Mouth-Watering Oven-Barbecued Beef Ribs and Barbecue Butter For Asparagus

Hankering for some meat?   How about some fall-off-the-bones, crispy, sticky, barbecue beef ribs!  Simple...

                                             Got It Right Here...

                                      Bring Out The Napkins!

Ingredients

• Meaty beef ribs (allow about 3 ribs per person, depending on appetites)
• Worcestershire sauce
• garlic powder
• seasoned salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• Your favorite barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce--available at grocery stores)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250º.
2. Line the bottom and sides of a baking pan with foil.
3. Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel on both sides. Place the ribs in one layer on the foil in the pan. 
4. Lightly sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce on both sides of the ribs and rub in with the back of a spoon.  Lightly sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the garlic powder, seasoned salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Place the ribs meaty side up.
5. Tightly cover the pan with more foil.  Bake at 250º for 4 hours, then remove from the oven.  Increase the oven temperature to 350º.
6. Carefully (because steam will escape) uncover the ribs.  Drain accumulated fat and juices.  Brush, or spread with the back of a spoon, your favorite barbecue sauce on the ribs. Return the ribs to the oven and brown, uncovered, for about 1/2 hour.
7. In a covered microwave-proof bowl, heat a little extra barbecue sauce briefly (maybe 10 to 15 seconds) on medium high in the microwave.

Serve with your favorite side(s), or how about some asparagus with barbecue butter (see recipe below)!  Smack away and enjoy!

Barbecue Butter for Asparagus

As Adapted from Pat and Gina Neely as seen on the Food Network

(I prefer oven-roasted asparagus and The Pioneer Woman's recipe looks good, but the Neelys offer a recipe...see link above...for pan-grilled asparagus if you'd like to try that.)

Use 1 TB of the seasoning for the barbecue butter and store the rest in an airtight container for future use.  The seasoning will keep in the pantry for up to six months.

The Barbecue Seasoning:
1 TB sugar
1/4 c. paprika
1/4 tsp. onion powder

The Butter (enough for 2 lbs. asparagus+)
1 stick slightly softened salted butter
1 TB barbecue seasoning

Mix the 1 TB of barbecue seasoning with the slightly softened butter; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve with your asparagus.  So unique and perfect with your ribs!

                             How Do You Make Asparagus Better?...

                                      With Barbecue Butter!

Printable Recipe

The French Toast English Muffin with Grand Marnier

I was delighted to receive a gift of Wolferman's large English muffins recently, and I immediately imagined these muffins as orange French toast!  The delicate orange flavor which the soak infuses in the French toast is enhanced by topping the toast with orange marmalade.

                                               Pamper Yourself...

                
                                      And Anyone Else You Care To!

Ingredients

Muffin Per Serving:
1/2 to 1 whole Wolferman's Original English Muffin (or 1 whole smaller English muffin, such as Thomas)

Soak (makes enough For 3 Wolferman's Original English Muffin halves (or 4 smaller English muffin halves):
1 egg
1 TB milk
1 TB orange juice
1/8 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. Grand Marnier (triple orange liqueur) or 1/8 tsp. orange extract
1/16 tsp. (a dash) of ground mace spice

For The Skillet Per Serving:
Butter-flavored cooking spray
1 TB butter

Garnish per serving:
1 tsp. powdered sugar, sifted
about 1/4" orange wheel slice

Topping per serving:
about 1/3 c. orange marmalade

Directions

1. Whisk together the ingredients for the soak in about a 9" shallow cooking pan or dish.  Split the English muffin(s) with a fork and lay each half in the soak.  Let the halves absorb the egg mixture until wet but not completely soaked.
2. Spray a non-stick skillet with the butter-flavored cooking spray.  Add the butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat.  Using a fork or cooking tongs, lift each English muffin half from the soak and gently shake off any excess mixture.  Transfer the muffin(s) to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until golden brown on each side.
3. Garnish with a dusting of sifted powdered sugar and a slice of orange.  Serve orange marmalade for topping.  

Celebrate the New Year with this wonderful orange-flavored, English muffin French toast and enjoy!

Printable Recipe  

                 
                                                 My Granddaughter...

