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.

Beer Pairing Recipes - Chicken Roulade

The last installment from the Beer Pairing dinner

Cherry Chicken Roulade

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 Cup Walnuts
1/4 Cup dried cherries
1/4 Cup frozen spinach (frozen pulses better in the food processor)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 bottle Founders Cerise, or similar cherry flavored beer

This was one of the quickest dishes we came up with when planning the menu. Chris suggested we use the Cerise, then suggested cherries in the dish as a logical choice. I had some good walnuts on hand, he said spinach and it was born. For the filling, put the walnuts in a food processor and pulse 4-5 times. Add the cherries, pulse 4-5 times, then the spinach and pulse 4-5 more times. You want the texture to be smooth enough to hold together yet still have some texture from the fruit and nuts. Season up with salt and pepper and set aside.