Blistered Green Beans

The potato is my favorite vegetable. I also like artichokes, radishes, bean sprouts and arugula. And I love these green beans. First, they are shriveled and blackened....and then crowned with garlic, red pepper flakes and capers. I recommend using a cast iron pan to cook these and you must resist the urge to stir. You want to cook them like you would a ribeye steak.


Ingredients
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound green beans, trimmed and patted dry of all surface moisture
Kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tablespoon capers, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high until shimmering. Add green beans (the dryer they are, the less they will splatter when they hit the oil) and cook, covering skillet as needed if beans are splattering, until browned underneath, about 3 minutes. 
2. Turn beans with tongs and redistribute so they brown evenly (don’t toss them since hot oil can easily slosh out of skillet if you try to show off). Continue to cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over and tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with salt. Add garlic, capers, and red pepper flakes. Cook, tossing occasionally, just until garlic turns golden, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer beans to a platter. Spoon caper-garlic mixture over and pour some oil over, too; season with salt. Serve.

Grogs and Goldie, 1956

Oven Roasted Beef Ribs

During the winter months, an oven is actually an excellent substitute for a smoker. While the meat does not get infused with wood smoke, roasting still yields a delicious, tender, meat-falling-off-the-bone experience. And a good rub will more than make up for the wood smoke.

I've been cooking baby back ribs in my oven for ages, to the delight of everyone that has tasted them: http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2011/03/oven-roasted-baby-back-ribs.html. I recently stumbled across this Jenny Jones recipe for oven roasted beef ribs. While her recipe called for a generic rub, I substituted what I think is the greatest beef dry rub of all-time....Lone Star Rub created by Jamie Purviance.

It's a rub I use for grilling ribeye steaks....and it is every bit as good on these beef ribs. When you get to the end of the recipe, you have several options. Jenny suggests you coat the ribs with a great BBQ sauce (oh how I love Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce) and then broil the ribs for a few minutes. I, however, prefer my ribs non-sauced because the dry rub is so outstanding. So I just serve Sweet Baby Ray's on the side and let my fellow diners choose to sauce or not sauce.


INGREDIENTS

For the Lone Star Rub
4 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons granulated onion
1-1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Ribs
2 pounds beef ribs
Juice of one lemon


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 275° F.
2. Rub ribs all over with lemon juice.
3. Coat ribs with dry rub. Place meaty side down on foil and cover entire rack tightly, shiny side out. Put foil-wrapped ribs on a sheet pan, meat side down.
4. Bake in the oven for 3-1/2 hours.
5. Remove from oven and pour off liquid.
6. Turn oven to BROIL and place rack 4 to 5 inches from broiler. (If you want your ribs sauced, coat ribs with BBQ sauce now.)
7. Place ribs on oven rack, uncovered and broil for 5 minutes, meaty side up.
8. Cut into individual ribs and serve.

Wine pairing: Zinfandel

Grogs and Goldie, 1956

Happy Birthday to Todd Marella!

Sheet Pan Spicy Korean Chicken

This Neha Mathur recipe makes for a fantastic weeknight dinner. It only needs 10 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven. I like to add some veggies to the sheet pan and drizzle them with the leftover marinade and then serve everything over rice.


Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Gochujang
1 teaspoon Gochugaru (or substitute chili powder)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch of scallions, chopped

Directions

1. Cut the chicken breasts in half, horizontally, to reduce their thickness.
2. Add all remaining ingredients in a bowl (except scallions) and toss well to coat the chicken pieces with the marinade.
3. Refrigerate the chicken for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 400º.
5. Arrange the chicken pieces on the sheet pan.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken pieces are slightly charred.
7. Remove from oven. Plate, garnish with scallions and serve.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   Wine pairing: Sauvignon Blanc. A Sileni, if you are lucky.

   
   

   
   

   

   Grogs and Goldie, 1956

   
   

   
   

   
   

Meatballs in Dijon Gravy

When it comes to comfort food, few things satisfy like a meal with meatballs. Meatballs are easy to make, so they are a perfect dish for a quick weeknight dinner. While spaghetti with meatballs are a regular thing in the Gruggen household, this Elizabeth Licata recipe caught my eye because I love anything having to do with mustard. (Confession: There are no less than 10 different kinds of mustard in our fridge.) This is on the menu for tonight's dinner and I will be serving the meatballs and gravy over buttered egg noodles. How's that for comforting?


INGREDIENTS

Meatballs
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

Dijon Gravy
3 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons dijon mustard (or more, to taste, if you are a mustard fanboy like me)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meatball ingredients until fully combined. 
2. Form balls with the meat mixture with your hands. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
3. Heat some oil on a large skillet. Brown the meatballs on all sides until the meatballs are cooked through. Remove from the saucepan and set aside.
4. Melt the butter on the skillet. Whisk in the flour until medium brown. Pour in the broth and simmer until thickened. Add in the milk and mustard. Simmer until thick and creamy.
5. Place the meatballs in the sauce and cook until the meatballs are heated through.

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   
   

   Wine pairing: Bordeaux

   
   

   
   

   

   Grogs and Goldie, 1956

   
   

   Happy 46th birthday to Damian Hirtz!