The Giveaway!

I'm still not confident how they found me, but an online retailer called CSN Stores contacted me stating that they liked my blog and wanted to run a promotion through it.  I checked them out with the Better Business Bureau and they have an A+ rating!  They actually run multiple sites (over 200, in fact), each with a different theme, covering everything from dining room chairs to cookware. Here are some others:

http://www.allmodern.com/

 http://www.csnlighting.com/

and my personal favorite (for obvious reasons) http://www.cookware.com/

They want to give one of you a gift card worth $35.00 to any of their stores! Oh, and if you are from Canada, there may be some international shipping charges, but otherwise enjoy the free $35.00!  Let me know what you buy!

I decided that a proper entry worthy of a giveaway was required, so I invited my friend Matt over, gave him the option of a couple of recipes, and he picked the Kansas City-Style Spareribs on page 163.

 Following my usual procedure, I made the rub by blending the ingredients in my spice grinder and then using my shaker to distribute the rub.

While the ribs were in the fridge, I also took the time before the football games started to make a side dish for a good BBQ, so I picked the Old Fashioned Creamy Coleslaw on page 367.

 I pulled together the dressing, and then went about breaking down the head of cabbage.  The directions instructed me to quarter the head and then remove the core.  So I started by quartering it.

 Then I removed the core from each quarter.

 I knew I need to slice these thinly, so I started by laying each quarter on end and making length-wise cuts.

 I repeated this cut, holding the quarter together until I had made strips of cabbage through each quarter.

 I then rotated the quarter ninety degrees and made cross cuts to finish breaking down the quarter.

 The carrot was a little easier.  I just used a grater.

Just two medium-sized carrots yielded the amount I needed.

The ribs went on the grill, my mac n' cheese went into the oven, Matt arrived just in time, and I pulled the slaw out of the fridge.  With a little bit of basting during the last twenty minutes, the ribs came off the grill looking nice!

 I cut up the ribs into individual pieces and plated everything.

This was one of my top five recipes from Weber.  Perhaps I was just in the mood for ribs, maybe I was just looking forward to this a lot, but I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe.  I'm particular about my ribs, especially since The Bride bought me a smoker a few years ago and I've become quite adept at making them delicious.  The seasoning on the ribs was amazing, showing great complexity and softness at the same time.  The sauce was perfectly complimentary, and I'll admit to a fair amount of finger licking.  The slaw by itself was unimpressive, but really rounded off the meal well.  I generally don't prefer a creamy slaw - I usually opt for a more vinegar-based slaw - but after the ribs and sauce, along with my awesome mac n' cheese, it was cooling, soothing, and had a nice array of textures.  Matt thought the meal was awesome.  He enjoys all styles of slaw, and said that this one worked.  He also stated that he got about halfway through the ribs before remembering that there was a sauce, because they were that good.  Finally, he wants the mac n' cheese recipe.  I might even sell it to Weber.  :)

Okay, on to the contest.  Here's how it will work.  If you wish to be entered into the contest, you will leave your impressions of this meal in the form of a haiku (yes, I'm going to be a pain, but this will amuse me) in the comments section of this blog, not on Facebook.  Make sure to leave your name so that I know who you are, and if you are a little unfamiliar to me (you've been reading this and I don't know you that well) make sure to leave your email so that I can contact you if you are the winner.  I will give everyone a week, and then declare a winner on Sunday, October 31st.