Honey-&-Soy Lacquered Spareribs

Ingredients

  • 2 (2- to 2 ½ lb. each) slabs St. Louis-style pork spareribs
  • 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
  • 2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup honey
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce (we used reduced-sodium soy sauce)
  • 2 Tbsp. Asian hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha) (we used Sriracha)
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp. butter (we used unsalted butter)
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the ribs, patting them dry afterwards. Slice into the thin membrane on the back of the ribs and pull it off. Sprinkle the salt and pepper all over the ribs before wrapping each slab tightly in aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped slabs on a jelly-roll pan (we used a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil) and stick in the oven for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the ribs are tender and the meat pulls away from the bone.
  2. Take a saucepan and add to it the following ingredients, stirring to combine: honey, soy sauce, Sriracha, lime juice, butter, dry mustard and ground ginger. Set the heat to high and wait for the sauce to come to a boil, stirring occasionally during that time. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, letting it simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce has been reduced by half (we went with 5 minutes). Transfer the sauce to a bowl (we left the sauce in the saucepan and just took the saucepan off the heat).
  3. Take the slabs out of the oven, setting the oven to broil mode afterwards (we moved our rack up one from the middle at this point). Carefully take the slabs out of the foil and place them on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet (we used a different foil lined baking sheet for this). Brush each slab with 3 Tbsp. honey mixture (we just brushed the meaty side with the honey mixture).
  4. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes or until they look browned and sticky. Brush on the remaining sauce before digging in.
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This was the first time we’d ever cooked ribs in the oven and they came out good ! The ribs were a little salty but all we have to do is cut down on the salt next time to eliminate that problem. The ribs looked so sexy after going under the broiler and after they got brushed with more sauce before getting served. The sauce was sweet but had a little heat to it as well.

We got this recipe from Southern Living.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Southern Living.

Take care everybody !

Chipotle Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into ¾-inch chunks
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼ cup finely chopped dill pickles, plus 3 tablespoons brine
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1 celery rib, minced
  • 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon celery seeds
  • 4 thinly sliced scallions
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce plus an additional teaspoon of adobo sauce
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice

Directions

  1. Take the potatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt and it to a large saucepan, covering the potatoes by at least an inch with cold water. Turn the heat up to high and once the water’s boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the potatoes simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until they’re tender.
  2. Drain the potatoes in a colander, making sure to remove as much water as possible. Take a small bowl out and mix together the mustard and 2 tablespoons of pickle brine. Spread the potatoes out on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the mustard mixture over the potatoes, carefully tossing the potatoes until they’re completely coated in the mixture. Place the potato mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes or until they’ve cooled down a little.
  3. Add the following ingredients to a large mixing bowl, stirring to combine: mayonnaise, onion, celery, vinegar, celery seeds, pickles, remaining pickle brine, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, scallions, chopped cilantro, minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce, adobo sauce, minced garlic and lime juice. Add the potato mixture to the bowl, tossing to ensure the potatoes get completely coated in the sauce. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until the potato salad is thoroughly chilled.
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This is a spicy potato salad ! You can definitely taste the chipotle and adobo sauce. While you do taste the chipotle and adobo sauce first, there’s a lot of other flavors in this and each bite can introduce you to one of those other flavors in this dish. It’s also really nice to have a crunch from some of the other ingredients to contrast against the tender potatoes.

We got this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Cook’s Illustrated.

Take care everybody !

Black Bean Burgers with Mango Salsa

Ingredients

  • 2 (15-ounce each) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (we used Bush’s brand)
  • ¾ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided
  • ¾ cup (3 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (we used pepper Jack cheese)
  • ¼ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ medium jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 large egg whites
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 ¼ cups chopped peeled mango (about 1 medium) (we went with the 1 ¼ cup measurement)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 6 (2-ounce) whole-wheat hamburger buns, lightly toasted
  • 6 green leaf lettuce leaves

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Take a medium-sized bowl and add the black beans to it, mashing it with a fork (we mashed them until they looked like refried beans). Mix in ½ cup cilantro and the following ingredients: cheese, panko, ground cumin, dried oregano, sea salt, chopped jalapeño and egg whites. Take a baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil, spraying the foil with cooking spray afterwards. Shape the bean mixture into 6 (½-inch thick) patties.  Place the patties on the lined baking sheet, sticking the sheet in the oven afterwards for 20 minutes, carefully flipping the patties halfway through.
  3. Take another medium-sized bowl and mix the following ingredients together in it: the remaining cilantro, mango, shallots, lime juice, avocado and minced garlic. Take each patty and place it on a bottom bun, topping each one with a lettuce leaf and 1/3 cup of mango salsa, placing the top bun on afterwards.
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We loved this burger ! The patty itself has a little bit of heat to it. It’s tastiest when you can get the mango salsa in a bite with the patty. The lettuce is a nice touch (although we do wonder if they simply called for lettuce to help keep the mango salsa from spilling everywhere). The whole burger, toppings and all, is a great example of how tasty veggie burgers can be.

We got this recipe from Cooking Light.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Bush’s or Cooking Light.

Take care everybody !

Fresh Blackberry Granita

Ingredients

  • 2 (6-ounce each) containers fresh blackberries, rinsed and patted dry
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 cups water, divided
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. Place the blackberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a medium saucepan, turning the heat up to medium-high. Once boiling, turn the heat down low enough so that it’s simmering for 10 to 15 minutes or until the blackberries have softened. Take the saucepan off the heat and lightly mash the blackberries until they’re broken down.
  2. Take a fine-mesh sieve and place it over a large bowl. Pour the blackberry mixture through the sieve, throwing away any solids. Stir in the lemon juice and the remaining water. Take a metal 13 x 9-inch baking pan and pour the mixture into it, placing the pan in the freezer afterwards. Scrape the surface and edges with a fork every 45 minutes for 3 to 4 hours or until the mixture is completely frozen and there’s no liquid left. Garnish each portion with a lemon peel if you want to.
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This is such a nice treat to enjoy in the summer. It’s sweet but not overly sweet and you can taste a little bit of the lemon juice at the end of the bite. It’s a very eye-catching dessert. A nice treat to have while the blackberries are still in season !

Recipe source unknown.

Take care everybody !

Watermelon Margarita Pops

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp. lime zest
  • ½ cup lime juice
  • 4 cups chopped seedless watermelon
  • ¾ cup tequila (we used Jose Cuervo silver tequila)
  • ½ cup sugar

Directions

  1. Add the lime juice and chopped watermelon to a blender, processing until smooth. Take a fine wire-mesh strainer and place it over a large measuring cups (we used a large bowl instead of a measuring cup). Pour the watermelon mixture through the strainer, discarding any leftover solids. Pour the mixture into 12* (3-oz.) paper cups. Cover each cup with a small piece of aluminum foil. Make a small cut in the center of the foil and insert a pop stick into each cup. Place the cups in the freezer for 8 hours or until firm.

*Depending on how well your blender can process, you may end up with enough mixture to fill more than 12 cups. For us, we had enough for 19 cups.

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If you’re someone who wants to be able to actually taste alcohol when you have a drink, you’ll love these pops ! You do taste the alcohol but the watermelon still comes through as well. Don’t know if eating these will get you drunk per se, but they are delicious !

We got this recipe from Southern Living.

We weren’t paid in any form to promote Jose Cuervo or Southern Living.

Take care everybody !