Meltdown ice cream and a few Shade Tree sauces

I get inspiration from a lot of places, be it beer, music, or family. When I meet somebody else who is inspired to cook, the feeling is contagious and it makes me want to play off their creations.

Meltdown Lemonade Sorbet with Rooibos Caviar

My first exposure to Meltdown, Susan Warrell's upstart ice cream business here in Bowling Green, was through my priest. I was doing a dinner for him, and he had gotten some Chocolate-Covered Strawberry ice cream from her and asked me to work it into our dessert. Had he said vanilla or chocolate something else like that, I may have been tempted to relegate it to a mere garnish, a topping for whatever-pie a la mode. Instead, and fortunately, I decided to let the ice cream be the main player - without having even tasted it - based on the intriguing flavor we were given. The addition of a simple sauce and some fresh berries was all it needed to be the star of the meal, and to make me anxious to try what else Meltdown had to offer.

I've gotten to try a couple of other flavors since that night, and quite honestly they could all stand alone. But I can't help but experiment when the inspiration hits me, so here are three recipes, all using different flavors of Meltdown ice cream, to liven up your summer afternoons.

Apple-cumin pork ribs

Been forever since I've posted. Taken on some new responsibilities, and it has made it tough to find time to write. But I'm still cooking!

I had to come up with a recipe yesterday, on the fly, for some boneless pork ribs my brother and I picked up. What came of it was some heady aromas and tender, tasty ribs with very little clean up. Best of all, it used stuff you probably have in your kitchen right now anyway.

These are a great addition to a cookout as an appetizer - or a chef's treat. You can make them ahead, and they just take a few minutes to finish on the grill.

Apple-Cumin Pork Ribs
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a sweet onion, diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced (leave in the seeds for more heat)
2-3 small apples, chopped
2 lbs boneless pork ribs
1 tsp salt, to taste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp thyme
Black pepper, to taste
1 cup apple juice

The ribs we found were pretty small, so I was able to do this all in a large sauce pan. You could scale it up easily for larger, bone-in ribs, or even make this as a marinade for chops.

Saute onion and jalapeno in olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add apples, and continue cooking until apples have softened and start to give off some juice. Add ribs. You'll finish these on the grill, so don't worry about browning them. Just get them down in amongst the apples and onions. Add seasonings and enough juice to barely cover the ribs and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer 60-90 minutes (you'll need longer for bigger ribs). You want the meat to be tender, but not absolutely falling apart so they hold up on the grill, so check them every 15 minutes or so.

Finish ribs on a medium-hot grill, 2-3 minutes per side.

As for sauce, we didn't make one and didn't miss it. I didn't have my stick blender with me (shame on me), but I would have liked to try pureeing the blending liquid with just a hint of added sweetness - agave nectar comes to mind - and maybe a little added cayenne. I'd add that either as a last-minute glaze or a dipping sauce.