Coaching Cooking

I’ve returned…

And I come bearing a new family classic. Uncle Kenny is the comedian of our family. He prank calls his sisters and he is always ready with a witty quip or wacky suggestion. He is also the master of the ribs. This is not a title that one bears lightly. He preps these ribs for quite some time and they always come out deliciously. This is the kind of ribs recipe that has you trying to distract the other diners so you can grab the last few ribs. Or, like AB, you just eat full-steam ahead and hope that no one else can tell that you’ve been eating twice the amount of ribs (yeah, AB, I knew you were doing that…but you seemed so content so I didn’t call you on it. Love you!).

Anyway, here’s the recipe. It’s very simple and finger-lickin’ good. Get ready to distract everyone else at the table because you WILL want more than your fair share of these lovelies.

Uncle Kenny’s Divine Ribs

Ingredients:

1 full racks of pork ribs
2 bottles of beer (try a cheap one or whatever you have on hand…I used Modelo Especial)
1 bottle of a favorite barbecue sauce, use about 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
A few dashes of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In two large, flat cooking pans, pour one bottle of beer for each pan. Then place a rack of ribs in each pan and cook in the oven for about 90 minutes. Flip the ribs over halfway during cooking, after about 45 minutes. If the rib bones get too browned you can always cover the pans with aluminum foil for the last 30 minutes.

While the ribs are cooking, prepare the barbecue sauce. Mix together the rest of the ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Store this barbecue sauce in the fridge until you need to use it.

Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest on the stovetop. Cover the pans with foil.

Prepare the barbecue. Brush the ribs (one side only) with barbecue sauce and grill with the sauce side up. Then flip the ribs over and baste the other side with sauce. Grill the ribs for about 10 minutes until the meat is browned. Baste the ribs about every 3-5 minutes. You can also re-baste the ribs one last time before slicing them.

Slice the ribs and arrange on a platter. Serve with grilled corn and a tasty carb (potato salad, rice, roasted potatoes, pasta salad). This is a messy, but delightful dish so don’t worry about saucing up your manicure. Enjoy!

I can’t say enough how much I love going to a new restaurant. It’s a child-like excitement that I develop as we’re driving over like I’m quietly jumping up and down in my seat. We drove over, myself, AB and our great friend Lanny, and

Palace BBQ Buffet sits amid a myriad of Asian restaurants and a grocery store in a crowded strip mall. We arrived just before the rush of families and young adults.

Carnivores will be well served at a Korean bbq buffet. I have never seen so much raw, marinated meat in my life (yeah, yeah, insert all jokes here). To me, Palace BBQ was the perfect place to have a grilled surf and turf. Choices at Palace include marinated, beef short ribs, thinly-sliced marbled beef, whole prawns, marinated pork, pork stomach, beef tripe, chicken teriyaki and much more.

Note: this is not a good place to visit if you don’t like to see the meat before it is cooked. However, this is a great place to visit if you like to cook your own meat and if you feel like channeling that inner-cliche caveperson.

Here are a few links for the KBC (Korean-bbq curious):

Korean BBQ Dos and Don’ts by Food Section: This link gives you everything you need to know about visiting a Korean bbq restaurant along with some helpful pictures.

More information on the Korean bbq scene plus some restaurant links.

Enjoy! �기십시요!

One breakfast dish that my dad insists on when we’re dining out is hashbrowns. And these hashbrowns have to be crispy throughout and soft underneath this crispy perfection. I still haven’t had time to try out the hashbrowns recipe, but my hope is that this weekend I will finally have a chance to use the russets that have been crashing in my fridge since last month.

One tip that I have noticed in many of the recipes includes cooking the shredded potatoes right away. Potatoes that are left exposed to air too long often turn into a great Halloween experiment (black, purple, gray and a bit mushy). I’ve noticed that putting them in a bowl of cold, ice water helps to stave off the monstrous look. Or you could just cook them right after you grate the potatoes.

Here are a few recipes to get started:

These hash browns by Elise look picture perfect!

Another simple recipe that just might hit the spot!

For those of you who loved diced potatoes, here’s one from Sara Moulton of Food Network fame.

A microwave version kicked up with a little cheese and tomatoes by Mr. Breakfast.

Ladies who brunch convened again this weekend where we proceeded to eat ourselves silly aided by some tasty mojitos which have become our signature brunch drink. The star of this feast is Kareasa’s amazing biscuits and andouille sausage gravy. They were the breakout star of our feast. The flaky biscuits combined with a flavorful, creamy sausage gravy sent us all into foodie heaven. The recipe link is included below.

With my friends, the consensus is that food coma is best developed with people you know. Lying on the floor after too many carbs is much more comfortable when everyone knows you’re too full to talk and can let you have a moment to snooze the afternoon away.

