Spaghetti and Sausage

The baked fish is taking its time, so I thought I'd write up this favorite pasta recipe from my husband. As always it took a while to perfect and is now set for posterity. I don't care much for pasta but I am totally there for him when he makes this one. Simple and delicious, here it is:

In The Mix

thin spaghetti : 16 oz. (one pack)
water : enough to cook the spaghetti
salt to taste

to bake
sliced mushroom : 4 oz (1/2 cup)
red bell pepper : 1/2 julienned
green bell pepper : 1/2 julienned
zuchini : 2 sliced into thin circles with skin on
asparagus : 2 or 3 sticks.  (cut into 2 to add the heads and slice the bottom half to add as optional)
red onion : 1/4 to 1/2 sliced
tomato : 1 diced into thin pieces (optional)
crushed garlic : 4-5 cloves
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil : 2 tbsp

to saute
hot sausage : 5 or 6 (we use hot italian sausage)
water : enough to cook the sausage
tomato : 1 diced to saute
spaghetti sauce : 3/4 of 32 oz. jar (we use Classico all natural triple mushroom sauce from Costco)
olive oil : 1/2 tbsp

How To Do

Preheat oven to 400F.

Boil water with salt, and add the spaghetti. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes in boiling water. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

Boil water and cook the sausage. Drain and slice into thin circles once cooled. 

Cover a cookie sheet with foil and grease with half of the olive oil. Take all the properly cut 'to bake' ingredients and spread on the sheet. Now sprinkle/mix the salt, pepper and remaining olive oil on the veggie goodness. Bake for about 15 minutes. Take out, mix together and bunch up to combine the flavors well. Bake for 10-15 minutes more taking care not to burn any of the ingredients. Take out and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and saute the tomato. Add the sausage and saute for 2-3 minutes. Now add the spaghetti sauce and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add the roasted mixture. Don't over mix. Check for salt and add if needed. Pour over spaghetti in a plate and devour!

My husband has quite the green thumb when it comes to flowers. He takes after my brother! Really it is from his Dad:-) Enjoy this black beauty from our garden covered in rain drops.

Still Here..

I haven't gone anywhere folks. Still pottering around! Hope Easter Holidays went well for those who observe it. Kitchen fires have been burning and yummy food devoured but mostly the good old trusted recipes. Visitors, work and Kid activities do not leave much time for blogging. The husband for his part has concocted a fantastic stuffed/baked fish inspired by a Food Network Show I think. It came out way better than my own baked fish for sure. I'll be posting this here as soon as we can get a decent pic. Till then here are a bunch of spring flowers from the backyard and some cupcakes I made for a fundraiser in my son's class.

Updated with Cupcake/Frosting Recipes on April 18, 2010
It looks like these are probably some recipes that my kids will want to look up later. I have made so many batches of cupcakes and frosting that I have lost count. I experimented with a bunch of recipes I found online and finally settled on the ones that appealed to all of us. So here they are with links as well as the actual recipes for easy reference:

You will need the following for cupcakes and frosting:

cupcake baking pan (available in target, grocery stores etc.)

cupcake liners (available in Michaels, grocery stores)

reusable piping bags with different tips for frosting (Found a nice set in a grocery store for $3.99)

sprinkles (Michaels, grocery stores)

always bring the butter called for in recipes to room temp before creaming.

if refrigerating the frosting, give a quick whip to bring it back to life for use.

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CUPCAKES
Vanilla Cupcakes from cupcakerecipes.com : The layout of this site is easy to follow and you feel like you can try things from it right away and will come out right. Well, it is true. The vanilla cupcakes came out just perfect every single time I made them!

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 egg whites from large eggs
2 large eggs
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
The first time I made ~ 12-15 cupcakes by halving all the measurements above. The full quantity makes about 25-26 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line the pan with cupcake liners.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt with a whisk. Add shortening, milk and vanilla and combine together very well. Remember to scrape bowl always. I used the whisk for this step. Now beat in egg whites and the full eggs in two steps. Beat until fluffy and smooth. About 3 minutes did it for me.

