With Memorial Day weekend lurking around the corner, I know a lot of you are planning on entertaining, as in grilling.  If, we were going to be around, I would definitely be throwing a few ribs on the grill.  This particular ribs recipe that was shot for Lava Lake Ranch is a 10 Spice Lamb Ribs recipe, and it is outstanding.  Now you may not be able to get lamb ribs by the weekend, but, I am sure the seasoning used in this recipe would be great on pork.

The key to making these lamb ribs extra moist was steaming them before throwing them on the grill.  This was something I have never done, and am now sold on the process, can’t wait to try it with pork ribs.  Though I wouldn’t do the same for beef.  I simply placed a metal rack into a large baking pan filled with about 1 inch of water.  I then laid the ribs across the rack and slowly steamed them in a 200 degree oven for two hours.  After this, I seasoned with Chinese spice, and then slathered them with the sauce before grilling.  Amazing!!!

Looking forward to getting your “rib” on this weekend, scroll down for more inspiration, and for the recipe to these killer lamb ribs.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Denise

10 Spice Lamb Ribs – Lava Lake Ranch

Country Ribs with Sassy Barbecue Sauce – Alaska from Scratch

Southwest Short Ribs – Healthy.  Delicious

Boil-n-Bake Baby Back Ribs – Foodwishes

Coca-Cola BBQ Ribs – Laura’s Best Recipes

 Korean BBQ Ribs – Jo Cooks

Beer Braised Beef Short Ribs - Chez Us

Gettin’ Messy Smoked BBQ Ribs – Pass the Sushi

Cocoa Spice Rubbed Ribs – In Jennie’s Kitchen

Blackberry Glazed Ribs – Cakewalker

Slower Cooker Barbecue Ribs – Leite’s Culinaria

Barbecue Beef Ribs with Cumin Rub – Jacqueline Church

Baby Back Ribs with Fiery Peach BBQ Sauce – Kitchen Confidante

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I have expressed my profound love of the meatball for some time now, and trust me it is not going to stop.  Last month we were gearing up for a heavy work load that would involve traveling.  Which in turn meant getting home late in the evening.  When we lived in San Francisco late night returns were easy as we’d stop by the grocery store near our house and pick up the usual “return home” dinner;  roasted chicken, endives, blue cheese, a baguette and a bottle of red.  Now we  are not near a market, so I need prepare in advance for these returns home.  The meatball is perfect as I can make up a batch, enjoy half of the recipe the same day as cooking and pop the others into the freezer.  All we need to do is warm up the little balls of goodness, and make some rice or pasta.

Back to that leftover quinoa.  I had this idea as I was gathering ingredients to toss into the chicken meatball recipe I was working on that quinoa would be a welcome boost of protein as well I thought the texture would be a great addition to otherwise “slimy” ground chicken.  As I was grabbing ingredients out of the pantry, and chopping herbs and other savories, I noticed a sad carrot in the bottom of the veggie bin and in it went!  I have often thought, if we had kids, I’d get a kick out of hiding vegetables in their food and then doing the “nanny nanny nanny, you ate spinach” back at them!

Since I was clearly leading down the path of making this recipe more on the healthy side, I decided to bake the meatballs, which ended up being a good decision.  Baking meatballs is not only easy, but the clean-up is almost void.  No greasy pans to contend with or splattered fat all over the stove.  Don’t worry baking meatballs still makes for a golden brown experience.  I place the meatballs on a cookie sheet that is lined with parchment (easy clean-up) and let them do their thing.  The meatballs still get a golden brown outside while staying moist inside.  Perfect!

We enjoyed half of this meatball recipe as they came out of the oven, simply by serving them with Tzatziki, a green salad and lavish.  When we arrived home after a long flight, I simmered the frozen meatballs in my favorite tikka masala sauce that I keep on hand, made some rice and had a lovely (and healthy) dinner at home.

