Ginger Dressing

1 cup olive oil
3 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped fine or crushed
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root (This MUST be fresh) *I also find that a small grater works perfectly to get ginger into small pieces, rather than chopping
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
About 2 teaspoons honey
ground black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Make sure to wish until everything is incorporated evenly. Pour in a dressing container, or glass container. Shake or wisk before serving.

Do you have a great dressing recipe you’d like to share? Please feel free to share your comments and thoughts here!

Oven-Barbecued Short Ribs of Beef

Serves 8

2 large onions, peeled and sliced
2 large green bell peppers, seeded and sliced
6 pounds beef short ribs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup hoisin sauce
3/4 cup flat beer (does not have to be flat!)
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot paprika (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

Preheat the broiler. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.
Working in batches, arrange the short ribs, meaty side up on a rack in
a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 minutes, 4 to 5 inches from heat until
well browned. Continue broiling, turning the ribs as necessary, until
well browned on all sides.

In the bottom of a large roasting pan or Dutch oven, spread the sliced
onions and peppers. Place the browned ribs on top of the vegetables.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, whisk
together the remaining ingredients. Pour half the barbecue sauce over
the ribs. Tightly cover the roasting pan or Dutch oven with aluminum
foil, place in the oven, and braise for 2 hours. Remove the foil, pour
the remaining sauce over the beef and vegetables, and continue cooking
uncovered 1/2 to 1 hour until the short ribs are very tender.

Transfer the short ribs and vegetables to a serving platter and keep
warm. Skim the fat from the pan and pour the remaining sauce over the
ribs to serve. The ribs may be made a day ahead, cooked and
refrigerated overnight. To serve, reheat in a covered pan in a warm
oven.

Please post your comments below

The Urban Pantry
This book was essential to me when I graduated college. It shows you that even if you live on a budget, there are ways to make the most of what you have in the kitchen! It goes over all kinds of things, from canning, to making simple recipes.

Recipes from an Italian Summer
I recently bought this book, and so far have cooked a few recipes from it. I love it because it is a beautiful cookbook, full of gorgeous pictures and everything in it is simple to make. I love all of the different marinades they provide for meat and chicken, and all of the fresh salads to accompany as well.

Everyday Italian
I received this cook book as a gift. I love it because everything in it is so simple and delicious. I recommend this to anyone who is just starting out cooking, becasue it has simple, easy to explain directions, without the intimidation.

Sherry learning to make Spring Rolls!

Gỏi cuốn (Vietnamese spring rolls)
-Bún (Vermicelli rice noodles)
-Bánh Tráng (Vietnamese rice paper)
-Marinated Pork
-Lettuce
-Pickling cucumber
Sauce
-Reduced pineapple juice
-Hoisan sauce
-Sriracha chili sauce
Directions
Follow the directions on the Bún. Typically this involves bringing water to a boil, placing the noodles in the pot, and turning off the heat. Once the noodles are done, quickly cool them off under cold running water. Set the noodles aside in the refrigerator. Place a few cups of pineapple juice in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Using a straining ladle, dip the shrimp into the pineapple juice until cooked. Feel free to practice on a couple of extra shrimp to work out the cooking times. When I made it, the pineapple juice quickly boiled over. Make sure you turn it down to a simmer after it comes to temperature. When the shrimp are cooked, place them into the refrigerator to chill.

While the ingredients are cooling, prepare the vegetables. Wash some lettuce (preferably a softer lettuce like red leaf) and your pickling cucumber. Slice the cucumber in half then cut the halves into 1/4 inch pieces.

Now prepare the sauce. Take a couple cups of pineapple juice and reduce it in a sauce pan. Be cautious that the heat is not too high or it will quickly boil over. When it has reduced to a syrupy consistency, add 2 tablespoons of hoisan sauce per cup of pineapple juice used and continue to heat. Now add the chili sauce to your taste. I added about 1 tablespoon total and it gave the sauce a very nice heat undertone. The consistency that you want while heated is velvety. If it is too thick, add some additional pineapple juice. If it is too thin then simmer for a little longer. When you are happy with the taste and consistency, pour the sauce into a bowl and place into the refridgerator. As it turns out, this was the most amazing dipping sauce for spring rolls that I have ever had. Ever.