Fill liners to a little less than 2/3 with the batter. Bake for about 19-20 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I find that it is better for me to take out the cupcakes with liners from out of the pan within 2 minutes of coming out of the oven to prevent the cakes from sticking too close to the liners. Now let cool completely.
The cakes are ready for frosting!

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Chocolate Cupcakes from cupcakerecipes.com : I DID NOT make this cupcake but plan to soon and I have complete faith in the site that this will come out just fine too. So this is for future reference since this is what the kids would really love.


Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup water
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla
4 oz melted unsweetened baking chocolate

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pan with liners.
Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Mix at low speed for 30 secs and at high for 3 minutes after scraping bowl.
Fill liners to a little less than 2/3 with the batter. Bake for about 19-20 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Coffee Cupcake adapted from  Martha Stewart's site : I didn't use the whiskey etc and the espresso powder was replaced with nescafe classic instant coffee powder I had at home. I am sure it will be even more tasty with espresso powder but this one came out wonderful and the kids too loved it! I also halved the recipe to get about 12-13 cupcakes.

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup boiling water
2 tbsp instant coffee/espresso powder
1/8 cup milk
1/2 stick (4tbsp) unsalted butter (room temp)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pour the boiling water over coffee powder and stir well. Cool and combine with milk.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Beat butter and the two sugars on medium speed until pale and fluffy. About 3 minutes.
Add the egg and beat well. For recipe using more than 1 egg, always beat in 1 at a time.
Beat in the flour mix in 3 steps alternating with the coffee mix, beginning and ending with flour.

Fill liners to a little less than 2/3 with the batter. Bake for about 19-20 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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FROSTING
That ends the cupcake recipes from the web that worked out to our taste. Now for the frosting. The chocolate frosting is what took the most tries but the journey to get there was rather sweet:-) 


Buttercream Icing from wilton.com : Easy to make and since Wilton is a major source for decorating supplies, it is only understandable that they have a very useful site. For decorating tips, start here and go from there..

Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) of butter (room temp) - the recipe for 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup shortening. I replaced
                                                             the shortening with butter for convenience.
1 tsp clear vanilla extract ( I used regular color. clea is used for pure white color I think)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

Directions
Cream the butter (and shortening if following the org recipe) with an electric mixer.
Add vanilla and slowly add sugar, 1 cup at a time beating well at medium speed for about less than 3 min.
Add milk and beat at medium speed until fluffy.

Frosting is ready. Will keep in a closed container in the refrigerator upto 2 weeks.

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Best Frosting Ever Had by missydew, a contributor to  PW's Tastykitchen. This one is a little intriguing as it uses flour. I had my doubts too but for reasons I cannot fathom, found it a very satisfying frosting. It went very well with the coffee cupcakes. It feels light and fluffy on tasting and is a bonafide dessert.


Ingredients
1 cup milk
5 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (room temp)
1 cup granulated sugar

Directions
In a pan, whisk the flour completely into the milk and cook at medium heat. Keep whisking so no lumps will form. Continue till the mixture really thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. Now add the vanilla and combine together.

Meanwhile cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. About 3 minutes will do the trick.
Beat in the flour mixture to a whipped cream consistancy. This is best spread with a table knife or thin spatula.

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Chocolate Frosting from cdkitchen.com: This frosting has the right sweetness and the right chocolaty taste and we loved it.


Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter (room temp)

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa powder (I used a heaped 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
extra milk as needed

Directions
Beat butter until fluffy. Slowly add 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
Beat in 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Add in the Cocoa and the remaining powdered sugar.
Since the powders can fly when beating, I folded them together with a spatula first and then
did the beating.


More milk by the tsp can be added for the desired consistency. Time to decorate!

Goes well with vanilla cupcakes.

That brings us to the end of the dessert saga. I know I will come back to this compiled post many a time if the young customers at home really mean what they eat!

Added 5/19/2012:

Found an even better chocolate frosting at joyofbaking and have to add it here for later.
unsweetened chocolate - 3 oz chopped coarsely
unsalted butter - 1/2 cup softened
confectioners powder - 1 cup
vanilla extract - 1 tsp

 Melt the chocolate in a stainless steel  bowl over boiling water and cool to room temp.
Cream butter with a mixer for about one minute and add sugar slowly and beat until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla extract  and add chocolate on low speed to mix well. Then beat on medium speed to the right consistency (2-3 min)

Madakku San / Coconut Filled Crepe

This scrumptious snack dislodged itself from the memory shelf when I came across Malabar Spice's loveletters. We called it 'madakku san' and my husband knew them as 'mutta kuzhalappam'. At malluspice's I came to know they were called loveletters!

