The University where I work is fortunate to be the home of the Greenspring Valley Orchestra, a small orchestra made up of local musicians who volunteer their time and talents to share their love of music. During the summer, the orchestra performs several outdoor (generally) concerts free to the public … it is always great fun and the ridiculously hot weather that we’ve had these past 10 days or so Broke and made for a beautiful mild summer’s evening. So I planned a picnic dinner for my Heart and the girls (my son had to work his second job – such a shame because he loves these concerts).
First an Asian cole slaw. Let me just get this out there – I don’t like cole slaw… I never have. I send apologizes to my wonderful and loving grandmother who helped raise me but … yes, I didn’t like her’s either. But… sometimes “cole slaw” just seems to fit the bill, especially with things like BBQ ribs. I have gone out of my way, over the years, to create cole-slaw-like substitutes and this is one. Pre-shredded cabbage & carrot Cole Slaw mix, very thinly sliced red & green pepper (mandolin sliced – so Very thin), and a heaping handful of fresh cilantro mixed with about a 1/2 c of ginger dressing. I like this brand so I didn’t even doctor it.
Boneless country-style pork ribs that have been marinating for 48 hours in a mixture of House of Tsang Spicy Hibachi Grill sauce (I couldn’t find a picture so they must not be making it any more, which is very sad because we loved it… but it was Very spicy so that might be why)… which I combined with some vinegar to thin the sauce into more of a marinade. The ribs were cooked for about 1 hour at 300-degrees… I would actually cook them a little longer at a lower temperature but our oven doesn’t really go any lower.
It was a perfect night and the Greenspring campus is simply lovely…. there was quite a crowd also, which was nice to see.
Ribs and slaw and some additional bean sprout and greens salads from the local Asian market… not a bad picnic dinner. Cantaloupe chunks for dessert… although we did stop for a Rita’s Italian Ice on the way home.
The concert was lovely and included some classical and some modern pieces including a medley of James Horner music including the theme from “Titanic” and a great medley of the classics that were used for Looney Tunes, etc. cartoons.
Of course, there had to be a little Gilbert & Sullivan
And a rendition of “Hello Muddah Hello Faddah” had to happen after the orchestra played Dance of the Hours from Amilcare Ponchielli‘s opera La Gioconda. I had to wonder how Signor Ponchielli would feel knowing that snippets of his music appeared in all sorts of places… from the Disney Movie Fantasia to comedy songs like Hello Muddah Hello Faddah by Allan Sherman to popular TV commercials.