So, this post is 2 weeks late. Ouch. For record purposes, I'm posting this entry on the day everything we cooked. But, yes. I'm super late. :(
This dinner was cooked for the Chang family! Awesome parents and adorable kids :)
I thought these four recipes would be great for a nice summer dinner and brownies are always a good way to end a yummy dinner.
Rubbed & Glazed Pork Spareribs
These pork ribs were delishhhh. Nomnomnom.
And easy to prepare - always a plus.
First, I cut the spare ribs to 3 bone portions. Then, I combined all seven ingredients for the rub and then rubbed the ribs on all sides with the spice rub. The ribs were then refrigerated for 4.5 hours. Keller recommends at least two hours and up to six so the flavors and develop and soak up into the meat. Yum.
Of course this recipe was made for a grill and of course as a student, living in an apartment near SF (where it's always cold in the summer), I wouldn't have one. So I did what would be the next best thing.I got a big pan and seared two 3 bone portions of the ribs at a time. It gave the ribs a nice crust to keep the juices in.
After searing it all, I put the meat in the oven set to the temperature Keller recommended the grill should be at.
The ribs sat in the oven for another 2 hours and they came out perfect.
The meat was juicy with a tangy sweet glaze and a nice kick of spice. I want some now just writing about it.
Yeah, it was that good.
Red Potato and Green Bean Salad with creamy pepper dressing
I didn't realize this pepper dressing had so many parts to it...
First, I had to make garlic oil, which was made before in my earlier posts. This garlic oil was then used to make the aioli. The aioli was just a mixture of egg yolks, garlic oil, lemon juice, and salt combined in a food processor.
Finally for the dressing, I first crushed peppercorns into small pieces in a plastic bag with a mallet (the cheap way to do it if you don't have a mortar or pestle).
Then in a small saucepan, I added the peppercorn, vinegar and honey and simmered. Keller suggested Banyuls vinegar, which is made from French wine or something. Yup - when I finally found it, all I could think about was "it better be deng good." This vinegar is so strong. While it was simmering with the pepper and honey, I got a good whiff of it and hurt my nose. Haha. Be careful!
Whisk the aioli, buttermilk, and creme fraiche together. Once the liquid in the pan is reduced, remove from the heat, and add it into the aioli mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Mmm.
After cleaning the potatoes, boil them down with salt and - the now familiar - sachet for ten minutes. Once they cooled, I cut them into fourths.
I cut the ends of the green beans and then blanched them for 2-3 minutes.
For the lettuce, Keller suggested Bibb lettuces. I cored them, washed, and dried the leaves in a salad spinner. After they were all dried and clean, cut chiffonades (or strips).
Toss the lettuce with some dressing. Then toss the beans, potatoes, shallot, and chives together and then toss in some dressing.
Season with salt and pepper - then serve.
Creamed Summer Corn
This was sooooo good!
Using a sharp knife, I cut down the corn to get the kernels into a bowl. Keller had a good suggestion - swish your hands around the kernels to collect the corn silk and rinse it off. Easy, yet useful. After getting the kernels, use a spoon to scrape any leftover corn and corn milk from the cob.
Grate lime zest, set aside, and then cut the lime in half for juicing.
Melt butter on pan, add corn, squeeze some lime juice, and season with salt. After the liquid evaporates, stir in cream, cayenne, and zest. Add salt to taste and stir in chives.
Yummmmmm.
Smashed Roasted Marble Potatoes
After cleaning the potatoes, I tossed them with olive oil to coat, thyme, and salt to taste. I think there was an error in the book on this part of the recipe. In the intro, Keller says that potatoes are tossed with garlic as well, but garlic wasn't listed in the recipe and in the directions. The garlic confit that was in the recipe will be used later, but that was it - no garlic for the roasting part...I would have loved to roast the potatoes with garlic, but it wasn't written! :\
Melt butter in a pan, spread the potatoes, and transfer into the oven and roast. Keep it in the oven until the potatoes are tender when pierced.
When the potatoes were done, discard the thyme, and transfer the potatoes into a bowl. Add more butter, garlic confit (that was made with the garlic oil for the pepper dressing), and chives.
I didn't smash the potatoes that much and then topped with thyme and fleur de sel.
Brownies
Dessert time!
Sift flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
In a mixer, mix eggs and sugar. Then add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients in 3 portions and the butter in portions. Alternate between the two.
Then add chocolate and mix.
In a pan, spread the batter evenly and bake.
When ready, cool the brownie in the pan. When it's a little warmer than room temperature, take the brownie out, cut into rectangles, and dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Dinner was amazing!!
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