Arkansas Strawberry Dessert

So, sticking with the food theme, here is the recipe for a TOP SECRET dessert passed down for generations in my family. Giving this away could be considered a crime ;)

An Awesome Recipe for 4th of July

What Y'all Need

• Strawberries, and lots of them
• Graham Crackers ( The cinnamon ones taste best but anyone will work )
• Whipped cream IN A CAN ( y'all will find out later... I really should stop with the y'all s)
• Sugar
  

Lets Do This!

Now first things first, slice all the strawberries into like eighth inch slithers. If you have one of those egg slicers this will definitely go a lot faster.

Next, line a big bowl with a layer of strawberries. Sprinkle a little sugar over them to sweeten them up a bit.

Next, lay down a layer of Whipped cream on top. Now this is important, every time you lay down a layer of whipped cream, you MUST spray some directly into your mouth as well. Don't ask me why, but it just doesn't taste the same if you don't :)

After the whipped cream, crack the graham crackers into those segment thingamajigs and lay down a layer of those like you're laying bricks.

Again, put down another layer of whipped cream ( don't forget the important part) and start the whole process all over again.

Once you get to the top of the bowl, make your last layer of whipped cream and then get some graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle it on top. Then put some strawberries on to perrty it up a bit.

Lastly

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and shove it in the refrigerator overnight. The soggier it gets, the better it tastes!

Santa Maria Tri -Tip

Ok, so since I mentioned it I might as well use this to start it off. Tri- Tip is one of the best kept secrets in BBQing. It is a top sirloin cut and is easily one of the tastiest and easily cooked cuts out there.

So heres a little of my background with it. If you are going to be an expert on Tri-Tip, there's usually one requirement, be born in Santa Maria. In Santa Maria, everyone cooks this stuff. It's a tradition from the 'ole ranchin days where at the end of the day everyone would gather for a nice meal of tri-tip, beans, and garlic bread. I happened to work for a catering outfit in town when I was younger and was lucky enough to learn a bit about it.

So first things first, buy urself some Tri-tip. Now the butcher usually tries to trick you by leaving about an inch of fat on the bottom where you can't see it in the packaging. Not only is tri tip usually cooked with all the fat cut off, this also adds to the weight and makes it cost more, so ask to have it cut off.

Next you need some Santa Maria Style Seasoning or Susie Cue as we Santa Marians call it. If you can't find it, just make yourself up a concoction of equal parts salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and fine parsely.

Now slather it all over the Tri-Tip. I don't mean sprinkle, slather it. It should almost look like someone through it in the dirt when you get done with it.

Lastly, BBQ the Tri- Tip over a pit ( this is IMPORTANT ) of Red Oak. Thats the true secret. Its going to take about 30 mins to cook so sit back, drain a few brewskies and let the good times roll. If you have a temperature guage, 130-135 F is usually mediam well and 140 F being Well done.

Now here's the best part. Don't worry about screwing up ( I don't know how you would do that but I digress ) or experimenting for that matter. Is almost IMPOSSIBLE to cook a bad Tri-Tip. Sometimes I like to spray on a little Terryaki/Soy sauce while its cooking to give it a little kick.

So try it out, I know you will love it.

The Blog of Life

Everyone has something, in the way of knowledge, to give and share to the world. Through trial and error we all become experts at something in our lives. Whether it is as big as knowing how to BBQ the worlds best Tri-Tip or something small like how to grow pumpkins. We all have something to share, free of charge, to the world. This is my attempt at giving back what I have learned.