Laughing, Crying, and Eating My Way Through Proofing A Cookbook

Hey Y'all! Here's a little something to help get you over the hump...a new Que-Licious post!

Last fall I decided to put together a cookbook featuring my grandma Robinson's scratch recipes my family has enjoyed for years. I know what you're thinking right...another cookbook of comfort foods...that couldn't be farther from the truth. I am sure when a cookbook of this nature is put together there is some collaberation with the person that inspires the book to be written in the first place. Perhaps you gather all the hand written recipes that were tucked away in recipe boxes and between the pages of cookbooks and sit down together at the kitchen table and go over each one carefully as to not forget an important step or that must have ingredient. Well, not this particular cookbook. The Forgotten Kitchen was inspired by the woman who taught me to grow a garden, can and preserve, how not only to cook but cook with love, and most of all, how to become self-sufficient when that is your only option.

As I began writting her recipes and methods down, I began to remember so many Sunday dinner's spent at her house growing up. I remember watching her start a fire in the wood burning stove, the glorious smells drifting out of her kitchen, and the way her highboy buffet would be filled end-to-end with pies and the occassional cake. I am blessed to have so many memories of and with her, and I wish she could remember those days as well.  My grandmother suffers from the devastating effects of Alzheimer's Disease. So you see folks, there will be no talks at the kitchen table, no cooking in the kitchen next to one of the most admired women in my life, and certainly no hand-written recipes. As the book started to come together, I realized it needed to be more than just a book of recipes and methods. It needed to be a book about the memories created out of one woman's love for her family expressed through her food.

So what does putting together our family recipes have to do with a bbq business? EVERYTHING! I have taken those same family favorites and made them my own by adding my bbq twist. For example, my grandma's homemade chicken and dumplin's are my absolute favorite food ever. So given my love of barbecue style food, I made the dish my own and call it Smoked Chicken & Dumplin's. To me, this is the best of both worlds. So these days I find myself reviewing these pages that I have "set to paper" (as she would say) and laughing when I remember a mischievious child's actions on a Sunday afternoon in her house, crying because I miss her so, and eating because...well...I have to test the recipes. My goal is to have the book ready by her birthday this year which is April 1, 2012 so please keep watching the blog and other social sites for updates on when the book will be available.

A percentage of the sales of the cookbook will be made to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org) in her name, Lucille Mae Robinson. The Forgotten Kitchen is filled with memories of how my grandmother taught me to cook, working with her in the garden, and how her influence helped guide me to this point in my life which is exactly where I need to be...in the kitchen.

Keep Cookin' Y'all!

Rod Run, Doo Wop, & BBQ!

Hey Y'all...Welcome back to Que-Licious!

Well, here we are again delving into the next adventure of our little bbq world! JD and I truly have a blast cooking all this good food and we especially enjoy it when we get to share our bbq with a crowd. That's just what we got when we decided to see if we could book a bigger event after the overwhelming response we received after our trial run set-up at the 127 Yard Sale event. We had taken good notes, had an event in mind, and with the profits we made from the 127 sale; we were able to buy a mobile concession sink.

Ok, so I have to take a few minutes and tell you about this product because it truly is a lifesaver. If you own a food service business then you know the expense involved when purchasing equipment; especially stainless steel. We started pricing sinks, and/or the separate parts needed to "make" a mobile sink before we set up at the 127 sale. We checked restaurant equipment stores, private ads from businesses selling their equipment, auctions, just about every where you could think of that sold a three compartment sink. Then, one day I just happened to be on EBay and decided to search for mobile concession equipment. I am so glad I did. Anyone out there thinking of starting a tear-down mobile concession stand, or heads an organization that conducts fundraisers such as a hamburger stand for the boy scouts, this is the sink for you. Lightweight, compact, exceeds most health department requirements for most states, and has a wireless battery backup option that allows you to use the sink at remote events where there may not be an electric outlet. (Which we totally opted for) I highly recommend and encourage you to check out this EBay Store for all the specifics and technical details. The people are friendly and stand behind their product. There is no assembly or difficult instructions to follow; just uncrate the sink, plug it in to charge, fill the water tank, and it's ready to use in 24 hours...so simple! Ok, on to the event.

