Ms. Foodie was missing Christmas, so I decided to whip up some of the flavors of December in March–with a bit of a twist.
Braised Chicken basted with the mellow tones of Tolosa “1772” Pinot Noir, accompanied by Cranberry-Kale Stuffing. With a lovely glass of that same Pinot, it’s a combination whose time has come…
Barbecue Pork Spare Ribs with Ginger-Chili Sauce. The base recipe for the sauce can be found on recipestips.com–the addition of crushed ginger, molasses (instead of brown sugar), chili-garlic paste, and a touch of lemon juice is all mine!
I also brine my ribs overnight in chopped ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce (in place of salt), rice vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and ground pepper. After rubbing the brining into the ribs, I cover them with hot water (to melt the brown sugar) then some cold water and ice cubes to melt overnight and maintain the balance.
Once the ribs have basted overnight, I place them in a pan, pour some of the marinade over the top, cover with aluminum foil and braise them in a 250 degree oven for about three hours, give or take.
Depending on how much time I have, I either baste the ribs in barbecue sauce and oven grill them for 20 minutes, or I ask hubby to do the same on the gas grill–either way, they get that nicely grilled flavor!
These ribs are for a potluck tonight celebrating three college graduates from our church. Bob McNelis, Hazel Morgan and Janette Knudson not only share the same graduation year, but they also graduated from the same school–California State University in Northridge! They aren’t young whippersnappers either; These three are people like me, in the middle of their lives, who chose to make a change and better themselves by going back to school. Hazel and Janette raised their kids while doing this–so they deserve a celebration and Ms. Foodie is bringing her best.
Not that anyone would expect anything less…
Ms. Foodie Patootie 