Dr. Pepper Baby Back Ribs on Big Green Egg

It's not even summer yet, but the heat has been brutal with triple digit temperatures. I'm praying we don't have a repeat of last summer, which was the hottest and driest on record. One of the drawbacks of living in Austin is either it's boiling hot, or during the cool season, we are fighting horrific cedar allergies. But we love our city nonetheless! It's beautiful, the people are the best in Texas and our food scene is exploding. This heat means I need to spend as much time in the pool as possible, and less time inside the hot kitchen. Last weekend we were perusing our new Whole Foods and found a beautiful rack of Baby backs. That means it's time to grill up some Dr. Pepper Baby backs poolside with the Big Green Egg!! I think these may even be better than the ribs at Houston's/Bartletts restaurant. They have just a subtle hint of Dr. Pepper, and a great kick from the dry rub and bbq sauce. Serve with baked beans (Bush's Grillin' Beans are delish), homemade corn bread and you've got yourself a mouthwatering southern Sunday BBQ.

Here's How it's done:
Get a rack of baby backs, remove the membrane from the bottom of the ribs with a knife, or ask the butcher to do it for you. This will ensure your ribs will be very tender as the membrane does not break down. (We prefer Berkshire pork as they have terrific flavor BTW).

In a baking dish or foil pan, pour two bottles of Dublin Dr. Pepper (Sadly, they are no longer in business, but we like that they used cane sugar and now use the HEB brand Dr. B with pure cane sugar. The plain old cane sugar kind will work too though. I'm just kind of a snob). Throw in a couple of whole garlic cloves, sprinkle the tops of the ribs with dry rub, cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or 48 hours for a good soak. I've also fallen in love with Dizzy Dust brand Pineapple dizzy dust as a rub. AMAZING!!!

Dry Rub:
- 4tbs salt
- 2/3 cup granulated brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon granulated onion
- 2 tablespoons paprik
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon dried mustard powder
- 2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cayenne
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
-2tbs yellow mustard 
You will likely have plenty of rub left over to store in the pantry for future use. Great on chicken too!!

On the day of grilling, fire up the Green Egg and raise the temp to about 500 degrees. Then close the bottom and leave it open just a tiny bit. To prepare the ribs, slather with mustard and dry rub until thickly coated.

Close the top vents until barely open and close the bottom vent until there is just a tiny peek open and lower the temperature to 225 degrees. We also add a big chunk of Pecan wood once the temperature is down that has been soaked for a few hours in water. We cook the ribs indirectly and have the plate placed over the coals, with the legs facing up. We place a pan of water over the plate, then cover with the grill grate. I don't use a rib rack, but simply place the ribs directly on the grill, meat side up, sprinkle liberally with more rub and smoke them for 2 hours, spritzing them each hour with DP.

Then it's time to make these ribs meltingly tender. We fill a foil pan with a fresh bottle of Dr. Pepper, place the ribs meat up and baste with DP. Sprinkle a bit more rub if you'd like, cover tightly with foil and cook 3 hours more.

 

Ribs just before covering & cooking for another 3 hours.

Then after three hours are up, we baste again with DP, then paint on our favorite BBQ Sauce, and cook uncovered for one more hour, being sure to baste every 20 minutes with BBQ sauce. We LOVE Rufus Teague's Honey Sweet. I'm from North Texas originally, so we like our BBQ sweet, FYI. The more south you head, the more they like a vinegary style BBQ. No thanks, not for me :-) This recipe also works really well with coca cola- as long as it's made with real sugar and not the corn syrup junk.

Best BBQ Sauce EVER!! Especially if you stir in a little bourbon reduction. I love how the bottle looks like a whiskey flask!

 These babies are ready to eat!! See how the bones are sticking out a bit? That's when you know they are perfect and fork tender.

Smoked Tomato and Burrata Caprese Salad

I managed to salvage some tomatoes from my plant that the silly squirrels didn't harvest for themselves and found a nice ball of burrata cheese at Whole Foods. Burrata is much like fresh mozzarella, but is filled with the creamiest most sinful curd that it may just be my favorite cheese in the world.

The other night a friend and I had a fabulous tapas style meal at 11 Plates & Wine in Westlake and the waiter brought over some chilled, smoked tomatoes for us to try. This inspired me to smoke my tomatoes for a caprese salad. So we fired up the Big Green Egg to make some kabobs, I lightly coated them with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, wrapped them in foil and let them smoke for about 30 minutes at 250 degrees until they were tender. I dunked them in ice water to let them cool, slipped of their skins, sliced and served with the cheese and a nice 25 year old balsamic vinegar and drizzle of truffle oil. Sprinkle on some cypress salt and basil chiffonade and I may have found me favorite summer treat!