Love meatballs as well check these out:

Lamb Souvlaki Meatballs – Chez Us

 Asian Inspired Meatballs – Eat Boutique

Moroccan Meatballs – Baltic Maid

Lentil Ricotta Meatballs – In Jennie’s Kitchen

Spinach Balls – Chez Us

Print

Chicken Quinoa Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 yellow onion
• handful cilantro
• 1 carrot, grated
• 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup panko
• 1 egg
• pinch kosher salt
• pinch black pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the top.
• Using a food processor mince the garlic, onion and cilantro together. Add to the chicken.
• Add the grated carrot, quinoa, panko, and egg. Mix well using your hands.
• Shape into small meatballs; made 38.
• Bake for 15 minutes. Using kitchen tongs flip the meatballs over.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven.
• Serve.
• Eat.

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I find it funny that friends who are not in the immediate and incredible world of food are weary to invite us to their home for a home cooked meal.  There is nothing more wonderful than being nurtured by a home cooked meal no matter what it is.  Don’t you agree?  They have this image that we eat “fancy”, which is completely not the case, and that intimidates them.  My recipes, as well as presentation, is pretty fuss free, and simple.   I am definitely more into cooking pheasant style dishes opposed to a Modernist Cuisine approach of cooking.  Don’t get me wrong, the former method is creative, but it is something I would rather enjoy at a restaurant.

So what does this have to do with a pork carnitas recipe?  Well, everything, as I remade this recipe for a guest last weekend.  This is the kind of recipe that is perfect for a no-fuss dinner party.  Simply slip a well seasoned fatty, pork butt into a low heated oven and forget about it.  After a few hours of slowly roasting the meat, what you are left with is an incredibly moist and OMG flavorful experience.  As well the house smells as if you have been slaving over the stove all day!

The first time we ate really great carnitas was during a trip to Sayulita Mexico.  It was from a little street taco vendor named Ivan.  Ivan would set-up shop every evening, and by shop I mean a few plastic tables on the street, and he would be off to the side grilling meat and preparing the carnitas.  We were running across the street for a six pack of icy cold Mexican beer. As we sat in the dusty street, enjoying a cold beer and feeling the last of the day time sun on our shoulders, Ivan would be piling carnitas on freshly made corn tortillas and topping them with pickled jalapeños, minced onions, cilantro and radishes.  All that was left was a squeeze of fresh lime.  Bliss.

This recipe for pork carnitas is as close as I can get besides actually going to Sayulita and begging Ivan for the recipe.  The fatty pork is lightly sweetened by using condensed milk.  The seasonings are simple, limes, onions, garlic and jalapeños.  The rest is the magic of slowly braising and letting everything mingle together for three hours.  The meat is flavorful and does not need anything else besides the minced white onions, cilantro and the squeeze of lime.

I served these pork carnitas with a big bowl of Frijoles de Olla – just pass the cold beers to make a complete feast!

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After chatting about what we should eat during the Super Bowl and what were the best foods to be served, buffalo wings was the first thing that came up.  Is it even the Superbowl without a platter of killer wings?  Lenny decided to tackle the task of making the best chicken wings.  After many conversations about which way to go, Cajun, Asian, Portuguese, Ukrainian, we decided that some things are meant to be traditional.  And America football, deserves a traditional buffalo wing.

We have been playing with perfecting this recipe for the past couple weeks, which means pounds of chicken wings are being consumed, all a very good thing.  The past weekend, Lenny nailed it with the sauce.  It was perfectly seasoned and just the right consistency that coated each wing.  Pure sauciness.  We also played with techniques, we tried boiling, baking and roasting the chicken wings as we didn’t want to fry them.  The best texture and the most flavorful wings were unquestionably the Baked Buffalo Wings.  They were perfectly crispy which helped keep the sauce on the meat.  And, doesn’t baked just sound healthier?

This coming Thursday Lenny is going to show you how to make these extraordinary everyday baked buffalo wings.  We have been invited to be part of the Google + SuperBowlPlus Week of Champions, and will be airing live on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 8:30 PM (EST).  Come join in the fun during his first ever cooking demo;  you can watch as well as participate in the conversation!

