Grilling pork ribs is so easy I wonder why I don’t do it more often. Get either baby back or spare ribs – country style are much better braised. Baby back are meatier and more tender I think. While getting the charcoal hot cut the rib racks into manageable sections and rub them down with a mixture of herbs, spices, and salt. I like cumin, oregano, pepper, coriander, allspice, cayenne, and so on. Pile the charcoal to one side of the grill and let it get good and hot, then sear the ribs right over the coals for a couple minutes. Once they’re a little browned I move them to the side opposite the coals and put the lid on with the vents wide open. If I have fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary I throw some of that on the ribs too. Turn them every 15 minutes or so, and I think they’re done after about 45 minutes.
I ate a bunch of these at Jazz Fest. I’m not a huge fan of the crowds and dirt at Jazz Fest, so the crawfish make the thing tolerable. We ate some awesome food outside of Jazz Fest too, including some crawfish at Restaurant August that were loaded with cream and cognac – even better than the usual Old Bay-ish stuff.
Back in DC, Acadiana’s news page says they do crawfish boils every Friday 3:30 to 6:30p on their patio “weather permitting.” So, I guess not today – maybe next week if the weather cooperates. On the phone they said they also do the boils Sundays 2-5p.
Update: Even though the weather looked bad to me they were still boiling crawfish outside and serving them in the bar. We’ve been a few times now – they’re pretty expensive but worth it if you’ve gotta have some crawfish.
Fruitcake has a reputation as an undesirable, comical holiday gift, more suitable as ammunition for a trebuchet than something to eat. To me, this is the ideal food to cook at home – however it turns out, it’ll certainly turn out better than the commercial alternative.
I’ve since surpassed even this, but for a couple of weeks this was the Best Breakfast Ever. The title and photo should explain it all, but I’ll provide a quick recipe.
Chili: Normally, I prefer a braised beef chuck chili. I don’t use masa harina, tortilla chips, or any other evil corn product so it turns out a little watery. For this application I think something thicker and drier works better. Lentils thicken and suck up moisture and combine with ground beef for a nice texture. Any type of lentil works fine. I soak mine for a few hours in a lemon juice and water mixture, which I’ve heard reduces gassiness. I rinse the lentils and put them in a pot with water just over them, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Meanwhile, I saute some onions and a maybe some peppers, chopped for consistent texture. Once those are soft I add some ground beef and the herbs and spices. For chili I like ground cumin and coriander, oregano powdered between my fingers, paprika, chili flakes, black pepper, and maybe cayenne or just some hot sauce. Once that’s all melded together and the beef appears cooked I add most of an 8 ounce jar of hot salsa. This is an awesome tip from Good Eats – you get tons of flavor and a bunch of vegetation without having to pick up a knife. There’s really no need for the sauteed onion and pepper earlier with the salsa. Once that’s bubbling along, check the lentils for doneness and dump them in. It’s no problem if there’s extra liquid with the lentils – it’ll cook off. Simmer a while and check the flavor, adding salt, hot sauce, or pepper if needed.
Omelet: I’ve made omelets the “right” way and they’re nice, but I think this way is better. Maybe it’s not even an omelet – I don’t care. You’ll need a small non-stick skillet, hopefully the only non-stick thing in your kitchen, except for maybe a crepe pan. Heat some butter over medium heat. Whisk 2-5 eggs until fluffy, optionally with a bit of creme fraiche. When the butter foams shake it around the pan to evenly coat and pour in the eggs. Turn on your broiler, placing the top rack so your omelet pan will be a couple of inches from the heat. Pretend you’re making scrambled eggs, mixing the eggs as they cook, but stop before they’re all set. Grate on some cheese and place the pan under the broiler. Watch it carefully – when it’s done it’ll be set, puffy, and golden brown and the cheese will be melted.
Pour some hot chili on top of the omelet for the Best Breakfast Ever (for now).
My friends Acacia and Ray gave me a bamboo cutting board for my birthday or Christmas a couple of years ago. Since then, my other cutting boards have sat lonely and neglected. The bamboo board has several advantages. First, it’s very hard, so even rough chopping doesn’t cut into it much. There are a lot of shapes available, but mine seems perfect – small enough to fit many places on the counter, rounded corners that are pretty and nice for holding, an overall square-ish shape so it’ll stand up for storage and drying. This board at Amazon appears to be about the same size and shape as mine. They’re also very inexpensive, which will be nice if I ever need to replace mine.