As I have had practice with hosting brunch, I’ve noticed a few things that really make it fun and special. Here are a few tips:

**Make sure to have a pitcher of ice water (and include lemon slices and/or cucumber slices for refreshment)
**Make a fresh fruit platter. I used whole strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and sliced blood oranges and arranged them on a large, rectangular platter.
**Have two tables set up: one for the fruit and smaller dishes and one for drinks, silverware, plates and the main dishes
**Delegate: everyone can bring something to brunch. It doesn’t have to be cooked: one person can bring pastries, coffee or orange juice. A few people can bring dishes to heat up at your place. Then, while everyone munches on pastries and fruit, the others can prepare the main dishes.
**Have at least one great drink: this doesn’t necessarily mean the drink has to be alcoholic. My brunch girls love the mojito with a passion rivaling a new religion. I also think mimosas a perfect choice. This time around I also had orange juice and mango lemonade (thanks to Trader Joe’s) on hand.

Brunch Menu for the Ladies Who Brunch (Thanks Kati, Kareasa, Rachel and Annie!):

Mojitos (see this recipe)
Orange juice
Mango Lemonade

Ice water with lemon slices

Fruit platter
Assorted appetizers from Trader Joe’s: feta and carmelized onion tarts and spinach puff tarts

Biscuits with andouille sausage gravy (I’m still locating the original recipe…here are few to try: Tabasco brand chipotle sausage gravy and Emeril’s Smothered andouille sausage and shrimp gravy)
Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions and mushrooms served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole

Long live the ladies who brunch (and occasionally bitch…yeah, you can blame that on the mojitos)

Brunch is one of my favorite meals because there is time to linger over a late morning feast with beloved friends. It’s also a great time to celebrate with mimosas and rich, but vibrant food. We drank mimosas, sangria and gossiped over coffee and tea while dining on eggs, fruit and buttery pastries.

The menu below (and early-in-the-week posting) gives you plenty of time to shop and to plan for next weekend’s fabulous brunch. I suggest going to a farmers’ market for gorgeous flowers, fresh fruit (and juice) and bread.

Our brunch:

Mimosas (pick your fav champagne plus your fav orange juice)
White sangria (check out this one for red sangria)

Assorted fruits: raspberries, mango, pineapple, kiwi fruit (or see Friday’s post on kiwi berries), oranges…

Smoked salmon scramble with chives and parsley (Barefoot Contessa has a great recipe or try this one)
Zucchini squares (see recipe below)

Assorted pastries
coffee and tea

Recipes:

Zucchini squares

Ingredients:

5-6 small zucchini
1 small onion, chopped (I use white onion)
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
1 cup of Bisquick
4 egg, beaten
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons of dried parsley (I’ve also used fresh parsley with good results)
1/2 teaspoon of dried marjoram

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the zucchini thinly and place in a large bowl. Mix together all of the other ingredients. Pour into an oiled 9″ by 13″ pan. Bake zucchini squares for 30-35 minutes. Cool the zucchini squares for about 20 minutes and cut into squares. This dish can be served cold or hot.

A little competition is healthy, right? Okay, that doesn’t include competing with the dude in the car next to you to see who can get closer to the pedestrian crosswalk. That’s just silly….

Instead, try competing with your foodie friends by staging a little Iron Chef competition.

Recipe for Iron Chef Competition:

Ingredients:

Several foodie friends (about 6 or so…make teams of two)
An ingredient (try something basic like rice or something more challenging like chocolate…think of something you all want to cook)
A large kitchen
Several more foodie friends (the ones who don’t like to cook) to serve as judges
Bottles of wine (to get the judges drunk so they vote for your dish)
Scoring sheets (categories can include: taste, presentation, use of ingredient, overall score…have fun with the categories!)

Directions:

Assemble a group of people who love food, love cooking and love to compete. Make a trophy or decide on a suitable prize (gift certificate or crazy trophy made of canned food for example). Then find a kitchen to use and set up several workstations for each team. Each team should have a name that befits their personality (Tuna Madness, the Chefs who Ate Manhattan, Sexy Sushi, whatever names you like…). The judges should have a separate table where they can lounge and to which each team’s dish can be served. Have plenty of scoring sheets and someone to keep time.

The teams should have time to decide what they’ll make. Give everyone at least a few days notice. Decide on the rules (do the recipes have to be original? Can teams use pre-cooked foods or do they have to make everything from scratch? How much time should the teams have to cook?).

Note: This is supposed to be fun. It shouldn’t be stressful! Make sure everyone is well-hydrated with water and cocktails. Bring a camera to photograph the cooking madness.

Have fun and eat well!