Jayhawks!

Did you watch “The Basketball Game” last night?

Of course, I’m talking about the NCAA National Championship game between Kansas and Memphis.

Throughout all the media hype leading up to this game all I could think was, “Man, those two places really know how to do barbecue!”

Is that weird? Am I a freak of nature?

Then, the game was played in Texas of all places! Does anyone else see the madness in this? 

So, in honor of Kansas, Memphis and Texas we thought it only appropriate to eat some baby back ribs during the game.

All three places have slightly different ways of doing their ribs. And all are crazy good.

We chose the KC style:  pork ribs smoked in hickory, then rubbed with spices.

Our barbecue karma must have worked because Kansas won in OT.

Seriously. If you look hard enough, absolutely everything in life has something to do with meat.

Congrats, Jayhawks!

This month’s issue of Marie Claire includes an intriguing little ditty about the “No-Diet Diet” which purportedly includes chocolate cake and steak — or anything else you want to eat for that matter.

(CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

The article’s premise is that as long as you eat without distractions, chew slowly and stop when you are full you can eat whatever you want.

I’ll go with that.

Steak seemed to be a hot button for the author of this article. A gal after my own heart.

Hey, my diet has included steak for as long as I can remember so I’m glad to see the fashion mags getting on board.

But it’s really all about moderation, people. Don’t eat 12 T-bones in one sitting. Don’t regularly go to those steakhouses where they dare you to eat their 95-oz. Porterhouse. Yeah, they’ll give it to you for free — but you will pay for it later. Trust me.

Get yourself a nice filet, or ribeye or KC Strip, serve it with a reasonable side dish, pair it with some wine and you’ve got a great meal.

There are even heart-healthy choices certified by the American Heart Association. 

So, Marie Claire, you’re on to something. My hat’s off to you.

(Click here if you want to read the entire article.)

Now, if we could just get this magazine’s cover girl, Kate Bosworth, to eat some steak. Those alfalfa sprouts just aren’t doing it, babe.

I love all the different names for cuts of meat. But my favorite has to be the Cowboy Steak.

There are conflicting ideas as to the real origin of the name, but generally it is any of the cuts with the bone in like bone-in ribeye. Cowboys in days of old used that bone as a handle when chowing down out on the range.

I don’t think they were able to carry a Reed & Barton flatware set around with them while they were wranglin’ doggies.

Their cut of meat looked something like this . . .

I have a feeling their meal was not as neatly presented but you get the idea.

That kind of history fascinates me. People have been enjoying the simple goodness of a great cut of meat cooked over an open flame for centuries and centuries.

I’d say that puts us in great company!

Now, where’d I leave my lasso???