Ribs, Potatoes & Peas.....Oh My!

I promised you the recipes for last night's dinner and here they are....except for the cake...that will be tomorrow. I got the Ribs and Potato recipe out of the Food Network Magazine, April 2010 and its de-lish! The Peas & Pearl Onions are my creation. Hope you enjoy!

Morgan's Sweet-Tea Ribs with Lemony Potato Salad

active: 1 hr / total: 2 hr 30 min / serves: 4 to 6
**I had a little over 3lbs of ribs and we barely had enough for 4 adults and one 4 year-old. I will be increasing the rib portion next time.

6      bags black tea (any kind)
1/4   cup plus 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1      orange
2      racks baby back ribs (about 2 pounds)
**I used 3.34 pounds of spareribs
2      pounds russet potatoes; peeled and cut in 3/4-inch chunks
1/2   cup mayonnaise
1      tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
**I used 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1      lemon
 **I also used a spoonful of cornstarch

1. Empty 3 tea bags into a bowl and combine the loose tea with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grate in the orange zest. Pat the ribs dry and trim the membrane from the underside. Rub the tea mixture over the ribs; place in a roasting pan, meat side up, and bring to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 275. Steep the remaining 3 tea bags in 2 cups boiling water, about 5 minutes. Discard the bags and stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons Brown sugar and the juice of half the orange. Pour the mixture around the ribs in the pan. Cover with foil and roast until tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes. **be careful when pouring the sauce in. If you pour it over the ribs you will wash the dry rub off.



The ribs after coming out of
the oven and having the juice removed.

3. Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pot of salted water; bring to a simmer and cook until tender about 5 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Mix the mayonnaise and parsley in a large bowl. Grate in the zest of half the lemon; add the juice of the lemon  half. Fold in the potatoes and add 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste; refrigerate until ready to serve.
4. Remove the ribs from the oven and increase the temperature to 450. Pour the cooking liquid into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Baste the ribs with some of the liquid, then return to the oven and cook, uncovered, basting a few times, until the ribs are dark and glazed, 20 to 30 minutes. **20 minutes was all I needed.



The sauce, just before simmering.

5. When the remaining liquid in the saucepan is syrupy, add lemon  juice to taste. Brush the ribs with the glaze. Cut  the racks  into pieces and serve with the potato salad. **My glaze was reducing but not getting thick, so here is where I added my spoonful of cornstarch. I created a slurry first, by spooning some of the liquid from the pot into a separate bowl and then adding my spoonful of cornstarch to it and mixing well, then add your cornstarch mixture to the pot. Within in 2 minutes you should have a lovely, syrupy glaze just as the recipe calls for. 

Peas and Pearl Onions

active: less than 5 minutes / total: 10 minutes, if you're lucky / serves: 4 to 6

Frozen Peas

Pearl Onions in brine
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter

1. Add 1 cup water and the amount of peas you want to cook up to a saucepan. Spoon some of the brine and onions into the pot. Cover and bring to a quick boil, let cook for 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Add butter to your serving dish. Drain your peas and onions, then transfer to your dish. Lightly stir the dish to combine with butter.

The dishes were wonderful, and we had leftovers of the potatoes, peas and two measly ribs. Being as someone who loves leftovers, I will make more ribs next time. This is definitely a dish meal I will be repeating.

Enjoy your day!