BourbonQ Classic sauce has warmed the hearts of rib connoisseurs worldwide since 1990.
Having won world championship rib competitions, as well as a host of local and regional titles and awards, this recipe harkens to the company’s beginning days in barbecue. With the heartiness of its smoky worcestershire, vinegar, and authentic
Kentucky bourbon base, this basting sauce will open the doors of barbecue to the novice, and endear itself to the “Old School” barbecue masters as well. Always a winner you can count on!
BourbonQ Barrel Select is a more sophisticated, top-shelf grilling sauce for chicken, fish, steaks, ribs…even scrambled eggs!
Beginning with a sweet note, Barrel Select leads you through a cascade of flavors, bouncing from fresh garlic, caramelized onion, and the earthy essence of worcestershire and Kentucky bourbon. This blending of flavors is perfectly balanced with the unexpected and ever-so-subtle arrival of spicy habanero peppers.
BourbonQ Gold Reserve is an exclusive, coveted recipe that is not to be served to
just anyone. This upper-echelon BBQ sauce definitely holds its own with an elite crowd.
Robust in its base of tomato and worcestershire, BourbonQ Gold Reserve is a mix of subtle and bold flavors that are intent on wooing you. The smoky note and heat of chipotle merges and vies for your affection over the hearty flavor of roasted garlic and is finished off with a touch of real Kentucky bourbon. This is a richly distinguished, seductive condiment for anything grilled!
As for its credibility as a jammin’ BBQ sauce maker…
Kentucky BourbonQ brand is the proud recipient of two 2003 National BBQ Association Awards of Excellence and two 2001 National BBQ Association Certificates of Recognition for their sauces and spices. In addition, they are the 5-time People’s Choice Award Champions for Best Ribs in Blue Ash, Ohio, as well as Best Ribs Award Winners for Best in the Smoky Mountains (1999) and the Hog Wild BBQ Jam (1999).
Click on any of the pictures above to wow your holiday guests with these slammin’ sauces!
I am cracking up after seeing this video of this frustrated dog doing everything he can to get the cat out of his doggie bed! What a terror this dog is… So FIERCE!
I’m laughing because my aunt’s Schipperke named Leader does this same type of territorial stuff to her poor cat, and it is so HYSTERICALLY FUNNY! If I would have taped this, you certainly would have heard me giggling in the background.
Hey, I’m sure the cat enjoyed the free ride around the living room!
What your eyes are beholding is an Audi A8 that was supposedly custom-made for a Sheik that consists of 100% silver. Not silver paint, but actual SILVER.
Note to self: Consider joining a harem.
Don’t ask me how Audi managed to create this wonder vehicle. Who knew they could be so accommodating?! But there are also conflicting reports that this may simply be an Urban Legend.
Whether this luxury automobile is silver-plated or pure silver, I’m glad that SOMEONE is driving happily with these soaring gas prices!
A close male friend of mine (we’ll call him “Jason”) and I were joking the other day that we should just get married and call it a day. We’re both beyond tired of the dating scene.
Then I called Jason’s bluff and said if he were to fly out to Los Angeles, I would marry him that same night. Daredevil me.
Jason went on this whole dissertation on how a sudden elopement would tear his parents’ heart out, and he mentioned all the extended family who would also feel slighted if he didn’t have a formal wedding. So he insisted on planning this thing out.
What’s odd is he is not the first man I’ve heard say this. What IS it with men needing weddings? Aren’t I the one who is supposed to demand this?!
I have ALWAYS been a fan of getting married at a J.P. (Justice of the Peace) and throwing an elegant reception for a select few (very select few I might add, which would be all of three people on my side) at either:
But noooo, I can’t find a man who will cooperate with me on this to save my life!
I warned Jason that I am very much all or nothing, black or white. There is no gray in my world. If you’re gonna press for a wedding, then daggone it, roll out the red carpet because we’re going to do this thing WELL.
Anyone who reads my blog can only imagine the wedding I would plan. Princess Di,
Star Jones, and Juanita Bynum wouldn’t have a thing on my wedding.
See, my theory is this…
Most people have crazy families. Trying to coordinate wedding plans for over 200 insane family members on both sides is a recipe for driving me bananas. I don’t have the patience. Sure, lavish weddings look WONDERFUL. But look is the operative word here.
Furthermore, I’m fickle…and very much non-committal. I’m worse than a man in this sense. If you want to marry me, you better catch me when I’m in the mood, because I could procrastinate until I’m 80.
