Gingery Pork Meatballs with Swiss Chard

 

Gingery Pork Meatballs with Swiss Chard

The question is…  Do I write this up as I made it or do I write it up as the recipe was written?  Since we LOVED this dish I’m going with how I made it.  This recipe came from Comfort in an Instant by Melissa Clark.  We’ve pretty much been cooking our way through the cookbook.  The one no-go was the Lebanese Chicken Soup.  I found it sounded a lot better than it was.  And, Connie’s not a fan of soup so he certainly didn’t help the process.  Now, back to the pork meatballs!

I put the Swiss Chard stems in ice water to revitalize the droopy leaves.  Then, I pulled out the instant pot.  And the new steamer basket I’d never used.  UGH!  The steamer basket was too big.  So much for following the recipe!  I’d done a taste test in a small skillet so I rolled four meatballs and popped them in the skillet while I thought about how to do the Swiss Chard.  We’ve really enjoyed it sauteed so that ought to work…  After 8 of the meatballs were done I put the chopped stems into the skillet with the last four meatballs.  Then, once those were done I took them out and added in the chopped chard leaves.  On the other side of the stove was a saucepan of fine egg noodles. 

What did we think?  We both LOVED the meatballs and the chard.  For a vegetable that neither of us had tried until a handful of years ago it certainly has moved right up the hit list!  During the summer when we’ve got a garden it’s a weekly favorite.  I added a bit of seasoning to the meatballs.  More garlic, more soy sauce, more fish sauce, more chili garlic sauce.  Oh, wait the chili garlic sauce was a total addition!  LOL. 

Good news there are six meatballs left.  And, there’s also a serving of chicken green bean casserole.  Means that whoever snags whatever has some good eating on the way!

Ingredients:

2 T toasted sesame oil

2 shallots or 1 sm red onion, finely diced

3 oz shitake or cremini mushroom caps, finely diced

1 serrano or jalapeno chile, seeded and finely diced

1 T finely grated fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

Finely grated zest of one lime

2 t soy sauce

2 t Asian fish sauce

Salt

1 lb ground pork or turkey

1/3 c panko bread crumbs

1 egg

1 bunch Swiss Chard, stems and leaves chopped but separate

 

Directions:

Saute the onion and mushrooms and jalapenos in the oil.  NB:  I used olive oil here since the sesame oil’s flavor is a bit fragile.  Add in the garlic, ginger, lime, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Once the onion is translucent and the mushrooms are softened, remove the skillet from the heat.  In a medium bowl combine the pork, egg, panko and mushroom/onion mixture.  Put about a teaspoon of the mixture into a skillet and cook it through to test it for seasoning.  Add more as desired.  I added more of several of the ingredients.  Once you’ve adjusted the seasoning to your liking, roll the meatballs. 

 

Saute the meatballs in a skillet.  For 2” diameter meatballs they’ll take about 3 minutes per side – assuming there are three sides.  Remove the meatballs to a plate.  Once you’re ready for the last batch, toss the chard stems into the middle of the skillet.  Then, when you remove those meatballs, add in the chard leaves.  Again, add seasoning as you desire.  I used a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce.  Let the leaves wilt but don’t let them become soggy. 

 

Serve with rice or noodles. 

adapted from Comfort in an Instant

Dumplings with Spicy Ginger Pork and Bok Choy

 

We joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year.  After a less than stellar experience MANY years ago we decided to give it another whirl.  The fact that we pay a delivery fee and the veggies show up on our front porch is a super double bonus.  Market Wagon (the folks doing the delivery) majorly muffed the first week.  I was SO disappointed to miss all the goodies.  Particularly since I had my eye on a bag of pork and leek dumplings and a pound of frozen ground pork to go with the bok choy.  Well, we got lucky.  Week two Michael (the farmer) included TWO bok choys. 

I’d gone on eatyourbooks.com to look at ingredient lists and the closest thing I could find was a recipe on the New York Times recipe site called Spicy Ginger Pork Noodles with Bok Choy.   It’s by Melissa Clark, whose recipes I normally love.  This one wasn’t an exception!  Although I’ll admit that I made some major changes.

Connie declared that the only reason this wasn’t a five for him was that it had some SOUP to it.  Soup, stew, whatever means it’s automatically downgraded.  That’s ok, I still gave it a five!

