Ribs, Fritattas, and a Little Bit of Pork

This week was a mix of vegetarian dishes and down home meat on the bone. Overall not a bad week, however I did discover that fennel as a side dish is just not my thing.

Black Bean Tostadas with Corn Relish


This was a tasty dish I have to admit, however I am pretty partial to anything involving avocado right now. I substituted the flour tortillas with soft corn ones and it worked out pretty well.

Next time I would use fresh corn instead of the frozen since it needs to stand up raw. I will mention that I am not entirely sure why the recipe keeps telling you to refrigerate every little part, but I did it anyway.

Ingredients

• • 2 limes
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 jalapeno chile
  • 1 pint grape tomatoes
  • 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, not sliced
  • 4 flour tortillas (6-inch)
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans
  • 1 avocado
  • Reduced-fat sour cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Thinly slice scallions, and add to bowl along with corn. Add 1 tablespoon oil, and season with salt and pepper; toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Halve jalapeno (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired), and mince. Halve tomatoes. Combine in an airtight container; cover and refrigerate.
3. Coarsely grate cheese on a box grater; place into a resealable plastic bag, and refrigerate.
4. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Arrange tortillas on two baking sheets; brush both sides with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Rinse and drain beans; sprinkle over tortillas. Top with tomatoes, jalapeno, and cheese. Bake until golden and crisp, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
5. While tostadas are baking, pit and peel avocado; dice. Toss with corn mixture to combine.
6. To serve, top tostadas with corn relish, and, if desired, sour cream.

Roasted Salmon with Lime Cilantro Sauce

I highly recommend making the side dish listed with the recipe as I went out on a limb and made Roasted Fennel with Parmesan and Thyme which wasn't terrible but I am going to resign from posting and discussing here. The salmon however was flavorful, tangy, and delicious.

Ingredients

• • 4 skin-on salmon fillets (6-ounces each)
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Roasted Sesame Asparagus (http://www.marthastewart.com/255723/roasted-sesame-asparagus)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Arrange salmon in a shallow baking pan. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until no longer pink in the middle and flaky, 10 to 13 minutes. Using a flat spatula, remove fillets, leaving skin on the baking sheet.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, and sugar; fold in cilantro. Spoon sauce over fish, and serve with asparagus.

Baked Tortilla Espanola

The name of this dish is a bit misleading as there are no tortillas in it. Overall the dish was ok, so I am going to post about it, however it was pretty oily and I think I used too much onion (I am not much for measuring onions). I would suggest perhaps reducing the oil and searing the potatoes first, then sauteing the onions and then mixing it and pressing it and so on. I think this would give the potatoes a nicer texture and improve the dish overall.

Ingredients

• • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 strands saffron
  • 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
  • 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil and saffron in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion, and garlic, and stir well. Gently press into an even layer with a spatula. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir, season with salt and pepper, and press again. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserving oil.
2. Whisk together eggs, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in potato mixture. Heat 2 tablespoons reserved oil in the skillet over medium heat. Pour in egg mixture, and gently press into an even layer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
3. Bake until set, about 5 minutes. Invert, or serve from pan.

Shepherd's Pie

Alton Brown I freaking love you. I was looking for a Shepherd's Pie recipe that didn't involve fake potato flakes or ketchup and here it is! It is tasty and I have actually made it twice since I found it. One of these times I am going to find lamb (which I am not really a fan of eating) just to see how it changes the flavor from beef.

Ingredients

For the potatoes:

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

Directions

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Roast Pork Loin with Carrots and Mustard Gravy

This was a great recipe and will tantalize the palates of even the more finicky members of your family. Feel free to leave the shallots whole as they roast as they will fall apart into sections when they are ready.

Also I am not quite sure what happened with the gravy but it seized and got super lumpy.

Ingredients

• • 2 pounds carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise if large
  • 1/2 pound shallots, peeled and halved if large
  • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
  • 3/4 cup white wine
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons grainy mustard

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots, shallots, and 1 tablespoon rosemary with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, season pork with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium. Add pork; cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate, and reserve skillet.
3. Remove baking sheet from oven; push vegetables to sides. Place pork in center; return sheet to oven. Roast, tossing vegetables occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of pork registers 145 degrees, 30 to 40 minutes. Loosely tent pork with foil. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
4. While pork rests, pour off almost all of the fat from skillet. Add wine, and cook over medium-high, scraping up browned bits, until syrupy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, 30 seconds. Gradually add 1 cup water, whisking constantly. Add 1 tablespoon rosemary. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat. Whisk in mustard, and season gravy with salt and pepper. Serve pork with carrots and gravy.

Oven Roasted Ribs with Barbecue Sauce

These ribs are a little time intensive but definitely worth it. Not quite fall off the bone, but still fantastic and flavorful with the tangy, homemade BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

• • 4 racks (about 8 pounds) Saint Louis style pork ribs, or baby back ribs, or spareribs, rinsed well and patted dry
  • 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup paprika
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Barbecue Sauce 

Directions

1. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil, and place a wire rack on top of each. Transfer 2 racks of ribs to each wire rack, meat side up.
2. Using a sieve, sift sugar, paprika, salt, cocoa, cayenne, and cumin together into a small bowl. (Use the back of a spoon to break up any lumps and to press ingredients through a sieve.) Stir to combine.
3. Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over both sides of each rack of ribs. Lightly rub mixture into the ribs to coat completely. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate on racks on sheets at least 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours for maximum flavor).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Cook ribs on racks on sheets, switching positions of baking sheets about halfway through, until meat pulls away easily from the bones, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let cool completely. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to finish cooking, up to 2 days. (If finishing cooking immediately, raise oven temperature to 425 degrees and continue with step 6.)
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Let ribs stand at room temperature 20 minutes.
6. Using 2 cups reserved barbecue sauce, brush both sides of ribs. Cook ribs on wire racks set over rimmed baking sheets lined with foil until sauce is slightly caramelized and ribs are heated through, about 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; serve with more barbecue sauce.

Barbecue Sauce

I did sieve this sauce to make it smoother more kid friendly (even though they claimed it was too "spicy".

Ingredients

• • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (12-ounce) jar apple butter or applesauce
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons coarse salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups apple juice

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is translucent, about 1 minute. Add cumin and cayenne; cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute.
2. Stir remaining ingredients into onion mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Partially cover; simmer, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours. If sauce becomes too thick, add water, a little at a time. Let cool. Puree sauce in batches in a blender until smooth.

Happy Cooking!

Tait