Family legacies...
...and grandaddy's bbq sauce, bbq chicken, & twice baked potatoes...
Have you ever had that moment when all of a sudden you figure out why you are the way you are?
A couple of years ago I took over a project my mom started in which she had gathered up all of her mom’s (who we called Grandmommy) cookbooks, recipes, and notes in order to put together a memory book of Grandmommy’s favorites for the family.
As I pulled the storage tub out and spread all of Grandmommy’s things around me, I saw well-loved cookbooks with notes in the margins, handwritten recipe cards, and notepads filled with planned menus.
It was quite the emotional, eye-opening, ah-ha moment! And a very similar situation to what you might find in my own kitchen cabinets. No wonder I am the way I am!
As I finished mom’s project, I realized how much I had been shaped by the cooks in my life and how many of their passed down recipes still make regular appearances on our family dinner table. What a legacy to leave behind!
In part, this newsletter pays homage to those recipes handed down as I share my variations with you. There are several weeks I know I’ve thrown in a “this is how mom made it” or “I grew up with such-in-such”, and it’s been great fun to re-live those memories. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so and keep these legacies going.
This week is mostly brought to you by my Grandaddy’s BBQ Sauce. He was an expert on the grill and smoker, and this was his signature sauce. He made it by the bucket (or at least my little girl eyes remember what seemed like a ginormous amount), and he would always tell me how good it was with pulled pork.
I made a couple of changes, opting for Dijon mustard instead of yellow, cider vinegar instead of white, and swapping the regular sugar to brown sugar. And I put it on everything. Yes, it’s still my standard for pulled pork BBQ, but it also makes an appearance on grilled or baked pork chops, pulled chicken, and my BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs (recipe also down below!). Heck, we even drizzle it over mac ‘n cheese.
Bonus recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes because they are so darn good with BBQ, and as I’ve said before, just like my mom made.
MONDAY - Cheeseburgers and Sweet Potato Fries
Burgers are always an easy summer dinner! Homemade pickles and tomatoes from the garden make them special. Sweet potato fries because I have a half a bag in the freezer that needs to be used!
TUESDAY - Birthday Dinner for Aunt Annie!
Yaya’s sister is in town and it’s her birthday! So we’ll have a special birthday dinner over there.
WEDNESDAY - Night out in Nashville!
We’re taking the Kiddo to his first big concert to see AJR in Nashville tonight! Assembly Food Hall is right across the street. It’s a lot of fun and has some great dinner options!
THURSDAY - Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Herby Sauce, & Succotash w/ Orzo
We all really enjoyed the chimichurri sauce I made a couple of weeks ago to go with some pork chops, so I’m doing it again! This time I’ll grill a whole tenderloin, slice it, and drizzle with the herby goodness. For our side, I’m drawing inspiration from part of my meal when we went out for our anniversary - they served orzo with limas and tomatoes and an amazing butter sauce. I’m going to make my regular succotash with limas and fresh corn and then stir orzo into the skillet. Kinda excited about it.
FRIDAY - Friday Night Pick-up
SATURDAY - Dinner at YaYa’s (the in-laws!)
Aunt Annie is still in town, and she loves Yaya’s cheesy white enchiladas with Mexican rice on the side.
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s!
Going with one of our family favorites - schnitzel and mashed potatoes!
LUNCHES for this week -
I’m going to make a batch of farro and stir some pesto in as a base for some grain bowls this week. I just picked some eggplant from the garden (go me!), so I’ll probably do some bowls with roasted veggies and some bowls with fresh veggies, like tomatoes and cucumbers.
EXTRAS for this week
I never got around to making peach crisp last week, so I still have peaches I need to do something with. (Instead, I made these Apricot Bars from Serious Eats twice for different occasions and am considering making them again!) Also, while I have the grill out, I’ll grill some chicken breasts I grabbed on sale. I like to freeze them individually for an easy addition to salads and bowls through out the week.
Grandaddys BBQ Sauce
Makes about 3 cups
· 1 cup Ketchup
· ½ cup Dijon Mustard
· ½ cup White Sugar
· ½ cup Brown Sugar
· 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
· 1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
· 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (or more or less to taste)
· 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
· 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
In a medium saucepan, whisk together ketchup, dijon mustard, white sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Stir in cider vinegar, black pepper, cayenne pepper, oil, and worcestershire. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Cool to room temperature, then move the sauce to containers and refrigerate. The BBQ sauce will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
NOTE: This BBQ sauce is very easily doubled to make a big batch. I love giving jars of homemade sauce as gifts.
BBQ Baked Chicken Thighs
Makes 4-5 servings
· 2-2 ½ pounds boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs
· 1 cup BBQ Sauce
· ¼ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
Preheat oven to 425 and arrange a rack in the upper third. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil.
In a large bowl, toss the chicken thighs with the BBQ sauce until well coated all over.
Arrange the chicken thighs in a single layer on the foil lined baking sheet. (If I am serving them as whole chicken thighs, I like to fold them back into their chicken thigh shape. If I am slicing them before serving, I like to lay them out flat.)
Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan if needed to brown evenly, until the internal temperature of the largest thigh reads 165 degrees on a thermometer.
Brush with more sauce before serving and/or serve extra sauce on the side.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Makes 6-8 servings
· 4 medium Baking Potatoes (about 2 ½ pounds)
· 3 tablespoons Butter, melted
· ½ cup Sour Cream
· 1/8 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
· ¼ teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or other store brand)
· 1 cup shredded Colby Jack Cheese, divided
· ¼ cup chopped or crumbled cooked Bacon, divided
· 3 tablespoons chopped Green Onions, divided
To bake the potatoes – preheat oven to 400 with a rack arranged in the middle position. Rub each potato lightly with olive oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for one hour, turning potatoes over halfway through. Remove from oven and cool slightly. (Enough so you can handle them!)
For the twice baked potatoes – Slice each baked potato in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out flesh (to make “boats”) into medium sized bowl, leaving a quarter-inch rim around the potato edges.
Mash the potato well using a fork or potato masher. Stir in melted butter, sour cream, salt, pepper, one-half cup of the cheese, two tablespoons of chopped bacon, and two tablespoons of chopped green onions.
Mound potato mixture back into skins. (You may or may not use all of the skins depending on how high you fill them.)
Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bacon bits.
Cover and refrigerate until later or bake now.
To bake now – preheat oven to 350 and arrange rack in upper third of oven. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and cheese is melty.
To bake later – preheat oven to 350 and arrange rack in middle of oven. Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes until potatoes are golden brown and cheese is melty.
Top with remaining green onion before serving.
That’s all for now, thanks for reading! See you back here next week!
(Don’t forget you can see all of the past newsletters and recipes at the archive link below!)
All recipes categorized by type can be found in the index!
The cookbook was amazing. Very beautiful and what a testament to Sarah's Mom and Grandmommy. Both were excellent cooks and wonderful Moms - sweet, funny, fun, and so loving. Just like Sarah!