So with St. Patty’s Day right around the corner I thought I better get my booty working on a new wreath so that all of our neighbors and guests knew which holiday is approaching next.  We thought through all of the “traditional” wreath making supplies i.e., ribbon, fabric, St. Patty’s themed merchandise to smatter it with, but they all seemed so boring.

Crazy Person Project items splayed out for easy viewing.

We need something spunky, it’s a parTAE holiday after all!  There’s pretty much a parTAE in my brain all day everyday so I like to do fun things like, oh say, save EVERYTHING under the sun that has potential artistic value and saving items from becoming a space consuming, non-decomposing burden on the landfill.  All lids, plastics, sushi grass, random light bulb butts, gerbera daisy stem protectors, everything I tell ya gets chucked into the tubs labeled “Crazy Person Project”.  I sorted all of the tubs into like categories and pulled out all green, orange,  and gold items.

Wrapping the wreath.

Chris drilled holes into most objects so I could easily wire them together and secure them into the wreath.  The two things we purchased for the project were a styrofoam wreath and a skein of super sparkley fun time yarn.  I wrapped the wreath with the yarn so the stryofoam does not show.

I cut up an egg carton into flower type shapes and painted and varnished them to protect them from the elements.  I wired several layers of caps and lids and buttons together to make flower type things.  Chris poured out some styrofoam petals for me.  I made flowers out of upcycled corduroy and plastic bags.

Green St. Patty's Day Wreath

With a nice variety of textures, shapes, and sizes I poked the flowers in until the front was dense leaving the interior and exterior rings bare with just the yarn exposed.  I grabbed an upcycled silk tie from the sewing studio and viola, a Green St. Patty’s Day Wreath is born!

Happy, festive St. Patty’s Day to one and all!  Be safe out there, kids!

–Team Blankinax

Here is how it went down:

Friday 2/17

approx 8:30am

Cat decides that she should make a treat for the nieces and nephew and sisters and parents.   Oh Pinterest, what Presidential treats do you have for us?

[Cat] A quick cursory search yields some pretty remedial cupcake ideas with a paper print-out of presidents glued to a toothpick and shoved into the center of a basic cupcake.  Not exactly what I had in mind!  I aborted the search immediately and we began using our own brains, best idea of the morning!

[Mullie] I first thought that we could create a cupcake for each President, forcing the cupcake eater to to figure out who it was before they were allowed to eat it, but I wasn’t sure that our artistic abilities were good enough to realize our vision.  Instead we needed to focus on the main Presidents Day Presidents, Washington and Lincoln, or maybe Obama.    Well, officially P Day is supposed to be George’s Birfday, so we decided to try to create the bust of George.  We would make it out of Rice Krispies Treats.  And hell, we should try to make it as realistic as possible, so it looks as if we are really tearing into the flesh of the Father of our Country. You know, for America.

[Cat]A couple of minutes later our conversation was over and the bust of George Washington was a go!  So we gathered supplies and away we went.

I know it looks like a wad of raw ground meat, but you're going to have to trust me, it really is rice krispies treats.

approx 3 P.M.

We started with a single batch of rice krispies treats and decided that was the perfect size for the shoulders of George.  After letting it cool a bit Chris packed and shaped it while I made another batch and a half of treats to begin working on the head.   Once the head was pretty well cooled the two were combined and allowed to fully cool and “set” overnight.

George Washington Sans Skin

approx 8 P.M.

Before calling it quits for the day I had to make the fondant so it could sit in the fridge overnight so we could roll it out the next morning.  Fondant is way too simple and cheap (in comparison to purchasing pre-made nasty crap in a tub) to make to skip doing so…so don’t, yo!  I used this super easy recipe for marshmallow fondant and made one batch of flesh colored and a half batch each of white and black.  The fondant needs to sit at room temperature for a while before rolling it out.

Crumb Coated George Washington

Saturday 2/18

approx 8 A.M.

Before we could apply the fondant the bust needed to be crumb coated.  I tossed some buttercream makins (softened butter, a bit of cream, and a ton of powered sugar) into the Kitchenaid along with some tasty almond extract.  We schmattered it on thinly with off-set spatulas for a while, but our fingers ultimately were the best tool.

Starting to skin George Washington

approx 9:30 A.M.