One funny story…  When I prepped my ingredients I did the normal quick rinse of the bok choy.  I ignored the fact that this was wonderful organic stuff and not from the store.  Then, I found a ton of dirt and a worm.  Ok, time to take it all apart and really turn on the cold water.  How lovely it was to have some fabulous fresh food!!!  I’m looking forward to our weekly baskets so much!

Ingredients:

12 oz baby bok choy

1 pound lean ground pork

3 large cremini mushrooms, cut in half and then very thinly sliced

1 T crushed ginger (I used the jarred)

2 T soy sauce

2 T rice wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Large pinch crushed red pepper

1 bag dumplings (I used pork, shrimp and leek)

2 c chicken stock

1 T olive oil

2 T green onions, chopped

1 T soy sauce

1 T sesame oil

1 medium carrot, shaved

¼ c basil, chiffonade

 

Directions: 

Separate the bok choy greens from the stems.  Chop them both about ½”.  Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, brown the ground pork.  Just before it’s finished (when it’s no longer pink) add in the mushrooms.  When the pork is browned, remove it from the heat and add the crushed ginger, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, garlic and crushed red pepper.  

Prepare the dumplings according to the package directions. 

Warm the chicken stock. 

Sauté the bok choy in the olive oil.  Start with the stems and once they’re softened a bit, add in the greens.  

Now, it’s time to put everything together. 

In the bottom of each bowl put five dumplings.  In the center of the dumplings put a spoonful of bok choy followed by a spoonful of the pork mixture.  Ladle on ½ c of chicken broth per bowl.  Sprinkle with the carrot, basil and green onion.  Drizzle on the additional soy sauce and the sesame oil. 

 

Adapted from Melissa Clark on the New York Times

What You DIdn't Know You Needed - Chicken Fried Ribs!

This is in the category of things you didn't know you needed...  Chicken fried ribs!  How in the world did we find them?  Remember Connie's list of the 51 best sandwiches?  One is at Fox Brothers BBQ in Atlanta.  A couple of years ago we drove through and we had the Fox Brothers Burger - which is really chopped smoked beef brisket - but HAD to try the chicken fried ribs appetizer.  This trip, we made sure there was time to head downtown Atlanta and visit Fox Brothers.  And, I came away determined to try and make chicken fried ribs.  There are two parts to this.  One is the ribs themselves and the other is the bbq sauce.  It's Alabama white BBQ sauce.  Something I've never made.  Now, I have a pretty darned good taste memory so I thought I could recreate it once I surfed the web and checked out how others prepared it.  Some put in massive quantities of vinegar, some a smidgen.  Some used smoked paprika.  Most used horseradish and garlic.  I started by dolloping some mayonnaise in a plastic storage container - probably a cup and a half.  Tossed in a couple of teaspoons of horseradish followed by an equal amount of crushed garlic.  Then, I poured in a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar. And, I went hunting for the smoked paprika.  I know it's on the second shelf.  But, it was buried.  Out came the juniper berries, then the curry.  As I had my hand on the next item I looked to the right and saw Penzey's BBQ 3000.  Ah HA!  That would not only have smoked paprika but also some other good stuff.  It'd do just fine.  In went about a tablespoon of the BBQ 3000.  The sauce was too thick so another tablespoon of vinegar went in.  Stir, taste, we have a winner! You all like my fancy bowl?  LOL  Hey, at least I didn't use a plastic spoon!

Next it was time to figure out the ribs.  Connie'd run errands most of the morning and came home to smoke the ribs while I stayed at the office and plowed through a bunch of work.  I'd gotten home to a lovely smoked rack of ribs.  He said he kept them at about 250 for a couple of hours.

After looking at the few chicken fried ribs recipes I could find, I decided to just wing it.  I saw ones with panko and ones with corn meal.  But, I just didn't think the Fox Brothers ribs had either.  So, I went with the flour, egg/milk, seasoned flour dipping routine.  I know.  You look at that and think, "What a total complete and entire mell of a hess!"  And, yes, I closed the drawer before I kept dipping.  Connie'd reached in and gotten the candy thermometer to check the temp on the hot oil and he didn't get the drawer totally closed as I took the photo. 

The seasoned flour had salt, pepper and more of the BBQ 3000. 

I heated up a couple of inches of vegetable oil in a deep saucepan and started dipping the ribs.  Three at a time could be fried so I was pretty glad we'd done just one rack! 

