Best-Ever Barbecued Ribs

I use to bbq ribs so tender, I never needed to bake in the oven or boil to start, the good old days. For some reason, lately, all my ribs are turning out dry. So I tried this recipe found in the July 2012 issue of Bon Appetit and damn! They are tender and good. Give this recipe a try. Recipe and photo from Bon Appetit; July 2012 issue.


2 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 lb baby back pork ribs (Okay, I admit, I did not make this many ribs, make enough for however many people you are feeding)
low salt chicken broth
1 1/2 cups store bought or homemade bbq sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Place each rack of ribs on a double layer of foil. Sprinkle rub all over ribs. Wrap racks individually and divide between 2 baking sheets.
Bake ribs until tender but not falling apart, about 2 hours. Carefully unwrap and pour juices into bowl, reserve. Let ribs cool completely.
Build a medium hot fire in a charcoal grill. Add broth to rib juices to make 1 1/2 cup. Whisk in bbq sauce to blend. Grill ribs with direct heat, basting with bbq sauce mixture and turning frequently, until laquered and charred in places and heated through, 7-10 minutes. Serve with additional bbq sauce.

Scottie's Fatty Cheese Lasagna

This is my boyfriends's lasagna recipe and it is super cheesy and delicious. He changes it up each time but this is the basic recipe. The difference from many lasagna recipes is that you slice, not shred, the cheese. Also, you add Monterey jack into the mix.

1 pound ground beef
1/2 yellow and 1/2 red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 jars of your fav spaghetti sauce or make it homemade (see spaghetti n meatball recipe)
1 pnd mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 pnd Monterey jack cheese, sliced
1 pnd part-skim ricotta
1 small can black, pitted, olives, sliced
Salt
Pepper
Italian seasoning
1 pnd lasagna noodles

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil and sauté onion until tender in large sauté pan. Add ground beef with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook until browned. Dispose of grease and add spaghetti sauce. Meanwhile, boil noodles as directed on package. Mix ricotta cheese with olives and season to taste. Layer the lasagna by starting with sauce, noodles,  a layer or ricotta mixture, noodles, sauce, mozzarella cheese slices, noodles, sauce, Monterey jack cheese slices, noodles, sauce.....until lasagna is complete. 

Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for another 25 minutes.

Grilled Lobster Tails

Picture and recipe from
http://www.savoryreviews.com/
This is a delicious grilled lobster tail recipe I found online. Enjoy!

• Lobster tail(s)
• Skewer(s) – one per lobster tail
• 1/4 stick of butter per lobster tail
• 1 clove of garlic per tail
• 1 tsp of lemon juice per tail
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Light your grill, you want to cook the tails over indirect heat.Then  make the garlic lemon butter.Melt the butter, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon together. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut a slit down the back of the lobster tail all the way to the tail fan. Flip over the lobster tail so that it is on its back. Making sure that the lobster is flat, insert a skewer right underneath the tail fan. Then push it through the center of the meat to the other end. Place the tails cut side down on the grill right on the edge of the heat zones. Right between the hot and cool sides of the grill. Cook for 7-8 minutes and then flip the tails. Move them over a bit just until they are not directly over the coals. Cook with the lid closed. Next baste the tails with the garlic lemon butter. Make sure to get a lot of the butter into the sliced portion of the shell. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Cook with the lid close. When the meat is opaque, it is done. Remove from the grill. Baste one more time with the butter and cover with aluminum foil. Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken Fajitas

I finally bought my first Jamie Oliver cookbook. I choose the Food Revolution because it was the only soft cover, therefore the cheapest. This is the first recipe I made from it and it was so simple yet very good. You will see in the directions that it is copied directly from his book as well as the picture posted above. Looking for an easy recipe, this is it.

1 red bell pepper
1 medium red onion
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast fillets
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
A small pinch of ground cumin
2 limes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/16 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 x 8-inch flour tortillas
½ cup plain yogurt
2 ounces Cheddar cheese

For the salsa
½–1 fresh red chile, to your taste
15 ripe grape or cherry tomatoes

about ½ cup a small bunch of fresh cilantro

1/16 teaspoon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 lime

For the guacamole

a small handful of cherry tomatoes

about ¼ cup

½-1 fresh red chile

a few sprigs of fresh cilantro

½ ripe avocado

1 lime

·         Put your grill pan on a high heat. Halve and seed your bell pepper and cut it into thin strips. Peel, halve, and finely slice your onion. Slice your chicken lengthways into long strips roughly the same size as your bell pepper strips.

·         Put the bell peppers, onion, and chicken into a bowl with the paprika and cumin. Squeeze over the juice of half a lime, drizzle over a lug of olive oil, season with the salt and pepper and mix well. Put to one side to marinate for 5 minutes or so while you make your salsa.

·         Finely chop your chile. Roughly chop your tomatoes and the cilantro, stalks and all.

·         Put the chile and tomatoes into a second bowl with the salt and pepper and the juice of 1 lime. Then stir in your chopped cilantro.