We let the coated bust sit while we began to roll out the whole batch of flesh fondant.  We flopped it over the top of George’s head and proceeded to form it to the shape of his face.  We stopped at his neck because the rest will be covered with his clothing.  We continued in the same manner with his jacket and shirt.  The eyes are made out of fondant and airheads (green).  The cheeks are spray food coloring in red and the lips were “watercolored” on with the same red.

Applying George's Hair Piece(s)

approx 11 A.M.

I used silver candy glitter sprinkles things and spun them with the super awesome cotton candy machine Santa brought us for Sweet Baby Jesus’ Birthday. I spun and spun and spun while Chris applied the hair with a dab of water.  The last step was to add the ruffles to his shirt and transfer him to his patriotic platter.

George Washington's Bust in all of it's glory!

approx 2 P.M.

We arrive at the Mullinax family home and patiently wait for everyone to arrive and gather so we could unveil the “surprise”.  I think it was a hit.  Everyone ewwwed and awwwed and laughed over it for a while then the question was posed, “Can we eat it?”  Heck yeah you can it, duh, that’s why we made it 100% edible.

George Washington after his lobotomy.

approx 3 P.M.

The next logical step it to cut a large chunk out of the middle of his forehead so everyone could see the hidden surprise…the “bloody” head of course.

Maggie holds George's eyeball in her hand while she feasts on his brains.

approx 3:30 P.M.

The sugar starts to get to the kiddos and some strange things begin to happen.  Requests for specific body parts started pouring in.

Libby's got George's ball of eye on you.

approx 4 P.M.

Libby scalped George and made a ball of flesh, with an eye in the center of course!

The demise of George Washington's Bust

approx 5 P.M.

Everyone was done with George and this is what remained.  I tell you, that Mullinax Clan is a mighty strange, lively bunch!  I wouldn’t trade them for the world!

Happy P Day!
—Team Blankinax

While trimming the tree this season I was inspired to create an eggnoggy tasty treat.  After a couple of tries this is what I finally came up with.  The recipe is based upon homemade eggnog because I abhor grocery store eggnog.  Though I cannot attest to the results, it seems feasible that purchased eggnog could be used to save a little time.  If you do decide to make your own eggnog it’s best to prepare it along with the eggnog pastry cream a day ahead to allow for proper cooling.

Eggnog:
4 cups 2% milk
2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scrapped
2 tablespoons cinnamon chunks or 2 sticks
24 whole cloves
12 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vanilla sugar (or extra vanilla and sugar)
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Combine milk, cloves, vanilla bean, and cinnamon in a saucepan and heat over low for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugars. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove spice chunks.  Stir in nutmeg and refrigerate until cooled.

Eggnog Pastry Cream:
1.5 cups each whole milk and eggnog
7 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/4 cup each flour and cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of Cinnamon
Tiny pinch of Ground Cloves
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring the eggnog and milk to a simmer.

While the mixture is heating, whisk together egg yolks, sugars, flour, cornstarch, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl.

Temper the egg mixture by SLOWLY whisking the heated eggnog mixture. Return to the pan and heat over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a low boil, and cook, whisking constantly until the mixture is very thick, 5ish minutes. (Be careful not to overcook or the eggs will scramble.)

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl and covering with plastic wrap so the wrap is in direct contact with the pastry cream. Refrigerate until chilled. The pastry cream can be refrigerated up to 5 days (which is significant because you will mos def have leftovers).

Brown Sugar Eggnog C(ake)ookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cup eggnog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix dry ingredients (nutmeg, baking powder and soda, salt, and flour) in a large bowl and set aside.  In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg and rum, mix until well blended.  Alternating between the flour mixture and eggnog add in three additions each to the butter mixture mixing until well blended after each addition.  Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto greased or silpat(ed) cookie sheet two inches apart.  Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden in color.

Eggnog Fluff:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 7.5 ounce jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 cup eggnog pastry cream
3.5 ounces white chocolate
1 tablespoon dark rum

Begin to slowly melt the white chocolate over lowest heat. It will cease rapidly so use caution. Stir in the eggnog pastry cream and heat until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool while moving onto the next step.

Beat butter with whisk attachment until creamed. Slowly add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add marshmallow fluff, cooled eggnog white chocolate mixture, and rum. Whisk for a few minutes. Refrigerate until the fluff has firmed up a bit, up to an hour, making for easier assembly.