For a long time I didn't get a chance to try making them as life kept intervening with its usual pace for things essential. An opportunity finally presented itself when I thawed a bit more fresh frozen grated coconut than necessary for the batch of idiappams . While scratching the head for a recycling idea, it dawned on me that the already sweetened coconut could be used for one thing and only one thing. Those lovingly made folded crepes of my Mom's! The 'kuzhal' in the name familiar to my husband dictated that I should role them up as at mspice's. Did it both ways and as expected they ended up delicious regardless of how the fold was. BTW, Mrs. KMM called these 'madakkappam'.

In The Mix

all purpose flour - 1 cup
salt - a pinch or two
whole milk - 1 1/4 cup
water - 1/4 cup
egg - 1
vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp
grated coconut - 1 cup (or whatever is leftover after making idiappams:-)
sugar - start with 2 tbsp. (unfortunately I didn't keep track of this but add enough to feel the
crunch of sugar among the coconut flakes when you surreptitiously
spoon some into your mouth.)
lemon juice - 1 tsp (little less)
oil - as needed

How To Do

Mix the milk, water and salt with all purpose flour and whisk well. It is a good idea to use a colander to filter out any remaining lumps. Then add beaten egg and vanilla essence. Mom told us that her latest venture, a vanilla plot next to our old garden is flourishing and that she even found a buyer for the venerable beans! I was incredulous when she first told me of this. Whoever heard of vanilla beans in their backyard? Don't they just appear in those expensive little bottles on the store shelves? Apparently not. Ask the people of Madagascar or Mexico. Granted most of the time they come from synthetic sources but whole natural bean extracts are equally popular albeit expensive.

Coming back to the recipe, mix the coconut, sugar and lemon juice together. Lemon juice is Mrs. KMM's idea as I don't remember Mom doing this. I would add a little less than 1 tsp for next time.

Heat a flat frying pan and brush with oil. Keep at medium heat just at first and then switch to low heat all the time since the crepe batter is rather flimsy and low heat will keep the spread under your control. Well sort of .... I had a tough time to get them into shape but since you can fold or roll them, the aesthetics are easily taken care of. Guess you can experiment a little with the batter consistency (only add warm milk) to get the perfect shape at one go. Pour the batter and stay where you are to transfer it to a paper lined platter as soon as the underside shows a familiar browning. Now comes the fun part.

Place a spoonful or as much as you want of the coconut mix right at the center like for a masala dosa and fold from both sides to get 'madakku san' as shown on the left side here.

Of course it is not fun to brush up just your own memories. Place the sweetened coconut on one end and roll away to get 'mutta kuzhalappam' as the husband remembers them. These 'loveletters' appear on the right side in the pciture. So here we are, enjoying a great snack because of idiappams! Who would've thought?

Royal Eggplants from Paytpooja

 While I was sitting there reading and drooling over Paytpooja's Stuffed Eggplants & Potatoes I didn't think I could ever make this complicated dish. That too a vegetable! But all that is water under the bridge. Now I just love those veggies. Slowing metabolism spawns wisdom:-) I happen to have a soft corner for eggplants which was not a regular item at our home. The thing with eggplant is you either like it or you hate it. There seems to be no middle ground.

Hope Geets will not mind me renaming them the Royal Eggplants because that is what they are. Like it says in her post, a dish fit for Kings! My eggplant hater of a husband couldn't remember hating them ever after the first delicious morsel was in...