The first batch came out and I realized they were craggier than the ones we'd had at Fox Brothers.  But, they were still good!

Connie said he'd like mac and cheese with the ribs.  I was thinking the tomato pie with pimento cheese topping that I'd read on the New York Times site.  So, I compromised.  Pimento cheese mac and cheese it was.  And, sliced tomatoes with basil and balsamic glaze on the side.  Made me very happy that I'd spent $3.99 a pound for half a pound of heirloom tomatoes!  They were fabulous.  The mac and cheese was a basic cheddar mac and cheese with 2 oz of diced pimentos and about 20 shakes of chipotle Tabasco sauce added.  I used 3T of both butter and flour and about 2 1/2 cups of 2% milk.  Then, stirred in about 8oz of shredded Cracker Barrel extra sharp cheddar. 

So there you have it.  What you didn't know you needed!  Here's how it looked all put together.

Thai BBQ Ribs

When we moved in here a year ago, everything from the old freezers got just thrown into the new freezers.  I couldn't find anything.  I knew I had some flat meals as Connie calls pre-made dinners.  But, they weren't anywhere easy to find.  It was a mell of a hess.  So, Sunday morning we got up kind of early and headed out to do our shopping.  I knew we were taking dishes to a family get together on Memorial Day, having guests over Tuesday evening for heavy appetizers and wine, having the quarterly neighborhood dinner on Thursday and going back to John and Pam's on Saturday after the service for Donald.  It was going to be a week of cooking and I needed a bunch of things.  Plus, I'd snagged a couple of new cookbooks on clearance at Half Price Books and there were a few recipes calling my name.  I carefully made out all the menus and grocery lists.  Sunday evening was to be salmon on the grill with roasted beets and pine nuts plus roasted radishes with anchovy sauce.  Except that we couldn't find salmon.  I'd gotten ribs to make Friday so those would have to substitute.  And, I'm so glad they did!!!

We got home from our shopping and I started unloading freezers.  Now, all the stock is together.  An entire shelf of homemade stock. 

I see a LOT of risotto in our future.  And, I've found the frozen spaghetti sauce and frozen stroganoff.  And, flat meals have been taken to the office.  Connie's happy to have a stash of chicken Caesar lasagna and chicken green bean casserole.  Vegetables are together.  As are fruits.  And, pestos (mushroom truffle and basil are two of the kinds...)  Meats are organized.  I now know where the ground lamb patties are.  YAY!  All of the shrimp shells and lobster shells for stock are organized. 

I am one happy camper. 

While the freezer was getting cleaned out, I started the ribs.  The recipe called for putting them in the slow cooker.  I knew that putting them on a half sheet, covering them with heavy duty foil and low and slow cooking them in the oven would have the same effect.   And, it meant not having to wash the slow cooker...  I made the initial sauce and slathered it on.  Quite frankly, it looked gross.  Four hours later when I took the ribs out of the oven I wished I'd used a deeper pan.  A TON of fat had cooked out.  It made a mell of a hess in the oven and on the floor.  So, that's the bad news.  The good news is that once I got the ribs on the grill and the bbq sauce on they looked amazing.  And, they tasted amazing. 

Alongside I made goat cheese mashed sweet potatoes and mojito watermelon.  The mashed sweets are super easy.  Peel and cube the potatoes.  Cook them in salted water until they're very soft.  Drain them and toss in a knob of butter.  Mash until that melts.  Add a chunk of goat cheese - maybe an ounce for two small sweet potatoes - and finish mashing.  Devour.

These ribs are right up there with the best we've ever made. 

Thai BBQ Ribs

Ingredients:

juice from one lime (about 1T)
1 T brown sugar
1/2 t cracked peppercorns
1/4 t ground ginger
2/3 c fresh cilantro, divided in half
2 Thai red chiles, divided (I used crushed red pepper - about 1/2 t)
4 lb pork baby back or spare ribs
1/3 c sweet chili garlic sauce
1/4 c BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays

Directions:

In the bowl of a blender put the lime juice, brown sugar, peppercorns, ginger, half the cilantro and one of the chiles.  Blend until smooth.  Put the ribs on a the bottom half of a roasting pan or another pan with relatively deep sides and slather them with the sauce. 

