This past weekend (6/21-22) we had our 4th Annual NiagaraCOOL. Saturday we did winery tours of the “Bench” on the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario (will post on the Wine Lovers Forum) and Sunday was the picnic, held at the West Canal Marina Park, located along the banks of the Erie Canal. I spent most Thursday shopping at several local food stores. Since the wine theme was Italian wines, I tried to put an Italian slant on the foods, selecting Italian cheeses, dried sausage, hot and mild Italian sausage, spare ribs with Italian seasoned dry rub and BBQ sauce, etc. I started cooking at 7AM on Friday, preparing several of the foods.
Using Chef Carey’s recipes for BBQ dry rub and sauce, I eliminated the “Southern/Cajun” spices and substituted Italian style ingredients, as follows:
Italian Dry Rub
Ingredient Quantity
Cayenne pepper ¼ Cup
Paprika ½ Cup
Black pepper, finely ground ½ Cup
Garlic powder ¼ Cup
Dry Basil ¼ Cup
Dry Rosemary ¼ Cup
Oregano 1 TBSP
Dry mustard 1 TBSP
Ground Cloves 1 TBSP
Celery salt 3 TBSP
Ground fennel seed 3 TBSP
Italian Barbecue Sauce
Ingredient Quantity
Onions, yellow, minced 2 Cups
Olive oil ½ Cup
Cayenne 3 TBSP
Spaghetti Sauce 6 cups
Dry mustard 3 Tablespoons
Red wine vinegar 2 Cups
Sugar 1 Cup (I added this after it was pureed – it needed a bit more sweetness)
Pepper, black 1 Teaspoon
19 oz. jar roasted red peppers with liquid
1 small can tomato paste
1 small can anchovies
The sauce was cooked in my pressure cooker for about 20 minutes and then pureed.
I then prepared the following:
Jenise's Pineapple Muffins, which I baked in a tube pan.
Corn Bread - I used this to make the Corn Bread Salad posted in the same link on Sunday morning. (Jo Ann – this salad got great reviews at the picnic. I’m thinking that I’ll add the bacon next time, which you listed as an option).
[url]Potato Salad[/url]
Hummus
Tapenade
Hard Boiled Eggs (for deviled eggs and the potato salad)
This kept me busy until about 6PM, when I drove to the airport to pick up John Fiola, who stayed at my house the weekend and was a great in helping me get thing ready. After John got settled in, James & Jeanette Roscoe and their daughters got into town and we headed out to Buzzy’s for wings and pizza. Saturday morning at 8:30, Ed Draves picked us up for the winery tours, followed by a nice dinner at Suzanne’s Fine Dining (mmmm prime rib). We got home about 10PM.
I woke up about 3AM and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I started cooking and preparing for the picnic. I prepared the marinade for the shrimp (garlic, lemon juice, ginger, salt and olive oil), put the chicken in the Chiavetta’s marinade and did the dry rub on the ribs. I then made the 3-Bean Salad, Cole Slaw, Corn Bread Salad, Tossed Salad, Deviled Eggs (mayo, mustard, horseradish and salt), Beans & Greens Soup, spaghetti sauce with mushrooms and cut up most of the veggies for dipping and grilling. John and I arrived at the park with the first load of supplies about 10:30 AM and we started the charcoal going in the grill. While John stayed at the park, I went to the store to get the clams and a few other items. When I returned, we got the ribs started (I borrowed my son’s rib racks – those things are real handy) and went back to pick up more stuff. I returned for one more trip, finally getting to the picnic at 1:45 (late, as always). I pretty much spent the rest of the day cooking, but my wine glass was never empty, as I was sampling the nice selection of Italian wines. I tried to cook the foods in some order of progression that would coincide with a wine progression from whites to reds, but I think most of the folks opened whatever wine they felt like, as we listened to Chaz Baz playing guitar and singing folk songs for us. In order were served appetizers, salads (set up on an iced table) steamed clams, Beans & Greens soup, grilled shrimp, Chiavetta’s Chicken, Italian sausage (made by one of my favorite local butchers), and finally, the ribs. The only cooking problem I had was with the fire going almost completely out early in the day, which slowed down the rib cooking, as some folks were leaving by the time they were ready. Two of my sons arrived later in the day (they were camping all weekend) and, along with John and James and Jeanette, we did a pretty good cleanup job of the pavillion. I got home about 10PM and within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow I was in Never-Never-Land. John woke me up Monday morning (as I slept through the alarm) and I drove him to the airport for his 9AM flight. All in all, it was a fun weekend, with some great wines and great folks.
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