I took few more shortcuts and the outcome was still fantastic. Reduced the masala ingredients to fasten the process as it was my first time. Got enough to make it twice! Hope I got the right proportions. I also combined masala 2 into the main ingredients list so the storable masala is separate. I am reproducing Geeta's recipe here with the small adaptations I did for convenience:

In The Mix

japanese eggplants - 6 (washed & dried)
red potatoes - 6 ( i love these. peeled regular potatoes are equally good too as tried that too)
red onion - 1 meduim sized
fresh grated coconut - 2 tbsp
chili powder -  1/2 tbsp or less ( change according to your heat tolerance)
garlic cloves - 6 or 7 peeled and crushed
salt to taste
olive oil - enough to fry

for masala  - recipe needs >1 tbsp

mustard seed - 1 tbsp
whole cumin - 1 tbsp
split urad dal - 3 tsp
channa dal - 3 tsp
toor dal - 2 tsp
whole methi - 1/4 tsp or less
whole black pepper - 2 tsp
whole coriander seeds  - 1/2 tsp (didn't use it since i didn't ave it at home)


How To Do

to make masala
Recipe calls to fry each separately.  Being a little lazy and having clamoring kids around, I took a flat frying pan and fried the dals and cumin in separate clusters at the same time. Small quantities made this possible. Microwaved mustard, cumin and methi which is a great tip.First 10 seconds and then maybe 5 more taking care not to burn at any stage. Let everything cool.. Again small quantities helped me to grind it all together in our pepper mill.. Only a little more than 1 tbsp is needed for the recipe. Store the rest in an airtight bag/container. I had enough to make it twice. Once you have the masala, the second time is a breeze. Next time I will make more following the recipe measurements.
 
Preheat oven to 450F. This is the broil setting in my oven. Place the onion on a foil on the top shelf for 30 to 40 minutes. While onion is in the oven you can make the above masala if it is not already done. Roast the grated coconut till golden brown. Take the onion out at the end of designated time and peel off the black layers. Place the onion in a grinder along with the coconut. and grind to a smooth paste. Add about 1 tbsp of the prepared dry masala, chili powder and salt. Blend well.

Slit the eggplant with a sharp knife from the nose to the stalk  taking care to keep shy off about 1" from the stalk so the slit pieces can be held together there. Now generously spread the masala onto each layer of the eggplants making sure to keep all layers together in shape. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F ( Open the door to bring down the temp from previous broiling step if necessary)


Time to tend to the potatoes.  Cut in halves if using red potatoes. Peel and cut into 2-3 pieces if using regular potatoes. Heat oil in a pan and fry the potatoes on both sides till golden brown. Fry red potatoes cut side first. A few minutes on each side  will do the trick. Take out, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt on both sides when hot . Potatoes will complete cooking in the oven so no need to over fry. Covering up the potatoes with any remaining masala makes it tastier as the recipe suggests. I leave some masala free for my girl who loves potatoes.

Remove some of the \oil if necessary and place the eggplants into the pan one or two at a time depending on the space.  Spread out the slit layers and fry onl all sides. Drain on paper towels.

Add the crushed garlic cloves to the oil for a few minutes and take out when soft.

Place the eggplants and potatoes in one or two baking dishes or cookie sheets lined with foil. Sprinkle with garlic cloves and bake for about 30 minutes. Wait! Hold your breath please. Out comes the most spenldid veggie dish I have seen in my entire life!!! Thanks paytpooja for this awesome recipe!

Potatoes will not keep for long but the eggplants can be frozen according to paytpooja. I have yet to do this because the egplants and potatoes vanish in no time. Perfect with hot rice or the breads.

Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

No more baking posts. I promise! This is the laaaaaast.... I had always turned away from cookies in general, especially sugar cookies when presented on the usual platter of snacks. I don't have a sweet tooth. Honestly.  Then why oh why did I go and make these? One word. Kids! Yup, they were day dreaming as well as night dreaming about frosted cookies ever since Christmas came around. Since I haven't done cut-out cookies at all, I wasn't sure what or where to start. With work and some holiday activities going on I simply couldn't get to these until later.

Decided on this recipe from how2heroes mainly because of the video demo for both sugar cookies and royal icing.  Denise's instructions are clear and filled with useful tips. Both kids diligently watched with me and on their own and were a big part in the process. If you remember those superbly made Christmas Cakes from Casino in Cochin with the yummiest icing (yes, even for my non-sweet tooth!)  then you will know why I wanted hard (royal) icing. This one came out fine but nowhere close to that icing/cake combo. Maybe it was the combo of fruitcake/icing that made the taste so great. Wait a minute! I think I will check this out next time I make fruit cake.

