Foodbuzz 24x24: A Book Club Dinner

"I could not stop talking because now I had started my story, it wanted to be finished. We cannot choose where to start and stop. Our stories are the tellers of us. " 

-Chris Cleave (Little Bee)

Every month, I randomly submit a proposal to Foodbuzz's 24x24.  And every month, with the exception of this one, I get an e-mail that says something along the lines of "thanks for submitting, but we've chosen someone else".  So I was completely surprised that this month, I got a "Congratulations!  You've been chosen..."  type of e-mail. 

My proposal?  Well, I'm in a book club.  There's 7 of us and we each take turns picking a book and picking a place to congregate.  Most of us will just pick a restaurant to meet at, but you know me - I'd rather just cook for them than go out for a meal!  So I proposed to a have a book club dinner!  

Originally when I submitted the proposal, I wanted to base some of the meals around food discussed in the book - Little Bee by Chris Cleave.  But that was before I even started reading our book!  So after reading the book and realizing that it barely talks about food at all, I was kind of thrown for a loop.

But then I thought about one of the main characters, Sarah.  She's an editor for a fashion magazine and so I wanted to create a meal that someone of her "stature" would eat.  And something that my book club girls would equally love, of course!

So let's get to it...

For an appetizer, I decided to pair feta cheese, watermelon, and basil together for a unique crostini.  My girls all thought that watermelon was an odd pairing with basil, at first... but after having a few crostinis, they were quickly convinced it was delicious!  

And for a main course, I did a bourbon BBQ grilled rib-eye over a cabbage, pea, & apple slaw.  I even made my own steak sauce (courtesy of inspiration from the latest Bon Appetit issue!)

For dessert, I had a few leftover treats from my bake sale that happened in the morning, so I just served those!  

 

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal, and I even had a few people ask me about the steak sauce.  It was definitely a winner in my book.

And about the book... we all agreed that we weren't big fans of it.  To us, it basically didn't go anywhere.  There were so many things the author could have done with it, but just didn't.  I don't know, I need more action in my books!  But don't take my word for it, read it for yourself and decide - just like food, opinions on books differ from person to person too =)

Scroll down for some recipes from the book club dinner!

Feta, Watermelon, & Basil Crostinis:

Crostinis (yeah, I bought pre-made crostinis, but you could easily make your own with a baguette!)

Watermelon, sliced thinly into 1x1 inch squares

Feta crumbles

Basil, chopped

Place feta on top of crostinis.  Top with a slice of watermelon and garnish with basil.  Eat!

D.I.Y. Steak Sauce:

Adapted from Bon Appetit's recipe

 

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally

2 shallots, sliced

1 red bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon porcini powder (I couldn't find this, so instead, I bought dried porcini mushroom and ground them with a spice grinder - then used 1 teaspoon of that)

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place garlic and shallots in a make-shift aluminum foil bowl (pretty much just place the garlic on a flat sheet of foil and fold edges upward around them).  Drizzle them with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Roast in oven for about 20-25 minutes.

While the garlic is roasting, you can roast your Red Bell Pepper on the stove (assuming that you have a gas stovetop - if not, you can always fire up the grill - because you'll be grilling steaks anyway, right?)  Place over an open flame for about 15-20 minutes, or until charred on all sides (Mindy over at The World In My Kitchen has a GREAT how-to on this)  Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let cool for about 5 minutes, or until you're comfortable with handling them.  Scrape off the charred bits with a knife.  Chop the top of the pepper off and remove the seeds - and bam.  You've got a roasted red pepper.  Roughly chop.

Once the garlic and shallots are done roasting, let it rest until cool to the touch, about 5-7 minutes.

 

Pop the garlic out of it's casing and you're ready to use it!  Throw all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Strain - and bam! (why do I keep saying that?!) you've got a delicious steak sauce on your hands!

Bourbon BBQ Ribeye Marinade:

Adapted from Cooking 4 Carnivore's recipe

1 cup bourbon
8 tablespoons ketchup
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
4 bone-in ribeyes

In a medium bowl, combine bourbon, ketchup, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, Sriracha, and paprika.  Season slightly with salt and pepper. 

Place ribeyes in a deep tray and pour marinade over top.  Refrigerate and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Heat a charcoal grill under medium high to high heat and grill ribeyes to desired doneness - about 10 minutes each side for a medium rare/medium. 

Let rest for about 5 minutes and slice against the grain.

Cabbage, Apple, and Pea Slaw:

1/2 green cabbage, shredded
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and julienned
1/2 lb. sugar snap peas, shelled
4 slices black forest bacon, cooked and chopped
1/2 cup mayonaisse
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar

In a small bowl, combine the mayo, vinegar, and sugar until smooth. 

Place cabbage, apple, and peas into a large bowl and toss.  Pour the mayo mixture over top and mix well.  

Mix in bacon pieces and serve.

This was seriously one of the best coleslaws EVER.  I may never make coleslaw differently again.  Seriously.

