This is a simple barbecue sauce that goes really nicely on smoked meats of all kinds, especially pork and chicken though it’s also great on beef.  It takes all of about 10 minutes to throw together and I promise you, it rules over your KC Masterpiece or other bottled sauce (though I will confess I don’t mind a little KC Masterpiece now and then).  I actually measured the amounts of each ingredient I used; please don’t tell anyone. 

3/4 C Cider Vinegar

1/4 C Tomato Paste

1/4 C Molasses

1/4 C Peach Preserves

1 Ancho Chile, cut into small strips

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 

1 Tblsp Granulated Garlic

1 Tblsp Granulated Onion

1/2 tsp. Cumin

Juice of 1/2 lime

Stir the whole mess together in a small saucepan over low heat.  Cover & let simmer 1/2 hour.  Fish out the ancho chile strips or don’t.  Mop it on your meats near the end of smoking or grilling if that’s your pleasure, or just serve it on the side.

I’m having car problems and the roads are icy today, so I didn’t feel like going to the supermarket as previously planned. Even so, there wasn’t much food to work with in my freezer. I settled on a package of chicken wings. Now, I’m not my husband. He doesn’t mind venturing out in 18 degrees to grill up a batch of wings. I’m not that ambitious. What I decided to do was slow cook them in my crockpot.

A few months ago Buff sent me some T.J.Morgan’s Basting Sauce, and I’ve been finding some good uses for it. Today I marinated my chicken wings with the TJ. Morgan’s Teriyaki Sauce - using the Vacu-Seal to get the job done quicker - and slow cooked the wings to perfection. They’re just about falling off the bone. And Ok, I sample a couple since dinner won’t be for a while, and they’re absolutely out of this world.

T.J.Morgans touts itself as a basting sauce, but I also use it as a marinade. The Teriyaki sauce is absolutely divine. Friends, don’t be afraid to experiment in your kitchen. Sometimes the best food is born out of experimentation.

Gung hay fat choy! Happy Chinese New Year. This is a big occasion for my family, bigger than Christmas even. Normally we spend the day feasting with family under a red and gold backdrop!

Vitasoy has some great ideas for Chinese New Year fare, infusing Chinese and Italian flavors with their “Red, White and Green Pasta Dishes” created by Chef Jim Coleman host of PBS’ “Healthy Flavors.”

“Make a Chinese New Year’s Resolution to explore exciting new flavors and adventurous new uses for your favorite ingredients,” said Chef Jim Coleman, host of the PBS-TV ‘Healthy Flavors’ cooking show. “There is no reason to relegate Chinese noodles and pastas to traditional Chinese dumplings and stir fries! Chinese New Year’s is the perfect time to think outside the wok!”

Indeed, when I received the Vitasoy promotional packet, I couldn’t wait to try the recipe for the Chinese New Year Ravioli. It’s a creative dish, one that never would have occurred to me (but then I’m not a chef!) and it’s very tasty. The spinach and mushrooms didn’t appeal to my five year old, but my husband and I enjoyed it. I think it also makes a great dish for Valentine’s Day!

Here’s the recipe for Chinese New Year Ravioli:

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It’s easy and it’s healthy and it’s tasty.  My mother showed me how to do this years ago and I prefer it over any brand name sauce.   I make a batch especially for roasted pork or turkey as an alternative to the jelled cranberry crap that everyone serves.  An added bonus?  It sure makes the house smell nice. 

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I visited my cousin really good friend and potential business partner yesterday at his little deli/sandwich shop in Tampa. I hadn’t seen him in a while and it was great to visit with him. He’s been in the food business for almost 25 years, since he was a young man and has run all kinds of restaurants from German Gasthauses to Sports Bars to Fast Food Joints. I would say his forte has been his sauces. I still base my wings [Buffalonians do not call them Buffalo Wings] recipe on his after all these years. But I digress.

Yesterday he served my wife and me ribs with the most delectable sauce as the base. Turns out he created the sauce himself and his sauces are branded and manufactured and available on his web site. Please check his site out, order some sauces if you will, and let us know what you think. He has a few grilling sauces there, including an out of this world Tropical Garlic Teriyaki Grilling Baste that could be used as a salad dressing the next time you make something Oriental.

www.tjmorgans.com