Recipes

Cook's Best Barbecue Baste (Serving for Four)
Cook's Best Beef Kabob
Cook's Best Chicken Kabobs with Veggies
Classic Cook's Best Barbecue Ribs

Cook's Best Beef Kabob
Wooden skewers, soaked in water for 5 hours. When ready to use, pat them dry and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Approx. 1½ packages of thin hickory smoked bacon
2 large sirloin steaks
1 bottle of Paul Newman's olive oil and vinegar dressing
Approx. 20-25 fresh pearl onions
Fresh red, green and yellow bell peppers, two of each color
1 box of fresh button mushrooms
Approx. 20 fresh cherry tomatoes
Basmati white rice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 stalks of fresh scallions
3 stems of fresh thyme leaves
Approx. 1 tablespoon of fresh flat leafed Italian Parsley
Plenty Cook's Best Barbecue Baste
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and black pepper to taste

Preparing the Rice:
Cook Basmati rice according to directions on the package. Melt unsalted butter, add scallions, thyme leaves only (discard stems) and parsely. Saute for 1-2 minutes to release flavors. Add scallion and herb mixutre to rice, season well with salt and pepper, fluff with fork. Set aside...keeping warm.

Prepping the Kabobs:
Trim fat from steaks, cut into strips then approx. 1 inch cubes. Place in large zip-lock bag, pour about ½-3/4 cups of Paul Newman's dressing and place in fridge for at least 2 hours. Slice all of your peppers, then cut into squares, it does not have to be perfect...rustic look. Place in zip-lock bag and place in fridge. Wipe mushrooms in damp towel, remove trim bottom of stems, place in bag, put in fridge. Place pearl onions with skin on in a large pot, cover them with cold water, cover, bring to a boil...then turn down to medium heat...lid slightly off, cook until just tender. Remove from heat, drain, cool and remove skins. Place in bag, put in fridge. Wash cherry tomatoes, set aside, room temp. Slice bacon into squares about an inch. Place bacon into microwave to partially cook, approx. 2-3 minutes...drain on paper towel, allow to cool. HAVE THIS STEP DONE ABOUT 15 MINUTES BEFORE ASSEMBLING KABOBS.

Assembling Kabobs:
BBacon should be room temp and ready to go. Remove steak from bag with slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain. Alternate steak and bacon on skewers then, add a dash of salt and pepper to them. Alternate veggies on skewers for color. Drizzle them lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Keep cherry tomatoes on separate skewers, they cook quickly. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.

To the Grill We Go:
Grill beef and bacon kabobs until medium rare. Cooking all sides. When done, baste kabobs with Cook's Best Barbecue Baste, let sizzle 1-2 minutes longer on the grill, then remove. Grill all veggie kabobs on all sides...when tender...baste with Cook's Best Barbecue Baste for 1-2 minutes, then remove.

Big Finish, Come and Get it!
Place rice on large platter. Stack Kabobs on top of rice. Drizzle more Cook's Best Barbecue Baste over everything. Drizzle a little olive oil over everything for a shiny finish. Serve garlic bread and a tossed green salad on the side. Lip smacking delicious!

Cook's Best Chicken Kabobs with Veggies
Wooden or metal skewers (Soak wooden skewers for 5 hours)
6 boneless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
½ cup or a little more of good quality Itlian Salad Dressing
1 large fresh red bell pepper
1 large fresh yellow pepper
1 fresh green zucchini
1 fresh yellow zucchini
1 box button mushrooms
Approx. 10-20 fresh cherry tomatoes
Approx. 20-25 fresh pearl onions
Garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Olive Oil to drizzle
Jasmine or Basmati Rice
1 tablespoon of finely minced shallots
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Plenty of Cook's Best Barbecue Baste

Directions:
Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Place chicken in a large zip-lock bag. Pour Italian dressing on chicken, zip up the bag, and place in fridge, marinade approx. 1 hour. While chicken is in fridge, prep your veggies: cut red and yellow peppers into 1-inch pieces, place in bag, and pop in fridge. Slice yellow and green zucchini/squash in half, then slice into 1-inch pieces, place in bag, pop in fridge. Clean mushrooms with damp paper towel, cut off bottom tip of stems. Leave mushrooms whole. Put in bag and place in fridge. In a large pot, put your whole pearl onions in skin and all, cover with cold water. When water comes to a boil, lower heat, lid slightly open. Cook until onions are tender, checking with a sharp knife. Remove from heat. Drain. Once cool to touch, remove skins. Place in
zip-lock bag and put in fridge. Wash and dry cherry tomatoes, leave out in room temperature. Cook rice according to package. In a non-stick pan, melt butter, add shallots, and saute until tender, and add parsley, saute 1-2 minutes longer. Add this mixture to cooked rice. Season with salt and black pepper. Fluff with fork.

Assembly:
Remove chicken from bag, place on a paper towel to catch extra marinade. Slide chicken onto skewers. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Slide tomatoes onto a separate skewer(s), they grill up the quickest. Drizzle lightly with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Slide the remaining veggies in any order you'd like. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat your grill. Grill your chicken until run clear. At the last minute or two of cooking, slather your Cook's Best Barbecue Baste over chicken and let it sizzle a bit. Remove from heat. Grill all veggies until tender, last minute or two of grilling, slather them up as well with Cook's Best Barbecue Baste, let it sizzle to get grill marks, then remove from grill. Top chicken and veggies with a drizzle more of Cook's Best Barbecue Baste. Then drizzle a little olive oil for shine on top of everything.

Plate up rice with kabobs and enjoy!

Classic Cook's Best Barbecue Ribs
2 full racks of baby back ribs
Optional: Remove back membrane, thin layer of fat located on the back of the rib bones
½ teaspoon Garlic powder
Salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
4 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
Optional: For those of you wanting more heat, add cayenne pepper, a little goes a long way
¼ cup Italian salad dressing (Good quality Italian Dressing, I use Paul Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing)
2 cups Water
Cook's Best Barbecue Baste

Remove ribs from package, rinse under cold water, pat dry. Remove back membrane by making an insert with a knife on both ends of membrane (located on the back where the rib bones are), pull down to remove. Discard fat, or leave it on. I've done it both ways. Season ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. For those who want more heat, now is the time to add your cayenne pepper, shake lightly. Then, in a bowl, mix together, brown sugar, paprika and garlic powder, rub this mixture into the ribs. Cut ribs into sections of 4's. Place ribs into a large deep baking dish, or I use a large disposable pan. Drizzle Italian Dressing lightly over ribs. Pour water into the side of the pan. Avoid pouring the water right on top of ribs. Double foil your pan with a TIGHT seal. Bake for 2 ½ to 3 hours at 350 Degrees. Each oven temp's vary, check ribs after baking for 2 ½ hours, meat should be very tender, pull away from bone with no effort. If still firm, recover tightly and return to oven for another ½ hour. Pre-heat your grill to medium high. Remove meat from oven pan. Discard liquid. Place ribs on a platter, baste ribs with Cook's Best Barbecue Baste on both sides. Grill your ribs until they have little grill marks on them. Watch carefully, they can burn easily, flip to be sure both sides have grill marks. Remove from gill, drizzle a little more sauce on ribs, or keep a bottle of Cook's Best Barbecue Baste handy at the table.