And a big THANK YOU to the book club girls who were able to make it (we're minus 2 in this pic) - and check me out rockin' the Foodgawker t-shirt =)

So thank you so much to Foodbuzz for the opportunity to actually conduct a 24x24!  I always read about the fantastic dinners and ideas for dinners that the rest of the Featured Publishers have every month, and it's a great honor to be in a part of this group now! 

Restaurant Recreations: Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot (F.A.B.D.)

Happy Wednesday guys!  I'm happy to report that yesterday, I signed up to participate in a Louisville chapter of Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale!  I'll be participating with the group "Louisville Bakes To End Childhood Hunger" and couldn't be more excited!  All proceeds will go to benefit Share Our Strength's fight to end childhood hunger.  So if you happen to be in the Louisville area and want to be a part of this group (or want to donate from far away) feel free to e-mail me at mtlabor85 (at) yahoo (dot) com and I can direct you to where you need to go!  For more info, check out the Facebook page for the group!

It's been a bit since I did a restaurant recreation and this was probably the most exciting out of the 3 I've done so far.  I mean, who doesn't like barbecue?  So let's get right into it with the review...

Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot, or more commonly known in the Louisville area as F.A.B.D., is a quaint little place on - you guessed it, Frankfort Avenue.  From the outside, it looks more like a bar than anything, but upon further investigation - especially the gigantic smokers on the outside, and beautiful barbecue smells coming from inside and outside - you can tell that this place is the real deal - they know their barbecue.

The menu is short and sweet, with no more than 6 or 7 appetizers, and various different barbecue dishes - people come here for one thing (well, maybe two - the second being the beer!), and that's definitely the barbecue.  Like I said, they have two smokers on the outside, so they're constantly slow smoking different types of meat - chicken, pork, and beef brisket, it's hard to find something you won't find tasty (well, unless you're a vegetarian - not many choices for you here in the form of entrees).  They also make their own house recipe of barbecue sauce, available in hot and regular.  The hot is definitely hot, and the regular is more of a sweet and tangy kind of sauce - both really good.

We opted for an appetizer of onion rings which were perfectly cut and fried.  They were on the thinner side - which I like - and were served with a side of a tangy remoulade-type dipping sauce. 

For our entrees, Andy got the Pulled Pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw and I opted for the Lou-a-vul Beef Brisket with a small side of macaroni and cheese.  Both sandwiches come with a pickle and some sliced onions.  They leave the saucin' up to you, which I liked as well - I can decide how messy I want to be!

I definitely give F.A.B.D. two thumbs up.  Quick service, home-style barbecue, and definitely a great price - I think we made it out of there in $30 or less. 


And now on to the recreation.

I went with recreating my dish, the Lou-a-vul Brisket.  I think pulled meat is a pretty easy thing to recreate - slow and low.  So I focused more on my rub for the brisket and the actual barbecue sauce.  While my finished dish was definitely different from F.A.B.D's version, I think it definitely made one hell of a sandwich!

Ingredients:

For the Brisket:

4 lb. beef brisket
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

For the Barbecue Sauce:

1/4 to 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup crushed tomatoes (or you could use ketchup also)
3 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon Sriracha

Coleslaw:

3 cups red cabbage, shredded
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar


Sourdough Rolls, for sandwiches

To prepare the brisket:  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt, cumin, paprika, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Mix well and then rub mixture all over beef brisket.  Cover brisket with plastic wrap and let sit in fridge overnight.

On the next morning, preheat your crockpot onto high and add brisket (you may have to cut it in half to fit it all in there!).  Add about 1 cup of beef stock to crockpot and cover.  Let cook for about 6 to 7 hours, or until brisket is fork tender.

To prepare barbecue sauce:  Combine desired amount of apple cider vinegar (the more you add, the acidic the sauce), tomatoes (or ketchup), brown sugar, mustard, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and Sriracha.  If using crushed tomatoes, run the immersion blender through your mixture until it is smooth, or at your desired texture.  If using ketchup, no need to worry about that step.

You can use the barbecue sauce on the side, or like me, add it to the crockpot with the brisket and let it meld for about an hour longer.

To prepare the coleslaw:  Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl.  Add cabbage and carrots and mix well.  Let sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature before serving.

To assemble sandwiches, toast your sourdough buns and add a decent amount of pulled brisket on the bottom half (the messier the better!).  Top with desired amount of coleslaw (or you can always eat that on the side) and top with remaining bun half. 

Dig in and enjoy.  You might need a fork for this one - and plenty of wet naps!

This was really really good.  But I'm afraid to say that as good as it was, it still wasn't as good as F.A.B.D.'s version.  Yup... a recreation that wasn't as good as the original.  Recreation 2, Originals 1. Although I wouldn't chock it up as failure - this is still a killer pulled brisket!  And feel free to substitute pork or chicken with this, too... it's pretty versatile!

Well... I'm off to play sand volleyball (speaking of which, we went 3-0 last week, and hoping to continue the winning vibes tonight) in the cold (57F).  Hopefully I'll move around enough that I'll heat up quickly!  Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday guys!