Killer Ribs: Mouthwatering Recipes from North America's Best Rib Joints by Nancy Davidson

This tome on the art of smoking ribs was published in 2006. It details some of the best rib eateries in all the 50 states and in Canada. Yes, Canada! Turns out that our friends to the North are known for taking culinary tours of American BBQ and some have brought the all-American meal of ribs, beef, pork and everything in between, back across the border with them!

If you are using this book as a travel guide, you might be rather disappointed. Of the 3 locations listed in my home state of North Carolina, 2 of them are now defunct. More often than not, BBQ joints are a family run business. So unfortunately death, divorce or old age has caused for quite a few rib joints to close. COVID-19 did a number on the restaurant industry as well. My advice, utilize a Google search when using this book as your next culinary travel guide.

Thankfully, there's more to this book than locales. In every 2 page spread, along with a history of the restaurant and its pit masters, you get a recipe and tips for selecting the right cut of meat and the best wood for the job. I was surprised that many of the recipes were provided by the pit masters. I always thought such information was treated with more care and confidentiality than an American President with Top Secret documents. 

Some of the recipes are for the rub. Some are for making sauces. Fewer are about actual cooking of ribs. Surprisingly, there's a recipe for making alligator ribs and another one for mutton. And if you are thinking about skipping the rub, DON'T! You might think that the salt is unnecessary sodium in the formula. But it's needed to help break down the proteins and impart the other spices and smoke deep down all the way to the bones. If you are worried about your blood pressure, find ways to cut it in the sauce. I was surprised to find how many pit masters thumb their nose at BBQ sauce! It's naked ribs or nuthin'!

So why did I read this book? Well, recently, my wife ordered me a smoker. We got a fantastic deal that I don't think I am at liberty in mentioning here. (Feel free to PM me if you want the details.) Now that the smoker has arrived and I am setting it up, I realized that I had this book, which I got as a prize for participating in last year's summer reading program at our local library. It felt as good a time as any to get some further learning on the subject. 

Here's a few highlights:

* Remove the back skin. Or don't. Some pit masters think that elastin keeps the ribs from falling apart. 

* Use the smoker to primarily impart the flavors. Going at a temp no higher than 250F, a lot of pit masters get the ribs up to temp by finishing in the oven.

*Speaking of ovens, that's the time for the sauce. Not while in the smoker. That's the #1 way to ruin a smoker. Not to mention, burning the ribs.

*Lastly, the amount of celery seeds and celery salt used by rib joints... It's a wonder that I have made it to 48. I'm very allergic to stuff. Yet I would say 3 out of every 10 recipes didn't call for the stuff! I eat ribs a lot. How have I not succumbed to a batch of saucy hidden dangers?!

If anything, I learned the process. I've got my own ideas for the blend mixture of wood chips to use. Same goes for the sauce. Just about every pit masters in here has firm guidelines for how to smoke their meats. But when it comes to flavors, spiciness and taste, they almost always say to adjust with what you prefer. 

I've got nearly 2 decades of culinary education and experience, so with exception of the mutton recipe, I'm going to experiment. But if you are a newbie to cooking, definitely start out with what the experts say on the first go-round. Then adjust to your preference as you repeat the recipe. 

Oh, and one more thing, if you are going to become the next great pit master, get a high quality smoker. But don't break the bank. The cheapest of smokers often are not worth the materials that they are constructed from. In fact, the greatest smoker I ever encountered was my grandfather's and it was made from an old drum and ample amounts of solder. If you know how to build it yourself and you can do the job right: do it! Size doesn't necessarily matter either as the 2nd best one was a tiny little number my other granddad got at Lowe's. 

If there's one thing that I know about BBQ, not grilling barbecue, but BBQ'd beef, pork, chicken and gator, apparently, it's that while all these championship pit masters claim that they know how to make perfect smoked grub, there is NO definitive way to smoke meat. So, go with what you know and love and you'll enjoy the lengthy process of low and slow for some killer ribs!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Classics Illustrated #92: The Courtship of Miles Standish

To find this comic book in the wild on the eve of Thanksgiving seemed like destiny to me. While the cover story doesn't occur during the first Thanksgiving, many of the important figures that sat in on that important event in colonial American history appear and play active roles. Also, the Mayflower as it rests in Provincetown Harbor, bound to return to England, is in this adaptation of the epic Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem. Though I really take umbrage with it's title.

