August 19, 2010

Ribs & Strawberry Cake

by Kari

I Cook Because I Love Him

The realization that I have had in cooking is that I generally only cook what I will eat. I am not big on certain kinds of meats (i.e. steak, ribs, pork, etc.) I know, I’m weird! If I don’t like it, I generally don’t cook it. However, my husband LOVES a lot of the food I don’t. Like Kipper Snacks. BLAH! Gross. That’s all I’m gonna say. Disgusting! {lol} So in my venture to be a better wifey, I have learned how to cook the foods I don’t like, but that my husband does. Like…Pork Spare Ribs.

Why did I learn how to cook things I won’t eat, do you ask? {lol} Because it’s not about me! It’s about my husband. I know that he loves my cooking and I love him. It’s just that simple for me. So if you aren’t really into a certain meal, but your husband IS - make what he wants and just see how he reacts. Below I have a killer recipe for Pork Spare Ribs. Mind you, I didn’t taste the final product. I had a salad.

But my grandparents and my hubby said these turned out fantastic.

Pork Spare Ribs
1 Lg Rack Pork Spare Ribs
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
3 T. Honey
1 T. Worcestershire Sauce
¼ cup Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste or ½ cup Salsa
½ Rice Vinegar

Rub ribs with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap ribs in heavy foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 90 minutes.

Combine remaining ingredients for sauce and pour in one end of foil. Bake another 90 minutes. Then turn oven down to 200 degrees to keep warm until serving.

*Tip: The trick to cooking any kind of meat in the oven is to turn down the heat. (I cooked these ribs for an extra hour on 200 degrees.) Cooking it nice and slow will make the meat tender and full of flavor. In my grandma’s words, “These ribs are fall-off-the-bone delicious!” (Which is saying a lot because she is the biggest food critic I know! Love you, Grandma!)

A great side dish for meat (besides potatoes) is steamed vegetables. Personally, I love steamed broccoli or any kind of deep green vegetable. Especially if you’re planning a rich dessert like this family favorite below:

Strawberry Cake

½ pkg Vanilla Cake Mix
8 oz. Cream Cheese (softened)
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Whipping Cream
1 pkg Strawberry Junket
2 cups Fresh Strawberries
10 oz. pkg Frozen Strawberries (thawed)

Mix cake mix according to directions. Bake ½ of cake mix in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Cool. In a bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Whip the 1 cup whipping cream and fold into the cream cheese mixture. Spread mixture on top of cake. Refrigerate and allow to set.

*Note: The Junket Danish Dessert is pictured above – you will find this on the Jell-O aisle, usually on the top shelf. You can use Strawberry Glaze (found in the fruit section), but it will not taste the same. In fact, I never use the strawberry glaze for any dessert simply because it’s so sweet it overtakes the natural flavor of the strawberries. Junket isn’t as sweet and takes on the flavor of the strawberries. Just a thought before you go to the store!

Prepare the junket using strawberry juice from drained frozen berries as part of liquid. Cool junket then add thawed berries and fresh strawberries. Spread strawberry mixture on top of cream mixture. Chill several hours. If strawberries are out of season use additional frozen berries.

*Note: I cooked this when strawberries were in season and used all fresh strawberries. Delicious!