From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen: Stovetop Smoked Ribs

Living in an apartment, it's not easy to enjoy grilling and smoking.  It's basically impossible.  But every once in a while, I think about the stovetop smoker I've got in the cabinet, and I wonder what all I could accomplish with a little research.  So when I got a rack of ribs on sale, I decided now was the time.  Luckily, I'm not the first person to consider this alternative, and the ribs actually turned out much better (and smokier) than I thought.  This is definitely going to be a recurring item.

Stovetop Smoked Ribs
Adapted from From My Impossibly Tiny Kitchen blog

1 rack baby back ribs
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon roasted garlic powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoon wood chips (i used hickory)

Combine the salt, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, Chinese five spice, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs, then season the ribs with the rub, front and backside.

Pour wood chips in a pile in the center of the bottom of a stovetop smoker, then fit with the drip tray, lined with aluminum foil, and the rack, sprayed with cooking spray.  Slide on the cover of the smoker until only open by two inches.  Heat on medium until the first wisp of smoke escapes, then close the lid and start the timer for 45 minutes.

Five minutes before the smoking time is up, preheat the oven to 275°F.  Place the ribs in a baking dish and wrap with foil.  Bake 1½ hours, until tender.  Slather with barbecue sauce, if desired, and crisp up the top of the ribs by broiling for about 10 minutes.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

Klobasnek (Sausage Rolls)

My local doughnut shop makes what they call kolaches, but I have been reminded by some people of Czech ancestry that anything with a sausage in it is most certainly NOT a kolache.  Regardless of nomenclature, these little sausage rolls are pretty darn delicious, and they make an excellent and easy breakfast.  I decided to make some of my own, because how hard could it be?  If you have a breadmaker: not very difficult at all.

Note: I made this dough in my Zojirushi breadmaker, which I highly recommend.  It makes quick work of the mixing and rising, so these come together super quickly.

Klobasnek (Sausage Rolls)

¾ cup half-and-half
1½ tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
2¼ cups bread flour
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus additional for forming
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks, divided use
2⅓ tablespoons unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing bowl
1 package Eckrich Smok-y Cheddar breakfast sausages
Everything bagel topping

Warm the half-and-half to 105°F to 115°F, and stir in the sugar until dissolved.  Sprinkle the yeast over the top; stir briefly and set aside.

Combine both flours with the salt.  Set aside.

When milk mixture starts to foam, pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer; add the flour mixture, egg, one egg yolk, and butter, and mix until just combined.  Replace the beater with the dough hook.  Knead at low speed for three to five minutes.

Turn out the dough into a bowl greased with butter. Turn the dough slightly to ensure the butter gets on all of the dough surfaces. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place free of drafts until doubled, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Punch the dough down and divide into ten equal pieces.  On a lightly floured board,  roll out each piece into a rectangle, about 3 inches long by 2 inches wide, enough to wrap around a sausage.  Wrap each sausage with a piece of dough, pinching the ends together at the bottom.  Place rolls on a baking sheet, very slightly separated.

In a small bowl, beat remaining egg yolk until thin.  Brush the top of each roll with egg yolk, then sprinkle with bagel topping.

Bake the rolls for 15 minutes, or until the tops are browned, and the rolls are puffed up.

Makes 10 servings

Korean Bapsang: Kimchi Bokkeum Bap (Kimchi Fried Rice)

After the delicious Korean meal I made a week ago, I decided to use up my remaining kimchi on another Korean classic.  I can't even explain what this rice tastes like, and kimchi is certainly an acquired taste, but there's just something tempting about the whole thing.  And before you know it, you've tossed back a whole bowl slathered with yolk and sesame oil, and it's a beautiful thing.

Kimchi Bokkeum Bap (Kimchi Fried Rice)
From Korean Bapsang blog

3 to 4 strips of bacon, diced
¾ cup diced kimchi
¼ small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
3 to 4 tablespoons juice from kimchi
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang)
2½ cups cooked short grain rice
Vegetable or canola oil for stir-frying
½ tablespoon sesame oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 green onion, chopped
2 fried eggs

Heat a lightly oiled large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces. Cook just until the bacon is slightly browned but not crisp. If you don't want all the rendered fat, remove the fat from the pan leaving about a tablespoon.

Add the kimchi, onion, carrots, juice from kimchi, soy sauce, and gochujang. Stir fry until the kimchi turns soft and deep in color, 5 to 6 minutes. Take the time to do this step so the rich flavors develop.

Add the rice along with a tablespoon of oil, if you have removed the bacon fat.

Stir constantly until everything is well incorporated and the clumped up rice is broken up, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Scrape up the flavorful brown bits from the pan while stirring. Mix in the sesame oil and the sesame seeds at the end.

