Every now and again I feel I come up with a dinner that is really really good!  Last night may have been one of those nights.  I started with a big piece of beef, almost like a blade roast (just a little thinner) and I had some homemade marinara sauce that I wanted to use.  I also had a pile of grape tomatoes that have seen better days in addition to brown rice and spinach that I was thinking about all day.

I was home in the afternoon awaiting zesty junior off the bus so I put these in the oven for 3 hours with the sauce, tomatoes and some seasoning and all I can say about the beef – ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.  Tender, succulent, could not pick it up without it falling apart.

The joy of braising beef, you are pretty much always impressed with the results.

Ingredients

• Boneless Beef ( 1-2 lbs)
• 1 Cup Marinara sauce
• 2 Handful or grape tomatoes
• 1 Tsp. Dry mustard
• 2 cloves garlic ( crushed )
• 1/2 Tsp. Red pepper flakes
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. Water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Preheat an oven safe pan on top of the stove and add the olive oil.  Season the beef with salt and pepper and add to the pan to sear both sides.  About 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove from heat.
2. In a bowl, combine the marinara sauce, red pepper flakes, dry mustard, garlic and grape tomatoes and pour over the beef.
3. Cover and place in the oven for 3 hours.
4. Remove from the oven and set the meat aside ( covering with tin foil )
5. Place the pan back on the stove top and bring to a boil.  We will create a slurry with the cornstarch and water to help thicken the sauce to finish the sauce.  Once the sauce is boiling, add the slurry and let it thicken for about 5-6 minutes.
6. Let’s assemble the dish.  I like to put the raw spinach on the bottom of the bowl and top with a little sauce to begin the wilting process, then I serve a little bit of rice, and top with the beef.  Then ladle a little more of thickened sauce on top.







7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The key to the sauce it make sure it has the right consistency.  Because the Marinara had oil in it – it will break apart once cooked for so long.  The combination of cornstarch and water helps thicken and bring it back together.  The sauce is the star of the dish in my opinion.

Zesty’s Spontaneous News

Well Well Well Have I got news for you!  Yesterday on a total whim I went ahead and booked a family vacation for Disney World!  I know, kind of crazy and kind of fun.  I could not pass up the price and we knew the kids wanted to go on a plane.

Now you ask yourself, why is he telling me this?  Well I kind of need your help.  I do not have a hotel booked yet and we have not decided to stay in the Disney resort or just outside.  I feel we will be doing other things in Orlando other than Disney so we will rent a car for ease of getting around but I am still pondering the hotel situation.

If you have any suggestions by all means email me or leave them in the comments – they would be greatly appreciated.

I hope you have a great Wednesday, as I sit here and look out the dining room window – we are buried in snow.  The driveway is completely full and we are just waiting to get cleaned out.  The sun is shining, the snow is blowing and it is freezing out.  I cannot wait for Florida!

Take care

zesty

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Yes it’s true!!  Slow Roasted Cajun Ribs were on the menu last night.  I was going to do them in the slow cooker but I totally forgot in the morning to put them in so I decided we would have a late supper and I would slow roast them after work.  This process takes a bit of time but like anything…. good things are worth the wait! I have a previous post sharing tips while cooking ribs, all the tips still apply however these ribs will utilize the oven as well as a two step basting process.

Ingredients ( Dry Rub)

• 3 Tbsp Dried Thyme
• 2 Tbsp Paprika
• 2 Tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
• 1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
• 1 Tbsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tsp Salt

Ingredients ( Sauce)

• 1/4 Cup Molasses
• 1 Tbsp, Soy Sauce
• 1 Tsp. Sweet Chili Sauce

Method

1. Prepare the meat and remove any silver skin to allow the meat to breakdown and become tender while cooking. Preheat oven at 250 degrees.



2. Add dry rub mixture all over and meat and ensure you rub it in well. This will allow the flavours to penetrate the meat as it cooks. If you have time you can leave the rub on all day or even over night. I just let it sit about 20 minutes.



3. After 90 minutes of cooking – I add the sauce to the top of the meat. Brush the glaze all over the meat and make sure that it is evenly distributed over the meat. This will form a nice crust to the top of the ribs.



4. After 2 hours and 20 minutes in the oven at the low tempreature. I like to blast the heat to 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes and really build the crust on the meat. By this time the meat has already pulled away from the bone and is very juicy. The higher tempreature for the short burst just adds more flavor to the surface of the ribs.

Once out of the oven – I like to let the ribs sit there for about 10-15 minutes so that the juices will travel back to the center of the meat and ensure the succulent flavor you come to expect from pork ribs.

A great side dish with ribs is a nice coleslaw. I just grated some cabbage and some carrot then sprinkled in some cracked black pepper and red pepper flakes and used a store bought dressing and called it a coleslaw. Yesterday’s french fries would also be a nice treat beside this ribs. Now the only thing left to do is grab your favorite drink, a handful of napkins and ENJOY. Let me know your favorite sauce that you use when you make ribs.

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