                                              Says Happy New Year!


And so do I!

Wholesome Buttermilk Scones with Whole Wheat (Fruit Optional)

When I was young, a very large pear tree grew outside our kitchen window.  From that tree, my mother made pear preserves which I'll never forget.  When she made biscuits, I'd pile those crisp, thick slices of pear preserves on top of my biscuit halves.  I was in pure, pear-pleasure heaven!  Now, my brother has pear trees and recently very generously shared a large jar of his preserved pears, reminiscent of Mother's.

We agreed that the best way to enjoy these coveted preserves was on top of biscuits.  In pursuit of a more healthy version, I set out to make whole-wheat biscuits.  After a couple of attempts, I decided the biscuits made with all whole-wheat flour were too much of a good thing and that scones made partially with bleached, all-purpose flour would be a better alternative.

I am particularly delighted to share with you my wholesome, light and tender, whole-wheat scone creation.  My favorite way to eat these scones is split and toasted, which brings out the nutty flavor of the whole wheat.  Of course, I have to spread them with a little butter and pear preserves!

                                       Big, Bold and Beautiful...

                               
                                    This Scone Is No Wimp!

8 Large Scones

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 c. bleached, all-purpose flour
• 2/3 c. whole-wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 TB light brown sugar
• 1/4 c. + 2 TB cold butter
• 1 slightly beaten whole egg
• 1 c. buttermilk*
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• about 1/2 c. bleached, all-purpose flour for kneading
• butter-flavored cooking spray 
• 1 slightly beaten egg white
• 3 TB turbinado sugar (Sugar In The Raw)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450º.
2. Sift the first 5 ingredients together in a medium-large mixing bowl.  Blend in the light brown sugar with a fork or whisk.
3. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or fork until you have very coarse crumbs or the butter is pea size. (Don't over process...it's better to have larger, rather than too small, pieces of butter!)
4. Make a well in the center of the mixture.  Add the slightly beaten whole egg, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix just until moist.
5. Kneading Process:  Flour your hands and a medium-large cutting board.  Turn the dough out onto the board...it will be very sticky.  Sprinkle a little of the all-purpose flour on top of the dough.  Using a floured pastry scraper, scrape the edges of the dough toward the center to incorporate the flour. Then start lightly kneading with your hands.  To achieve moist scones, add as little flour as possible as you knead, utilizing the pastry scraper as necessary.  Knead about 8 times.
6. Pat the dough into about a 3/4" thick, 6 1/2" to 7"circle. Using your floured pastry scraper or a very sharp knife, and without sawing, cut the dough into 8 equal wedges.  (If you cut straight down without a sawing motion, the scones will rise better.)
7. Spray a baking sheet with the butter-flavored cooking spray.  Place the wedges in opposite directions about 1" apart on the sheet.  If necessary, reshape the wedges a little with your fingers.
8. Brush each wedge with some of the slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle liberally with the turbinado sugar. Very lightly press the sugar into the scones with the back of a plastic spoon.
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until the scone tops are light golden brown and the bottoms are golden brown when slightly lifted.

Tips

These would be good with one of the following options stirred in just before adding the wet ingredients:
                     1 tsp. orange zest and/or 1/2 c. dried cranberries
                     1/2 c. golden raisins
                     1/2 c. blueberries
                     1/2 c. chopped, dried apricots
                     1/2 c. peeled, chopped apple

*See my Morning Muffins with Bran and Raspberries where I explained the powdered blend for buttermilk, which I often use in lieu of regular buttermilk, because the blend has a better shelf life.

This recipe is the basis for a good scone.  For a more traditional American scone, just use 2 c. bleached, all-purpose flour and omit the whole-wheat four.

For a festive-holiday look, try sprinkling the scones with colored sugar in lieu of the raw sugar just before baking.

If toasting, make sure you place the top of the scone with the sugar coating facing up, so it will not stick to the toaster rack!


                                           My Favorite Way...

                               

                                    Toasted, With Pear Preserves!


This healthy and nutty-flavored scone is sure to help Santa and Chanukah Harry power through the holidays!  Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!