I am repeating the recipe here for easy reference. I hope the video will stay forever as that helped the most.

For Sugar Cookies

In The Mix

unsalted butter - 24 tbsp (3 sticks brought to room temp)
ranulated sugar 1 1/3 cup
kosher salt - 2 tsp
egg  yolks - from 3 eggs
pure vanilla extract - 2 tbsp
all purpose flour - 3 3/4 cups (I sift this)
parchment paper or silpat - to line cookie sheets

How To Do

Beat the butter and sugar until the color changes to a lighter shade and fluffy. I used a hand mixer but an electric stand mixer is bothering me in my dreams ever since I saw how much easier it is to use it. But the sheer idleness it will face once the cookie making is over prevents me from getting my hands on one. We'll see how long I can hold off:-)  Add kosher salt and vanilla extract. Beat in the egg yolks one by one. Beat till well combined. Add in the flour in small quantities and beat till fully incorporated. Denise cautions that beating too much will move the cookie texture to that of short bread.

I loved the idea of using plastic wrap to spread the dough. So I made it in two batches as the recipe suggests. Just place the dough b/n two sheets of the wrap and roll away into a consistent thickness. This dough is totally flexible and my inexperienced hands found it to be an easy task. Repeat with the second part. Now keep the sheets in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour. This is to make the cookie cutting easier. The dough will obey the cutter and handling in general better when not too soft. I made the cookies the next day. Need to take it out a good 15 minutes before you start to cut so the dough will yield properly.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove the top plastic sheet, use cutters and other tools and have fun making all kinds of shapes like we did!

Line cookies sheets with parchment paper and place cut out cookies with a spatula about 1/2 inches apart. Cook for 12-15 minutes. I swapped the racks as well as turned the sheets around 8 minutes into the baking for even baking as suggested. Take out and cool on a rack before icing.

For Royal Icing
Denise gives a video demo for the icing too.  We didn't prefer the tartness of the icing from the lemon so for the second batch I didn't use lemon but and substituted with water instead. I also added almond extract the second time which came out good too. Used meringue powder (egg white mix) instead of fresh eggs.When she tasted it before the icing hardened, my daughter said it tasted like sweet tart. Once it hardened the tartness blended in and couldn't be detected as overpowering but kids still preferred not adding the lime. I made the icing each time but there was enough left over from the first time and so just making the icing once and using economically might last it for the two sets of cookie dough.

In The Mix
confectioner's sugar - 1 lbs
meringue powder - 1/4 cup (Michael's has it)
water - start with 7 tbsp
vanilla or almond extract - 3 tsp
food coloring
parchment paper - to make piping cones

How To Do

Beat the sugar and meringue powder at low speed first for a minute or two. Add in water and vanilla extract and beat together. Add more water 1 tbsp at a time till the right consistency is achieved. Being able to make a figure of 8 as the video shows and seeing it well before it melts back into the mix is the right indicator. Divide into as many colors you want to do. Add a few drops of the food coloring and combine. Remember to keep aside some as is for white coloring.

We had a few colors and so I made as many cones as I needs with the parchment paper. Fold the paper from one end till it meets diagonally to make a triangle. Cut off the sheet and cut the diagonal. Fold together into a cone with the diagonal side forming the tip of the cone. Taping the cone and standing it in a glass for easy pouring are all wonderful/quite useful tips. Thanks Denise!

Cut off the end if needed and start the artwork. This is the bestest part of the entire thing!!! Total unadulterated fun since elementary school days:-)) Cookies were cut in many imaginable shapes and were colored as it pleased us.

Will I repeat this exercise? But of course! Remember the adage, "It is the  participation that counts"? No, I am not talking about when India comes up with zeroes or close in the Olympic Gold tallies but about  real applicable situations:-) Well, this was one such situation. Once the cookies were done and the colorful icing was prepared and coned even the reluctant Dad jumped into the fray.

I told you we went to town with the icing and shapes. Didn't I?

Frosted cookies were left overnight for the icing to harden and while I won't advice the sweet fest for the health conscious or the slow metabolism crowd, the young citizens were happily devouring one crazy design after another. Enough said!

