Big Ass BBQ

Some 30 people showed up for today's 4th Annual Cornhole Tournament & Big Ass BBQ. For the first time in four years the weather was perfect on tournament day, it almost felt fall like. Everyone had a great time playing cornhole, catching up with friends and as always, eating a lot of fabulous foods, not to mention the tournament winners took home $260 - not bad for a few hours of work! Now, this would be the section where I'd tell you about all the great food we had & you could see all the pictures, however I was a bad cooking blog host and only ended up taking two, yes two, food related pictures. For the first time, in a long time, I actually took pictures of the people at our party and not what they brought to eat! Perhaps next time, I'll be able to strike a balance between the two. Enjoy now the two pictures I did take, and use your imagination for the rest. And yes, strangely enough I did take a picture of the cheese balls.


I made my usual tournament fare: macaroni & cheese, guacamole, my award winning salsa and decided to add the black bean & corn dip I tried out for the 4th of July Party. The husband and his trusty smoker were once again the stars of the day! The husband should also get the MVP award for putting the pork shoulder on at 4:30 am, way to early for me! His secret rub & mop have worked there magic again, since all 10 pounds of pork disappeared quickly. I did manage a picture of the pork the husband stashed away for us and the leftover macaroni & cheese - both of which made a fine lunch while recouping on the couch the next day.

Mayme's Macaroni & Cheese

3/4 pound Elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

2 Tbs. Butter, preferably unsalted

3 Eggs

1 c. Buttermilk

1 c. Evaporated milk

1 1/2 tsp. Dry mustard

1/2 tsp. Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce

1/2 tsp. Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. Salt

2 c. Sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a medium-size baking dish. Toss the warm macaroni with the butter.

2. In a medium-size bowl, beat the eggs lightly and add the buttermilk, evaporated milk, dry mustard, Tabasco, pepper, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the macaroni and the cheese and pour the macaroni mixture into the prepared dish.

3. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the macaroni and cheese is lightly firm and browned. Serve warm. Any leftovers should be reheated gently to avoid developing the consistency of galvanized rubber.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe obtained from: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue by Cheryl & Bill Jamison

What I did: Hands down I think this is the best baked macaroni & cheese! Never having any luck or desire to mix & stir milk and flour together - this is the only macaroni recipe I'll make. I generally double or triple this recipe and tend to add more pepper, hot sauce and dry mustard than indicated. I usually use Tabasco Chipotle brand, since I think it gives the macaroni more flavor.

Guacamole

Ripe Avocados, halved and chopped

Tomatoes, chopped

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Fresh lime juice

Garlic, minced

Jalapeno Chile, finely minced

Kosher salt

Ground cumin

1. Using a spoon scoop out the avocado flesh, mash with a potato masher or a fork to desired consistency. Stir in the remaining ingredients, adding more of any as needed for desired taste.

2. If not serving right away, cover with plastic wrap - making sure to press wrap directly onto the top of the guacamole. Refrigerate 4-6 hours. Taste & adjust seasonings before serving.

What I did: I don't follow the original measurements, since I'm usually making a lot. Guacamole is an easy, versatile and almost impossible to mess up! Add more of what you like (onion, corn, black beans) and omit what you don't like.

Recipe originally obtained from: Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook by Mary Corpening Barber & Sara Corpening Whiteford