My Birthday

We all have great memories of a birthday in our life. I love to entertain friends and family and I really enjoy cooking. Several years ago my wife asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. I said let's have some friends over and cook ribs for them. I had never made ribs up to this point and I cooked 30 pounds of ribs! Fortunately for me they turned out awesome! Good ribs take patience and need to cook slow and low. So with that I will share my successful rib recipe. I started with 3 full racks of ribs (about 2 ft each rack). If you buy from the local grocery store you'll have to flip them over and take a sharp knife and cut and peel the thin membrane off. If you visit the butcher shop, you can have them do it for you (or they will already be de-membraned). Use a dry rub and generously rub the ribs with the seasoning. I use McCormicks Pork Dry rub. Wrap them up in plastic wrap and re-frigerate for 24 to 48 hours. Use a Nesco or very large pot and put the ribs in. Submerge ribs in pineapple juice and worcestershire sauce (approx. 1 large can of pineapple juice about 64oz? and 1/2 bottle of worcestershire sauce 6 0z.) Cook in Nesco or oven at 250 degrees for approx. 3 hours or until ribs start to fall off the bone. Then slather on your favorite sauce. Mine is Sweet Baby Rays, my wife loves Open Pit because it is tangy. Cook on the grill over medium heat until sauce is carmelized and enjoy with a good beer or wine. A wine I highly recommend is an out of this world "Layer Cake - Malbec" Bon apetit.

For a great side dish try my mothers 3 bean side dish.

Cook 3 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled

3 finely chopped onions

2-3 fresh chopped minced garlic

Sauté above onion and garlic in butter or margarine 'til soft and translucent

1/2 tablespoon dry mustard

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

15 oz can Kidney beans rinsed and dried out

15 oz can butter beans or lima beans rinsed and dried out

21 oz can Bush baked beans with partial drained juices taken out

combine all above and bake 350% for 60 minutes and bubbly

Mother's Day Gift and your story

Mother's Day contest! Here is a simple great gift that will keep on giving. Email me and tell me why YOUR mom is the BEST, even send a photo if you can. My email is pkrowen@gmail.com. Have your email to me no later than next Sunday the 2nd of May. Please make sure you include your name and phone number. My family will then choose the winner on Monday the 3rd of May and the winner will be notified and announced on my Facebook page http://preview.tinyurl.com/Paulowenphotographyllc with the story posted.

First place will win a family portrait session and 8 x 10.

Second place will win 50% off a portrait session.

Third place 25% off a portrait session

Gift cards and certificates will be mailed to each of the winners by Wednesday the 5th of May, so you receive it in time for Mother's Day.

Shortening a long URL/website address

Yesterday I was on the phone with a fellow photographer and we were talking shop. Now days shop talk for us is Facebook, Linkedin, SEO etc... He happened to mention taking a long website or link and shortening it or customizing it with a different name. When I first came across this a couple weeks ago, I thought I would never have a use for this website. But I was very wrong as I have already put it to use several times when attaching a hyperlink in e mails. Go to http://tinyurl.com copy the website or link you want to shorten and then paste into the window. Make sure you type the name you want to change it to in the Custom alias box. Click make Tiny url and you are done. The next page that appears will show you what the link was, and what the new link is. It will never break up in a email or expire! So have fun customizing your links to everyone.

Springtime and great memories

What a great two weeks it has been. Saturday the 20th of March, as the snow was flying, I headed downtown for an engagement session for an upcoming wedding at the Art Museum. What a terrific year this will be, I so look forward to all my clients' events! Make sure to check out the new exhibit at the Art Museum, Raphael: "The Woman with the Veil" March 27 - June 6. Words can not describe the beauty of this image!

I received a call a week and half ago from the assistant of author and entertainer "Grace Chang" who was visiting New Berlin schools to share her entertainment and most recent book. They wanted a local photographer to cover her presentation at Ronald Reagan Elementary where my daughters attend school. My daughters really enjoyed it. I brought my daughter Grace up on stage afterwords for a photo op with Grace Change and her dragon Jin Jin.

Then lastly, my siblings and I surprised my Dad for his 80th Birthday and my mother's birthday as well. It was so great to have the whole family together. My brother flew in between snow storms from Colorado. Thanks mom and dad for creating a wonderful family!

On to spring break this week with the kids. Memphis for good BBQ and Blues on Beale Street!