·         Use a pair of tongs to put all the pieces of bell pepper, onion, and chicken into your preheated pan to cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. As the pan will be really hot, keep turning the pieces of chicken and vegetables over so they don’t burn – you just want them to lightly chargrill to give you a lovely flavor. Give the pan a little love and attention and you'll be laughing.

·         To make the guacamole squeeze a handful of cherry tomatoes on to a board. Finely chop up the flesh with ½ -1 red chile and a handful of cilantro leaves, including the top part of the stalks.

·         Halve the avocado, leaving the side with the pit for another use. Then squeeze the one side of the avocado over a board so the flesh comes out of the skin. Discard the skin. Squeeze over the juice of 1 lime and chop everything together until fine. Taste and adjust the flavors if needed.

·         Warm your tortillas up in a microwave or a warm dry frying pan. Divide your warmed tortillas between your serving plates.

·         Halve your remaining lime and squeeze the juices over the sizzling pan. Serve with bowls of plain yogurt and guacamole alongside your Cheddar, a grater, and your lovely fresh salsa.

Chicken Marsala

I had forgotten to look up a recipe for dinner and wanted to try something new so I just got onto my epicurious app and found this gem of a meal. Very delicious and rich in flavor. I had never tasted marsala wine and, of course, a chef must taste the vino they are putting into the recipe. It has a very unusual consistency, almost like a liqueur.

• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 10 oz mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (2 lb total)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry Marsala wine
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.

Bring broth to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, then boil, uncovered, until reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 20 minutes. Cook shallot in 3 tablespoons butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot begins to turn golden, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, 1 teaspoon sage, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
Put flour in a wide shallow bowl. Gently pound chicken to 1/4 inch thick between 2 sheets of plastic wrap using the flat side of a meat pounder or a rolling pin.

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, 1 piece at a time, shaking off excess. Transfer to sheets of wax paper, arranging chicken in 1 layer.

Heat 1 tablespoon each of oil and butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté half of chicken, turning over once, until golden and just cooked through, about 4 minutes total. Transfer cooked chicken to a large heatproof platter, arranging in 1 layer, then put platter in oven to keep warm. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and cook remaining chicken in same manner, then transfer to oven, arranging in 1 layer.

Add 1/2 cup wine to skillet and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, about 30 seconds. Add reduced broth, cream, and mushrooms, then simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add lemon juice and remaining 2 tablespoons wine and 1/2 teaspoon sage.

Serve chicken with sauce.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc

Brussels Sprouts Braised in Butter

I know, I know, brussels sprouts blahhhhh....but try these before you turn your nose up to this vegetable. Anything braised in butter is good! This recipe is from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

-brussels sprouts

-water

-salt

-butter

-wax paper

Trim the base of each Brussels sprout with a small knife and pierce a cross in it for quick cooking. Remove any wilted or yellowish leaves. Drop the sprouts into a rapidly boiling pot of water 1 ½ tsp salt per quart, bring to boil for 6-8 minutes, drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and smear butter inside a casserole or baking dish. Arrange the sprouts heads up in the casserole dish; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and with 2-4 tbls melted butter.

Take a round of lightly buttered waxed paper and lay it over the sprouts. Cover and heat on top of the stove until vegetables begin to sizzle, then place in middle level of oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tender.

Breast of Chicken with Duxelles Stuffing

I bought my first $50.00 app on my ipad the other day. The Professional Chef which is the Culinary Institute of America's textbook. I am very pleased with it and this is the first recipe I tried. Mouth watering delicious! I had no idea what duxelle was until I attempted this recipe. I have a feeling this app will be teaching me a lot.

4 boneless chicken supremes

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 lb duxelles stuffing (recipe follows)

5 oz all-purpose flour

6 fl oz egg wash (recipe follows)

12 oz dried bread crumbs

24 fl oz clarified butter or oil, or as needed

Trim the chicken supremes and remove the skin if desired. Butterfly each breast portion and pound between sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to even thickness.

Blot dry the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Spread each breast with a portion of the duxelles stuffing and roll the breast around the stuffing. Overlap the edges to form a seam.

Apply a standard breading: dredge the chicken in flour, dip in egg wash, and roll in bread crumbs.

Heat about 1/2in/1cm butter to about 350 degrees in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken to the butter, seam side down first, and pan fry until golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Turn once and finish pan frying on the second side until the chicken reaches an internal temp of 170 degrees, about 3 more minutes. Finish cooking in a 350 degrees oven once the crust is properly browned, if preferred.

Duxelles Stuffing:

6 oz minced shallot

2 oz butter

2 lb small dice mushrooms

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp ground black pepper

8 fl oz heavy cream that has been reduced by half

8 oz bread crumbs

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Sweat the shallots in the butter in a sautoir over medium-high heat until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté them until dry to create a duxelles. Season the duxelles with some of the salt and pepper.

Add the cream, breadcrumbs, and parsley and mix well. 

Egg Wash:

5 eggs

5 oz milk

Pinch salt

Combine using a wire whip.