Chicken Meatballs with Truffled Fettucini

This simple, yet comforting dish is perfect because everything can be made ahead of time and all you need to do is reheat the meatballs and cook the pasta. We toss the cooked pasta in butter and this fabulous truffle oil from Bella Luna that we bought ourselves for Christmas. A little goes a long way. Sprinkle some freshly grated parmigiano and asiago cheese and there you have it.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 small yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and oregano

2 tbs Cavendar's salt free Greek Seasoning

1 tsp sea salt

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese

3 tbs bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients together and fry in small batches in a large pan half filled with grapeseed oil and heated to 330 degrees. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Either refrigerate for later or cover and place in the oven on warm as you prepare your pasta.  These are also fun to make into miniature meatballs and serve them on skewers with olive oil and garlic marinated grape tomatoes and fresh mozzarella bocconcini. Always goes fast at a party!

For the pasta I used the recipe from my Mozza cookbook. It is so eggy and has a nice chewy, silky texture. The recipe is as follows:

6 egg yolks

3 whole eggs

2 1/4 cup flour

In a bread mixer with dough hook, knead ingredients for 25 minutes, dust with flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refigerate 45 minutes to overnight. The colder the pasta the easier it is to work with. Then follow the directions for your pasta machine and make the pasta of your choice. This time we made fettucini. It was fabulous! The meatballs freeze really well as does the fresh pasta for up to four weeks.

Honey's Modern Buttermilk Fried Chicken

My grandmother whom we affectionately called "Honey Bun" made the world's best fried chicken. I decided to make some this week for the husband and served it with easy cheddar jalapeno beer biscuits and sauteed swiss chard with bacon and carmelized onions. And let me tell you... it was fabulous!! This time we only used breast meat, but the whole bird is always a crowd pleaser.
I've adapted the recipe a bit and make a tasty buttermilk brine. I cut the bone in chicken breast in half before submerging it in a bath of:

2 cups buttermilk

1 quart cold water

1/4 cup fine sea salt

4 bay leaves

1 garlic clove

1 stalk celery or 1tsp celery powder 

2 tbs sugar

1tbs onion powder

1 lemon, cut in half

1 orange cut in half

5 peppercorns.

Soak over night in the fridge.

Then it's time to fry.

INGREDIENTS FOR FLOUR DREDGE

4 cups of all purpose flouror Cup4Cup Gluten Free flour
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbs black pepper

4 tbs onion powder

4 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs paprika

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp celery salt

1 pinch dried sage

1 tsp dried thyme

  Meanwhile, I place a large, deep cast iron skillet on the stove and fill it with about 2 inches of peanut oil (no more than 1/3 full or your oil could boil over).  Heat the oil to 350 degrees.  Using a thermometer really helps!

While the oil is heating, set up your dredging station. Put half the flour mix in a bowl, then in a second bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk with 2 beaten eggs, then place a third bowl with remaining flour mix (or you can use paper bags or ziplocs for easy cleanup).

 The Dredging Station

First Flour Dredge- shake off excess and then...

 Dunk in the buttermilk egg bath, shake off excess...

 Dredge in flour again- ziplocs or paper bags work great too!

Place on a cooling rack over cookie sheet and prepare to fry

I have a 13 inch cast iron skillet. If you don't have a huge pan, you could use two or just cook in batches and keep chicken warm in the oven while the second batch cooks.

Once the chicken has been dredged (be sure to shake off any excess flour mix- tongs work better than hands for dredging BTW), slowly lower the pieces in a pan being sure not to crowd it. Turn chicken frequently to ensure even browning, about every minute. It should take about 12-15 minutes to cook through until the chicken is 165 degrees.

14 minutes in and ready to come out of the bath.

 Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving. I fry up some thyme and rosemary branches for a few seconds as a garnish.

I made some super easy biscuits too using Bisquick brand cheddar biscuits (sometimes I'm just not in the mood to make from scratch!) and used beer instead of water, added 2 tbs organic shortening and chopped jalapeno. They were a huge hit!

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Nothing sings of spring like fresh asparagus, spring onions and herbs. I spotted some gorgeous fresh asparagus at Whole Foods and decided to make a little soup as it was uncharacteristically cold and rainy this weekend. The recipe is simple and satisfying and so easy to make. 

INGREDIENTS

1 bunch of asparagus spears, tough stems removed, reserve a few for garnish.

2 spring onion bulbs, white part only
1 small shallot

2 chopped cloves of garlic

4 cups low sodium chicken broth or homemade broth (I like Whole Foods 360 or Central Market Organics in the carton).

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp Better than Bullion chicken stock for seasoning

dash of white wine (optional)

1 tbs olive oil

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1  bay leaf

In a pot, add olive oil, shallots, onions and garlic and turn heat to medium low. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add a dash of white wine if you prefer to add some depth. Turn up the heat and add stock, bullion, thyme and bay leaf. Cook on med-high about 15 minutes. Add the asparagus and cook until they are softened, about 10 more minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.

