Recipe: Baby Back Ribs with Cauliflower Puree

Some of my favorite recipes are by Tyler Florence the ones where you use minimal pots & pans. Even better if I can throw all or most of it in a pan & in the oven. Set it, and forget it, as they say... I've watched that infomercial way too many times with my dad. Ha!

So I grabbed the 2 racks of ribs out of my freezer, defrosted them, and looked on good ol' http://www.foodnetwork.com/ for a recipe. I saw this pretty easy recipe by TyFlo & thought it was a great starting point. Here's my twist on it:

Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients
2 racks of ribs
salt
pepper
EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
3 Cups Apple Juice
1 Cup Water
1 garlic head
1 onion, chopped into 1/4" chunks
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions
- Rub salt, pepper, and EVOO all over the racks of ribs. Throw them on the BBQ grill to sear for a few minutes on each side. You're just getting a sear on them, so it's nice and quick.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop off the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves inside. Lay down a bed of onions in roast pan, put ribs on top, garlic head in between the ribs. Add water, apple juice, and apple cider vinegar to the pan. I tossed in a few fresh basil leaves, too. Cover pan with aluminum foil and put in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove the foil cover and cook in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

While your ribs are in the oven, whip up a cauliflower puree from the $1/head of cauliflower you picked up on sale at Sprouts. :)

Cauliflower Puree
Based on Guy Fieri's Recipe

Ingredients
2 heads of cauliflower, core removed, cut into florets
1 tablespoon EVOO
4 Cups Whole Milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and chop your cauliflower. I know, I'm so high-tech using my iPad for recipes!

- On a sheet tray, spread 1/4 of the cauliflower florets with the oil, season with salt, and bake until caramelized, about 25 minutes.

- Meanwhile, combine remaining cauliflower, milk, and half teaspoon of salt in a pot over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer, cover, and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 20-25 minutes.

- Strain cauliflower from milk mixture, reserving both. Transfer cauliflower to a blender. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and butter to the blender. Add half of the reserved milk liquid.

I added a handful of Parmesan cheese to the mixture.



After the 1st attempt of blending 1/2 the cauliflower mixture in the blender, I got out my immersion blender. SO much easier and faster. My blender is basically just used for margaritas now... I use my immersion blender for everything.

If mixture is too thick, add reserved liquid. Season to taste. Top with bacon bits if you want.

Say hello to your dinner for under $15, with plenty of leftovers for a lunch or two during the week. My 2 racks of ribs were $11.72 total, plus $1/head of cauliflower.

Enjoy!