Winter, Summer, Spring or Fall Baby Back Ribs improve them all

One of my all time favorite foods to cook happens to be ribs, especially pork ribs. I usually buy the baby back ribs which are partially trimmed and usually have some of loin meat still attached. Once I remove them from their packaging I rinse them under cold running water and pat them dry with a clean tea towel. I am a huge fan of dry rubbing my ribs which infuses them with great flavor, breaks down the proteins which not only tenderizes the ribs but it also results in a nice juicy rack!. Once the rub is massaged into both sides of the rack I cut them into smaller portions and store them overnight in gallon sized Ziploc baggies in the refrigerator.  As you can see in the picture below the ribs have marinated and gone from being dry to plump and juicy.

I let the ribs sit out on the counter until they are close to room temperature. I place them in a heavy roasting pan and loosely cover with foil and cook at 250* F. for approximately 4 hours. When cooking a larger batch I usually bump the temperature up to 350* F. for the last hour until the meat starts to pull away from the bones but  the rack still maintains its structure and doesn't fall apart when handled. At this point I preheat my grill and assemble any sauces that we want to glaze the ribs with. Alex usually likes a spicy sauce with plenty of heat, Ariel is more of a sweet and tangy kind of girl, Rebecca likes the bold and spicy style BBQ sauce and I of course like them all. Of course if you are not a fan of sauce you can always caramelize your ribs just the way they are thanks to the coating from the dry rub process. No matter what your taste just make sure your grill is good and hot and once you start don't walk away. Just like the dry rub I like to caramelize both sides which will only take about 2 minutes per side if your cooking over direct heat and the coals are good and hot.

  Of course once you have finished cooking the only thing left to do is grab a plate with your favorite side (mine is a sweet vinegar slaw) and dig in! Alex has learned that there is nothing better than eating them while they are hot and the meat is falling off the bone!

They say your are what you eat and he truly is a HAM! 

The Luck of the Irish

Today is March 18th and we all know that means its the day after St. Patrick's Day. While so many feel the 17th is the day to celebrate the luck of the Irish I feel that the 18th is the more luck of the two days. Why is that you ask? Well, what is better than a hearty dinner of Corned Beef, cabbage, potatoes, onions and carrots?

A dinner of Homemade Corned Beef hash with poached eggs the next! 

Always one of my family's favorites!

Sunday Lunch Celebration

Today was the second day of Celebration for Alex's 12th birthday. We let him choose the food for today's lunch and he showed that not only is he getting older his taste buds have matured as well.

He requested Bread, Salad, Steamed Green Beans and Salmon with White Rice. 

Nina made the salad which included Feta Cheese and Egg crumbles

Annmarie made the bread which was nothing short of Amazing - can't wait to get the recipe!

I purchased fresh french beans which I steamed and dressed with a pat of butter

The salmon was cooked on the grill with my secret honey/maple seasoning

Of course no birthday celebration is complete without cake. Mom Rathbun has developed the great skill of  creating homemade ice cream cakes. Alex requested that it include strawberry ice cream and much to our delight he got his wish!

Birthday dinner fit for a King

Tonight was Alex's 12th birthday and as is our family tradition the Birthday Boy (or Girl) gets to pick their birthday meal.Alex didn't disappoint with his selection and I have a feeling it may become a yearly tradition!

Beef loin steaks grilled medium rare over a mesquite smoking box for an unforgettable party on the taste buds! And despite being twelve he requested vegetables for his sides which were homemade mashed potatoes and steamed sugar snap peas. For desert  he requested cheese cake as his birthday cake which of course made me happy!

The most exciting aspect of this meal is that we are having his birthday celebration with the rest of our family on Sunday so I will have another amazing meal to blog about and it's a totally different selection of food!

Happy Birthday Alex, I love you!

Daddy

Wascally Winter Wabbit

Earlier this week I processed a couple dozen rabbits with my cousin and kept one in the ice box trying to decide how I wanted to cook it. After thinking about it I began to consider that the sweet flavor of rabbit meat might pair nicely with spicy curry. One thing I was sure of is that a spicy curry on a cold dark winter night turns dinner into a comfort meal. I started by taking the rabbit out of the ice box and let it come to temperature on the cutting board.

 Cut into individual servings

I prepped all my veggies - Garlic, Ginger Root, Tomatoes, Jalapeno, Onion, Sweet Pepper and Parsley

I browned the rabbit pieces in a hot pan with olive oil. Once all the pieces were browned I moved them to a plate and sauteed the veggies with the addition of a little chili oil. Once everything was soft I added the rabbit pieces back into the pan. I added a couple ounces of vodka to deglaze the pan before adding 2 cups of chicken stock and some red curry paste.

Once the liquid was boiling I lowered the heat to a low simmer and covered the pan to cook for 2 hours. Once the liquid had condensed to a thick sauce I added in a can of coconut milk and a large handful of unsweetened coconut shavings and returned to a simmer till reduced and thickened. During that time I steamed some rice to go along with the meat. just before serving I added a few splashes of cream into the pan with a handful of fresh chopped parsley.

