.bbq ribs to die for.

My dad makes FABULOUS ribs. We make our own bbq sauce (which you MUST DO! Don't cheat and buy store bought. Your family will thank you. Truussttt me. ;) ) and it's the secret behind these delicious ribs. I make my sauce a little different than dad. The master gave me 2 thumbs up though when he tried it when he and my mom visited at Christmas.



I use pork ribs, by the way. You could use beef ribs, but personally, I hate beef ribs because I feel like I don't get any meat! Use what you like to use.



We'll start by making the bbq sauce. You can make this the day before. You can make this a week before. I make a bunch and keep some in the fridge in a mason jar in case I ever feel like making ribs or something with bbq sauce at the last minute.




In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil. When hot, saute 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup diced onion and 1 bay leaf. Saute for a minute or two. Don't let it burn!














Add:

2 cups ketchup
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup honey
1 cup molasses
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp tabasco
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp celery seed



Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Let this cook down for a couple hours. You want the sauce to coat the back of a spoon.



Lay your ribs in a casserole dish and cover with bbq sauce. Cover the top tightly with foil.



Put in a 300* oven and bake 2 to 2 1/2 hours.












This is what the ribs will look like when they're done baking.


Drain the juice from the dish.



Preheat your bbq grill. Put some of the remaining bbq sauce in a bowl for basting.



Grill your ribs for only about 5 minutes. Baste between turns. You really only want to add grill markings and caramelize the bbq sauce on the outside. The ribs are cooked already so don't keep them on there too long otherwise you'll overcook them and they'll be dry.



Pull from the grill and serve!




Printable version:

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_18fzpg4jf

.comfort food is good for the soul.

Yesterday it was so dark and rainy and yucky. When it gets like that, I crave comfort food. One of my favorite comfort foods is pot roast so I thought I would make that for dinner! When I was at the store picking up a few items for this week's meals, I spotted Rhodes rolls in the freezer section. I knew I wanted rolls with dinner but didn't think I had enough time to make them myself. Well, it was going to take 3-5 hours just for those thing! I decided to make my own.

I have this cookbook...bought it about 16 years ago. I was working as a receptionist and this girl came in selling books/cookbooks. It looked pretty good and it has been one of my absolute FAVORITES! I'd link you to where you can buy it online, but it's no longer in publication. Anyway, there'sa roll recipe in it that I've been curious to try. They're Oatmeal Molasses rolls. Interesting, huh? I thought so too! Here's the recipe:

In a bowl, put 2 cups oats (I used quick oats) and 1/4 cup butter. Pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water on top of them and set aside until the butter is melted.

In a mixing bowl, put 1/2 cup warm water and 2 pkgs yeast (4 1/2 tsp). Let proof 10 minutes. Add the oat/butter mixture along with 1 cup brown sugar, 2 eggs, 2 cups bread flour, 1/3 cup molasses, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Mix using a dough hook. Add more flour until dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides and bottom of bowl. Dump out onto floured surface and knead in more flour, stopping when dough is no longer tacky.



Spray your mixing bowl with Pam and put the dough in and let rise until double. The dough was pretty sticky after that rise and I needed to knead in a little more flour before shaping into small balls. The aroma was wonderful! Pull dough apart and work into balls. Put in a sprayed bread pan. Do this until the dough is all balled up. Cover pans until double in size.





Preheat oven to 375* and bake risen rolls for 20-25 minutes or until nice and golden brown on top.

After sampling more than I really needed to, I have to say they were AMAZING. They are really moist and a little sweet from the brown sugar. Very tasty. Jim gives them 2 thumbs up!