The 4th is coming up soon. Thank goodness we can gather with friends OR relatives again and have a cook-out (BBQ out west). How do you spritz up the old standards? Post your special or unique recipes for the feast. Here’s a new one (for me) that is a hit:

Pineapple Jalapeno Coleslaw , courtesy GMA

Dressing
Whisk together in a small bowl:
1 cup mayo
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2T Dijon mustard
½ cup chopped Cilantro
2t maple syrup
1/4t celery seed
1-2 dashes of hot sauce (3-4 is better!)
S&P to taste

Combine dressing with 16oz bagged coleslaw in a large bowl. If coleslaw is in a 14oz bag, reduce dressing.

Pineapple & Jalapeno
½ fresh pineapple in 1” slices (I use the fresh pineapple chunks from the grocery cooler)
1 jalapeno (2-3 would be better!)

Grill pineapple and jalapeno until jalapeno is black on all sides.
Remove pineapple & jalapeno; wrap jalapeno in stretch wrap. Let cool.
Finely dice the pineapple, peel the jalapeno, split, and clean out the seeds.
Dice jalapeno, add to slaw with pineapple

Oh my!

Fireball brown sugar glazed pineapple (or peaches)
1/5 fireball whiskey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 pineapple diced (or a bunch of peaches quartered)

Mix fireball and brown sugar and mix well
Marinade fruit in fireball mixture for at least an hour in fridge
Put on grill at 300 for 30 minutes
Enjoy

Queso dip
2 lbs ground beef
3 Jalopenos diced
1 Vidalia onion diced
1 block velveeta
1 block cream cheese
2 fresh barnhouse tomatoes diced

Brown ground beef and add to other ingredients in a foil pan. Cook on smoker or grill (smoker preferred) at 250 stirring every 20 minutes for 1.5 hours or until ingredients are well mixed and desired smoke flavor is achieved

Smoked Jalopeno poppers
12 Jalopeno peppers cored
1 block cream cheese (softened)
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese
1lb sliced bacon

Mix cream cheese and cheddar cheese with any other desired spices and season to taste
Stuff cored Jalopenos with cheese mix
Wrap Jalopenos with bacon and secure with a toothpick
Smoke at 250 for 1 hour or until bacon is cooked to desired level

Red Cabbage, Cranberry and Apple Slaw

Ingredients

5 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 1/4 cups thinly sliced tart apple

1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans

Directions

Combine cabbage and cranberries in a large bowl. Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar through pepper), stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over cabbage mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 2 hours. Add apple and toss well to combine. Sprinkle with pecans.

I add the apples with the cabbage and cranberries-they turn pink, but I don’t care.

Spicy Korean Ribs

l cup KOREAN CHILI PEPPER PASTE (gochujang - adjust to your taste)

3 Tbsp SOY SAUCE

1/4 cup RICE WINE (or mirin)

2 Tbsp SESAME OIL

4 Tbsp HONEY

2 Tbsp BROWN SUGAR (preferably dark brown)

3 Tbsp minced GARLIC

2 Tbsp grated GINGER

1/2 Medium ONION, grated

1/2 MEDIUM SWEET APPLE (Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious), grated

1/2 tsp black pepper



Directions

Mix the ingredients well. Cut each slab of ribs into 2 pieces for easier handling. Rinse and drain. Marinate them for at least six hours (preferably overnight). Turn once during marinating time.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange ribs, meat side down. Cover ribs tightly with foil. Bake 1 1/2 hours. (30 more for fall off the bones tenderness). Remove the foil cover.

Finish off the ribs by one of the following two steps: 1) Broil 4-6 minutes on each side, or until the ribs are slightly charred and the sauce is caramelized. Baste sauce while broiling. 2) Grill over coals, 5-8 minutes on each side until slightly charred and the sauce is caramelized. Baste with sauce while grilling.