Chocolate Chai Drizzle:
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream–use only 2 tbsp infused cream
1 Chai Tea Bag
3.5 Ounces Fine Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped

Empty contents of teabag into a small sauce pan. Add cream and heat over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Cover and remove from heat and all the tea to steep while the cream cools. Once cooled strain cream to remove the tea. Return pan to low heat (free of any tea debris) add 2 tbsp infused cream and chocolate. Stir constantly until melted. If it begins to cease add a bit more infused cream. Allow to cool until it sets up to a good piping consistency. Fill piping bag with small round tip with the chai chocolate and drizzle over whoopie pies.

Final Assembly of Whoopie Pie:
Place slighly firmed eggnog fluff into a large pastry bag fitted with any tip you prefer, I used some sort of star tip.  Generously pipe fluff onto underside of the cookie and place a similarly shaped and sized cookie on top.  Place in covered container and refrigerate (or place outside if it’s cold out) to allow the filling to set a bit.  Once set drizzle generously with chai chocolate.  Cool again to set chocolate.  Serve once chocolate sets or refrigerate for up to three days for maximum freshness.  They are best if brought to room temperature before serving, 20ish minutes.

Ingredients:

• ~4in taro root
• 1/4 cup dashi stock
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 3 large eggs
• 6 slices bacon
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• Aonori
• Bonito flakes
• Bull Dog Sauce
• Siracha Mayo
• 2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Peel and finely grate the taro root.   Apparently some people have allergic reactions to taro, so you probably shouldn’t rub it into your eyes or anything, then again, I am not a doctor.  Put the taro into a large bowl then add the dashi stock, flour and eggs and lightly mix.   Stir in the cabbage, corn, green onions, then salt and pepper to taste.
Now we have the basicyaki  batter and we are ready to cook.    This recipe makes two single serving yakis so you’ll need to either cook them in shifts or, if possible, use two like sized skillets so you can cook them both at the same time and serve them fresh.
Resist the urge to make one giant yaki.  I made my first one too large and was unable to survive the first flip attempt, ultimately causing great frustration.
Heat up the 2 skillets over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil to both.   Add half the batter to each pan and top with 3 slices of bacon .  Cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the underside is brown and crispy enough to support the flip, then flip them yakis! Cook the other sides for another 5-6 minutes, then transfer yaki to a plate.
Sprinkle liberally with Aonori and Bonito flakes, then drizzle with Bulldog sauce and Siracha Mayo. Slice the Yaki into four wedges and serve.  We added a watermelon salad to our Yoko Ono Yakis and it was a wonderful little meal.

Notes:
This recipe contains a few ingredients that are a bit out of the ordinary and might need to be obtained from an asian grocery store.

Dashi is a Japanese stock made from seaweed and dried shrimps and Japanesey stuff.  You can buy granules at an asian market so it takes no time at all to put together.

Aonori is finely shredded seaweed.  It comes in a shaker bottle.

Bonito flakes are little dried bits of  fish which are grinded up into tasty flakes.  It doesn’t sound awesome, but when you add all of the ingredients, they all work really well with each other.

Siracha Mayo is siracha and mayonnaise added together.   Everyone should have some Siracha Mayo close by at all times.

• 1 Cup Fresh Orange Juice
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
• 1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Tequilla
• 1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Agave Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Salt (or more to desired taste)
• 2 Red Onions, sliced and blanched 15 seconds

Directions: Combine and refrigerate for a at least a few hours up to a couple of weeks. The longer they sit, the more margarita-y they will be.

We tore down the big shed and built a smaller guy under part of our deck.  This was one of our Summer 2011 projects!

Day 1

After wrapping up our work Friday morning, we snuck out and hit the road by mid-Friday afternoon.  If you follow Recycled Kitty at all, you know we try to eat as much vegan as possible.  However if it is vacation, all restrictions are removed.  Once we crossed over from Missouri, we started seeing the signs that truly indicate we’ve made it to Iowa: signs for Kum & Go and signs for Maid-Rite.   For those who have never enjoyed the tasty loose meat goodness that is a Maid-Rite, let me tell you, it is

Cat is enjoying a tasty Maid-Rite with cheese

prolly the tastiest loose meat sammy you’ve ever had.   Much better than that crappy Crumbly Burger in St. Joe!  So we stopped for gas at the Kum & Go and went next door to the Maid-Rite/Amish gift shop and had our minds blown.  Our minds were not just blown by the tasty loose meat sammy, but by the bizarre concept of this establishment.   First, it was HUGE!  It was half 50′s era diner, half Cracker Barrel style gift shop.  The booths were made up of benches from Amish carriages. They had some fancy handmade picnic tables along with all sorts of artisan jellies and jams.  So we filled up on loose

Look, cows!

meat and hand made Amish items, posed with some cows for a photo, then back on the road.

