It’s time for another installment of my ongoing Overthinking Classics series. If you’re new here, Overthinking Classics is a video series where I dissect beloved dishes, overthink them from every angle, and rebuild them into my version of perfect. I say “my version of perfect” because what you look for in, say, a plate of pasta might be very different than what I look for. Today, I’m tackling the classic cheeseburger. A year-round favorite that really comes into its own in the summer. Pair this bad boy with a milkshake and a side of fries for the full nostalgic experience.
Smoked Beef Ribs with Sumac Onions
This is not a BBQ blog for one very simple reason, I am not a BBQ expert. I’m what you would call an enthusiastic amateur. I enjoy eating BBQ, I enjoy BBQing but I am still very much a novice in terms of skill. Mostly because when I do something good on the grill I struggle to replicate it. This immediately suggests I don’t understand what I got right. But I have been making inroads. I feel fairly confident smoking beef ribs for instance because today’s Smoked Beef Ribs with Sumac Onions forced me to buckle down and figure the damn thing out. So maybe that’s the key to my future BBQ success. Make it part of my work and I’ll actually pay attention and document the process.
Carne Asada Salad with Pickled Radish
Believe it or not, I didn’t actually intend to post this Carne Asada Salad on Cinco de Mayo. Things in my calendar shifted and this dish, serendipitously, landed on May 5th. I don’t generally pay that much attention to Cinco de Mayo. I suppose because it really isn’t a thing here in Canada. Sure, you’ll see the odd margarita or Corona special. But for the most part, the day seems to pass largely unmarked. But I love Mexican food, so any excuse to make it is a good excuse in my books. So let’s tackle this wildly vibrant Carne Asada Salad.
Tri-Tip Tacos with Chipolte Peanut Sauce
Once upon a time, I ate a really good taco. And 10 years later it continues to live rent-free in my mind. It was a tri-tip taco and I was in San Diego, California. It’s funny, I don’t remember the specifics of the taco. All I remember is the quality of the corn tortilla, and the meat. That meat was so tender, smokey, and flavorful – I just could not handle it. So you can imagine my disappointment when I realized tri-tip was far from common here in Canada. Thankfully, in the intervening years, tri-tip has become easier to find here in Toronto. So without further ado, I present my attempt to recreate a beloved food memory with these Tri-Tip Tacos with Chipolte Peanut Sauce.