'Tis the Season -- Christmas Ribs

With the holidays upon moi, it seems I must cook and cook large. With the NC horde ready to decent upon my humble abode, what can be done? Surely a huge, sticky lasagna would work, filling my kitchen with the sweet smells of tomato-y, cheesy happiness?. Perhaps some variant on Syndi Lou Who's (who's no more than two) roast beast? How about we cling to some of our Hebraic roots and order Chinese?

Nah, not happening.


Her Imperial Majesty Le Grand Dame likes my ribs. Das Kinder likes my ribs. So ribs it is, or more correctly was.

It's a simple recipe using three different spice blends from my friends Cindy and Bob at The Savory Spice Shop, specifically:

1. Black Hills Barbecue Seasoning,
   
2. Team Sweet Mama's Kansas City Rub, and
   
3. Brown Sugar & Spice Honey Ham Rub.
   

Bring your ribs to room temperature, then apply the Black Hills seasoning first. Give the meat about 10 minutes or so to rest, and then apply TSM Kansas City Rub. Give yourself another 15 minutes or so, then finish with the Brown sugar rub. After another 15 minutes, slide the ribs into a 275 degree oven and cook four to five hours or until fall-off-the-bone tender. I usually lay them on a cool-ish fire in the ole Weber Kettle for 30 to 45 minutes to give them a bit of char and dash of smoke.

That takes care of the ribs themselves, but what about the 'Que sauce. This is a variant of something I've used before. The star ingredient is Coca-Cola™ and that makes this truly southern.

• 1 16 ounce Coca-Cola™
  
• 1 28 ounce can pureed tomatoes
  
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
  
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
  
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  

Combine everything in a sauce pan and simmer for 30 minutes or until it reaches your desired thickness. 

Serve with baked beans, baked potatoes and the best cole slaw you can come up with. Mine comes from Hursey's in Burlington, NC. 


Merry Christmas, y'all.





 

The Pizza Variations vol. 1 -- Schnitzel Pizza

In a world beset with overly complicated moderne interpretations of classic fare, the invention of yet another gourmet this or that comes off as an excuse to bloviate about one’s heightened sense of taste.  It’s as if people wish to trumpet their incredible good taste as a methodology to transform one’s self into the local culinary celebrity. In the post-Food Network™ world, it’s like bragging about your humility.

However, the dictates of the 21^st Century have prompted at least some of us to combine genuine classics from the old country and transmute them into something a bit more handy. The classic steak and potato dinner has become a burger and fries, simply because one can’t make a left turn in a Volvo station wagon and eat a baked potato.

This dish combines one of my favorite dishes – Weiner schnitzel – with the all purpose utility infielder, pizza. I’m not sure why it came to pass, but I am certain that a televised sporting event was involved.

Hardware:

• 4 thinly sliced pork cutlets
• 1 cup pizza sauce – canned is okay
• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
• a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs
• bread crumbs
• thinly sliced red onion
• Pizza crust – can be pre-made
• Fresh basil

Technique:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F - with a pizza stone or pizza pan
The star ingredient: The Pork cutlets

• Heat a saute pan with olive oil
• Cook pork cutlets first - scramble one egg in a bowl, measure a cup of bread crumbs in a bowl.
• Dip cutlet in egg wash, then bread crumbs and sauté in pan - 3-4 minutes each side.
• When done, let rest, then thinly sliced cutlets.

Assembling the pie

• Mist crust with olive oil
• Spread pizza sauce over crust – I used Don Pepino
• Add mozzarella cheese
• Add parmesan cheese
• Add red onion
• Place cutlets toward center of pizza - leaving a hole for where the egg will go.
• Cook pizza for 7-8 minutes.
• Remove pizza and crack egg in the middle - leave yolk whole. Add fresh basil.
• Place back in oven for 1 minute
• Then set to broil for 1 minute
• Remove, let set a few minutes - then cut into slices – the yolk should be runny.

Easy, fun and artistic. The perfect way to enjoy a schnitzel dinner while standing up and watching the Hometown Heroes best the Bad Guys From Out of Town.