated her Uncle Richard's Slaw that was such a hit last weekend. It really has become my favorite slaw now. She also made her hash brown (aka "Hassbrown") casserole that was hearty, cheesy, and yummy. I boiled some corn, Mom brought a huge tray of mixed fruits, and Elizabeth's Uncle Richard brought very tasty fresh shrimp on skewers that were marinated, grilled, and served with two homemade sauces, a remoulade and a cocktail sauce.

For dessert I made blondies. This is my first recipe to try out of the "How to Cook Everything" cookbook. This is a cookbook that was a bonus in marrying Russ. He had some great cookbooks books and utensils that I didn't have and wanted which I consider bonuses in marrying him. The blondies were fairly simple to put together and one of the great things about this cookbook is that it gives you the base recipe and then lots of options as to what you can add to it. I chose to add dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips and a dash or two of bourbon. While these seemed to be a well liked by most everyone at the cook off I felt like they came up short on flavor and texture. I think I should have added chopped walnuts to them, but even then I feel like there would still be something missing for me in these. Russ really liked them, so I may make them again or I'll try a different recipe for blondies.

Jess also made a dessert for tonight. She made homemade oreos. We both enjoy reading food blogs and one of our favorite blogs is Smitten Kitchen. The blogger is both an incredible writer, photographer, and cook. She recently made these oreos and Jess and I both drooled over our screens looking at them. Jess did an excellent job with these and they definitely tasted like a wonderful homemade oreo. The only thing that would have made them even better would have been to serve them with a glass of milk instead of a beer.

All in all the rib cook-off was a wonderful time with friends, family, and yummy food! I think that Jess, Scott, Elizabeth, Seth, Russ and I (and all our dogs) had a fun time planning and cooking for tonight. Russ rates the pasta a 7 and the blondies a 8.

(I have included a picture of Russ' grill, The Big Green Egg. I have mentioned it several times previously, so I wanted to finally show what it is in case anyone was curious.)

Blondies, "How to Cook Everything"

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
• 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
• Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter


• Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting