Nigella’s Bourbon-glazed Ribs

I now know why Nigella Lawson is such a hit with men. She uses minimum ingredients in her recipes which are not too involved. She is not a trained chef. And her promiscuous cooking technique is just an added bonus.

So turn to page 82 of Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities for this seductively simple recipe of Bourbon-glazed Ribs. But if you don’t have that book, count me as your BFF. I made these out-of-the-world succulent ribs on Sunday. For one they were my first time making ribs at home, and also that my husband who is not too fond of them pigged out on pork ribs! I guess its hard for a man to resist something which comes with the tag of N-I-G-E-L-L-A.

Ingredients for Nigella’s Bourbon-glazed Ribs are:

(I have kept her ingredients as they were but changed the measurements)

1.5 kg pork spareribs
1 cup Bourbon
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3-4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
Half cup + 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

Place the ribs in a large pan or plastic zip lock bag and pour all the ingredients over them to form a marinade. I marinated my ribs for 48 hours, refrigerating all the time.

After two days, remove the ribs from the marinade and place in a shallow baking dish, lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup after.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (Nigella says 425). I cooked the ribs for 1 hour 15 minutes, turning them over halfway through cooking.

At the one hour mark of cooking the ribs, pour the marinade into a saucepan and boil on low-medium heat to reduce it to almost half. The marinade will start looking glossy and thick. It takes about 10 minutes.

Plate the ribs and pour the bourbon sauce on them. I served some steamed broccoli and potato wedges as sides for our Bourbon-glazed Ribs.

Nigella’s Party Chicken

Believe me when I say that this post will make a lot of men happy. When my husband bought me Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities yesterday, I wasn't sure if he was buying me a present or succumbing to his own needs with this voluptuous collection of recipes to get through the holidays.

Turn to page 96 of the cookbook and you will see an embarrassingly easy recipe of Party Cornish Hens,  I chose it for today’s lunch. But with a plump whole chicken. I have retained Nigella Lawson’s ingredients, except for the Cornish hens, but changed the measurements to suit my chicken.

Ingredients for Nigella’s Party Chicken are:

1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
One-fourth cup olive oil (She also suggests the chile oil option)
One teaspoon ground cinnamon
One teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon sugar
1 head garlic, cloves separated, keep unpeeled
1 lime, halved and cut into wedges
Salt

Preheat oven to 375°F. Make a dry rub with the sugar, cinnamon, paprika and salt. Rub the whole chicken with it, getting the insides coated well.

Sit the chicken snugly in a baking tray. Pour the olive oil over the chicken. Tuck the limes (you can use lemons too) and the cloves of garlic around and in between the bird.

Cook the chicken for one hour and 15 minutes, till the juices run clear. I start with the face down first and turn each side, giving about 15 minutes to all the four sides. I end with the breast-side up.
Serve the carved chicken with the charred pieces of lime and garlic cloves. I did some quick potato wedges too.

Nigella suggests some couscous salad too. Here are a few couscous salads I have done in the past. This one with fresh parsley, or this one with baby arugula, shrimps, etc. Or try this Moroccan-inspired couscous salad, which looks rather festive too.

Thank you, Goddess of Easy Extravagance. I am all set to make my man happy with your time saver recipes this December.