Oven Barbecued Spare Ribs

Oven Barbecued Spare Ribs

Now that you've prepared a few quarts of barbecue sauce, it's time to put it to work! The sweet and tangy sauce brings out the tender and meaty taste of pork; using it on a slab of ribs is a must.

I don't have an outdoor grill, so rely on my trusty oven to barbecue my ribs. Cooking ribs indoors is a three step process, but the end results give you fall off the bone tender ribs that are packed with flavor.

Oven Barbecued Spare Ribs
1 3-to-6 lb. slab spare ribs
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp. kosher or coarse salt
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 cup barbecue sauce

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.  Place ribs, meat side up, on broiler tray. Fill bottom of tray with 2 cups of water.

Combine sugar, salt and spices. Rub the ribs with this mixture, completely covering all meaty surfaces.

Ribs covered in spice rub

Ribs covered with aluminum foil tent

Tent the ribs with aluminum foil, and heat at 225 for 2 hours.

After baking, remove ribs from oven and remove aluminum foil tent. Turn on broiler, and allow to preheat for 5 to 10 minutes.

Using a pastry brush, cover the ribs generously with barbecue sauce. Place under broiler for 10 to 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and becoming caramelized. Remove ribs from oven; allow to rest for  minutes before slicing. Serves 4 to 6.

Sweet And Spicy Barbecue Sauce

Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce

When you grow tomatoes, the end of the season always means harvesting, canning and preserving. A single tomato plant can produce 20 pounds of fruit, and this season mine did just that. Luckily, I grew plum (Roma-type) tomatoes, so making different sauces is a great way to use them up.

I came across a traditional barbecue sauce in a preserving cookbook. It was a Texas-style sauce that was heavy on the chili peppers. I prefer being able to taste the tomato in my barbecue, so after a few modifications I came up with a recipe that was, like Goldilocks' porridge, "just right." It has just enough heat to let you know it's barbecue, but not so much that hot pepper overshadows all of the other flavors.

There is one ingredient that causes much contention among a lot of people, and that is corn syrup. There are many people who believe that commercial barbecue sauce manufacturers add corn syrup to please Big Corn interests and to make us all fat. Not so - the corn syrup, molasses or honey that is added to barbecue sauce gives the sauce enough adhering ability that it sticks to the meat during cooking. It also allows the sugar in the sauce to caramelize, rather than burn. So please don't leave the syrup out!

You can freeze your sauce after it's made, or you can go the distance and can it. The recipe easily makes 3 full pints.

Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce

24 Roma-type tomatoes, peeled and stemmed (4 quarts)
2 c. chopped onions, red or white
1 1/2 c. chopped red or green bell peppers, seeds removed
1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/4c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 c. apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. dark corn syrup
2 tsp. ground mustard
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. kosher salt

Place peeled tomatoes in a large bowl, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Allow to sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight.

Dump tomatoes and liquid into a 3 or 4 quart saucepan. Add onions, peppers and herbs. Cover the saucepan and bring to a simmer; simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.

Using a stick blender, pulverize all of the ingredients until they form a smooth liquid. Add the sugar, vinegar and corn syrup. Bring to a simmer again; allow to simmer with the lid slightly ajar for another 90 minutes. Stir infrequently during the first hour, but stir more frequently during the last 30 minutes to prevent sticking. The finished sauce should be the consistency of ketchup.

If you are canning the sauce, ladle your sauce into hot, prepared pint jars. Leave 1/2 inch of headspace. Remove any trapped air bubbles, wipe jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth and add lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

Too Many Cukes? Juice 'Em!

Cucumber Cooler

Too Many Cukes? Juice 'Em!

It's inevitable that this time of year, if you grow cucumbers you'll have a bushel of them. Two or three happy cucumber vines can produce 15 pounds or more of fruit, and it all seems to come at once.

After making cucumber sandwiches, salads, tabouleh and pickles, there was still several pounds to contend with. So, why not make cucumber juice drinks?

A cucumber is largely composed of water, so one cuke was able to produce about 12 ounces of liquid. Use a "burpless" variety to eliminate the possibility of bitterness. Mixed with lemon or lime juice and a dash of sweetener, you have two pints of tangy and refreshing juice. I put the cucumbers through the juicer with the skin on; this adds more flavor, but does make the juice a very bright green. For a lighter color, peel your cucumbers first.

Cucumbers, apples, muskmelon and watermelon flesh combined and juiced make a drink akin to fruit sangria. Add some sparkling water to thin it out for a fizzy summer punch. Experiment with proportions; the flavor and level of sweetness will vary depending on the varieties of fruit and vegetables used.

And of course, cucumber coolers can be punched up by adding gin, vodka or bourbon.

Cucumber Cooler
1 large ripe cucumber
1/4 c. lime juice
2 tbsp. sugar or artificial sweetener
sparkling water
maraschino cherry

Put cucumber through a juicer that is able to separate juice from pulp and has a very fine screen. Add 1/4 c. lime juice to the extracted cucumber juice. Add two tablespoons of sugar or stevia. Stir until sweetener is dissolved. Add sparkling water if desired. Serve over crushed ice, and garnish with maraschino cherry. Serves 1.

