Oakland Dust Steak Rubbed BBQ Pork Spare Ribs – Indoor Style!

So delicious oven BBQ'd pork spare ribs covered generously in Oakland Dust Steak Rub is our new favorite meal. I realize BBQ purists may scoff at the idea of using the oven to create a BBQ style rib, but some of us city folk – without an outdoor option – have to resort to other measures to get our BBQ rib fix. My boyfriend wants this dish on a weekly basis. Totally fine with me. :) It's so simple, incredibly delicious and low-carb!

How to Make It:

Heat oven to 300 (f). Pull aluminum foil to twice the length of a cookie sheet. Generously season a slab of pork spare ribs with Oakland Dust Steak Rub all over. Lay ribs on the bottom half of the aluminum foil meat side up. Wrap the top layer of aluminum foil over the ribs and seal the top and bottom sheets tightly together all around the ribs. Bake for 2.5 hours. Remove the top layer of aluminum foil and brush ribs lightly with BBQ sauce. Continue baking for 20 minutes. Done and done! I serve this with cob corn grilled on a stove grill pan and traditional slaw for the full BBQ meal effect.

P.S. Last time I made this recipe I ran out of the Oakland Dust Steak Rub and used an alternative rub. My boyfriend was so disappointed and we both agreed that while the ribs where still quite good, they were a distant second to the Oakland Dust Steak Rub version. Thanks for such a delicious product, Oakland Dust!

Roast Spatchcocked Lemon Chicken

Ryan showed me this picture of his dinner the other night and I asked if I could post it because it looked so cool. I, for one, had not heard of "spatchcocking". You?  Apparently, the technique involves flattening the chicken allowing more of the skin to crisp at high temperatures. Ryan followed Martha's recipe  — you can find it here.

Chicken With So Easy Creamy Mustard Sauce

This has become a go-to meal for when I'm feeling tired, lazy... or both. The sauce is so easy, but incredibly rich and delicious.

How to Make it:

The Chicken:

• 2-3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• White truffle salt (I used Selezione Tartufi White Truffle Salt from Sur la Table) and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 (f). Add oil and heat up an oven-safe skillet to medium-high heat until the oil is hot. Generously salt and pepper the chicken. Carefully add the chicken to the pan. Don't move the chicken while it's browning. After about 6-8 minutes turn the chicken (the chicken should turn relatively easily, if it's sticking to the pan it's not ready to turn). Put the chicken in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until thermometer reads 165 (f).

So Easy Creamy Mustard Sauce:

• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon mustard (I used Olivier® Napa Valley Toasted Shallot and Dark Beer Mustard from Sur la Table, which is crazy delicious)
• Salt and pepper (if needed)

Remove the chicken from the skillet and set on a plate wrapped in aluminum foil to keep warm. Set to medium heat and add the cream to the skillet. Deglaze the pan using a whisk. Stir in the mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed. It's that easy!

I served the chicken with steamed spinach. Topped with the Creamy Mustard Sauce and a little freshly grated Romano cheese.

Susan's Green Drink Recipe

This is my favorite green drink invention. I try to have these for lunch to help me balance out against the dinner splurge.

How to Make It

• 1 large handful of kale
• 2 Roma tomatoes
• 1 large celery stock
• 1 large carrot
• 2 stocks asparagus
• About 1/2 cup broccoli stems
• 1/4 red pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Put all, except the lemon, through your juicer. Hand squeeze the lemon into the juice. Mix well and drink up!

Shrimp Scampi With Zucchini Carpaccio

Chef Emma, at Sur la Table, introduced me to this Zucchini Carpaccio recipe and I just fell in love with it. The flavors are so fresh and delicious, and perfectly seasonal! I matched it up with some simple but tasty Shrimp Scampi.

How To Make It

Zucchini Carpaccio

• 2 zucchini
• a good sized handful of arugula
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon diced blanched almond slivers
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
• salt and pepper

Thinly slice the zucchini using a mandoline or spiralizer. Set it in a strainer and sprinkle salt generously over. Allow it to sit for 20 minutes. The salt will extract much of the liquid. Thoroughly rinse the zucchini and pat dry with a towel. Toss all ingredients together reserving 1 tablespoon of cheese and a little of the almonds to sprinkle on top. I made this ahead of time in order to let it marinade in the fridge for about 20 minutes. It was just delicious!

Shrimp Scampi

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of one lemon
• 1 pound fresh shrimp
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Melt butter and saute garlic. Add the lemon juice, shrimp and parsley. Cook until shrimp is pink and firm. Plate shrimp and drizzle sauce over. Yum!