It's called The Courtship of Miles Standish; the military governor of the Plymouth Colony. Yet, in reality, it should be called 'The Courtship of John Alden' because he's the one that gets the girl. 

When Miles Standish arrived in the new world, he had a wife. Unfortunately, she was one of the many who did not survive that first wicked winter in New England. Now feeling it is time again for a bride, Standish has his eyes on the maiden Priscilla. He sends John Alden to propose marriage in his stead. But it's a rather dick move if you ask me because Alden is in Standish's house, writing a love letter to Priscilla.

Alden, being a loyal friend, does as he asks. But Priscilla is only interested in Alden. She eventually coaxes him to confess his love to the maiden and they become betrothed. 

Some think that Standish knew that his friend loved Priscilla. But that John Alden was too much of a wuss to ever do anything about it. So Standish shows interest in Priscilla in order to prompt Alden to act. I'd be totally okay with this story if that was the case. However, when news comes out that Alden and Priscilla are to be married, instead of acting like some impish matchmaker like those found in many a work of Shakespeare, Standish accused his friend of treachery. Thus instead of bringing Alden and Priscilla closer together, the guilt of the broken friendship almost prompts John to leave the new world altogether on the Mayflower. 

Spoiler; if it wasn't for the reported death of Miles Standish by Indians John Alden would never jumped the broom with fair Priscilla. Then Standish returns after the wedding and all is okay between the two. So are you telling me that Miles Standish goes to war with the Native Americans and fakes his own death in order to get Alden hitched? This really all seems far fetched! An enjoyable read. But really, really far fetched!

Longfellow claimed that this poem was based on family tradition. Apparently, an ancestor of Alden and Priscilla, Longfellow reported that the poem was based on the legend his parents and grandparents would tell of how those two early colonists wed. There's sure to be a lot of conjecture and twisting of narrative in order to make Alden look good, passed down over the years. As for Standish getting all bent out of shape over Alden 'stealing his girl ', that would seem to be more like real life as opposed to the plot of a Hallmark movie. Although the whole back from the dead twist at the end seems like something that would happen in a movie. Only it would convince Priscilla to marry Miles instead of John. So who knows how real and how made up this story really is...

The second story is another retelling of a historical epic by Longfellow. Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie tells the 'you just missed him by 5 minutes' tragic romance of the title heroine and her beloved Gabriel. Set against the backdrop of the British expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia in mid-1800s, Evangeline and Gabriel are to be married. However, the lovers are separated by the British, with Gabriel's family sent ahead to his exile on a ship days before Evangeline is evacuated. 

For the next several decades, Evangeline follows after Gabriel down the Mississippi, through the swamps of Louisiana and the untamed prairies of the West, always missing her beloved by only a few days. Spoiler; old and gray, Evangeline gives up; eventually becoming a nun in the Boston area. There she cares for the sick and infirmed where fate finally allows Evangeline and Gabriel to reunite right before he dies of plague, foretold in passing towards the beginning of this tale 

The second story was in my opinion, a much better read. I did cheat and had to look ahead because I felt like surely, these two lovers aren't going to met at the end just to die?! Alas, that was the case! Still, it was a better read despite the tragically sad ending. 

My like and dislike should not be held against the writers and artists of this adaptation. Alex Blum illustrated Evangeline. Extensive search couldn't pop up any hits for it's writer and I got absolutely bupkis for the Courtship of Miles Standish credits. Extra articles, which have always been a bonus delight to read include a biography of Longfellow, plus the history of Cyrus McCormick's grain reaper, the lesser known New Jersey Tea Party and the history of the Apache. Not sure why those articles were never topical in relation to the main stories. This would have been an appropriate place for the life of Miles Standish, the historical plight of the Acadians and a look at the Wampanoag people from the first Thanksgiving. Regardless of this, Classics Illustrated #92 was an enjoyable read and set the tone for my very small but much looked forward to Thanksgiving reading list for 2025.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Trouble is My Business by Raymond Chandler

When I read Agatha Christie, I feel like I'm challenged to solve the mystery before her main characters do. When I read Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, I feel like I'm sitting in on a lecture about criminology; learning new and unusual facts. But when I read Raymond Chandler, I'm merely along for the ride. 

