Rubbed and Glazed Pork Spareribs, Corn on the Cob with Lime Salt, and Red Potato and Green Bean Salad w/ Creamy Pepper Dressing

I am a little late posting this but last weekend was absolutely beautiful weather.  After all of the rain and cold weather, it was so nice to be able to sit on the back porch and fire up the grill.  The groundhog indicated an early spring and I am crossing my fingers that holds true.

I have never grilled ribs before because grilling is the only thing I can get my husband excited about when it comes to getting food on the table.  I normally delegate anything that has to do with a grill or outdoor cooking his way.  This recipe was pretty straightforward and while he seemed to enjoy offering his advice, I pretty much handled this one on my own.

I started by making a rub for the ribs from brown sugar, salt, paprika, cayenne, garlic, and red pepper flakes.

After refrigerating for six hours, I put the ribs on the grill, seared them, and cut down the temperature.

The salad involved a few more steps and I started by making the creamy pepper dressing which is a mixture of vinegar, honey, buttermilk, creme fraiche, and homemade mayonnaise combined with crushed peppercorns.    I tried to make homemade mayonnaise and it was runny and gross.  Why make homemade when Duke's is so dog gone good?

 I then cooked the potatoes, blanched the green beans, and tossed the two with chopped shallots and chives.

The mixture was tossed with the creamy pepper dressing and placed on a bed of shredded bibb lettuce.

The lime salt for the corn is exactly that...lime zest and kosher salt.

I boiled the corn and emulsified butter in a bowl over the boiling water with the lime salt.  The corn was then tossed in the butter and a little extra lime salt was added. 

The final verdict:  I was proud of the ribs.  They weren't bbq competition worthy but for as easy as they were, they weren't bad.  The brown sugar melted and made a nice glaze on the ribs.

 The corn on the cob with the lime salt was also pretty tasty.  The lime salt added a nice kick which complimented the sweetness of the corn.  (I think I may try this lime salt for margaritas with the girls!).

The green bean and potato salad was also a great variation from traditional potato salad.  Also, I might mention that I think it was just fine with the Duke's mayo!

All in all this was a great February meal for the middle of tax season.  While the busy time has slowed down my cooking some, I am still committed to finishing this book this year.  I know my posts are less frequent but don't give up on me...I plan to have dinner at the restaurant before 2011 is up!

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