JD and I have been attending a four day car show event in Charleston, WV since 2006 and it was the first event we thought of setting up our little bbq stand at when we started planning after the pig pickin'. We are even featured strolling down the boulevard on the Charleston Rod Run & Doo Wop Car Show website in 2008! You can see the video here. (scroll down to the slow drive down the boulevard clip.) We are the couple a few seconds into the video holding hands; JD has on a blue t-shirt and I am pointing to a Mustang off to my left.  So, I went to the event's website and downloaded a vendor application, contacted the local health department regarding requirements to set up, and made our hotel reservations. Then it was onto to planning the menu! We again decided to keep the menu simple, mainly to keep the costs down, but also since we were new to this business and we wanted to see how our type of food sold at this event. We filled the smoker with pork butts, beer can chicken, and brisket and set the smoker up for an all night smoke so we would be ready for the crowd coming in for the National Mud Racing event which was the biggest attraction during the car show. As fate would have it, we were set up right in front of where the race was to be held. You guessed it folks...everyone attending or participating in the race had to walk right by our stand and be forced to smell all that good food we were cookin' up! Loved that!!! Just as we had done at the 127 sale, we set out our bbq sauce against the Sweet Baby Ray's and gave the people their choice. And again we were not disappointed! We arrived Thursday night and by late Friday we were again making more of our sauce after taking 3 gallons with us. I was convinced now more than ever that we had a marketable, sellable product in our sauce and that got my little creative wheels spinning out of control in my mind.

I love this event for a lot of different reasons...mainly because it is home! That's right folks...I am a West Virginia girl; born and raised in the neighboring Mason County of where the car show is held every year. So going to this event each year truly is going home! As you can see from the above picture, the boulevard is located along the Kanawha River and is held the first full weekend in October. Last year there were over 900 vintage and restored cars and close to 50,000 in attendance. We did not participate in last year's event because we were in the middle of moving and planning my oldest daughter's wedding. I think those are good reasons to skip the event. Nonetheless; we do plan to attend in the future and would love to be able to do so this year as the World's Championship Chili Cookoff will be held during the car show October 5-7!

Once we arrived at our location to set up, we were greeted by that all familiar West Virginia hospitality that I adore. The folks in charge of planning the event were beyond helpful in explaining the process of having sponsored vendors such as Pepsi for the drinks, and other vendors for ice and bread, and so many other details we were oblivious to. Pepsi provided all of the drinks to be sold during the car show and would bring us case after case to sell for a commission. This set up works perfect and saves vendors a lot of time of restocking and avoids shortage and overage issues on buying beverages from the vendors point of view. We started will a couple of cases of each and as we sold out Pepsi supplied us with more to sell and we didn't have to worry about settling the bill until the event was over. The same holds true to ice and bread. Event organizers and volunteers were very deligent on making the rounds to check on vendors every 2-3 hours to see if they needed any supplies and that the water and electric hookups were functioning accurately. This event has grown so much since the first time we attended and the way the staff and event has managed to keep up with the increase in attendees and in vendors is to be complimented. So many times we have seen events that we really enjoy attending go by the wayside due to poor management and we were so happy to see that this event is honestly getting the attention it deserves. I think the staff could pick up on the fact that we were more than just a little nervous about our set up and this being our first "real" event. Once our nerves settled and we took in the fact that we were really there and it was going to happen, we did what we do best...smoked some bbq!

Our food stand was located next to the "Tastee Chef" which specialized in sweets, my personal favorite being the deep fried Oreo's...Oh My Goodness! The couple that operated that stand provided us with some very sound advice on how to schedule for the year's up coming events and to get your next year's calendar booked by the end of December each year so you have more time to plan and market your product in advance. Sage advice! They were also very helpful in providing some mechanical assistance as we did not bring the appropriate electrical cords with us and they were nice enough to let us borrow one of theirs.