Then in small batches, puree the soup in a blender. I really like a silky soup, so I then strained it through a Chinois strainer into a clean pot. Add a touch of cream or a little more stock if you'd like and re-warm. Garnish with asparagus spears, creme fraiche, herbs such as thyme or tarragon, or croutons and a drizzle of olive oil. This goes great with slices of french bread, smeared with goat cheese and browned under the broiler for about 3 minutes. 

Soup lasts two days in the refrigerator. Happy Spring!!

Homemade Beef Ravioli

If asked what my last meal on earth would be, I'd likely choose ravioli. What's not to adore about pillows of fresh pasta stuffed with savory meats, seafood or cheese? It's the ultimate comfort food. The first time I had fresh, homemade ravioli was as a little girl living in Adelaide, South Australia. My dad's friend and fellow gardener, a gregarious Italian named Enrico invited us to his home one Sunday to enjoy his wife's insanely delicious and labor intensive Sunday meal. As I recall, they had just opened a market of some sort near their home. This was also an exciting night for me because I got to pick my first pet, a little black and white kitten from their new litter. He looked like he was wearing a tux. The day he arrived a few weeks later to my home I picked the oh so original name, "Fluffy". Fluffy and I grew up together.  I had him through a deathly bout of meningitis when I was six, (he alerted my parents when I had a seizure in the night), he endured a lengthy quarantine during our move to America, comforted me through my parent's deaths as a teen and was a close companion until he finally passed away when I was 21 years old. I am not a fan of cats in general, but Fluffy was the best one I've ever known. He was a good little man. 

I was around five years old the night I had that tremendous meal which left my slender mother riddled with guilt about the excess. I passed out during the car ride home with a shirt speckled in sauce and a smile on my face. The fact that I remember this hearty and fabulous dinner all these decades later says something. For some reason the thought of hand making pasta has always intimidated me. My Kitchen Aid has laid dormant since my wedding in 1999 until last year when I started baking breads on the Big Green Egg. It was time to bring out the pasta maker attachment. I can happily say I wish I had done this sooner!! While pasta is a guilty pleasure, I've realized making it is as much fun as eating it! I'm sad I lost touch with Enrico's family since we moved to the states, so I could get Mrs. Barone's recipe, as I've yet to have as delicious and pillowy ravioli since then. Here's a good substitute:

I found a terrific recipe for pasta from my Mozza cookbook.

MOZZA PASTA DOUGH

2 1/4 organic all purpose flour

3 whole eggs

6 egg yolks (reserve the whites for an omelette the next day)

1 pinch sea salt

In a standing mixer with the paddle, combine ingredients until they are all incorporated. If it is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Mix about 5 minutes. Switch to a dough hook and mix until the dough is silky and smooth. About 25 minutes.

The dough should look like this after 25 minutes. Lightly dust with flour, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes to a day at most.

Meanwhile, make your filling. Today I chose to do meat and cheese. I browned .5 pounds sirloin, 1 slice diced pancetta, a small diced onion, 6 cloves minced garlic and dried oregano, basil, fresh italian parsley and a dash of red wine. Salt and pepper to taste. I wanted the filling to be smooth, so in a food processor I minced the browned meat with one egg, .5 cup fresh ricotta and .5 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese. I minced it until it looked like, well...cat food. Fluffy would have loved it. Store in a container in the fridge until you are ready to make the ravioli.

Once you are ready to make the pasta, insert the pasta sheet attachment in the Kitchen Aid mixer. Cut the dough into four pieces, flatten the first piece with your hand so it fits on the blade and run it through on level 1.

I folded the dough in half and re-inserted it with the folded ends facing up, another two times. I then switched the setting to a 2 and inserted folded dough. Dust with flour between passes. I switched to level 3, didn't fold it then ran it through 4 until I could see my hand through it when held up to the light. If it tears, just re-dust with a bit of flour, fold it and run it through a lower setting. If it gets too wide to pass through the attachment, trim the sides or they will tear and get ragged.

Now that my dough was ready, I cut it in half, placed it on floured parchment paper, scooped the meat mixture over the bottom sheet in neat little balls with a.5 teaspoon scoop.

I then lightly brushed the top pasta sheet with water and placed it, wet side down over the bottom sheet and molded it around the meat balls, being sure to flatten any air bubbles. I got out a 2 inch cutter and made little circles around the meat balls and there you have it! Perfect little raviolis!!

I "cured" them on a sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then stored them in ziploc sous vide bags. They should keep a month in the freezer. To cook, simply drop them frozen in salted, boiling water about 5 minutes until they are floating -about a minute or two. Serve with fresh marinara sauce and a grate of cheese. I made a total of 60 raviolis.

