Last Sunday, we had a mini family reunion.  My Mom and Dad drove over from Kennewick and my cousin Keith, his wife Monique and son Carl were here from New York.  The New York cousins were on a stop-over in Seattle, prior to their 7 day Alaska cruise!  Like every good family reunion, the food was delicious and plentiful.  Because we were so busy visiting and eating – I don’t have a lot of “finished” product shots.  I did want to share a couple of the recipes anyway.

The Menu

Dave’s Smoked Baby-Back Ribs

BBQ Chicken (see previous post)

Laura’s Potato Salad (see previous post)

Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

Black Bean and Corn Salad with Cilantro and Citrus Vinaigrette

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler with vanilla ice cream

For the Black Bean and Corn Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

4-5 ears of corn, shucked, cleaned and grilled

1 pound dry black beans*, soaked overnight, cooked with 2 cloves of garlic, rinsed and thoroughly chilled (*yes you could use canned beans)

1 large purple onion, chopped finely

2 jalapeno peppers, minced finely

1/2 cup finely minced fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

For the Citrus Vinaigrette

Juice of 3 limes, about 1/3 cup

1/4 cup orange juice

3/4 cup olive oil

1/2 Teaspoon cumin – or more to taste

1/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder – or more to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all in a jar and shake well.  Pour over salad.  Refrigerate overnight before serving.

Helpful hint!  When cutting corn off a husk, place a small bowl upside down inside a bigger bowl.  The kernels will stay in the mixing bow!

For the BBQ ribs

Prepare the ribs a day ahead to allow the rub to soak in.  Use any bbq rub you like.  The most important part is removing the silvery membrane from the back of the ribs, first.  Rub both sides of the rib with your seasoning of choice, place in pan and refrigerate overnight.  Bring the ribs to room temperature prior to smoking.  Dave smokes the rib racks about 4 hours.  We then cover with bbq sauce and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

For the Tomato, Basil and Fresh Mozzarella Salad

Slice large, ripe tomatoes.  Slice the same amount of fresh mozzarella.  Arrange on plate by alternating a tomato slice and a cheese slice.  Top with sliced basil.  Sprinkle with fresh, fruity olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

For the Peach Cobbler

I used Palua Deen’s recipe, with the addition of blueberries from the garden. (I omitted the water as the peaches were really juicy.)

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches

2 cups sugar, divided

8 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup blueberries, for my version

Ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.  Add in one cup of blueberries, if desired.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking pan and place in oven to melt.

Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with or vanilla ice cream.