I Want My Baby Back Baby Back Baby Back

Living in Utah my whole life, I always thought 100° was 100° and those people whining about humidity making it worse were just a bunch of pansies.  Well… I was wrong.  I get it now.  In Utah when it gets over 100 the sun literally feels like it’s baking you.  Here, it feels like you’ve just walked into the sauna from hell, even in the middle of the night.  You can’t breathe, and the sweat… seriously?  I never used to sweat, but here it’s just the default way of being.  All that in mind, you’ll understand why I not only don’t want to use my oven or boil anything on the stove, but I don’t even want to use my electric skillet because it creates too much steam.  I was tired of sandwiches, salads, and eating out.  I wanted a proper, home cooked meal, so I did the only thing I could think of.  I bought a slow cooker.  What could be a better way to break it in than baby back ribs and potatoes?  As a bonus, it was the easiest meal I’ve made in a long time, and amazingly delicious.  Hubby gave it two thumbs up. 

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 rack of baby backs
• 1 onion
• 3 good sized potatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• Celery salt
• Salt & Pepper
• Your favorite spice mix
• 1 lemon

Peel your onion, cut it in half, and slice it about ½ inch thick.

Line the bottom of your crock pot with onion slices.

Lay out your ribs.  Well, not your ribs.  You'll be needing them.     

Sprinkle with liberal amounts of all the spices. 

Turn the rack over and repeat. 

I know a lot of people only season the one side, but seasoning the underside serves multiple purposes here.  Not only will it add flavor to the meat, but everything else in the pot as well. 

Lay the ribs around the edges of the pot with the curved side facing in to form a little bowl.  (I know, sometimes I even surprise myself with my genius.)

Drop in any remaining slices of onion, along with whole, peeled garlic cloves. 

Now, onto the potatoes.  Since they’re not going to be submerged, they need something to keep them from oxidizing.  Juice a lemon and add enough water to total ¾ cup liquid. 

As you dice the potatoes, pour the liquid over the top and sprinkle on 1 teaspoon salt. 

Continue to toss the potatoes in the lemon water as you chop.  If you have any cuts on your fingers, I don’t recommend doing this with your hands.  I learned the hard way.  If you have any cuts or scrapes on your hands you aren’t aware of, you will be the moment you plunge them into lemon and salt water.  When you’ve recovered, pour the potatoes, along with the liquid into the bowl-o-ribs. 

Now, just pop the lid on and cook on low for 6 hours.  Seriously, that’s all you have to do.  When you come back 6 hours later, your house will smell like you’ve slaved all day. 

You probably won’t be able to get the whole rack out in one piece, because it’s literally fall apart tender.  Saves the hassle of having to cut it, right?  Just put down a bed of potato, onion mixture and lay the ribs on top.  You aren’t going to believe how good these are. 

What else should I make in my new slow cooker? 

*Any leftover potatoes and onions can be blended into the remaining liquid making a fabulous potato soup bonus.   
 
 

for the dudes who kicked the most balls

Now, you may not be aware of this, but Spain just won the World Cup. Of football.

You know, the game where you kick a ball with your foot. And you're not allowed to use your hands. Because it's FOOTball.

I grew up in a household that put everything on hold during World Cup season. I'd find my step-dad watching tv at odd hours of the night so he could catch the games live. The guys at his office would not be able to talk about plays he hadn't witnessed himself. As a kid with insomnia, I suddenly had a lovely excuse to sit up at 3 am and watch tv.

I'm not a big soccer fan myself, but I know most of the jargon and I can understand the accents of the announcers. The guys at work though, they've had the tv on in the lunchroom all day so they wouldn't miss the games. Watching youtube vids of the latest plays at your desk is apparently entirely acceptable behaviour.

And I promised them that I'd make cookies themed to the winner of the World Cup. Of football.

Saffron Cookies

Saffron is the most expensive seasoning on the planet. It's practically worth its weight in gold.

Fortunately, you don't need much of it. I bought this little box for about 8 bucks at a specialty store, and it will last a while. This recipe only needs 1/8 of a teaspoon.

It's got a distinctly floral aroma and flavour (makes sense, it comes from a flower) but there's this underlying earthiness to it that can be overpowering if you use too much (maybe that's because it's the flower's reproductive organs).

And because I wanted to really make sure I had the mediterranean thing down, I decided I wanted to use olive oil in the cookies instead of butter.

Apparently some dude name Mark Bittman already came up with this combo and is regarded as somewhat of a genius for doing so. His is nearly the only recipe you can find using both saffron and olive oil. So his is where I started.

Here's my version:

What you need:

• 1/8 tsp saffron
• 1 tbsp milk or cream
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1 c sugar (victory should be sweet)
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• bit of salt

What you gotta do:

Start with the saffron. It's awesome.

Warm the milk or cream in a small bowl. I used the microwave for 20 seconds at 60% power. Add the saffron. At first it just sits there, looking kinda weird and out of place.

Give it a bit of a stir or shake and then let it sit while you do the next few steps.

Combine the oil, lemon juice, and sugar in a big bowl. It kinda smells like salad dressing.

Beat in the eggs. Definitely salad dressing-like. I mean, this is practically mayo! Mix this with a whisk, or your fancy batter beater for a good two minutes. You want it nice and golden. It won't ever really get 'fluffy' because the oil acts differently than softened butter does, but it does need a good beating. Kinda like Italy got.

Check on your saffron.

Holy hell is that yellow.

Artificial colours have nothing on this shit. Plus, the smell and taste of this... a tiny drop on your tongue. Seriously, you have to do it. It's strong, almost overwhelming, when its that concentrated, but it's amazing. Flowers, the earth, it's almost metallic, like the taste of blood in your mouth, but sweet and floral at the same time. It suddenly makes sense how this tiny part of a flower stands up to savoury dishes and adds delicacy to sweet ones. 

Pour your yellow gold into the oil and sugar mixture.

Sift on the flour, baking powder, and the salt.

You want to just barely mix these.

The dough is very soft, much more like a batter than your typical drop cookie. So I chilled mine for about 10 minutes. The consistency is perfect after a bit of time in the fridge. It's also freaking yellow.

I used a 1 tsp measuring spoon to scoop the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Smaller cookies means you can fit more on the sheet and they'll cook faster. It's way too freaking hot to have the oven on.

TIP: Put a big pot of cold water on the element when your oven vent is. Change the water with every batch of cookies. Cover the pot to prevent evaporation and you've got yourself a great little heat sink.

I recommend sprinkling a little sugar over the top of these. An extra bit of sweet. If you're feeling particularly generous, use the back of your wooden spoon to grind a pinch of saffron into a couple teaspoons of sugar.

The tiny threads make for a nice bit of decoration on what looks like a plain and bland cookie.

But oh my, they are neither plain nor bland.

It's a subtle, delicate flavour, but so distinctive, and almost surprising the first time you try them.

 What's your favourite sweet / savour cross over ingredient?