Classic BBQ Baby Back Ribs

I was hosting a few of the students from NYCSalt last night. We planned to edit through their photos for their upcoming Photography Show (June 9 + 10) and then have dinner together.

I decided to make them homemade baby back ribs!

I was inspired again by a recipe found in Real Simple magazine.


Heat Over to 275ºF
The Rub: In a small bowl, combine 1 Tbs of Chili Powder, 1 Tbs Ground Coffee, 1 tsp ground cumin, 2 Tbs Brown Sugar, 1/2 tsp Cayenne, 2 tsp Salt, and 1 tsp Black Pepper. Place the ribs on a large rimmed baking sheet. Rub the ribs with the spice mixture and tightly cover the baking sheet with foil. Bake until tender and the meat easily pulls away from the bone, about 2-2/12 hours.



Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup Ketchup, 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/4 cup Molasses, 2 Tbs Tomato Paste, 2 Tbs Brown Sugar, 1/4 tsp Cayenne, 1/2 tsp Black Pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 8-10 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup of the sauce to a small bowl for serving.

Heat grill to medium-high. Grill the ribs, basting with the remaining sauce and turning occasionally, until just beginning to char, 4 to 5 minutes. Serve with reserved sauce.



Devin making an arugula, asparagus, parmigiano reggiano and roasted almonds salad.






Kedwien admires the parmigiano reggiano!



Lenice takes a break from making the fresh rosemary butter chicken to snap some pictures.



Devin grilled the ribs + prepped them for us.







I kept them all here pretty late on a school night! Sorry guys! It was so fun breaking bread with you!

KSW

Ninety Acres at Natirar

One of my closest friends and colleagues, Erin Kiernan Frigerio, took me to the most amazing new restaurant in her hometown of Peapack New Jersey.

Ninety Acres at Natirar is an "epicurean oasis that upholds the agricultural authenticity of the surrounding environment."

Feeling as though we were sitting at "a table at the farm," we enjoyed a summer salad, steak & frites and a brilliant red, selected to taste, amidst blooming basil and other fresh growing herbs.

Foodies in the city must make the trip to NJ...they'll find the experience worth every minute of travel time.

KSW

Snow Peas in 1 Minute...

Step 1: D-string

Step 2: Pour peas into boiling water for exactly 1 minute. Blanch in strainer filled with ice and run cold over snowpeas until cool.

Step 3: Serve with leftover meat from Mother-in-Law's grill and forget the carbs because it's May and bikini season is three short weeks away.

KSW

Thrilled to be Grilled

This weekend for Mother's Day, Seth and I put together my Mother-in-law's grill.

The plan was for him to put it together by himself but once I saw his frustration while reading the directions, I couldn't stand by and watch him suffer alone! Once I started helping, it was fun! I found that I really love reading directions to figure out which screws + parts go where and then telling Seth what to do...which was brilliant because that's the part that he hates!

It took us 3.5 hours to finish it. At one point, we had to take it apart and start from scratch because of something I had done when Seth left for a minute (I tried to be a good wife by working while he was gone but I put the wrong parts together)!



Finally, around 9pm the grill was ready to go. I had marinated the steaks in soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt & pepper.

I love the proud look his mother gave him right before we bit into heaven. It was so incredibly worth the wait!

KSW

Daniel Boulud's DBGB

DBGB
I am amazed.

What a great venue for a party!

I photographed a book launch tonight for authors Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini who were also interviewed during a brief Q&A by Maria Bartiromo.

Party guests were able to sit at diner-like tables amidst never ending streams of wine, steaming hot plates of appetizer-size entrees, towering plates of shell fish, and deliciously colorful desserts. It was absolutely brilliant!