Caramel Pork Ribs and Scalloped Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Roasted Garlic

I made my husband very happy. He said, "this is the best meal we've had in a long time!" That's a compliment, not an insult to the other things I've been cooking. I knew what he meant :)

 

I received two cookbooks for Christmas. This recipe is from my boyfriend's, I mean David Lebovitz. He never fails me.

 

The recipes both take longer than average so it was perfect for one of my winter break days. Or maybe a lazy Sunday in the future. The caramel pork ribs start with a nice carmelized sugar, and then a quick douse in beer and bourbon. Mmmmmm. Throw in a few more ingredients and the ribs and then slow roasted for 2+ hours.

 

I was worried, even though the recipe said to expect this, when the sugar seized up and hardened with the addition of the beer. It ended up fine, of course, just like my boyfriend said. Our house smelled delicious. Who needs bottled BBQ sauce?!

The scalloped potatoes start with some roasted garlic, so that needed to smell up the house for 45 minutes. And then some cream, some mandolined potatoes, and all that layered with chives and crumbled blue cheese. Baked in the oven for a bit more than an hour, alongside the ribs.

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. to my friend Katy. I used Rush River beer. I didn't know which kind of beer DL meant in his recipe so I chose a beer that I wouldn't mind drinking after I used just 3/4 cup of a bottle :) IPA it was and I got to support my Bakko brewers!

 

Here's the top picture again but with no filters. I take the quickest pictures at our dinner table even though I know I should take pictures with better light. I hate to ruin the dinner mood and brighten up the whole joint. I also get embarassed that I take food pictures sometimes. I think Jim knows me by now though :)

 

 

 

We couldn't get over the sauces, on both foods. The sweet caramel with a hint of ginger. Mmmmmmm. And the blue cheese creamy goodness!

 

I think my little sis would say this entire dinner was "slap yo momma" good. I know I should have included a vegetable too but it was a busy day here with three 8 year olds running around (play date) and then with all the extra steps with two new recipes.

 

My little sis also provided the wine for this meal. I looked up BBQ ribs and wine and Google suggested a syrah. Yup, had that! Wine is good food. I felt so grown up today.

 

 

 

Click here for the stolen recipe for David Lebovitz's Caramel Pork Ribs. This blog has awesome pictures of the caramelized sugar, the beer addition, etc.

 

Click here for the stolen recipe for David Lebovitz's Scalloped Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Roasted Garlic.

 

 

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Roasted Potatoes, Chicken Sausage, and Peppers

Finally. I am into late November now. I made this easy meal on the day before Thanksgiving, after a full day of Thanksgiving prep. This meal was just chopping and roasting.

We enjoyed this but both agreed that it lacked something. A sauce? Some kind of moisture.

We do really like this sausage. It was chicken sausage with gouda cheese and apples. Precooked. So after this meal we had extra sausages and Jim has sliced and heated them through as a side with scrambled eggs. Yum.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Roasted Potatoes, Chicken Sausage, and Peppers.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

I love soups. I love Brown Eyed Baker soups.

I love corn. And potatoes. And bacon. And white cheddar. So this soup is for ME! It was velvety smooth and hearty.

It also froze very nicely so we had plenty of freezer bags for quick lunches.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Cheddar Corn Chowder.

Gobble until you Wobble!

My Thanksgiving plate: Herb Roasted Turkey with Sage Gravy, Double Bread Stuffing with Brown Butter, Bacon and Sage, Squash, Green Bean Casserole, PW Mashed Potatoes, and Cranberry Sauce.

The Tauer family came over for Thanksgiving. To prep we made these cute Oreo turkeys the night before. James enjoyed putting the parts together :)

We put a turkey at each place setting. James helped! It was also a good way to prepare James for guests. He knew who was coming over and he was excited for them to see his turkeys.

We needed to break out a card table. I was determined that this wouldn't be a "kid's table" Kara (college student) isn't a kid! I knew I would be insulted to be called a kid at that age :)

Oh there's Kara, relaxing on the massage chair. I went downstairs to give the 10 minute warning for food and found lots of fun in the basement. Massage chair...

Video games...

Wild claw!

Pool.

I am SO THANKFUL for this little boy.

This ended up being the "Cool Table".

The turkey before (with lots of herbed butter)-

And after!

I tackled yeast again. Buttery Cloverleaf rolls.