** Be sure to serve these killer wings with a classic blue cheese dressing.  You are going to have your guests eating out of your hands!

More wings to fill you up during the Super Bowl.  If you have a recipe you’d like us to share, send me a link.  I will update this list all week. 

Golden Chicken Wings with Ginger Carmel Chili Sauce – Cook Republic

Crunchy Chicken Wings with Two Sauces – Chez Us

Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings – Leite’s Culinaria

Sticky Miso Chicken Wings – Food and Wine

Mojito Chicken Wings – Domestic Fits

Crispy Orange Chicken Wings – Just a Taste

Garlic Parm Chicken Wings – Food Wishes

Chile Lime Wings – Nom Nom Paleo

Key West Grilled Chicken Wings – Katie’s Cucina

Honeyed Sriracha Chicken Wings – Foodie Crush

Sticky Lime Grilled Chicken Wings – Verses from my Kitchen

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Did everyone have a great Christmas?  Hoping y’all were able to enjoy loved ones during this special time of the year.  We spent a few days before Christmas with my family, with our big celebration on Christmas Eve.  It was really nice to see everyone, and spend a little time together.  Much too short, but greatly appreciated.

My family lives in Northern Nevada, and they were blessed with a very white Christmas this year.  While it is always fun to have a little snow to play around in, we spent Christmas day, in grueling traffic.  Lots of snow.  Lots of cars.  When we started planning our holiday travels, I had a feeling this would happen, and the last thing I wanted was for us to get home on Christmas with nothing to eat.  So, I planned ahead.

I have been on a huge meatball kick this entire year, and this recipe is one of our favorites.  I made these meatballs a couple weeks ago and put them into the freezer for our special Christmas dinner.  Before freezing them I lightly browned them to cut back on some of the time;  you can skip this step if making the entire recipe in one day.  But, it works perfectly, if you are planning ahead.  The meatballs are made with a mixture of veal and beef, and heavily seasoned with fresh herbs such as oregano and marjoram.  After browning the meatballs, I place them in the oven with some red wine and beef stock and let them braise.  The sauce thickens and becomes very rich and savory.  And the meatballs are fork tender.  Perfect meal for a chilly night in with a loved one!

Happy post Christmas!

~ Denise

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This week at The Back Burner we will be sharing Christmas main courses.  If, we were hosting at our home this year, I would make this gorgeous (and delicious) stuffed pork loin roast.  It is stuffed with a mixture of fresh herbs, dinosaur kale and panko bread crumbs.  Then it is slowly roasted while being basted with thin slices of prosciutto.  Hungry yet?  All that is left for you to do, is to figure out the sides to serve along with this memorable holiday roast.

Recipe

I’d love it if you jumped over to the Back Burner and met rest of the team.  Who knows you may find some new to you Christmas main dishes.  

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The talent behind the Back Burner is going to be sharing recipes made with pomegranates this week.  Once I read that we were going to be working with this ingredient, I decided to learn more about it.  Honestly, all I honestly knew was how delicious it is.

Pomegranates originated in Persia (modern day Iran) and have been cultivated in Iraq, Pakistan, India, Russia and Mediterranean regions. They prefer to grow in dry areas and are drought tolerant.  Wetter areas will promote root decay and diseases.  The fruit is an excellent source of vitamin B5, potassium and vitamin C.

The outside of the fruit is a semi-hard shell, once broken open, there are hundreds of red (and juicy) seeds. The entire seed is consumed.  The taste can be very sweet or sour, depending on the variety as well as the ripeness.  The juice of the pomegranate is hugely popular in Persian and Indian cuisine and is truly delicious, especially when squeezed fresh.   As well grenadine syrup, which is widely used in cocktails, is made with pomegranate juice.  Before tomatoes arrived in the Middle East, grenadine would be used in traditional Iranian recipes.