We discovered we needed a generator, electrical supplies, lights, a cooler, a banner, a better menu board...basically a complete overhaul on our set up if we were going to attend these large events! So, that is where we are today...regrouping, planning, and designing a new set up that will allow us to be more efficient and cost effective in this economy. Where do we start...from the beginning of course.

We have decided that our needs would best be suited with a standard, drive unit food truck that contains the proper refrigeration units, ample room for storage of dry goods, a prep-table, and possibly even a steam table. We would then pull the smoker behind the truck and be able to operate more effieciently. Plus it would look more professional and at least give the impression we know what we are doing. (Insert laughter here) I wouldn't trade our experience at the car show for anything because it was a valuable lesson that you cannot obtain from a book, a lecture, or just by someone guiding you in the right direction. Anyone who has ever had a dream of accomplishing something important to themselves has had to take that first leap of faith, bite the bullet, and just go for it. We are!

So what lies ahead for Whiskey River BBQ is to research the bottling process and get our product out there on the shelves and hopefully do a lot of in store demos as well. I found a great local source with lots of details on how to accomplish that very goal and of course I will be sharing our progress right here at Que-Licious! on a regular basis so be sure to follow us and join us on this fabulous, whiskey soaked bbq journey!

Keep cookin' y'all!

Our BBQ Debut!

Hey Y'all! Welcome back to Que-Licious!

Well folks, we are to the point in our little barbecue adventure where we decided to make our bbq debut to test our product by introducing our barbecue to the general public. Granted, it was a most exciting, nerve racking, exhausting, and much anticipated event to prepare for as this was our first venture in mobile concession. We decided since it was just going to be the two of us, we would choose a small venue with a lot of different people in attendance so we could get a true sense for how well, or not so well, our product was received. Being only two months away from the annual four day event of the 127 World's Longest Yard Sale, we decided to take a drive one Sunday afternoon along state route 127 in hopes of securing "the perfect spot" to set up our little barbecue stand. Given the fact that we were out two months in advance you would think available spots would be plentiful...not so. One very important lesson we learned right away was in planning and securing your spot for recurring events in advance...and sometimes, if not always, this means a year in advance. This is without a doubt the most important part of planning your year in mobile concession. It doesn't matter how good your product is if you can't get it in front of customers. So, after a day of traveling along State Route 127 in Ohio for most of the day we finally stumbled upon the place where Whiskey River BBQ would make it's BBQ Debut...The Darke County Steam Threshers Association!

 We could not believe our luck! The Darke County Steam Threshers Association is located along State Route 127 at the York Woods that has both water and electric hookups, campsites, and a restroom/shower facility onsite...very important feature for us! We wasted no time in contacting the steam threshers to inquire about setting up our barbecue stand. Once we finalized all the details, picked out our spot, and paid our fees; we went home and started our planning process.

We knew we were going to have our sauce out there for customers to try and I have to admit I had that nervous-excited-nauseated feeling in my gut that was just not going to go away until that first customer tried our sauce! That is why the planning was going to have to be perfect and I would have to plan through the eyes of my customer. Now, two months may seem like a lot of time to get organized and plan for an event such as this; but I honestly could have used another couple of weeks and whole lot more insight. This was going to be a true learning experience for us.

I have attended so many fairs, festivals, and even a few bbq competitions (only as a spectator) and knew what drew me in as a customer looking for some good food and that is what I was going to duplicate for our customers. You know what I mean right...if you are looking for a fresh grilled Italian Sausage you wouldn't get that from an vendor selling elephant ears. I would be inclined to buy one from someone standing over a hot grill rather than in front of a microwave is all I'm saying. So I really wanted our barbecue set-up to "look" like barbecue; complete with the red and white checkered tablecloth...as you can see from this picture taken in our driveway the day before the set up.

