Blue Jean Chef

My Dad tells a joke about Adam in the Garden of Eden, asking God for the perfect companion. After Adam describes what this companion would be like – she would honor and worship him, feed him, nurse him in poor health, clean his home, shower him with love, respect him, yada yada yada – [...]

My Dad tells a joke about Adam in the Garden of Eden, asking God for the perfect companion. After Adam describes what this companion would be like – she would honor and worship him, feed him, nurse him in poor health, clean his home, shower him with love, respect him, yada yada yada – God says “That will cost you an arm and a leg!” Adam responds by asking “Well, then what can I get for a rib?” Then my Dad laughs very hard. Very funny, Dad.

I’ve been thinking about my father’s joke recently, because I’ve been up to my eyeballs in ribs. You see, tomorrow night at 8pm ET on QVC, the Blue Jean Chef show returns to the air, and the theme this time is “Ribs”. I’ve been making batches of ribs – smoking them, BBQ-ing them, slow baking them in the oven – to come up with the perfect Blue Jean Chef recipe. I’ve almost (almost) had my fill of them – and I ain’t ribbing you!

What I found most interesting was that during my recipe testing, I chose to cook a rack of baby back ribs along side a rack of St. Louis cut spare ribs, using the same preparation for both racks. I ended up preferring the baby back ribs, but that’s probably because the spare ribs needed more time in the oven, and that’s beside the point and not what I found most interesting anyway. As home cooks, we rarely seem to do this – side-by-side taste comparisons. I mean, if you were cooking for your friends or family, you’d choose one cut of pork or the other, not both.

At least, that’s what I used to do. From here on in, I think I’m going to mix up my meals for company a little. I’m going to buy variations of the main ingredient, prepare them the same way and let my guests (and myself too) compare in a way they don’t often get the chance to – side-by-side. That’s the best way to reflect on the taste experience, rather than trying to rely on the memory of the last time you had that food or ingredient. It also makes a great conversation starter – which variation does everyone like better.

Of course, there is a down side. Inevitably there is going to be a least preferred part of the meal. But… at least you can blame the ingredient, and how often can a cook do that!