The drive from KC to Des Moines is only about 3.5 hours, so the trip was easy and quick.  I’m amazed that I haven’t made the trip more often given the size of Des Moines and the amount of freaks in the town.

We arrived at the Marriott, rode their scary elevators to the 12th floor, which apparently is an “upper” floor of the 30 floor building, and got our awesome room that we had reserved right by the elevators and ice machine.   For some reason, Marriotts love to put us by the ice machine.  The place was a crap hole. You can read Cat’s Yelp about our experience here.

That evening we dined at Django.  This was meal #2 of our July 4th Weekend Meatfest. I had the Django Mixed Grill which featured multiple kinds of meat.   The best by far were these delicious little crispy hunks of fried pork belly.  There were only 3 of them, which would have been a perfect accompaniment to a more vegetarian centric main course, but instead I got steak and a sausage which ended up being a bit much.  I also got to enjoy some of Cat’s duck, which I found a bit tough but tasty.  The place was nice and I would consider going back when in the area.  Cat’s Django Yelp.

Day 2

If you are in Downtown Des Moines on a Saturday morning, you have to go to the farmer’s market.   Because it is laid out in a linear fashion in the streets instead of a larger all-in-one market like the City Market in KC, it seems huge!    It was bustling, even crowded when we arrived at 8:30.   Farmers, artists, various culinary visionaries offering everything from gourmet crab rangoons to full breakfasts.  It seemed that every place offering breakfast fare had a line going down the block.   It was fun and well worth the experience.  As with all farmer’s markets, the earlier you arrive, the better your experience would probably be.

Kitty inside Jaume Plensa's Nomade

We had a couple of hours before music started so we wandered around the beautiful Pappajohn Sculpture Park which was adjacent to the festival grounds.  Featuring sculptures by Keith Haring, Jaume Plensa,  and many others, it was a wonderful way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning.  Highly recommended.

Time for some music.  We made our way to Will Call to pick up our tickets, which we then traded for wrist bands.  A quick note about this festival.  It is much more of a civic festival for Des Moinesians then a typical music festival.  That was the reason for the cheap prices.  Two of the three stages were outside the main stage area, so they were completely free. It would have been very easy to just go to the free stages and hang outside the main gate for those bands you wanted to see. And it seemed as though that was exactly what a lot of people did.

Having downloaded the 80/35 app to my Android phone, I had mapped out our day and the acts I wanted to see.  And like every music fest I have ever been to, we missed the first set of bands.  Oh well. We finally made it to the main stage in time for Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band.

The good Reverend talking down to his flock.

The three piece punk-billy blues outfit was fun until the fine Reverend started “explaining” how he plays guitar without the aid of any of “dem damn computers” or none of them “looping gizmos”, despite what them kids are sayin’ on the interwebs.   While I’m sure it was all part of his normal schtick, it came off as him making a commentary on the main act of the day, Girl Talk.  I am also a huge fan of many musical artists that make use of technology to supplement their talents and I found his bragging to seem more like an oldie who is afraid to touch his VCR.  He then went on to play Yankee Doodle and Dixie (so timely!) simultaneously on the guitar, which was kinda fun, but mostly felt like a cheap stunt.  We left soon after, mostly because of his “demonstration”, but apparently it left other festival goers thoroughly impressed, as we heard people talking about it later that evening.

We made a quick trip back to the room then back to the main stage to get ready for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros!

These guys were basically the reason we came to this festival.  We had the

Our buddy Aaron at the piano

opportunity to hang out with our friend Aaron Embry for a little bit at the hotel before the show and were pumped by the time they took the stage.  If you are unfamiliar with the band, it apparently is a concept group created by Alex Ebert who takes on the persona of a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe who “was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind…but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.”  They have a hippy/roots feel to them and the show was great.   I will definitely go out of my way to see them whenever they are around.

BBU- Bin Laden's Blowin Up(?!?)

As with any festival, we hope to run into interesting new acts that we were previously unaware of.   One act that we ran into that really stands out was a hip-hop group from Chicago called BBU.  Made up of three MCs and a DJ, the group had an old school feel and look.   There were even break dancers in the crowd in front of us, which made the experience more fun.   Cat also got a phrase stuck in her head for the rest of the day, perhaps longer…

We then ran back to the hotel.  This was the number one reason this was the best festival in a long time.   There was enough time between acts and the crowds were light enough that we could run back to our room and cool off in the air conditioning, grab a bite or a drink, then make it back in time for the next band.   We did this all weekend, which also made up for the fact that we blew off working out after day 1.