Ask my mother! She told me I need to sh!t or get off the pot. A sudden elopement is the only way this will happen for me. The day I marry, it will be a televised event, because the earth will surely quake the minute I say, “I do.”
But here’s the irony of this whole thing…
Men are really the ones who love and need weddings - not women. Oh sure, men will hem and haw about how a wedding is a waste of money and they’d be fine with just celebrating with a cold beer and pizza, but don’t let ‘em fool you. Men are much more sentimental than they let on.
Yeah, that’s right. I got your number, guys. Y’all ain’t slick!
This is an award-winning post. Or at least you’ll WANT to nominate it for something prestigious after you read what Vosges (Voahj) Haut-Chocolat has to offer by way of satisfying your sweet tooth!
Bianca - Vosges Bianca cocoa (lavender, Australian lemon myrtle, white chocolate) + fresh coconut
Red Fire - Red Fire dark chocolate chunks (ancho + chipotle chili peppers, Ceylon cinnamon) + cocoa powder (gives entire cookie a chocolate brown color) + additional ancho and chipotle chili powder and Ceylon cinnamon
Costa Rican - single origin Costa Rican dark chocolate chunks (64% cacao)
I’m not gonna waste a whole lot of time blabbering on about Vosges’ delicacies. But what I will say is that Vosges is the only company that can get away with adding flowers,
hot chili peppers, and strange spices to chocolate and make it taste fantastic. Now that’s what you call FUSION! What masters they are!
I’ll let the pictures and descriptions tell the story…
The perfect pair: wine + chocolate. Two things that when put together greatly enhance the other. Each box contains your choice of wine or champagne, 9-piece truffles and tasting notes with a guide to hosting your own chocolate and wine tasting event.
Vin Blanc/White Wine (Pinot Grigio) with 9 Milk Chocolate Truffles $80
Vin Rouge/Red Wine (Shiraz) with 9 Dark Chocolate Truffles $90
Champagne (Rosé) with 9 piece Exotic Truffle Collection $110
A lighter vanilla and lemon zest pound cake is alternately layered with fresh strawberry mousse and white chocolate ganache and is infused with Ruinart rosé champagne with rose petals. Stands 4 inches tall and serves 2-3 people.
Sample all four flavors of Vosges’ Hautes-Glaces ice cream: Naga, Pandan, Red Fire, and Wattleseed. This product includes a 4-pack of ice cream, one pint of each of the following flavors:
Naga - Sweet Indian Curry and Fresh Young Coconut in a creamy custard ice cream, which was chosen by Time Out Chicago as one of the top foods to try in 2007!
Pandan - Pandan Leaf Extract, similar to vanilla wafers with a touch of pine nut, and dark chocolate
Red Fire - Ancho & Chipotle Chilies, Ceylon Cinnamon and dark chocolate
Wattleseed - Aboriginal Wattleseed, which tastes like chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and vanilla all in one, with macadamia nuts, which Food & Wine voted a must try taste in 2007!
Can I get an AMEN, a round of applause, a goody bag, or something?!
OK folks, you say you love me and all. Now you know what to get me for Christmas…or any day!
Years ago, in my culinary heyday, I came up with the most amazing chicken marinade that I made by mixing citrus juices with garlic and EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil).
I didn’t know then that it had a name, but now I realize that it was similar to a Cuban-style marinade, mojo criollo. My family LOVED this chicken!
Now that summer is fast-approaching, I realize some of you are itchin’ to try some new, fabulous grilling recipes. Never one to deprive my readers, I decided to do a feature on the best marinade in the world. Don’t you just love me?
Here in L.A., Versailles Cuban Restaurant on Venice Boulevard makes a nice, tangy, very garlicky mojo chicken. It’s served with a side of Cuban black beans and rice and fried plantains (that are a little on the overcooked side, but hey).
Versailles’ garlic chicken is a bit extra-tangy, but believe me when I say you’ll get used to it and will even have a craving for it later. How they get that chicken skin so perfectly crispy is beyond me!
For your grilling pleasure, I found this kickin’ recipe on RecipeZaar:
Mojo Criollo
1/4 cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 cup orange juice, fresh squeezed
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
6 garlic cloves, pressed
salt, to taste
black pepper, fresh ground, to taste
1. Add all ingredients to a small jar, cover and shake for 2 minutes.
2. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
3. Use as a marinade for meats and poultry.
Or if you’re lazy like me and prefer an already-made mojo, click this pic to order yours:
You’ll want to kiss me after you taste this marinade. Hey, don’t kiss me…just invite me over for dinner. I’ll bring the Cristal brewskis!