Peach Crisp

Peach Crisp

What is the difference between a crisp and a cobbler? While both are fruit-based desserts that have no bottom crust, the difference between the two is the topping.

In a cobbler, the fruit filling is covered with tiny, unsweetened biscuits. The cobbler is served upside-down, so that the biscuit is on the bottom. It is there to absorb the sweet and spicy fruit juices.

A crisp is covered with a granola-like topping that toasts during baking. Crisp topping is heavy with butter and sugar, and most often contains quick cooking oats as an ingredient. When served, the crisp topping tends to get mixed in with the fruit. It adds sweetness and crunch to the mix as well as serving as a gentle thickener.

The key to making both crisp and cobbler topping remarkable is to be sure not to overmix the ingredients. Both the dough for cobbler biscuits and the shortening for crisp should be incorporated using a pastry cutter. This device allows the flour to be coated with shortening without exciting the gluten. The end result is flaky biscuits or well browned crisp.

Both crisps and cobblers can be made using frozen fruit. I had an economy-sized bag of peaches in the freezer, so decided that peach crisp would make a nice addition to an otherwise gloomy (and eventually snowy) day.

Peach Crisp
Filling
6 cups sliced, peeled peaches
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. corn starch
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Topping
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. uncooked quick cooking oats
1/4 c. softened butter, divided into tablespoons

For filling, whisk together sugar, corn starch and spices. Place peaches in a large bowl, and cover with the dry ingredient mixture. Use a wooden spoon to coat the peaches thoroughly.

To make topping, whisk together sugar, flour and oats. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients one tablespoonful at a time. Mixture should be look like coarse crumbs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a deep casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Dump peaches into casserole. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit.

Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until topping is golden.

                         

Boston Brown Bread

Boston Brown Bread

Boston brown bread is an enigma. It's not really a bread, as it isn't baked and doesn't contain butter or eggs. It satisfies a sweet craving even though it has very little sugar. And it can be a breakfast bread, dessert, and a companion to butter, cream cheese or a slice of sharp white cheddar.

Boston brown bread could actually be described as a whole-grain pudding, in the British sense of the word. It is composed of whole grain flour and corn meal that is cooked together with buttermilk. The buttermilk adds just a hint of leavening to the bread so that it doesn't have the consistency of cooked oatmeal or cream of wheat. Raisins act as a sweetener, while molasses and a bit of brown sugar add depth and give Boston brown bread it's distinct and unique flavor.

The bread isn't baked, but is simmered on the stove in a pot of boiling water. Traditionally, the batter was poured into a metal coffee can which was then covered with aluminum foil and placed in the water bath. Today, most people don't buy coffee in a metal can, but any large metal can that has been cleaned will do (the large cans that contain pumpkin or tomatoes are good). Or a 9 x 5 loaf pan will suffice. The round cans are much easier to fit into a saucepan; you may need to use a Dutch oven or canning pot for the loaf pan.

Boston Brown Bread

1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. rye flour
1/2 c. yellow corn meal
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. molasses
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 c dark raisins

Grease a 1 lb. coffee can or other large can and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine all ingredients except raisins in large mixing bowl; whisk together until thoroughly combined. Fold in the raisins last.

Pour batter into prepared can or loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil, tied to the can with a string.

Place can into deep saucepan and surround with boiling water that reaches halfway up the side of the can. Cover the saucepan. Turn burner heat to medium-low, and keep the water in the saucepan just at a simmer. Allow batter to simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until toothpick inserted into center of batter comes out clean.

Remove can immediately, allow to cool on a wire rack. To remove bread from can, use a can opener to remove the bottom from the can and push the bread out. Makes one large loaf.

Barbecued Beans with Kielbasa

Barbecued Beans and Kielbasa

What's Polish for "beanie weenie"? How about "Fasolka z grilla i kielbasa." No matter the language, barbecued beans with kielbasa makes an excellent one-pot weekend meal that fills you up and is spicy enough to warm you from the inside out.

The trick to this recipe is the use of a pressure cooker. Where the traditional baked bean recipes call for slow cooking over several hours, our beans require a mere 30 minutes to fully cook. We then cook the kielbasa in the barbecue sauce, using the simmer setting on the pressure cooker. There is very little handson preparation time required.

Barbecued Beans and Kielbasa
2 c. dried navy, pinto or red beans, prepared for cooking
1 lb kielbasa, cut into 1" lengths
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 quarts plus 2 c. water
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tsp. garlic paste, or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c. ketchup
1/2. c. honey
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
3 tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tbsp. dry mustard powder

Prepare the beans the day before by covering the dried beans with 4 quarts of water to which 2 tbsp. of kosher salt are added. Allow to soak for at least 8 hours. Discard any "floaters". Drain the beans in a colander.