Melting Moments from spicyana/joyofbaking

Exactly to the day today, it's been two years since I started my food and book blogs. These are important spaces for me and I am glad that they still give me something fun and meaningful  to do when I have the urge.

Reflections has given me the sweet blog award. The little ice cream cake with a mint on top is mine.  I cannot think of a better way to celebrate this anniversary. Thanks Nancy! She is not just sweet but also very witty and intuitive and deserved it best.

I had wanted to try making coffee cookies. Had a recipe and ingredients all set to go. Unfortunately they didn't come out well most likely because of the coffee powder (not instant)  I used. Next time I'll try dissolving  instant coffee granules in hot water before adding.

Since that experiment went south I started on this with some trepidation. spicyana is an awesome baker and always has easy to follow instructions. The recipe from joyofbaking looked good and here I am with yet another attempt at making cookies. Luckily for me this time it turned out well and these melt in the mouth cookies are keepers. It didn't go well with the kids though and as good parents we did our duty by finishing it for them!

In The Mix
all purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
corn starch (corn flour in UK) - 1/2 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
powdered sugar - 1/4 cup
unsalted butter - 1 cup (bring to room temp )
pure vanilla extract - 1 tsp

powdered sugar for sifting/placing - 1 cup
you will need parchment paper to bake the cookies in.

How To Do

Whisk together corn starch, flour and salt and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (2 minutes) Add vanilla extract and beat together. Add the flour mix in small amounts while beating. Beat till all blends well. Do not over beat. The corn starch is apparently what makes these guys melt in the mouth by making the dough lighter. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper. Take dough out from the fridge and form 1 inch balls. Place these 1 inch apart on 2 of the cookie sheets. 12-14 minutes of baking will do just as the recipe says when cookie edges start to brown. Cool for a few minutes on a rack. Sprinkle half of the powdered sugar onto the remaining cookie sheet and place the cookies on it. Now comes the fun part! Sift the remaining sugar powder on top of the cookies and voila! You have picture perfect cookies calling out your names:-) If little ones made tiny cookies, those will come out fine too. 6-8 minutes might be enough for those.

To be honest, when I tried it right after baking, I didn't think it melted anywhere. But the story changed next day when I tried the tempting rounds again. Not only did it melt in the mouth but once you take up one, your hands keep reaching for more rather involuntarily!!

Out Of The World Ribs

Hope the year so far is going well for everyone.

We had the usual cold/cough/fever cycles but it was not too bad. We weathered it with a quick trip to Disneyland, one to the theater for The Princess And The Frog and watching Iron Chef episodes galore at home. Santa's visit was a success as expected and now we are all back on the hamster wheel.

Today's recipe is not of the ribs that came from Adam for Eve, but the pork rib appetizers that my husband prepares occasionally. They can pass for dinner when accompanied by  rolls or artisan bread or any other carb of your choice. H has developed a surefire method that yields the same delicious results every time. So please follow the steps exactly even if it is not that exact or else....

Kids and adults love this alike and each time we make this for a party they vanish in seconds. So he makes it just for us once in a while.


In The Mix

pork baby back ribs - 2 lbs (mostly from Costco)
Bull's Eye BBQ Sauce Original - as needed to coverall the meat (we love this particular brand)
freshly ground black pepper - to taste (start with 1 tbsp)
salt - to taste

How To Do

Cover meat with pepper and salt and marinate in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
Now take out the meat, spread BBQ sauce, cover in an aluminum foil and marinate for 4 hours cold.
Take out and add more sauce, cover and marinate cold overnight.
Optionally put the whole thing in a sealable food grade bag to get better results. It tastes great even if you don't do this part.

Preheat oven to 350C.

Fill a medium oven safe pan with water and place all the way at the bottom of the oven.
Place marinated ribs on regular cooling racks and keep on top rack of the oven.
Place cookie sheets covered with aluminum foil under the rib racks to catch drips if any.

Bake for 30-35  minutes or till cooked.

Take out and let cool for 5 minutes. Slice gently following the rib lines and bite into tender juicy meat for hours of satisfaction! Ketchup is an easy dip for this.Finger lick cleaning is allowed during a satisfying session:-)