back down south

a few weeks back we spent a fantastic week down south in birmingham, al..  while shooting for cooking light magazine, we ate and drank our way through a town full of fantastic food.  we were showed lots of amazing southern hospitality, eating way too much fried okra, drinking lots of good people beer and connected with great friends like hector sanchez and mairin cooper carins.

this version of our pimento cheese is one we made for our friend dimity's birthday party. she had bbq flown in from butts to go, which we were also lucky enough to hit up while in al – they also happen to have the best potato salad we ever tasted. by no means are we experts on southern food and we definitely don’t discriminate – any bbq , bourbon cocktail or pimento cheese dish is good in our book! here’s what we think is a simple tasty recipe that’s perfect for any summer gathering and has an unexpected kick from easy refrigerator jalapeno pickles.

PIMENTO CHEESE WITH PICKLED JALAPENOS

4 medium jalapenos, thinly sliced

½ cup white wine vinegar
1 Tbs granulated sugar

pinch salt
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp whole coriander seeds

combine jalapenos, vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns and coriander seeds and shake well. refrigerate for at least 3 days and up to 2 weeks.

8oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup mayonnaise
4oz sliced pimientos
12oz shredded sharp cheddar
½ tsp sweet paprika
¼ tsp salt
2 green onions, chopped
½ Tbs fresh black pepper
Saltine crackers to serves

in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and mayonnaise, until blended.  add Pimientos, cheddar, paprika, salt, onion and pepper and stir until just combined. can be made and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead. serve with saltine crackers and top with pickled jalapenos.

all images ©andrew pucell 2013

cuban black beans

we had a fun weekend celebrating with fellow photographers & stylists at the big leo bbq on saturday - got to chat with some amazing artists like jim bastardo and bjorn wallander while eating great food, enjoying delicious cocktails and a even whole pig roasted by photographer hector sanchez. we contributed our gin & ginger cocktail as well as these amazing cuban black beans. julia diaz is a family friend who graciously passed on this recipe and has convinced me that dried beans really are better than the ones we get from a can. don't get me wrong, i still use canned beans in recipes, but for this one it is absolutely worth the effort to soak dried beans over night. these perfect with some fresh tortillas and a little queso fresco or scrambled eggs and sliced avocado - a delicious addition to any meal!

Julia's Black Beans

1 lb dried black beans

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into quarters

1/3 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 bay leaves

4 tbs red wine vinegar

salt & pepper

in a large pot, soak beans overnight with quartered green bell pepper. transfer beans to the stove in the soaking water and simmer for 45 minutes. heat olive oil in a saute pan and cook garlic, onion and bell pepper until softened, about 8 minutes. add 1 cup drained beans and mash together. add to pot with oregano, cumin and bay leaves and simmer about 1 hour or until beans are tender. add vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

ribs

ribs are something we have wanted to make for a long time, but they always seem to be something that we figure are always gonna be better at a bbq joint somewhere in the south.  but this week, we decided to give it a try.  these pork ribs are made with our spice rub and a homemade bbq sauce.  we think they can be great on their own, but we think the combo of the two is heavenly.  we decided to go the route of not smoking, just a little time in the oven and a few minutes on the grill.  we thought they were amazing, but let us know what you think.

BBQ Pork Ribs

dry rub

1 tbs chili powder

1 tbs smoked paprika

1/2 tbs cumin

1/2 tbs instant espresso 

2 tbs brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

in a small bowl combine all ingredients.

bbq sauce

1 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup applejack

1/8 cup dijon mustard

2-3 tbs hot sauce

1 tbs worcestershire sauce

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tbs butter

1 tbs cider vinegar

in a stock pot melt butter, add garlic and onion and cook until onions are translucent.  add all other ingredients into pot, and bring to a boil.  lower heat and cook 10 minutes to combine flavors, stirring every minute or so.  with a emulsion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth.

pork ribs

2 lbs pork babyback ribs (a little over or under 2 lbs is fine)

1 12 oz. beer

remove the white membrane on the back of the ribs.  sprinkle the ribs with the spice rub and work into entire rack, top and bottom.  place rib rack into roasting pan and pour beer into bottom of pan.  cover with foil and cook in oven for 2 hours at 300 degrees.  remove from pan and place on bbq grill at medium heat, top side up.  slather on bbq sauce and flip to other side and slather on more sauce.  repeat for 10 mins flipping and slathering frequently.  remove from grill, cut and serve with side of bbq sauce.  

all american

happy memorial day everyone!!!  since it looks as though the entire editorial world is burger happy these days, we decided to do a little burger week here at pictures & pancakes.  today is a great day to kick it off with all the grilling going on, and we thought it fitting to have our all-american burger be the first.  a simple, juicy burger to satisfy your bbq needs.  we are also experimenting for the first time in a long time with a friend's 4x5 camera - thanks megan.  it couldn't be more fun, i think i just fell in love with photography all over again.  so this week will feature 4x5 images of different burgers.  we hope this inspires you to eat and fall in love with something of your own!

The All-American Burger

sesame seed bun

thousand island dressing

thick sliced beefsteak tomato

ground sirloin patty, seasoned with salt & pepper

sharp cheddar cheese

applewood smoked niman ranch bacon

caramelized onions