Finally, we celebrate the life and legacy of Whitney Houston.  A voice of an angel has gone home to find her place among them.

Rest In Peace.

This recipe is slightly time consuming on the prep, but worth every minute!

Barbecued Beef with Pickle Slaw on Toasted Soft Rolls
Here’s another way to make good use of the Shredded Beef Short Ribs. This is a great summery sandwich, although I eat it all year long, and the pickle slaw is incredibly refreshing. When you eat this, you’ll need a lot of napkins.
Serves 4 to 6

21/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
4 to 6 soft rolls, split
Pickle Slaw (see directions below)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or similar pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, sear the short ribs on all sides until the meat is crusty and nicely browned, 5 to 6 minutes total. Lift the short ribs from the pot and set aside on a platter.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, until nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ketchup, broth, vinegar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and paprika and bring to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Return the ribs to the pot, cover, and roast in the oven until the beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours. Remove the pot from the oven and set aside to allow the meat to cool.

When the ribs are cool enough to handle, lift them from the pot, shred the meat using your fingers or a fork, and put it in a bowl. You will have about 3 cups of shredded short ribs. Set aside until ready to use.

Strain the cooking juices through a sieve into another bowl. Refrigerate the juices until you can skim and discard the fat that rises to the top, 20 to 30 minutes.

Spoon as much of the defatted cooking juices into the rib meat as needed to moisten it. You will need at least 1/4 cup and perhaps more.

Reheat the meat on high power in the microwave until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Preheat the broiler and toast the rolls, cut sides up, for 1 to 2 minutes, until nicely browned. Pile equal amounts of meat on the bottom half of each roll and top with pickle slaw. Put the top half of the roll on each sandwich, press gently, and serve.

Pickle Slaw
Makes 31/2 to 4 cups

Ingredients
1 cup thinly shredded green cabbage
1 cup thinly shredded red cabbage
1 cup julienned baby dill pickles
1/2 cup julienned carrots
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 jalapeño chile peppers, very thinly sliced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon smoked or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together the cabbages, pickles, carrots, onion, and jalapeños. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate the slaw for at least 30 minutes to marinate.

Two out of five ain’t bad.  That is the number of wins locally for the Grammy Awards Monday night.   Woodstock residents, Pat Metheny and Levon Helm brought home the hardware for Best New Age and Best Americana album respectively.

For Helm it was just what the doctored order as he just returned home after a successful medical treatment.  Helm won the Grammy for a live recording of his famous Ramble, although this album was not recorded at his Plochmann Lane residence but at the Ryman Theatre in Nashville, aptly named “Ramble at the Ryman”.   Performing along with Levon on this album are Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and hometown folk icon, Steve Earle.  Third straight win for Levon.

Winning never gets old, just ask Metheny, who won number 19 for ”What’s It All About.”  Hudson Valley resident, Jimmy Sturr, just fell short of his 19th win in the Regional Root Album Category.   Also falling short Monday night was local jazz musician, Joe Lovano and Folk Singer Steve Earle in Best Jazz and Folk categories.  But as the old cliche goes, It is a honor just to be nominated.  Indeed.

We will just keep drinking this mountain water.

We have not expected much from awards shows; usually bad production, cheesy jokes and hosts that love to hear themselves talk.  We are happy to report that last night, the Grammy Awards was none of that!

Maybe we are biased because one of our favorite artists, Bruce Springsteen, kicked off the show with the world premier of his new single, “We Take Care Of Our Own”.  Bruce Rocked it and reminded everyone out there why he is the “Boss”.  The song was perfect given the state of our country, economy and loss.  It was last June, when Clarence Clemons, sax player for the E Street Band passed away and twenty four hours prior to Whitney Houston’s passing.

LL Cool J seemed to be the perfect host.  He took control of the crowd immediately, thanked Bruce for that performance and with respect to the passing of ,Whitney, by saying “We had a death in the family” let’s pray and celebrate our loss.

The first Grammy handed out was for best Rock Performance, nominees were: Coldplay, The Decembrists, Foo Fighters, Mumford & Sons and Radiohead.  Foo Fighters took home the award (a big night as they got 4 of them).  Dave Grohl did a bang up job with his speech, “This is a great honor because rather than go the best studio in the world down the street with fancy computers, we made this one in my garage with some microphones and a tape machine” (sounds like they took a que from Big Pink).  This award means a lot  because it shows the human element making music is what is most important.  Singing into a microphone and learning to play a instrument and learning to do your craft is the  most important thing for people to do”.

