Anniversary Celebration At Melisse, Santa Monica, CA

Last week G and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary. My choice was to dine at the reknowned French restaurant, Melisse in Santa Monica, CA.

I will only say this meal was exceptional and the service was fantastic. If you are looking for a place to celebrate a special event and cost is no issue, I highly recommend Melisse.

See the link for my Flickr photos Melisse photo slideshow or Facebook
photo album. The Facebook photos include a description of each course but may not be visible if you aren't my Facebook friend/family.

Melisse

Another Try at BBQ Chicken Thighs with MUGs BBQ Sauce

Tangy, sweet, and a hint of citrus, this sauce offers tastes equivalent to anything store bought. However, I offer one suggestion. Feel free to not add the liquid smoke if you are are going to smoke your meats with actual wood. I'm a purist and feel this is not needed for wood smoked flavor. For a smoked flavor on oven cooked or grilled meats, then ok.

With my Brew B Que Pack at hand compliments of MUGs Root Beer, I made the Southern Specialty BBQ sauce with the root beer as the special ingredient. The recipe for the BBQ sauce was previously posted at this link- MUGs.

Trying Out A New BBQ Sauce Recipe This Weekend

Stay tuned for how Mugs Rootbeer and these ingredients will come together for your backyard BBQ grillin and chillin events this summer.



MUG Root Beer
Southern Specialty Barbecue Sauce

1 cup MUG¨ Root Beer
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 20 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Transfer to bowl. Cover and refrigerate. (Can be made 2 weeks ahead; keep refrigerated.)

Recipe provided by MUG Root Beer. I haven't made it yet, but others who have describe it as having a "mild tangy" flavor.

Whole Hog in South Carolina

I saw this link to a story published 6-0-09 in the New York Times and I found it very interesting. Thought I'd share with all of you. Featuring Scott's BBQ in South Carolina.

The Whole Hog

Also see the article wriiten the Dining and Wine section of
the New York Times 6-9-09.

Pig, Smoke, Pit: This Food is Seriously Slow (in a very good way)