Asian Chicken Salad

We bought a rotisserie chicken this week with the idea of making chicken salad. The problem with chicken salad in our house is that my husband does not eat mayonnaise. We also had fresh peas in our fridge and decided we would try a chicken salad with an Asian flair.


Asian Chicken Salad

Dressing:
Juice of one orange
Juice of half of a lime
1-2 Tbsp Rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1-2 tsp ginger garlic paste
stream in olive oil to desired consistency while whisking (ie: I forgot to measure it)

Add the picked rotisserie chicken to the dressing and allow it to soak up the juices for a few minutes.

To the chicken, I added one pound (pre-shelled weight) of peas, 1-2 handfuls shredded carrots, one handful cilantro chopped, and 1-2 handfuls chow mien noodles. Toss and enjoy!

Babyback Ribs: Heaven on a Plate

I don't think food can get much better than ribs. Falling off the bone, tender meat, glazed with a sweet sticky sauce, it just makes me swoon. The guys I work with are always keeping me informed of the rib sales, so last time they were on sale, I got us a rack and they have been sitting in the freezer calling to me.

I was out of the rib rub they gave me, so I turned to "The Joy of Cooking" for inspiration. This is what I came up with:

Rib Rub
1/4 cup Chili powder
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup pepper
2 T salt
2 T cayenne powder
2 T cumin
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix it all together and sprinkle liberally onto ribs and let sit in fridge a while to marinate (I did 2 hours, but if I had been more organized I would have started them the night before so they could sit longer.) I used less salt than called for in the original recipe since the ribs I bought were brined.

Wrap the ribs tightly in foil and bake in a 225 degree oven for 3-4 hours. Add a can of beer (although the original recipe called for a cup of apple juice) and bake for another hour. Using the drippings from the foil pouch, make a sauce to coat the ribs with. (Fire up your grill before starting this so it will be waiting for you.)

Sauce:
Saute a clove of garlic in a Tbsp of olive oil. Add the drippings from the foil pouch and bring to a boil. Add a Tbsp of tomato paste and honey or brown sugar to taste. Allow the sauce to boil and reduce about 5-10 minutes.

Baste ribs with sauce and put on grill, turning every couple of minutes continuing to baste after each turn. I usually apply sauce to each side 2-3 times, allowing the ribs to blacken slightly.

Serve with sauce on the side.