Foo Fighters had a big night, but the night belonged to Adele.  Tying the record with 6 wins (Record,Album, & Song of the year. Best Pop Solo Performance & Vocal and Songwriting) her anticipated performance after vocal cord surgery had everyone standing on their feet as she sang “Rolling in the Deep”.  Another surprising standing “O” was for Taylor Swift‘s performance of “Mean”.  It was indeed the best live performance we have seen from Swift, but we are so over her bubble gum lyrics I hope she can take it to the next level, like Katie Perry (surprisingly)did with her performance of “Part of Me”.

While we are on the topic of surprises (pleasantly so) when Bon Iver Nabbed 2 Grammy’s for: Best Alternative  Album beating out Death Cab for Cutie, Foster the People, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead  and  Best New Artist beating out Nikki Minaj, J.Cole, Skrillex and The Band Perry.  For a complete list of winners click here.

Memorable performances abound from Bruno Mars, Nikki Minaj, Rhinna & Coldplay and tributes to The Beach Boys and Glenn Campbell, The Rhinestone Cowboy, suffering from alzheimer’s disease and still performing.

The production value gets a 10; the stage looked amazing and was well thought out, seemless transitions between performance and acceptance speeches.

Finally,  a tribute to Whitney Houston by Jennifer Hudson singing “I will Always Love You”.  Hudson was suppose to receive a Grammy from Houston and instead singing to her in memorandum.  No one had a voice like Whitney, but this is not a time to criticize a performance that is a tribute, a moving tribute that Jennifer delivered in a controlled way under extraordinary circumstances.

Well Done Grammy’s, Well Done.

A BIG Congrats to fellow Woodstocker, Levon Helm, on his win for Best Americana Album!

We Heart Fondue!!!  It is so easy to make and you can get creative with many different variations.  With Valentine’s day on Tuesday, skip the crowded restaurants; light the fire and break out the fondue set.  Here is a classic cheese recipe for chocolate or vegan options click here.

Basic Cheese Fondue Recipe

1. Rub the garlic inside the fondue pot then discard.*You should have a little more wine and cheese on hand to adjust the consistency if needed. Add more cheese if it’s too liquid, add more wine if it’s too thick.

2. Pour the white wine and lemon juice into the pot and turn on the burner.

3. Let the wine and lemon juice warm up without boiling.

4. Reduce heat and add the shredded cheese.

5. With a wooden spoon, mix well and stir regularly.

6. Dilute the cornstarch in the Kirsch, and add remaining ingredients to the pot.

7. Add pepper to taste.

8. If the mixture is too hard, add wine. If the mixture is too soft, add cheese.

9. Dip bite size pieces of bread or vegetables.

10. Let the freshly dipped pieces cool off for a few seconds, then enjoy and repeat but no double-dipping!

Note: Italian or French bread (baguette) makes excellent dippers when cut into small pieces. You can also try mild green or red peppers, zucchini slices, steamed broccoli or cauliflower or whatever else you’re in the mood for.

Tip: If you ask your guests to make a figure 8 while dipping, this will ensure that the cheese mixture gets constantly stirred.

Patrick Metheny is originally from Kansas City, Missouri and calls Woodstock, NY home.  Since 1974, his true home seems to be on the road, touring between 120 – 240 shows a year.  Born into a musical family he started music on the trumpet at eight years of age, but within a few years transferred to the instrument that would define his career, the guitar.

Before Metheny could drive legally, he was playing with the biggest names in Jazz in Kansas City & honing a style that would become his trademark. His debut album, Bright Size Life, in 1975 demonstrated this style and broke through the traditional sound of jazz guitarists. Metheny’s background with the trumpet allowed him to take some of the loose and flexible articulation customarily reserved for horn players and blend them with an advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility. A modern take on a traditional genre.

At the age of 18, Metheny became a music educator at the University of Miami and then a year later teaching at the Berklee School of Music. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as “Best Jazz Guitarist” and awards, including three gold records and 18 Grammy Awards.

As told to The Woodstock Times, Metheny eloquently states, “One of the great things about jazz and in fact, any kind of instrumental music, is the poetry that it offers.  There are ways of discussing things in the syntax of sound that just cannot be expressed any other way.”

You can watch Pat Metheny express himself through sound tonight and tomorrow at the Falcon, click here for details.

Super Bowl Mania has finally commenced, but the jury is still out on the halftime show.  Since the announcement that Madonna would be performing at half-time there has been mixed emotions some critics (mostly men) thought it was a bad choice and that the NFL viewers prefer rock performances over pop.  Interestingly enough, many women who would never tune in for football, became excited about the game – Thanks to Madge.

And so, as the second quarter whittled down, workers flocked onto the field to construct the stage.  Moments later, in a classic Madonna move, out came the queen of pop on her throne, carried by her army to the sounds of “Vogue”.  A strong start.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t just all Madge all the time as there were cameos by other stars in pop; Nikki Minaj, MIA, LMFAO and Cee-Lo.