Bitch.

By the time we got back to the Kum and Go Stage, we were treated to a little Bitch.  Cat was familiar with her, as she is a Righteous Babe recording artist, and had seen her perform as an opener for Ani DiFranco in the past.  She was your standard classically trained violinist  feminist punk with a drum machine.  She  had such a good time, along with her “lesbian mafia” in the crowd that it was infectious. After the Pussy Manifesto, it was time for us to eat.   We decided to check out the Americana, less than a block from the festival.  I was afraid it would be too crowded, but we got right in.  Service after that was lacking and the food wasn’t as good as I had hoped after seeing the menu.  You can check out a more detailed review on Cat’s Yelp.

We caught just a bit of Galactic, but Cat and I have both seen them numerous times, so we opted to save our strength for the big Saturday headliner, Girl Talk.   Now Girl Talk is single-handedly responsible for getting me in shape.  His freely downloadable mash-up album All Day is a crazy pop and rap collage which I find great for running.  He is a very talented DJ, or at least very talented at picking loops and samples.  With any live show, there is an energy bubble that radiates from the band.  The kids that are really into it get into this bubble, and those that would rather view from a far stay out.  We positioned ourselves up close, well within the bubble.  I proceeded to have a blast, sweating and dancing, being pushed and bumped and spilled upon.  As soon as I stepped out of the bubble, I began to see Girl Talk as the cheese ball he really is.   Without the energy of the crowd, the song selections seemed silly, not to mention his (and his 80′s loving desciples) jumping up and down.  But all in all, I had a good time and was glad I had the opportunity to see Greg Gillis do his thing.   Time to call it a night and get some rest for Suday.  When we got back to our room, we were treated to a lovely fireworks display over the river which we could see from window.

Day 3

Sunday morning, time for breakfast.   Never go to a bar for brunch.  Unless you are going to a sporting event and meeting friends, or you wake up there after a particularly drunken night, never go to a bar for brunch.   These are words that I should live by, but for some reason on Sunday morning we did just that.  We went to the Star Bar for a over-priced crappy breakfast that had the potential of ruining our day.  Cat’s Yelp.  Fortunately we were able to turn the day around by discovering Des Moines had a Trader Joes!  So we picked up some food, went back and made some lunch to make up for the crappy breakfast we had, then back to the festival.

Yelawolf showing off his undies

First act we caught on Sunday was Yelawolf.  Having read up on him, I was expecting a Kid Rock southern rock/rap act, and wasn’t far off.   Though I would say he is more of a hip-hop artist than a crossover act, he definitely has skills and I imagine I haven’t seen the last of him. (Side note: I just picked up the new Tech N9ne album 6s & 7s which features Yelawolf on the track Worldwide Choppers.  Check out the crazy flow here, tis pretty amazing.)

Karl Denson's Tiny Universe

The next act on the main stage was Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe.  I haven’t seen him in  a few years, but had a blast.  The Tiny Universe does a jazz/funk/jam thing and does it well.   One of the highlights of the whole weekend was their cover of”Hang Me Up to Dry” by the Cold War Kids.  Karl and his band are a perfect example of hard working musicians who travel and work every day in the music biz but enjoy a relative level of anonymity.   For those unfamiliar with Karl, CPJS recently posted this interview, check it out.

I have been to various festivals where Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have played, I have seen them on some festival webcasts and heard them on the radio, but have never been a convert.   I have nothing against them, but I just don’t understand the appeal.   Many friends of mine are big fans and so Cat and I made sure we were in the crowd to give them another shot.   When Grace performs, looks like a cross between Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner.  Small in stature with blonde hair and a short dress, she dances with an abandon between verses that you can’t help but appreciate.  But all in all, I get the feeling of a decent bluesy bar band.     I really tried, but she just doesn’t do it for me.  Maybe we were getting tired.  We are pretty old.

It was time for fair food.  Our one trip to the mobile food vendors of the weekend was upon us.  We had carefully scoured the grounds earlier in the weekend, trying to decide which of the fried delicacies we would ingest.   Our decision: Cat chose a foot-long corn dog and I went for a giant smoked turkey leg.  I think we both started regretting our decisions after the first bite. We really started regretting our decision once we looked up the calorie content of those items.  Ugh.  One more trip to the hotel to recuperate before the Sunday headliner, Of Montreal.

Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes rides in on a Luche Libre horse, or something like that!

Once again we positioned ourselves inside the energy bubble for the final act.   Of Montreal is an alt-pop group from Athens, GA.   The lead singer kinda sounds like Prince, and they have this modernized Bowie Glam thing kickin which was pretty fun.  Their stage antics remind me of the Flaming Lips, complete with costumes, though they seemed to be more story(?) oriented.   The unfortunate part was that if you weren’t in the first 20 feet of the stage, you had no idea what the story was or what the hell was going on.   They had cameras, but the images that were put onto the big screen were posterized and solarized, making it groovy looking, but making it impossible to see what was actually taking place.  Obviously lots of kids had a blast and the overall vibe was definitely a positive one.  I think a more intimate indoor show would be a better venue.  Being tired and old, we left midway through their set, concluding our 80/35 experience.

All in all, 80/35 was great.   Small crowds, cheap tickets, a hotel room less than 3 blocks away all add up to make it a great experience.     Looking back at the past 80/35 festivals, every year seems to feature a really strong lineup, so we will definitely be keeping an eye out for the lineups and ticket announcements next year.  It was great way to spend the 4th, see some great musical acts and experience Des Moines, Iowa.

Recipes:

Smoked BBQ Beef Brisket

Ingredients:
5(ish) lb Beef Brisket
Bobby Flay 16 spice rub
Father’s Day Smoked Brisket Mop
Served with Father’s Day Smoked Brisket BBQ sauce

Directions: We had some Bobby Flay 16 spice rub mixed up so we rubbed a brisket liberally with it, tossed it in an aluminum pan and put it in a smoker.   The reason for the aluminum pan is so we can catch any juices to create a BBQ sauce.    The BBQ sauce is like a gravy created from the juices of the meat that is being smoked, the spices rubbed on, and the mop that is added.  Instead of adding a bunch of liquid smoke, we like to utilize the real smoke that we are using to smoke our meat.

Kitty is adding some of the mop to the brisket

Father’s Day Smoked Brisket Mop

Ingredients:
2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup broth
1/4 cup hot pepper vinegar
2 tbsp Creole Mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 medium jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
1 inch hunk of ginger

Directions:
Put all the ingredients in a pot on medium until it reduces by 2/3.  Once the Brisket has been in the smoker for a couple of hours and has a bit of color on the outside, mop liberally.  Repeat every couple of hours until the brisket is done.

Father’s Day Smoked Brisket BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:
5 lbs tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
2 large onions
1 tbsp mustard seed oil
5 cloves garlic confit
2 tbsp garlic confit oil
1/2 cup Blackstrap molasses
liquid from brisket pan

Directions: Liquify tomatoes in a blender or food processor.  Heat mustard oil and saute onions and peppers until soft.  Add garlic confit oil and garlic and saute until fragrant, add tomatoes.  Cover and simmer over low heat until tomatoes are reduced and sauce is thick, stirring often to ensure the sauce is not burning and sticking.  Once reduced add molasses and liquid from brisket pan.  Heat until the flavor melds together and you have a delicious sauce on your hands.  

Smoked BBQ Beans

Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup raw cane sugar
2 tbsp hot pepper vinegar
1 tbsp yellow mustard seed
1 tbsp brown mustard seed
1 tbsp coriander seed
2 tsp dill seed
2 tsp celery seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs pickling cucumbers, washed and sliced into 1/2″ rounds
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced into half moons
1/4 cup salt
2 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:
Heat vinegars, sugar, and spices until sugar is dissolved.  While sugar is dissolving sprinkle cucumbers with salt in a colander allowing liquid to drain.  Pat the cucumbers dry and mix with onions and garlic.  Pour hot vinegar mix over cucumbers and onions.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Mango Slaw

1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced leaving the last 1″ or 2″ at the core
1 mango (firm, but not green), julienned
1 bunch green onions (white/light green), julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
2 tablespoons salted cashews, chopped and toasted

Slaw Dressing
1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons mint, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
1 teaspoon agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Mix dressing ingredients together and allow flavors to meld while preparing the vegetables.  Mix slaw ingredients and toss with dressing and sprinkle with toasted coconut and cashews.  Serve immediately.

We woke up and found our dogs had given each other haircuts!