Rainy Ribs

We've had a ton of rain in New York.  And by a ton, I mean pretty much a rain shower a day.

When the sun does come out, I'm usually at work and unable to bask in it's light and warmth.

I'm ready for summer with a little less rain.

So, I made ribs.  Because in my mind, ribs equal a beautiful, rainless day.

 I made these ribs in the oven, because I live in New York with no outdoor space.  I feel like I should throw that out there as much as possible.

If you have outdoor space and a grill, I bet these would taste just as good.

But I should warn you, these ribs didn't make the rain stop, but they were absolutely delicious.

What you need:

2 lbs ribs

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon thyme

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients into a bowl that can fit a rib lengthwise. Cover each rib into the dry ingredients and make sure each side is coated, knocking off any extra seasoning.  Rub the olive oil over the ribs.  Place ribs in a baking pan with sides, I covered mine with tinfoil for an easy clean up.  Cook in the over for about 90 minutes or until ribs are tender.  No sauce is required.  Serves two or three people.

I served mine with this corn and cheesy mashed potatoes.

I started with this recipe: http://tinyurl.com/l6wwde

Barcelona Memories!

My Aunt and Uncle took my brother, my cousin and me on a Mediterranean cruise last summer.  We flew to Barcelona and spent a day there before boarding this hugely-gigantic cruise ship.  But before that, my Aunt and I were on a mission to find the best sangria.

It was not a mission that we took lightly.  

I think we tired 4 or 5 different pitchers of the refreshing summer liquid, before we found our favorite place. 

And you know what, we couldn't remember the name or where it was.

Lucky for us that my Uncle is really good with remembering where things are located.  He was actually able to remember where this place was a whole week later.  

And it wasn't just any week, it was filled with sunning, drinking, walking, drinking, laughing, learning, eating, drinking and so on.

When we docked back in Barcelona, we wanted to have another glass or two before we left.

He didn't let us down, he weaved the streets of Barcelona like a local.

And we got our pitcher.

It's been almost a year since then.  I haven't forgotten about my beloved drink.

So I made myself a pitcher.  It's delicious!  

The apples are seriously like little wine-bombs that explode in your mouth.

What you'll need*:

2 bottles of red wine (I used a Zinfandel)

3 apples, cut into cubes (I used 2 green and 1 red)

1 orange, cut into slices

2 lemons, cut into slices

5 cups ginger-ale

1/2 cup orange juice

2 shots vodka or triple sec

How you do it:

Pour wine into a pitcher and add fruit.  Refrigerate and let it cool for 24 hours.  This allows the fruit to absorb some of the wine.  (To serve immediately, you'll want to start out with chilled wine.)  When you are ready to serve it, add ginger-ale, orange juice and vodka.

Serve it in a wine glass and stay cool in the summer heat!

*This recipe was my starting point.

Cooking with Amy: Lasagna

Ricotta cheese has always been on my "dislike with a passion" food list.

Yes, I have one of those. It's completely internal and I could give you several reasons why each food enters the list. It's not just taste, sometimes it's texture, sometimes it's the way it looks, sometimes it's just because.

While I wouldn't go so far as to say that ricotta has been removed from this list of foods, it has at least moved to a different section of said list. Yes, there are sections.

This whole list thing is very complicated.

After I wouldn't eat my Mom's lasagna, she substituted a different cheese for the ricotta.

So when Amy wanted to make lasagna, I was willing to try it, but I didn't think I would like it. But it tasted pretty darn good!

What you'll need:

3/4 lb ground beef

1/4 lb ground Italian sausage

1 package lasagna noodles

3 cups tomato sauce

16 oz ricotta cheese*

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

16 oz fresh mozzarella

Tin foil

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles according to the directions on the box.

Combine the beef and the Italian sausage and cook until completely done. Add the combined meat to the sauce.

Mix the ricotta in a bowl with the egg, parmesan and Italian seasoning.

Spread about a tablespoon of plain tomato sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. This keeps the noodles from sticking after it's been baked. Lay one layer of cooked lasagna noodles along the bottom of the pan, usually 3 noodles.

Spread a thin layer of ricotta mixture on each noodle, then add the tomato-meat sauce and sprinkle a layer of mozzarella on top. Top each layer with a layer of noodles and repeat.

After you have three layers, or the top of the pan has been reached, spread the additional tomato sauce and cheese.

Tent the tinfoil over the pan. (Tenting the tinfoil keeps it from sticking to the cheese.) And cook for 40 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Add some garlic bread, a glass of wine and fresh parmesan! And then, of course...Enjoy.

*As a long-time non-ricotta eater, you can replace the ricotta with pretty much any kind of cheese. Cheddar is pretty much amazing, as is swiss!