To make the sauce is super easy. In a dutch oven add 2 tbs olive oil, 4 cloves minced garlic. Turn on the heat and raise to medium. After about three-four minutes the garlic should be fragrant. Do not let it burn! Add a can of Italian Marzano tomatoes, 1 tsp sea salt, red chili flakes to taste and warm the sauce. About 15 minutes. Stir in freshly chopped basil leaves before serving. Freezes great too. Enjoy.

Chicken Picatta

This is a zesty, satisfying dish that is perfect for weeknights and only takes about 30 minutes tops to cook. I found some amazing Tuscan lemons at Whole Foods. They are sour and sweet! So I decided they'd be perfect for our Picatta  recipe.

Here's what you need:
4 pounded boneless skinless chicken breasts.
1/2 cup flour for light dredging
1 lemon zest and juice from the lemon, slice half of it into slices.
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs capers
3 leaves of kale, chopped into strips.
1 cup Italian white wine like a Pinot Grigio
1.5 cups low sodium chicken stock, plus one packet Swanson's flavor boost.
2 tbs chopped Italian Parsley
3 servings of high fiber linguine, such as Barilla.
red pepper flakes.

In a large pot, start boiling salted water for the pasta.

Dredge the chicken lightly in flour (I added a dash of dried basil to the flour).
In a large, flat frying pan on medium high, heat enough canola or grape seed oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. When the oil is shimmering and looks like the ripples of sand in a wind blown desert,  add the chicken pieces, being sure not to crowd the pan. You may need to do this in batches if you don't have a big pan.

Brown the chicken on both sides until golden- about 4 minutes each side. Place on a side dish.

Meanwhile, add stock, Swanson's flavor boost and wine to the pan and deglaze all the yummy chicken bits. Bring to a simmer, add the garlic, capers, kale, parsley and pepper flakes. Throw the pasta in the pot and cook until very al dente, about 6 minutes. Reduce the pan sauce about 2 minutes, then add the chicken. Lightly simmer.

When pasta is ready, add it to the pan with a little of the boiling water and mix it all in and stir about a minute. Serve on warmed plates.

Sorry the picture isn't the best, but I couldn't wait to tuck into my dinner!!

Tandoori Chicken on the Big Green Egg

Well as it turns out, the Big Green Egg makes a splendid Tandoori oven!

We have made it twice now. The first time I made a marinade I found online here and the second time I used a fantastic marinade seasoning packet I bought at Whole Foods..

I simply added 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt, 1/2 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup plain distilled vinegar and a dash of lemon juice. Marinade a whole cut up chicken for 24 hours and you are ready to roll.

We placed our BGE grill plate upside down for indirect cooking, added a grill grate and raised the temp to 600 degrees. Place the chicken on some foil on the grill and cooked it for about 35 minutes. WOW!! This was as good as anything I've eaten at The Clay Pit.

 15 minutes in

30 minutes in. I have a pug for a sous chef...

I placed it in the oven to keep warm, turned the BGE down to 400 degrees and grilled some fresh naan bread. The whole thing was fabulous.

Naan Bread

1.5 tsp dry yeast

1 cup water warmed to 105 degrees

3 cups bread flour

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

6 tbs clarified butter

3tbs Greek yogurt

I let the yeast rise in the warm water about 10 minutes, then I mixed the ingredients in a mixer, then placed the dough in a bowl rubbed with olive oil. I covered it with a damp towel and let it rise for two hours. I punched it down and let it rise another hour.

I separated the dough into 4 balls and on a lightly floured surface, flattened them into discs. I sprinkled some more salt on them, placed them on the grill and cooked until they were lightly browned, about 12 minutes. I brushed them with melted butter and served. 

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Lettuce Eat Wraps!!

Who needs salty PF Changs wraps??? We serve these with hoisin cashew sauce and a dash of schirracha, diced pineapple and toasted almonds.

How to make the filling:

1.5 pounds ground chicken breast

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbs hoisin sauce

1 tbs minced scallion

In a wok or frying pan, add some peanut oil until it shimmers and then brown meat about 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and constantly stir so to not burn the garlic -  about 5 minutes, add soy sauce, hoisin & toss in scallions.

Cashew Sauce:

1 tbs peanut or canola oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 tbs hoisin sauce

1/2 cup cashew butter

1/2 cup water

1 tbs Shiracha Chili sauce

Over medium heat, warm oil, add garlic and ginger and stir for about half a minute. Add the cashew butter, hoisin, water and Shiracha sauce and stri until smooth. If it is too thick a little bit more water.

Rinse and dry some fresh Butter Lettuce leaves. Serve with chopped toasted almonds and pineapple chunks with the meat. The sauce goes great with spring rolls, celery, carrot sticks, sliced red peppers. Well, just about anything really!!