Not perfect...but it got me started. We were going to be setting up at a yard sale event, so there were no health department requirements to be met and everything was very casual just as if you were selling in your own front yard. The actual set up turned out to be a little different.

 This is our actual first set up which, for a yard sale event, I thought turned out pretty good. The important thing was to make our set up design friendly, inviting, and encourage word of mouth advertising! Which totally happened by the way! After we were satisfied with our set up design, we put together our menu, set our price, and started making sauce!

 If anyone out there reading this blog post has ever realized their dream coming true then you know what an indescribable feeling you get the moment you realize it's becoming a reality. And that nervous-excited-nauseated gut is something that you will just have to get use to...in a good way.

Our plan was to arrive the night before the first day of the event, set up, and start smoking that night to be ready for the first customers by 10 a.m.; unfortunately mother nature had other plans for us and the rest of the participants of the event. We loaded the truck, hooked up the smoker, and just as we were getting ready to lockup the house and head to the event...it started to storm. Now folks, anyone out there living in Ohio knows that the weather here can turn on a dime...and it does. When I first moved to Ohio I was told if I didn't like the weather to just wait about 15 minutes because it would change. They were right! We quickly turned on the television and sure enough there were storm warnings with a high wind advisory/tornado watch in place for the rest of the night...great! So, knowing we would be a day behind we decided to stay home, get a good nights sleep, and just start fresh in the morning. Sometimes these little reminders are necessary to help us realize exactly who is in charge of the planning.

After arriving a day late due to the weather, we decided to walk the campground and pass out our menus to the other vendors - even the food vendors - and let them know that we would be serving breakfast in the morning and baby backs on Saturday in case they wanted to place their order early. We also left a stack of menus at the front gate so yard sale shoppers would be sure to see that authentic slow smoked barbecue was being served at this event. We arrived at the York Woods around 8AM on the first day of the sale which was Thursday and not a too terrible busy day. For those of you who are not familiar with the 127 yard sale event, I would encourage you to check out the website. This event spans 675 miles from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama and people actually plan their entire vacations around this event. I was more than just a little excited with the possibility of getting customers from outside our immediate community to try our product.  From the first smell of the hickory wood to the first sandwich served our little booth was buzzing with customers! We loaded our smoker down with pork butts, brisket, and brats for the first day and decided that Saturday, the busiest day, would be the only day we would sell baby-back ribs. That would give us three solid days of selling food and capturing that all important customer feedback we so needed.

Oh...and did I forget to mention we gave our customer's their choice of sauce to use? Sweet Baby Ray's is probably one, if not the, most famous barbecue sauce on the market and I'd say anyone who has tried barbecue has more than likely tried their sauce and is familiar with the taste. So what else did we decide to offer our customers as an alternative sauce choice but SBR's. Talk about a boost to the ego...we got it! We bought 2 gallons of SBR's sauce and made 2 gallons of JD's Jacked-Up BBQ Sauce and gave customers their choice of which sauce they wanted. They were free to taste each one and use as much as they wanted on their food. Just as I had predicted at our backyard pig pickin'...we were a hit! We ran completely out of our sauce on Saturday, and had to make another gallon just because of repeat customers choice!!! We did go through some of the SBR's as well, but not even close to the amount of our sauce we went through! We ended up taking a gallon and a half of the SBR's home and only about a half a gallon of our sauce. Not only did we receive compliments on our sauce, but our food as well!

Our brisket sold out early on the first day (Friday), our baby backs sold out within two hours on Saturday, and by 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon we were down to just pork butts and brats! There is no question in my mind that we would have ran out of food on Friday and one of us would have had to make a run to Sam's Club just to have enough to keep up with the demand if it hadn't been for the storm. In doing that, we would have had to tell our customers the product wasn't ready, we were sold out, or they would have to come back...which was not an option. (See what I mean about that planning thing!)  To recap...that's 40 pounds of brisket, 50 pounds of pulled pork, and 80 brats within 7 hours of the first day, not to mention 25 racks of ribs within 2 hours...I was a happy girl! To hear the response our food received and the overwhelming requests for our sauce just made me so proud and reassured us we were on the right path and this was a perfect way to test our product! We took a notebook along with us and took detailed notes on the good, the bad, and the ugly so we could get a handle on where we needed improving. In my opinion...it was everything except the way we cooked! That weekend we served people from Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and our community and the response could not have been more encouraging for us to continue on the next phase of our journey...a bigger event!

