Hibernation

Last night, in preparation for a snow storm, I made these (new favorite quesadilla) using leftovers from this. Then I made this for my lunches when we do actually have school this week. I made these for a treat, and they turned out great but cannot stay in our house long. I made this in advance for dinner, but will save those for another busy night this week, and instead, am about to throw this together in the crock pot.

Drive safely, everyone!

Worth the Wait

This is not a recipe to start at 4:15pm on a Tuesday.
This is not a recipe to skimp on.
This is not a recipe to brush aside because its "too complicated."


Sure, there are lots of steps and requires lots of patience, but its not a difficult recipe to make! If you're looking for a really special dish to make, this is the one. I can say this since it wasn't my recipe, but these ribs are amazing. Really. Totally worth all of the work.


I originally saw this recipe on "Paula's Party" on the Food Network when Sugar Ray Leonard was a guest. Then, about 4 years ago, I made them for my sister and brother-in-law as a "thanks" for letting me take a Spring Break vacation at their house in Arizona. Mark then said they were the best ribs he's ever had, and since he's quite the connoisseur of ribs, then I took this as a pretty high compliment!


I told Steve that I was making a recipe from Sugar Ray Leonard and he started laughing. Then I told him I was making ribs and he did this:

Here's what he was getting so excited about:

Here's a great veggie to go along with the ribs:

And here are the recipes!

Finger Lickin' Ribs

From Paula Deen, who featured the recipe from Sugar Ray Leonard
Ingredients
1 rack ribs, about 3 pounds (not baby-back, the full-size)

Dry Rub
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cups salt
2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons paprika

Barbeque Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions
Combine all of the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Rub onto all sides of the ribs. There may be some leftover, but you should rub a good amount in, and then also leave some excess on top, so that as it marinates, even more can be integrated into the meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and set on a baking sheet (with a rim, just in case...). Marinate in fridge for 8 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, unwrap ribs, and place in pan. Cover tightly with additional foil and roast for 2.5 hours.

While ribs are roasting, make barbeque sauce. (If you want the sauce to pack a little more punch, make it at the same time you apply the dry rub to the ribs and then let it sit in the fridge.) Combine all ingredients and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer on low for 25 minutes, being careful to not let it scorch.

Once ribs are finished roasting, heat the grill. Cook approximately 6 minutes on each side, until the thickest part registers 150-160 degrees. Remove from grill, cover with foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Cut ribs apart into 2-rib sections, cutting down right next to the bone. Reheat barbeque sauce and serve alongside the ribs.

Serves 4

Sauteed Zucchini

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini (don't use huge ones; they tend to decline in flavor and texture)

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. While the pan heats, trim the ends off of zucchini, slice lengthwise, and then into 1/2-inch half-moon slices.

Add butter and oil to the pan, then add the zucchini. Don't stir it around too much, just enough to make sure its not sticking. Once the zucchini is nice and golden brown, turn off the heat and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. Give one or two more stirs and serve.

Serves 4

Welcome, Summer!

Summer is completely here - bugs, humidity, and fireworks. And GRILLING!

Steve and I decided that July would be a good month to concentrate on eating food that's better for us. (This decision following our fantastic trip to St. Louis in which we each ate something called a Concrete. Its not called a Concrete for nothin'...) The last day of our trip was July 1. Do you know how hard it is to eat healthily in a roadside diner?!?

Sometimes this "eating healthy" thing means avoiding sweets, pop, fried foods, and junk food, but I still will use butter, oil, and other "whole ingredients." Personally, I'd rather eat food that is as natural as possible, rather than something that has a few less calories but a whole lot of fake ingredients. Personal choice, yours may be different!

So back home, we kicked it into full gear. Fresh fruits and veggies are overflowing on our countertop. The best part about having so many of these on hand is that you never have to think about what to have with supper. Corn, asparagus, green beans, watermelon, tangerines, blueberries, tomatoes, potatoes... they all work. These are short recipes, but really, during the summertime, isn't that what we're looking for anyway?

Note: Whenever you're marinating meat, it works so well to do so in a Ziploc bag and put that bag in a bowl, giving it a squeeze now and then. It keeps the marinade all over the meat, rather than the meat just sitting in the marinade in a dish.

Note II: We didn't serve the bruschetta on toast... we had it on grilled portobello mushrooms. Wow, that was good!


Roasted Country Ribs
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Ingredients
1.5-2 pounds country pork ribs (4-6, figure about 2 or 3 ribs per person)
2 Tablespoons coarse grain mustard (you can use dijon, but I like the tang of coarse grain)
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning (substitute your favorite seasoning mix here. Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt would work too)
1 Tablespoon water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, oil, seasoning, and water.  Put ribs into a large Ziploc bag and pour the dressing on top and seal. Squeeze to cover ribs, and let sit for at least 15 minutes, but not more than 1 hour.

Put the ribs in a shallow glass baking dish and pour out all of the marinade on the top. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, until meat is between 160 and 170 degrees. Remove from oven, loosely cover with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes longer (they're still cooking, but rather than getting over-cooked, this allows them to raise their temp and become more tender too).




Green Bean Bundles
From Paula Deen & Friends: Living it Up, Southern Style
Ingredients
Green beans, washed and trimmed (about 1 cup per person)
Butter (1 Tablespoon per person)
Salt & Pepper

Directions
Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

For each person, tear off a square of tin foil (12"x12" should do it).  Put the green beans in the middle, and top with the butter (cut into small cubes), and salt and pepper to taste. Make each square of foil into a tightly-sealed bundle.

Place each bundle on the grill (direct heat) for 15 minutes.




Bruschetta
Adapted from "The Maroon Spoon" (Holland Christian Cookbook)
Ingredients
For Bruschetta:
6 chopped Roma (plum) tomatoes
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1-14 ounce can artichoke hearts, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. vinegar (balsamic or white wine)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
For Toasts:
1 large french baguette, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 Tbsp. olive oil

Directions
For bruschetta, mix all ingredients together and let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. (Doesn't keep well for more than 48 hours if you use fresh basil. If you choose to use dried basil, you'll need less and it might keep a bit longer.)

For toasts, brush slices with olive oil and toast under broiler until golden brown, flipping once.

To serve, top toast with a spoonful of tomato mixture. Top with shredded parmesan if desired.