Top with the fried egg, and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallion and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice: Tri-color Sweet Potato Salad

The fun thing about this time of year is all of the neat ingredients you find at the grocery store that are rolling off the farms.  I happened across some beautiful colored potatoes, so I figured it might be nice to try a cold salad with as many colors as I could get in one bowl.  The potatoes were pretty delicious, and the sweet potato made a nice foil for the regular potatoes.  The spinach helps you feel healthy, but the sweet mustard dressing is the real star.

Tri-color Sweet Potato Salad
Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice blog

1 pound russet potatoes
1 pound sweet potatoes

1 pound purple potatoes
4 large eggs
½ pound applewood-smoked bacon
½ cup diced red onion
1 packed cup fresh baby spinach leaves

Dressing:
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the potatoes, cut them in half and place them in a big soup pot or divide them between two large saucepans. Cover with water and bring to a slow boil. Cook until fork tender 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and let cool.

Meanwhile, add the eggs to a small saucepan, bring to a slow boil for about 10 minutes. Drain and add cold water to the pan to cool them off.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking pan with aluminum foil and lay out the bacon in one layer. Bake until crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain on paper towels and chop.

Make stacks of the spinach leaves, roll them up and thinly slice (chiffonade).

Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes and add to a large bowl. Peel and chop the eggs - add to the bowl with the onion, spinach, and bacon.

In a small bowl whisk all dressing ingredients together until well combined. Pour about half of it into the bowl along with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until well combined, adding more dressing as needed. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.  Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Makes 8 servings

Nestlé Toll House Treasury: Butterscotch Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple upside down cake is pretty nostalgic for me.  It's one of those cakes that my mom would make from a box mix every once in a while, and there's just something about the crunchy caramelized sugar top that really makes this delicious.  Naturally, when I found a recipe that also included butterscotch chips, I had to try it.  The chips help make what is normally a little bit of a bland cake into something really special, but I might just include them in the batter only next time.  There's something about brown sugar topping that nothing else can match.

Butterscotch Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Adapted from Nestlé Toll House Treasury

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 (12-ounce) package Nestlé Toll House butterscotch flavored morsels, divided
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 (8-ounce) cans sliced pineapple, drained and reserve ¾ cup juice
7 maraschino cherries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In a 10-inch cast iron skillet over low heat, combine 1 cup butterscotch morsels and ¼ cup butter.  Stir until morsels are melted and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat.  Arrange pineapple and maraschino cherries in skillet.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, remaining butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat until creamy.  Gradually add flour mixture alternately with reserved pineapple juice.  Stir in remaining 1 cup butterscotch morsels.  Pour over pineapple.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Immediately invert cake onto serving plate.

Makes 10 to 12 servings

My Korean Kitchen: Bulgogi (Korean Grilled Beef) and Aeri's Kitchen: Ssamjang (Wrapping Sauce)

After the time I spent in Korea many years ago, I occasionally get a craving for some of the foods that I ate on a regular basis there.  And this is definitely one of those foods.  There are actually several different meat dishes that you can eat wrapped in a shiso leaf with rice and spicy sauce, but this tends to be the easiest to make in the US without a dedicated Korean table grill.  And I just happened to find a nice package of thinly sliced ribeye, so...

Bulgogi (Korean Grilled Beef)
Adapted from My Korean Kitchen blog

1¾ pounds ribeye or top sirloin (or any tender prime beef cut), thinly sliced, ⅛-inch thickness
½ onion, peeled and sliced into thin wedges
½ carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on the bias

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

2 green onions, thinly sliced
Red lettuce leaves
Ssamjang (see below)

Marinade

6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, rice syrup, or honey
2 tablespoons rice wine (mirin)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 Asian pear or Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and grated
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the marinade ingredients.  Place the thinly sliced meat, onion wedges, and carrot slices in a mixing bowl and pour the marinade over all.  Mix well while gently massaging the meat with your hands.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or move the marinated meat into a glass container with a lid) and marinate the meat for 1 to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat a skillet on medium high until well heated. Add the vegetable oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. Add the meat and vegetables and cook on medium high to high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables cook to your desired doneness. Toss in the sesame seeds and green onions and stir to combine.

Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves with ssamjang and steamed white rice.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ssamjang (Wrapping Sauce)
From Aeri's Kitchen blog

2 tablespoons soybean paste (doenjang)
1 tablespoon red pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon honey
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sesame seeds

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together. If you like to eat this often, you can make a larger portion ahead of time and then store it in the refrigerator to serve whenever you need it.

Makes ¼ cup

Allrecipes: Artichoke Rice Salad

Occasionally when I'm trolling around online on various food forums, I come across mentions of frightening dishes of days past, things that your grandmother has written on a food-splattered 3x5 notecard.  This salad was one of those things.  However, I have to say, this dish is actually pretty good.  I can especially see this going over big during the summer served next to a beautiful piece of broiled salmon.  It's refreshing and tangy in all the right ways.