Cover with foil and bake in a very low oven (250F) for a couple of hours.  Heat your grill.  Mix the sweet chili garlic sauce and the BBQ sauce.  Brush the ribs with the BBQ sauce and grill them until the sauce has caramelized and you've got good grill marks.  Serve sprinkled with the remaining cilantro and pepper slices (if you used the real things...)

adapted from Kraft Food and Family

Spiced Cranberry Sauce and Sweet Potato Hash with Pulled Pork

Friday afternoon ended with a lovely massage.  After a very hectic week at the office, there's not much better way to spend some time on a Friday!  Then, I had to go shopping.  Now, unlike a lot of my friends I do NOT have the shopping gene.  Unless, of course, it means shopping for cookbooks or my gardens...  The pocket in my purse where I stash my car keys, keys to my other two offices, modem, good pen, and assorted other "sharp" objects had sprung a leak.  EVERYTHING had worked its way through the hole and was now under the lining of my purse.  I'd discovered it Thursday evening when I'd worked way late and just wanted to get home.  Connie and I'd driven separately so I was at the office by myself.  I'd locked my office door behind myself and headed for the front door of the office.  No keys.  ARGH!  I rummaged and rooted to no avail.  Finally in desperation I headed to my admin's desk and emptied my purse.  I could feel them but not get them.  Fine then.  Scissors it was.  A few snips and the whole lining of my purse was split.  And, my keys were in hand.  Now, I had to deal with replacing the purse.  Ugh!  That meant shopping.  So, Friday I was off to Macy's to find a purse.  Two separate pockets, both of which zip.  Black.  Strap I can carry over my shoulder.  Not much to ask, eh?  Well, there was ONE purse that met my requirements.  Ok, fine then, it'd do. 

On my way home I detoured to Goodwill.  My friends Pete and Roby came up with a brilliant idea a few years ago.  When they take her famous rum cake to a party, they use a plate they've bought at Goodwill.  No messing with paper plates that bend, fold and crinkle.  No Styrofoam that's so incredibly bad for the environment.  Just a one of a kind plate.  We're heading to three parties and I'm taking Lizzy Do's famous mounds bars.  Here's my link to them:  Kate's.  And, here's her link:  Liz.  I wanted three plates.  Lucky me.  I found three plain, white plates that'd be perfect.  And, on the way past the cookbooks, I finally bought a classic I've never owned, Marcella's Italian Kitchen.  For all of $2.49 :-)  Shopping trip over, time to head home and fix dinner.

It was one of those I can't find a recipe nights.  So, we improvised.  Our friends Tom and Barb had given us a few homegrown sweet potatoes.  I'd not yet found the perfect recipe for them.  We had leftover pulled pork.  The two might just combine with an apple (also from Tom and Barb) and some shallot to make a wonderful sweet potato hash.  Topped with a fried egg.  Connie had mentioned that cranberry sauce sometime soon would be good.  I'd read a recipe for spiced cranberry sauce.  But, it must be in the mountain of recipes in the office ready to be scanned in.  Fine then.  I'd make both up.

The cranberry sauce was first.  Whiskey and orange juice would be good with warm spices.  Brown sugar was a must.  And, maybe a hint of chipotle pepper...  It worked!  Then, on to the hash.  Peel, dice and cook the sweet potatoes.  Saute the apples and some shallot in butter.  Drain and add the sweet potatoes.  Something was missing.  How about some Italian seasoning  It's actually a mix called Renaissance rub. 

What did we think?  Both were a four on a scale of one to five.  As Connie said, fives are reserved for something we could pretty much eat every day.  Like slices of happiness.  We did add a bit of Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce to the hash.  It was still a four.  Very good but I wouldn't want it every day...

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh cranberries
1/2 c brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon orange juice concentrate
2 T whiskey
1/4 t chipotle chili powder
1 t ground allspice
1/4 t cardamom

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a large saucepan.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the cranberries have mostly popped and the mixture has thickened.

Sweet Potato and Pulled Pork Hash

Ingredients:

4 small or 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 lb pulled pork
1 large apple, diced
1 shallot, minced
2 T butter
1 T Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 fried eggs

Directions:

Cook the sweet potatoes in boiling, salted water until just tender.  It'll take 5-8 minutes. 

While those are cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the shallot and apple.  Saute just until softened. 

In yet another pan, small skillet this time, fry four eggs.  Drain the sweet potatoes and add those to the apple and shallot along with the pulled pork and Italian seasoning.  Stir gently to mix .  Serve a mound of hash topped with a fried egg. 

