It's Not a Party Till Someone Brings the Liquid Nitrogen

Whew, it has been busy here the last week or so.  When it wasn't busy I was enjoying the wonderful weather outside on my terrace, grilling like a madman.  So I'm taking this respite before the day's ribathon commences to wrap up Aspen and to wish everyone a Happy 4th.

The last event I went to at Aspen was very cool, darn near freezing in fact.  It was a cooking competition between Rick Bayless and Michael Voltaggio,  a Top Chef vs Top Chef Masters battle.  It was very entertaining and it raised funds for Cook for the Cure, a breast cancer charity by auctioning off Rick Bayless' sous chef spot.  The darn near freezing came in when Michael Voltaggio had a giant cylinder of liquid nitrogen wheeled onstage.  It's not a party till someone brings the liquid nitrogen.  He used this to basically make sangria slushies.  Chef Bayless won the Quickfire challenge, but it really didn't matter.  The audience had fun and a worthy cause got a nice bump in their coffers.

Having been grill deprived for most of my adult life, I am compensating now.  Most evenings from May through September find me outside, tongs in hand.  Having found my new religion, I had to find my new bible.  It came in the form of Weber's Big Book of Grilling. I'm sure more experienced grill masters will scoff at such a pedestrian tome, but it has done me no wrong so far.  The apple cider mop sauce baby back ribs are a particular favorite of mine.  The spicy Texas rib eye is no slouch either.

Well, I have ribs to rub and sauces to simmer.  Everyone have a wonderful Independence Day!