Thursday, July 29, 2010

Birthday on a Stick

As I have mentioned before, I love cooking a meal with a theme. Last week my baby boy turned 19. One of his favorite foods is baby back ribs and I was thrilled to make a meal I knew all my kids would love for his big day. Ribs are the perfect food for a party because you don’t need utensils and this started me thinking about the rest of the evening. A birthday meal with no utensils to clean sounded great and I went with the theme of a “meal on a stick”. Along with the baby backs, I made corn on the cob and decided to go one step forward and create dessert on a stick too. We had a great time and I hope my son will remember the extra attention to detail for his birthday meal.

Baby Back Ribs
Half a rack per person

Brisket rub (I like the flavor of this seasoning and it tenderizes the meat)
Favorite sauce
Foil
Charcoal for grill

Remove membrane from back of ribs. Sprinkle both sides of ribs with brisket seasoning and wrap each rack in foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Prepare grill and when coals are hot, place ribs on grill brushing barbeque sauce on each side. Grill until sauce is thick and ribs have a nice char.

Corn on the cob

One ear per person
Butter
Salt
This is the easiest and tastiest way to cook corn. Don’t shuck corn. Place ears of corn on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and peel corn. Add butter and salt and enjoy. The only way I cook corn on the cob anymore.

Ice cream pops

Ice cream (I used vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate to have a variety)
Lollipop sticks
Chocolate (to melt for coating, I used candy wafers from baking aisle)
Plastic wrap

Line pan with plastic wrap. Using a melon baller, make small balls of ice cream and place on pan. Put pan in freezer to reset ice cream. Insert a lollipop stick into each ball and freeze again. Melt chocolate in microwave for 30-40 seconds. Dip each ice cream pop into chocolate to coat. Place back into freezer every couple of minutes. You may need to melt chocolate in small batches since the ice cream cools the chocolate off quickly. Freeze until ready to serve. No spoon needed.

Cake pops

Cake mix (I used chocolate)
Icing (one can in a color/flavor to match your cake)
Chocolate (for drizzling and dipping)
Plastic wrap

Bake cake according to package directions and let cool. Take half of the cake and crumble into large bowl. Add about half a can of frosting to bowl. Mix into semi smooth mixture with a fork or use a hand mixer on low speed. Form golf ball sized balls with hands and place on plastic wrap lined cookie sheet. Place in refrigerator to chill. Insert lollipop stick into each cake ball. Melt chocolate and dip each cake ball in chocolate to cover. Place on cookie sheet and back in fridge to cool until ready to serve. I had a little trouble dipping the balls in chocolate because some were too heavy to stay on the stick. I went to Plan B and put the melted chocolate in a squeeze bottle and covered cake balls while they were on the tray. I liked the taste and it was fun having cake on a stick.

Our meal without forks was fun and different. The food was delicious and clean up was a breeze!

12 comments:

  1. That was a great team, no mess! I would love to try the ice cream pops and cake pops, for sure kids will love these! thanks for sharing!

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  2. Your theme meal is so cute! Happy birthday to your son! Those cake pops look very yummy! Cute idea!

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  3. Hi...great theme, cost and energy saver too. Thanks for visiting and your lovely comment, do visit again ya...

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  4. looks like fun thanks for visiting my blog

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  5. HI, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving behind the comment....do visit again.....will be in touch with u too...

    Loved the theme...Happy birthday to ur son....the pops look too tempting....

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  6. This is a really super cool idea! Will keep this in mind when there's a get-together in my place! No tedious cleaning-up! Great. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Cool theme! Happy Birthday to your son. It sounds like a great fun meal to me and what a unique dessert. I will enjoy following you to see what's cooking!

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  8. What a wonderful idea, very innovative.Thankyou for dropping by simply.food.Your visit and comments are very much appreciated.

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  9. What a great theme! I love the idea of no mess. It's make entertaining so much more fun. Happy 19th birthday to your son. It sounds like you all had an amazing time!

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  10. thank you for stoping by my blog!!! =)

    wow what a great meal... I wish I could have some cake pops too... hahahah you just made me hungry =P

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  11. Love all of this! You have so many fun ideas. I look forward to coming back!

    Thanks for visiting my new blog. I am so enjoying this new adventure. I appreciate you sharing in it!

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  12. Sounds like a terrific dinner!

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