The feedback on Twitter and Facebook was mixed;  ”Enough with the lip synching”,  ”Too Safe”,  ”Did MIA just give us the bird?”  Yes, MIA flipped the bird in lieu of her trademark gunshot motion during the song “”Give Me All Your Luvin’.”   

Then came a medley of “Music” with LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy and I Know It” on a bleacher set with a tightrope jumper for slight aerialist effect.  To close, Cee Lo joined Madonna as the pastor and let the “congregation” in a choir-backed “Like a Prayer” as Madonna escaped down a hole leaving the crowd with the message “World Peace”.  Her biggest show ever with over 100 Million viewers.

Madonna is a living legend and her legions of fans are fiercely loyal – in their eyes she can do no wrong.  What did YOU think, come answer our poll online; Did Madonna Sizzle or Fizzle?

So the “big game” is on Sunday and we can’t think of a better dish.  This recipe serves Six, but can be doubled or tripled.

We are looking forward to the MUSIC appearances, will Madge kill it?!

ingredients

• 3 red onions, peeled
• olive oil
• sea salt and ground pepper
• 2 handfuls of raisins
• 3 heaped tablespoons
thick-cut marmalade
• 1 heaped tablespoon
tomato ketchup
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
sauce, plus extra for serving
• 200ml Guinness
or smooth dark ale
• 6 lamb shanks,
roughly 350g each
• 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 liter organic chicken stock
To serve
• a small bunch of fresh
mint leaves
• a few tablespoons
rapeseed or olive oil
• 2 spring onions, trimmed
• cider vinegar

On our beloved local station, WDST 100.1 FM (you can listen online), has great programing. So much so, that when the commercials come on, you don’t want to change to another station because you want to be in the know; what is going on in the community and on the station.

On Sundays,  there is the Blues Break, with Big Joe Fitz.  His smooth voice comes on the promotions for the show asking you to join him on Sundays to get “Deep fried and Sanctified”.  When he’s not spinning the blues he’s singing it on stages throughout the Hudson Valley.

Born into a musical family, Big Joe, was fortunate enough to grow up in NYC in a time when you could take a taxi over to the village and see the best of the best in a intimate setting.  This had a profound impact on him and the genre became his passion and career. Big Joe has opened for or shared the stage with such notable names in the Blues as The Holmes Brothers, Marcia Ball, Mighty Sam McClain, Eddie Kirkland, Little Sammy Davis, Madeleine Peyroux, Tad Robinson, Bruce Katz, Janiva Magness and more.

Tomorrow night you can catch him & his band, the Lo-Fi’s [Mark Dziuba (Guitar), Robert Bard (Bass) & Tim Whalen (Drums)] live at the Falcon.  ”My goal is to connect with the audience… that’s what I’m thinking about every time I step on the stage.”

For those of you unable to make the gig tomorrow night you can tune in every Sunday evening to WDST or take a listen here, to a past “Blues Break”.

Here at SirLady, we break for the blues.

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Would you consider yourself a Rock Snob?  According to David Kamp and Steven Daly, a Rock Snob is a reference term for the sort of pop connoisseur for whom the actual enjoyment of music is but a side dish to the accumulation of arcane knowledge about it.

Well since your reading this blog you may will fit the descriptor (or perhaps these are your training wheels).  We all have at least one friend whose face popped in our head that fit that description.  Kamp and Daly are authors of  ”The Rock Snob*s Dictionary”,  An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowlege.

So here at the record label this book has a prominent place in our music library.  Sometimes, it becomes evidence in a “I told you so, Steve Earle’s debut album, Guitar Town, was in 1986 not 1984″ way, other times we just find ourselves curious and open to a random page.

……….and stop, pg 53.  My eyes fall to a entry with a illustration Ibanez Tube Screamer.  Effects pedal widely popular with guitarists looking to coax a “fatter” sound from their transistor amplifiers.  When first marketed in the seventies, the TS-808 model costs $30 and for years secondhand models were available for less, but demand from Garage Punk retro rockers has now pushed the price toward $500.

The Authors make full disclosure in the introduction that this Dictionary is not meant to serve as a comprehensive rock reference like that of The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll.  So for those Uber-Snobs out there who may be upset there is no entry for David Crosby, Kamp & Daly retort  ”There is no entry for David Crosby, because practically every person over thirty knows who he is and can hum a few bars of “Teach Your Children.”  However, the late Gene Clark, Crosby’s colleague in the original lineup of the Byrds, warrants a entry because, while the average Joe hasn’t the faintest idea who he is, the Rock Snob has fetishized him for his poor-selling post-Byrds output of country & orchestral pop.”

So with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we say Love Yourself and get yourself a copy!