Printable Recipe

Hearty Beef Pot Roast with Vegetables In The Slow Cooker

Put this hearty pot roast on early in the morning and come home to a nice hot meal.  You can do the prep work the night before, including searing the roast, if you like!  It's all very easy, but so satisfying! Make enough to have leftovers for sandwiches!

                                 When It's Cold and Ugly Outside...

                         This Will Keep Them Warm and Cozy Inside!

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 approx. 3 lb. boneless beef shoulder (pot) roast--allow about 1/2 lb. per person
• 2 TB all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 TB vegetable oil
• 4 cleaned stalks of celery, cut into about 3" pieces
• 4 cleaned and peeled carrots, halved or quartered to achieve about 1/2" thickness ea. piece
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled & sliced into about 1/2 slices*
• 3 approx. 1/2 lb./ea. Idaho baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut, unpeeled, into halves
• (table salt and freshly ground black pepper for sprinkling on the vegetables)

Directions

1. Preheat the slow cooker on low.  
2. Pat the roast dry with a paper towel on all sides.  Mix the flour, seasoned salt, pepper and garlic powder together with a fork or small whisk.  Sprinkle the mixture all over the roast and rub it in with the back of a spoon.  Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.  Sear all sides of the roast about one minute each side, or until well browned.  
3. Place the potatoes on the bottom of the slow cooker and sprinkle lightly with the table salt and pepper.  Scatter about half of the other vegetables on top of the potatoes and lightly sprinkle with more table salt and the pepper.  Place the roast on top of these vegetables, pouring any drippings scraped from the skillet on top of the roast.  Put the remainder of the vegetables on top of the roast and sprinkle lightly with additional table salt and the pepper.  
4. For a tender roast, cook on low for 10 hours.  The internal temperature of the roast should register at least 160º for medium. (Optional:  If you're at home while the roast is cooking, flip it over after about four or five hours.)  

*Tip:   To avoid odor on your hands, rub them with lemon juice before peeling an onion.  To avoid or keep tears to a minimum, peel and slice an onion under cool, running water.

The vegetables and roast will create a flavorful gravy in the cooker.  Serve the roast and vegetables with the gravy and nice soft rolls or bread.  Chow down and enjoy!

                                        Find A Little Comfort...                     

                                            All In One Pot!
                               
Printable Recipe

Exotic Roasted Pumpkin Soup

It all started when my daughter recently charmed me into removing the seeds for toasting from their Halloween pumpkin.  (She has loved toasted pumpkin seeds since childhood.)  Well, as you know, I first had to cut the pumpkin...it was about 15 lbs.!  Then, once I got it open, naturally it only made sense to roast it.

It's actually easy to roast a pumpkin:  Once you've washed and cut it in half, remove the pulp and seeds.  Place the  pumpkin halves in a baking pan with the skin side up.  Add and keep about 1" of water in the pan. Roast at 400º until tender, or easily pierced with a carving fork.  Their 15 lb. pumpkin took about one hour per half to roast.  (Since their pumpkin was so large, we could only fit half of it in the oven at a time.)  For yummy toasted seeds, try this site: sugar and spice pumpkin seeds.

So, what do you do with that roasted pumpkin?  I know you'll love this enticing  pumpkin soup collaboration between daughter and mother.  In our adaptation of this recipe from Epicurious, we omitted a few of the spices because we felt they were unnecessary, duplicated flavors.
 
So, Charlie Brown, here's our tribute to The Great Pumpkin and just in time for Thanksgiving!

                                  Add A Little Spice To Your Life...

                    
                                      And You'll Be Thankful!

As Adapted from Epicurious

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 TB butter
• 3/4 c. chopped carrots (use baby carrots to keep it easy)*
• 3/4 c. chopped celery*
• 3/4 c. chopped ripe banana (about 1 large)*
• 1/2 c. chopped white onion (frozen is fine)*
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 5 c. low-salt chicken broth
• 4 c. approx. 1/2" cubed roasted fresh pumpkin (or 2 c. canned pure pumpkin)
• 3/4 c. canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/16th tsp. (pinch) ground sage
• 1/4 tsp. yellow curry powder
• table salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*Use a medium chop on these ingredients.