Keep cookin' y'all!

...And It All Started With A Backyard "Pig-Pickin'!"

Hey There...Welcome back to Que-Licious!

Today I thought I would share how Whiskey River BBQ was born...and it all started with a backyard "pig-pickin'!" Actually, it started with the dream of starting my own food business, the pig-pickin' just cinched it. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted my own food business; the problem...deciding which avenue I wanted to pursue because they all appealed to me. I was fortunate to have previously owned a small convenience store business, which included a deli. It didn't take long for me to fall in love with that part of the businss and start adding to our menu. I also found that I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the different types of customers that came into the store each day. I guess it's because that environment reminded me a lot of my upbringing being surrounded by family, friends, and food that always created a good time. Simply stated, I didn't know exactly what I was suppose to be doing with my life, but I knew it involved food. This would become very clear during a trip to Raleigh, NC one summer that lead to the purchase of our first little pig cooker.

During the summer of 2008, we found ourselves enjoying the hospitality of the wonderful residents in the small southern town of Zebulon, NC, east of Raleigh, as part of a road job for Jim's work. While there, we happen to attend a weekend flea market at the State Fairgrounds and stopped by a booth of a smoker manufacturer (whose name truely escapes me now) who happened to be located on the carolina coast. So, pamphlet in hand, Jim headed to work the next day and asked the guys at the shop if they knew of the company or their product; and if they did what they thought about their smokers. The guys were quick to point out that they had no idea about that company but if we were looking for a smoker, there was only one place we needed to look...BQ Grills in Elm City, NC. Two of the guys had purchased a patio model for their own backyard and told us quote, "those guys can make damn near anything". So, we got in the car and drove to Elm City and 3 months later we were the proud owners of our first little portable pig smoker.

So what's a girl to do with a brand new portable pig cooker but throw a backyard pig-pickin' for her family and friends...and that's just what I did. We invited about 50 people out to the backyard and went hog wild! JD and I love cooking together especially for a crowd and with barbecue there are so many flavor combinations to create! JD is drawn more to the tangy vinegar based barbecue you would find in the Carolina's; while I tend to gravitate toward the sticky, sweet-heat you mind find in Kansas City. I have rarely tried a style of barbecue that I couldn't find something to like about it be the smoke, the sauce, or the meat. So when we decided to try our hand at a recipe for our own barbecue sauce and what style we wanted to use, you can imagine the trials and tribulations of finding one that stuck with both of us!

We both read book after book on barbecue trying to find some sort of inspiration to head us in the right direction we wanted to go with our products; almost to the point where I felt like I was on barbecue overload. So one day JD decides to dig out his own homemade barbecue sauce recipe that he had used for years yet somehow never managed to make for me until the pig pickin' plannin' was underway. My first and only question to him was why is this not on the shelf EVERYWHERE?!?!? Admittedly, I try almost all barbecue sauces I can get my hands on and I know a distinct flavor when I taste one...this sauce had it. You folks know what I'm talking about right? In a blind taste test I am certain that I would know Sweet Baby Ray's sauce from Montgomery Inn's sauce. Both sauces are two of my favorite's because they each bring a unique identifier to the table...pun intended. The sauce that JD made for our pig pickin' was that kind of sauce; a real one-of-a-kind taste...and we were not the only ones who thought so. All of our guests enjoyed it as well and we even had a couple of people ask where we bought it. (Proud moment)

So with that; we decided it should be our signature sauce/product and we call it "JD's Jacked-Up BBQ Sauce"! Next, we focused our attention on the rub, the slather, the injection, and getting the star of the show ready for his grand entrance. I plan on another pig pickin' this summer and will document our process from start to finish. So be sure to subscribe to the blog so you won't miss the post!