Wet a piece of rice paper and lay it in the center of a large plate. Place a small portion of bún near the edge (5″ long x 2″ wide) away from you. Lay a piece of cucumber and a piece of lettuce on the noodles. Place a couple/few pieces of shrimp along the vegetables. Roll the entire mass towards you once keeping the roll somewhat tight. Fold over each side so that each of the ends of the roll are covered and then continue to roll the rice paper towards you. This may take a few tries but the good thing is that the ingredients are recycleable

Dip and enjoy! This can be somewhat messy so I suggest that everyone has their own dipping sauce!

Asian Pickled Cucumber Salad

1 ½ English cucumbers skin peeled and sliced very thin. I used a mandoline slicer
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted for about 5 minutes in the oven
Optional: 1 teaspoon of pimentos, for color.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a small baking sheet lined with tin foil, add the 2 tbsp of sesame seeds. Toast for about 5 minutes until golden, and let cool.
Wash the cucumbers and slice on the mandoline in thin coins. Place in a bowl and sprinkle the 2 teaspoons of salt on them
Combine all ingredients but pimentos in a bowl. Place in a lidded container and shake to mix ingredients well. Let sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Add pimentos just before serving for color. If you like, tomatoes are also really good added just before serving.

Please share your comments here!

Growing up, sliced cucumbers were always my favorite. I often had to request them special, because my mom wasn’t a fan and we usually didn’t keep them in the house. I even lost my first tooth biting into a cucumber slice! Cucumbers have such a refreshing taste, they are a great accompaniment to a lot of things. Here’s my personal list of the best ways to eat cucumbers.

1.Sliced, peeled and sprinkled with a bit of pepper.
2.Chopped up in a Greek salad
3.In ice water..sooo refreshing! Slice them up and throw them in!
4.Simply in a gin and tonic, or if you want to get really fancy, gin, ginger ale, apricot liquor and cucumbers..probably the best drink I ever had, the place I used to get them has since closed, so hopefully I will come across it again someday (if anyone knows where I can find that.. please let me know).
5.Pickled and served as a side salad with sesame seeds
6.In a salad with onions, dill and mayo
7.Jimmy John’s beach Club on wheat (cucumbers, sprouts, turkey, avocado, provolone cheese), or added to Panera Bread’s Smoked Turkey on Sourdough.
8.Served in long slices with hummus or tzaziki sauce
9.Mini cucumber sandwiches with lemon aioli, lobster and fresh coriander (salt and pepper sprinkled to taste).
10.Added to spring rolls or vegetarian sushi (think avocado, cucumber and carrot)

How do you like to munch on veggies? Please share your favorites here!

So here you go, some frequent dinner guests and some random guests, everyone is always welcome. We want to thank everyone who is a part of dinner party night. We love all of you and none of this would be possible without your presence, your input, and your friendships. Xoxo

Ingredients:
5 large potatoes (baking size)
3/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of chicken stock
juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic, left whole
1 teaspoon of Fresh oregano
2 teaspoons of sea salt
freshly ground pepper
Feta Cheese (toss in when completely cooked)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 480°F (250°C).
Peel the potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and in half lengthwise again, into quarters. Rinse well and shake to remove excess water. Add the chicken stock to the pan Spread the potatoes out in an 12 X 14 inch (or equivalent) roasting pan. Toss the potatoes with the salt, pepper, oregano, garlic cloves and olive oil (using hands works best), and add the lemon juice. . Put on lowest rack in the oven, and roast at 425°F for 50- 60 minutes or until tender. Once Potatoes are cooked through, toss in feta and serve hot.

*Tip* I learned that you might want to pre cook these on the stove to make them cook a little more quickly.

How do you like your potatoes? Comment below!

The recipe is as follows:

About 2lbs of Spinach
2tbs of extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove of Garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1tsp of Dried dill
4 oz of feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1 egg beaten
1/2 package of phyllo dough, defrosted.
4tbs butter, melted.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the spinach and chop finely
add with the spinach, egg, feta cheese,olive oil,garlic,dill, and black pepper in a bowl and mix well.
Place half the Phyllo dough on a 9×12 baking pan and pour thespinach mixture on top.
Cover top with remaining Phyllo dough and top with melted butter.
Put in oven and cook until golden on top.

Got any great spinach pie recipes are just feel like commenting? Post one here!