Combine beans and 1 tbsp. oil in a pressure cooker. Coat beans with the oil by stirring with a wooden spoon. Add 4 quarts water and 1 tsp. salt. Lock on pressure cooker lid, bring pressure to high and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from heat, allow pressure to reduce slowly for 15 minutes. Remove lid, drain cooked beans in colander and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp. oil to pressure cooker. Heat on medium heat, and add chopped onion, garlic paste and kielbasa pieces. Brown meat on all sides, and allow onion to sauté until slightly soft. Stir in water, ketchup, honey, dark brown sugar, vinegar and mustard powder. Gently stir in beans. Allow all to simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 10 to 15 minutes.

NOTE:  This can be used as a side dish or main meal. Any leftovers can be frozen and reheated using a microwave oven. The beans stay nice and firm.

Pecan Maple Bars

Pecan Maple Bars

Now that we've passed Groundhog Day and the weather is slowly turning from snow to "stuff" and then to rain, it's time to start thinking of spring. In parts of Michigan and Indiana, it's also sugar time for maple and birch tree farmers.

Sugaring is the practice of tapping maple and birch trees for sap. The sap is gathered, the excess water cooked out of it by slowly simmering it over low heat, and the thick, sticky substance left over is maple or birch syrup. If the syrup is jarred and refrigerated, it crystallizes into sugar. It takes 40 gallons of maple sap to produce one gallon of syrup, which accounts for the high price of the genuine stuff. But that price is well worth it when you add this flavorful sweetener to dishes such as baked beans, smoked bacon or pecan maple bar cookies.

These cookies are a fusion of pecan pie filling and a shortbread crust. Using maple syrup instead of dark corn syrup to sweeten the filling adds a different dimension to the traditional pecan pie flavor. You still get the gooey crunch of a traditional pecan pie, supported nicely by a very rich shortbread. Use your food processor to make the crust - it's much easier to "pulse" the shortening into the flour base than it is to use a pastry cutter, and the results are a lot more uniform.

Use the parchment to lift the entire cookie out of the pan before cutting.

Cut these into bite sized bars. There is enough sugar in each one to fuel a sugar high for an entire cub scout pack, so a little piece goes a long way.

Pecan Maple Bars
Crust
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 c. vegetable shortening

Filling
3 whole eggs
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1 c. pure maple syrup
2 tbsp. melted unsalted butter (no substitutes)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with a large sheet of parchment paper; there should be enough overhang to create a "handle" for lifting the baked product out of the pan in one piece.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Place into bowl of food processor. Add vegetable shortening by tablespoons, pulsing after each addition. When all the shortening has been added, pulse an additional 10 times to fully coat the dry ingredients with shortening.

Pour the crust into the prepared pan, and use a spatula or back of a wooden spoon to spread evenly over the parchment paper. The texture of this mixture will resemble fine sand. Gently press the crust into place. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

While the crust cools, prepare the filling. Crack eggs into a large bowl. Whisk gently, then add sugars. Whisk together until sugar is dissolved and evenly distributed. Stir in maple syrup and vanilla, then fold in pecans.

Pour filling mixture onto cooled crust. Return to the oven for 25 - 30 minutes, or until filling is set. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan and cutting. Makes 52.

NOTE: Walnuts can be substituted for pecans, if desired.

Royal Banana Bread

As pretty to serve as it is delicious to eat,
Royal Banana bread is fit for a king!

Royal Banana Bread

Bananas are in season during December and January, and sad to say, overripe bananas are all too common. We keep our homes warm, which hastens ripening. Luckily, banana bread is one way to make good use of the overripe fruit.

Bananas can be hard to pair with a spice; there are too many spices that overpower the banana flavor. One product that is tried, true and found to enhance bananas is dark rum. Think Bananas Foster and you have the right idea.

This recipe for banana bread uses red and green candied cherries and your choice of either candied citron or pineapple soaked in dark rum as inclusions. The alcohol bakes out of the bread, but the rum flavor remains. The use of light brown sugar also creates some caramel notes in throughout the bread.

Serve slices plain, with cream cheese or with butter. This bread also freezes very well, so if you have a lot of bananas or loaded up on candied fruit after Christmas, bake several loaves, freeze them and enjoy this delightful bread throughout the year.

Royal Banana Bread
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. banana pulp (approx. 3 very ripe bananas)
1/3 c. melted butter (no substitutes)
1/3 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 c. mixed red and green candied cherries, citron and pineapple
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. good quality dark rum

Place candied fruit in a small bowl. Pour rum over fruit and cover. Allow to soak at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 bread pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Place melted butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl, beat together until sugar is well dissolved. Add eggs, and beat on medium speed for one minute.

Add flour mixture slowly, then beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Sprinkle and toss candied fruit with 1/4 c. flour. Gently fold fruit and any remaining rum into the batter. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean and the bread begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.  Allow to cool 10 minutes in the pan on a baking rack, then remove and allow to cool completely for an hour before slicing.