Maple Mustard Porter Ribs with Grilled Fingerling Potatoes and Tarragon Lime Carrots

I'm feeling like I should rename this blog KateMightCook.   Feels like forever since I really dug into the kitchen and prepared a meal.  Sunday morning we finally got our hair cut.  We were both on the verge of having to buy rollers.  Connie had a fro when he was a teenager. Me, I had LONG straight hair.  It won't accept a perm and has a bountiful number of cowlicks.  Much better short at my age.  Then, we delivered a carload of stuff to the Fairview rummage sale.  The service was about ready to start so we got to sneak in the sanctuary and say hi to Mom and the rest of the MOPS crew.  Finally, we were off to the office.  Saturday our broker/dealer's website was down.  All day.  Connie needed it to prep for my appointments next week.  We were WAY behind.  So, we dug in and worked on reviews.  And worked.  And worked.  Finally, about 4:00 I said if we were going to eat the ribs before 9:00 we'd better go home.

Over the last few weeks I've bought a few new cookbooks.  Cooking with Beer, Adventures in Grilling and Simple Fresh Southern.  The first two I could pretty much make everything in.  The last, not so much.  My menu was Maple Mustard Porter Ribs from Cooking with Beer, Grilled Fingerling Potatoes from Adventures in Cooking and Braised Carrots with Tarragon and Lime from Simple Fresh Southern.

What did we think?  I think I could eat a whole rack of the ribs by myself.  They were that good.  You need to make sure the sauce has an opportunity to caramelize on the ribs.  It's just about perfect.  No, actually it is perfect.  I wouldn't change a thing.  The potatoes were very good.  A four on a scale of one to five.  They didn't get grill marks but they tasted wonderful.  The carrots were also very good.  I used a bit too much lime juice but they hit the spot.  And, the best news is that we had enough leftover for Monday night's dinner!  Now, I might note that the leftovers weren't quite as good...

Maple Mustard Porter Ribs

Ingredients
1 c porter (we used Guiness stout)
1/2 c maple syrup
3 T Worcestershire sauce (ok, I confess, I totally missed this)
2 T spicy brown mustard
1/4 t crushed red pepper
2 lbs pork baby back ribs
salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine the beer, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and crushed red pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a strong simmer and cook until it's reduced to 3/4 cup.

We used our Big Green Egg so did not follow the original recipe from here on out.  The original calls for covering a half sheet with foil, putting the ribs on the half sheet, slathering them with sauce, wrapping more foil over them and baking them at 350 for 50 minutes. Then, it has you broil the ribs with the meaty side up, slathering them with the sauce.  Instead, we grilled them.  I started them meaty side down, flipped them and flipped them again.  Each time I slathered them with sauce. 

adapted from Cooking with Beer

Grilled Fingerling Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 lb fingerling potatoes (small red skins will work)
1/2 c plus 2 T white wine
olive oil
1/2 c mayonnaise
1 T whole grain mustard
2 T minced flat leaf parsley
1 T minced fresh tarragon
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.  Cook them over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  You should be able to easily pierce them with a fork or knife, but they should not be fully cooked.  Drain them and toss them with the 1/2 c wine. 

Heat your grill.  Allow the potatoes to come to room temperature.  Meanwhile, mix the dressing ingredients:  mayonnaise, mustard, parsley and tarragon. 

Brush the  potatoes with olive oil.  Grill about 5 minutes per side.  I used a grill basket so didn't get great grill marks.  You'll do better if you grill directly on the grate.  Remove the potatoes from the grill and toss them with the dressing. 

You can serve them hot or cold.  Both are delicious!

adapted from Adventures in Grilling

Braised Carrots with Tarragon and Lime

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil
1 large white onion, thinly sliced
1/2 t kosher salt
2 lbs carrots, cut into 2-3" lengths, 1/3" in diameter
1/2 c white wine (preferably Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
leaves from three sprigs fresh tarragon
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.  When it is shimmering, add the onions.  Cover the bottom of the pan with the onions to give them as much surface area as possible to caramelize a bit.  Sprinkle on about 1/4 t of salt.  Once the onions are lightly caramelized, remove them from the heat and transfer them to a dish.  Put the carrots and wine in the pan along with 1/4 t of salt and the pepper.  Cover the skillet and simmer the carrots for about six minutes or until they're tender.  Remove the lid and add the tarragon.  Cook the carrots until the liquid has almost evaporated.  Add in the onions, lime juice and salt and pepper.  Toss and serve.