Meat, Bread and Vegetables with a side of Smoke!

                   

 The one thing I can't live without in summer is BBQ.  Generally I love everything that combines smoke with veggies and marinated slabs of  St Louis style Ribs. Honestly a little bit of smoke brings depth to any dish, especially when the weather is warm.  A great way to add diversity to your cookouts is to feature smoke in side dishes like salads, soups, citrusy vinaigrettes and of course mouth watering succulent Ribs!

First up is the formidable Panzanella.  This salad is super Delicious and offers a break from boring old leafy green salads.  Panzanellas  or Panmolle is a Tuscan salad where stale bread is blended with onions, tomatoes, and olive oil.   Grilling the bread before tossing adds depth and dimension to the salad. Thick cut ciabatta bread brushed with oil and toasted  right on the grill not only looks fancy but increases your flavor meter by about a thousand.  After Grilling dice up those charred beauties and toss with your choice of chunky fresh goodness. 

Charring up citrus is a great way to add smoke to your favorite vinaigrette recipes. Its simple  just cut your orange, lemon or lime in half  and place the fruit meat side down. Allow to char and absorb smoke to get the maximum amount of flavor .  


Note:Combine the juice with olive oil (I like to use canola /olive oil blend for dressings for a more distinct flavor. 

Charred Gulf shrimp salad with a burnt mandarin vinaigrette

Although I love traditional Ribs there is something about the way the folks in Guam BBQ that inspires me.  These delicious ribs are submerged  overnight in soy sauce based marinade to create tender and well seasoned meat. Now it's definitely up to you what stye of ribs to use but St Louis style ribs are my rib of choice.  They are meaty and cook up super juicy.  I like to keep the marinade and baste the ribs as they smoke. I also reduce the remaining marinade by half to pour over the ribs when they are finished. The result is a deliciously  smoky rib too delicious to miss the BBQ sauce.

Its summer so get outside and put alil smoke in your life or should I just say keep it Comfortable and Happy eating.

Smoked chamorro Ribs