I accompanied the meal with a local micro-brew Coffeehouse Porter

The entire family enjoyed the meal and we all agreed this was as good as the Rabbit Puttanesca and even better than the normal Braised Rabbit with Red Wine that I usually make. 

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

Tonight I felt like a champion as I chanted, "Winner, winner chicken dinner" while prepping the plump and juicy bird. In my little food processor I chopped several garlic cloves with fresh ginger root, olive oil, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes and parsley. I placed the neck and giblets in a stock pot for a mid evening snack and as a way to make base of my gravy. I separated the skin from the meat on the breasts and legs and rubbed the chopped herbs and spices under the skin and the remainder all over the skin. I surrounded the chicken with potatoes, onions and carrots for nostalgic treat.

I roasted it at 350*F for several hours and once the juices ran clear between the legs bones I covered it and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This time though I remembered to take a picture of the final product!

The gravy was delicious on top of the roasted veggies and the fluffy biscuits that Rebecca painstakingly made while the chicken was resting! And the great part about making chicken for dinner is now the bones are boiling away on the stove top for a batch of yummy all natural stock for another meal down the road.

Comfort Gourmet

Who says that comfort foods can't be turned into a gourmet dinner? Some times I crave hot dogs and while I prefer a juicy charcoal grilled frank with a natural casing some times a steamed sports venue style hot dog is what hits the spot. Tuesday nights are usually pretty hectic at our house so we often need a no nonsense meal so hot dogs it was. So now you know where the "Comfort" part of the title fits in now onto the "Gourmet" part.
While I love a hot dog with a little ketchup and mustard the are so many other ways to enjoy a cylinder shaped meat. for our dinner tonight I cooked some bacon in the oven while the hot dogs steamed and the jalapeno cheddar melted over low heat. While the meat and cheese were cooking I diced up fresh tomatoes, parsley, sweet onion, green onions and jalapenos. I also cooked up some steak fries as a side keeping with the no fuss utensil free dinner. Once everything was ready I gently placed the hot dogs in steamed potato rolls with a slice of bacon on each side. I topped them with the melted spicy cheese along with all the veggies. There was extra cheese so I topped the fries with it as well! The clean up after dinner was easy with the use of paper plates which ensured everyone made it to their evening obligations with time to spare.

Of course you can use whatever toppings you like best, in the past I have topped these with chili and coleslaw as well! These would be good with natural cased, tofu, chicken, beef or even turkey hot dogs.

Pork - it does the body good

Sunday afternoon I decided to make a boneless pork loin for lunch. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it but after rummaging through the pantry and refrigerator I decided I would make a teriyaki style roast. I started by placing the pork roast in a honey teriyaki marinade for an hour. After prepping the rest of the ingredients I placed the pork with the marinade in a roasting pan surrounded by sliced onions, peppers and carrots. I then topped the roast with green onions and parsley. The next layer was diced fresh ginger and garlic with orange juice and then I finished by covering it with pureed pineapple and orange slices and fresh cracked pepper.

I baked it in the oven at 325 degrees for about 3.5 hours. The meat was juicy, sweet and oh so good! Unfortunately after smelling it cook we were all so hungry I forgot to take a picture of it all sliced and plated with the veggies surrounding it but I'm sure you can imagine how yummy it was. I think this is a meal I will repeat as well as try with different types of meat including rabbit and chicken next time!

Sloppy Doe's

Thankfully due to several successful hunts between myself and Ariel we have made the switch back to venison as our source of red meat again. This morning while everyone was getting ready to start the day Rebecca and I began planning tonight's dinner and Alex being the ever hungry boy that he is requested that I make Sloppy Doe's for dinner. Rebecca checked and verified I had all the ingredients necessary which made Alex very happy and made tonight's plans easier because dinner was decided upon
.

 I like to saute' diced onion, peppers and garlic to stretch the meal, add flavor and texture.

Once the veggies are cooked I add 1 pound of fresh ground venison 

(thus the reason why they are Sloppy Doe's instead of Sloppy Joe's) 

 Once the meat is browned I add tomato paste and seasonings stir together with 1 cup of water or if you have it on hand broth or stock!

Bring it to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes

Scoop onto your favorite roll, flat bread or a large lettuce leaf and enjoy - just remember to have a napkin ready as you can see in the picture above, I always make them Extra Sloppy!

Fat Charleys

Last year I experimented with preparing venison  in several different ways and one of the favorites was venison snack sticks. Of course mine were thicker and tastier than the commercial options so rather than calling them snack sticks I decided to call them Fat Charleys because they were more filling and better for you than the ones named after some skinny guy named James! The kids were especially fond of them and Alex and I took them as our regular snack when we headed out to the hockey games which was always appreciated by most everyone around us because we were more than willing to share.

I took out a couple of packages of meat this week and when I saw the last one was ground venison I decided that I would whip up a batch tonight when I got home from work. After I finished mixing in the spices Rebecca assisted me with cranking as I fed the meat into collagen casings. I started them in the oven and finished them off in the smoker with some chucked maple. I'm sure this first batch wont last more than a day or two but thankfully we have plenty of fresh venison in the freezer so I have a feeling they will be a staple in our house once again throughout the upcoming year!