gritsandchopsticks.com

There a few key things you should know before you set about making these apricot-glazed sticky pork ribs: First of all, there are different cuts of pork ribs, and for this recipe you should buy St. Louis-style ribs as opposed to baby back ribs. I generally remove the membrane by starting at one end of the rack and grabbing a firm grip using a paper towel to pull the membrane off, shoving my fingers indelicately in between the membrane and the bone to loosen it up as I go. Once the sauce has the consistency of a thick glaze or sauce, remove from heat (alternatively, if the sauce is too thick, you can thin it with a little bit of water).When the ribs are done roasting face down, remove the baking sheet from the oven and drain out the cooking liquid. Turn on your grill (or the broil function of your oven, set at 500 degrees) and liberally brush the top of the pork ribs with the apricot glaze.

And, when the world blew up in a COVID-19 pandemic, I, like many other working moms out there, found myself in the midst of trying to juggle work, online schooling, cooking three meals a day, and generally wringing my hands about the state of the world. On the other hand, some days my starter would be overfed, overripe or gloomy, resulting in a disappointing flat pancake, I’d take out my frustrations on everyone around me, ending my day with a warm compress on my forehead with an episode of The Golden Girls to soothe my angry, COVID-19 panicked brain. In London, I’d make a quick stop every now and then down to the pub to fill up my soul with a cold pint and some hot chips (fries), and, like so many of us, when the COVID-19 shutdown happened, I found myself missing all of these little nothings. I’d like to think that many of you stumbled upon my blog because you’re at home and looking for new ways to create fabulous meals for your family (as opposed to tearfully yell-fighting with the members of your household over who misplaced the takeout menu you wanted to order from tonight).

As always, it’s so nice to come together and share food we’ve made, but the colorful flavors and variety of this meeting’s meal really stood out. (Middle Eastern spice) rubbed roast chicken on flatbreads, and salads, salads, salads galore. I adopted the idea of starting a cookbook club here in London in 2017 as a way to open up our home to friends we’ve made here, to bring people together over a common love of food and cooking, and to keep honing my culinary skills. He’s taken to picking his own recipe for each cookbook club potluck party and preparing a dish (of course, I do have to steer him a little in making sure the dish isn’t overly complicated).

The advantage to cooking foods in a vacuum-sealed environment is that you don’t risk bacterial contamination (there’s no warm air circulating around the food) and the only flavors that penetrate are the ones that you include in the bag before you seal it up. Cooking a steak conventionally on a grill or a hot pan means that you have to really sear the steaks on each side to seal in the juices and ensure tenderness. You can buy mine here.4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for finishingMix together everything except the flat iron steaks in a medium bowl, then pour the mixture into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Gently lower the Ziploc bag into the water and slowly seal the bag, making sure there are no air bubbles in the bag.