TRIFLE WITH THE BRITS? You must be crazy.

While I was in England earlier this summer, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the majority of the meals that I had, aside from the dinner I ate here, at Merton College's dining hall:

For some reason, the Brits just don't believe in salt or seasonings too much.  If they only knew how good Bangers and Mash could be...

They do get one thing right though nearly 100% of the time.  ANY DESSERT THAT HAS WHIPPED CREAM IN IT!  Their whipped cream rocks.  So in tribute to my British friends, behold my Trifle recipe.

Trifle is easy, three components: 1. Pound Cake, 2. Whipping Cream or Custard, and 3. Fruit.  I've listed them separately in the recipe.  Once you've prepared all three elements, start with a layer of pound cake, and then layer fruit, followed by cream, until you reach the top.

Pound Cake:
Buying is easiest, and possibly cheapest, or you can make it from scratch.  I go Sandra Lee style, semi-homemade.  Here's the recipe I use.

1 Yellow Cake Mix
3/4 c. Vegetable oil
1/2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, well beaten
1 c. Sour Cream (you can use fat free if you insist)
1 tsp. Almond Extract
1 tsp. Lemon Zest

Preheat oven to 350, Mix all ingredients and then pour into a 12 cup bundt or tube pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes before taking cake out of pan, and cool completely.

*The reason you use a bundt pan is because it allows you to cut thin slices of pound cake that you'll use to layer the trifle.  You could use cake chunks or whatever, but I like the layers to be even.

Fruit
You can really use any fruit you like in your trifle, I just like to use something that will give off a little bit of juice.  The recipe above is Blackberries, Strawberries and Peaches.  This is your opportunity to color theme your dessert for 4th of July, Valentines day, etc.

4 medium peaches, sliced and peeled
6 oz. clamshell of blackberries
1/2 lb. strawberries, quartered

Place cut fruit in a bowl and cover with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar/artificial sweetener, stir.  This helps to draw the juice out of the fruit.

Whipped Cream:  I'm gonna let you in on a secret...Lemon Curd (you can find it in the jam or baking goods section)

Whip 2 cups of heavy whipping to a stiff peak, add 2 T sugar, and fold in 1/4 c. of lemon curd.

Got it all done?  Start layering.  This really is a recipe that you can tailor to your crowd.  I had a pumpkin trifle last fall that was to die for, and I've seen richer trifles made with chocolate cake.   Make it your own and let me know how it goes.

Total Cost: $12-15.  I know that's a bit on the spendy side, but it serves about 10-12, and it's more of a "special occasion dessert" due to the work that goes into it.

Weekly Outdoor Cooking Info: RIBS!

Welcome to the Weekly Outdoor Cooking Post.  It's summer, and nothing is better than cooking on the grill!  Later in the summer we'll try other methods of outdoor cooking like dutch oven, tin foil dinners, and maybe even smoking!

Baby Back Ribs are one of those Catch 22's in cooking.  They're really not a great cut of meat, full of connective tissue and all sorts of membrane, yet they're one of the most expensive things on the menu at many restaurants.  This all comes down to how time consuming and difficult they are to prepare.  Do you know anyone who has a smoker?  Yeah, me either.

Last year, after watching someone on the foodnetwork pressure cook beef short ribs, I decided to try the same for baby backs, with great success.  The only special equipment you'll need is a pressure cooker and any type of grill (in a very worst case scenario, you could use the broiler in your oven).  They're not quite the smokey ribs you get from smoking for 6 hours, BUT YOU WON'T HAVE TO SPEND 6 HOURS, or buy a smoker, or chop wood for your smoker, or smell like smoke, or...

Here's my recipe for ribs done easy in less than an hour:

Ribs (depending on the size of your pressure cooker, you may be able to fit in two racks cut into thirds, but may have to do this in two batches if you've got a big crowd.)

Cooking Liquid (I recommend something sweet like apple juice, you can use anything.  you'll need enough to have about an inch of liquid in the bottom of the pressure cooker.

1 Onion

BBQ Sauce (I recommend Sweet Baby Ray's, available at most stores, and definitely at Wal-Mart).

Spice Rub:  Buy one, or mix the following:
1/2 c. Brown Sugar
2 T. salt or seasoned salt
1 T  garlic powder
1 t.  black pepper
1 T  Chili Powder (That's Chili, not Chile.  If you don't know the difference leave me a comment and I'll respond)
1 t.  paprika


Got all of the ingredients?  Ok, here we go:

1.  Lay the ribs meat side down.  You'll see the membrane covering the underside of the rack.  To remove this, insert a small knife, ice pick, or any sharp object underneath the membrane between any two of the ribs.  Once you can grip the membrane, pull back the membrane and further separate with the sharp object until you have removed the entire membrane.  This can be a tough ordeal sometime, but it's absolutely necessary!  If it's too slippery, try using a paper towel to help you grip the membrane.

2.  Once the membrane is removed, rub both sides of the ribs with the spice rub, working it in with your fingers.  Then cut the rack into manageable size portions of ribs that will fit in your cooker.

3.  Place in the cooker with the cooking liquid and quartered onion.  Once you've sealed your pressure cooker, cook on medium high until it comes to pressure.  Once you've reached pressure cook an additional 30 minutes.  At this point remove from heat and let cool down slightly before removing the lid.
*Here's a pressure cooker safety guide in case you've never used one.  Don't blow yourself up.

4.  Now the fun part that is gonig to make your ribs tangy and slightly charred.  Make sure you have your grill on medium high, and spray the cooking surface with non-stick cooking spray before using.  When you remove your ribs from the cooker they won't look very appetizing.  We're gonna change that!  Using a pastry brush, rub one side of your ribs with a coating of BBQ sauce.  Place the ribs sauce side down on the grill, and let the sauce caramelize for a few minutes.  In the meantime, baste the other side with sauce.  When the sauce is just starting to char, flip the ribs. You'll repeat this process, basting and flipping every few minutes so that your ribs will form a juicy caramelized BBQ sauce crust on the outside, as the bbq sauce will adhere to and build up on the ribs with every basting and flipping.  I usually do this about 4 times.

Enjoy!  I'll admit ribs can be an intimidating task, but you can do it.  With ribs usually running between 2.99 and 4.99 a pound, this recipe will allow you to comfortably provide a rib dinner for 4 at around $15, or roughly the cost for one of you at a restaurant.