Artichoke Rice Salad
From Allrecipes

1 (10.75-ounce) package chicken-flavored Rice-A-Roni

2 (6-ounce) jars quartered marinated artichoke hearts, diced
6 green onions, chopped
12 pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced

1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped

½ cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon curry powder
Dash hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)


Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions. Cool mixture in refrigerator.

In a mixing bowl, combine cooled cooked rice, artichokes, green onions, green olives, and bell pepper.  Prepare the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, curry powder, and hot pepper sauce. Pour dressing over combined rice and vegetable mix, stir well and chill.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Bitz 'n Giggles: Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

I know I'm going to be housebound for a little while following a surgery, so I figured the best idea would be to stock up on some delicious food to help me to heal.  And what could be better than a nice, comforting casserole? (Answer: not much.)  I always a fan of chicken and cheese, and if I must have something healthy also, it might as well be broccoli.  This casserole is super easy to put together, and it makes a ton, so you can basically feed your whole family, too.

Note: The original recipe called for potato chips on top; I thought the rice and cheese was enough.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Adapted from Bitz 'n Giggles blog

2 cups finely chopped broccoli florets (nuke for 4 min)
½ cup water, divided use
2 cups chopped, cooked rotisserie chicken meat
1 (5.5-ounce) bag Knorr Rice Sides – Chicken Broccoli, prepared
1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken and mushroom soup
1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place broccoli in a glass bowl with ¼ cup water.  Cover with plastic wrap, leaving one corner slightly peeled back.  Microwave on HIGH for 4 minutes.  Broccoli should be bright green and starting to tenderize.  Drain off water and set broccoli aside.

In a large bowl combine the steamed broccoli, chicken, prepared rice, soups, minced onion, lemon juice, remaining ¼ cup water, garlic powder, and pepper.  Spread the mixture into a lightly greased 9x13-inch glass baking pan.  Cover the mixture with cheese.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the potato chips are browned and the casserole is heated through.

Makes 8 servings

The Woks of Life: Máo shì hóngshāoròu (Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork Belly)

It seems like everywhere I go, I see pork belly for sale.  But it's often the super fatty cuts, with little to no meat.  So when I happened upon a beautifully meaty slab at the Asian market, I decided it was time to try.  I figured since I got the pork belly in an Asian market, I might as well stick with the theme and try for a Chinese dish.  I did use rock sugar, and I think it's pretty hard to deal with, so I would recommend to just stick with the regular granulated.  This dish is very rich, so be prepared with something light and refreshing for dessert.

Note: I used tien tsin peppers in my version.

Máo shì hóngshāoròu (Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork Belly)
From The Woks of Life blog

2 pounds pork belly (cut into ¾-inch pieces)
6 slices ginger, divided use
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons granulated sugar (or 40 grams rock sugar, plus ½ teaspoon)
3 scallions (diced, with the white and green parts separated)
½ cup Shaoxing wine
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1½ tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
4 bay leaves
1 to 2 dried chili peppers (optional)
4 cups water

The first step is to blanch the pork belly, which removes any blood or impurities from the meat. To do this, add the pork belly and 3 slices of ginger to a pot with enough cold water to submerge the pork belly. With the lid on, bring it to a boil. Once the pot boils, turn down the heat and simmer for one more minute. Drain, rinse the pork belly clean, and set aside.

With the wok set over low heat, add the oil and rock sugar (or 3 tablespoons regular sugar). Slowly melt the sugar, taking care to not let it burn. Then add in the pork belly, 3 slices ginger, and the white parts of the scallions. Turn up the heat to medium. Stir and coat the pork belly with the melted sugar.

Now, add the Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves, dried chili peppers, and water. Stir and make sure everything is submerged. There will be some caramelized sugar on your spatula, dissolve it in the water before covering the wok. Bring the mixture up to a simmer over medium low heat for 1 hour. Check the pork periodically to make sure the sauce doesn’t dry up.

Once the pork is to your liking in terms of tenderness, turn up the heat to cook off any excess sauce, stirring constantly. The sauce will reduce to a glistening coating on the pork belly. Last, add in the remaining ½ teaspoon sugar and the green parts of the scallions. Stir quickly and serve!

Makes 8 servings

Pillsbury: Mini Everything Crescent Dogs

My sister calls these pigs in a blanket, and I think they're one of my brother-in-law's favorite foods.  After having them at a family get-together, I decided I wanted to make my own batch to take for breakfast in the morning.  You don't have to add the bagel topping, but it certainly puts them over the top.

Mini Everything Crescent Dogs
Adapted from Pillsbury

1 (8-ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls
24 cocktail-size smoked link sausages (from one 14-ounce package)
1 large egg, beaten

3 to 4 tablespoons everything bagel topping

Heat oven to 375°F.

Unroll dough; separate into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles. Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet.  Brush each sausage roll with beaten egg, then sprinkle with everything bagel topping.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Makes 24 servings