David and I met up with Curt McAdams, his wife Phyllis and Jeff for a July 4th party hosted at the House of Hound for one spectacular super awesome grill out.
Though we had emailed before, we had never met in person. We were very happy to have the pleasure of meeting not only Cincinnati Hound, but his lovely family, including crafty wife and artistic and cat loving daughters, as well as his welcoming neighbors.
Jeff, David and I were planning on being there early to get our hands on some ribs cooked by a certified master BBQ judge who also makes his own sauce. Our host was providing sausage and chicken; and various side dishes were being supplied. I had decided that the best thing that I could contribute would be desserts. I had gone on a baking frenzy the day before.
Jeff came over with fantastic mac 'n cheese as well as a delicious chocolate torte. David and I gathered some skewers from Findlay Market, a large ribeye, our beverages and all of my sugar laden creations and headed out to the suburbs.
First order of business upon arrival, after unpacking the food and placing the beer in the fridge—ribs.
Hound brought them out quickly and carved off pieces for us. He also gave David and I a cold Hopslam. Clearly, he knows the quickest way to our nom-loving hearts.
As we bit into the ribs, all conversation stopped. It wasn’t totally silent in the kitchen, there were various nom nomming noises. Jeff looked like he was about to pass out from the blaze of barbeque glory. I know I almost did. They were cooked over both apple wood and hickory, and I could taste both in a delicious smoky combination.
There was also roast turkey and kielbasa sausage smoking on the grill. We got some extra kielbasa as a leftover bonus, and I’ve been snacking on it the past several days.
Hound has lots of cool toys. The large smoker, a separate shiny grill, a fancy pants espresso machine, a restaurant grade Panini maker and lastly, a home theater. Yea, that’s right. His place is like chucky cheez, but better and for foodies.
We sat around the kitchen table crunching on fresh bruschetta and talking about various food items and restaurants for a little while. Jeff, Hound and David enjoyed some MacCallan Scotch, while I stuck with a Stone 13th anniversary ale. It reminded me a lot of their Old Guardian Barleywine, though with more hops and less malt backbone.
At around 5:30, everyone started arriving, including Curt and Phyllis. They brought a yummy tomato pie and Caipirinhas to share. I had one, it’s a devious drink. Check out Curt’s fantastic photostream of the fourth here. I ate some savory tomato pie Phyllis created and some bean dip that one of Hound’s neighbors brought to balance it out.
I then tried Jeff’s creation, with pineapple juice, rum and sugar rim. He had me at the sugar rim.Yummy and boozy.
The chicken and ribeye went onto the grill as we continued to stuff ourselves with delicious food. Hound’s wife made a very yummy festive dessert, with cool whip, pineapple, blueberries and strawberries, which I ate way too much of.
Groaning and holding our tummies, we headed down to check out the nifty home theater. We ended up watching 300 while our bellies dealt with all the food we had consumed over the past 5 hours. I could not think of a better way to spend the 4th than with good food and friends.
It was a fun way to celebrate the Fourth for us... But Phyllis didn't do the tomato pie... that's all mine. :)
ReplyDeleteNice photos of the evening. I wish I'd had Rick's ribs instead of mine last weekend, when my cooker got away from me and overdid my ribs for competition! Next comp, you guys need to make a point of stopping by. In fact, in Sharonville in September, we need to plan a party Friday night!