Chandler's Philip Marlowe stories are fast paced, wordy whodunits filled with slimy thugs, morally questionable cops and dangerous dames. Private Detective Marlowe doesn't always seek the justice. He's like a 1930s Robin Hood who tries to solve the crime while making sure that the player treated the least fairly is given a fighting chance to better themselves. Marlowe is the lone narrator of his adventures. I just wish I knew what the hell he was talking about sometimes.

Written in a different time where California was still more Wild West than the home of Tinsel Town, nobody can or should be trusted in a Raymond Chandler work. It could be argued that you shouldn't even trust Philip as he'll turn against a paying client if he determines that they're in the wrong; even if every rule in the law book is squarely on their side. But as Marlowe runs the reader through each story, both the private eye and the characters he encounters use verbiage that is so antiquated that the last time they were used in public was during the filming of a Philip Marlowe mystery!

Dictionaries and Google are definitely needed to understand what's being said. 

There are 4 short stories in this collection. Now before some of you Raymond Chandler experts out there berate me on what I just said. Yes, I know, Trouble is my Business contained 5 novellas when the collected edition was first published by Penguin in 1950. I have no idea why 'Guns at Cyrano's' is no longer included in this 1992 edition from Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. Here, you only get the title story along with 'Goldfish', 'Finger Man' and 'Red Wind'. 

'Trouble is my Business' sees Philip being hired out to by a wealthy widower to hopefully persuade a gold digger to unleash her grasp from the millionaire's adopted son. Marlowe then gets a lesson in ichthyology when he goes to the Great White North in search of some stolen pearls. Jewelry is once again the subject, this time as an object of blackmail, when Marlowe witnesses the murder of a man in a speakeasy in 'Red Wind'. Then in a story that has to have influenced Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Philip is given the choice to take the fall as the 'Finger Man' or let an innocent woman take the rap for the murder of a two-bit hustler in a mystery that revolves around a crooked politician who controls all of the gambling dens in Los Angeles.

All 4 stories were fun reads. 'Goldfish' was perhaps my favorite because of the fish out of water quality to it with Marlowe being in the Vancouver area instead of sunny California. I also really liked 'Red Wind'. While each story had a sultry femme fatale as a character, 'Red Wind' was the only story where I felt that Marlowe was going to get burned by getting too close to the flames of passion. Also, it's the only tale where Marlowe never enters his detective agency office. It's dive bar, apartment, out in the field; solving a case he never even agreed to a fee to in a single night.

Don't neglect to read the opening article written by Raymond Chandler himself. It's a well known essay in which the author admits his works are far from literature. But that doesn't in any way detract from the artistic quality of his writings. Ironically, among fans of mystery noir and the pursuit of the great American novel, the case files of Philip Marlowe, P.I. are among the pinnacles of mid-20th century lit. 

A must read for murder mystery enthusiasts. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Playback (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In the mid-1940s, Raymond Chandler was a hot property in Hollywood. Film adaptations of several of his mystery novels starring hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe had been massive hits, including 1946's The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Chandler was under contract with Warner Brothers to produce a number of films based on his works. He thought director Howard Hawks had done a masterful job and was happy with Bogie's portrayal of Marlowe. However, the author had become dissatisfied with the final cut of the film as script rewrites had seriously altered his version of the plot.

Chandler was determined that the next film based on one of his works would be true to his vision. The best way to achieve this was to write the next screenplay himself. And it wouldn't be with Warner; contract or no contact. Working out a trade, Chandler's agent was able negotiate the next film to be produced at Universal Studios. Only this film would based on a totally new story; one which would not feature Philip Marlowe. It wouldn't even be set in California!

Playback begins in rural North Carolina. A young woman is accused of murdering her husband, a war hero and son of the town's most influential citizen.  Fleeing from her past and changing her name to Betty Mayfield, the woman runs as far as she can, taking a train to Vancouver. There, she meets a young man named Larry Mitchell who at first seems to take her under his wing, to the point of helping her pass Canadian customs and obtaining a room in a swank hotel. Soon Larry's intentions become clear and during a cocktail party thrown by the hotel's most prominent guest in the penthouse suite, makes a drunken pass at Betty.

In the aftermath of the incident, Betty threatens Larry, promising serious repercussions should the sot assault her again. Turns out Betty won't have to worry about Larry Mitchell ever again as the man winds up dead on her balcony patio. As inspectors attempt to solve the mystery,  Betty's troubled past in North Carolina is revealed. She believes that she's being framed, possibly by her former father-in-law, who swore revenge for his son's death. As the investigation furthers, Inspector Killaine has a gut feeling that the girl is innocent. However the evidence is mounting up against Betty. Canadian authorities are ready to make an arrest. As time runs out, Betty and a date with the electric chair and almost certainty unless Killaine can find a break in case fast.

