quinn's place

september first, i can't believe its youuu.

this summer went by in a flash :/

you may have a bunch of leftover s'mores fixings laying around from summer just gettin' stale and sticky in the cabinet. i'd highly recommend you throw them in a skillet and make a fabulous s'mores dip!

i also highly recommend you invite every last neighborhood child over for this event...holy hell i thought i was going to die after 3 bites. dis how i really know i'm getting elderly. also had to throw 97% of this mallowy delight in the garbáge because i thought i was ruining the skillet. oh settle down, grandma quinn.

le siiiigghhhh.

i happened to have this tillamook fireside s'mores ice cream in the freezer. heHehHHHH. so i plopped it on top o the s'mores skillet! its totally unnecessary, but delicious.

enter the extravaganza of extra s'moresy s'more galore explosion of summer good-byes.

the hot + cold combo was quiiite the delight. just dunk and swirl those grahams around in this mess and get crazy.

S'mores Skillets

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Hershey's chocolate or chocolate chips
Marshmallows
Graham crackers
S'mores ice cream (extremely optional)
1 TB coconut oil or butter

Instructions-

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

If using a cast iron skillet*, pre-melt the Hershey's chocolate in a bowl with coconut oil or a little butter in the microwave or over a double boiler. Additionally, grease the cast iron with either oil. Pour the chocolate into the pan and top with marshmallows. Heat in the oven until the mallows are golden brown and puffy - about 5 minutes.

If using a stainless steel pan, grease the pan with coconut oil or butter. Break up the chocolate bars, place them in the pan and heat in the oven for about 5 minutes until melty. Top with marshmallows and return to oven until they're golden brown and puffy.

[*I found that melting the chocolate directly into the cast iron pan made the chocolate quite crumbly. Melting it with a little butter or coconut oil beforehand should help.]

Remove from oven and top with scoops of s'mores ice cream - this is Tillamook Fireside S'mores! This step is also completely optional. Dip and scoop the mallowy, chocolatey, hot & cold creamy goodness with graham crackers.

***I do NOT recommend using a teflon/nonstick pan or any pan with any sort of plastic handle or rubber anywhere. You're going to put this in a very hot oven, so be sure to use an oven-safe pan.***

enjoy the tail-end of summer!!!

FEELS!: i feel that i haven't been wanting to cook and shoot recipes all summer because when the sun is out in this town, why da hell would i be in the kitchen?? though i would looove to just play around with food all the time, there are always more pressing things that need to happen during the summertime before we head into our winter hibernation mode. pressing items like swimming, camping, hanging out... 😉

my computer has been super weeeeird lately and i've had to update a lot of things. anyhoo, with my computer cooperating with me once again and summer fun times & house projects slowly winding down, i've found a bit more inspiration to get back to coming up with my own recipes. yay!

it's my durn-good homemade barbecue sauce recipe!

i'm the type who doesn't normally choose bbq sauce as my dipping option, and i usually am not attracted to sandwiches with barbecue sauce. i just don't really care about barbecue sauce i guess. unless i'm at a legit bbq joint and they have 8 options to choose from. then i care deeply and have to try them all.

i make my own because i like a good balance of savory + spicy + sweet + tangy. some barbecue sauces are just SWEET, bleh. some are thick and ultra savory. and the ones i avoid at all cost - smoky or chipotle flavored ones. heeeck nahhhh mannng. quinn + chipotle flavors = nope.

so yeah, here's what i do to achieve a tangy, savory, sorta sweet, and nice & spicy barbecue sauce.

i felt i couldn't just make barbecue sauce and take photos of it sitting in a jar or cup, so i made some delicious sliders to pair it with.

for the sliders: hawaiian sweet rolls or whatever slider buns you prefer (ALWAYS toasted or crisped up in a pan with olive oil - crisping up your roll makes up like 75% of the slider's quality rating in my book), pulled pork (pete and i use this method for our pulled pork - crockpot + pork shoulder + thick-chopped yellow onions + one can beer + one can green salsa), sliced red onion, sriracha mayo (i just make this at home and keep a little jar handy for sandwiches, etc - about 1 cup of mayo + 3 TB sriracha, whisk whisk whisk), and thinly sliced red cabbage.

i toss the cabbage in a little bowl with a splash of white vinegar and black pepper, just to take the cabbagey edge off the raw cabbage (read: cabbage is stinky).

yum yum yum bout to gobble you up.

these photos got real messy real fast.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Makes 1 cup sauce

Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

2 TB unsalted butter
2 TB minced yellow onion (dried or fresh - make sure its very finely minced)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 TB mustard (I've used yellow or brown/dijon - both work fine)
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
2 TB Sriracha
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1 TB red wine vinegar
pinch of black pepper
pinch of garlic powder
splash of peperoncini juice (optional)
[also optional while melting the butter, 2 TB bacon grease - whoa mmhmm]

Instructions-

Finely mince a small amount of onion (fine enough so it is almost translucent - you want the onion to fully break down into the sauce after its finished simmering). I have also used dried minced onion and that works as well.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add minced onion and whisk to completely coat in melted butter. Add brown sugar and whisk to create a thick base. Increase heat to medium.

Add the remaining ingredients into the pan, whisking as you go. Let it bubble and thicken on medium heat for a few minutes before simmering on medium-low heat for about 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in glass jar or airtight container.

Enjoy on sliders, with fries, on pizzas, chicken dishes, pork dishes, grilled vegetables, potatoes, etc, etc.