Pork Tenderloin and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sandwiches

Folks tend to either love or hate Guy Fieri.  I'm in the love camp. The man can cook.  And, he LOVES flavor.  Lots of big, bold flavors.  Maybe a bit more heat than I like but that's easily resolved.  I've been reading his new cookbook, Guy on Fire.  Loads of great recipes and for me, great ideas.  So, we had leftover pork tenderloin from the pork tenderloin we made last week.  I found a recipe I thought would easily adapt to the ingredients I had on hand. 

Those of you who believe in making a recipe the first time the way it's written will be disappointed to know that Guy's recipe was merely the idea.  I didn't bread and fry the pork since I was using leftover pork tenderloin.  I used hearty rye bread instead of baguette since that's what I had on hand.  The mayonnaise was not homemade bacon mayo made with 2/3 c of bacon fat but instead was Hellman's Light with olive salad and garlic.  And, instead of arugula inside the sandwich, I used only one piece of bread per sandwich and topped the sandwiches with dressed greens.  So, I'm not really sure I should be giving credit to Guy for this one, eh?  Whatever you think, We loved these sandwiches. 

Then, there was dessert.  Last week I made a new dessert - gooey bananas.  Tonight, I kicked it up a notch - or three.  The original recipe called for bananas, chocolate, toffee bits and mini marshmallows.  We had a few strawberries left from the batch we picked in our garden.  And, a handful of chopped pecans.  Betcha they'd be good with the bananas.  Yup, they were.


Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Hearty rye bread
Mayonnaise
Green olives with pimentos, finely minced
Garlic, a good sprinkle of garlic powder
Sliced pork tenderloin
Roasted red bell pepper, sliced
Bacon, not too crisp
Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
Salad greens
Sherry vinegar
Sugar, just a pinch
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

First, here's a look at how the ingredients were prepped:

Mix the mayonnaise with the chopped green olives and the garlic.

 Toast the bread lightly.

 Slice the pork tenderloin.  Yes, we like ours pretty pink!

 Fry and drain the bacon.  I always sprinkle mine with garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper as it's frying.

Slice the roasted red peppers and the provolone.


Now, let's look at how the sandwiches were put together:

 Schmear the olive mayonnaise on the toasted bread.

 Top with sliced pork tenderloin.

 Then, the sliced roasted red bell peppers

 And the bacon.

 Last, by the provolone.

Broil until the cheese has melted.

Toss the salad greens with a bit of sherry vinegar, a pinch of sugar and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

Thanks to Guy on Fire for the basic idea!

Cooking Out

Our friends are retiring in droves.  The first one who really got to me was Chris.  Every once in a while we take a long weekend trip with Chris and Mark.  All of the sudden, we didn't have to abide by a teacher's schedule.  That's when it finally dawned on me that I have less than ten years to my own retirement.  Oh, my.  I absolutely love what I do so I'm not sure I'll ever totally retire.  But, there will be a time I'll slow down because there are so many other things I'd like to do.

We'd had a busy week.  Monday was Memorial Day so there was a family party at brother John's house.   He did ribs on the grill  I brought the other stuff.  All too often he does the ENTIRE dinner and I feel like a freeloader so I was totally thrilled that he actually let me bring almost everything.  I took David's cheese dip, Brown sugar shrimp from Gastro Grilling, brie with brown sugar and pecans, Casa d'Angelo Salad, Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl, vinaigrette potato salad, deviled eggs and Strawberry Torte.

Tuesday night we were actually home for burgers on the grill smothered with onions and mushrooms. 

Wednesday was a retirement reception for our friend Phyllis Geeslin who has done such an incredible job as executive director of the Benjamin Harrison House.  Thursday was dinner out with our dear friends George and Steve and Ellen.  We were celebrating Ellen's retirement.  Are you seeing the pattern here???  So, Friday evening we were going to celebrate our friend Brenda's retirement.  Brenda and Janet used to sit behind us at Colts games.  They were some of the first friends we made as a couple lo those many years ago when Connie and I first met. 

My wonderful housecleaner, Debbie, hasn't been here for a couple of months.  Between her mom's surgery and getting engaged and all kinds of things, life has interfered with her visits to my house.  Needless to say with our schedules at work and the fact that it's spring and our yard is VERY needy, the interior has been sadly neglected.  The dust is thick and it's obvious we have a dog and a cat cohabitating with us. 