THE BEST Green Bean Casserole. The mushroom sauce was killer. We think we might need to make some and just eat it as SOUP.

Double Bread Stuffing with Brown Butter, Bacon and Sage. You just can't go wrong with my favorite breads- cornbread and sourdough... Mmmmmmmm. And hello? BACON!

I didn't get a picture of Laura's squash. It's pictured on my plate above!

Simple cranberry sauce.

Roger and Linda brought Wild Rice Soup.

They also brought dessert- apple pie and pumpkin trifle (layered with gingerbread, pumpkin pudding, cool whip).

Again, I didn't get many pictures with family but here is James saying goodbye to Grandma Laura. He was pretty cranky towards the end so I'm glad she got a hug :)

We are thankful for so much! Thank you Familia :)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Thanksgiving Pioneer-Style Herb Roasted Turkey with Sage Gravy.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes. I didn't end up baking the potatoes but while they were still hot I put them in the crockpot to keep warm.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Buttery Cloverleaf Rolls.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Double Bread Stuffing with Brown Butter, Bacon, and Sage.

Click here for the stolen recipe for Cook's Illustrated Green Bean Casserole.

We also served Ginger Tea Lemonade. Yum. Click here for the stolen recipe for Ginger Tea Lemonade. Jim is becoming the Master of GTL!

Asian Marinated Flank Steak

Excuse my half eaten plate! I forgot to take a picture and I knew this was a recipe that I wanted to blog about.

This marinade combines a bunch of ingredients that we love, and it's very easy. It is so nice to mix up the marinade, throw it in a ziploc with the flank steak, and then grill it the next day. I love my grill pan :)




Quick mashed red potatoes (potatoes, butter, half and half, a bit of cream cheese) and steamed asparagus with lemon.


Really, it looked more appetizing when it was freshly dished out!







Click here for the stolen recipe for Asian Marinated Flank Steak.

Thanksgiving

It's amazing how little time it takes to scarf down all that food, all that love, energy, and time spent cooking for two days. Was it worth it? Of course! I was very happy to try so many new recipes. I don't think a single one really disappointed. My cranberry walnut rolls weren't light and fluffy, but kind of dense but still good. It was one recipe I wouldn't repeat as is. I wonder if I kneaded too much? Anyway, lots of good food. And I made my own gravy! Very proud and happy :)


OH! And my husband made both desserts. I can't make any claims on those. He did a fabulous job!


Appetizer-

Stuffed Mushrooms

Meal-

Pioneer Style Herb Roasted Turkey with Sage Gravy

Unfortunately, I didn't get any "after" pictures of the turkey. This is the 20 pounder slathered in herb butter. James declared it "yucky" looking.

The turkey ended up with a fabulous brown crust. It was darn pretty. I am so regretful that I did not get one little picture. Oh well. I have something better- leftovers!

Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes- These were great because I made them ahead of time and just stuck them in the oven while the turkey rested.


Brussel Sprouts Gratin- This isn't a picture from tonight's gratin. I was flying around the kitchen at the very end and didn't take a picture of the gratin or the turkey. Bummer.



Sourdough Stuffing with Carmelized Onions and Apples

Framboise Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Walnut Rolls

Dessert-

Jim proudly serves up his creations.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Chocolate Pecan Pie

We are all satisifed and full. Our guests all went home with plenty of leftovers. That 2o pound bird was more than enough for our meal and many others. Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday's dinner

Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken, French Mashed Potatoes, and grilled asparagus with olive oil, garlic and sea salt.

The chicken was very flavorful! It should have been- it marinated for the entire day in a wonderful smelling blend of vinegars, thyme, garlic, orange juice, and honey; then I grilled it on my grill pan. As I ate the chicken I kept thinking it would be great tasting even cold on a salad later in the week. I made plenty of extra chicken, thinking they could be my dinner when hubby is out of town.

The mashed potatoes were the creamiest I've ever had- with lots of melty cheese and just enough garlic and butter. They were made mostly in my food processor. I think I would make half the recipe next time- we are left with way too many potatoes for two people! Or maybe we should invite guests next time? :)

The asparagus was made in my favorite way- tossed with olive oil, garlic, and sea salt and then grilled quickly on my grill pan. Man, I love my grill pan! {Constance, get a grill pan!)

Click here for the stolen recipe for Red Wine Balsamic Grilled Chicken.
Click here for the stolen recipe for Aligot (French Mashed Potatoes).