Friday, April 22, 2011

Amatriciana, sort of

A notable Italian / Roman dish that I twisted for my own dark purposes.  Meaning, I had some chicken breast to use up, and not so much the traditional pork cheek.  Also, made with no chiles...my mom is visiting and I didn't want a medical emergency on my hands.


Ingredients:

4 slices bacon, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes   
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 pound linguine pasta, uncooked
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1.     Cook diced bacon in a large saucepan over medium high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the pan.
2.     Add onions, and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes, undrained; simmer 10 minutes, breaking up tomatoes.
3.     Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of 4 quarts boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.
4.     Stir basil into the sauce, and then toss with cooked pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.


Saturday, April 02, 2011

Pork Ribs (Bone Dust dry rub)


Ingredients:

        1/2 cup paprika
        1/4 cup chili powder
        3 tablespoons salt
        2 tablespoons ground coriander
        2 tablespoons garlic powder
        2 tablespoons white sugar
        2 tablespoons curry powder
        2 tablespoons dry hot mustard
        1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
        1 tablespoon ground basil
        1 tablespoon ground thyme
        1 tablespoon ground cumin
        1 tablespoon cayenne

Combine, store in a big jar, slather on pork whenever you want to bring the flavor hammer.

In this case, rub into pork ribs, then wrap them up in foil, and set on a large pan that will contain leaks (melted fat).  Set your oven to 250C.  Three hours in there should do it.  Remove from oven, remove the foil, return the ribs to the oven for 30 minutes or so while you fire up your grill.  Brush your favorite sweet sauce on them, and set them (carefully!) on the grill long enough to get a bit of a char.