Now, what would you do?  I've been out all week with the exception of one evening.  I really wanted to eat dinner at home.  But, we were supposed to go out with Brenda and Janet.  And, my house wasn't quite ready for prime time.  Good friends ignore the dust and the dog fur.  Indeed they do!  Instead of going out, we ate at home.  What a lovely, relaxing evening.

I marinated pork tenderloin in a fabulous marinade from Cuisine At Home magazine.  That's going on my list of go-to marinades.  Then, I did fingerling potatoes in a foil packet on the grill. 

And, corn on the cob with a mustard/maple/thyme glaze.  I've made that before.  It was the star of the show.  We had a salad of lettuce and strawberries from the garden.  It also had asparagus, orange segments and toasted pecans.  Last but not least, I took an idea from Food Network magazine and ran with it.  Bananas grilled with toffee bits, chocolate and mini marshmallows. 

All in all, between Memorial Day and Friday, there wasn't a bad recipe in the bunch.  I do love the story behind David's cheese dip.  Son number one, David, pulled a deli container out of the fridge and told me he'd found this FABULOUS dip at the store.  It was kind of expensive - like $8 for a pint - but he loved it.  I tasted it and it tasted for all the world like swiss cheese, red onions and mayonnaise.  I read the ingredient list and yup, that's what it appeared to be.  So, next time we went to Columbus to visit the kids, I started at Sam's Club.  There, I bought a mongo wedge of Jarlsberg and a bag of red onions.  Shredded part of the cheese, minced the onions and moistened the whole thing with mayonnaise.  Exactly alike.  And, maybe 25% of the cost...

Here's where to find the recipes that I've already included in this blog:

Casa d'Angelo Salad
Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl
Strawberry Torte
Corn with Mustard/Maple/Thyme Butter

Now, on to the new recipes:

Brown Sugar Shrimp.  This recipe actually had two dipping sauces with it.  A cocktail sauce and a white horseradish.  Both were good but I felt that both detracted from the shrimp.  This recipe came out of a cookbook called Gastro Grilling.  I've made it about halfway through the cookbook and want to try just about everything in it.  Actually, we've made another recipe and it was equally fabulous.  And, as you'll note, no photos...

Brown Sugar Shrimp

Ingredients:

shrimp, tail on, shells removed, deveined
bourbon
butter
brown sugar

Directions:

Put the shrimp in a bowl and pour bourbon over them.  You don't necessarily need to fully cover them as long as you toss them every couple of minutes.  We used frozen shrimp so didn't worry about refrigerating them.  Marinate them for about fifteen minutes.  Toss the bourbon or use it to cook with as long as your'e going to heat it but do not drink it!  Pat the shrimp dry.  Now, the recipe calls for dipping the shrimp in butter then refrigerating it again.  I didn't have time to do that so here's what I did - Dip the shrimp in melted butter then roll it in dark brown sugar.  Put it on a grill pan.  Refrigerate it until you're ready to grill.  Grill on both sides.  You'll have lovely golden brown shrimp that just melt in your mouth.

Soy Marinated Chinese Pork Tenderloin.  See the gorgeous char on that pork tenderloin?  It tasted equally good.  I can see this on ribs, burgers (pork, beef or turkey,) pork loin, pulled pork, chicken...  Just about anything.  Even a really meaty fish would be fine with this marinade. 

Chinese Soy Marinade

Ingredients:

1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c purchased barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays and doubled this)
2 T sesame oil
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T dry sherry or mirin
1 T chili garlic sauce

Directions: 
Mix and marinate your meat for about an hour.  Brush on as you're grilling also.  If you've set some aside, you can serve this on the side as a dipping sauce. 


Gooey Bananas.  I saw this idea on Food Network Magazine's calendar of ideas at the front of the magazine.  They called for splitting the banana and stuffing it with toffee bits, chocolate and mini marshmallows.  Ummm, great idea but there's not enough STUFF.  So, I peeled the bananas and laid them on heavy duty foil (you do NOT want to use a pan you've got to clean later or you will be scrubbing from now until next May...)  Then, sprinkle them liberally with toffee bits, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  Seal the packets and toss them on the grill.  You'll need to peek and see how they're doing.  Once the chips have melted and the marshmallows are nice and gooey, you're good to go. 

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.