Ritch, Pat and their kids lived in Montgomery when all of our kids were young. Pat and I worked together and for too many reasons to mention, we gravitated toward one another in friendship. The Ivey family soon began to form a bond with the Calhoun family and even though we are now miles apart Lamar and I count our friendship with Ritch and Pat as eternal! We.love.them. We love their kids. We love their grandkids and we love their pets! RIP Maxx you were such a good pup.
So our typical #brewsnque weekend had a little twist this month. Ritch is the Executive Chef at the Piedmont Club in Spartanburg and he has a killer recipe for Boston Butt. Not only was he kind enough to share the dry rub recipe with the "Cooking Through the Calendar" Cookbook that the Dream Team at New Waters Realty gave to their clients in 2016, he went above and beyond to treat us to a BBQ for dinner the first night of our weekend!
I was, as you can see, half way into my dinner before I thought to take a photo. Ritch and Pat have always spoiled us in the food department of our visits! This weekend was no exception! (ps Pat makes a clam dip that has always, always been my favorite. She's a keeper!)
Here's the recipe for both the dry rub and the blueberry BBQ sauce. #yumformytum #myfavorite
8 pound Boston Butt
Dry Rub:
1 cup chili powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
Trim fat to 1 inch. Rub pork butt and set in refrigerator overnight. Smoke at 250 degrees for approximately 8 hours or until internal temperature is 190 degrees.
Blueberry BBQ Sauce:
3 jars Stubbs BBQ sauce
2 pints blueberries (frozen is fine)
Simmer for 10 minutes. Puree in food processor.
I need to back up just a bit and let you know that Ritch had surgery on his wrist the day before our visit, so the phrase "above and beyond" doesn't seem to quite cut it. He's doing better now...but those first few days were rough, even with pain killers. Ritch is the Man.
The area of South Carolina that is home to Greenville and Spartanburg is probably one of my most favorite places to be! I've always told Lamar that if he ever had a job offer anywhere close to there we were going! They have four, count them, four seasons! Cultural diversity and rich in history. During our few trips to visit the Calhoun family, they have shared some of their favorite spots and this trip did not disappoint!
Pat took us to downtown Spartanburg on Saturday. Y'all. I could move there tomorrow.
We ate lunch at Cribbs Kitchen and enjoyed the delicious Warmed Bread Plate, I'll Have the Dip assortment of chips and dips and Pimento Cheese Fritters with Tomato Jam. Everything was so good! We shared a flight with Pat and selected a couple of dark beers, pale ales and signature drafts from the brewery next door. What a fun place and we will make plans to stay for dinner next time we are in town!
You'll notice the US map made of different brewery logos. Look who we found! One of our favorites and the first stop on our #brewsnque tour of 2016! Good People Brewing
After we enjoyed some good food and fellowship, we walked next door to RJ Rockers Brewing to sample some more home brews to make our #brewsnque weekend complete!
Lamar, of course, made friends with a couple of rescue dogs and their owners. Looking forward to taking Pretty Girl and Minnie to enjoy a #brewsnque weekend soon!
To walk off our #brews we headed back up the street to look at some creative street art and then visited Olive and Then Some in downtown Spartanburg. We sampled so many delicious oils infused with wonderful ingredients. I came away with an Olive Oil infused with Cilantro and Roasted Onion. My spaghetti has not tasted the same since... =) Pat had some delicious finds as well!
They also have Vinaigrettes that are infused. So many things to taste...so little time! This is definitely a place to revisit and budget for on our next trip!
When I first started thinking about the whole #brewsnque in 2016 thing I wanted it to be a time to spend with Lamar doing something he was interested in (#brews) and something I am interested in (#que) and if it was something we could do with family and friends...all the better! This weekend was not intended to be a "brewsnque weekend. This was a weekend that we wanted to spend with friends and just be with them. The surprise BBQ dinner and trip to downtown Spartanburg was just a happy bonus! Looking forward to our next #brewsnque weekend but even more than that, I am looking forward to seeing my friends Pat and Ritch welcome a new addition to their family in July! Welcome Baby Sproul!
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