Garlic Bread Brings Happiness

Do other people consider garlic a comfort food?  I mean, not on it's own, but accompanied by something else?  Like, say for example, bread?

Because when I smell garlic it brings so many wonderful, savory memories to mind.

Like my dad's pasta sauce.

Like my mom roasting it in the oven.

Like warm garlic bread to mop up pasta sauce.

Or is it just me? Either way, garlic bread makes me happy.  

What food makes you happy?

Gnocchi: I Will Conquer You, Just Not Today

I love gnocchi!  

I don't know when or where I came to love it, but I do.  

It's one of my all time favorite Italian meals.  I get it whenever I see it on the menu.

So when I looked up the ingredients, I was shocked to see it only had three: potatoes, flour, and an egg (which is optional).  

I then and there decided that's what I was going to have for dinner.  

How hard could it be?

It was really hard.  

I failed.  

Failed, in the sense that while this was edible, it wasn't good.  

It was definitely not up to my gnocchi standards. I'm trying again.  I'm never going to give up!  And with that, I leave you with this.

More Mojito!

Amy and I went out for Thai food and ordered their version of a mojito.  It was pretty much perfect.  Except they cost $9.  Who wants to pay $9 for a drink in a tumbler glass?  Not I.  

So I googled "mojito" and came across several recipes.  I won't list them here, because...well they were terrible.  Like really terrible.  So I experimented and came up with a version that tastes pretty darn good.

What you'll need:

2 oz simple syrup

3 oz limeade

2 oz lime extract (or fresh lime)

10 mint leaves 

4 oz rum

2 oz club soda

How you do it:

Pour simple syrup, lime aide, lime extract, and 6 of the mint leaves into a shaker filled with ice.  Shake the ingredients until mixed together.  

Add 4 crushed mint leaves to a glass, add the club soda and the mixed ingredients.  Enjoy!

Gather friends, find a view (like the East River at sunset) and enjoy!

Kitchen Fires Make Me Crave Pork Chops...

I love pork chops.

I haven't thought about them in a long time.

Actually, It's been about 5 years since I've had a pork chop.

I think I almost forgot about how much I love pork chops, but then my roommate set the kitchen on fire.

Well, not the kitchen...but the oven. You can read about it here.

The fire incident led to us finding this video.

(Note that this video uses some profane language...it's rated R.)

So, I watched that video, laughed and then wanted a pork chop real bad. I emailed my dad, got the recipe and made pork chops!

Nick Bova's Recipe:

What you'll need:

2 pork chops

2 potatoes

1 large onion

3 Tbs oil (approx)

Worcestershire Sauce

How you do it:

1. Slice onions and potatoes.

2. Put enough oil in a frying pan to cover the bottom, i.e. around 3 Tbs.

3. Brown the pork chops on one side, around 5 minutes.

4. Turn the chops over and start layering the onions and potatoes. One layer potatoes, one layer onions and then cover the surface with the Worcestershire and salt and pepper to taste. Repeat for 2 or third layer.

5. Cover the pan and reduce to a low simmer for an hour, turning after 30 minutes. Cook until tender.

Notes: The pork chops brown up and get very tender on the bottom of the pan. Try not to turn too much; it breaks up the potatoes. If you get too much liquid in the pan, open a vent or move the lid slightly ajar. You can remove the lid for the last 5 minutes or so to evaporate any liquid.

Realizing how easy this dish was to make, I'm never going to go 5 years without eating pork chops again...and neither should you. Enjoy!

Cooking with Amy: Cake Batter Cookies

Amy makes cake batter cookies.

They are so ridiculously good looking.  

(You have to say that with Zoolander's voice in mind.)

They are so ridiculously good tasting. 

 So good, Amanda requested them for her birthday.

But we had so much going on in April, that they were never made.

It was sad, truly sad.  

But this weekend Amy finally decided that it was time to make these amazing little balls of joy.

She even asked, "Should I make cake batter cookies today?"

I think she just got shouts of joy for her answer.

(P.S. Just for future reference...you don't have to ask!)

So Amy baked and I took pictures.

Amy's Cake Batter Cookies:

What you'll need:

1 stick of butter, melted

1 brick of cream cheese

1 box of cake (she used Devil's Food)

1 egg

1/4 cup powdered sugar

How you do it:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Combine the butter, cream cheese, cake mix and egg in a bowl.  It should be softer than traditional cookie dough but denser then cake.  It will have a real sticky constancy.  

2. Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl.

3. Drop about 1 teaspoon of dough into the bowl of powdered sugar.  The sugar will allow you to roll the dough into balls.  The surface should be lightly dusted.

4. Place on a cookie sheet.

5. Cook for about 14 minutes.

Make sure you have a cold glass of milk and some willpower to walk away after you've had three, four...oh who am I kidding...five of these things.