Pomegranates can be intimidating when it comes down to breaking it open and removing the seeds.  They are afraid that they will stain the house or that it will take too long.  Some people like to break apart the fruit under running water;  I feel that wastes the juices that are slightly extracted during the process. The process I use is fairly straightforward with minimal (if any staining).  After putting an apron on, I take the fruit and cut it into quarters.  Use a cutting board that you do not mind getting a little stained.  Do not cut it on your gorgeous marble counters!  Then I place a mixing bowl on the counter or in the sink, and I gently break apart the flesh from the seeds over the bowl.  As I drop the seeds into the bowl, the juices from the flesh also run into the same bowl.  The entire process takes less than 8 minutes and if you wash your hands right away, there will not be any staining.

The recipe I made involves braising chicken thighs that are flavored with pomegranates, chilies and garlic.  Moist.  Flavorful.  Delicious.

Recipe

I’d love it if you jumped over to the Back Burner and met rest of the team.  Who knows you may find some new pomegranate inspiration.

The post Pomegranate Chicken appeared first on Chez Us.

This week at the Back Burner we are cooking up recipes using candy.  Yes, candy and my recipe includes meat.  I immediately thought of an old recipe I had made in the past, braised pork belly.  I wanted more flavor, something a bit more exotic and enticing.  This recipe for pork shoulder is a slow braise using lime, star anise, coconut milk, chilies and caramel.  Result?  Amazing!

Have you ever cooked with meat and candy, together?  Recipe?  

Recipe 

I’d love it if you jumped over to the Back Burner and met rest of the team.  Who knows you may find some new candy inspiration.

The post Caramelized Pork appeared first on Chez Us.

You may or may not know that I (Denise) have been doing some recipe development for a few fine folks.  One of them being Key Ingredient.  Four times a month I share meaty, delicious recipes that have been developed in our kitchen and devoured at our table on the Back Burner.  One of the things I love about working with the KI team is that we have an editorial calendar with very creative themes.  Every week changes and sometimes it is challenging, when one is working with meat.  Beginning now, I am going to announce every Monday, what you can expect to find over at the Back Burner.

This week The Back Burner is taking about American Beer, little did I know there was even such an event.  Nevertheless, it gave me the opportunity to play around with a new to me local beer Black Diamond, which I used in this rib recipe.  The beer was dark and malty and aged in brandy barrels.   The ribs were OUTRAGEOUS!!

I’d love it if you jumped over to the Back Burner and met rest of the team.  Who knows you may find some new inspiration as well.

Happy Monday!

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Come along for the journey while Erica teaches us her dad’s favorite lamb curry dish as well as homemade naan.  I know, we cannot wait to dive into this recipe.

(interested in doing a future guest post for Chez Us – reach out to us)

*****

I’m just mad about Saffron

Anything I have made from my Grandma’s recipes has been Italian food. From meatballs to lasagna, it’s all there. But the other day, I asked my dad what his favorite meal was growing up as a kid. To my surprise he said, “As great as our famous family lasagna is, I would have to say my favorite meal is Rogan Josh”. Now, having eaten Indian food once in my whole entire life I obviously had no idea what he was talking about, so I searched through the colossal mound of family recipes in the kitchen and pulled it out. Rogan Josh is a north Indian lamb curry. Later that week, my dad and I went food shopping (he has a tendency to “hover” when it involves cooking). After five calls to Grandma while on our shopping trip, we finally came home with a bag of spices and about 3lbs. of lamb.

Not going to lie–I was quite skeptical at this point, but as an aspiring chef I jumped right into measuring out my turmeric, coriander, cumin and the rest of my arsenal of spices.  My dad and I also had to Google ‘Saffron’ so we could uncover the mystery as to why we had to take out a small loan to use it in our dish (just kidding, but that stuff can set you back). So together we chopped the onions, minced garlic, and cubed up some lamb shank. If making a dish for the first time wasn’t enough my dad suggested we make our own naan bread. I mean we didn’t get and bread for dunking at the store and in my opinion sopping up sauce with bread is the best part of the meal.

