Plum Ear-ee

My black lab, Scrappy, has the most quirky habit of shaking his head from side to side. I thought it was a sign he was excited, because he did it whenever I talked to him about doing something he obviously enjoys. It's kind of like when he's soaking wet and shakes to dry off.

Anyway, last night, I was petting him and discovered his right ear was swollen--really swollen. It felt like he had a 12-gauge shotgun shell in his ear. He didn't seem to be in any pain, but nonetheless, Danielle, my 20-year-old took him in to the vet this morning. They took him into surgery immediately. They said he had ruptured a blood vessel in his ear. They told Danielle that it was from him shaking his head!

He made it through the procedure just fine. Of course he's sedated, so he was kind of dopey when I got home around six o'clock this evening. The vet indicated that we should watch him closely, as he might develop the same problem in his left ear. Wow.

The vet said the shaking of the head is probably due to ear mites. I don't know. It's not like Scrappy goes around shaking his head. He mostly does it when we talk to him; particularly about something he enjoys--going out for the newspaper, going swimming, killing cats, whatever. You know...

If you'd like to send him well-wishes, address them to me & I promise to forward them to Scrappy. We'll keep a close eye on that other ear, you can bet.

Halleluiah! Satanic Ribs!??

I asked Bobby Hajek if he’d made a deal with the devil to be able to cook pork ribs so good…he allowed that he’d done a lot of dealing with the devil back in the day. Today, the truth is his barbecue is heavenly. Before long his road-side barbecue stand just south of La Grange will be bustling with patrons elbowing each other to get to the head of the line before his 5-star ‘cue runs out.

Bobby opened his barbecue stand a couple of years ago to no fanfare whatsoever. His clientele is mostly locals who know of his rep simply from front yard cookouts, or his wife, Nancy’s annual end-of-school parties on the Colorado River for her and her fellow school teachers. That’s how I got introduced to his skills as a master pitmeister. When my wife, Angelique was a teacher’s aide, we got invited to the late-May mosquito fests. Bobby’s barbecue always took center stage. There was the obligatory brisket, always succulent, moist and tender. Sausage & chicken were always perfect. It’s sometimes difficult to do chicken and sausage and have the skin and casing stay moist. His does.

And then there are his ribs. Oh, God. I decided this blog would be about just about anything—except religion. I figured I’d draw the line there. But when I decided to blog about Bobby Hajek’s barbecued pork ribs, a choir of angels descended upon me and I had a vision where they all had pork juice clear up to their angelic elbows. Now that’s a religious experience eating Bobby Hajek’s ribs. I’m not talking baby back ribs, no, his choice is the larger, more cumbersome spare ribs. You know, the ones with the cartilage still intact. They’re a little trickier to eat, but man, is it worth it. The smokiness is just perfect, the meat really does fall off the bones, and melt in your mouth. I could go on and on…

This Saturday was the first day for Bobby’s new dining room. Nancy said he doesn’t really want anybody to know about it yet, cause they’re still working out the “kinks” and I told her it would be on my new blog, but nobody knows about my new blog yet, so their secret is still safe. But I suspect the secret is bound to get out about his dining room soon enough. All I can say is, arrive early and “’cue up”.

Aggie--Longhorn Golf Tournament

Today marked the 18th annual Fayette County Aggie—Longhorn Scholarship Golf Tournament. As usual, it was held at the Frisch Auf Valley Country Club Golf Course in La Grange. Ten teams competed for the top spot today in windy conditions and in the end, two Aggie teams and one Longhorn team prevailed. It was all to raise funds for scholarships for local kids to both schools.

Today’s highlight was the presence of legendary football coach Darrell Royal, of the University of Texas. He has been invited each year that the tournament has been held, but this is the first time he has appeared.

Royal was accompanied at the tournament by his football quarterback from the early 1970’s, Marty Aikins, and Aikins’ family. Aikins has been a fixture at the Fayette County event since its inception, but this is the first time he has brought along his high-profile coach.

Garlic-Roasted Potatoes

Tonight’s side dish will be a super alternative to the local favorites, French fries, or boiled/German potatoes. Every once in a while I let fly with something a little different. I don’t know if I stole this recipe, or made it up, but it’s good.
Start with a bag of plain ol’ russet potatoes. Pull out one medium spud per person. I’m cooking for two. Adjust amounts accordingly. Other ingredients tonight will be:

2 tbsp Olive oil
Tsp Basil
Tsp Garlic salt (or to taste)
Tbsp Tony Chachere’s all-purpose seasoning (or to taste)
¼ cup Parmesan cheese (either fresh-grated, or in a can)


Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Wash them taters real good with a sponge or scrubber (do not peel). Cut into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, toss spuds, olive oil, garlic salt, basil, and Tony’s. Spread evenly in a single layer on a shallow baking pan (I line with foil, cause I’m not that into washing dishes). Sprinkle parmesan cheese over potatoes. Poke ‘em in the oven for ½ an hour. Check after 15 minutes to see if the olive oil is raising hell—that’s a good thing.

Remove when tender. Do not taste right away, or you’ll burn the crap out of the roof of your mouth!

Enjoy!

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