Garnish options for each serving:  mint sprig (as shown in the photo above), basil leaf, parsley sprig, dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream

    

Directions

1. Melt the butter in an approximate 5 to 6 quart soup pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the carrot and the next 6 ingredients and saute, stirring frequently, for about 10+ minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
3. Discard the bay leaf.  Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.  Return the mixture to the pot.  Add the broth and all the remaining ingredients.
4. Boil the soup over medium-high heat 15 minutes to blend the flavors.  Cool slightly.
5. Working in batches, pour the soup into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  Return the soup to the pot.  (Or, use an immersion blender directly in the pot.)
6. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  (Can be made one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.  Also freezes well in batches.  I suggest you could freeze up to three months.)
7. Bring soup to a simmer.  Serve in individual bowls and garnish as above.

Add a little spice to your Thanksgiving with this exotic pumpkin soup and enjoy!  Gobble, Gobble!


Printable Recipe

Genius, Panini-Pressed Cornish Game Hen (Spinach Optional)

I'm so excited to present to you my version of this recipe which I adapted from Alton Brown!  I was so impressed with the genius technique of this simple, quick and delicious main course when I first saw it on ABC Good Morning America. This is particularly great to cook on a weeknight when you're hungry and craving a good meal you can eat right away without a lot of preparation.  Although I feel it's wonderful for two to four people, I think it's fantastic for one or two.  It also makes a great presentation if you have any guests.

                                                 Pure Genius!

                                    And Oh, So Delicious!


Adapted from Alton Brown as seen on ABC GMA

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 Cornish game hen, approx. 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 lbs.
• 1 tsp. kosher salt for the hen + a sprinkle of table salt for the spinach
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper + a sprinkle for the spinach
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• All-purpose, non-stick cooking spray
• 1/ea. 9 oz. bag baby spinach (optional)*
  

Directions

1. Preheat a panini press on high.*
2. Wash and pat the hen dry.
3. Working on a cutting board, use poultry shears or a very sharp knife (I love my surgery shears!) to cut down the center of the top of the bird along the breastbone.  Open up the hen like a book and place body up on the cutting board.  Give the bird a good smack in the middle with your hands to press it as flat as possible.  To remove the backbone, cut along both sides of it from the neck to the tailbone. You can discard the backbone or save it for use in a soup stock.
4. Sprinkle both sides of the hen with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.
5. Spray the bottom of the panini press with the non-stick cooking spray.
6. Place the bird skin side up on the press. (I cook half a bird at a time...you can keep it warm while you cook the other half.)  *Spray the hen with the non-stick cooking spray and close the lid.  (Don't forget to place a drip pan under the press to catch the juices.)
7. Place about a 4-lb. weight on the press and cook for about 10 minutes or until the skin is golden brown. (I use an iron skillet as a weight.)
8. Remove the hen from the press and let it rest for about 3 minutes before serving. 

For each serving:
While the hen is resting, toss half the bag of spinach onto the panini and sprinkle with a little table salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Close the lid to the press and cook about 30-45 seconds.  The spinach will soak up the hen's juices and be very flavorful!

Immediately place the spinach on an individual serving plate and top with a Cornish hen half!  Presto...a quick, lovely, delicious and impressive dinner with practically no effort!

*Tips:  I haven't tried it; but if you don't have a panini press, a similar grill such as a George Foreman may work.  In his TV presentation, Alton said most any green salad mix would work in this recipe; but, here again, I have not tried that.  He also suggested brushing the hen with olive oil right before closing the lid: I used the cooking spray here, as offered in the printed recipe, and it worked fine...I haven't tried the olive oil yet.

Enjoy this after a busy day when you're tired and hungry!  Better yet, impress your loved one with this delicious dinner on date night and be prepared for lots of hugs and kisses!

Printable Recipe

What's That Got to do with This?

We had so much fun with my grandson the other day decorating this Halloween cake!  (I confess, it was from a kit...he's only 2 1/2!)  He was so excited to decorate the cake.  He's not allowed a lot of sweets; and as you can imagine, most of his decorations went into his mouth!

                                         Yes, Put It Right There!

                                            Good Job!

     <<<<<<<<<Happy Halloween>>>>>>>>>