Taste Tested Tuesday: 4th of July

The 4th of July is only a few days away! This week Taste Tested Tuesday features five tried and true recipes that are perfect for Independence Day gatherings.

Drunken Meat Marinade
For us, our 4th of July celebration isn’t complete without ribs! Before spreading them on the grill, let the ribs soak up this AWESOME marinade. I love this marinade and I don’t think you’ll regret using it!

3 tablespoons garlic powder
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup honey
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons hot sauce
½ cup bourbon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir until well blended. Place meat in a container, pour marinade over, and cover. Allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 hours before grilling.

Deviled Eggs
It seems there are a million different recipes for deviled eggs. We enjoy eating deviled eggs, so I’ve tried many different recipes. Though I can’t remember its origin, this recipe is my favorite. I like to fill the egg whites using my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to achieve a pretty presentation.

6 hardboiled eggs
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons bacon bits
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

Slice eggs in half. Remove the yolks and place them in a small mixing bowl. Reserve the egg whites and set them aside. Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Fill egg white halves with the egg mixture and heap it slightly. Sprinkle eggs with a light dusting of paprika.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad
I cannot remember who passed this recipe onto me, but I’m so glad they shared this simple, flavorful salad with me. The recipe calls for diced mozzarella, but you can use small mozzarella balls. Just be sure to use fresh mozzarella cheese. It makes a world of difference!

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
16 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, diced
1 red onion, sliced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix oil and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and toss.

Ethopian Punch
My friend Rachel brought this punch to one of our Cooking Club meetings a few years ago and it was an instant hit! Since Rachel introduced us to it, it has appeared at variety of baby showers, barbecues, Super Bowl celebrations, and birthday parties.

The recipe calls for raspberry syrup. This is NOT pancake syrup. It is a reduced mixture of raspberries and sugar. If you can’t find raspberry syrup in the store, make some on your own using this recipe.

1 cup raspberry syrup
1 cup maraschino cherry juice
1 cup orange juice
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup grape juice
2 ½ quarts lemon lime soda (Sierra Mist, Sprite, etc)

Combine ingredients in a punch bowl, serve with plenty of ice, and garnish with orange slices.

Death by Chocolate Cake
My grandmother was born on July 4th, so we have even more of a reason to celebrate on this day! She passes up the traditional birthday cake and opts for this chocolate delight instead. I found this recipe a few years ago over at www.pastrywiz.com and have been enjoying it ever since. If you’re a chocolate lover like my grandmother, you’ll enjoy every morsel of this cake!

4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box instant chocolate pudding
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar (for garnish)

Beat eggs, sour cream, water, and oil together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed. Add cake mix and pudding mix. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt or tube pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. When cake is cool, sift powdered sugar on top of cake.

Photo: Courtesy of trahupoo

Taste Tested Tuesday: Sweet and Spicy String Beans

If you’re looking for a new way to enjoy string beans, give this recipe a try! It’s another great recipe from allrecipes.com.

Though the recipe calls for fresh string beans, you can use frozen beans with the same amount of success.

Sweet & Spicy String Beans

¾ pound fresh green beans
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons canola oil

Steam the green beans 3 to 4 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, garlic, garlic chili sauce, and honey.

Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green beans, and fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Pour in the soy sauce mixture. Continue cooking and stirring 2 minutes, or until the liquid is nearly evaporated. Serve immediately.

Photo: Courtesy of stu_spivack

Taste Tested Tuesday: Chinese Style Ribs

We love ribs! Whether grilled, oven baked, or slow cooked in the Crock Pot, we can’t get enough of them. I try to vary the way I prepare them so we can enjoy them with a variety of flavors.

On Father’s Day we enjoyed one of our favorite rib recipes. It’s not the traditional barbecued ribs, but they are packed with flavor and feature a delicious sweet and slightly tangy sauce. The ingredients may seem unusual to some, but you can find them all in the ethnic or international foods aisle of your supermarket.

Double the marinade so you have plenty of sauce. Also, DON’T skip the Five Spice Powder. It’s a complex flavor combination of fennel, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and peppercorns that give the ribs that special Asian flair.

Chinese Style Ribs

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sake (or mirin)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 pound pork spareribs

In a medium size bowl, mix together the hoisin sauce, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, sake, rice vinegar, lemon juice, ginger, garlic and five-spice powder.

Pour the marinade into a large Ziploc bag and add the ribs. Seal the bag and shake it around to make sure the ribs are fully coated. Marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours or as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place ribs in a baking dish. Pour the marinade into a pot and bring to a rolling boil for at least 3 minutes in order to create a thick sauce. (Be sure to bring the marinade to a boil for 3 full minutes to kill any bacteria from the raw meat.)

Bake the ribs for 45 minutes, turning and brushing with the sauce every 10 minutes or so. Finish the ribs under the broiler if desired. Brush ribs with any remaining sauce and serve.

Photo: Courtesy of wEnDaLicious