This Food IQ recipe for ribs in the oven, the Rodbard way, comes from Matt Rodbard's mom, Cheryl. With the absence of a smoker, the oven is the next best bet for preparing moist, succulent ribs. These ribs utilize a dry rub that adds flavor to the meat before a low-and-slow steam roast, thanks to plastic wrap, that gets the meat to fall-off-the-bone status. This recipe calls for the use of your favorite barbecue sauce, be it homemade or a bottle pulled from the grocery store shelf. Bulls-Eye is the Rodbard family favorite.
Think of this as a sort of hot caprese salad —by cooking the tomatoes in a foil packet on the barbecue with their vines, aromatic herbs, oil, and salt, the flavors concentrate and intensify. They work beautifully with the mozzarella, as you would expect, with added interest from the crushed coriander seeds —simple yet luxurious
Could I write a book without featuring crispy gnocchi? Of course not. So I give you my proudest barbecue creation. Forget about threading just plain old vegetables on a stick —here, you intersperse veggies of your choice (I’ve done bell peppers here, but see the note below) on skewers with just-blanched gnocchi. The result is crisp perfection like you wouldn’t believe.
Love cheesy eggs? Then this recipe is for you! Mayo stands in for pasta water to give these eggs the extra-creamy richness that you usually find in traditional Cacio e Pepe. Using two different grating methods for the cheese allows some of it to melt while some stays firm, providing a variety of textures. I give my preferred ratio of cheese and mayo to egg in this recipe, but play around and add more or less depending on how rich you’d like these to be.
Roast four salmon fillets and saute some spinach, it's as simple-and almost as quick-as that. The salmon on its bed of spinach is also beautiful when served family style on a large platter.
There are hot sauces, and then there’s harissa. With roots in Morocco and Tunisia, brick-red harissa is aromatic and complex, with rich layers of flavor from chiles (which can be dried, fresh, or a combination), garlic, olive oil, coriander, cumin, and caraway. You can make harissa at home but prepared versions are available in cans, tubes, and jars in the international aisle of well-stocked markets and in Middle Eastern specialty stores. Brands of store-bought harissa vary in spiciness—start with 1 Tbsp and add more if you want a punchier dressing. Bright lemon and earthy tahini are natural matches for harissa.