We trimmed...

we slathered & rubbed...

we smoked, and 14 hours later...WE ATE!

Our guests were treated to whole hog barbecue slow smoked for 14 hours over a mix of hickory and apple wood, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and roasted cheesy potato pockets compliments of my good friend Amy Donaldson at Live.Love.Mom! A good time and full bellies were had by all who attended and after receiving such good compliments about our sauce and the taste of our barbecue; we couldn't help but wonder what complete strangers would think our food. So, with that thought we set out to find a "test market" to see what John Q. Public thought of our barbecue, but more importantly...what about that sauce! Well, it just so happened that we were going to get the opportunity to see during the annual 127 Yard Sale weekend...and we couldn't have been happier with the results!

 Keep cookin' y'all!

Whiskey River BBQ is...

Hey Y'all! Welcome back to Que-Licious!

I thought I would take a few minutes and introduce the dynamic duo behind Whiskey River BBQ...

Stephanie (me) & JD.

My name is Stephanie and together with my best friend, love of my life, and partner in swine Jim (JD for short) we make up Whiskey River BBQ.  It should come as no surprise that our first date was at a barbecue joint in West Virginia and I do believe the business plan for Whiskey River was conceived that very night. We quickly discovered we both had a love of  smoked food, cooking for our family and friends, and creating memorable dishes with lots of flavor be it in the kitchen or in the backyard over a fire. As you may have guessed by our name, we have a "slight fondness" for Jack Daniels and we do cook with Whiskey...sometimes we even put it in our food. We believe that good barbecue is all about an unmistakable flavor combination that you can't get enough of and that the cooking method should be authentic by smoking quality meats low and slow over a wood fire. That's just what we do when we create our unique flavor combinations which has led us to the next phase in our barbecue adventure...packaging and distributing our products. I'll cover this part in future blogs so for now, just sit back and get to know who we are, where we came from, and where we want to be on this smoke-filled whiskey-soaked barbecue journey.

My facination of cooking with a wood fire dates back to my childhood, long before the Steven Raichlen's and Paul Kirk's of the world, sitting in my grandma's kitchen while she cooked on her cast iron wood buring stove. The gentle sound of a cracklin' fire, the sound of the cast iron skillet sizzling sage sausage from a freshly butchered hog, and her smile while she was cooking set me on the path I am pursuing today. The barbecue part didn't enter my life until the early 90's while living briefly in both North Carolina and Texas. Talk about lessons in barbecue! For JD, it was a similar influence when his dad use to cook his famous stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls, or anything else! His dad would take a few simple ingredients and create unforgettable flavor combinations. Imagine if you will picking the right pepper, stuffing it with a sensational pork sausage/ground sirloin mixture, and topping it off with fresh canned tomato juice...Oh My Goodness! The ability his dad had to combine just the right ingredients was not lost on his son...believe me! Just as my grandmother inspired me to use high quality meat prepared over a wood fire, JD was just as inspired by the flavor infused foods passed down to him by his dad. He became facinated with smoking food when his mom bought him an electric smoker one year and has been smokin' ever since. Together...we are cookin' up so pretty darn good food!

Some of the best memories in our lives were created at the kitchen table, surrounded by family and friends, and that is what we want Whiskey River BBQ & Catering to bring to your table. I guess you could say we've been preparing for this adventure in barbecue for quite some time. We are dedicated to preserving the memories of our mentors in cooking by keeping those recipes and cooking methods alive through our food and products we create because of their influence. And we want to share our creations with you!

So where do we want to be one, two, or five years from now...still smokin'! The next few blogs will touch on how we tested our product and how Whiskey River BBQ & Catering came to be. Believe it or not, it was as simple as a backyard Pig Pickin"!

Keep Cookin' Y'all!