Soulfire BBQ

Thursday night I had big plans with a friend to hit up the OK Go show at Avalon, near Fenway. Little did we know tickets were only available through a radio station's free giveaway, and we didn't have any. Men still need to eat, so Steve, Dan and I headed out in Allston. We ended up at Soulfire BBQ, on Harvard Ave, less than a block off the Green B line. We weren't expecting anything special, after walking in to find a counter to order at fast food style. The food turned out to be a huge surprise. Dan and I chose the pulled pork platter, served on a nice hearty slice of bread. Dan, being from Texas, claimed its called Texas Toast, but we all know better. Steve had the rib and chicken combo. The pulled pork was incredible, as were all the sides we had. We all chose the same side dishes and our platters were seriously loaded. Along with the pork, there was cornbread, mac & cheese, baked beans, and pickles all on the same plate. Well, it was more of a tray than a plate, but it was good. The service was great, for a place without a wait staff, they checked on our table twice. Soulfire also had a good selection of 5 BBQ sauces. They ranged from a traditional think, spicy BBQ to a much thinner North Carolina sauce. All three of us liked the restaurant and will definitely be going back.

Warm Apple Pie

As an added bonus, and because last Monday was Jenn's birthday, we decided to go a little all out and make a dessert too. Mini chocolate cakes were on the top of my list, but the girls had been enjoying a chocolate birthday cake all week, so we opted for something a little lighter. I wish we had thought of cheesecake, because that would've been awesome. Instead, I finally found a use for the bag of apples in my fridge besides taking one to work every day. I cheated and used a frozen pie crust from the store. I've never made my own crust before and to be honest, I didn't really want to take the time to make one. I've never made apple pie filling before either and didn't print out a recipe, so luckily Jenn had a whole book on apple pies. One more note, I happened to have a jar of Apple Pie Spice that Penzey's included as a free gift with one of my orders, so thats what we used in lieu of the nutmeg and cinnamon the recipe called for.

Filling:
8 cups peeled, cored, and sliced apples(about 8-10 small apples)
Lemon Juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice or 1/4 tsp nutmeg & 1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbl. Butter
2 Tbl. Milk
2 Frozen Pie Crusts- 1 thawed & flattened

Oven at 400F.

1) As you peel, core, and slice the apples, drop them in a bowl of water with some lemon juice. The acidity from the lemon will keep the apples from oxidizing(turning brown).
2) Remove the apples from the water and mix the fruit together with the spices and brown sugar.
3) When completely mixed, transfer the apple filling to the pie shell. Don't overfill the shell, there should just be a little hump above the rim in the center of the pie. You can place a few small pieces of butter on top of the pie for extra flavor.
4) Take some water on your finger and moisten the edge of the crust. Take the flattened pie crust and cover the pie. Carefully seal together the edges of the two crusts.
5) Lightly brush the milk over the top of the pie. This will help it get a beautiful golden brown on top.
6) Place four 2-inch slits evenly spaced in the top crust of the pie, for it to vent while baking.
7) Bake directly on the center rack of the oven at 400F for 30 minutes. Then bake for another 30 minutes on a dark baking sheet.

Remove from oven and cool for at least an hour before eating.

Stuffed Shells

For our weekly Thursday dinner, we decided on Italian this week. We'd already done lasagna over the summer and were looking for something simple and fast. After last week's spare ribs needed two hours in the oven, eating before 10PM sounded like a solid plan. The version of stuffed shells we made is a little different from the recipe below. I forgot to reserve cheese to sprinkle over the top and we didn't use any Parmesan at all. There are a few other small changes too. Its always good to have an idea of how you could improve the recipe the next time you make it. To save time we used a jar of tomato sauce. My personal favorites are Emeril's and Barilla, but use whatever you like most.

Stuffed Shells
1 Box Jumbo Shells
2 lbs Ricotta Cheese
1 lb Mozzarella Cheese, Grated
1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredder
1/2 Cup Parsley, chopped

1) Cook the shells in boiling water according to the directions on the package. I like to add some salt and olive oil to the water for taste before the pasta goes in.
2) Mix together all the ricotta with most of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Save some of the last two cheeses to top the dish with. Combine the parsley with the cheese mixture. If you feel adventurous you can add in a little garlic salt.
3) Use a spoon to help fill the shells with the cheese and place each shell in a baking pan with the open side down.
4) Top the shells with the sauce and finish with the leftover mozzarella and Parmesan.
5) Bake for 30 minutes at 350F, until the cheese on top is bubbly and golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. You want to let the cheese set a bit or else it will turn into a huge mess.

Enjoy!