About halfway through writing the script, Raymond Chandler got bored. Some claim writer's block. Others suspect that the author realized he needed Philip Marlowe and the sunny skies of California to complete his story and that he stubbornly refused to rest on his laurels. Towards the end of his life, Chandler had stated in interviews that he felt that his most beloved character had come to their natural conclusion and the author had bemoaned that he never achieved his dream of writing a serious work that was important to literature. Regardless of what prolonged the completion of Playback, Chandler's delays doomed the film.

Chandler finally submitted the screenplay in the winter of 1948, after missing at least 2 deadlines. Universal called for several charges that the author felt were a step backwards for him. But it was too late. With film noir beginning to lose its luster and the British parliament imposing a major tax on American film productions, Universal cancelled many of its early development projects including Playback.

Never one to let a good idea die, Chandler retooled Playback into a novel. He willingly let Marlowe take the leading man role. Chandler's hometown of La Jolla, California was used as the inspiration for the fictional town of Esmeralda, USA. The roles of a couple of major characters were lessened and the plot centered more on the P.I. than the female lead. But otherwise, the main plot of the story remained the same. Released in 1958, first to British audiences, Playback was Chandler's final complete novel as the novelist died a year later. 

Sometime prior to 2004, archivists at Universal discovered the lost screenplay. Immediate efforts were made by the production company and Raymond Chandler's estate to get the original vision of Playback to the adoring public. In 2004, Editions Denoël commissioned French comic creator Ted Benoit to adapt the recovered screenplay into a graphic novel. It's a story full of the usual Raymond Chandler formula deadly dames, cretinous secondary characters, red herrings and unexpected plot twists. Plus, it's got a Hollywood movie code twist ending that rivals any E.C. Comics classic. François Ayroles illustrated the black and white heavy brush artwork. Arcade Publishing released a hardcover English version of the graphic novel in 2006.  

To this day, Playback remains the only Raymond Chandler work to have never been been adaptation into a live action film.

Completing this review completes Task #30 (A Mystery) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 94

    I've been eagerly awaiting the day to do this post. 40 years ago today, the Toronto Blue Jays played their very first major league baseball game. The event took place in Toronto, where the Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-5. 

A snowy opening day.

    This game is most notable as is was actually delayed by the weather; not for rain but for snow! Played in outdoorsy Exhibition Stadium, it was because of white that the score was so high. It's really hard to see a tiny white baseball in the snow properly. Eventually, snow wouldn't be a problem as the stadium would be replaced with the Rogers Centre, AKA Skydome: a stadium with retractable roof, build-in hotel, and impressive shopping accommodations. 

    The Blue Jays have a special place in my heart. When I first started collecting baseball cards to be like the other fellas, I didn't know which team to choose. So, I decided that I would buy a pack of cards and the first team I got would be my favorite team. (Just please, don't be the New York Yankees!) 

    Well, my first card was a 1988 Topps card of George Bell of the Toronto Blue Jays(#718, All-Star Game Card.)

 I didn't know where Toronto was, so I decided to give it one more try. Card #2 was of Jimmy Key, a pitcher with the Toronto Blue Jays. Figuring life was trying to tell my something, I became a Blue Jays fan.

    Being the fan of an obscure team isn't easy as a kid. But it paid off as in 1992 and 93, the Blue Jays won the World Series. ('91-'93 was a pretty good year for me as my favorite teams the Duke Blue Devils, Toronto Blue Jays, and Pittsburgh Penguins all won back-to-back championships in those years!!!) Feeling vindicated, I wore my World Series Championship shirts with pride and maybe the scorn of my fellow classmates.

Blue Jays Anniversary Patches over the years.

   Over the years, I would fall out of touch with the Blue Jays. I still like them and I was rooting for them when they were in the Playoffs last year. As an adult, I'm Pittsburgh Trinity all the way- Pirates, Steelers, Pens. However, I married into a Yankees family and have to put up with that fandom begrudgingly. (Go METS!!!) But, you never forget your first love and I will always have a fondness for the boys in blue- Go Blue Jays!

   Until Tomorrow...