I never thought of Indian food as comfort food, because in my family it’s all about who can make the best marinara and Bolognese. But I have to admit this dish blew me away. There were so many flavors that I have never tasted before! I had a fabulous time recreating my father’s childhood favorite and I hope everyone out here in food-blog land will take a leap and try this meal. I can’t wait to have the leftovers tomorrow for lunch!

Disclaimer:  All photos styled and shot by Erica Gelb

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We are itching to go on vacation.  It has been two long years since we had a real vacation, and that was a glorious summer spent in France.  I am finding myself talking about faraway places terribly often.  I even have Lenny chatting about it, and he is usually the one who is sensible;  we need to stay home, focus and work.  Now I find him daydreaming along with me.  I think we are truly wanders at heart, and if a long-lost Uncle Bob suddenly left us his millions, it wouldn’t be hard for us to begin that journey together.

When we begin chatting about holidays, Paris always comes to mind first.  It is a love of ours and we never get tired of going there. Lately, I have been losing myself in Greece.  Do I even dare share this with you?  Before you know it we will be bumping shoulders.  Then I started discovering more of Greece on Instagram.  Why am I doing this to myself?  After scouring gorgeous photos, I have worked up an appetite and head over to Peter’s, where I lose myself over plates and plates of delicious Greek food.

This is only the beginning … it gets worse.  We have been painting the house this week and have been tossing around colors for the powder room.  Greece is under our skin in a bad way, and now our powder room has stark white walls and an Isle of Capri blue ceiling (yes, that was the name of the paint we were drawn too).  Now we sit in that little powder room dreaming of sand under our toes, sunshine beating on our shoulders and an Ouzo in our hand.

In the meantime, while we continue to contemplate jumping boat, we have this delicious recipe that will take you to a Greek island more affordably.  It is a spin off of a dish we love Pork Souvlaki.  We adore making meatballs and have been playing with different meats, seasonings and takes on a tradition meatball.  Wait until you taste the winter one we will be sharing once it begins to get chilly out.  This recipe, I can say, has become a favorite.  I use ground lamb and heavily season it with lemon zest and juice (why waste any of it), fresh garlic and oregano.  Then I brown the little meatballs alongside shallots and garlic that have been sautéed with olive oil.  Such a refreshing and light take on otherwise heavy meatball.  Perfect served over a smear of tzatziki on a warm slice of lavash.

Print

Lamb Souvlaki Meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground lamb
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 1 small lemon, juice and zest
• 1 large garlic clove, minced finely
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano, roughly chopped
• kosher salt
• fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine

Directions

• In a mixing bowl combine the lamb, panko, egg, lemon juice and zest, oregano, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
• Using your hands mix well.
• Shape the mixture into small meatballs, I was able to get 24 of them.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
• Add the shallots and garlic, lightly sauté over medium-low heat, until golden brown. This will take about 4 minutes.
• Remove the mixture from the pan.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the same frying pan and add the meatballs.
• Continue to cook over medium-low heat until the meatballs are golden brown; about 2 - 3 minutes pre side.
• It depends on the heat of your stove. Do not overcook the meatballs.
• It is okay that they are still somewhat raw on the inside.
• Once the meatballs are golden brown add the wine to the pan, gently stir, cover and lower the heat to a low simmer.
• Continue to cook for a couple minutes.
• Stir in the shallot mixture, stir and cook for another minute.
• Remove from the heat.
• Serve.
• Eat.

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Recipe:  Tzatziki

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I wrote about making smashed beans a couple days ago.  While we really enjoy them as it, they are also great to use in recipes.  And if you make a big batch, you will have enough for a few recipes.  Maybe.

I used these smashed beans for a few recipes during the week.  One night I made quick and easy tostadas for dinner.  I used some meaty corn tortillas, smeared beans over the top, seasoned some of the left-over poached chicken and then I topped it with fresh salsa.  Quick and easy (and healthy) dinner.

One morning, I warmed some of the beans, put them into a little blue bowl, poached an egg and laid it on top.  Pass the warm tortillas!  Another day we simply enjoyed a bowl of the smashed beans for lunch.  It was perfect.

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