My favorite hair conditioner is Biolage Conditioning Balm…the OLD formulation, that is. I hate when higher-end companies start meddling with perfection and change up their ingredients. Biolage Conditioning Balm is NOT the same as it once was.
So off I went to unearth a comparable alternative. Little did I know I would find something even better - for less money!
Suave BioBasics Conditioner is excellent. I was so surprised at how well this conditioned my hair. And get this - it even SMELLS like the Biolage product! The ingredients are virtually the same as the old Biolage formula.
For all you hair chemists, here are the Suave BioBasics Conditioner ingredients:
Today I received a beautiful compliment from a stranger.
I was out running errands and minding my own business when this guy sat down next to me and said, “You have the prettiest dimples I have ever seen.”
My face lit up like a Christmas tree.
I then said to him, “That’s a line, but thank you. I appreciate it.”
I really did appreciate it. And here’s why…
I remember when I was in my 20s and bums would come out of the alley or from Lord knows where dropping absolutely ridiculous game on me such as,
“Girl, your legs must be tired, because you’ve been running through my dreams all night.”
You know the drill. I used to HATE this kind of cat-calling from guys.
To further illustrate my point, I must interject with this story…
Someone I know will kill me for sharing this story with the public, but it’s too funny not to tell! I wasn’t there to witness this event, but you should have heard me laughing when the story was relayed to me…
A certain woman I know was walking with a relative of mine down in New Orleans.
Said woman is attractive and built like a Coke bottle.
There was an older dude sitting on the curb with a puppet in his hand.
When Miss Coke Bottle walked past him, dude animates the puppet and goes,
“Mmm Mmm! Tooty Fruity with the big booty…I like that!” And he said it all loud, too.
Now how funny and creative is that?!
That type of stuff, though it is funny as all get out, used to make me want to jump out of my skin and snap someone’s neck. I was the chick downtown with the attitude when you’d whistle.
But times have changed. With as mean and horrible as people are to each other these days, and with how many ice queens and kings we have roaming the planet, I’m grateful for ANY positive, lighthearted attention from another human being.
It makes my day!
So now I welcome the cat calls. It’s nice to be noticed, admired, and complimented.
In fact, the more creative the line, the more I love it. Women look at me like I’m crazy when I grin at this foolishness, but they don’t know what they’re missing.
For someone to take time out of their day to pay you a compliment - why waste it?
Eat it up, girls! You won’t be cute forever.
Honey, could I tell you stories about the fabu Shrimp Creole my mother makes. Hers is a Paul Prudhomme-inspired recipe, and MAN - is it GOOD!
I haven’t had authentic Shrimp Creole in eons. In fact, I can’t even remember when I last had it. OK, I’m seriously due for some Creole love!
I enjoy discovering new twists on old favorites. I happened upon this sexy Shrimp Creole recipe. It’s certainly worth a try. Let me know how you like it!
If you fancy Cajun and Creole food (and who doesn’t?!), then I’m sure you’ll loooove
French Market Foods. Their Shrimp Creole, made with a tomato and roux base, looks seriously yummy. All the taste and flavor of real Creole food…with none of the work!
If Shrimp Creole ain’t your thing, then maybe French Market Foods’ Shrimp Etouffee and Shrimp Gumbo will beckon you.
For those of you who just flat-out hate shrimp, I give you permission to sift through the French Market Foods web site to check out their intriguing meat specialties, such as Stuffed Pork Chops…
…and their savory Meat Pies!
But just this once! Next Friday, we’ll be back on the bandwagon of fish and seafood ONLY.
Someone recently asked me, “Who is Teena Marie?” I was stunned. I fell speechless.
Boy, you better RECOGNIZE!
How dare ANYONE ask that question - EVER. All the effort and phenomenal talent that Lady Tee has expended over the decades, and she goes unnoticed by even one soul?
I haven’t the space on this blog or time in my lifetime to sum up my feelings about Teena Marie. Suffice it to say that she is the ONLY female living legend in my mind.
So let’s take a trip down memory lane, to the tune of my all-time favorite
Lady Tee song. I’ve lived these lyrics and know them all too well…
I’m relieved that Teena’s daughter, Alia Rose, is following in her mama’s footsteps and is singing her heart out, too. Check out Alia Rose on her mother’s album, Sapphire.
