Orange, Soy, Ginger-Glazed Pork Ribs

This is a wonderful recipe!  I can call this one my own, because I changed more than three things -- a little unwritten culinary law.  But I do want to give credit to Bon Appetit magazine and Cindy Pawlcyn, author of Big Small Plates.  I adapted and joined both of these recipes....

The ribs should be cut into separate ribs and marinaded for 24 hours, but I only marinaded them for 6 hours and they tasted great.

Recipe for two:

8 country pork ribs, cut into individual ribs
1 small can of Eden garbanzo beans drained
1 T tomato paste
1 c vegetable stock
2 c greens of your choice, we used broccoli rabe

For the Marinade:
1 c soy sauce such as Shoya
1 t whole cane sugar unrefined
2 T honey
1 t chili flakes
2 t sherry vinegar
1 t rice wine vinegar
1 t hot sauce
1 t sesame oil
1/4 t freshly ground white pepper
juice of an orange
2" piece of ginger grated
2 t garlic finely chopped

Garnish:
1/2 c finely sliced scallions
zest of one orange

Mix all the ingredients of the marinade together and whisk.  Pour it over the ribs and refrigerate for 6-24 hours, turning once.

When you're ready to cook, set your oven to 450*  When the oven is hot, place the ribs in an uncovered roasting or sheet pan, and place on a center shelf.  Even though these take an hour to cook, the meal itself is quite easy and quick to do.  Check the ribs after a half hour, if they are caramelizing too much add a little water.

While the ribs are cooking, drain the beans and add the stock and the tomato paste, and stir.  Add a three finger pinch of sea salt and cover with the heat on low.  Tip: you can substitute rice for the beans!   Now saute in a tablespoon of olive oil, and 1/2 an onion chopped finely.  When the ribs are done and the beans are hot, add the greens and cook just to melt.

Serve on warm plates, and garnish with scallions and orange zest.  For best results, use a macro plane for the zest.

Bon Appetit!  Chef Hobbes

Killer Holiday Season Gravlax

This recipe for gravlax comes from an old friend from Napa, California, Cindy Pawlcyn.  Cindy learned this recipe from the New French Cafe...  It's the best gravlax you will ever eat, and you probably won't eat smoked salmon again!

Gravlax is cured, not smoked.  You can use any fish, but salmon and halibut are preferred because of the fat content.  The end result is a sweet, tender and tasty gravlax that melts in your mouth!

Let's make gravlax using king salmon.  First you need fresh fish for this, so trusting your fish monger is important.  I buy my fish here in Friday Harbor from Eric and Brenda at Friday Harbor Seafood, down on the fish barge located on the main dock.  These guys use to fish, so they know the business.

Recipe:
1 pound of king salmon, pin-boned and skin on
1/8 cup good quality sea salt, like Eden or Maldon
1/4 cup organic whole cane sugar from Rapunzel
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1/2 bunch fresh dill, stems removed

First a word about sugar.  I don't use sugar because it's the root of most of our health problems.  But in some recipes we need it.  I found one that is pure and minimally processed, it's organic whole cane sugar, that's unrefined and unbleached, made by Rapunzel and is available at Gourmet Galley.

Watch the video on how to make this fantastic cured salmon.

Bon Appett!