Our 17-year-old nephew is here in Europe for the first time. He is a bright, shy kid with a deep love of history and family, though he is tough to read because of his reluctance to jump in and get involved. Given that I have never had children, it's very likely that this is perfectly normal for any teenager. I have been asking our parenting friends for tips for several months, and now am learning quickly first hand.
So we wanted him to meet some french kids, with whom we hoped he would establish some kind of connection that would allow him to continue to explore France and its culture long after he leaves here. We have a few friends with teenagers, and the teens and their families were marvelously accommodating by showing up last night for a good ole American barbecue.
We fixed the classics - barbecued (dry rubbed) ribs, roasted corn on the cob, Shirley's famous potato salad, and added a cheese & fruit plate, and Pascale's fantastic chocolate mousse - with the addition of a wonderful cake called gateau Savoie for dessert. Fred brought the bread, and some beautiful plums and grapes to go with the cheese, and Catherine made an really good savory bread with tuna and olives? and a tarte de chevre as the starter.
I mentioned that 5 teens - ages 17-21 showed up -- but getting them to talk to each other was another story. Let alone to talk in English - though they all could. They were just standing there looking apprehensively at each other. So, I devised a project for them - and set them to removing the burnt husks from the corn and cutting the ears in half, then buttering them and putting them in the oven to warm while awaiting the ribs. Culley cleverly demonstrated the "butter-the-bread, then roll the ear of corn in the bread" technique and the group was off to a chatty and fun finding evening.
The photos tell the story, and the story is true. Two cultures can find common words and topics (for ex. X-box game titles, screen names, Facebook, driving license points, drinking age...) and can overcome that first hurdle.
Thank you Catherine & Serge for the photos.
Here are some of the recipes from last night's fete:
BBQ rub for 2 "traverse du porc" or 2 strips of ribs - washed and dried. Remove the thin papery skin on the back of each rack of ribs.
Rub (note we doubled or tripled this for 4 strips of ribs)and used an old coffee grinder to freshly grind and combine these ingredients.
2T paprika
1T freshly ground black pepper
1T dark brown sugar
1.5 teaspoon - salt
1.5 teaspoon - celery salt
1 teaspoon - garlic powder
1 teaspoon - dry mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix all of this really well. Parcel out into 1/3 and 2/3. Rub the 2/3 portion of this mixture on the ribs onto both sides and let marinate for minimally 4 hours. (We rolled them onto themselves and then stashed them in a large ziploc bag for about 8 hours.)
The recipe says to whisk the following together. Pat said this was a crucial ingredient to the tenderness and the flavor of the ribs.
Mop Sauce
2cups distilled white vinegar (we used apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1T salt
Start basting the ribs after about 30 minutes, and continue every 20 minutes until done. They should take about 1.25 to 1.5 hours on the hot grill.
Mop one final time before serving and add the remaining 1/3 of the dry rub to the meat. We didn't use any barbecue sauce, but obviously you could on the side if you felt it necessary.
Pascale's Gateau du Savoie:
it's coming....
Catherine's gateau au thon
It's coming, too.
